NORTH Clare man Tommy Fahy will travel to Dublin next week to watch himself on the big screen as part of the 10th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. Tommy will appear in the documentary Silence, which is showing next Thursday at the Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield, Dublin and is already sold out.The energetic 78-year-old was filmed last April as part of the documentary that follows Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde, a sound recordist, who is returning to Ireland for the first time in 15 years. The reason for his return is a job offer: to record landscapes free from manmade sound. His quest takes him to remote terrain, away from towns and villages. Throughout his journey, he is drawn into a series of encounters and conversations, which gradually divert his attention towards a more intangible silence, bound up with the sounds of the life he left behind.Tommy spent some time showing Eoghan how to catch lobsters and talks to him about growing …

Following a €1.6m refurbishment, The Sweeney Memorial Public Library in Kilkee will re-open on Monday at 6pm. The official opening will be performed by Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan. The library building dates to the 1950s and was designed to provide multipurpose functions including library, theatre, cinema and dance-hall.The existing building is approximately 415m2 (4,465 square feet) and the revised layout will provide approximately 682m2 (7,340 square feet), of which 492m2 will be at ground floor and 190m2 at first-floor level. The theatre and foyer/gallery facilities have been designed to accommodate approximately 130 people.In 2010, Clare County Council awarded a €1m contract to L&M Keating Ltd, Kilmihil, to carry out a refurbishment and extension to the library in Kilkee.Additional work brought the work to €1.6m. The proposed scheme comprises additional library space, theatre and exhibition space, and multifunction spaces. At the July 2010 meeting of Kilrush Electoral Area county councillors, director of services, Nora Kaye, acknowledged …

PERSISTENCE has eventually paid off for the developer of a proposed end-of-life recovery facility at Leitrim, Bridgetown.Plans for the retention of a commercial development about 5km north-west of Bridgetown were refused by Clare County Council, following an objection signed by 39 residents in November 2010.However, the local planning department has now given John Joe Fitzpatrick, c/o Barnes Murray De Bhail, The Old Forge, Inishannon, Cork, the green light for a second revised planning application for a similar development.Mr Fitzpatrick had sought planning approval to retain the commercial/industrial use of land as an end-of-life vehicle recovery facility, a commercial/industrial building, the retention of a concrete hardstanding and associated screen walling, two portocabins, on-site parking, one weighbridge and all other ancillary works, which he claimed had been in place for over 30 years.This development has now been given the go-ahead, subject to nine conditions, including a provision for the payment of €2,861 to the council in respect of public infrastructure and facilities …

At the February meeting of Kilkee Town Council, members expressed concern that that the public toilet, which made a loss of more than €30,000 in 2011, may not be open for St Patrick’s Day or for Easter Weekend. In reply to Councillor Karen Reilly’s motion that Clare County Council outline their summer plans for staffing levels in Kilkee and the opening times of the public toilets, town engineer Derek Troy said outdoor staffing numbers will be reduced by 12% in west Clare this year. The town engineer also said the toilets would open from 8.30am to 4.30pm daily. However, he later added that if there was a demand for the toilets to be opened beyond 4.30pm, the toilets’ opening hours would be extended. On a related note, Councillor Paddy Collins expressed his disbelief that the public toilets may be closed for upcoming bank holidays, including March 17. “I think it’s amazing that we don’t have public toilets for the Easter …

A HOST of drama groups from around the country will descend on Doonbeg Community Hall from March 3-12 as part of The West Clare Drama Festival.

WITH the countdown on in earnest until opening night, Ennis Musical Society is busy preparing for its 2012 production of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic, The Sound of Music.

BANKS have broken the Irish State and changed the lives of millions of its citizens. They are among the most despised institutions in Irish life and these circumstances make it an ideal time for Patrick Combs to bring his comic one-man show to the country.

THOUSANDS turned out for the Shannon Musical Society’s production of The Pyjama Game, which finished its run last Saturday night.