East Clare

The family of Eimear Noonan confirmed the heartbreaking news that the 21 year old graduate lost her life following a fall while out running last Wednesday, November 8. In a statement on social media her brother, Cathal said the family would like to “thank all of those who have supported us in recent days”. “French authorities have now confirmed to us the heartbreaking news that our beloved Eimear died following a fall while running on Wednesday. Eimear celebrated her 21st birthday in April and had been living in Annonay since September where she worked as an English language teacher. Eimear was a warm, bubbly person who had already made a wide circle of friends there through her love of music and singing. She graduated last month from UCC with an honours degree in Irish and French, was a talented violinist and to our immense pride was head of UCC orchestra for her final year there,” he said. Eimear will be greatly missed …

A PUBLIC information session will be held on the proposed upgrade of Main Street in Scariff at the Killaloe Municipal District Office in Scarriff on Wednesday, February 22, from 5pm to 8pm. The proposed works, which are being carried out by Clare County Council under the town and village renewal scheme and overseen by the planning department of the local authority, will include road and footpath alignment works to improve safety and accessibility of all users, and hard and soft landscaping works. Clare County Council says the proposed public realm enhancement scheme is being guided by the Scariff Tidy Towns and Environmental Improvement Strategy, which was developed in 2013 in consultation with various community groups. The €111,764 project is 85% funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and is expected to be completed by mid-2017. The development is one of four community infrastructure projects in Shannon, Kilkee, Clarecastle and Scariff benefitting from funding under the Town and …

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 …

The Woodland League, a not for profit NGO, visited Feakle National School this past week when fifth and sixth class students were introduced to the League’s Native Trees education manual. With all of the school in attendance, seven native trees were planted in a circle for the seven signatories of the 1916 proclamation. The children played Amhràn na Bhfiann, on their tin whistles to welcome the trees to their new home and Andrew St Ledger handed over the printed Introduction to Native Trees education manual with its Dunemann seed bed appendix to the School Principal Michelle O’ Loughlin, as well as presenting the school with a Dunemann copy nature forest in a box seed bed for the growing of native trees at the school. The seven native trees planted were, holly, hazel, guelder rose, wild strawberry tree ( arbutus ), hawthorn, wild crab apple, and elder. “Reafforestation of Ireland with native trees was one of the objectives of an Independent …

THE theft of village signage has been described as “epidemic” by local Councillor Pat Hayes, who highlighted that signs have been stolen in four villages in East Clare. Councillor Hayes said Feakle, Caher, Flagmount and Killanena have had signage taken. He said some thefts have occurred in recent weeks, while others were some time ago. He said it is not the directional signage, which is usually the common problem, but in this case it is the larger signs for the villages themselves. “It seems to be specific to this side of the county. Directional signposts are also missing. The GAA one in Caher was taken down and a couple of business ones were taken as well. It seems to be an epidemic for the last while. I would very much be appealing to the public out there. There might be huge value in those signs but it is the communities that put them up and maintain them. They are part …

A COURT has heard more than €128,000 worth of damage was caused to Tinerana House during a burglary that “gutted” the Killaloe mansion, which is now owned by the son of Euromillions winner Dolores McNamara. It emerged that although €10,000 worth of antique light fittings and fixtures were stolen from the property, these were sold on for the nominal sum of €1,355 to a scrap metal depot. Jeffrey Lee, 44, with an address at 25 Cosgrave Park, Moyross pleaded guilty to the burglary of Tinerana House, Ballycuggeran, Killaloe on a date unknown between August 17, 2013 and September 14, 2013. A co-accused Declan Browne, 27, from Lakyle, Ardnacrusha, but who is currently living with a relative in Clonlara, pleaded guilty to handling stolen property at Clare Circle Metals, Ballysimon Road, Limerick on September 13, 2013. They both appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court this week, where the sentencing judge was given an overview of the facts in the case. Detective …

ST Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla were this week treated to a lunchtime concert by a young group of visiting traditional musicians from Vermont in the United States. The Young Tradition Touring Group, made up of 19 musicians aged between 12 and 19, are currently touring the West of Ireland and have stopped in Clare for performances in The Powerhouse in Tulla, Pepper’s and Shortt’s in Feakle. The group play North American traditional tunes, as well as Appalachian music, Cajun and some bluegrass. They also dance during their performances. The musicians are being hosted in Clare by Mary MacNamara and her group of young East Clare musicians. As part of this, they performed a lunchtime concert in the secondary school in Tulla on Wednesday for students and teachers. Students at St Joseph’s also played music, sang and danced for the visiting group. Most of the visiting group members are from Vermont, although a few hail from as far as Maine, …

A MICHIGAN radio show that focused on East Clare and was produced by local man, Eoin O’Hagan has been chosen for an award at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’ upcoming Broadcast Excellence Awards. The Wild Michigan Outdoors radio show did a programme on Lough Derg, entitled Wild Ireland and it was submitted for review by an out-of-state broadcast association to the awards. The programme has been selected out of all entries in the Special Weekend Programme category for the Broadcast Excellence Awards, which take place on May 3. Eoin O’Hagan explained that efforts to produce this programme began two and a half years ago, when he met a producer of the Wild Michigan Outdoors show in Doonbeg, who put him in touch with the presenter, Duran Martinez. Eoin’s pitch was to highlight East Clare as a tourism destination for anglers in America. “I sent Duran emails, photographs and videos, teasing him about Lough Derg and I told him how empty …