A group of North Clare parents are beginning an unusual campaign this week, in an effort to build a unique school for their children. A Steiner school in Ennistymon will launch its internet-based fundraising campaign ‘Build Mol an Óige’ this Friday inviting people around the world to ‘crowd fund’ the project. Mol an Óige Steiner National School is currently in temporary prefabricated buildings on a borrowed site and has grown from 11 to 123 pupils in seven years. Now it requires funding in the region of €2 million to build a new school and parents have taken up the challenge of raising it.“In order to construct the new school buildings on the new site, it would currently cost in the order of €2m. Like all departments, the Department of Education has greatly reduced its budget and as a result its programme of school building. It will be at least five years before any school funded by the department is built, …

An introductory course examining how plate tectonics, volcanic activity and earthquakes have shaped the landscape of the Burren Region will take place during March and April.Run by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Burren Outdoor Education Centre, Stone, Water and Ice: Understanding the Burren Landscape will feature lectures and outdoor excursions focusing on how the famous karst landscape and underground features  were formed.The five-week course begins on March 7 and will continue each Thursday evening during March from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, culminating with a guest lecture on April 4. Key topics include the Geology of Ireland; Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes and Volcanic History of the Burren; Evidence of Folding, Burial and Uplift, Rock Types of the Burren; Underground Features; and an outdoor excursion to some of the best known Burren landmarks, including Murroughtoohy, Slieve Elva, Caher Valley, Pollnagollum and Fanore Beach.“The aim of the upcoming series of informal yet informative events is to examine and promote the ancient …

DRONES could be used as Clare’s newest weapon in the war against litter, one local councillor has suggested. The remote controlled surveillance devices, which have gained notoriety from their use by the US government, have been put forward as a possible solution to fly-tipping in the county, with a claim that drones are already being used on the continent for this purpose.

A disease killing trees across Europe has been detected in Clare for the first time, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed. chalara fraxinea, commonly known as ash dieback, was first detected in Ireland back in October but was not known to have reached Clare until now.

A Sixmilebridge priest has urged anyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by depression to attend a talk being delivered by a local expert.

Children’s right advocate Fergus Finlay has expressed deep concern that a woman who cruelly ill-treated seven of her children walked free from Ennis Circuit Court this week.