North Clare

THE Burren Action Group this week welcomed the news that the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has withdrawn its application to build a car park at Mullaghmore.

A MOONLIGHT walk in aid of the RNLI will take place at the flaggy shore in New Quay, Belharbour on Friday, June 21. This year, the walk coincides with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

RICH in iconography and bathed in sunshine and silence last week, St Flannan’s Well in Drimanure has changed a lot since its namesake roamed the Clare countryside.

MUSIC lovers from across the region will travel to North Clare at the weekend for this year’s Féile an tSamhraidh in Fanore and Ballyvaughan.Joining Paddy Casey and The Walls on the main stage on Saturday will be new band Walking On Cars, along with The Jim McKee Band, while local acts Lobster Johnson and Dominic Flynn perform on the Burren stage.“We have been very ambitious in this year’s festival line-up with fantastic acts from the get-go, so I would advise festival goers to arrive early in order to make sure not to miss their favourite act,” said Tom O’Donnell, one of the organisers.“The music starts in Ballyvaughan community field from 4pm with The Jim McKee Band, followed by Walking On Cars. Paddy Casey takes to the stage at 7pm, followed later by The Walls. Lobster Johnson and Dominic Flynn will perform on the Burren stage through the evening,” he added.There will be free bouncy castles and face painting at Saturday’s …

THE Burren College of Art got a temporary new recruit recently as part of a job shadow initiative.EmployAbilityClare service user Sylvia O’Doherty shadowed a PhD research student, Elizabeth Matthews, at the college as part of the Irish Association of Supported Employment’s (IASE) National Job Shadow Day.The National Job Shadow Initiative is designed to give people with disabilities the opportunity to get a close-up look at the world of work for one day or one week in April each year. This allows them to learn about the skills and education required to compete and succeed in the workplace.Participants shadow a workplace mentor as they go about their daily work. Patrick O’Neill, team leader, EmployAbilityClare selected Sylvia for the opportunity. His decision was based in part on Sylvia’s talent for drawing buildings in 3D.“Our service has been working closely with Mary Hawkes Greene, president, Burren College of Art on a creative arts project. When approached about Job Shadow, Mary quickly arranged a …

A LINEAR history of Kilfenora will be launched this weekend, in an effort to encourage tourists to stay in the area for longer and find out more about the village’s cultural, social and archaeological heritage.

LISDOONVARNA is hoping to cash in on the pink economy by holding a gay and lesbian weekend as part of the world-renowned Matchmaking Festival this September. The North Clare village will welcome LGBT tourists in search of love to The Outing, which opens this year’s programme.

More than 2,200 cyclists are expected to join former world number one cyclist Sean Kelly for the fifth annual An Post Tour de Burren, details of which were announced this week.