A PLANNING decision is expected on July 11 in relation to the development of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder Unit (ASD) unit catering for children with autism and special needs at St Joseph’s National School in Kinvara.The board of management at the school applied to Galway County Council in April for planning permission to fit out the ground floor of a former convent building for use as an ASD unit.The former convent is a protected structure, built in 1878. The application also proposed to carry out refurbishment works to the building, including the replacement of the windows and doors, along with the upgrading of the roof structure. Permission for a rear extension to the building to accommodate a kitchenette and bathrooms was also sought by the board.Following a request for further information last month, the school board lodged its response with the council this past week and a planning decision is now eminent.The applicants were asked for further information in respect …

TWO alpaca from a North Clare farm won top awards at the Alpaca Association of Ireland National Show held in Belurgan County Louth recently.Burren Alpaca Stud won both the supreme champion title and reserve title. The supreme champion was a two-year-old female alpaca, Burren Victoria, who beat male runner-up Burren Auzdano. Victoria, a daughter of top Burren sire, Burren, was bred by Burren Alpaca to advance fibre quality in its herd.Based at Blackhead, Ballyvaughan, Burren Alpaca was founded by Damien Dyar and the late Anna May Driscoll and has forged a leading role in the development of an alpaca industry in Ireland.Shirley Bettison, a British Alpaca Society-approved judge, complimented the Alpaca Association of Ireland on the standard of alpacas presented at its sixth annual show. Ms Bettison said the growth of the alpaca industry in Ireland is strongly tied to the quality of alpaca presented and she judged the standard now present in the country based on the show is …

BALLYVAUGHAN’S Flower Power festival will celebrate the enigmatic and unsung local hero, – Patrick Bernard O’Kelly in a festival from next Monday to July 7. O’Kelly (1852-1937) played a huge role in collecting and popularising the unique flora of the karst limestone region in the early 1900s.Glenarra House – the site of O Kelly’s Botanic Gardens and Fern Nurseries – will be open to the public for the week, while an exhibition in Ballyvaughan village hall will display for the first time, samples of plants O’Kelly sent to the National Botanic Gardens, together with memorabilia and photographs of his life. Dr Matthew Jebb, director of the National Botanic Gardens will open the exhibition on Monday at 6pm and will then lead an “orchid hunt” in search of the famous O’Kelly orchid, named after him. The week will include walks, talks, exhibitions, and a botanical painting workshop with Susan Sex. Born in the townland of Kilweelran, O’Kelly lived in Glenarra House, …

NEWLY elected Mayor of Kilrush, Paul Moroney, visited St Senan’s National School last Friday to raise the school’s newly acquired Green Flag. The visit was Councillor Moroney’s first official function as town mayor. He was elected unanimously at last Thursday’s AGM at Kilrush courthouse in Moore Street. Councillor Moroney, who is the youngest councillor, was proposed by outgoing mayor Mairead O’Brien, while he was seconded by his former primary school teacher, Councillor Tom Prendeville. His election as mayor means that all nine sitting Kilrush town councillors have served at least one term as mayor. Councillor Moroney, who works at Bourke’s Menswear, Kilrush and is a fire and rescue service member, was accompanied by his wife Alison and their children Lily Ann, Ellie Mai and Archie. The courtroom was packed for the AGM with family members of the late Councillor Stephen O’Gorman also present. Councillor Marian McMahon Jones was elected deputy mayor, having been proposed by Councillor Liam Williams and seconded …

FOURTH class, St Senan’s National School, Kilrush were one of three Munster schools to reach the All-Irelandfinals in the Irish Aid Education for All project. Their project, entitled Education Transformation, was one of the All-Ireland finalists. Entry comprised of a 3m x 7m mural in the school’s PE hall, pen pal letters to City of Hope orphanage in Zambia, where their teacher, Michelle Eustace and a colleague teacher, Dympna Walsh volunteered last summer, board games, posters and their very own song called Stronger for Longer, all promoting education for all. Twenty eight children, along with staff members, left St Senan’s National School at 6am on Tuesday, June 18, to embark on a fun-filled unforgettable journey, where one of the highlights was singing their song, Stronger for Longer, for Hector Ó hEochagáin on 2FM, as well as on stage in Croke Park incorporating bongos, guitars, shakers, concertinas, a violin, dancers, solo singers, group singers and even Gangnam Style into the perfomance. …

ENNIS writer and director of Dhá Lamh Theatre, Laura Mulcahy will present two plays in Glór at the upcoming Ennis Street Festival on July 4.

HAVING graced such a coveted venue as Carnegie Hall in New York, Grammy-nominated singer Iarla Ó Lionáird will head west to Kilkee this Friday night to perform in concert with Steve Cooney at Cultúrlann Sweeney at 8pm.