Lifestyle

A PASSION for Clare’s heritage, particularly the county’s many historic and traditional buildings, is  the driving inspiration for Edel Barry, who has recently been appointed Community Archaeologist.  The Kilfenora native, who has an MPhil in Archaeology from University College Cork (UCC), takes over the role at an exciting time, when community development groups and individuals are pioneering all sorts of interesting projects. It is also a time when significant funding is being made available for important local heritage projects. Edel’s role itself is jointly funded by The Heritage Council and Clare County Council, and from her base at Ennistymon’s Digital Hub, she is planning an ambitious strategy for the coming months. “The Council has had a number of great advisors on archaeology over the year, but there hasn’t been a role like mine in recent times,” she told The Champion. “There are now Community Archaeologists in a number of counties, including Donegal and Wicklow. The support programme is countrywide and …

A CLARE punter certainly isn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth having beaten the odds to win a life-changing €102,000. The horse racing fan is toasting their win after four horses landed them the remarkable six-figure windfall. The anonymous customer put down their bets in a BoyleSports shop in the Banner County on Saturday, investing a total of €70 in a €2 each-way Lucky 15 and a €5 each-way accumulator on four horses running in the UK. Madame Ambassador was picked out at 11/1 in the 4.27 at Newmarket and landed the first leg by less than a length, while wins for Kalahari Prince (16/1) in the 4.32 at Redcar and Dream Composer (11/2) in the 4.45 at Ascot left just one horse standing in the way of a staggering jackpot. All eyes turned to the 5.37 at Redcar, where the winning streak was completed by a victory for 9/1 shot Helvetique. That made it four winners from four …

DURTY Nelly’s has been named the winner of the Best Tourist Pub in the South West Region at the Irish Pub Awards. The Irish Pub Awards are run jointly by the Licensed Vintners Association and the Vintners Federation of Ireland. President of the VFI, Paul Moynihan, said: “The Irish Pub Awards is firmly established as the pre-eminent awards in our sector. The awards have helped raise the national profile of our fantastic pubs across the entire country. “The awards showcase the best of the best and I’m delighted that so many great venues are getting the recognition they deserve. “We all know our pubs are a unique part of Irish culture and remain the best place for locals and tourists alike to come together.” Chair of the LVA, Alison Kealy added, “The collaboration between VFI and LVA is core to the success of the Irish Pub Awards. They play a big part in acknowledging the part publicans play in employing …

CLARE Jam Company enjoyed a sweet moment this weekend winning gold at the Blas na hÉireann Awards in Dingle. It wasn’t for one of their tasty fruit preserves however, as the company name implies, but for one of their savoury products – traditional Doolin mustard. The Doolin company’s versatility was rewarded with gold by the judges and they also took the ‘Best in Clare for 2022’ award. Two other Burren-based businesses were also successful, gaining silver and bronze at the leading food awards. The Burren Smokehouse won silver for their Cold Smoked Honey and Dill salmon, while St Tola Irish Goat cheese won bronze for their St Tola Karst cheese. This year’s finalists and winners got to experience the Blas Village for the first time. Located in the heart of Dingle, this pop-up village was built for producers across the country to come together and celebrate the very best of Irish food and drink for Blas’s first in-person event in …

SHE stared intently at the mobile phone clutched in her hand before the Zoom call burst onto her screen. Answering the call, she was met with a face not seen in 50 years, and as they caught up on decades lost, the tears flowed. This emotional reunion of friends was made possible through the voluntary efforts of those involved with the Mná Ag Gaire Women’s Shed in Ennis, a place to meet, share skills and combat loneliness for all women. Helping women develop digital skills is just one of the many activities which have been ongoing at the women’s shed in the Tracklands Business Park. Recalling the moment two best friends were brought back together, founder member Hilary Tonge says, “We’ve had a lot of women want to learn digital skills, particularly during Covid, they realised they were isolated because they couldn’t get on their phones. “A lady came into to us and all she wanted to do was to …

Well here’s where my adventure really begins. I was off to London, at least I would as soon as himself had finished looking at cars across the road in Hampton Court. He spent the morning at the Concours of Elegance, while herself and I mooched around Hampton Court village. We had a lovely morning visiting shops and having coffee but around lunchtime, we met up with himself for a little drink in The Mute Swan, the pub next door to our hotel. Soon, it was time and I couldn’t suppress a shiver of excitement as we crossed the bridge to the train station, where we hopped on a train to Waterloo. Well, I’ve never seen such a busy place. People were rushing everywhere and to be honest I was happy to get outside the station and into a taxi. It was my first time in a London cab and I really enjoyed looking at the sights rushing past the window. …

THE highlight of Shannon Toastmasters Club open night event on Wednesday of last week at Treacy’s Oakwood Hotel was the launch of the Bridget Sunderland Perpetual Memorial Trophy. The newly launched trophy, is a co-operative venture of Shannon Toastmasters, Ennis Toastmasters, Kilrush and District Toastmasters, and Raheen Toastmasters clubs. It will be awarded annually to outstanding members who exemplify the core Toastmasters’ values of respect, integrity, service, and excellence from any of these clubs, who together comprise Area 13 of District 71 of the Toastmasters organisation. The event was a poignant opportunity for the host club as people remembered and paid tribute to their deceased former member and friend Bridget Sunderland at the launch of the trophy named in her honour. These many memories of Bridget’s exemplary Toastmasters service, included serving as Club President of Shannon 2018/2019 until her last role as Area 13 Director 2019/2020. Her loss could not be adequately expressed at the time when she passed away …

ADVENTURER Declan McEvoy is back on the road for Stage Six of his Round-the-Word Motorcycle Journey.  The much-travelled Quin native has already broken records on his global odyssey. Earlier this month, he set out from Lusaka in Zambia, with the aim to travelling along the West of the African continent, all the way to Dakar in Senegal. His daring itinerary, which will involve diplomatic, navigational and mechanical skills. The 10,000km trek is set to take him through Namibia, Angola, Congo Kinshasa, Cabinda, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. “Last year my efforts were thwarted in Oshakati due to the Angolan border being closed because of Covid,” Declan said. “This year I’m feeling more optimistic of making better progress and the visa chasing game is currently in full swing.” Arriving in Zambia, in the South of Africa, Declan was well prepared to make the most of local Irish contacts. “I immediately felt comfortable to …