Regional

From an inch to six miles, Tulla man Ray McInerney’s career began at a school with just 29 pupils. He is currently in charge of 375 young learners but next month he takes over at the helm of the county’s largest national school that boasts a roll of almost twice that number.

This will be a milestone year for the Cooley Collins Traditional Music Festival. As well as marking its silver anniversary, one of the festival’s organisers is retiring from the committee after two decades of continuous involvement.

Gerry Howard is a late entry into a volatile profession. He told The Clare Champion how he went from butcher and hotelier to Kissing Sid James.

Doonbeg will host the 10th annual Willie Keane Memorial Festival on the October Bank Holiday weekend. The festival will commence on Friday, October 23 and will conclude on Sunday, October 25.

A CLARE man in Australia and has spent the last three years working on a project that could potentially be worth millions of dollars to the country’s fishing economy.

Tulla’s Senior Citizens and Young Actively Retired Group is a longstanding organisation that has provided social gatherings and outings in the locality for older people, particularly those living alone. However, declining numbers attending events has given rise to a call for fresh ideas and new faces.

PROJECT Forest, a programme for transition year pupils, was launched at St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon this week by RTÉ personality Éanna Ní Lamhna and Minister of State Tony Killeen. The programme is designed to take a broad approach to learning about trees. Its objectives are to create an understanding of the nature of woods and forests, to create an awareness of the role of forests in human existence, to encourage a sense of ownership of the forest environment and to encourage appreciation of wood as a material.

ENNIS Chamber, in association with The Clare Champion has launched a primary school competition to name the new Ennis Gift Voucher Scheme.