Regional

Teachers in a North Clare school will travel to France early next month as part of a European cultural education programme. Two teachers from St Flannan’s National School in Inagh will go to Avignon as part of the Comenius programme, which the school has been taking part in since September.Run by Léargas in Ireland, Comenius seeks to develop knowledge, understanding and appreciation among young people and education staff of the diversity of European cultures and languages. It also aims to help young people acquire basic life skills for their personal development for future employment and active European citizenship. Children from St Flannan’s have been busy since work began on the project at the beginning of the school year learning about their own culture and heritage as well as that of their European counterparts. According to Caroline McGeary, the co-ordinator of Comenius in the school, the project has been time-consuming for the pupils but also integrates well with the overall curriculum.“Our …

Edel Greene and Margaret McNamara, cuairteoirí with Cuimhneamh an Chláir, visited a group of East Clare residents in Raheen last week, where each individual recalled past memories of predicting the weather, ghost stories and socialising.With seven and eight-day weather forecasts available to us at the click of a mouse these days, it will seem alien to many that the older members of the community had to look to the sky to find out what tomorrow’s weather would be like.Edel and Margaret, in their recording session with East Clare residents Flan O’Brien, Jimmy Lynch, Patrick Joe Nihill, Eleanor Murphy and Louis Corbett, discussed what kind of signs they looked out for to know if bad weather was in store.Some recalled that if they saw two rainbows in the sky, or a ring around the moon or saw “the moon lying on its back,” then it wasn’t a good sign. Others recalled the goats coming down the mountain and into their houses …

THE Sliabh Aughty Players has been in existence for 20 years. It was formed late in 1989, when it was decided to reform and re-establish a drama group in the Mountshannon area.Its predecessor, The Mountshannon Players, was originally founded in the late-1960s, performing both one-act and three-act plays in Mountshannon hall. Despite the long-running tradition of drama in the area, the group became inactive throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with members joining the Scariff Drama Group.In 1989, the old Mountshannon-based group was re-formed under the name Sliabh Aughty Players, with Maud Nash again at the helm. Maud was one of the founding members of the group and one of the few remaining continuous links with the group to this day. Maud’s name was synonymous with drama and she was the backbone of the group for many years.The group’s first production was John B Keane’s The Field, which was to prove the perfect vessel to sail the Sliabh Aughty Players to …

  THE new SkyCourt Adoration Chapel opened on Tuesday afternoon and was blessed by Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh.Located in the Town Square, it replaces the old oratory in SkyCourt, which opened in 1976.The chapel was developed at a cost of €250,000 and can accommodate 60 people, although there was a larger crowd at Tuesday’s opening with the congregation spilling out the doors. Writing in the booklet that was distributed at the opening, parish priest, Fr Tom Ryan said it was a very significant moment for the parish. “On an occasion like today, there is an undoubted sense of nostalgia as we consider all those who helped build and give shape to our parish over the past 42 years and who have gone to their eternal reward. I thank all who have helped make this oratory a reality; the owners of SkyCourt, Shannon Development Company, parishioners and friends who use this place as part of their daily lives. Our ceremony …

  TWENTY-five year old Raj Singh is one of the leading members of the Clare Cricket Club, which was formed two years ago.The Indian national, who lives in Ballycasey and works in Limerick, says that the club has a good number of members living in Shannon, where much of their summer training was done. “This was just our second year. Because we don’t have our own ground, we have to play all away games. We trained on the all-weather pitch here in Shannon and in Ennis a bit. For the winter, we are training indoors in Newmarket.”Of course, there is a very small cricket base in the county, with many of the players having recently arrived to Ireland. “We have three or four from South Africa, a few from England and Australia and three or four more from India. We have a few Irish playing as well. It’s a mixture of people from all different cultures.”While it’s not a game …

OVER two decades of hard work and innovation paved the way for an Ardnacrusha businessman to scoop the top gong at the country’s largest retail sector awards last weekend. Instore managing director, Oliver Moloney was the toast of the retail sector after his furniture outlet at Stillorgan, Dublin was named National Store of the Year 2009 at the FBD Retail Excellence Ireland Awards.He was presented with his award by Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan at a gala event held at the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny on Saturday night. Hosted by RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan, the awards ceremony was attended by 500 representatives of the retail industry in Ireland. Instore was one of 13 recipients from across the country to scoop an award at the annual event, which seeks to recognise and reward high standards of excellence across the entire retail industry. In addition to being judged Best Extra Large Store of the Year, Instore beat off stiff competition from Meteor, which …

WHILE the recession had hit hard leading to a slower than usual shopping splurge, Ennis Chamber is expecting business to gather momentum in the coming weeks as shoppers finally splash the cash.Chamber president, Guy Flouch said the town was bracing itself for a bumper shopping season and key shopping streets had been pedestrianised and parking spaces have been massively increased in anticipation of large shopping numbers. “The town is a fantastic place to shop. The town centre is compact, pulsating with family-friendly stores all offering a range of initiatives to create a traditional festive atmosphere,” Guy stressed.Mr Flouch added, “Visiting Ennis this Christmas will restore a hassle-free shopping experience imbued with traditional seasonal values. You will have choice, convenience and fantastic bargains.”To promote the town, Guy and Chamber CEO, Rita McInerney have been appearing on regional radio stations and have launched an intensive advertising campaign. They have also tapped into social networking sites.Ennis Town Council is playing its part, with …

  AN Ennis Town Council-led crackdown on public urination isn’t going to go ahead.At a meeting this week, Councillor Paul O’Shea, who recently suggested creating a position of urine warden in the town, brought forward a motion asking that a six-month pilot project be introduced that would see two people employed as environment and nuisance wardens. But town clerk Eddie Power shot down the proposals. “The gardaí have the powers under the Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994 to deal with public urination. Ennis Town Council as a local authority does not have the legal basis to take any action in this regard. In any event, the council is prohibited by the public service staffing embargo to recruit additional staff.”However, Councillor O’Shea was not deterred and claimed that funding could be found. He also claimed that the problem isn’t being tackled. “When was the last time anyone saw in the papers that someone had been fined for public urination?” he …