Regional

AT Tuesday’s September meeting of Kilrush Town Council, Councillor Tom Prendeville asked that the council make provision in their 2013 budget for the upgrading of local road signage, street nameplates and playground signs. Councillor Prendeville said it is difficult to establish the names of some streets. “A lot of our town signage needs to be refreshed. Some of our street nameplates are illegible. We are a heritage town and our road signs should indicate that. We are twinned with Plouzané and yet we fail to highlight that on the approach roads to the town. We should also have a sign pointing to the children’s playground in Cappa,” the Fianna Fáil town councillor commented. “We should have signs directing motorists to the ‘free parking’ facility at Place de Plouzané. Good effective signage will bring visitors into the town. We have many natural amenities such as Kilrush Wood, the Vandeleur Walled Garden, Inis Cathaigh and the Marina. We have good marketing programmes …

AN Ardrahan man was named the Galway Young Farmer of the Year recently but missed out on the national title at last week’s finals.Trevor Flynn was named Galway’s FBD Young Farmer of the Year but the overall winner was Dermot O’Connor, a dairy farmer from Shangollden, County Limerick, who took the top award at Macra na Feirme’s 2012 FBD Young Farmer of the Year.The announcement was made by Padraig Walshe, chair of the final adjudication panel, at an awards ceremony in Kinnity Castle, County Offaly.Twenty-seven contestants from all over Ireland took part in the 14th FBD Young Farmer of the Year final. The competition, run by Macra na Feirme in conjunction with the IFA, aims to recognise excellence in the agricultural industry and promote farming as a career with a bright future.Six overall finalists were interviewed by a judging panel chaired by Padraig Walshe, former president of Macra na Feirme, the IFA and COPA, with Dr Karina Pierce, lecturer in …

AS part of the National Culture Night on Friday, September 21, the Gort Heritage Group is hosting a Culture Night in Gort Library.The programme begins at 7pm and includes music from Paddy Jordan, Colie Moran, Charlie Harris, Martina Neilan and many more. Sr de Lourdes Fahy will speak about Gort’s social history and Brent Kelly will do a video show covering the built and natural heritage of the Gort area. It promises to be a very enjoyable night and admission is free.Kinvara will host a number of activities to mark Culture Night 2012.The day will begin with storytelling for children in the community centre from 3.15pm to 4pm, where the Dog and String Theatre Group will tell the story of The Selkie and the Fisherman with puppets and shadow animations.The courthouse will host the New Line Exhibition by Robert Ellis, a young Burren-based photographer, from 4pm to 6pm. The Culture Café and Culture Night opening takes place at 4.30pm with …

FOR the second year running, the North West Clare Family Resource Centre will be holding a series of free information talks aimed at parents and guardians of teens and pre-teens.The series will cover a broad range of issues to help parents gain better skills and understanding of such topics as teen use of drugs and alcohol, teen mental health, how to help teens make positive choices and cyber bullying.All talks will be held twice, in the daytime and in the evening, and admission is free. The talks will be held at the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon and are open to the public.The series begins with a morning session on Thursday, September 20 at 11am on the theme of Teen Mental Health. Sarah Simkin and Paul Tannian of the Jigsaw Project, Galway will talk about youth mental health and well-being and what parents need to know to support their children during the teenage years. The talk will be repeated on Wednesday, October …

NATIONAL Organic Week began on Monday and two North Clare businesses are taking part. The Burren Smokehouse Visitor Centre and St Tola Farm are both taking part in the week, which is coordinated by Bord Bia.Inagh Farmhouse Cheese is holding an open day on Friday, when members of the public are invited to come and visit goats and sample the full range of organic goats cheeses made at the farm in Inagh.National Organic Week has been held annually since 2005. It is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. National Organic Week 2012 aims to continue to raise consumer awareness of the benefits of organic produce and increase the frequency of consumption of locally produced organic food.St Tola Organic Goats recently won awards for their organic cheeses and have expanded their product lines. In May of this year, the St Tola Log won a prize in the Premio Roma Awards in Italy.“We are delighted with these awards …

THE Burren Ramble, which has become one of the major fundraisers for the RNLI Lifeboat fleet, will take place on Sunday, September 23.

SPECIAL passes to facilitate the movement of otters and other mammals will be built following the construction of the new Shannon River Crossing linking Ballina and Killaloe, consulting engineers have confirmed.

PEOPLE looking for mortgages to buy affordable houses at the Glaise na Rinne affordable housing development are being denied them, this week’s meeting of Shannon Town Council heard.