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Darragh family aims to keep Taylor smiling

A CHILD’S smile can brighten even the darkest of days. And for the parents of 14-month-old Taylor Mulqueen Howard, her beaming grin means far more than any words could ever express. Little Taylor from Darragh was born with an incurable condition so rare that she is the only baby in the country to suffer from it and one of only three children in Ireland. Looking at Taylor happily sleeping in her buggy, there is little to suggest that she is ill, apart from a feeding tube. However, she may never walk or talk and her family have to cope with the fact that children with this condition do not live into their teens.Despite this, Taylor’s parents are determined to make the most of every precious day of their child’s life. They have begun a fundraising campaign to raise €10,000 to build a special sensory room for Taylor, which would help give her some of the joy of childhood.Taylor was born …

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Chaos, à la carte

Who knew where Eddie Keane’s career choice would take him? These days, he is a respectable restaurateur in Miltown Malbay, where he runs The Bakehouse Restaurant with his partner, Irene. His days of propelling severed rabbit heads into the rather surprised laps of UK and European circus audiences are gone, but not easily forgotten. Nights of witnessing paying customers wondering what was going on, as a chainsaw wielding performer emerged from under their seat, recede from memory but are never entirely erased. How could they be? During a three-year spell in the late ’80s and early 90s, Eddie Keane was employed as a chef by Archaos, a contemporary French circus troupe. Created by Pierrot Bidon in 1986, it was a theatrical circus minus animals but heavy on chainsaw juggling, stunts featuring World War II Russian tanks and generally intent on challenging the often-petrified audience.“It wasn’t a traditional circus,” Eddie says in the more relaxed setting of his restaurant in Miltown. …

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Biddy Early lecture to open Samhain Winter Folklore Series

Cuimhneamh an Chláir, the Clare Oral History and Folklore group, will open their Samhain Winter Folklore Series next Thursday at the Old Ground Hotel with a talk titled Who was Biddy Early? Ennis-based historian Meda Ryan will provide the talk on the legendary figure and those who have inherited family or community traditions associated with Biddy Early are encouraged to attend.    Biddy was born in Faha, Killanena in 1798 to a poor farming family. At 16 she was sent to Feakle to work as a servant girl and later to Kilbarron to work for a Dr Dunne.  It was necessary for Biddy to go into service at such a young age to help her family survive in such hard times. Throughout her life, she rose to fame as a result of her apparent ability to provide cures to animals and people and for her premonitions.  Biddy was also famous for her magic blue bottle, which was reputed to have been …

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Movember is growing

THIRD time’s a charm! Movember is back in Clare for a third year of growing. The month-long charity event sees men grow a moustache throughout November to raise funds for Action Prostate Cancer, an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society.Those taking part should be clean shaven on the Movember 1 and left free to groom and cultivate their upper lip shrubbery during the month to create awareness of men’s health issues.  Participants can register on www.movember.com as individuals or as a team.  Last year, nearly 7,000 men donated their faces to the cause with the support of the Mo Sistas and raised over €1 million in just one month. John McCormack, CEO Irish Cancer Society said, “The Irish Cancer Society greatly appreciates your ongoing support of Movember campaign in Ireland. It is wonderful to see such a large, enthusiastic and ever increasing following. Movember partnership allows us drive awareness around prostate and other cancers to even more men across the …

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Kennedy v Nixon TV debates

Politicians seem incapable of resisting a microphone or television camera although many have learned to their cost that there have been occasions when they would have been better advised to avoid them. Gone are the days when our politicians travelled the country and climbed up onto walls to address the crowds coming out from church – the way the country has gone those crowds would be rather small anyway. Everything is governed by the press release or the judicious photo opportunity and is timed to meet evening news or newspaper deadlines. Some politicians tried to change the way our votes are counted. The main reason for doing away with the peann luaidhe and having instant results seems to have been to satisfy the need for instant news. As the inevitable election draws nearer ,arguments will rage whether the ‘leaders’ debate’ will feature two or three party leaders and what format the debate will take. Those debates will be seen as …

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