East Clare

CAMOGIE has been a life-long passion for Quin’s Eileen (Eily) McMahon, who celebrated her 100th birthday in recent weeks. Alongside her sisters, Marcella (Cella), Maisie, Teresa (Tesa) and Kathleen (Dokey), Eily was known for her skill, athleticism and her dedication to her club. Now in her 101st year, Eily is President of Clooney-Quin Camogie and Ladies Football Club and Vice President of the GAA Club. Born Eileen McNamara, Eily was the second youngest in a family of nine from Hazelwood, Quin. Her parents were Jim McNamara and his wife Etta (née Neylan) and her nine siblings were Maisie, Mike, Joe, Paddy, Kathleen, Tom, Marcella and Teresa. Having grown up in a house steeped in hurling, Eily went on to prove her own sporting prowess and talent. “Her brothers were hurlers and their home was close to a pitch,” her daughter Geraldine told The Champion. “There were always people coming and going and the family had a great time growing up.” …

TUAMGRANEY Harp Festival returns in full bloom this weekend and final preparations are being made.  Artistic Director and harper, Fiana Ni Chonaill is at the helm with a dedicated committee behind her. “We are really excited to have such a wealth of talent coming to Tuamgraney,” she told The Champion. The Castleconnell native said she is honoured to take over from the esteemed founder Elisabeth Affolter. “LIzzie taught at the Harp School in Castleconnell and I met her there,” Fiana explained. “She was living in Tuamgraney and got me interested in the harp festival. I studied Music at the University of Limerick (UL). That’s my musical home and it’s lovely to be back so close to it.” The pandemic meant that the festival had to be cancelled in 2020 and it ran online in 2021. This year, it is making a welcome return to venues around Tuamgraney, but will retain an online element. “It just wasn’t the same last year …

ARDNACRUSHA was the starting point for the highly successful second annual charity cycle organised by O’Neill Industrial to highlight the issue of homelessness.  The event, in aid of Mid-West Simon, saw 75 cyclists set out from South East Clare at 9am and cover 75 kilometres through Broadford, Mountshannon and down to Killaloe.  A warm sunny day created ideal conditions and made the scenery all the more beautiful along the shores of Lough Derg.  Organisers expressed “a massive thank you” to all the cyclists and volunteers as well as BikeMarshals.ie and St John’s Ambulance for keeping everyone safe and making the day such a success. The cycle ended at 2pm with a barbeque at McMahon’s Bar Ardnacrusha, with a vibrant atmosphere and glorious sunshine. Michael O’Neill, Sales Director at O’Neill Industrial said the organisation was pleased to support Mid-West Simon. “We are absolutely delighted with the charity cycle, such was the demand, that I had to close the online Eventbrite bookings a week …

MOUNTSHANNON Angling Club have presented lifetime honorary membership awards to two members, Billy Hickey and Andrew Brown for services rendered to the club over the years and for their role in promoting angling and works to ensure the ongoing rehabilitation of Lough Derg as a brown trout nursery. The awards were announced at the club’s EGM last week when the schedule of competitions was confirmed and a new committee put in place for 2022. Officers elected were President; Brian Merrick; Chairman, Peter Turner; Vice Chairman, Joseph Lyons;p class=”p2″>Secretary, Brian Durack; Treasurer, John O’Rourke; PRO, Tony Hogan and committee, David Burke and Andrew Brown. The club is currently investigating ways of encouraging young members to join the club and intend to organize an event later in the year to teach them ‘how to fish’’. The club acknowledged the lack of advance notice to members but it was felt that the best choice was to go ahead with the competitions as listed rather …

A FEASIBILITY study on the proposed greenway from Scariff to Limerick has concluded that there is potential for a high-quality and well-connected amenity, which will form part of the proposed Shannon Greenway.  A briefing was provided in late April to Oireachtas members on the route which will be around 40km in length. Oireachtas members were told that progress so far includes the completing of Phase 1 work on the Concept and Feasibility of the Limerick – Tuamgraney/Scariff Greenway. This work involved developing a study area and establishing the planning context as well as identifying constraints and establishing viability.  TDs and senators were shown two Preliminary Route Options (PROs). The first, Green PRO would follow The Shannon from Limerick to meet the Shannon Tail Race/Head Race. It would then proceed along the Parteen Basin to meet the Killaloe Bypass. The second, Red PRO would follow the Park Canal/River Shannon from Limerick to The University of Limerick (UL). It would then follow …

AN ADDICTION support project in the Mid-West is to benefit for a cash grants and non financial supports from Rethink Ireland with support from the Dormant Accounts Fund and Google.org. Rethink Ireland announced the Ana Liffey Drug Project (ALDP) as one of the recipients of the €600,000 fund  The fund was launched last October by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys. Its aim is to support organisations that are innovatively supporting people living in rural areas to access employment or education opportunities, improve their job readiness and build their resilience as we come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on minority and underserved communities. ALDP will use the funds to tackle addiction, homelessness and other social issues across Clare, North Tipperary and Limerick. It currently runs an outreach programme that allows workers to go to rural areas and ensure people can access the services they need.  It provides tailored support to people to access residential …

CAHER-based artist Jane Seymour has teamed up with will fellow ceramics specialist, Mike Byrne, for an exciting new exhibition at Kenny’s Gallery in Galway. The show, entitled, ‘Forms and Surface’ opens on May 6 and will include some stunning pieces with a range of different inspirations. Jane is a self-taught artist and ceramist while Mike trained in Ceramic Design in Limerick. Their work shares a commonality in its use of strong, slab-built, cut and altered sculptural forms, and refined surface treatment. Mike builds tall abstract vessels, applying layers of different coloured slips, which he sands down to reveal the colours beneath, giving a smooth tactile surface. Jane textures each piece, etching deeply into the surface of the clay with her drawings, inspired by an interest in the figurative, and uses oxides to colour her work. “Although our work differs from each other and we come from very different backgrounds as far as training, we both make strong, collectable, sculptural pieces …

LANDOWNERS along the route of the proposed Greenway from Scariff/Tuamgraney to Limerick are being given an assurance that the development will follow best practice guidelines on consultation. Following a briefing for Oireachtas members last Tuesday, Deputy Michael McNamara said that a code of practice, which has been drawn up in conjunction with several stakeholders, including farming representative bodies, will be followed. “Waterways Ireland have stated that they will be using the code for the development of greenways,” he said. “That provides a reassurance that landowner concerns will be given due consideration at every stage in this development. The Scariff to Limerick Greenway is a very exciting project. I’m delighted that it is now progressing and that community consultation is currently underway. I pushed, in particular for the development of the Errina Canal element during my previous term as a TD.” The Scariff man also expressed hopes that potential issues in the area of Parteen Weir could be addressed, through negotiation …