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Regional

Five in the running for Tuamgraney’s mayoral chain

IT could be said that in some instances the vote on Ireland’s Referendum on the Stability Treaty this Thursday took second place in a certain part of East Clare this week as the race hotted up for the election of Tuamgraney’s first mayor.Indications are that it will be a very tight contest and it’s anyone’s guess who will be the first recipient of the chain of office at the concluding event of the festival in Hassett’s Pub on Sunday night next.The mayoral election is the centre piece of Tuamgraney’s first ever Community Weekend, which is aimed at putting Tuamgraney on the map as a festival venue. It is hoped to attract big numbers of visitors to the area over the bank holiday weekend, especially natives who are living in different counties and countries. The emphasis will be on community involvement and community entertainment over the weekend.It starts with a golf competition in the East Clare Golf Club, Bodyke on Saturday …

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€250,000 to roll in from annual cycling event

NORTH Clare is set for a €250,000 economic boost later this year as 2,500 cyclists take part in this year’s An Post Tour de Burren.This is the seventh year of the event, which will take place on June 23 in Ballyvaughan.“The An Post Tour de Burren has a national reputation of being a quality event, in a unique environment, and we want to maintain that,” said co-organiser of the 2012 event, John Sweeney, Clare Sports Partnership.According to Barbara Faulkner, chair of the Clare Tourism Forum, “The success of this event over the past number of years has helped raise the profile of the area and provided a huge boost to the local economy. It is estimated that again this year the event will bring revenue of €250,000.”There are four routes this year for the event and three of them have brand new elements to them.“We have spiced up the routes this year. We are very conscious that a number of …

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Pupils make their mark on new school window

LEAVING Cert Applied students in Gort reflected on a year of hard work on Monday when Minister for Training and Skills at the Department of Education and Skills Ciarán Cannon officially unveiled a stained-glass window designed and made by the group.The carefully crafted piece was inspired by the theme of Diversity and Inclusion and was installed above the main doors of Gort Community School at the weekend.Principal of Gort Community School Dennis Corry outlined the background to the project, which was funded by a grant from the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, NAPD. “Since late 2011, the Leaving Cert Applied students of Gort Community School have been busily working in collaboration with local stained glass artist, Gerry Ruane. Their brief was to create and make a bespoke piece of stained glass for the entrance to our school. The theme chosen was Diversity and Inclusion, while the design itself was created by one of our own LCA students, Ben …

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Tri-ing times for a worthy cause

TRI-ING their best to give something back, staff and leisure centre members from the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort are entering three relay teams in this weekend’s Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon. For Michael O’Grady, well-known owner of the hotel, this will be his first competitive cycle. The 73-year-old is more of a golf man.“I would always have been reasonably fit, especially for my age. I play golf and do a bit of walking but cycling was a new dimension for me in terms of getting fit. I volunteered for cycling because when I am away on holidays, I spend a bit of time cycling. I find at my age, it is easier on the joints than walking or running. Then my two neighbours volunteered with me,” he explained. The three teams from the Lady Gregory are competing in aid of the Galway Hospice. Team one is hotel owner Michael O’Grady (cycling), Hannah Kelly from the hotel leisure club (running) and …

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Indian ambassador unveils plaque to Kilkee scientist

THE Indian Ambassador to Ireland, Debasish Chakravarti, unveiled a plaque to Kilkee-born scientist, Sir Edwin J Butler, at Kilkee library on Tuesday. Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes also attended the ceremony.Edwin Butler was born in 1874 in Kilkee, where his father was resident magistrate. He graduated in medicine from Queen’s College Cork, now University College Cork, where a building is named in his honour, in 1898.After graduation, Edwin won an 1851 exhibition travelling scholarship and studied mycology (fungi) in Paris, Freiburg, Antibes and Kew. In 1901, he was appointed cryptogamic botanist to the Government of India.He trained mycologists and technicians in India, set up a herbarium and culture collection, inspired workers and advanced knowledge and research. In 1905, he was appointed imperial mycologist at the new Agricultural Research Station in Pusa and in 1920 was appointed agricultural adviser to the Government of India. He is known in India as ‘The Father of Indian Plant Pathology and Mycology’.Edwin investigated the diseases …

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Army chief to open jazz festival

DEFENCE Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán McCann will open the 13th annual Doonbeg Jazz Festival at 9pm on Friday in the Igoe Inn.Lieutenant General McCann joined the Defence Forces as an Army Cadet in 1970. A cavalry officer, he was previously Deputy Chief of Staff (Ops), Director of Operations and Director of Cavalry, as well as instructing in the Military College and the United Nations Training School. He is a graduate of University College Galway (UCG) and of the United States Command and General Staff College (Fort Leavenworth).On October 6, 2011, Lieutenant General McCann was formally inducted into the International Hall of Fame (IHOF) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.The jazz festival will run throughout the upcoming bank holiday weekend. This year the festival will feature 10 bands from Germany, the UK and Ireland in a 29-performance programme.Among the groups travelling to Doonbeg will be Jazzonahz from Trier, Germany; Jazz Main from Edinburgh; The Bourbon Swing Band from Northern Ireland, …

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Latch-On marks a European first

  THE Clare branch of Down Syndrome Ireland is among the first in Europe to begin offering an innovative literacy programme for adults with Down Syndrome in Ennis. The programme, Latch-On (Literacy and Technology Hands-on) was devised in Australia and has begun this week in the Clare Language Centre with 12 students taking part in the two-year course. According to Barbara Roche, treasurer of the Clare Branch of DSI, “This is a very exciting time for our adult members and offers them a chance of a lifetime to begin or improve their literacy through the world’s best adult literacy programme. A lot of hard work has gone on in the background to get us to this stage so we are delighted to see the course starting this week.” Down Syndrome Ireland has been awarded the national licence to exclusively offer the programme in Ireland, the first European country to succeed in acquiring the licence. The adult literacy programme is set …

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Eagles have flown the coop

THE pair of White Tailed Sea Eagles that were nesting in Mountshannon  will not be growing in numbers just yet, as the eagles have flown the nest where they were believed to be nurturing eggs.

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