Regional

AN Ardnacrusha-based public health nurse, who has helped to raise in the region of €70,000 for hundreds of poverty-stricken street children in India in recent years, remains as passionate as ever for this worthy cause.Not content with making a huge difference to the lives of malnourished children living in appalling conditions in Kolkata (Calcutta), Mags O’Sullivan has organised yet another fundraiser to improve their dismal plight.This time, it is an adult Hallowe’en party, with optional fancy dress, in the Loft venue above the Locke Bar in Limerick City on Friday, October 28, at 9.30pm.  When Mags visited Kolkata with another public health nurse from Patrickswell, Noreen O’Grady, in October 2006, she couldn’t get the distressing images of squalor and deprivation experienced by hundreds of families out of her head. At Kasbah, a home for abandoned young street boys, she saw children scavenging for food from skips in a desperate bid to survive.With the help of family and friends, the duo …

OVER five years of planning, designing and fundraising were rewarded this week with the official completion of the new €180,000 Cratloe Community Playground.Known as Spraoi sa Choill, contractors moved off site at Cratloe Woods on Tuesday and a final safety inspection is scheduled to take place this Friday.Once safety standards are met, children will be able to play on the wide variety of eco-friendly equipment such as slides, climbing frame, sand area and zip line, which allows children to swing from one bar to the next.Project designer, Lisa McKnight, has ensured the new playground fits in with the surrounding landscape by using Robinia wood throughout.The seeds for the development were sown back in 2006 when Cratloe Community Council learned about playground grants being distributed by Clare County Council.A new committee was established to embark on the difficult site selection process and during this period, Mary Foley took over as chairperson in March 2009. Ms Foley is delighted with the final …

The Sisters of Mercy convent and primary school buildings in Tulla have been formally handed over to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCE) following a ceremony, which took place in the East Clare village on Sunday.It marks the end of an era for the Sisters of Mercy, who first came to Tulla in 1883. CCE propose to develop the buildings into a cultural centre with particular emphasis on the cultural traditions of Clare. The development is expected to take place on a phased basis, in three proposed phases, culminating in the construction of a 250-seater auditorium.  Four sisters of Mercy came to Tulla on June 6, 1883, and today four Sisters of Mercy remain at a private residence on Church Street in Tulla.The Sisters of Mercy donated the convent and school buildings they ran in Tulla to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann as part of the Comhaltas Cultural Project entitled Cnoc na Gaoithe. The proposed cultural centre, when completed, will become the 17th regional …

Walkers from across Clare are expected to descend on East Clare this weekend as the inaugural East Clare Walking Festival gets underway. The event has been organised by East Clare Tourism and participants will be given a unique opportunity to take in the stunning East Clare countryside on their choice of guided walks.There are six walks in total taking place over the course of the weekend to choose from and each is graded from A to C, according to difficulty, A being the most difficult. Each walk covers different aspects of the East Clare terrain.A welcome evening will be held in McNamara’s bar in Scariff on Friday at 9pm where there will be traditional music and refreshments. That evening participants will be able to meet members of the East Clare Walking Club, who will guide the walks over the weekend and walking routes will also be available for viewing. Registration for all walks takes place in McNamara’s from 9am each …

A Kinvara woman received a boost this year as her Irish Kitchen Garden Calendar achieved the support of gardens and gardening organisations nationwide. Experienced horticulturalist Lynn O’Keeffe-Lascar gives practical expert advice as part of the gardening guide and calendar on a background of stunning photographs taken at some of Ireland’s most beautiful gardens. In 2009 Lynn, an outreach horticulturalist with a not-for-profit organisation, Kinvara Sustainable Development, started a project called The Irish Kitchen Garden Calendar from her home in Kinvara. The calendar included her own photographs from different gardens and her monthly tips on gardening. The aim of the calendar is to showcase Ireland’s wonderful gardens and to give Irish gardeners month-by-month advice. Lynn’s commitment to the project and her engaging enthusiasm brought the project through its first two years and now in its third year, she has achieved a breakthrough with national gardens and gardening organisations from all corners of the country supporting the project.“The Organic Centre is delighted …

A pilot project rolled out in South Galway centralising garda station administration has resulted in a reduction in crime, according to a senior garda in the area. As a result of the success of a pilot Community Policing Model in the Gort Garda District, the implementation of the model to the entire district has taken place. The project involves the creation of two administrative areas at Gort and Craughwell stations with each of the other five stations in the district being affiliated to their respective administrative area stations. Thus Craughwell is the administrative area station for Kilcolgan, Kilchreest and Ardrahan with Gort being the administrative area station for Kinvara and Shanaglish.“The impressive reductions in crime achieved as a result of the introduction of the pilot model and the increased resources it bought has paved the way for the models full, introduction across the district,” explained Gort Superintendent Patrick Murray.“The transfer or centralisation of administrative duties to Gort and Craughwell stations, …

A NORTH Clare chef has been named Chef of the Year in the 2012 Georgina Campbell awards.Representatives of the very best in Irish hospitality gathered at Bord Bia in Dublin last week, for the announcement of the prestigious awards, associated with the respected Georgina Campbell’s Ireland independent hospitality guides and hospitality and travel website www.ireland-guide.com.Aidan McGrath of the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna was awarded the Chef of the Year accolade.“The recession threatens to undermine basic standards in many establishments currently struggling with cutbacks, so it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the difference that it can make to do simple things well. It can be difficult, especially when short-staffed but it may not actually cost money at all – and pays enormous dividends, as customers quickly sense the difference when the basics are right and can’t wait to go back. This year’s winners have never compromised on quality in any area of their business and they value simplicity, …

A MONTHLY ‘think-tank’ for the Burren is the latest monthly club evening organised by artist Deirdre O’Mahony at X-PO. Ms O’Mahony hopes it will provide a forum for all to bring ideas that might revise and imagine future possibilities for the area.“The club is for anybody; farmer, artist, academic, born-in, blow-in, young or old, anyone who has ever asked, ‘What if…’ and the idea never got any further. The changes that will begin with the cessation of CAP payments create a challenge for rural communities in Kilnaboy and North Clare and the objective is to imagine how we might best adapt and plan new futures for the region. No matter how wacky or off the wall your idea might be, bring it along and see if the combined, collective knowledge of whoever is present can help nurture a sustainable future for the Burren,” she suggests.“X-PO already functions as a reflexive space where the social, economic and environmental choices and problems …