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North Clare

Kinvara art show celebrates natural connections

FUNGI are the inspiration for a new exhibition which celebrates our connections to each other and to the natural world.  Entitled ‘Mycorrhizal Connections’, the show, curated by Kinvara Area Visual Artists (KAVA) member Hugh Murphy, will present works by 18 artists. Mycorrhizal fungi form mutualistic symbiotic relationships with plants and trees, without which this network would not survive. Not only do we share almost half of our  DNA with these fungi, our future is entirely dependent on their contribution to a healthy planet. Artists Helen Roberts Greene, Louise O’Boyle, Heather Watson, Roisin Doherty, Deirdre Crowley, Anne Greene, Caoilfhionn Ní Cheallaigh, Maria Donegan, Tonita O’Dwyer, Katie Burke, Toireasa Ward, Emer MacDermott, Megan Lucy, Beatrice Stapleton, Áine Doherty,  Hugh Murphy, Herminia Ayala Reyes, Laura Angell all reflect on the connections these phenomenal fungi create, as they draw together all the elements in the natural world. They also explore how we, through our own personal connections, depend on and support those around us. …

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Man who co-discovered Doolin Cave returns for 70th anniversary

SEVEN decades after the discovery of Doolin Cave one of the original cavers who made this amazing find returned to North Clare at the weekend to help mark the momentous anniversary. Doolin Cave has celebrated its 70th birthday marking its discovery by cavers, Brian Varley and J M (Mike) Dickenson in 1952. Brian, who celebrates his 90th birthday this year, returned to Doolin where a commemorative plaque acknowledging the cavers’ achievement was unveiled. Helen Browne, proprietor of Doolin Cave Visitor Centre with husband John, explained that the plaque has been placed on the way into the cave so everybody who visits will be able to share in Brian and Mike’s story and the hard work which led to their great discovery. “It was very special for us to be able to welcome Brian to Doolin Cave, he is such an amazing character. We were honoured to have him return to the cave to unveil a plaque dedicated to him and …

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Coastal communities turn out in force to stamp out marine litter

HUNDREDS of volunteers in this county have answered Clean Coasts and National Spring Clean joint call to organise a clean-up to protect the wild Atlantic ocean this month. Ten clean-up events took place in Clare this Wednesday supported by 200 volunteers who had been provided with free clean-up kits by the two non-governmental organisations (NGO).  World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8 to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. In 2022, the focus was once more be on the 30×30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilise the climate, Experts believe it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and ocean are protected by 2030. One of the big issues affecting the Atlantic is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. Research shows that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and …

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Ennistymon student Shane has the skills to win national award

A NORTH Clare student has showcased his skills and scooped a national award. Shane Price, who attends Ennistymon Vocational School, has been named a winner in the 2022 Career Skills Competition. Shane came first place in the Transition Year category of the competition with an impressive career investigation on Computer Programming – Artificial Intelligence and an essay detailing his work experience in a health pharmacy. The aim of the competition is to encourage independent career research among second level students and to foster awareness around the importance of career skills, which can be developed as a result of completing a work experience placement. Shane tells us he “found the whole experience amazing”. He explains, “The competition was all about writing an essay of having a critical view of skills required for careers observed in work experience and the second part of the essay required you to do your own research into another career that you do not have any work experience in. “It requires you …

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Ennistymon students take silver in national enterprise awards

Students from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon have taken Second prize in the Junior Category at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals. The winning students Bríd-Áine Rouine, Áine Hennigan and Eimear Lernihan, all 13 years old, who worked under the guidance of their teacher, Caitríona Hynes were awarded for their BEA Body Scrubs. BEA Scrubs produce eco-friendly body scrubs. Their ethos is based on the circular economy, they use bi-product from coffee granules sourced from a local coffee shop and use this product as the core ingredient for their scrubs. The students also enjoyed the support of the Local Enterprise Office in Clare. The scrubs are made from 100% sustainable and by-products as ingredients and are sold to customers, locally, regionally and nationally. The coffee granules are purchased from local coffee distributor Anam Coffee.   The Finals of the Local Enterprise Office initiative were held physically for the first time in three years at the Helix in Dublin with An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and host …

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Kilfenora Cathedral venue for bishop’s ‘enthronement’

A CELEBRATORY service of evensong will welcome the new Anglican bishop of the diocese that covers Kilfenora, to the village’s ancient cathedral on Sunday next, May 22.  The Right Reverent Michael Burrows, whose diocese has recently been expanded to encompass Tuam, as well as Limerick and Killaloe, will be ‘enthroned’ in Kilfenora Cathedral, in a history-making ceremony, at 4pm. It follows the formal installation, on May 1, of the Catholic Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora. Bishop Michael Duignan was formally installed in a ceremony at Galway Cathedral.  Sunday’s ceremony will be a celebration of song and welcome and refreshments will be served in the cathedral after the service. Everyone in the community is welcome to attend. The last enthronement took place in 1981, when Bishop Walton Empey, who was later COI Archbishop of Dublin, came to Kilfenora Cathedral. The bishop’s throne was donated in that year for the deremony, and will be used again on …

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‘You’d be as well off sending a request to Dustin the Turkey’

A COUNTY councillor has said you’d be as well off sending a proposal to Dustin The Turkey as Irish Water for all the response you would get. The quip by Councillor Shane Talty came in the context of his proposal of a feasibility study into the prospect of linking a wastewater system for Doolin to the existing one in Lisdoonvarna. Councillor Talty made the suggestion about the potential project at the West Clare Municipal District meeting on May 3. This study was promised to Doolin Tourism when the Lisdoonvarna scheme was installed over 20 years ago, he noted, and Councillor Talty put forward the motion “in the absence of action taken by Irish Water.” The proposal comes after an announcement by the government last week that there will be a series of schemes to address towns and villages with wastewater management issues, though Councillor Talty claimed the narrative in Clare involves the funding from such schemes going to Broadford. Councillor …

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North Clare venue X-PO is back on the go

AFTER an enforced two-year closure, one of North Clare’s premier creative community facilities has opened its doors once again.  The X-PO is a social and cultural space in Kilnaboy’s former post office and the hope is that its summer season will reconnect and revitalise the community after the long months of lockdown. The brief season will kick off with an Open Mic evening at 8.30pm this Friday night,  May 6. Events will also involve a new book club; a board game evening; film screening; heritage talks and a ‘skill-share’ workshop on how to grow grapevines in Ireland. “It’s very exciting to be opening up again after so long and we have quite a range of events,”  said William Hederman, a member of the collective that runs X-PO. “We traditionally close for the summer months but we decided it would be great to open for a few weeks to bring people together to reconnect after two years of our doors being closed. …

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