East Clare

THE East Clare village of Bodyke remains on a high this week following the success of its first ever festival, which drew up to 1,000 people.The Bodyke Gathering saw an estimated 1,000 people come through the village over the May Bank Holiday weekend to take part in the various events organised.“It was absolutely beyond our wildest dreams. It went exceptionally well. We are here nine years and we never saw the likes of it.“I wasn’t here at the time of the Bodyke evictions stone, which President Hillary unveiled, but the people are saying the gathering at that wasn’t half of what we had here,” according to Susan McMahon of the organising committee.Chairperson of the Bodyke Gathering Committee, Colm Wiley said, “There was up to 1,000 people in Bodyke over the weekend. We had a great turnout.”Ms McMahon said among the highlights were the sporting events organised on Sunday at the GAA field. She described the response as “phenomenal”.The event’s launch …

MEMBERS of East Clare Tourism signalled their strong opposition to plans for the extraction of water from Lough Derg at their recently held annual general meeting. Members voted unanimously to oppose the move.“The members strongly believe this would be detrimental to tourism in the Lough Derg area,” a spokesperson for the group said. It was also agreed that appropriate representations to Government on the matter will be undertaken over the coming months.The meeting also discussed the recent visit of Bobby Kerr, formerly of Dragon’s Den, and a film crew to Tuamgraney as part of a forthcoming television programme.The crew and Mr Kerr were brought to Reddan’s Quay, Tuamgraney by yacht and then on to East Clare Heritage tourist information point, where they were given a lecture on Brian Boru and the history of the Lough Derg area.Footage from the visit is due to form part of a television programme on the Lough Derg area that Mr Kerr will be presenting …

MOUNTSHANNON Community Council has been nominated by Clare County Council to represent Clare in the 2013 IPB Pride of Place Competition.The East Clare village has been selected as one of three nominees to represent the county at the annual all-island competition, which is run by Co-operation Ireland in conjunction with local authorities north and south of the border.The competition aims to recognise and celebrate the vital contributions that communities make to society.Clare was represented in last year’s Pride of Place by the Clare Sports Partnership and Cuimhneamh and Chláir.“In Clare we have a wealth of community focused groups and projects that provide services in keeping with the aims and objectives of Pride of Place. This year, we are delighted to nominate three local projects which we feel have in their own way contributed immeasurably to their respective communities,” Nicola Cullinan, Clare Pride of Place co-ordinator, said.Mountshannon Community Council is participating in Category 1 for population centres of up to 200 …

AN RTÉ broadcasting mast that had been towering over East Clare for half a century on top of Maghera Mountain is no more, as the final parts of the mast were taken off site this week.

EAST Clare Youth Reach is to benefit from an additional classroom facility in Tuamgraney after planning was granted this week for the change of use of a retail unit at Áras Bhriain Bhoru for educational use.

LOUGH Graney Community Development Association has had funding approved through Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) for the development of a community hall for Flagmount and Killanena.

BODYKE marks a first when the village hosts the inaugural Bodyke Summer Gathering on the May Bank Holiday weekend.