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Kinvara workshop spotlights ancient photography process

SISTERS Susan Campbell and Paula Hickey will illuminate their practice as visual artists with an exciting ‘cyanotype’ workshop at the Courthouse in Kinvara later this month.  Ahead of the launch of their joint exhibition entitled ‘Twofold’, the acclaimed artists will discuss their creative practice and invite others to experiment with this ancient photographic technique. A workshop on Thursday, August 25, from 3pm to 5.30pm will demonstrate the process of cyanotype making. Cyanotype is a centuries-old photographic printing process that creates images in distinctive shades of dark green-blue.  At the Kinvara event, Susan and Paula will demonstrate a new and exciting technique to harness cyanotype as a means of capturing water in flow. The creation of the cyanotypes will involve a process whereby a light-sensitive solution, used to coat a support – such as paper – reacts to whatever is placed on its surface. These experimental techniques exploit its reactive properties and register water in different states of flow. The workshop …

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Father Francis moving on from Shannon after happy spell

AFTER spending the last five years in Shannon, Father Francis Xavier Kochuveettil is moving to Toomevara, where he has been appointed as co-parish priest, beginning there on August 26. An Indian native, coming to Shannon was obviously a huge change, but he says he adapted quite quickly. “The people are very friendly, very, very friendly. When I came here I had no idea about Ireland at all, I learned everything from Shannon. “People supported me and encouraged me with everything. When I came here Tom Ryan was the parish priest, there was Canon Brendan and Father Arnold was the curate at that time, and we’ve had a good team here. “People are lovely here and I always thank God for bringing me here. It’s such a nice place here.” To the uninitiated, the accents in Clare are not the easiest to comprehend, and that was something he had to get used to. “I can follow English, but the Irish-English is …

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More White-tailed Eagles set for release on Lough Derg

LOUGH Derg is to be the location for the release of another clutch of White-tailed Eagle chicks over the coming weeks.  As part of an ongoing project to boost the species at a number of Munster locations, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), have been collaborating closely, since 2020, with partner organisations in Norway, as well as local experts. Last week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin joined the NPWS for the release of a number of chicks at Tarbert, County Kerry, as part of the long-term wildlife reintroduction project.  The 2022 phase of the landmark effort to restore a once-extinct bird to Irish skies, will see the release of a total of 16 young eagles across sites on Lough Derg in County Clare, the lower Shannon estuary and Killarney National Park.  As in previous years, the young eagles were collected, under licence, in Norway by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) and co-workers. All the birds have been fitted with …

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GALLERY: Record attendances at Feakle Festival

MORE than 6,000 people flocked to North East Clare for the 35th Feakle Festival, which wrapped up, leaving audiences and organisers “exhausted but very happy”, last Monday (August 8).  After two years of virtual events, visitors from all over Ireland, Europe, the US and as far afield as Japan descended on the village for what has been described as “out of this world”.  Local publican and member of the organising committee, Gary Pepper, said any worries about competition with the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Mullingar were quickly set aside. “It seems that the word went around at the Fleadh that Feakle was hopping,” he said.   “So, lots of people left the Fleadh and came here and it really added to the event in terms of the quality of the music. We expected a good festival, but it was a bit like preparing for an All-Ireland final with the Fleadh up against us. It seems that, if the Fleadh …

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Eir defends controversial mast as ‘futureproofing area’s needs’

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to install a 21-metre mast in the centre of Scariff has been defended by its developers, on the basis that it will future proof the area’s communications needs.  Proposals lodged by Eir at the end of last year, sparked considerable local alarm over moves to replace a 12m pole at the exchange of The Connacht Road with a much larger structure. A total of ten objections were lodged, including one with a petition containing 48 signatures.  Against that backdrop, County Planners contacted Eir in February seeking Further Information (FI) on a number of of aspects of the mast plan. The company has now responded.  Planners had raised concerns over the proposed location of the mast, which would be just 15m from a number of local homes and the potential for “an over-bearing, imposing effect”. They also said the proposed mast would be “highly visible” from locations including the R352, a designated scenic route.  In its recent response …

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Shannon bike scheme to get back in saddle with security upgrade

THE Shannon bike sharing scheme is set to be back in action this week, after having had to be paused due to vandalism. CoMotion, the company that provides the bikes, initially opted to suspend the scheme at night-time in a bid to cut off the anti-social behaviour. However, when that didn’t work and the problem persisted, the decision was taken to close the scheme down temporarily, while new security measures were arranged. Jarlath Ganly, CEO of CoMotion said, “We had some instances of anti-social behaviour so we temporarily paused the scheme, we’re introducing some new security measures within the app. “We’re having younger teenagers accessing the scheme, and we just need to put in some extra security measures so we can verify their age before they sign up. We’re developing that and we hope to reactivate it quickly, back to full capacity.” It is understood that a very small number of people were involved in the anti-social behaviour, and that …

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12 O’Clock Hills Heritage Walk this weekend

TO MARK National Heritage Week, and in particular to thank the Heritage Council for part funding the restoration of a number of sites, the 12 O’Clock Hills project committee are organising a walk with a heritage theme on Saturday, August 13.  The meeting point is the Belvoir carpark at 9.45am, for the walk which starts at 10am. The route will be mostly a flat walk along the Red Trail where most of the heritage sites are located. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone who would like to know the background history of the area and to learn about the people who lived here and their lifestyles around the early- to mid-1900’s. Because of the theme it will be a slow-paced walk (approximately two to three hours) where hopefully loads of questions will be asked and answered. During this walk, the committee hopes to bring life to a question that is often asked of walkers: “Did you pop in to …

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LUA celebration ‘of wild water’ to take place in Killaloe

PLANS have been floated for a new end of season celebration in Killaloe next month, marking people’s ever-evolving relationship with wild water. One of the organisers, Rev Paul Fitzpatrick hopes this inaugural event will grow and develop into an annual celebration, marking the end of the season. The Dean’s Vicar of Killaloe and Stradbally Group of Parishes is keen to extend hospitality and “the extraordinary ambience” of Killaloe to all visitors. “All personal contact is now made and there is such amazing collaboration support and generosity around for this celebration,” said Reverend Fitzpatrick. “The inaugural event will complement so much all that has and is presently happening. Flags are really flying for Clare, Tipperary and Killaloe. “Our human relationship with wild water is ever-evolving. In past times water seemed to bear greater symbolic significance when a body of water represented a liminal interlude on the way to another world. It was used as a transport vector for cultural, pastoral, and …

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