The funeral arrangements for  Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitríona Lucas (née Deely) have been announced. Caitríona Lucas lost her life at sea on Monday while she and two of her fellow coast guard team were on a rescue mission in Kilkee. She will be reposing at Liscannor Church this evening, Wednesday, from 5pm with funeral prayers at 8pm. Funeral mass will be held on Thursday at 11am and with burial afterwards in Kilmacreehy Cemetery, in Liscannor. A request has been made for family flowers only please and donations, if desired, can be made to Doolin Rescue. Meanwhile, Fr Joe Hourigan, parish priest of Lissycasey where missing man David McMahon is from, said, “Our community is in total sympathy with Catriona Lucas’ community.  

ANDREW St Ledger, a well-known native woodland specialist will be hosting two Heritage Week events in East Clare this week on behalf of The Woodland League and CELT ( Centre for Environmental Living and Training ). On Saturday, Andrew will be in Peppers Bar and Restaurant in Feakle from 2pm to give an overview, and a presentation on The Great Forest of Aughty, an active Native Oakwood Restoration project in East Clare and South Galway. “I have been conducting walks and talks in the Raheen ancient oakwood for many years and have subsequently become acquainted with the owner of the estate of 400 acres, William McLysaght. This is the place where the famous 1,000 year old Brian Boru oak tree is situated. William donated a four acre site of the estate to the local community and I was involved in persuading them to convert this into a community native woodland restoration project, with two NGO’s I work with, The Woodland …

PEOPLE who Google Scariff from now on could be directed to a galaxy far, far away as a planet with the same name is to feature in the eagerly-anticipated Star Wars: Rogue One film. Filming for the eighth instalment of the Star Wars franchise took place in West Clare in May. It took the county by storm and it seems Clare’s association with Star Wars is set to continue with this latest announcement. Director Gareth Edwards revealed that the upcoming Star Wars: Rogue One would feature the planet Scarif at the Star Wars Celebration event in London recently. He outlined it is based on a paradise world and that they had to go to a paradise to film it. Sadly, East Clare lost out in this regard, as filming was done in the Maldives. However, that is not to say that Scariff won’t benefit from this latest revelation, as locals believe it has firmly put the town on the galactic …

AN exhibition by Crusheen musician, photographer and raconteur has gone on display in Glór for the duration of the Fleadh and will give visitors a snapshot of the many great musicians and characters to have come out of the county. The photography exhibit, entitled Where the Heart Lies, features more than 40 original photographs, many unseen, as well as others which don the walls in the homes of household names such as Brad Pitt. He has taken the title, as well as some of the photographs, from a book of the same name which he produced with Peter Woods 20 years ago. Christy explains that he relied on this idea, Where the Heart Lies, because it was something that was emotive for him. “When you think about where your heart lies it’s home and it’s place”, and he said this idea of home is where the heart lies is what he wanted to convey in this exhibit. Having been invited …

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was officially launched on Sunday afternoon to throngs of people who gathered in the county town to celebrate this momentus occasion. Crowds lined the streets as the festivities began with a parade through the town centre. Ennis came alive with the sound of music, as groups found spots to set up and play awaiting the arrival of President Michael D Higgins. Special tribute was paid to the late Clare singer, Robbie McMahon whose song, The Fleadh Down in Ennis, has been rolled out once again in celebration of the talent that has descended on Ennis for the 2016 All Ireland Fleadh. Addressing the masses in Abbey Street Car Park, and those onlooking from balconies and windows overhead President Higgins, paid tribute to Robbie and this iconic song quoting, “They came from the North and they came from the East from the West and the South ‘twas a thriller to see”. Robbie was also mentioned in the …

Shannon Musical Society took home two of the three awards they were nominated for at the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) annual music theatre awards, which were held in Killarney at the weekend. The society, which staged Legally Blonde this year, scooped the Spirit of AIMS award, the Jan Canavan Trophy, for the Delta Nu sextet as well as the Mary Kitt Trophy for Best House Management. Commenting on the portrayal of the Delta Nus, the judges said the “the joint effort from the director, the choreographer and the stage manager saw six highly talented young performers not only act, sing and dance brilliantly as a team but their choreographed scene changes were a superbly original and creative feature of the show”. Karen Barrett of the society was also nominated for the Mary Kelly Award, which is a special award for the great contribution a person has given to a society. There were 11 nominees in this award category and unfortunately Karen lost out on the overall award. The society have recently announced that their show for next year will …

DROMANDOORA will play host to UK British Blues Award winner Bex Marshall, at a venue that hopes to introduce East Clare audiences to an eclectic mix of performers. Bex has toured the UK, USA and Brazil in the last 12 months alone and has performed at Clonakilty Guitar Festival, headlined Crane Lane Theatre in Cork and The Rуisнn Dubh in Galway. Now she and  her three-piece band will take to the stage at Sam Doyle’s Music Club on Friday night. The British artist was nominated to the top three in Best Solo/Acoustic Artist 2015 in the European Blues Awards and won an award at the UK Blues Awards 2013 for Best British Blues Vocalist and Album. She has been compared to Bonnie Raitt, Joan Armatrading and Janis Joplin. Bex was personally chosen by Sam Andrew, Janis Joplin’s guitarist throughout her career, to be the voice of Janis on his 2014 European tour with San Francisco Nights. Ennis man Aiden O’Neill …

THREE generations of the Sheahan family set out on a journey in February 2014. Their plan was to complete the Mid Clare Way in stages every fifth Sunday and this year they concluded their trek. Ballybeg resident Paudí Sheahan, his 80-year-old father Michael and his seven-year-old son Marcus completed the entire Mid Clare Way earlier this year. Paudí’s other son Robert, who was 10 when they began, often joined them at various stages of the walk. They could not believe all that they experienced – the beautiful scenery, woodland walks, lake views, quaint villages and towns and some of the county’s most interesting historical and archaeological sites – was available on their doorstep along the Mid Clare Way. Paudí’s parents were always out doing something and routinely went walking every Sunday. However, when Paudí’s mother, Evelyn, died suddenly three years ago, he and his four brothers decided that they would each take turns and do something with their father every …