A 40-year games tradition to be proud of

Clare Community Games is celebrating 40 years this year and since the beginning, the county organisation has gone from strength to strength.
Many of the country’s leading sports stars first hit the headlines in Community Games and this is also the case in Clare.
Since 1971, Clare competitors have won 894 gold, 977 silver, 988 bronze and 641 fourth-place certificates/medals at the National Community Games Finals.
Clare’s two Olympians in Atlanta in 1996, Nial Ryan, Ennis and Marie McMahon, Ennistymon, (she also competed in Athens) were regular competitors in Community Games. Maire was winner of the 2007 Dublin Women’s Mini Marthon.
Clare’s international athlete and national cross-country champion, Seamus Power, was a regular Community Games competitor and was winner of the National Community Games marathon in 1987.
Norma Cahill, St John’s Ennis, winner of two national gold medals and three bronze medals between 1976 and 1981 for swimming, as well as being awarded five county all-star awards, set two world records in April, 2006. Competing at Rescue 2006, the World Lifesaving Championship in Geelong, Australia, Norma took gold in the master ladies’ 200m obstacle swim, smashing the previous world record of 2.45 minutes to record a time of 2.30. She took gold in the 50m manikin carry, bringing the old record of 47 seconds back to 45.5 seconds.
Over half of the Clare hurling All-Ireland winning teams of 1995 and 1997 competed in the Clare games. Frank Lohan played with Shannon in the Gaelic football U-10. Anthony Daly, David Fitzgerald, John Chaplin, James O’Connor, Stephen McNamara, Gerard O’Loughlin and Fergus Tuohy to mention but a few, competed in disciplines such as rounders, athletics, hurling, draughts and long puck.
Community Games now extends to every part of County Clare, with an average of 40 areas involved annually.
Community Games in Clare covers up to 50 events, from field games and athletics to chess and draughts, also covering special activities from cross-country to projects and set dancing to a mixed-relay races.
10,000 children are involved in Community Games each year from local finals and qualifiers right up to the national finals in Athlone. An average of 300 young people are sent annually from Clare to the national finals over the three weekends.
Up to 1,000 adults run events and teams games and play their part in the success of Clare Community Games each year.
Clare Community Games has spearheaded the Community Link scheme, which builds bridges across the generations between young teenagers and senior citizens in their local communities.
Clare Community Games is a standard-bearer and standard setter in adding a jobs dimension to the voluntary effort of the organisation. Through FÁS Community Employment Schemes, Community Games has been promoted and extended through development workers and those employed have gained skills and experience, which give them an advantage in the jobs market. In September 1993, it was awarded the FÁS Certificate of Merit Award for the Mid-West Region for the year 1993.
Clare Community Games shares its activities with all sections of the community, with young people playing a central role in an annual outing for the pupils of St Clare’s Special School in Ennis, as well as staging fund-raising events for the school.
Clare Community Games also cares for its county through the Keep Clare Clean annual environmental poster competition organised in conjunction with Clare County Council and Shannon Development.
Clare Community Games was presented with the Environment Awareness Award in 1995 by the Minister for the Environment, Brendan Howlin, in recognition of its contribution to increased public awareness of environmental issues.
International dimensions have been added to Clare Community Games through cross-border exchange visits organised with Co-Operation North and with cultural exchanges which have sent over 200 young people to Denmark since 1987 and which has brought similar numbers to Clare.
Clare Community Games were the first winners in 1973 of the National Community Games Trophy presented by Butlins for the most involved county. In 1992, it was again declared the winner of this prestigious award.
Sixmilebridge Community Games were the first national winners in 1993 of the most involved area award.
On the occasion of its 21st anniversary in 1992, Clare Community Games published a comprehensive History of the Games in Clare.
The Clare U-13 mixed cross-country team have won gold medals at the national finals in 2011, 2010, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, and 1997; silver in 1996 and 2008; bronze in 1992, 2007, 1995, 1994 and certificates in 1998 and 1993.
In February of this year, Clare County Council awarded Clare Community Games a civic recognition award in recognition of 40 years of Community Games in Clare. In presenting the award, Christy Curtin, Mayor of Clare, said, “We salute the loyal core of organisers within the movement for their continued voluntary commitment to the organisation and the community over all those years and I wish you continued success in the years ahead.”