Regional

IT will very much be a case of “down the hatch” for over 5,000 succulent oysters during one of Ireland’s longest running festivals on September 15 to 16.More families are expected to flock to the 58th Clarenbridge Oyster Festival, which has undertaken a major revamp.Speaking to The Clare Champion, festival chairperson Marie Cloonan confirmed the event has taken a new direction. There is much more of a casual/chic emphasis with plenty of fun and entertainment and less focus on the formal social side that is often more attractive to the business sector.Ms Cloonan said the committee had decided to reduce the festival to a two-day event to encourage more visitors to include it as part of a weekend break.She noted the dramatic overhaul is already paying off with up to 3,000 tickets sold for various events and a strong international interest with bookings from Switzerland, Sweden, France, the United States and Canada.Due to the reduction in ticket prices, the festival …

A THREE-month amnesty should be given to horse owners to facilitate the microchipping of horses, which are “squatting” on public land in Gort, according to a local county councillor.However, when the amnesty ends, the horses should be either removed by the owners or seized by Galway County Council.Councillor Gerry Finnerty has called on Galway County Council to consider fencing off public lands that is effectively being squatted on by owners of horses in several parts of the county.The Fianna Fáil councillor claimed there is potential traffic hazard and nuisance for residents posed by a large number of horses in a 10-acre site at Kinacha, Gort about half a mile from the centre of the town and at a six-acre sit at Lavally in the middle of the town.The land at Kinacha was originally purchased to provide a hardstand but was closed down and Councillor Finnerty believes this is being taken advantage of by horse owners.In total, Councillor Finnerty estimates there …

“PAINFULLY slow” is how East Clare residents and locals in Spancilhill refer to the progress on the Spancilhill Road Improvement Scheme and as construction nears the three-year mark, the wait might soon be over. The Clare Champion has learned that this 750-metre stretch of road forming the basis of the Spancilhill Road Improvement Scheme will cost €2.9 million on its completion and will have taken almost three years to construct.  With up to 6,000 vehicles using the route on a daily basis, frustration with the delay in completing this small stretch of road is mounting and many are wondering when the wait will be over for the completion of the Spancilhill Road. Indeed, a piece of stone work to mark Spancilhill Cross has been waiting to go in at the cross since March of this year in hopes that works would be completed. In a statement to The Clare Champion this week, Clare County Council estimate the scheme will be …

AS September 1 approaches, it is time to get the 68th annual Scariff Show on the road and this year sees some additions as well as the reintroduction of some old-time favourites. Having been absent for many years, the cows come home to Scariff Show as the cattle section is reintroduced with nine classes in the champion and reserve champion section. Speaking about the upcoming show, which takes place on September 1, Joanne Allen, secretary of Scariff Show, said this was the year to bring back the cattle section. “Our cattle section has been reintroduced after an absence of 12 or 15 years. We just felt that there was a need for it. A lot of local people and a lot of breeders have been asking when we would bring it back and we have been threatening to bring it back for the last two or three years but there were various things we needed to clear with the Department …

AS September 1 approaches, it is time to get the 68th annual Scariff Show on the road and this year sees some additions as well as the reintroduction of some old-time favourites. Having been absent for many years, the cows come home to Scariff Show as the cattle section is reintroduced with nine classes in the champion and reserve champion section. Speaking about the upcoming show, which takes place on September 1, Joanne Allen, secretary of Scariff Show, said this was the year to bring back the cattle section. “Our cattle section has been reintroduced after an absence of 12 or 15 years. We just felt that there was a need for it. A lot of local people and a lot of breeders have been asking when we would bring it back and we have been threatening to bring it back for the last two or three years but there were various things we needed to clear with the Department …

EMMET Greaney, secretary of the Kilrush Fianna Fáil Cumann has challenged Clare’s three Government TDs to “stop this Government from further attacking the weak and vulnerable”. In a statement issued this week, he claimed the disadvantaged area and the disabled persons’ schemes now face losing funding from local authorities across the country. “From the viewpoint of my sister, I have seen first hand how such funding to the disabled helps both families and the community as a whole and how it creates a better standard of life for those with disabilities,” Mr Greaney said. “Galway County Council last week admitted that because of the shortfall in the household charge payments across the county, payments to these schemes would be cut or postponed. This sets a precedent for the rest of the country. Cork has now begun deferring such payments, leaving the possibility of the same happening here in Clare,” Mr Greaney claimed. “These grants and schemes are used to improve …

THE 18th annual Dan Furey weekend of set-dancing will be held in Labasheeda this weekend. It will start on Friday evening and conclude on Sunday. The headquarters will be the local community centre. The festival in memory of Dan, who dedicated his life to teaching the dances of the Labasheeda area, has become the focal point for the community over the years. Dan Furey and his friend, James Keane, came to national and international prominence in their latter years particularly through Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy and travelled all over Ireland and abroad teaching set and step dancing. The festival will be officially opened on the Friday night at 9.30pm by Fr Tom McGrath, who spent over 40 years in Kenya as a missionary priest. He is now retired at home in the company of his mother, Bridie, and sister, Mary. Stephen McDonagh is a local historian who, along with heritage officers from Clare County Council, in conjunction with Heritage Week, …

MEMORIES of dancing at various crossroads in South-East Clare came flooding back for locals who commemorated the death of a Cratloe native, who lost his life on the ill-fated RMS Titanic 100 years ago.