Regional

THE Burren College of Art got a temporary new recruit recently as part of a job shadow initiative.EmployAbilityClare service user Sylvia O’Doherty shadowed a PhD research student, Elizabeth Matthews, at the college as part of the Irish Association of Supported Employment’s (IASE) National Job Shadow Day.The National Job Shadow Initiative is designed to give people with disabilities the opportunity to get a close-up look at the world of work for one day or one week in April each year. This allows them to learn about the skills and education required to compete and succeed in the workplace.Participants shadow a workplace mentor as they go about their daily work. Patrick O’Neill, team leader, EmployAbilityClare selected Sylvia for the opportunity. His decision was based in part on Sylvia’s talent for drawing buildings in 3D.“Our service has been working closely with Mary Hawkes Greene, president, Burren College of Art on a creative arts project. When approached about Job Shadow, Mary quickly arranged a …

THE number of horses abandoned in the Sliabh Aughty mountains has increased in the past year, according to a local charity. However, the number found dead is down significantly.During its recent annual census of abandoned horses on a commonage of 2,400 acres in the mountains, Forgotten Horses Ireland counted 139 horses, an increase from the 127 counted in 2012.The organisation believes the exact number of abandoned horses on this commonage may be higher but poor weather conditions on the day of the census hampered the count.Speaking about the results of the 2013 census, Rozmina Kachchhi, chairperson of Forgotten Horses Ireland, said, “In the winter of 2011/2012, 22 horses were found dead, mainly due to malnutrition. “By contrast, only three horses have died since the charity began working on the commonage in March 2012; two from gunshot wounds and one from unknown causes.“This transformation in the numbers of abandoned horses perishing on this large commonage is due to the constant monitoring …

A GROUP of transition-year pupils from Gort Community School recently graduated as ‘Laoch Áite’ (place heroes) from Ireland’s very first place-based learning programme in secondary schools.Twenty-five pupils took part in the Áitbheo (living place) programme, enabling them to take a much closer look at where they live and help them interpret their immediate environment in more depth.Interactive modules on landscape, built heritage, people and places in history, culture, biodiversity, conservation and biomimicry were delivered by guest tutors, providing a great starting point for the pupils to begin research into their own place. This initiative aimed to develop a strong sense of place in the pupils, which they will take with them into their adult lives.The programme, which was delivered by the Burrenbeo Trust, encouraged pupils to gain a greater appreciation for the rich heritage that exists around them by utilising the nation’s premier learning landscape, the Burren. Complementing this, a dedicated blog was created to allow pupils showcase their local …

  ON Friday week, May 31, everyone in Kilmurry McMahon will be hoping John O’Connell can attend the Drumdigus National School reunion. John is the oldest surviving pupil of the school in Kilmurry McMahon, which was located where the community centre now stands, until the new school was opened in 1966. The event will form the first leg of a June Bank Holiday festival in the parish. Rebel band The Kilkennys will play in the specially constructed marquee on Saturday, June 1, while Crystal Swing will return to the marquee the following night. While John cannot recall his school days in great detail, he does remember enrolling in Drumdigus National School in 1920. The original school was opened in 1888. Class sizes were quite large in those days, testament to the fact that most families were fairly large. However, most of John’s contemporaries have since passed on. “They’re not here anymore. Not even one of them,” he noted. In great …

A VISION for a centre containing a 350-seat theatre located in the town centre was outlined at this week’s meeting of Clare County Council’s Housing, Social and Cultural Services SPC.

MONEY collected from the property tax must be ringfenced to carry out work in unfinished estates in Ennis, one local councillor has insisted, as Clare County Council rejected claims that residents in these estates have been neglected.

PLANS for the €40 million Shannon Bridge Crossing have officially been put on hold after a well-known environmentalist was granted leave in the High Court to lodge a Judicial Review.

IT’S not a case of who’s taking the horse to France, but who is taking the jetski, as two Clare men endeavour to jetski their way across the English Channel for charity.