Lifestyle

THE Oscars take place this weekend and as well as having Irish interest in the nominees, there is additional excitement about this country’s fashion input.Irish designer and Galway Technical Institute fashion design graduate, Laura Jayne Halton will dress Oscar nominee Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly for the awards taking place in Los Angeles on Sunday night.The commission came about as a result of an interview with Ms Cronin O’Reilly on RTÉ 1’s John Murray Show on January 23, where the film producer spoke about her Oscar-nominated Best Short Animated Film, Head Over Heels and her desire to wear an Irish dress on the red carpet.Maynooth woman Laura Jayne, who also studied furniture design and manufacture in Letterfrack, was listening to the interview and heard the West Kerry native say she hadn’t settled on a dress yet.“I looked up Fodhla’s email address and just sent her a quick paragraph to congratulate her first and sent her a link to my website and ‘Look …

OXFAM is calling on the people of Clare to join hundreds of others all over Ireland by hosting an Oxfam Get Together for International Women’s Day on March 8 and help raise money to support women living in poverty worldwide.An Oxfam Get Together can be anything from a coffee morning to a movie night or even a karaoke night. At the heart of the idea is to get together with friends, family and colleagues and do something that you love – while raising money for Oxfam’s work. And if Friday, March 8 doesn’t suit you, simply pick a date that does.Speaking about her recent trip to Tanzania, Sharon Corr, Oxfam Ireland ambassador and judge on RTÉ’s The Voice of Ireland, explains, “Meeting some of the women who have benefited from Oxfam’s work in Tanzania was truly inspiring. The majority of people living in poverty are women. It’s fantastic to see how Oxfam can help women reclaim their rights and make …

COMMUNITY groups across the county are being urged to get planting in early March and play their part in promoting National Tree Week 2013.The March 3 to 10 week-long festival, co-ordinated nationally by the Tree Council of Ireland, is aimed at encouraging members of the public to plant more trees. This year’s theme is A Feast of Trees with a particular emphasis on planting trees that provide a food source for humans, birds, bees and other wildlife.  Two events will be held in Clare – the official launch of National Tree Week in Westbury at 12 noon on March 3 and a tree-planting event at Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park on March 6, where pre-school children will participate in fun activities in the woodlands surrounding the amenity area. Saplings and standard native trees are also being made available to local community groups.“While the Tree Council promotes awareness of trees all year round, National Tree Week gives us the opportunity …

BISHOP David Moriarty of Kerry was one of the leading lights of the Catholic Hierarchy in the 1800s. He had been educated locally and then in France before he went to Maynooth. Within a few short years of ordination, he was chosen as vice president of the Irish College in Paris and afterwards, as president of All Hallows College in Dublin. From there, in 1854, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Kerry and in 1856, succeeded to the see on the death of Bishop Charles Sugrue. He proved an enlightened and reforming bishop. He travelled all over his diocese preaching, administering sacraments and emphasising the importance of teaching children catechism. He advocated regular parish missions and arranged regular retreats for the diocesan clergy at which he himself preached. Linked in with this he invited the Franciscans and Dominicans to return to Kerry. He firmly believed in education and was a staunch supporter of the, recently introduced, national school system. To …

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SINGLE West Clare women can barely contain their excitement as Sunday, March 31 approaches. That evening, the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point will host Take Me Out West Clare Style. Some of the 12 men seeking a date are believed to be Clare football panellists, while county goalkeeper Joe Hayes has been lined up as master of ceremonies.

AS we approach the centenaries of the Easter Rising and War of Independence, there is growing public interest in the period of the Irish Revolution of 1913-1923.

A CLARE man is among those behind plans for a new national awareness campaign aimed at creating a sustainable culture of giving in Ireland. Plans are underway for a National Giving Campaign on the back of new research published by the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising.