Clare Association on parade in Ennis

Members of the Clare Association in Dublin will break new ground this weekend, when, for the first time in the long history of the association, they will be participating in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Ennis on Saturday.

They will carry their own banner and will  travel in a  vintage Mercedes car, placed at their disposal by Pat Foudy Tyre Sales, Ennis.

The grand marshal for the parade, which will start at New Road at 11am, will be Spanish Point hotelier John Burke, who has been selected by the Clare Association as their Clare Person of the Year for 2018. They recognised his achievement of being the first Clare man to climb Mount Everest and his efforts to provide and promote mental health wellness programmes for young people through his charity, Elevate.

He will be presented with his award at the association’s annual dinner dance on April 28 in Dublin.

This weekend will be busy for the Clare Association in Dublin. On this Friday at 7.30pm, they will have the Clare launch of their 2018 yearbook in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, by Miltown Malbay native Dr Tom Hillery, a strong supporter of the association.

There will be much interest in Dr Hillery’s address, Rural Community Generation, in which he will speak about the problems facing rural Ireland and the possible  solutions.

He will also refer to the great legacy of the late Dr Brendan O’Regan, and the great work he did for Shannon, for County Clare and for tourism in the county.

In the 2018 yearbook, Mike Hanrahan recalls the years of Stockton’s Wing and there are articles on the Great  Famine; Clare’s historic 1992 Munster football win; the tragic shooting at Canada Cross, Miltown Malbay; the Claremen involved in the 1917 hunger strike; Aillwee Cave and the birds of prey and the great All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Ennis in 2017 – voted the best ever. Space is also devoted to John Burke and his Mount Everest conquest.

Copies of the yearbook are available at local newsagents and at Eason branches.