LONDON LADY Catherine had been planning to move back to the West of Ireland to enjoy a slower pace of life, when she found herself grappling with a cancer diagnosis.  It was the persuasion of her son that brought her to the door of Gort Cancer Support. Despite some initial hesitancy, Catherine crossed the threshold of Hollyblue House to discover services that have proven to be hugely beneficial to her. “I don’t know what to call them angels or saints,” she told The Champion. “When you come here you never talk about cancer and there’s a beautiful, peaceful vibe. You definitely feel better after a visit.” With welcome signs in English and Portuguese, Gort Cancer Support is a truly inclusive place. All kinds of services are available from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), prosthesis fittings, and reflexology to play therapy. Practical services are offered by a fleet of volunteer drivers who take people to appointments. The service is coordinated from this …

SCARIFF Library Gallery is to host an exhibition of watercolours that were first hung in early 2020, but never seen by the public because of the pandemic. In conjunction with Clare Arts Office the Library Gallery welcomes back ‘Clarescapes’ – an exhibition of watercolours by Philip Brennan. Following its initial showing in Ennis in late 2019, part of this exhibition was then toured to Kilkee and Scariff. The paintings were hung in the Scariff Library Gallery in March 2020, but the showing never happened due to the Covid-19 outbreak a few days later. This exhibition features a selection of paintings from around the county and Philip’s fascination with so many aspects of his native county is reflected in the many themes on display. There are seascapes and landscapes, with inspiration from Clare’s rivers, coast, weather, history, wildlife, old stories, and music. Each painting tries to capture a moment in the Clare year, everything including the Tau cross at Kilnaboy, Skylarks having a territorial …

ONE OF Golf’s most prestigious tournaments will come to North Clare in 2026, it was revealed this week.  On Monday afternoon (July 10), as members gathered for the last County Council meeting of the year, Chief Executive Pat Dowling broke the news, which had been confirmed just an hour before the gathering.  “One of the oldest and most prestigious event in the world of golf, the Walker Cup will take place in Lahinch in 2026,” Mr Dowling said. “The tournament will take place on the first weekeend in September. This is only the third time for the tournament to be held in Ireland in 100 years. Limerick can have the Ryder Cup, Clare will take the Walker Cup. The even will be live on TV in US and Europe and Clare County Council will be fully supportive of it. Lahinch will continue to build on its already strong reputation. This is a worldwide golfing event and securing it is another …

AN EAST Clare-based artist has swapped the reins for a set of artist’s pencils, as she heads to the Dublin Horse Show next month. Jackie O’Donoghue, a Cork native, is a pet portrait artist based in Tulla, and is looking forward to heading to the world-famous horse show in August to showcase a stunning array of character portraits of family pets and wildlife. With an eye of all things equine, Jackie captures the power and majesty of the horse. She also has a talent for capturing the traits and personality quirks of other livestock, pets and wildlife. Her collection includes expert images of horses and riders, faithful hounds, beloved donkeys, charming piglets and more. She is also regularly commissioned to capture portraits that help to ensure that cherished pets always stay close to the heart. With a keen eye for the natural world, Jackie grew up on a rural family farm in County Cork. This instilled in her a love …

A HANDWRITTEN message from one Clare author to another has proven to be both a mystery and an inspiration for writer, Mary O’Donoghue. The North Clare woman, who is to launch a new collection of short stories in the coming days, met Tuamgraney’s Edna O’Brien in Boston at a public reading event in 2011. More than a decade later, Mary is an established writer herself, and still fondly wonders about a message from Edna which remains undeciphered. “Edna was just marvellous and she signed my book, and, to this day, there’s one little part of her message to me that I can’t read,” Mary explained. “She has lovely copperplate handwriting and I’ve shown it to a number of people, but there’s one little part that we’re never sure what that says. I kind of like not knowing what that is. The book has an even more mysterious quality for that reason. I’m an ardent fan of Edna and of her …

RELIEF has been expressed as Clare was officially recognised this week in the grant for homeowners with defective blocks. It is expected that Clare County Council will be in a position to accept applications online from Thursday (July 6). After an intensive campaign of almost three years, Clare is now one of four counties where homeowners with pyrite in their blocks can apply for the government grant. The Housing Minister signed off on the regulations for the updated scheme on Monday last (July 3). The Council has said that homeowners will be able to apply online later this week, and that it has the necessary “staff and systems in place”. The woman who spearheaded the campaign in Clare, Dr Martina Cleary, said there is relief that this county has finally been included, while certain concerns remain. “I found it very moving that Clare is now recognised and that we finally have equal rights,” she said. “This is an incredible achievement. …

HORSE buyers, sellers and visitors from all over the world descended on the cross of Spancilhill on Friday last (June 23) to partake a tradition 400-year tradition that was recently included in Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. A huge turnout – believed to be as large as ever seen at the venue – meant there was plenty of trading done, with big prices being mentioned for some of the classiest animals on show. Well-known horse dealers – such as Ned Cash and Jim Derwin – were busy buying ponies and cobs as were many others in what was described as “a brisk trade” In recent years, showing classes have been added to the bill of fare and these proved very popular. The standard in these classes was exceptionally high, with strong numbers and some beautiful animals on view. MC, Pat Hannon, gave a very informative commentary on proceedings, while local men Jimmy Flynn, John Lynch and Grand National-winning jockey …

A LOW carbon plan is to be developed for the community of Ballyvaughan, thanks to a project spearheaded by An Taisce. The blueprint will be drawn up over the course of the next three months and will see the An Taisce Legacy4LIFE working intensively with the community. John Sweeney, Emeritus Professor of Geography at Maynooth University, is director of the Legacy4LIFE project and regular visitor to Ballyvaughan. “This is a great opportunity for the people of Ballyvaughan to plan the climate action they want,” he said. “To have their say in how they decarbonise their community; brainstorm the jobs that will be needed as they decarbonise their economy; figure out what changes will be most effective in decarbonising their energy systems, buildings, transport, agriculture, land use, industry and waste. They can explore ways to build a circular economy and ensure a Just Transition for everyone so that nobody is worse off having played their part in the greatest challenge of our time.” An example of the challenges faced in coastal areas is rising sea levels. …