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Home and Garden Supplement

Home and Garden Supplement 2014

This week, we’ve published a special Home and Garden supplement, full of hints and tips to help improve your property now that spring is here. We are making an online version of the supplement available free of charge. Read the supplement here.

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New chair of Clare Association in Dublin

THE new chairman of the Clare Association in Dublin (Muintir an Chláir) is Gerry O’Reilly. A native of Moyhill, Corofin, he has been an outstanding supporter of the association for many years. A committe member and PRO for the association in recent years, he succeeds Inagh native Liam O’Looney, who stepped down after over six years as chairman, having been first elected as interim chairman. Tributes to Mr O’Looney were led by the new chairman at the association’s annual general meeting in Wynn’s Hotel, Dublin. Mr OReilly told the meeting that Mr O’Looney is a long-serving, dedicated member of the association and made an outstanding contribution as chairman. He has played a big part in the success of the association and he was glad that he would be remaining on in the committee as PRO. Mr O’Reilly also made an appeal to all Clare people in Dublin to join and support the association. He noted a lot of young people …

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Gardaí on their bikes for blood cause

THEY provide the sweat and the gears but it is up to you to provide the blood. Over five days, from May 12 to May 16, a group of around 20 gardaí, including Sergeant John Ryan and Chief Superintendent John Kerin from Ennis Garda Station, will undertake a gruelling 1,000km cycle that will see them visiting each one of the 26 counties. The Garda Blood4Life 2014 Cycle is a novel charity event. It’s not a fundraiser. Instead, it aims to recruit blood donors and to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation in communities in every county. People are asked to pledge a unit of blood on the IBTS website at www.giveblood.ie. Alternatively, call 021 4807400. Better still, attend a local clinic and turn your pledge into a donation. Many of those who pledged a unit of blood last year have since returned to give second and third donations.

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Prendeville retires from public life

By Peter O’Connell CITING “family considerations” for his decision not to contest the forthcoming county council election, current Kilrush Town councillor, Tom Prendeville  is to retire from public office at the end of May, after almost 30 years in local politics. The Fianna Fáil councillor’s rejection at local convention, and subsequently not being added to the party ticket, had heightened speculation that he would enter the field as an Independent candidate. However, he is insistent that his own personal preference would have been to stand for re-election but that “I had to bow, however reluctantly, to family matters.” A poll-topper in his first election to Kilrush Urban Council in 1985, he was elected to Clare County Council in 1991 and held his seat until 2009. In his dual urban and county mandate, he wore the town mayoral chain of office for three terms. Councillor Prendeville is adamant that his greatest achievement in public life was the All Saints Shanakyle Cemetery …

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East Clare remembers Nan Hogan

The East Clare Memorial Committee’s annual wreath-laying ceremonies will take place in Tuamgraney and Scariff on Easter Sunday. Events take place at the East Clare Memorial Park in Tuamgraney and at Scariff Church and continue the long-standing tradition in East Clare of annually commemorating the Easter Rising and the struggle for independence over decades. This year, the ceremonies will place a special focus on the role of women in the revolution, to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Cumann na mBan in 1914. The memory of one of the county’s most active Cumann na mBan women, Nan Hogan, will be acknowledged when her relatives will lay a wreath in Tuamgraney. The memorial park in the village is the only memorial in Clare to publicly acknowledge Cumann na mBan. Nan Hogan was the O/C of the second battalion of the East Clare Brigade and was one of the most committed republicans in the county. She was interred in 1923 …

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Wiley dissatisfied with broadband delay

Killaloe local election candidate and Bodyke resident, Liam Wiley has reacted angrily to comments made by Clare Labour Party TD, Michael McNamara on the provision of rural broadband in County Clare. Reacting to comments made by Deputy McNamara last week, where he announced that Eircom exchanges in Feakle and Scariff would be upgraded in the next 12 to 18 months, Mr Wiley said it was “completely unacceptable” to leave the people of East Clare waiting 18 months. “I find it amazing that Deputy McNamara can say with a straight face that it will take as much as 18 months to upgrade the rural broadband network in County Clare. What are the people of Clare supposed to do in the meantime? They have to deal with extremely slow broadband and the best they can hope for is quicker download speeds in 2015? “This is completely unacceptable and reflects just how out of touch the Labour Party has become with the problems …

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Clonlara priest marching for peace in the favela

FOR more than 20 years, Clonlara’s Fr Jim Crowe  has advocated for some of the world’s most marginalised people in the Jardim Ângela favela in Brazil. A well-known human rights activist, Fr Crowe mobilised 300,000 people to demand peace in one of the most violent places on Earth. By bringing people together, Fr Crowe did something no one else could – he helped the local community transform the favela. When Fr Crowe, from the Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society, started work in Jardim Ângela in 1987, it was one of the most dangerous favelas in São Paulo. Located in the south-west outskirts of the city, Fr Crowe was presiding over 35 funerals every day. Many of the dead were victims of the drug-related violence, and Fr Crowe struggled to comfort the sheer numbers of grieving families. The reality of living in the favela was highlighted in 1996, when the UN declared the Jardim Ângela as “one of the most dangerous places …

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Easter fun at Bunratty and Craggaunowen

SHANNON Heritage has lined up a feast of family fun this Easter at  Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and Craggaunowen. Easter fun at Craggaunowen kicks-off on Easter Sunday with a special guest appearance from the Easter Bunny. A fun filled afternoon is planned with puppet theatre, magic shows, bouncy castle, storytelling, face painting and traditional Irish music as well as some delicious Easter eggs for all to enjoy. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the famous Brendan Boat, which historian and explorer Tim Severin and his crew used to re-enact the voyage of St Brendan the Navigator, reputed to have discovered America centuries before Columbus. Thanks to Tim’s kindness, Shannon Heritage are fortunate to have the honour of housing the Brendan Boat at Craggaunowen for visitors to view and appreciate this amazing story of courage, determination and fortitude. Meanwhile, celebrations at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park on Monday at 1pm features “Wrestling Warriors on Tour”, an American style …

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