A MOCK wedding that took place in Scariff 11 years ago, will end in ‘divorce’ next month in Mountshannon. The novel events are part of a fundraising campaign spearheaded by Shay O’Neill and Niamh Waterstone. The ‘wedding’ raised €12,500 for cancer services, and it is hoped that the ‘divorce’ will generate around €10,500 for Raheen Community Hospital. The comedy night, which takes place at Cois na hAbhna in Mountshannon on October 1, will also pay tribute to the memory of two East Clare women who worked at the Tuamgraney facility. Members of the families of the late Maria Bugler and Annette Turner, both of whom were from Mountshannon, are also involved in the fundraiser which will support dementia services. “Maria was great craic,” Shay said. “She was one of the bridesmaids at the mock wedding. She and Annette are really missed. We were thinking about them. I got in touch with their husbands about this idea and they were delighted. …

A UNIQUE and inspiring exhibition is to be hosted by KAVA in Kinvara, and opens on Culture Night (September 23). The show, entitled ‘Altered State/the liquid of our modernity’ is by sculpture artist David Dunne and will run until October 2. It features work that reflects on the interconnection between art, nature, science and technology. Dunne’s practice embraces installation, sculpture, video and live art. The work has been influenced by the Arte Povera movement in making site-specific interventions. Utilising wood, steel, concrete and low–tech archival electrical elements, this exchange of materials informs an intuitive, methodological response to particular archaic industrial situations. Dunne outlined that the show draws inspiration from “the satirical title The Valley of the Clueless (Das Tal der Ahnugslosen) given to two regions in the southeast and northeast parts of the former East Germany from the mid-1950s to early 1990”. “In these two regions TV programming and public broadcasts from West Germany television were out of reach with …

MULTI-AWARD winning radio station, Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR) makes a welcome return to the FM band, after renewal of its broadcasting licence. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has given the popular station a licence for the next 50 weekends, which means it will be available on air (88.3FM and 92.7FM), as well as online (scariffbayradio.com). In recent weeks, the voluntary team have been out and about broadcasting from locations around East Clare, as well as from their studios in Scariff. The ultimate goal for the station, which has been honoured for its Trojan efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, is to secure a ten-year licence from the BAI for its popular weekend programming. As the BAI is restructured, the application process has been paused, but hopes are high that it will be back on track in due course. Fundraising for the important work of the station is ongoing. The annual church gate collection in parishes around East Clare takes …

CULTURE night in Ennistymon will see a unique exhibition and artist’s talk at the Courthouse Gallery and Studios. ‘Tar Isteach’ is a participatory project with artists Maeve Collins, Monica De Bath and Julie Griffiths and will run from September 23 to October 23. The project started out as a Bealtaine, Age and Opportunity Commission back in 2020, in partnership with Clare County Council, Galway City Council and Roscommon County Council. The show is informed by a series of meetings, workshops and interactions with new Irish residents and citizens in Galway City, Lisdoonvarna and Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. Tar Isteach draws on the experience and knowledge that each artist brings, folding these over with the artisanal skills and the cultural perspectives of a diverse range of participant groups both native and New Irish. Embracing the Bealtaine theme of ‘Hospitality’, Tar Isteach interrogates the principle that it is only in our encounter with others that we can truly see and recognise ourselves. …

A LANTERN Parade is among the events that will take place in Mountshannon as East Clare celebrates Culture Night on Friday. Following a large-scale lantern workshop last Saturday, facilitated by Nathalie El Baba, the community is invited to gather at Market House at 8pm for a colourful parade through the town. Lanterns were also collaboratively made from willow and issue paper, in Lakyle and Iniscealtra national schools, and will be on display in a festive atmosphere. Anyone planning to attend is invited to bring their own lanterns, in a family-friendly event that will be followed by circus acts and fun at Aistear Park. The event follows a very successful and popular Lantern Parade in 2021 and there are plans to make it a yearly celebration. Another highlight of Culture Night in Mountshannon will be a tour through the town of a viking longboat created by local artist and blacksmith, Mark Wilson. The procession will involve stilt walkers and lots of …

AN IMMERSIVE and powerful experience of drumming and percussion is on offer to young people at Glor on next month. Percussion virtuosos, Bangers and Crash, will bring their global palette of rhythmic influences, from Afro-Cuban and Japanese taiko to Spanish flamenco and Javanese gamelan to Ennis on Sunday, October 16. Bangers and Crash include some of Ireland’s finest percussionists, featuring Alex Petcu-Colan, Emma King, Catríona Frost, Brian Dungan, Patrick Lynch and John Rousseau-Parlane. This is the first event to be announced as part of PIMA Fest! ’22. It will see the six members of Bangers and Crash Percussion Sextet collaborate on a unique immersive concert that invites the public t participate. “We are inviting audiences to enhance the musical experience, to join us at various high points and transitions, adding drama, dynamics, colour and atmosphere to the music,” audience to participate in their music, adding an atmospheric ‘surround sound’ to the concert. said Alex Petcu-Colan. “This is purely optional though. …

THE WORLD famous Aga Khan trophy will be in Tuamgraney this Wednesday, September 14, to mark the role of local man, Michael Blake, in leading Team Ireland to victory in The Nations Cup at the RDS last month. The prestigious trophy was presented to Chef d’Équipe, Michael, and his team, by President Michael D Higgins in August. It followed a cliff-hanger jump-off against France in front of a capacity audience at the RDS. The win saw the return of the Aga Khan Cup to Ireland after a seven-year gap. This Wednesday evening, Michael will be joined by some of his team members, as well as representatives of the RDS and Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) for a civic ceremony, from 6 to 8pm, at The East Clare Memorial Park in Tuamgraney. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor Tony O’Brien will officiate, and attendees are likely to include many of Clare’s Oireachtas members and local representatives. Despite the intensive security that surrounds …

A YOUNG East Clare man, who runs a thriving beekeeping supplies shop, is a proof that it’s good advice to ‘bloom where you are planted’.   After his family moved from Holland to Tuamgraney, 23 years ago, Chris Jeuken, found his niche working with the skills and resources that nature gave him. He credits his father, Harry, an organic farmer, with inspiring him to be a self-starter. Chris moved from making and selling chicken coops, at the age of 14, to beekeeping and, most recently, to producing high-quality bee hives. His business, Apis Bee Supplies, which he started in 2017, as “a way to keep busy on wet days”, now boasts 2,000 customers nationwide. Chris admitted that adjusting to a new language and country, at the age of five, was a bit overwhelming. “Now it’s home,” he said. “There is less stress here and I like the friendliness and openness of the people, the greenness and the beauty.” Chris attended …