Regional

THIS year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Edna O’Brien’s novel The Country Girls, a book that daringly reflected life in rural Ireland and at the time shocked, angered yet captivated her local community.It is timely so that the renowned author returns to East Clare this year for the Scariff Harbour Festival for a unique public interview. Declan Kiberd, Professor of Anglo Irish Literature at University College Dublin, will talk to Edna about her life, times and works at Scariff Library on Saturday, July 31 at 3pm.The Country Girls was the first of several works including novels, short stories and plays from Edna O’Brien. The prolific writer has had an extraordinary literary career with many works firmly rooted in the landscape in which she grew up.Harry O’Meara of the Scariff Harbour Festival Committee described the upcoming event as significant, not just for the festival and County Clare but for a much wider audience. “Of the many interviews in …

ON June 29, 1960 Murty Harvey waited at the altar in Ennis Cathedral for Peggy McMahon from Cranny. It was worth the wait. Fifty years later, the couple are still going strong in Brisla, Cooraclare, with half a century of married life behind them.  

TOWN Council officials and building contractors Gildoc Ltd signed the contract for the new youth and community resource building at Cloughleigh Road last Friday.

TWO South Galway men will travel to the Caribbean later this year building homes in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC) is seeking a meeting with the education minister to secure a badly needed extension for St Anne’s Community College in Killaloe.

THE Government’s failure to introduce employment supports was a major factor behind a major loss of employment in the Shannon Free Zone last year, according to the town’s mayor, Tony Mulcahy.

A SENIOR Clare County Council official and a number of local councillors have defended new visitor charges at the Cliffs of Moher after one councillor described the new charges as an ‘own goal’.

THE county dog warden has issued a strong warning to hunting dog owners, calling for tighter controls in East Clare amid concerns over ongoing attacks on wildlife in the area.