THIS year’s Ennis St Patrick’s Day parade will celebrate ‘Communities in Action’ as it wends its way through the streets from 11am on March 17. The Ennis Municipal District are inviting individuals, groups, clubs and societies from across Clare to participate in the 2023 Ennis St Patrick’s Day parade. The local authority stated it was looking forward to its regular participants showcasing their talents again this year while also encouraging new groups and individuals to take the plunge, submit an entry and get in on the fun. The deadline to apply to get involved is Thursday, February 16. Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Clare Colleran-Molloy commented, “The St. Patrick’s Day parade is a wonderful event where people from all over Clare unite, from the world of sports and the arts in addition to our many community groups to celebrate our Irish culture. “I would like to thank all the other agencies, who work alongside Ennis Municipal District to co-ordinate this event.” …

AFTER a break up due to Covid, The Outing Festival returns to Clare this Valentine’s weekend celebrating 10 years of bringing people together. The Outing Festival, the world’s only Queer (LGBTQ+) Matchmaking Festival is back from February 10 to 12 on the grounds of Dromoland Castle at The Inn at Dromoland. The world famous festival has grown from its first year in 2013 when it first began as an offshoot of the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna. With same-sex marriage equality since 2015, the now-standalone festival has, with the help of Queen of Matchmaking Eddie McGuinness and some teaching from the legendary Willie Daly, brought together hundreds of couples and even a few marriages, with a few more on the way. Over the years the Outing Festival has developed into an even bigger event by bringing the LGBTQ+ plus community and friends together in the areas of arts, music, film, comedy plus outdoor activities including hiking, surfing, watersports to horse riding, golf and more. However the heart of the festival remains the matchmaking and bringing people, no matter who they are or what their …

THE search to find this year’s Clare Rose of Tralee has begun with the reigning Rose strongly recommending the experience. Current Clare Rose Victoria O’Connell officially launched the search, encouraging others to get involved while fondly remembering her time in the competition and special moments during her reign. She said, “Entering and becoming the Clare Rose has been one of the proudest moments of my life so far, being able to represent my county on a local, national and international base is a fantastic feeling that words just can’t describe.” She continued, “This is not only on a personal growth and confidence level but the friendships I have made for life. “Also the many many reunions and events I have attended over the years with my fellow Roses and Rose Escorts. “From the week in Tralee to the opening of the German Christmas markets in Frankfurt and our planned walking of the St Patrick’s day parade in Fifth Avenue, New …

A MAGICAL world created for a new television show was inspired by walks in Ennis’s Lee’s Road and Ballybeg alongside other places of natural beauty in Clare, the studio behind the show have revealed. ‘The Wee Littles’ preschool series, developed by Ennis-based Magpie Media, is now airing on RTÉjr weekdays and all the episodes are also available on the RTÉ Player. The series was created and produced by wife and husband team, Christina O’Shea and Clifford Parrott. This original animation series for pre-school children is about the world of small creatures of the forest floor, under the ‘regular’ humans’ sight. The world of the story is unique, inspired by County Clare’s flora and fauna, and is inhabited by a friendly family, which creates a very cute, cozy atmosphere. Christina told The Champion, “The series was inspired from our walks in Lees Road. It’s such a magical place that we knew we wanted to make this The Wee Littles home. “We …

PEOPLE from Clare are jetting off to the sun for surgery in a bid to avoid long waiting lists in Ireland. An organisation which works alongside the HSE to facilitate surgery abroad, have said the service is particularly popular with Clare residents, confirming they have helped 24 people in the county access treatment in Europe under the EU Cross-Border directive. Among them is well known Ennis business man Ken O’Grady who flew to Spain for an operation after being told he would have to wait four years for surgery here in Ireland. Ken has said he was amazed to discover he could fly to Alicante on Spain’s Costa Blanca to get the operation for free under the EU Cross Border Directive which allows patients here in Ireland to go to other EU countries for healthcare. The cost of his operation at the Vithas hospital in Alicante was reimbursed by the HSE after he called Healthcare Abroad Ireland. Mr O’Grady, owner …

ENNIS man Professor Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, MA, MBA, HDE, DUÉF, PhD was recently appointed Director of the School of Irish Studies at Concordia University Montréal. This international School—the largest of its kind in North America—has a faculty of twenty professors, lecturers, fellows and tutors, and 1400 students who take its undergraduate and postgraduate courses every year. Delivering interdisciplinary programmes in Irish language, history, music, geography, film, literature, theatre, and diaspora studies, the School has hosted over a hundred visiting scholars during the past decade, including Fulbright Scholars from the US and Marie Curie Scholars from the European Union. It is the only School of Irish Studies in the world where research is conducted in four languages: Irish, French, English and Spanish. This synergy is made possible by the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation, the Québec government and Concordia University, who have donated over $14 million to the School since it was founded in 2009. A multilingual scholar who emigrated to France …

THE memoir of well-known activist and Corofin native, Dermot Hayes, is set for publication shortly after a huge response to an online funding campaign organised by his friends. ‘The Road That Rises – Memoir of Boy from Kells’ will lift the lid on a life of campaigning and community action that has challenged establishment thinking over seven decades. The book explores and documents Dermot’s life as a child growing up in Kells, Corofin and his life as an activist and campaigner in youth and community work, trade unionism, worker co-operatives, environmental causes, disability rights and the Independent Living Movement in Ireland. Taking on the establishment is a key theme and there is widespread anticipation of this memoir from a key figure behind the campaigns for disability rights in Clare, against the state’s plans for Mullaghmore and at the forefront of the push for equality legislation. Over the years, he has founded, co-founded and headed organisations to represent, campaign and progress rights …

FOR many teenagers their mid-term break away from school is a time to kick back, take it easy and relax. Not so for 16-year-old Claire Cuddihy from Lissycasey who this February is set to take on an incredible challenge with the aim of raising mental health awareness as well as funds for a well-known charity. Claire is preparing to complete not one, but an amazing, seven marathons over the course of just one week in aid of Pieta. The student of St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, will be taking on a gruelling 42km run each day, getting back out on the track every day for seven straight days in a row. Speaking to The Clare Champion ahead of her marathon challenge, she laughs as she considers the daunting challenge she has set herself. More seriously, however, she adds her strong belief that the issue of mental health needs to be highlighted, while she also wants to raise awareness and …