Arts & Culture

[doptg id=”65″]Scariff singer, Sarah McTernan says she is “overwhelmed” to reach the final of the Voice of Ireland, as she never dreamed she would get this far in the competition. The former Scariff Community College student received a rousing welcome home from family, friends and supporters when she came back to her apartment with her coach, Rachel Stevens on Tuesday afternoon. Her most voiciferous fans on team Rachel chanted “Sarah, Sarah” as we walked up the steps of her apartment in Cathedral Court, Ennis with her team coach. Rachel and Sarah enjoyed tea and refreshments with her mother, Sinead and grandmother, Margaret in the company of her house mates at their apartment. Sinead presented Rachel with a tin whistle as a symbol of her daughter’s musical talent and to recognise Clare’s perceived status locally as the home of Irish traditional music. Rachel’s housemates also gave Rachel a Clare jersey with team Rachel written on the back of it to illustrate …

LOCAL author and illustrator, Matt Griffin will launch his debut novel, A Cage of Roots, this Friday. Matt Griffin was born in Dublin in 1979, grew up in Kells, County Meath, and now lives in Clarecastle with his wife Orla and daughters, Holly and Chloe. Matt works as a full-time illustrator and has garnered a reputation as one of the most eclectic graphic artists in contemporary illustration, collecting awards and accolades for his work in film, blue-ray covers and movie posters, as well as illustrations for editorial magazines, such as Wired. He also illustrated A Cage of Roots. Matt had been working with publishers O’Brien Press as an illustrator and was asked by art director, Emma Byrne if he had any of his own stories. “Funnily enough, I’ve always had lots of stories and hundreds of ideas for stories and had done some journalism in my 20s but I hadn’t done any creative writing in years. She said ‘if you …

Kerry 0-14 Clare 0-3 Kerry’s dominance over Clare in underage football continued at Austin Stack Park in Tralee on Wednesday evening, when the sides met in the opening round of the provincial championship. The gap in standard was evident from an early stage and Kerry had secured their passage to the semi-final, where they will play Cork, long before the final whistle. The fact that Clare failed to score from play is an indication of the dominance enjoyed by the Kingdom side. Clare have another chance, however and they now await the winners of the game between Limerick and Waterford, who also suffered first-round losses. Clare’s next outing will be on Wednesday, April 29. The writing was on the wall for Clare from an early stage, as a slicker Kerry side created too many opportunities. The Banner defence was under a lot of pressure whereas, at the other end, the Kerry back-line dominated. Their full-back trio were particularly strong, while …

MEMBERS from The Junction Youth and Community Group in Ennis recently attended a film-making workshop in Westside Resource Centre, Galway City, ahead of their entry to the X-HALE Youth Awards 2015. X-HALE is an initiative developed by the Irish Cancer Society to encourage young people to take action on the issue of smoking in their own communities. As part of X-HALE, the Irish Cancer Society hosts the annual X-HALE Youth Awards, which sees youth groups from around the country enter community action projects and film projects around the issue of smoking. A number of youth groups attended the filming workshop in preparation of their film entries to the X-HALE Youth Awards in the summer to learn about film producing and editing. All of the youth groups involved in the film and community action workshops have received grants from the Irish Cancer Society to develop their project. In total this year, 36 groups have received funding from the Irish Cancer Society …

Ennistymon Choral Society will bring the Australian version of HMS Pinafore to the stage in Lahinch this week. The rejuvenation of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera will run from Wednesday to Sunday, in Seaworld Hall, beginning at 8.15pm each night. “Everyone in the society has been working very hard since October in order to create the best show possible for our local and visiting audience. Music rehearsals began in October under the guidance of music director Mary Madigan O’Callaghan, with dancing and production rehearsals beginning under director Peter Kennedy in January,” explained Emma Jane Brown, secretary of Ennistymon Choral Society. The Ennistymon Choral Society’s productions attract full houses each year and those involved expect this year will be no different. The group performed Oklahoma last year and this time chose HMS Pinafore, a humorous story of love, mistaken identity and subterfuge. “This is the society’s 42nd annual production, which is an amazing feat. This would not have been possible without …

SOLITUDE is an increasingly rare experience and one that many people don’t want. However, there are some who want nothing more from life than to withdraw from the familiar and late English man, Neal MacGregor, was one of those. He died alone, prematurely, at the age of 44, in a stone hen house that he couldn’t stand up in, where he lived without water, electricity or heating, on a tiny island off the Donegal coast. Neal left behind volumes of illustrated notebooks and diaries and his story is told in Neasa Ní Chianain’s film, The Stranger. Speaking about the film, Neasa said, “I don’t think it’s a depressing film, it’s a poignant film. It’s a story of somebody trying to find their place in the world and I think he does that in the end. It’s kind of a love story as well, about his relationship with an island woman.” Neasa lived in Donegal herself and was intrigued by the …

Clare Comhaltas is expecting it will cost between €800,000 and €850,000 to run Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2016, Fleadh could cost €850,000pending official confirmation of the official budget. They are hopeful that Clare County Council will contribute about €60,000, based on its proposed financial contribution, which was contained in previous bids, subject to the approval of councilors. An emphasis on innovation was also a key factor in the success of the application. One key proposal is a commitment to staging the first ever ‘Totally Accessible Fleadh’, so that people with disabilities will be able to participate fully in all events including competitions, concerts and classes. In addition, the iFleadh will make the most of new media and social networking technology to enhance the festival-going experience. Although Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2016 will be centered in Ennis, it will also create an ideal opportunity to showcase all that the county has to offer. The Sharing Clare initiative, contained in the bid, …

WHEN Noelle Brown decided to look for her birth parents, she was met with consistent opposition and stone walling, tough experiences she has turned into something positive through her play, Postscript. Born into a mother and baby home in Cork in the 1960s, she was adopted at eight weeks of age. She grew up knowing about the adoption but had very little curiosity around it. “I knew it from a very young age, which was great because I grew up at a time when people weren’t told. I knew people who were told when they were 21, which obviously didn’t go down very well but I suppose those parents thought they were doing the right thing as well. For me, there was no shock element to it.” She grew up quite happily in a loving home and now she says her contentment with her lot may be why she didn’t spend much time thinking about her birth parents. “It [her …