Lifestyle

Well, wasn’t I the busy little dog over the St Patrick’s weekend. I hardly had time to draw breath. But before I tell you all about it, I have some exciting news to share. A few months ago, I noticed that Stena Line had a competition for the best pawliday snaps and I barked at the pawrents to submit one of my many holiday photos. Eventually, we decided on a lovely picture of me gazing out at London Bridge on the banks of the Thames. Well, imagine the excitement when an email arrived telling us we’d won a return ferry trip to the UK, including access to the exclusive pet lounge on the boat. I could hardly contain my excitement and I hear a trip to Scotland in August is on the cards. Back to my roots! I must practice my Scottish accent before I go. Back to St Patrick and my weekend started early with a photo shoot at …

Picture this: an eight-year-old boy experimenting with a camera at his home place, contentedly snapping away at the small things a curious young child observes in his back yard and a little further afield in the meadows and forests of southern Germany. For a while, the young German boy loses all interest in photography, until a holiday to Ireland as an adult inspires him and re-kindles his passion for the artform. The trip which got Carsten Krieger so hooked on Ireland prompted him to move to the emerald isle permanently in 2002. And the re-location revived a childhood fascination with nature, bringing about a career change from paediatric nursing to freelance photography. Since settling here, Carsten Krieger has photographed and written numerous books on Ireland’s landscape, nature and heritage. And now, 22 years on and almost 20 books later, the renowned photographer, author and environmentalist, who lives in Kibaha on the Loop Head Peninsula, has produced a new book entitled …

Rare footage recorded in the Burren by legendary RTÉ documentary filmmaker, Gerrit Van Gelderen, in the 1960s, 70s and 80s will be shown to the public for the very first time at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan this Friday, April 5. The footage was recorded by Van Gelderen while shooting episodes of his seminal nature programme, To The Waters And The Wild, in North Clare. The previously unseen footage has been compiled over the last number of weeks by Gerrit’s filmmaker son, Finn, to commemorate the 30 years since his father’s passing. “The film contains footage that was recorded in the Burren from as far back as the 1960s. The theme of the film is to commemorate 30 years since his father’s passing and to share tales about him,” said Ballyvaughan woman and friend of the Van Gelderens, Eilís Haden-Storrie. “Gerrit was the first documentary film maker in RTÉ, in fact, he started as a graphic designer on …

A talented Cratloe jockey, who enjoyed a “fairytale” Cheltenham victory, features in a new television series on RTE One. Mark McDonagh (22), who rode a winner at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, appeared on the fourth episode of “My Uni Life”, and will return on the seventh episode on Friday, March 29. This new series shines a spotlight on a diverse range of students and staff with interesting subject matters. The programme-makers contacted the Sports Department at the University of Limerick where Mark was studying Accountancy and Finance and the sports scholarship student was put forward by Noreen O’Connell. Filming took place at UL, Michael Hourigan’s yard in Patrickswell, and a race in Wexford Racecourse. Mark rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, the last race on the final day of the 2022 meeting. His success meant that all seven races on the day were won by …

Over the past six months, a diverse group of people have been coming together each week at Crosby’s old shop at The Square in Ennistymon. There, in the beating heart of the old town, the Croí Art group have been working quietly together to create something special, a community of art. The 20 strong group, ranging in age from 16 to 68 years, have developed into something approaching a family. Coming from different backgrounds, and with diverse and sometimes contrary experiences of the world, the group have found common cause together and the ability to derive strength from each other. The fruits of their work will be on show in the Croí Art Exhibition, which continues in The Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon until March 23. According to tutor Meave Collins, the group have really come together this year. “It really makes this course special to have a community of different ages and different cultures. Our youngest learner this year was …

Deep in the Slieve Aughty mountains, on the border between Clare and Galway, lies a stand of ancient trees. In the very centre of that forgotten wood, in a spot not seen by human eyes for generations, sits a large, stone well. And in that well, lives an all-powerful witch. The deep woods of the Slieve Aughty mountains has become the inspiration for the debut book for South Galway author, Méabh McDonnell. Written during the Covid 19 pandemic, ‘Into the Witchwood’ tells the story of a young girl called Rowan, who was always warned not to enter the woods. “During that first lockdown, we were stuck at home in Kylebrack and basically doing nothing for days and days. So we started walking in the woods every day, to try and get out of the house,” said Méabh. “I started doing that thing that you do when you stare at something for too long and you start to see patterns. I …

The 1968 Clare Rose was one of a bunch of 27 former Rose of Tralee winners who marched in the New York St Patrick’s Parade last Saturday. Clarecastle woman, Eileen Slattery Mostafa teamed up with her sister roses when the 1994 Rose, Muirne Hurley Goode, put out a call on their WhatsApp group. Battling breast cancer at the time, the Limerick woman had a dream to march in the famous parade, and the roses stepped up to the plate to help her realise it. The current Rose of Tralee, New York rose, Róisín Wiley, along with many of the 2023 contestants and escorts also participated in the event. “The seed was sown by our lovely 1994 Rose. She had the idea to live out a life long desire to walk in this special parade on St Patrick’s Day,” Eileen told The Clare Champion this week. “Courageous Muirne sent out the word to her fellow rose sisters. The response was amazing …

A Killaloe Sailing Club member is on the crest of a wave preparing for the second time to become the first Irish person to complete an around-the-world race known as the “Voyage for Madmen”. Pat Lawless now has a driving desire more than ever to try and win the 2026 Golden Globe Race, after he had to retire from the 2022 race when his self-steering failed 1,200 nautical miles west of Cape Town. With a heavy heart, after repairs he sailed Green Rebel back home to Ireland. Without a self-steering system, he was unable to achieve his dream. He could have made repairs and continued the voyage under Chichester Class as a one-stop circumnavigation, but decided to retire. “I felt terrible shame because of all the support I received. You learn from shame because you don’t want to feel it again. I was heartbroken, I was trying to fix it. When I got into Cape Town everyone was so nice …