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North Clare

New Year decision on Ennistymon mart plan

People in North Clare will have to wait until next year to find out if controversial plans to knock Ennistymon Mart and build an Aldi supermarket will be allowed. An Bord Pleanála had been expected to decide earlier this week whether or not to permit the proposed demolition of existing buildings on the site and the construction of a single-storey discount foodstore, including off-licence and a carpark with in the region of 80 spaces. However, a decision on the future of the site will not be made until next month. The proposed project was given the go-ahead by Clare County Council earlier in the year, subject to 21 conditions, but this was appealed by three separate parties, Save Ennistymon Mart Committee, local residents and former Mayor of Clare, Flan Garvey. An Bord Pleanála held a lively oral hearing on the proposed development in November, at which all three parties were represented along with Clare County Council and Aldi Stores (Ireland) …

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Fight for climate change at Lahinch

Hundreds of people are expected to gather for a climate justice event in North Clare this Sunday. Part of a worldwide movement, people from around the county will gather in Lahinch to send a message about global warming to world leaders. “The tide will be out and hundreds of people will come together from all over the county, including children, especially those involved in An Taisce’s Green-Schools programme. We will write #EarthToParis, which is a hashtag people are using all over the world at similar gatherings on the same day, in the sand. I have a drone camera and will take an aerial photograph of the event and everyone gathered around the writing and tag it and Tweet it,” explained Róisín Ní Ghairbhith, event organiser. “World leaders are meeting on December 7 and 8 in Paris to discuss climate change and we are sending them a message that we want them to come up with good decisions and good solutions. …

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The Burren through Carsten’s lens

The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher is the subject of a new book by one of Ireland’s leading photographers. This Is The Burren, Carsten Krieger’s photographic ode to the world-famous region, will be launched by Rose Hynes, a native of North Clare and chair of Shannon Group plc, in Hyland’s Burren Hotel, Lisdoonvarna on  Sunday. The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher was last week designated UNESCO Global Geopark status. The 176 photographs featured in This Is The Burren capture the essence of the Burren, including its weathered karst landscape, the ever-changing light; the exotic flora; the elusive wildlife; the tombs, cairns, forts and churches, and the people who call the Burren their home. Carsten Krieger, who was born in Germany, visited the Burren after learning it was the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. More visits followed before he and his wife finally decided to move to County Clare to be close to the unique landscape. Cathaoirleach of …

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UNESCO designation for Cliffs and Burren

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark has been designated as a UNESCO site following a vote at the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) General Conference in Paris today (Tuesday). The Burren and Cliffs of Moher is now one of 120 UNESCO Global Geoparks across the world. The designation means that the Clare County Council managed Geopark, along with Ireland’s two other Geoparks, the Copper Coast Geopark and Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark, is now a UNESCO Global Geopark and is now at the same level as other UNESCO designated sites such as Newgrange and the Giant’s Causeway. Reflecting on the announcement, cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, James Breen said, “As a Geopark, the Burren is very much part of a global community that shares knowledge and expertise on heritage management and sustainable development, leading to well-managed protected landscapes with preserved local heritage. This approach, combined with a good working relationship with communities throughout the Burren has …

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Festival to showcase Burren chocolate factory

The world’s smallest and most remote bean-to-bar chocolate factory, based in North Clare, will be showcased at the first annual Bite Food Festival in the RDS from November 19-22. Hazel Mountain Chocolate will be one of the country’s top artisan producers showcased at the major new food festival, which is expected to attract over 20,000 Irish food and drink lovers. Based on a small farm near the Burren, the internationally award-winning factory is about to expand its products into Scandinavia, where their seaweed chocolate has already become a huge hit. Their success story started just four years ago when John Connolly and his Polish-born chocolatier wife Kashia decided to learn how to become chocolate makers. “We use uniquely-flavoured cocoa beans from Madagascar, Cuba, Costa Rica and Venezuela and ensure we get them direct trade from small farms in each country,” said John. “Our dark chocolate is made from just two ingredients, cocoa beans and unrefined cane sugar. “It takes about …

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Doolin photograph showcases clean coasts

A Clare castle has featured in a prize-winning photograph in a national competition. Brendan Cullen’s picture of Doonagore Castle, near Doolin, won him third place in the Heritage Section of Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast Photography Awards, which were held in Dublin. Speaking at the ceremony, a spokesperson said, “Ireland is fortunate to have some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the world. This competition encourages people to look anew at the beaches and coastal landscapes we sometimes take for granted. The overall mission of the Clean Coasts programme is to celebrate and preserve Ireland’s spectacular coast and this competition is central to that effort, as it gives people a chance to show their local coastline at its best.” A gallery of the winning photographs can be viewed online.

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Warm Burren welcome for 100 Europeans

More than 100 delegates from across Europe are expected to attend the Burren Winterage School in Corofin over the Bank Holiday weekend. The conference begins on this Thursday and continues to Sunday, October 25. Its focus is on supporting high nature value (HNV) farming in Europe. “More than 100 people are coming from Europe to Corofin for the school. It is a big event for North Clare and Corofin especially. This is our window to the world, in terms of Burren farming. It is an opportunity for the farmers here to show off what they do and to highlight the reasons we have programmes like BurrenLife in the first place,” Dr Brendan Dunford of the BurrenLife programme stated. The Winterage School will hear from farmers from diverse landscapes across Europe and will include a variety of presentations by speakers about how farmers can be supported through better policy, research, funding, innovation, empowerment and networking. “Many of the delegates will stay …

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British Empire Medal for Mary

A NORTH Clare woman was awarded an Honorary British Empire Medal recently for her contribution to her adopted home in the UK. Mary Daly from Lisdoonvarna was conferred with the award from the Queen of England in recognition of her voluntary services to the Ashford Community and the Kent Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre. Mary was told she was being considered for the honour in July and asked if she would accept it, if she was selected. “I had to keep it quiet, which was the hardest thing ever,” she recalled, adding that she was dying to let the secret out but “I could only tell Michael, my husband”. Official confirmation of her award came from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by letter in recent weeks. It cited her services to the Butterfly Appeal Campaign for Multiple Sclerosis Therapy, in which she raised more than £1.6 million for the opening of a state-of-the-art MS centre. Mary emigrated from Clare in 1989 …

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