North Clare

THOUSANDS of singletons from all over Ireland and far beyond will throng Lisdoonvarna as the Matchmaking Festival returns this September. While live music will ring out from bars and venues around the village, organisers have said that live music events at the Marquee and Pavilion theatre will not be going ahead this year, due to rising operational costs. The festival goes back to the 19th Century and third generation matchmaker Willie Daly, who has made over 3,000 matches over the last 50 years, said that this year’s festival will be one of a kind, with huge pent-up demand out there among singletons.  “Love has been kind of put on hold, a lot of people have been starved for love really, due to Covid and restricted movement. This year there is great enthusiasm with people to get out there and make up for the lost years. “There were a number of lost years and at certain ages it’s serious enough. It’ll …

THE final presentation of the Ennistymon Enhancement Strategy took place at a public event in the town on Tuesday evening. “There were a lot of positive comments and some other comments that we need to take on board. I think we satisfied more people and we’ll explore some things a bit further,” said Ennistymon Town Team member Maude Hogan this Wednesday. “The crowd might have been a little bit smaller than previously, but then people are on holidays and some might feel they’ve seen it already. We’re putting up the presentation boards in the Library for ten days or so,” she added. Ms Hogan said a lot of effort has gone into getting the views of locals and now there is a vision for the future of Ennistymon. “It’s good to almost be at the end of the road and we now have a blueprint for the future. We’ve had a lot of consultations, in-depth ones, open public meetings in …

THE man who has led a fundraising swim that has raised tens of thousands of euros for local charities is set to hang up his goggles. This August, Lahinch native Pat Conway will lead the 50th annual fundraising Lahinch to Liscannor Swim and after that will call it a day. Pat started this swim way back in 1972 and has organised, fundraised and swam it for the past 49 years. This year’s crossing, taking place on August 7, will be his 50th swim and final year swimming across the bay. Pat is a well known member of the local community and fondly known by friends and family as The Whale acknowledging his love of the water and swimming accomplishments going back decades. Pat started the Liscannor Swim as a fundraiser for the Friends of Ennistymon Hospital. From here, his efforts (and stamina) increased and he started training to swim the English Channel. His training consisted of swimming over and back …

Clare County Council has partnered with the University of Limerick (UL) to sponsor a new PhD Scholarship Programme at the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Working with UL’s National Centre For Tourism Policy Studies (NCTPS) and The Kemmy Business School, Ireland’s most visited natural attraction this week welcomed the sponsored PhD student Ernesto Sanchez as part of the tourism research project he will undertake over the next four years.  The structured PhD programme will focus challenges and opportunities of responding to a paradigm shift in the tourism marketplace, including visitor experience, sustainable tourism, destination and visitor management and the role of technology in shaping tourism.  “This programme represents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with the University of Limerick in generating important research that will help to define and shape the future of tourism in Clare,” commented Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Ms. Enright added, “In addition to providing Ernesto a monetary sum to support his academic studies and research, the scholarship …

ARTWORKS created by pupils from New Quay National School in the Burren will go on display early next month at the Courthouse Gallery in Kinvara.  An exhibition entitled ‘Creative Mapping’, will run from June 3 to 12 at the gallery which is the base of Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA). The show is the culmination of initiatives support by The Arts Council, Clare Arts Office and The Department of Education.  School Principal Mary Reidy said the show will combine pieces from two art projects which children have participated in. “As a recipient of a Creative School grant award in 2020 New Quay National School is certainly busy these days,” she said. “An after-school art appreciation programme has been re-established since Easter, this is offered as a free programme to children from First Class upwards and will continue up into the early part of June. This is facilitated by local parents Ellie Farrell and Cate King. With the help of Creative …

WITH the north Clare property market soaring, auctioneer Peri Griffin said it is very difficult for local people who want to rent a home in their own areas. Ms Griffin, of Streets Ahead Properties, said there is a massive level of interest in almost any property that becomes available. “For instance we put up an advertisement for a place in Coore lately, and that wouldn’t be somewhere many people would be looking for, but we must have had 60 to 70 emails. “Here in Ennistymon you could have 150 emails. I put up one for Lisdoonvarna and in the space of five minutes there must have been 20 emails in.” She says the difficulties in the local rental market are actually going on for a long time. “We have had a crisis on our doorstep for the last six years, never mind just now.” She said that since she became active in renting properties in 2008 a number of landlords …

THE first North West Clare agricultural show in three years is going to take place on Sunday, June 5, on the grounds of the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon. PRO Kieran Houlihan said that while missing two years of the show was disappointing, it was necessary. “We were disappointed, but we were more than happy to go along with the guide lines that were in place. A lot of our committee members would be middle aged or older and their safety was a priority. Like all organisations we were curtailed but it was for the benefit of all.” Some things are different after the pandemic and he feels there may be more entries in some of the classes. “We’re hoping to see a large turnout in home produce classes. A lot of people took on lockdown projects and got interested in gardening and fowl and that kind of thing, so we’re hoping there will be an increase in those classes. “Maybe …

A North Clare community-led group is strongly encouraging community groups, community interests and local residents to have their say during the current phase of the Cliffs of Moher 2040 consultation process. The North Clare Strategic Planning Group (NCSPG) is a collaborative body, committed to the creation of a community of communities across the North Clare region and is offering to facilitate a shared community voice on the proposed developments. The future of the Cliffs of Moher is currently the subject of heightened attention as Clare County Council, in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, plans for the future development and sustainability of this iconic location. The Council has created a number of online and in-person opportunities for interested parties to have their say on plans for the Cliffs’ future. Established in 2021, the NCSPG’s ambition is to facilitate communities across North Clare to come together to address significant regional concerns and to maximise local community-based skills, assets and expertise for the benefit …