North Clare

CLARE is home to some of Ireland’s “most forward thinking farmers”, according to the head of one of the country’s farming organisations this week.Cratloe man Eddie Punch, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association general secretary, was in North Clare during the week with a group of Austrian organic farmers, who were visiting to see some Irish organic farming, as well as giving a few inside tips of the trade from an organically-forward nation.The trip was organised by the ICSA and saw the group of over 40 farmers visit organic and non-organic farms in Offaly, Galway, Tipperary, Mayo and Kildare, as well as Clare.“Organic farming can play an enormous role in the recovery of the Irish economy, as well as having a hugely positive benefit for farming itself. A move towards organic farming in Ireland would be extremely beneficial to production levels in the country. There is also a sense amongst Irish consumers that organic food is a safer food as …

DOOLIN Coast Guard Unit was called to two separate incidents in Lahinch on Saturday after a boat ran aground and a surfer got into difficulty.At 11.20am, the local coast guard unit was tasked by Marine Rescue Sub Centre, Valentia to assist a 25-foot pleasure boat with engine failure off Lahinch. The team assembled and travelled by road with the D-Class to Liscannor and launched from there, with the intention of towing the boat off shore.However, there were big breakers off the beach and the pleasure boat washed ashore at Lahinch Beach. The person onboard at the time was uninjured and was able to walk ashore. Coast guard members recovered the boat from the beach with a trailer shortly afterwards.Doolin Coast Guard Unit was tasked for a second time that afternoon when a member of the public called emergency services after becoming concerned about a surfer in difficulty off the busy North Clare beach.Doolin Coast Guard Unit was tasked at 5.30pm, …

The annual Burren in Bloom Festival starts in early May. Crammed with a host of talks and guided walks, this year’s programme has a range of subjects covering everything from archaeology to geology as well as butterflies and birds.

Andrew Clancy, Lahinch, Michael Morgan, Kilfenora and Peader O’Reilly, Lisdoonvarna, are intent on creating the perfect sauce in Mary’s Men Only Cookery Class at the Boghill Centre, Kilfenora.

The economic and social benefits of heritage and culture can only be realised with astute management, according to speakers at the Burrenbeo Trust’s gala evening held recently. At the event, entitled Landscape, Memory and Friendship, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, said, “The Burren is a remarkable area, which needs to be protected and managed in a sensitive way that respects and benefits the local community and wider society. Conserving our natural and cultural heritage provides real economic returns and we are fortunate indeed to have the Burrenbeo Trust. “Since the Trust was formed in 2008, it has trained hundreds of Burren schoolchildren to become ‘Burren experts’, developed a portal Burren website, a resource centre in Kinvara and also a Burren Business Network, which promotes businesses within the Burren. The Burrenbeo Trust has already had a major impact both locally and nationally and hopefully it can serve as a model for other regions of the country …

A PRIVATE developer would not “have got away with what the council did in Corofin,” a local councillor has claimed.

ENNISTYMON Choral Society will present Fiddler on the Roof beginning on Thursday, April 14 and continuing until Sunday, April 17 inclusive in the Sluagh Hall, Lahinch at 8.15pm nightly.