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John Galvin was beguiled by the cultural wealth, fabulous food and warm hospitality of the Mediterranean island. When we think of Malta, perhaps nothing immediately springs to mind, except for vague notions of sandy beaches and blue Mediterranean waters. Malta in fact is an intriguing mix of cultures, having spend much of its history conquered by other countries, only gaining its independence in the 1960s. We explored the islands as guests of Visit Malta, to mark the start of direct Ryanair flights from Shannon to Valletta. We managed to pack a lot into three days but I’d suggest that the delights of the islands should be enjoyed at a more leisurely pace. With two flights a week, it would be easy to tailor the perfect trip. Malta’s first capital, Mdina, gives the feel of an open air museum, with its narrow, traffic free streets and mix of architectural styles, dating back to medieval times. The ramparts impart breathtaking views of …

THERE has been shock throughout east and south Galway after the death of Kate Moran, following a freak incident in a camogie match in Ardrahan on Monday evening. A candlelit vigil is to be held on Wednesday evening at 9pm in Kenny Park GAA grounds in Athenry. In a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday Athenry camogie club said, “Today we learned of the death of our dear club-mate, Kate Moran. “This is a terrible tragedy for her family, our club and our community. We are deeply saddened by these events. “Our sympathy and thoughts are with the Moran family and friends. Kate will be greatly missed by all who knew her. “Kate began playing with Athenry Camogie Club at underage level and quickly progressed to Senior A level with great distinction. “She holds a Feile, Minor County and Intermediate County title. She played in a club All Ireland Intermediate final. She won two All Irelands at U16 level …

A BURGLAR went to great lengths to gain access to a business premises in Ennis at the weekend. In the early hours of Saturday morning, April 16, at approximately 1.04am the alarm was activated at the business premises on O’Connell Street. When they key holder checked the premises at 1.30am, he discovered that entry had been gained to the shop by removing slates on the roof and forcing entry through the ceiling slabs. A quantity of electronic equipment had been stolen. Gardai are appealing for anyone with information on the crime or who may have been in the vicinity at the time and seen something suspicious to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065-6848100.

Unquestionably the outstanding final of a much-anticipated weekend of county Féile action as Western Gaels eventually edged out neighbours Doonbeg 3-10 to 3-5 to cement the Division 3 honours in style in Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park in Doonbeg on Sunday evening. With both sides managing to get the better of Kildysart/Coolmeen at the groups stages on Friday at the same venue, they understandably passed up the opportunity at a group decider in lieu of Sunday’s derby showdown that definitely lived up to expectations. Indeed, it had to take extra-time to finally separate the sides in a thrilling end-to-end seesaw wrestle for supremacy that saw the lead change hands on no fewer than six occasion over the prolonged 50 minute decider. In the end, the peninsula amalgamation of Naomh Eoin, O’Curry’s and St Senan’s Kilkee prevailed thanks in the main to the outstanding leadership of captain Brian Keane who led the charge with a handsome 1-9 tally. He was greatly aided …

A BRIDGETOWN native has been involved in a major project to promote biodiversity and recreational amenities on the campus of Mary Immaculate College. Linda Treacy joined a team made up of members of LEAF Ireland and college staff to plant almost 100 native trees on the college grounds. Planting a ‘Choill Bheag’ on the grounds of Mary I will create a small, dense native woodland habitat for biodiversity and an educational and recreational resource for the whole college community to enjoy.  As part of the Choill Bheag project, Linda and fellow student teachers attended forest-based workshops in Coillte’s Curragh Chase Forest Park in Limerick. There, they were shown a variety of different ways that the outdoors can be used to educate children in all curricular areas.   This woodland habitat at Mary I will provide an on-site educational and recreational resource for the whole college community, enabling students to participate in programmes including Citizen Science, Woodland Skills, Nature Connection and Wellbeing. The woodland also links …

LISCANNOR is set to host a singing competition this weekend between teams from four pubs all in honour of a great local entertainer. This battle of the bars will take place on April 23 in memory of Michael “Loxy” Thynne with four local pubs putting together teams of patrons to rehearse a handful of songs and compete for the aptly-named Loxy Cup. Thynne passed away in 2013, but is fondly remembered locally for his love of singing, regarding himself as the finest singer in Europe with an extensive repertoire of three or four songs, according to his son Michael. Michael said: “Putting it mildly, my dad was fond of a sweet sherry or two. He was called Loxy because of his facial hair, and he would spend his days going between the four public houses, until he had reached his limit. “He was, without doubt, the worst singer in North Clare. The only person who didn’t know this was Loxy.” …

Shannon Airport has received globally recognised accreditation for its efforts in tackling carbon emissions. The airport joins over 200 European airports engaged in one of six available certification levels of the Airport Council International (ACI) Europe’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. The programme is a voluntary carbon management certification standard for airports, that independently assesses and certifies airports for their efforts in managing and reducing their carbon emissions. Having previously become a signatory on the ACI net zero 2050 pledge, the airport now joins 79 other accredited airports in 15 countries that have been certified for Level 1 – Mapping of the carbon accreditation programme. The award follows the airport signing up to the groundbreaking Toulouse Declaration in February of this year, which marked the first time that European Governments, the European Commission, industry, unions, and other key stakeholders formally aligned on aviation decarbonisation. Welcoming the accreditation Sinéad Murphy, Head of Sustainability at Shannon Group said: “We are delighted to receive …

A PROJECT to explore the improvement that growing hemp could have on soil quality has been launched in West Clare. Community-based local development and farming forum Loop Head Together launched its Hemp4Soil project with the aim to vastly improve overall soil quality and benefit local biodiversity. Based on the west Clare peninsula the group has organised the experimental project in conjunction with Hemp Co-Operative Ireland and Teagasc, the first of its kind in Europe. The results could potentially help create sustainable income streams for the farmers involved, as well as providing a product from which offshoots could inspire local industry. Margaret Cotter, speaking on behalf of Clare County Council’s Rural and Community Department, said, “This is a wonderful demonstration of how a small rural community can lead the way in research and real-life practice for climate initiatives and potential carbon sequestration.” Hemp4Soil intends to use regenerative farming techniques to improve the life of soil via soil remediation, microbial life and …