East Clare

After 20 years of neglect, a scenic river walkway has re-emerged from the overgrown wilderness and has been transformed through a Quin Tidy Towns initiative. Cormac McGuinness, who has been involved in the project, has explained how the initiative has revived the riverbank and the addition of a stone bench feature, being dubbed “the seat of serenity” has really helped improve the area. The Tidy Towns committee, made up of 19 volunteers from the Quin community, took on the task of opening up a small stretch of the riverbank adjacent to Marlborough Cottage. The project included tidying up the area around a derelict cottage and the planting of new hedges and flowers. “Twenty years ago FÁS put in a riverside walk and put down gravel around this area. It fell into neglect and fell overgrown and no one really went down there. We decided, as one of our projects for the community, we would open up that stretch of bank,” …

  THE community of Flagmount is well used to the sounds of Lough Graney’s lapping waters but over the summer, the lake becomes a hive of activity with sounds of children splashing about and swimming instructors giving lessons.Swimming lessons at Flagmount form part of a 40-year tradition whereby the lake is taken over five days a week from the final week of July to the first week of August. Those from the age of four get their first taste of the wild water, while those up to the age of 18 perfect their swimming techniques and take on further challenges such as life saving. For one local, however, swimming at Lough Graney has brought her full circle.  Having learned to swim at these swimming classes from an early age and returning each year after, Edel Broderick returns to the lake this year as an instructor. It is the first time a local who has attended and achieved all the necessary …

FOR the last 40 plus years, it has been a dream of the people of Kilkishen to develop a community facility at the derelict Church of Ireland church but what seemed to be an unattainable feat is fast becoming a reality.

CLARE County Council is planning to introduce a new one-way traffic system on the main street in Scariff in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion for locals and visitors.

AN engraved piece of Tipperary Crystal was presented to a local authority engineer at a meeting in Scariff last week, acknowledging the work he has carried out in East Clare over the last five years.

A CHANCE encounter with creatures of the night, heightened by the eerie atmosphere of the woods under darkness, is in store for those brave enough to take the Moonlight Walk in Raheen Woods, Tuamgraney on Friday night, July 29 as part of Scariff Harbour Festival. Joe Lillis of West Clare Walking Club will meet walkers at Tuamgraney Heritage Centre at 9.45pm before heading in to the heart of the woods close by.Christina Grisewood of the Harbour Festival committee said the moonlight walk is a new addition to the range of festival walking activities over the Bank holiday weekend. “This walk is an opportunity to explore the woods from a different, more interesting and fun perspective and we believe it will have an appeal for everyone including families,” she said.Raheen Woods is one of Ireland’s primeval oak forests made famous by the majestic 1,000 year-old oak tree associated with Brian Boru, the last High King of Ireland. Its ecology is rich …

AN independent environmental watchdog has supported plans by a community group to transform a vacant Protestant church in Kilkishen into a new cultural centre costing in the region of €500,000.An Taisce has been criticised by local county councillors for lodging objections to one-off housing and major developments such as the proposed multi-million euro Tinerana House golf resort and leisure complex in Ogonnelloe.However, in a departure from its usual practice, An Taisce has broadly supported a planning application lodged by the Kilkishen Development Association to completely renovate the Clonlea Parish Church, Kilkishen, which has been left in a state of disrepair for the last 50 years.The Kilkishen association has lodged a planning application to Clare County Council seeking refurbishment of the building and extension to the north side, provision of new parking spaces, footpath, entrance gate, disabled access ramp and all associated site works, new slate roof to existing tower, repositioning of part of existing stone boundary wall and connection to …

CLARE County Council’s plans to develop a pedestrian crossing and footpath in Quin village close to Quin Gardens have been met with mixed views as planning permission is pending for the works. In three submissions lodged to the planning authority’s application for the crossing and footpath development, concerns were noted that, while such works are welcome, they could be better situated. In a submission to the planning application, Anne Marlborough highlighted that while she welcomed the “laudable efforts” of Clare County Council to enhance the safety of Quin life, she urged them to revise the location of the pedestrian crossing.“Proposals to enhance the safety of the village are a welcome initiative to improve the quality of community life in the village. The volume of traffic through the village has certainly grown during recent decades and a pedestrian crossing would not be unwelcome. I do wish, however to comment upon the proposed location for the crossing as I believe that it …