Regional

One of South Galway’s most picturesque locations is preparing for the arrival of hundreds of sports enthusiasts from across Ireland and the UK. As well as seasoned athletes, the Lough Cutra Triathlon, which is taking place on Sunday, June 3, is open to adults and children from eight years and up, encouraging all the family to get fit the fun way. The triathlon consists of a swim, followed by a cycle and then a run. Triathlons, for so long the preserve of the serious athlete, are now attracting the wider public, providing a personal challenge for many first-time fun-runners. Race distances and times vary according to age and standard, ranging from The Widgeon for 8-10 year olds which incorporates a 100m swim, a 4km cycle, a 1.3km run right up to three adult distances with the top one being the Olympic (1,500m/40km/10km). Participants can also do the triathlon as a relay, with one person doing the swim, another the cycle …

It was the equivalent of being beaten by a last-minute point in an All-Ireland football final. Talented amateur thespians in Doonbeg were left pondering what might have been after Letterkenny Drama Group, Donegal, pipped them by one single mark in the All-Ireland Drama Festival finals held in Shercock, County Cavan, last week.Adjudicator Walker Ewart, who said the standard of production and acting were exceptionally high, admitted he debated “long and hard” when it came to choosing first and second in the coveted decider.While Doonbeg producer Mary Egan admitted the group was disappointed to lose by the narrowest of margins, Letterkenny 93 to Doonbeg’s 92, she said members were pleased to have performed so well. Their performance of The Weir, a one-act play by Conor McPherson was all the more noteworthy when the number of people living in the Long Village is compared to a very large urban centre such as Letterkenny, which has a population of over 18,000.Most of the …

FOURTEEN-year-old Nicole Norton, the Barefield girl whose dream came true with the help of Share a Dream last week, “had a ball” on her girlie day out according to her mother Ann.As detailed in last week’s Clare Champion, Nicole, who has cerebral palsy and is visually impaired, got to spend last Friday being pampered and preened. Nicole’s dream day culminated with her taking the stage as an honorary Rose of Clare.“It was absolutely fantastic,” said Ann. “From the very first moment when the limo arrived to pick her up, it was amazing. She had a garda escort to Limerick and they gave her a garda hat to wear. Everybody was just so good to her and she got some amazing clothes. And when we went to the photography studio, the photographs were fantastic. It was great for her to be able to switch off from it all for the day. And the Roses were brilliant. When Orla McDonagh was announced …

CLARE County Council has drawn the ire of a community group for installing an “ugly” crash barrier on a 15th century stone bridge.The O’Briensbridge Community Group said they are “incensed, angry and outraged” that the stone bridge has been “defaced and vandalised” by the erection of what they termed an “obscene double tier crash barrier”.Deputy Michael McNamara has also asked that Clare County Council remove this “ugly feature” and replace it with “something more suitable” in advance of the tourist season.O’Briensbridge Community Group received a special endeavour award in 2011 at the Housing, Social and Cultural Services Directorate Awards, held as part of the council’s programme of sustaining positive and co-operative working relationships with local groups. Deputy McNamara claimed “this eyesore flies in the face of their efforts”.“It seems incredible to me that on the same week as Fáilte Ireland and Waterways Ireland, in conjunction with Clare County Council, spent scarce resources on Discover Killaloe and Ballina…this unsightly crash barrier …

THE Taoiseach Enda Kenny was in Shannon for the official launch of Transaero Engineering, following the acquisition by Transaero Airlines of the former Air Atlanta Aero Engineering facility, a move that is set to create over 100 jobs in the coming year.Transaero Engineering Ireland performs maintenance services on Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft for passenger, cargo, corporate airlines and aircraft leasing companies from around the world at its modern facility.While the company already employs 241 staff, the number will grow through the addition of line/project maintenance on Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft and increased aircraft interior, training and engineering capability. The company has just released details of its annual aircraft recruitment campaign.Mr Kenny welcomed the Transaero takeover. “I am delighted that a significant global airline such as Transaero has chosen Shannon as a location for its maintenance facility. It is a major vote of confidence in the workforce of Transaero Engineering Ireland, the Shannon region and in the continuing …

With the retail trade being one of the sectors that has been hit hardest by the downturn in the economy, ACIST Skillnet and Ennis Chamber are providing a workshop series entitled Boost the Bottom Line – A Profit Margin Workshop Series. The series will take place on four consecutive Wednesdays in May from 6.30pm-9.30pm in the Temple Gate Hotel. The aim of the workshop series is to assist business owner/managers to protect and increase profit margins and to create awareness of areas that profit margins may be lost.  The workshop series will cover profit margins within a business that has employees, products and a premises such as any form of retail business. However, many of the principles of profit margin will apply to all businesses.  The series is targeted at owner/managers, supervisors and decision makers within a business.The first workshop will take place on Wednesday, May 9 on the subject of increasing sales.  On Wednesday, May 16, the workshop will …

Four junior pupils from St Flannan’s College have boldly gone on to win second place in their category at the elite NASA/Ames annual space settlement design competition.They will now travel to the International Space Development Conference in Washington DC next month.The competition challenges pupils to engineer and design a self-sufficient space colony capable of housing thousands of inhabitants. The judging criteria is based on their creativity, thoroughness, accuracy, technical merit, attention to detail and background research. The space settlement has to break no physical laws, have a reasonable extrapolation of existing technology, a clean internal environment, minimal leaks and be pragmatic.This has been the best result to date for the Science Club in St Flannan’s College. In 2010, a larger team came third place and in 2011 a different team came in the highly recommended category. The winning team this year is made up of one third-year pupil, Caitlyn Horgan, and three second-year pupils, Mike O’Dea, Peter O’Connell Stack and …

A 14-year-old girl from Barefield is set to prove that just because she cannot walk, she can still become a model. Nicole Norton, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is visually impaired, will have her dreams of come true this Friday with the help of the Share a Dream Foundation.As part of her perfect ‘girlie’ day out, Nicole will get a model makeover and photoshoot as well as becoming an honorary Rose at the 2012 Rose of Clare in the West County. Nicole’s mother Ann said, “It was a friend of Nicole, Jennifer, who is physically disabled, who contacted Share a Dream to put Nicole forward. She wanted her to be a model and to go on a shopping spree. Nicole would be very much a girlie girl. I think it’s just brilliant she will get to go and have a day out without any worries. She is just so excited.”Nicole’s dream starts at 9.45am when she, her mum and …