North Clare

[doptg id=”38″] It started with just the germ of an idea at a Weight Watchers meeting, where members gather each week to be weighed and to gain encouragement to keep losing weight. One of the members, Shelly Galvin, suggested that a social outing would be a good way to increase morale and fellowship. By the end of the class, the members decided that they would tackle the walk along the Cliffs of Moher, with sponsorship from The Clare Champion. As a result, over 50 Weight Watcher members from classes around the county descended on Liscannor last Saturday to tackle the 18km route. Although the weather forecasts were iffy, the day couldn’t have been better, with blue skies and a cooling breeze coming in from the sea. Spirits were high as the group set off, with a cracking initial pace, despite the sometimes uneven and narrow path. It was wonderful to see the Cliffs from a completely different angle and the views …

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark has been named in the longlist for the 2014 World Responsible Tourism Awards for the second year running. Over 200 tourism organisations, initiatives and businesses from throughout the world have been selected for the next stage of the Awards across 11 categories. The Geopark features in the ‘Best Destination’ category and is one of 20 destinations that were chosen from hundreds of entries. Other named destinations in the same category include The Lake District in Cumbria (UK), Arizona (USA), Reykjavik, Cyprus, Guatemala, V&A Waterfront in Cape Town (South Africa), Aruba, Pahuatlan (Mexico) and Colorado (USA). Sponsored by the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism and hosted by responsibletravel.com and ICRT (International Centre for Responsible Tourism), the World Responsible Tourism Awards the most exciting and enduring responsible holiday experiences in the world. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark will be seeking to make this year’s shortlist for a second consecutive year when it is announced …

This Tuesday marks the 100th anniversary of the death of submarine inventor John P. Holland and to mark the anniversary a special commemorative event will take place in North Clare at the end of this month. Liscannor Development Committee will host a day of events honouring the life and achievements of the local inventor on Sunday, August 31, as part of Heritage Week 2014. The event at Liscannor Harbour will feature the unveiling of a commemorative stone and a talk on Holland’s life, a film of his achievements, music and songs of the sea, and a photography and children’s art exhibition. John Philip Holland was born in Liscannor in 1841. His father, John Holland senior patrolled the headlands of County Clare as a rider with the British Coastguard Service. The young Holland was a teacher in Ireland until 1872 when he immigrated to the USA, where he taught in Paterson, New Jersey, until 1879. He drew up plans of submarines and in 1881, with funds from Irish associates, launched a …

Meetings of Clare’s most famous names is the premise for a one-man show to be staged in the north and east of the county later this year. Lisdoonvarna man Gerry Howard will star in the performance Hats Off To Clare, written and directed by Mountshannon resident, Paul Brennan. The production will explore the imagined interactions of Clare’s most famous factual and fictional characters. Gerry was involved in amateur drama for years before taking the leap into professional acting and it was around the time he decided to leave his career as a hotelier that the seed was sown for this particular production. “I was always involved in amateur acting. I think I started around the age of 12. I was involved in plays with the Lisdoonvarna Dramatic Society and was involved right up to when I sold the hotel, The Carrigann in Lisdoonvarna. When I sold it, it seemed to be a great opportunity to have a cut at something …

A PALAEONTOLOGIST who lived and worked in North Clare is among a team of scientists whose research, published this week, suggests that all dinosaurs had feathers. The evidence presented by Dr Maria McNamara and her colleagues changes the previously-accepted hypothesis that only one group of dinosaurs had feathers. Dr McNamara is a palaeontologist in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at University College Cork. From Clonmel, she previously lived in Moymore and was employed as a geologist in the Burren Geopark, where she worked with about 20 primary schools, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre and the Burren Outdoor Education Centre. Dr McNamara was approached over a year ago, while working in the University of Bristol, with dinosaur fossil specimens from a site in Siberia. She has been key to discovering the first-ever example of a primitive plant-eating dinosaur with feathers and scales. Previously, only advanced flesh-eating dinosaurs were known to have had feathers, so this new find …

A health scare prompted two North Clare sisters to shed 11 stone 11 pounds between them in just nine months. Ann O’Sullivan and Bernie Bennis, both from Ennistymon, joined Slimming World in Ennis last October after a trip to the doctor showed the toll Ann’s weight was having on her health. “Initially, I didn’t realise I had put on so much weight. I got a terrible shock when I stepped on the weighing scales on October 9. What happened was like everyone else, you get married, you are cooking, you are picking at food and my GP said it was time to do some bloods. We did the bloods and my cholesterol was just slightly over 5. That is how it happened. “I went back to get the results of my cholesterol and it had jumped to 6.4. So she gave me an ultimatum saying I had to either had to drop the weight or take the medication,” Ann recalled. …

The 2014 North Clare show takes place this weekend in Corofin. Saturday marks the 64th show and promises to be one of its best yet according to the organising committee, comprising chairperson Joe Killeen, long-time secretary Mary McMahon, treasurer Gerard Hanrahan and PRO Conor Leyden. The committee is currently putting the final touches on this year’s extended programme. Details of this year’s classes are contained in the prize-list for prospective entrants, which can be obtained from Mary McMahon at 065 6837795. The show has expanded and grown to include a total of 21 jumping competitions, which will be held in three arenas in the parish field. Competitions will start in Arena 1 with 90cm horses at 9.30am. At the same time, in Arena 2, the 128 ponies U-10 85cm is the first competition. Arena 3 will kick off with the 148 ponies 90cm, which is a Shannonside League and Estuary League qualifier. Entries will be taken on the field. Further …

The Star of Munster will  shine in Clare this Sunday as part of the Doolin Heritage Weekend. The band will perform at a céilí in the marquee at Hotel Doolin on Sunday at 8pm. The weekend’s events will raise funds for heritage projects in Doolin. The heritage weekend starts on Saturday at 11am in Hotel Doolin, with talks on archaeology, conservation and local history. The weekend is organised by Doolin Heritage, a voluntary group made up of people living in the area, who are working to create awareness of the heritage of the area, including monuments and buildings of archaeological and historical significance. One of the projects the group has been working on is the restoration of the old medieval church ruin in Killilagh. Without fundraising initiatives such as the heritage weekend, this work could not be carried out. “This year for the first time as part of the heritage weekend, a night of music and dance is being organised. …