North Clare

AN Ennistymon school principal has intervened in a bid to secure emergency accommodation for a local Traveller family living in “sub-human living conditions”. Ennistymon National School principal, Helen Sheridan has expressed grave concern for the physical and mental health of Caroline Sherlock and her seven children as a result of living in a small caravan on the side of the road near Cregg beach, on the outskirts of Lahinch. In a letter to county manager, Tom Coughlan, Ms Sheridan stated five of Caroline’s children were “visibly shaken” by their ongoing accommodation crisis, when they returned to school in September, despite the best efforts of their teachers to help them settle back. The principal noted that her five children are good attendees and are all doing well at school. However, she said, “The children are pale and anxious and frequently tell teachers they are suffering from stomach pains.” The council stated there is one vacant family home in Traveller accommodation in …

TONY Petty returned from Oklahoma recently to his native North Clare. Here, the Ennistymon ex-pat recalls getting in on the ground floor of the computer industry and how his experience in the United States Air Force helped him in his most recent battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In 1957 Tony Petty took a leap of faith, unusual among his peers. The 20-year-old walked out of a permanent job as a bus conductor in London, to return home to meet an uncle returning to Ireland on holidays for the first time in 50 years. Seventy-year-old Mikey Petty left Ennistymon for America in 1907. For the following five decades, he remained in contact with his family, among them his brother Joseph, Tony’s father. Now, he was coming home from Worchester, Massachusetts for two weeks holidays but in London, Tony couldn’t get time off to return home. “I gave it up [the job] because they would not give me a holiday and I wanted …

CRUSHEEN nurse Fiona Curtin will celebrate New Year’s Day in East Africa sharing her medical skills in the overcrowded maternity unit of Arusha’s main hospital in Tanzania. The Drumbonniv woman is currently studying for her post graduate degree in midwifery studies at Queens University, Belfast. Having qualified as a nurse at NUIG, Fiona spent two years working in Reading, near London, before moving to Belfast. “As part of the course I have the amazing opportunity to travel to Tanzania for a four-week placement to work with women and children in dire need of obstetric and midwifery care,” Fiona explained. “There is a link between Malawi and Queens University and that is where a lot of people go to volunteer. I wanted to go to go to a different country, not where everyone else is going. I did some research and Tanzania has one of the fastest growing populations in the world and also has high levels of poverty. I found …

Four popular Clare pubs, Morrissey’s of Doonbeg, Vaughan’s Anchor Inn in Liscannor, Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna and Linnane’s Lobster Bar in New Quay, are amongs thirty-four Irish establishments to be listed in the latest 2014 Michelin ‘Eating Out In Pubs’ Guide which has just been published. They are listed alongside twenty-three other pubs from the Republic of Ireland and seven from Northern Ireland also featured in the publication. Both Linnane’s Lobster Bar in New Quay and Morrissey’s of Doonbeg are new listings while the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna is one of three to receive Inspector’s Favourite listings, others being Deasy’s (Clonakilty) and Toddy’s at The Bulman (Kinsale). Overall, listings were allocated as follows: Down (7), Cork (6), Clare (4), Mayo (3), Galway, Kerry and Kildare (2 each) followed by Dublin, Leitrim, Louth, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow (1 each). Noting that no one has to put up with bad food in a pub anymore, editor Rebecca Burr …

THE Burren winterage festival takes place over the bank holiday weekend. The celebration honours generations of Burren farmers and includes re-enactments of ancient pastoral traditions and Samhain pursuits. For hundreds of years, Burren farmers have marked the end of the summer by herding their cattle up onto winter pastures in the limestone uplands, in the tradition known as winterage and the Burren is one of the only places in the world where it still occurs. Recent years have seen a decline in many rural traditions but one local group is trying to not only ensure the continuation of this important Burren tradition but is celebrating it in a community-led weekend event. Along with the local community, the Burrenbeo Trust is coordinating the 2013 Burren Winterage Weekend, which celebrates the Burren’s farming heritage and the broader significance of pastoral farming in the Burren and beyond. The weekend includes a prize for the best shorthorn heifer, an open farm day, a fancy …

THE 29th annual Irish caving symposium (SUICRO 2013) takes place this October Bank Holiday weekend in Hotel Doolin, attracting more than 100 cavers from around Ireland and the UK. The event, organised by the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO) and the Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI), will include activities, lectures, demonstrations, trade stands, workshops and DVDs and, for the first time, is open to the public. As well as attending lectures, members of the public can try out caving with qualified guides in some of the Burren’s most beautiful caves and visit ICRO’s rescue store located in Doolin. First-time explorers will be provided with the necessary equipment and will be guided by fully qualified cave leaders. The symposium offers an opportunity to learn about the subterranean world in Ireland and abroad, meet avid cavers and learn about the challenges faced by cave rescuers. “We decided that we would love to open up the store this year to those interested in …

MONEY allocated this week for work at the promenade in Lahinch should be used to make the beach accessible for people with disabilities, according to the county’s Centre for Independent Living (CIL). The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced it is providing €333,000 for capital works projects in marine leisure and tourism infrastructure in North Clare. This funding will go to two projects, the upgrade of the promenade in Lahinch and the redevelopment of Liscannor pier, and will be 75% funded by the department, with the remainder coming from the local authority. Responding to the funding announcement, Clare CIL is calling on the local authority and public representatives to ensure the development on the promenade in Lahinch is suitable for people with disabilities and wheelchair users. Clare CIL wants Lahinch beach to be made more accessible with the new funding. The 2000 Equal Status Act and 2005 Disability Act states that public places must be accessible for people …

A MAJOR international conference focusing on sustainable destination development through partnership, balancing conservation and tourism will be held in the county later this month. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark LIFE programme will host the conference at The Falls Hotel and Spa, Ennistymon on October 17 and 18. The event will feature contributions from leading local, national and international experts on sustainable tourism, including representatives of Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism (France), Solimar International (USA), Cultural Site Research and Management (USA), Tourism Ireland, the Office of Public Works and Fáilte Ireland (Ireland). The conference announcement comes just days after the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark was shortlisted in the Best Destination for Responsible Tourism category of the 10th annual 2013 World Responsible Tourism Awards. Commenting on the background to the conference, Carol Gleeson, manager of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark LIFE programme said, “LIFE is designed to explore how best to develop and manage sustainable tourism …