Lifestyle

WITH purse strings tighter than ever in recent years, one type of shopping is experiencing a resurgence. Browsing and buying in charity shops gives bargain hunters the opportunity to pick up pre-worn pieces for a fraction of their original price. It also supplies cash-strapped charities with much-needed funds.This Friday sees the Mid-West Simon Community open Ennis’ newest charity shop. Money raised by the shop will be used to support Simon’s new housing advice service established at the same premises in Ennis developed in response to a needs analysis undertaken by the charity.The charity shop and coffee dock is situated on Woodquay, Ennis and promises to be a bright and welcoming space for people to shop, drop in, have a cuppa and get advice, as well as a guaranteed warm welcome.“Our aim is for the shop to be a focal point for people enjoying charity shopping in the area and is the vehicle to allow us to fund the housing service. …

A SOUTH-East Clare woman was placed third in the 46th annual Queen of the Land festival, which took place in Tullamore recently.Bridgetown woman Maria Carey was named second runner-up in the competition, which saw women from branches of Macra na Feirme around the country interviewed by the judging panel of FBD representatives, as well as Amanda Brennan, Tullamore branch; Sherine Prendergast, 2010 Queen of the Land and Henry Healy, Barack Obama’s eighth cousin. Maria is from the Kincora Macra Club. She is a 28-year-old administrator in Brown Thomas.Primary school teacher Bernie Woods from Mullinavat club in County Kilkenny was crowned Queen of the Land for 2011. She paid tribute to her fellow contestants, who had made it “a most memorable weekend ever”. In second place came Claire Walsh from Durrow/Abbeyleix Macra Club in County Laois.Contestants were judged on a range of attributes. The event is primarily a personality contest, with marks also for appearance, dress sense, rural knowledge and elocution. …

When the Government announced the closure of Columb Barracks in Mullingar, it led to the resignation of Willie Penrose, Minister for State and Labour TD for Longford-Westmeath. That was not the first time those same barracks featured in resignations and political upheaval. 1976 was a fraught time in Ireland and the then government passed the Emergency Powers Act. President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh referred the Bill to the Supreme Court, which displeased the Government of the day. The Minister for Defence, Paddy Donegan, made an official visit to Columb Barracks to open new kitchen facilities. Unfortunately for him, in the course of an after-dinner speech, he gave vent to his opinion of the President. It has been suggested he described the referral of the Bill to the Supreme Court as a “thundering disgrace”. In fairness to him, he apologised and offered his resignation. Such was the Government feeling towards the President at the time, the Taoiseach refused the minister’s resignation. The …

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THE elation of conquering the highest mountain in Africa is often replaced with sudden nausea and severe headaches for amateur climbers when the dreaded altitude sickness becomes a reality.That was the experience of at least two members of a 13-strong Clare group of charity mountain climbers who experienced both the highs and lows of ascending and descending Kilimanjaro’s 19,341ft.Up to 170 children receive therapy on a regular basis at the Clare Crusaders Clinic in Barfield, with the number continuing to rise due to a lack of public services. The group raised almost €30,000 from the climb.It included three members of one Barefield family Oliver Clune (69) and his two sons Conor (36) and Brian (39); Clare Crusaders’ clinic manager, Ann Norton; Montessori teacher, Aoiffe Lynch; Ennis town councillor Mary Howard; HSE paramedic Alan West, Stephen Coote, Ronan Mulqueen, Barry Lynch, Geraldine Sharkey, Olive Walsh and Claire McGovern. Team leader Ian Taylor has climbed Mount Everest and had scaled Kilimanjaro 11 …

SO-called ‘recreational’ drug use has left an indelible print on Jane Heartfield’s life but it hasn’t taken it and she is resolute that the consequent mental illness won’t take it over either. Jane Heartfield, not her real name, grew up in Ennis in the 1980s.“When I was seven or eight my dad brought the paper home. It was November 1, so just after Hallowe’en. On the paper was a cat hanging from a lamppost and I found the picture horrible. We had a lot of cats, we were cat people and it was the most deplorable thing I ever saw and the image never left me. I love them and identify with them so it was one of the most horrible things I thought a person could do,” she recalls.Little did Jane realise at the time that this image would remain with her and form the inspiration for the title of her memoir.“I feel psychosis is the worst thing that …

COLÁISTE Muire student Doireann Hennessy will represent Ireland, along with five other young Irish science students, at the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) in Durban, South Africa this December. Earlier this month, almost 200 under 16-year-old science students, representing 25 counties, converged on DCU to compete in the Irish Junior Science Olympiad (IrJSO).They were competing for places on the Irish team of six students to represent Ireland at the International Junior Science Olympiad. School principals were asked to nominate pupils from their schools, born on or after January 1, 1996, who achieved a minimum of six As in the 2011 Junior Certificate, including an A in maths and science. During the Olympiad, the pupils were tested in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics for almost three hours.All 200 participants received a certificate, with the top three pupils receiving gold medals, the next three silver and the next three bronze.Doireann was presented with a gold medal at the event, with the gold …

A former Scariff Community College student has landed a major coup by recording the first known video of an African Golden Cat as part of her work to protect this rare species.Zoologist Laila Bahaa-el-din spent over two years studying the “near threatened” African Golden Cat, without ever seeing one, before she managed to record what is believed to be the only publicly released video of the species in the wild.The video, recorded by a motion-activated camera placed in a Gabon forest, shows a golden cat, which is about twice the size of a domestic cat. The cat is a shy animal that avoids human contact and lives in hard-to-access parts of central African forests.Laila moved to Scariff with her mother Christina Grisewood and stepfather when she was just 13 in 1988 and went on to spend five years in Scariff Community College, where she completed her Junior and Leaving Certificate.Inspired by her grandfather, a journalist turned conservationist, Laila completed a …