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Region could become ‘genealogy capital’

South Galway could become “the genealogy capital of Ireland”, according to one public representative, and Gort could be at the heart of it. Deputy Mayor of County Galway, Bridie Willers, made the comment to The Clare Champion ahead of an event next week aimed at helping people across the West take the first steps to finding out about their own ancestry. Investigating your Family History, A Practical Approach, is a special conference organised by the Western Family History Association (WFHA) on Wednesday.  The WFHA is a genealogy association based in Galway with members from Galway, Clare, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim. It is effectively a self-help group where members can share their experience and expertise in tracing their families’ history. At its regular meetings, members have access to the latest information presented by expert speakers including how to access family records, census data, emigrant data and the latest developments in genealogy, such as the digitisation of family records, births, marriages …

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Michael D opens 33rd Cruinniú na mBád Festival

Presidential candidate Michael D Higgins was in Kinvara at the weekend to open the 33rd Cruinniú na mBád Festival. Hundreds of people took to Parkmore Pier to watch as the turf boats make their traditional journey from Sruthán in Connemara to South Galway. Speaking at the event Mr Higgins said, “With National Heritage Week beginning next weekend, there could be no better way of celebrating our heritage than to turn the face of the Irish people towards the sea, with all its opportunities, and its dangers too.”  Mr Higgins was opening the festival 21 years after he had last opened it as mayor of Galway.  The Cruinniú festival is a unique event on the Irish calendar, which celebrates workboat traditions and features the delivery of turf from Connemara to Kinvara, a trade, which took place at the port up until the 1960s.  Michael D travelled to the opening on board An Tonnai, one of three traditional turf-boats that have been …

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More needs to be done to address suicide

A CLARE TD has said new studies looking at instances of young people taking their own lives “point to alarming increases when compared to the levels in the 1990s”.Deputy Joe Carey made the comment pointing to a study by Professor Kevin Malone from UCD, who will address this issue when he speaks at the Merriman Summer School this Friday.The survey showed that from 2003 to 2008, there was a 40% rise in the number of deaths by suicide in the 15 to 17 year age group, when compared to the period 1993 to 1998. The number of girls under 18 years of age taking their own lives has also doubled, while the level of ‘open verdicts’ reported by coroners had also risen hugely since the 1990s, perhaps pointing to an under reporting of the issue, he claimed.“There isn’t a town or village in County Clare or Ireland, which hasn’t in some way been affected by suicide. It is a heartbreaking …

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New premises for family resource centre

THE North-West Clare Family Resource Centre officially opened the doors of its new premises, An Grianán Resource Centre in Ennistymon, on Wednesday. This building is in addition to the existing NWCFRC childcare centre and will provide community space for meetings, training and other services. The building was opened by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald.“The new premises will be a significant hub for social inclusion, family support and community services in an area severely lacking in such infrastructure,” explained Gary Rush, manager of the NWCFRC.“It is a resource for the whole of North Clare that will host meetings, training activities, labour market activation services, information provision and be a focus for people to meet, network and organise. Countywide, regional and national organisations will now have a purpose-built base from which to provide their services. Already, there are plans for youth services, vocational training, community education, counselling, labour market activation programmes, services to victims of domestic violence and information …

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Volunteer teachers sought for Tanzania

KILMIHIL couple, Michael and Maureen Mescall are looking for four teachers to help with their charitable work in Tanzania from next January.The couple run a registered charity, Tanzania Village Renewal, which carries out small jobs in villages in Tanzania, mainly in regard to educational matters. In November 2010, 16 builders travelled to Tanzania for two weeks and built an extension to a school in a village called Suji, which is situated in the Paré Mountains. It is about an hour from the airport at Kilimanjaro and near to the Serengeti and Ngorogoro game parks. The team of builders was led by John Clancy from Corofin and they were assisted by locals from Suji.“Five graduates of NUI Galway also accompanied us and have been teaching in Suji Malindi secondary school and will remain there until December 2011,” Maureen Mescall told The Clare Champion.“Prior to their arrival, the school had two teachers for the 450 pupils. These teachers have been a wonderful …

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Marian Hall gone but not forgotten

THE Marian Hall in Cooraclare is no more. The scene of many entertaining nights was demolished recently. However, on the site of the old hall, there is a brand new well-equipped children’s playground, which will continue to give entertainment and joy to the young people of the area.The site was first developed in 1846 when what was to be a very famous schoolhouse was officially opened. The first principal was Conor McDermott, who established one of the most important seats of learning in the West of Ireland. The report made by James Stuart Lawrie, assistant commissioner of the Royal Commission of Enquiry into Primary Education in Ireland 1869 highlights Mr McDermot’s achievements.“The best ordinary school visited by me was that of Cooraclare. The master of this secluded village school has earned the highest rewards granted, not alone by the board but also by the Science of Art Department, the number of his successful candidates at the last examination being in …

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Louise puts the sweet in charity

THEY say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well one young Ennis girl has done just that in a bid to raise funds for TLC4CF, the regional charity dedicated to improving services for those with cystic fibrosis, after her little sister was diagnosed with the condition last Christmas.Nine-year-old Louise Cusack has decided to set up a lemonade stand outside her house at 27 Rathban on the Tulla Road this Saturday from 2pm. All funds raised from the stand will go towards helping people with cystic fibrosis.Louise’s mother, Nicola, said she is very proud of what her daughter is doing not only for her sister, Amy, but for others with the illness.“Louise got the idea for the lemonade stand when she and her aunt were trying to figure out things to do for the summer holidays. It was going to be to make some pocket money for herself but then she decided it would be nice to give the money …

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Flooding fear for Tulla residents

Residents in Tulla are becoming increasingly concerned their houses could suffer from a reoccurrence of serious flooding during heavy rainfall, a local councillor has warned.Councillor Joe Cooney said a plan to prevent flooding at the Pound Cross in Tulla was prepared by Clare County Council a few years ago. However, in spite of regular representations from county councillors, Councillor Cooney claimed that no major developments had taken place to improve the situation because of a lack of funding since then.The Killaloe Electoral Area chairman claimed that there was extra water coming from a local road into Pound Cross, which was causing a lot of concern in the locality because of the lack of adequate drainage capacity.Having highlighted the importance of securing funding over a year ago, he said that this issue needed to be resolved to allay locals’ fears of a repeat of flooding, which had taken place in recent years.Describing this problem as an “ongoing issue”, Councillor Hayes claimed …

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