Lifestyle

By Nicola Corless A KILFENORA woman was recently named Hartford Connecticut’s St Patrick’s Day Parade Person of the Year and will lead the parade alongside the Grand Marshall on Saturday. Dr Pauline Nagle Olsen was commended on the honour by the Governor of Connecticut, Dannel Malloy, and the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, Nancy Wyman. Dr Nagle Olsen was also presented with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by Congressman for Connecticut John B Larson at a ceremony to recognise her 40-years commitment to her community and her voluntary work, which has directly helped at least 30,000 of the city’s poorest inhabitants. Dr Olsen is a founder of Malta House of Care, a mobile clinic providing free medical care to the uninsured in the greater Hartford area. It is nearly 60 years since Pauline Nagle left her native North Clare, but despite making Farmington, Connecticut her home, she has returned many times over the years. Having studied at UCD and completed …

CLARE County Council’s  bid for the National Diaspora Centre  to be established in the county is very positive and should be supported. That’s the view of Labour TD Michael McNamara, who said that the council, in partnership with Shannon Heritage, is heading into a national completion which will be hard fought. “There are many places in County Clare where the story of Irish emigration might be successfully told but the Bunratty option with the Castle, Folk Park and adjacent international airport will be a strong contender. “The National Diaspora Centre is nothing less than the creation of a major national institution which will present an epic and often tragic story. It must be authentic and respect the memory of many great people who set out from impoverished Ireland to make a new home in unknown lands. That requires a level of professionalism and empathy with the subject which is found, for example, at Ellis Island Immigration Centre in New York. …

A 13-HOUR live broadcast of television and radio programmes from and about the town is planned for St Patrick’s Day in Ennis and it will go out to a worldwide audience. Live programmes start at 8am and all programmes broadcast will be available exclusively across the world on smart phones and tablets via the Ennis App or from the net at www.ennisapp.ie Television pictures are being taken by TV stations in The US, France and Germany and audio feeds are being supplied to radio stations who want to share in the festivities live from Ennis. Among those hosting programmes will be Ennis man, singer/songwriter, Mike Hanrahan, formerly of StocktonsWing; musician and raconteur, Pat Costello; internationally known journalist, columnist and spinner of great yarns, Cormac MacConnell; and well known Ennis-based freelance broadcaster, Ger Sweeney. Supported by Ennis Town Council, Ennis Chamber of Commerce and Promote Ennis, the initiative is partnering with a cross section of County Clare’s globally known attractions such …

A GROUP, Project San Marcus 2014 has been approved a dive, detection and survey licence to explore the  San Marcus, which was shipwrecked off Mutton Island in west Clare, during the arrival of the Spanish Armada to Ireland in 1588. The statutory approval was sanctioned on Wednesday by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. They oversee the National Monuments Act, which caters for building or vessels over 100 years old. Project San Marcus 2014 will work with INFORMAR in Galway on the project. The Integrated Mapping For the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resource (INFOMAR) programme is a joint venture between the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute. John Tracy, from Spanish Point, who is a PHD student at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, said that this weeks issuing of the licence is very significant. “The licencing is the critical thing. Over the past two years I’ve been working with a couple with of government agencies …

By Dan Danaher ENNIS town councillors have rejected a proposed boycott by their mayor of the New York St Patrick’s Day Parade as show of solidarity to gay rights groups. Amid heated exchanges between rival town councillors, Ennis Town Council members voted by seven votes to two for deputy mayor, Councillor Brian Meaney to accept an official invitation to march in the New York parade. Mayor Blasio has decided not to march in his own city parade over the long standing exclusion of American gay and lesbians  publicly express their sexual orientation under a banner. Despite passionate appeals from Councillor Paul O’Shea and Councillor Johnny Flynn to support this boycott, other members steadfastly refused to support the right of the town mayor to attend the parade as first citizen of Ennis. Participation in the parade was supported by Ennis mayor, Mary Coote-Ryan, Brian Meaney, Michael Guilfoyle, Peter Considine, Frankie Neylon, Mary Howard and Tommy Brennan. It was opposed by Councillor …

SEAMOUNT College, Kinvara celebrated the official opening of the Pope Francis building on Friday. Minister for Training and Skills at the Department of Education and Skills Ciaran Cannon and Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Martin Drennan jointly opened the new facility. Representatives from the Rescue Committee were present, as were Sisters of Mercy, Fr Frank Larkin and previous members of the Board of Management, Parents Council and various representatives involved with the design and construction of the new extension and refurbished classrooms. Minister Cannon and Bishop Drennan addressed students before Principal Maighread Mhic Dhomhnaill paid tribute to all those who had worked towards keeping the school open and extending it. “From some dark days where the future of Seamount College was a bleak picture with challenges from various directions we now gather together on a bright spring day to celebrate the opening of the Pope Francis building – a new wing which on a practical level gives us a …

KEEPING your dog happy and healthy is just part of being a dog owner and keeping your dog healthy also includes his mental well-being. These are just a few of the mental problems that your dog can have and ways to help your dog with his mental health. Do dogs get depressed? Of course, dogs get depressed. They go through bouts of depression for many reasons and you will notice your dog moping about and not wanting to play, drinking small amounts of water, going off their food and losing weight. You want your dog’s mental health to be good, but how can you tell what is causing this depression? After you have ruled out a physical problem by having a check with the vet, you can then check what may be causing this change in your dog’s attitude. Grief can cause depression in dogs just as it can in us. Has your dog lost a playmate recently? Maybe a …

MAUREEN Cronin, whose poetry appears regularly in The Clare Champion, will be featured on RTÉ’s Nationwide on Monday evening next, immediately after the Six One News.   The slot follows Maureen on her usual Thursday trail in Ennis, which includes collecting the parish bulletins for distribution to neighbours, delivering her poem to the ‘Champion, and on the library to talk to Coláiste Mhuire students. The programme has been packaged by RTE reporter, Teresa Mannion and cameraman, Jim Wylde from Ennis.