North Clare

OVER 2,500 cyclists rode in the An Post Tour de Burren, which took place amid the breathtaking scenery of North Clare last Saturday.Apart from the success of the event, local businesses enjoyed a welcome cash injection and a number of groups will benefit from financial support down the line.The Burren Cycling Club/An Post Tour de Burren, in association with the Irish Sports Council and supported by Clare Sports Partnership, Clare Tourism Forum, Aillwee Cave and the community of North Clare, is designed to offer a variety of challenges. Cyclists had four routes to choose from, including the 10km Aillwee Cave Family Loop, which was all about fun, enjoyment and participation; the 60km Corkscrew Challenge, which took cyclists from Ballyvaughan up Corkscrew Hill, a grade 2 King of the Mountains climb on the An Post Rás; the 100km Burren 100 with two challenging climbs and the Burnin Burren spin, which offered cyclists a 160km journey through North Clare on a route …

NORTH Clare residents are being asked to support a novelty cycle through Lahinch for the Irish Cancer Society. Three brave, fit young men have decided to throw caution to the wind, saddle up, all on the one bike, and cycle through 17 counties in the name of charity and good humour.The three men, Andrew Doyle, Declan Prior and Shane Healy, are gearing up for a 1,700km, 24-day cycle around Ireland on a three-man bike in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.The unique Tour De Ireland will take the three Dublin lads to Lahinch on July 9, which is day 14 of their adventure. The threesome are urging locals to spare some pocket money to help them raise funds for the cause. “We are really excited about the challenge but I don’t mind admitting that we are a bit nervous about spending so much time in such close proximity to one another,” confessed Shane, the joker of the group.The 10ft long …

PLANS for a new railway station in Crusheen have been given the green light by Clare County Council, following years of campaigning by a local lobby group.The Crusheen Railway Committee, which is spearheaded by Sean Keehan and Michael O’Doherty, has spent years lobbying public representatives and Iarnród Éireann to construct a rail stop in the village. The group presented a strong case, which showed Crusheen is an ideal location for a rail stop to facilitate people coming from Ruan, Corofin, Tubber, Boston and elsewhere in North Clare, as well as Tulla and other areas of East Clare.Funds of about €1.5 million have already been allocated for the Crusheen stop on the recently opened €106.5m Western Rail Corridor, which delivers services between Galway and Limerick.New and changed services on the route include a new Galway to Ennis evening commuter service, departing Galway for Ennis at 6.30pm and departing Ennis for Galway at 8.15pm, the latter providing a new evening link from …

NATURE at the Cliffs of Moher, a new wildlife DVD, shows in remarkable detail how the world-famous landmark is far more than a 700ft wall of rock.The 40-minute DVD is produced by Waxwing Wildlife Productions, a Clare-based film company run by John Murphy and Stan Nugent, which specialises in nature documentaries. The DVD took almost two years to film and produce and features interviews with staff at the Cliffs, especially the rangers, with all aspects of nature and biodiversity covered.The DVD looks closely at the 30,000 strong breeding seabirds that summer there and gives information on their lifestyle.One of the species highlighted is the puffin, of which there are almost 1,200 pairs nesting at the Cliffs. These birds are known as the clown or parrot of the sea and the puffin is one of the most recognisable and colourful seabirds.The puffin is a species of conservation concern and Amber-listed due to its localised breeding population. The European population has been …

THE Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival is set to feature in the new RTÉ series, Creedon’s Retro Roadtrip. In the series, John Creedon retraces the route of the only holiday his entire family ever took together. In 1969, John and his 11 siblings were loaded into his father’s enormous Mercedes and those who wouldn’t fit were piled into a borrowed caravan, before the family took off for a two-week road trip around the country. More than 40 years later, he took off on his own journey, retracing the family’s footprints, looking at how the country has changed and visiting places captured on grainy homemade footage and in black and white photographs.The series started last Sunday and the third episode will feature Clare, where John met Crusheen-based seanachaí Eddie Lenihan, someone he said, he had a “great laugh” with.It also features a trip to the famous Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, which he said was quite bittersweet.“We spent two days there and we were kind …

CLARE Farm Heritage Tours has unveiled its summer programme, which includes tours for all ages alongside daily farm tours to eight unique farms in the Burren region. The programme begins on June 25 with a historical talk and walk at Cassidy’s Pub and Restaurant, Carron, in the heart of the Burren, followed by farm walks near Lahinch in July, a gardening in the Burren experience in August and finishing in September with stories of Maura Rua who lived at Lemenagh Castle.The farm tours are both educational and fun, allowing visitors to hear about the landscape of the Burren direct from the people who live and work in the area. The tours are led by individual landowners, who share their wealth of knowledge about local history and archaeology, landscape heritage, geology, and farming practices (both old and new), as well as innumerable anecdotes and tales about the Burren and its people. “With eight farms in our co-op, we have plenty variety …

VETERAN broadcaster and sports commentator, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh last week presented Scoil Mhuire, Lahinch, the Foras na Gaeilge GLEO 2011 Award in Croke Park along with 16 other schools from all over the country. The GLEO awards recognise schools that have led the way in promoting spoken Irish in their schools and communities during the past year.  Schools are selected on the basis of their innovation and creativity and this year and 17 received an award of €3,000 to spend on Irish language resources and language events for their school.  Scoil Mhuire won first place in the Munster Region.“These awards are a great incentive for both teachers and students to look for innovative and interesting ways to promote spoken Irish in their schools,” said Mícheál.  “There’s no doubt that they make Irish more fun for the pupils, which in turn fosters a further love of Irish as they grow older,” he added.All English medium primary and post-primary schools in which …

ALREADY internationally renowned, the Burren is about to receive one of its best ever promotional boosts. Images of the unique landscape of North Clare will be despatched to the far-flung corners of the world, thanks to An Post.The Burren National Park is one of six of the best of Ireland’s National Parks celebrated with a special stamp series launched this week.Designed by Steve Simpson, the stamps feature The Burren, Connemara, Glenveigh, Killarney, Wicklow and Ballycroy, County Mayo National Parks and are based on photographs by well-known international photographer, Walter Pfeiffer. Also issued to accompany the stamp set are three first-day covers, two sets of mini sheets and a prestige booklet featuring the stamps and a wealth of background information about Ireland’s National Parks. Each of these beautiful items is available from leading post offices, at www.irishstamps.ie or from the Irish Stamps shop in Dublin’s GPO.The entire set celebrates Ireland’s top national parks, unrivalled in their beauty and home to a …