Lifestyle

NOT content with finding Ireland’s Fittest Family, Davy Fitzgerald is now on the hunt for Ireland’s Fittest Farmer. The Clare hurling legend will be presiding over the competition which will be held at this year’s Irish National Ploughing Championships, at Ratheniska, County Laois, from September 20-22. The three-day event will see ploughmen and women from across Ireland compete to be named Ireland’s Fittest Farmer. The contest will be held as a fun way of sparking a vital discussion about the physical and mental health of the nation’s farmers, aiming to get all farmers thinking and talking about their health, physical and mental, to make sure they are in top condition to run their farm business. Davy, who has been busy filming the next season of Ireland’s Fittest Family as well as his own show, Davy’s Toughest Team, says he is “delighted to be attending the Ploughing Championships this year”. “I’m encouraging any competitive Irish farmers to come down to Zurich’s …

A DIGITAL tourism marketing campaign offering a five-day getaway break to County Clare attracted more than 34,000 entries from across the United States and Canada. Hosted by the Cliffs of Moher Experience and supported by Tourism Ireland, Aer Lingus and Clare tourism operators, the ‘Epic Trip’ competition targeted the North American market and reached an audience of 3.4 million people via Cliffs of Moher Experience social media channels. The winning couple, Peggy and Daniel Haukup from Wichita in Kansas, arrived in Ireland this Tuesday. Their prize includes Aer Lingus direct scheduled return flights from the USA with AVIS car hire and a five-night stay in County Clare with attractions and activities included. “The success of this digital marketing campaign is the result of a collaborative effort involving Aer Lingus and Tourism Ireland and is evidence that an inter-agency digital marketing campaign can be very effective at capturing a wider audience,” stated Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience. …

WITH a shared love of photography, members of the Ennis Camera Club have brought their ‘collective vision’ together in a brand new exhibition of works currently on display in the Clare Museum. The exhibition features 25 stunning images in varying styles taken by the club’s members, who range from beginners to experienced photographers, and regularly meet in Power’s Pub, Clarecastle. In an era where images are more likely to be shared online, club chairman Mike Reen tells us members are delighted to be able to showcase their work to the public through this exhibition which runs in Ennis until September 16. “We live almost exclusively in a digital world in terms of photography. It must be that 99% of photographs are now shared digitally through social media and online. We have a sort of standing mantra within the club, ‘A photograph isn’t a photograph until you print it’. “That was something the late Gerry Ryan who founded the club always …

A CLARE doctor who worked in a hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic has been crowned the new Miss Ireland. Ivanna McMahon, 27, from Barefield told The Champion she is “over the moon” to have taken the title at 75th Miss Ireland competition which was held on Saturday at The Royal Theatre, Castlebar. Ivanna, who qualified for the competition as Miss Munster, will now go on to represent Ireland in Miss World later this year. Speaking to the Clare Champion Ivanna says she is thrilled with the win, though she admits it came as a surprise. “I’m absolutely delighted, I’m still a little bit in shock. It was definitely a surprise, absolutely surreal, but I’m absolutely thrilled.” Cheering her on at the ceremony were her proud parents Catherine and Brian alongside other family and friends. “It was brilliant having them there supporting me. I can’t get over the overwhelming amount of support and well wishes that everyone has given me, from …

A CLARE doctor who worked in a hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic has been crowned the new Miss Ireland. Ivanna McMahon, 27, from Barefield told The Champion she is “over the moon” to have taken the title at 75th Miss Ireland competition which was held on Saturday at The Royal Theatre, Castlebar. Ivanna, who qualified for the competition as Miss Munster, will now go on to represent Ireland in Miss World later this year. Speaking to the Clare Champion Ivanna says she is thrilled with the win, though she admits it came as a surprise. “I’m absolutely delighted, I’m still a little bit in shock. It was definitely a surprise, absolutely surreal, but I’m absolutely thrilled.” Ivanna studied medicine at University College Cork and graduated in 2020, going on to do her internship at Cork University Hospital. She then went to University Hospital Tralee to work in surgery, working in the GP Scheme at Tralee General Hospital throughout the pandemic. …

MISS Munster Ivanna McMahon from Barefield rolled up her sleeves at the weekend for the Miss Ireland 2022 nationwide beach and waterways clean-up. From August 12 to 14 the 37 finalists vying for the coveted Miss Ireland 2022 title, including Ivanna, put their collective strength and unity together to co-ordinate a big beach clean-up all over Ireland.   Thousands have flocked to our beaches and waterways during the recent warm weather but the glorious sunshine also brought ‘rubbish weather’ as many beaches and waterways across Ireland were left in dire conditions by sun seekers leaving their rubbish behind. Ivanna, 27, gathered her friends and family to do a clean up at Lahinch beach. The over-riding theme for Miss Ireland is ‘Our World Our Future’ with a focus on the environment and global citizenship.  Each of the finalists all over Ireland gathered all of their friends and families to help make a real impact and highlight the importance of communities coming together to protect our …

Ballyvaughan Fanore Walking Club is seeking planning permission for a new-single storey clubhouse and community recreation facility at New Pier Road, Ballyvaughan. A document accompanying the application outlines that the proposed clubhouse is envisoned as a gathering place for the club as well as a recreational space for the local community. The site is owned by the club and is located on the New Pier Road in Ballyvaughan Village. Regarding the design, the document says, “The clubhouse is designed as a sympathetic, timber frame that sits on a limestone plinth. The height and proportion of the building are in keeping with the scale of the surrounding dwellings. A defining tower marks the entrance to the building and gives the clubhouse a civic character. “The structure is to be clad in larch and will in time weather, allowing the building to blend into the mature hedgerow and trees that surround the site. The limestone plinth ties the building into the surrounding …

THE ROAD less travelled is very definitely the choice of a German national who recently passed through Clare, after leaving his day job and his hometown to walk around Europe.  Forty-one year old Karsten Rinck, a trained lorry mechanic, was set to take over the family business in Steinkirchen outside Hamburg, but decided that that wasn’t for him. On May 1, 2021, he decided, for the good of his mental health, that he needed to do something that would take him off the beaten track. “I had been struggling with my mental health and I decided to get out and walk,” he said. “My aim is to visit 40 countries. It’s a personal walk and I want to let others know that there is a good way out of issues, but it’s really up to themselves to act.” Since last Summer, Karsten and his faithful dog, Lotte, have put more than 6,000 kilometres behind them and visited 11 countries, including …