North Clare

NORTH Clare student Aoife Corry stars alongside fellow Clare actress Ger Kelly in the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, NUI Galway and Core Theatre College’s staging of Yerma next month. Yerma is the first of a number of projects in which students on the NUIG Drama programmes act and work with Galway theatre professionals in public productions. In this case, students on the drama course are collaborating with Core Theatre College Galway. Yerma is a modern world classic, by Federico Garcia Lorca, a Spanish republican poet, director and playwright. The play is about a woman living in a small village, who feels alienated from friends and isolated from her society. Yerma is about the hunger to conform and the dangers of obsession. The play is full of passion, humour, music and rhythm. It is both poetic and brutally realistic. The play is directed by Max Hafler, who works extensively as a director and as a voice and acting teacher. …

THE new-year storms devastated many parts of the county but Lahinch was particularly badly hit. While the promenade was opened within a few days the playground, which the community fought so long to open, has been closed since. Despite their shock and disappointment at the damage done to the playground, the committee behind it have been stunned by the support they have received during the clean-up and now in their efforts to raise money for repairs. “We cannot get over it. It has been really outstanding,” said chairperson of the Lahinch Playground Committee, Nicola Hartigan, niece of the late Gerard Hartigan, who had led the charge for a playground in the North Clare resort for years. “I’m from Lahinch. I have lived here all my life. I would have thought that we weren’t that kind of community, you know that community based, but people have come out in droves to do what they can. It has shocked me. In difficult …

EIGHT out of 10 cancer sufferers had to give up employment or change their work hours due to fatigue, a study undertaken by Sláinte an Chláir has shown. Details of the study are contained in a new information booklet, developed by members and friends of Sláinte an Chláir, which will be officially launched at Waterpark House, Ennis next Thursday at 2pm. Anyone affected by cancer on an individual basis or those who have family members affected by the condition are welcome to attend the launch. The Kilnamona centre helps people to access information on all aspects of cancer, including diagnosis, treatment and after care, as well as providing practical support for people and their families. “Meeting people who have been through a similar experience can definitely help to make the journey with cancer a little easier. Our members and friends are very happy to share their experiences and to support people affected by cancer,” said a spokesperson. The booklet provides …

MOTORISTS travelling between Ennis and Ennistymon can expect to face delays over the next number of weeks.  Starting on this Monday morning, there will be delays on the main road between Whelan’s quarry and the landfill site at Inagh for road maintenance works. Motorists on this strategic North Clare route are urged to allow additional journey time, especially for travelling to work and school in the mornings.

WHILE recent storms have demonstrated how the weather and power of the Atlantic Ocean can have a devastating impact on Ireland’s coastline, a new series of lectures will examine how the landscape of the Burren region has changed over millions of years, due to floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and ice ages. The Stone Water and Ice: Understanding the Burren Landscape evening courses, hosted by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Burren Outdoor Education Centre, take place between February 13 and March 13. Among the keynote speakers will be Dr John Murray of NUI Galway’s Earth and Ocean Science Department; geologist, Dr Eamon Doyle, and the Burren Outdoor Education Centre’s head of field studies, Colin Bunce. “The geology of the Burren and the dramatic changes experienced by the landscape of the region down through the millennia form the basis for the introductory geology course for adults,” explained Dr Doyle. “The underlying geology of the Burren holds many fascinating clues …

COROFIN Drama Society will stage The Two Loves of Gabriel Foley, by Jimmy Keary in Glór, Ennis on Tuesday and Wednesday next. The play was performed in the county town in early December, but after selling out on both nights, the society decided to stage it again. “This is a hilarious comedy and it is a play that rarely comes around. We all go to different plays and sometimes they are really a chore to get through, but this one is a real joy to behold”, explained Stephen Bermingham, PRO of the society. “We staged it in Glór in early December for two nights and we had a fantastic reaction from the crowd. We got a standing ovation each night and they were howling with laughter during the show. I don’t know when I saw a reaction like this, I don’t think I ever have. People were nearly getting sick laughing. We filled Glór both nights. Anyone who I met …

RESIDENTS and business people along the Clare coast have spent the past week cleaning up after the recent storms. Clare County Council is looking for more than €23 million in funding from central government for work on public infrastructure but extensive damage was also caused to private property, including homes, by Storm Christine. Now, people with houses and businesses along the coast are wondering and worrying how they will pay for the damage done to their property. Noel Sexton owns White Strand Caravan Park outside Miltown Malbay. “I will have to pay for the damage myself,” he told The Clare Champion. “There are a lot of stones washed up onto the caravan park and sections of it were washed away with sea. The stones will have to be brought back down. I will have to get a machine in to do that. I will have to pay the man with the machine. The part that washed away was about a …

CLARE County Council has estimated the total damage caused by Storm Christine in County Clare at €23,761,043 with Lahinch being the worst affected. At a specially convened meeting of Clare County Council on Friday, members were given an outline of a preliminary storm damage report, which estimated the total damage caused in Lahinch at €5,842,390. The next highest cost of repairs was in Kilbaha, estimated in the region of €3,423,950. Meanwhile, repairs at Cloughaninchy, Quilty are estimated at €2,581,250. Storm damage in New Quay amounted to approximately €1.854m, while the repair works necessary at Carrowdotia in Moneypoint are estimated at €1,115,400. Councillors viewed CCTV footage of the storm captured at Lahinch promenade. A contingency fund of €2,160,095 was also included in the preliminary report, and costs of non-coastal repairs were estimated in the region of €190,000.  Meanwhile, water services issues relating to the storm came to approximately €20,000. Senior engineer Tom Tiernan outlined in the report that the council also …