West Clare

A DRAFT 10-year improvement and economic development strategy for Kilkee will be put on public display this week. The blueprint seeks to boost tourism, reduce unemployment levels and enhance the appearance of the resort town.

CLARE County Council are opposed to the installation of boat moorings on the Shannon Estuary in Kilbaha Bay and Kildysart until they establish the extent of usage of similar facilities in Labasheeda and Carrigaholt.

THE Loop Head Peninsula has been named ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’ following an Irish Times competition, which attracted more than 1,400 entries. Members of the public were invited to nominate the places they like to holiday. Loop Head was named the overall winner from a shortlist featuring the Glen of Aherlow, Inishbofin island, Derry City and Killarney. An evening of celebration followed in The Long Dock, Carrigaholt on Monday. Loop Head was nominated by Mary Redmond, who with her husband, Johnny, runs a restaurant in Kilkee. “I’ve lived here for 38 years. I think it’s the most beautiful place, completely unspoiled, and it has great cliff walks and water sports, diving and swimming. But I don’t think people know about it really, so I decided to tell them. Winning this award will make Loop Head a destination like Dingle or the Ring of Kerry but without the tour buses. We want people to find an Ireland that has …

A FUNDRAISING cookery demonstration with Neven Maguire, held in the Armada Hotel, Spanish Point recently, raised €12,609 for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee. The event was organised by Kate McInerney from Spanish Point, who was given transport by the West Clare Mini Marathon Cancer Fund when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. “Since the West Clare Cancer Centre provided transport for me, to access my chemotherapy treatment, it has always been my wish to give something back to support the centre that were so supportive to me,” Kate said. The venue was packed for the event, which attracted people from throughout the county. “I have been overwhelmed by the positive response and the tremendous support from so many who helped in relation to my fundraising initiative. It has been a great privilege to have been able to organise the demonstration in order to raise funds for the cancer centre,” Kate added. Eleven stall holders, who showcased food …

  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 …

THE Loop Head peninsula has beaten off competition from more than 1,400 entries from all over Ireland to be named in the final five of The Irish Times Best Place to Holiday in Ireland competition.

LAST Sunday, Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, re-opened the refurbished Killimer Parish Hall. A huge crowd attended, with many travelling from the National Famine Commemoration in Kilrush. Parish groups who avail of the hall displayed their work  showing what groups contribute to the community. The need to upgrade and further develop Killimer Parish Hall for the future was identified by Killimer Parish Pastoral Council. Killimer Parish Hall was closed for four months until the rebuild and refurbishment was completed.  In 1886, the Killimer parish priest, Fr O’Meara, leased the property to be used as a school for a period of 99 years. In 1952, due to a fire, the building could no longer be used as a school and a new school was built next door. The parishioners began fundraising to construct a parish hall, which was opened around 1957. This served as a gathering place, where dances and sales of work were held. In the …

On Sunday, June 30, the villages of Carrigaholt and Kilbaha will provide the stunning backdrop to a unique fundraising event called Hopper’s Way.