West Clare

The morning of October 26, 2010 will be forever etched in the memories of the family and friends of Declan Hayes from Doonmore, Doonbeg. That was the morning family and community man Declan was killed in a motorbike accident on his way to work at the GAA sports academy at Caherlohan, near Tulla.Almost a year on from that tragic event, the fledging West Clare Walking Club plans to perpetuate Declan’s memory by holding a 10km walk and run and a half marathon in The Long Village on Saturday, September 10. Plans are at an advanced stage for the inaugural event, which will draw people from all strands of community life in Doonbeg together, a microcosm of Declan’s life itself.   A passionate sportsman, Declan dedicated his teenage years to athletics. While he accumulated many provincial and All-Ireland cross-country titles during that time, the high point was when he was selected to wear the green singlet of Ireland at a European meet …

Loop Head Lighthouse was officially opened to the public on Monday for the first time in its 341-year history. Clare County Council has opened the doors to the 19th century building as part of a trial visitor scheme that will continue until the end of August. The 23m-high lighthouse will be managed by Stephen Rowan, while up to six people will be employed there. The first lighthouse on Loop Head was one of four known Irish stone-vaulted cottage-type lights built about 1670. These cottages accommodated the lightkeeper and his family in two or three rooms and had an internal stone stairway between two of the rooms leading up to a platform on the roof where a coal-burning brazier or chauffer was positioned. Part of the old cottage, with its battered outside wall, can still be seen near the lightkeeper’s dwelling.Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes, welcomed the opening of the lighthouse to members of the public, which he said would …

WITH Doonbeg hosting the village’s annual seafood festival this weekend, some of the leading chefs in the area are convinced that Doonbeg and West Clare is home to world-class seafood.

A KILKEE resident has written to Clare County Council regarding what he describes as “the recent enforcement of one-hour parking restrictions in O’Curry Street, Kilkee”.In his letter, Brian Lillis, who lives in O’Curry Street, said the owners/occupiers in the street are now being issued with parking tickets, which wasn’t the case in previous years.“This is to bring to your attention the following difficulties with the issuance of parking tickets to owner/occupiers on O’Curry Street, beginning on July 1. I believe that the council is acting in an unreasonable and arbitrary manner in starting to issue tickets to local owners,” he said.“In the years 2005-2010, the wardens informed local owner occupiers that they would not receive parking tickets for parking outside their houses. The wardens asked that owner/occupiers attach a note to the windscreen of their cars to indicate ownership. This has created a precedent, which should not be reversed without reasonable written notice to each owner. I believe that a …

KILRUSH Fine Gael Town Councillor Ian Lynch was unanimously elected Mayor of Kilrush at Monday’s town council AGM. The new mayor succeeds his Fine Gael party colleague Councillor Liam Williams. Mairéad O’Brien (Independent) was unanimously elected to the role of deputy mayor. All eight councillors present at the AGM paid tribute to the outgoing mayor. Councillor Tom Prendeville said Councillor Williams had “united the council”, while Councillor Stephen O’Gorman said he had “tried to involve everybody around the table”. All councillors echoed these sentiments as did acting town manager, Nora Kaye. In his final speech as town mayor, Councillor Williams said the town council had made significant progress over the last 12 months on a range of issues including casual trading bylaws, the staging of local festivals and the fact that Kilrush hosted a stage of the An Post Rás in May. Mayor Ian Lynch was proposed by Councillor Williams and seconded by Councillor O’Brien and Councillor Marian McMahon Jones, …

THE Clare Youth Service-run Kilrush youth project hip-hop group, Unique Geeks from the John Paul Estate, finished second at last weekend’s Youth Work Ireland National Games Finals at University of Limerick.The group represented Clare for the third year in a row at the national event. They finished in third place in 2009 and were runners-up last year.  They were determined to go one better this year but had to be content with a second-place finish again. The hip-hop group members include seven girls aged between 13 and 18, from the John Paul Estate, Kilrush and the wider West Clare community. The core members of the group have been dancing together for over four years under the guidance of dance teacher, Laura Jane Allis, of the Breakthrough Dance Company, Ennis.“This year’s routine was very different from what the group is used to,” Laura explained. “The dance theme was quite challenging this year and the group worked even harder for this year’s …

THERE will be huge Kilrush and West Clare interest in this Saturday’s Hell of the West Triathlon in Kilkee.Organised by the Limerick Triathlon Club, approximately 20 local people will be taking part in either the whole event or as part of a relay team. In previous years, there was very low participation from the West Clare area in the event.The Hell of the West is regarded as one of the toughest Olympic triathlon races in Ireland. It first took place in the summer of 1983, when approximately 40 athletes competed.More than 800 competitors from all over Ireland are expected to participate this weekend and it will again be part of Ireland’s national series race calendar. It will consist of a 1,500m swim in Kilkee Bay, a 45km cycle over the West Clare hills to Doonbeg and a 10km run around the cliffs in Kilkee, via the Dunlicky Road.Some of the Kilrush or West Clare people participating include Eileen Mulcahy, Nikki …

THE possibility of the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush Wood having small enterprise units put in place is being pursued by Kilrush Town Council. This month’s meeting of the town council confirmed the walled garden will host a craft display this summer. Town clerk John Corry also said the town council is examining the possibility of establishing craft units in the walled gardens.The idea was mooted by Councillor Tom Prendeville, who asked the meeting to invite the Clare Craftworkers Association to stage an exhibition at the gardens this year, as it is the Year of Craft.“This council, in association with the West Clare Task Force, has identified job creation opportunities in this area,” Councillor Prendeville said.“The creation of a craft enterprise village within the Vandeleur Walled Garden has employment potential,” Councillor Prendeville suggested.“Similar enterprises in Spiddal and Kilkenny have been outstanding successes. Staging an exhibition of the best craft products in Clare would be a first step in realising that …