Lifestyle

PRIZE money totalling €20,000 is up for grabs for competitors in the South-East Clare Show in Bridgetown on Sunday, July 24. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the show will attract thousands of people for more than 2,500 equestrian, cattle and horticultural entries, feature classes, a pet farm spectacle, children amusements and face-painting. This year, there will be a new focus on farm safety for children using some toy-size farm machinery to demonstrate what can be done to stay safe. A focus is towards providing Farm Safety for children, using some toy-size farm machinery to demonstrate. The announcement of Show 2022 details has kicked off with the sale of raffle tickets for an amazing prize – a Purebred Charolais Weanling Heifer. This animal was kindly sponsored by Limkiln Pedigree Herd. Tickets have been selling fast, allowing people the opportunity to support this annual event together with being in with a chance to win an amazing prize. The South-East Clare Show have again …

THE husband and mother of a Clonlara woman, who died from breast cancer at the age of 32, are “overwhelmed” with fundraising totalling more than €30,000, which has been raised three weeks before the start of a cycle in her memory. Eoghan O’ Leary from West Cork and his late wife, Helen Guinane from Clonlara were married less than eight months when she was diagnosed with Stage Four Metastatic Breast Cancer in January of 2019 at the age of 30. Helen did not have any history of cancer in her family before receiving this devastating news. She fought incredibly hard before she passed away in August of 2020 at the age of 32. In an interview with The Clare Champion, Eoghan and Helen’s mother, Siobhan said they are “overwhelmed” with all the funds raised to date for Cycle4Helen. A raffle for JP McManus Pro Am tickets is also generating a lot of funds. Eoghan will be joined by a group …

THE decline in commercial activity on the Main Street in Killaloe has been lamented by the man whose business it has been, for the past 10 years, to keep it looking its best. John Tuohy of Millstream, Killaloe, recently retired as local authority street cleaner, has fond memories of meeting business people and shoppers while at his work keeping the picturesque town clean and tidy. However, he was saddened by the relocation of Killaloe Post Office from Main Street to Convent Hill and the closure of several businesses on the street. “A lot of the shops on the street like butchers are gone. Jimmy Whelan’s shop in Church Street also closed. Keith Wood had a lovely restaurant and café for a while before it closed. “It is sad to see the Main Street now, it is practically derelict, you don’t meet people on it. I loved meeting people. Brendan Grace used to drive down the street, let down his car …

A punter in County Clare is toasting their Horse Racing know-how after four winning selections landed them a stunning five-figure windfall. The customer placed a series of wagers in their local BoyleSports shop on Wednesday, striking 56 €1 trebles covering eight horses running at Musselburgh and Thirsk. The punter only needed three selections to win to secure a profit, but four of the eight obliged which was enough to land a healthy payout. The four winners were Pearl Reef (12/1) City Wanderer (20/1) at Musselbrugh, and Praying Mantis (18/1), and Snash (15/2) at Thirsk. It took under two hours for all four horses to deliver, bagging the savvy customer €12,998.50 from their total stake of €56. Sarah Kinsella, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: “We must send huge congratulations to our County Clare customer who took us for nearly €13,000 in less than a couple of hours. We wish them the best of luck with their winnings and hope they enjoy splashing …

Clare County Council has partnered with the University of Limerick (UL) to sponsor a new PhD Scholarship Programme at the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Working with UL’s National Centre For Tourism Policy Studies (NCTPS) and The Kemmy Business School, Ireland’s most visited natural attraction this week welcomed the sponsored PhD student Ernesto Sanchez as part of the tourism research project he will undertake over the next four years.  The structured PhD programme will focus challenges and opportunities of responding to a paradigm shift in the tourism marketplace, including visitor experience, sustainable tourism, destination and visitor management and the role of technology in shaping tourism.  “This programme represents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with the University of Limerick in generating important research that will help to define and shape the future of tourism in Clare,” commented Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Ms. Enright added, “In addition to providing Ernesto a monetary sum to support his academic studies and research, the scholarship …

THE decline in vocations and the number of priests in the Killaloe Diocese has inspired a pastoral worker to write a new book outlining the need for more lay people to complete clerical duties. “Community at Heart” – who will bury our dead?” examines past community and traditions in the catholic church, current reality, future possibilities and guidelines for pastoral councils. It will be officially launched by well known author, David Rice in the Killaloe Hotel and spa on July 1. Marie O’Connell has been a pastoral worker in the Diocese of Killaloe, a choir member, a dancer in an all-girl troupe, and a voice for women. The University of Limerick administrator says she does her best writing in cafes, on park benches, on any beach, and at home in Ballina/Killaloe. The mother-of-three believes it will not be long before a priest will not be available to attend funerals, so who will? “Priests can’t be everything to everyone all of …

AFTER a lapse of two years due to the Covid pandemic, The 12 O’Clock Hills project team are once  again organising The Great East Clare Hill Challenge.   This is a 30-kilometre, eight-hour strenuous hike, which takes place on Saturday, July 9. The starting point is Two Mike Gate, Killaloe at 8am and the hike finishes at the 12 O’Clock Hills, Belvoir carpark at around 4pm. The hike takes a route to the summit of Moylussa at 532 metres, then across the Sliabh Bearna via Cragnamurragh and the Enchanted Lake. It then descends into Broadford village via O’Shea’s Acre. Light refreshments will be available in the village of Broadford and then onwards to the 12 O’Clock Hills via Hurdlestown, Seefin, Knock na mBuachaillí and Knockaphunta. These are a series of hills with panoramic views across Clare and beyond. The final climb will be The 12 O’Clock Hills at 309 metres and finishing at the Belvoir Carpark, where light refreshment will …

The Irish Red Cross Clare, Lough Grainey Nature Sanctuary and the Clare Local Sports Partnership CLG have been selected among 35 national finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards. The awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities. Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes all over the country. With the support of a National Lottery HSE Grant, the Irish Red Cross Clare purchased a new community support vehicle which provides free transport to the people of Clare for medical appointments, travelling from all corners of Clare to hospitals all over Ireland. More recently, the Irish Red Cross Clare have also been supporting the Clare Immigrant Support Centre with Ukrainian Refugees. Lough Grainey Nature Sanctuary, is a not-for-profit community organisation that …