Lifestyle

The 1916 Relatives Association has welcomed the announcements that the Government has appointed John Concannon to head up the National Commemorative events in 2016. A spokesman for the group, which has a membership of over 800, said, “Today’s news is a new dawn and the group greatly welcomes the involvement of An Taoiseach, his secretary general, Martin Frasier and the appointment of John Corcoran. “Our group has spent the past number of months lobbying all key ministers to take the commemorations seriously. Sadly, one piece of the jigsaw is missing, the ongoing issue of the retention of properties on Moore Street. The group believe that the restoration of Moore Street is a central aspect to the commemorations.” The spokessman continued, “In the past, the group has been subjected to and deeply troubled by the various levels of incompetence by officials in the government department. The group has also been subjected to a long line of misinformation and false promises. The …

THE amount of commercial movements at Shannon in September was dramatically higher than the equivalent figure in the same month last year. Also, September was the second consecutive month that Shannon had more commercial movements than Cork. In September Shannon had 2,257 commercial movements, up from 1,738 in September 2013. Shannon had an average of 75 commercial daily movements, compared with 58 last year. Cork had a daily average of 59 movements during September. Total flights in Irish airspace increased by 6.8% when compared with the same month last year. There was an average of 1,664 daily flights in September, with the busiest day being September 5, with 1,833 flights. On a cumulative basis, commercial terminal traffic for the three State airports for period from January to September was up by 6.1% when compared to the same period in 2013. Separately, the Clare branch of the Samaritans is set to share in a €26,000 donation from Shannon Airport, following a …

AMONGST the most intriguing of the items which will be on display at a 1914 All-Ireland hurling exhibition in the county museum in Ennis will be an oil stock used to anoint Biddy Earley when she died. Historian Tomás MacConmara is hoping that this element of the exhibition will finally dispel the belief that Biddy Earley had cursed the Clare hurling team, thereby playing a role in denying Clare an All-Ireland title between 1914 and 1995. “It’s time to refute that story for once and for all. To be fair to Biddy Earley she was an incredibly important historical figure and actually a very liked figure, certainly in her native Feakle,” Tomás MacConmara said. The fact that Biddy Earley died decades before 1914 suggests that apportioning blame to her on the subsequent short comings of the Clare hurling team was stretching things. “To be very clear on it, she died in 1874; the GAA was formed 10 years later and …

IT has been 20 years since Grease, the musical, was performed by Scariff Community College students and almost 10 years since they last performed a musical but, this November, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies return to the school stage. Scariff Community College’s forthcoming production of the ever popular Grease is directed and choreographed by former East Clare Musical Society director, Tim Landers, with musical direction by Johnny O’Brien. It takes place in Scariff Community College Hall from Thursday, November 13 to Saturday, November 15 and will offer audiences an entertaining evening, full of song, dance and comedy, performed by more than 90 of East Clare’s finest young talents. Taking on the leading roles are Trudy McGonigle as Sandy and Paddy Walsh as Danny. The Pink Ladies are played by Amber Meskell (Rizzo), Alannah Marsh (Frenchy), Fiona Hogan (Jan) and Rachel Allen (Marty), while Rachel Glass plays Patty. The T-Birds are Shane Corry (Keneckie), Josh Maloney (Doody), Oran Treacy (Roger) and …

THE final Strictly Come Dancing will take place in the Armada Hotel on Saturday, November 22 and again the following Saturday, November 29. This will represent the fourth staging of the event, which raises money for the provision of the building of house in Cherven, Belarus, for young adults who have left the nearby orphanage. Primary organiser, Edel Smith has been involved in helping the Cherven orphans for many years. This final series of Strictly will result in the finishing touches on the house in Belarus. Ten couples have dedicated their time and energy over the past few months to prepare for Strictly, while Christina Cawte has given her time and energy over the past four years in helping the dancers to get ready. “She is such a brilliant person, who strives so hard to bring out the best in all our couples. Christina is an amazing choreographer, who should be so proud of what she has accomplished. Charlie Killeen …

ON the morning of May 17, 2012, the course of Michael Lorigan’s life changed forever. He remembers nothing about the single-vehicle accident near Cranny Cross on the Kilrush-Ennis road but, these days, he is reconciled with accepting and dealing with the consequences. The now 25-year-old from Kilmurry McMahon, who was hospitalised for three and a half months, has been left partially-sighted, along with an acquired brain injury. Ironically, if you didn’t know about his injuries, you wouldn’t guess that Michael had been badly injured. “I was told in the hospital that it’s a hidden disability. I’ve met a lot of people and, to look at me, they would never think I have a sight problem. There are certain things that I see and some things I wouldn’t,” he explained. One source of relief is the fact that he was on his own in the car. He doesn’t know how he would have coped if he had a passenger. “Thank God. …

THE Clare Champion supplement for the All-Ireland hurling final of 1995 contains a fine interview with the most senior member of the squad, Cyril Lyons. At the end of the interview, in a very thoughtful observation, Lyons, a man who has given sterling service to Clare hurling as a player, manager, selector and coach, expressed the opinion that the GAA in the county ought to capitalise on this golden opportunity of an All-Ireland appearance, to promote hurling among youngsters. “Young boys and girls, who are just beginning to play the game, will be very excited about seeing Clare in an All-Ireland final and clubs must nurture this enthusiasm. Now is the time to prepare for the future,” he said. It is now very evident that the Clare victory of 1995 marked a watershed in the fortunes of Clare hurling. Some may argue that Clare should have won more All-Ireland trophies since 1995. But when one compares Clare’s All-Ireland appearances and …

Primary schools  in Clare are being urged to sign up by next Friday for the Blue Star programme. Blue Star is an exciting education initiative for primary school students across Ireland. The programme aims to introduce pupils, teachers, parents and the wider community to the EU, what it means and how it works. It has already been rolled out successfully in over 200 schools since 2011, and the intention is to increase this over the coming three years. All schools are eligible no matter how big or how small. Joe Bishop of European Movement Ireland, who manages the programme said, “We want to encourage schools to sign up by next week’s deadline, so that we can start to send all the information out as soon as possible. We have lots of free resources, advice and support available, including a great curriculum guide developed by teachers themselves. “We’re delighted that previous participating schools have been so positive about the Blue Star Programme. …