West Clare

KILKEE native Fr John Glynn will feature on Lifers, an RTÉ 1 television documentary at 10.15pm on Tuesday. He is one of a number of Irish missionaries who will appear in the production.  

Kilrush has been selected as the host location for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration, on a date yet to be announced. The National Famine Commemoration Committee informed Kilrush Town Council of the decision on Monday.  

CONSULTANTS conducting a feasibility study relating to the possible provision of a geology centre in Kilkee, or the surrounding area, visited West Clare this week.

THE Kilrush and District Historical Society January lecture will feature a presentation from Oliver Hawes on his grandfather, Joe Hawes.

***The year in review*** LAST January, a survey in Kilmihil revealed that at least 87 people have emigrated from the West Clare parish within the previous two years. The vast majority of the emigrants were aged between 20 and 30.  

  ***The year in review*** IN February, Clare Fine Gael TD Pat Breen refuted claims that he didn’t spend sufficient time tending to issues in West Clare. At the official opening of the refurbished Kilkee library, a number of protestors greeted TDs, county and town councillors on their way into the building.Carrigaholt-based Pat Gavin was one of the protestors. He expressed anger at the fact that his autistic daughter has to travel a 130km daily round trip to Ennis to continue her education. His daughter received her primary school education at the autistic unit at St Senan’s National School in Kilrush.“I’d prefer to see these guys that are coming here to open the library, opening an autistic unit for my child, who’s travelling 130km a day to go to school. She’s doing that for the last three years. “This crowd that are in power now promised me when Fianna Fáil were in there that they’d open it when they got …

VISITOR numbers to the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush Wood “almost doubled” in 2012, Kilrush town clerk John Corry told last Thursday’s meeting of Kilrush Town Council. The council’s final meeting of 2012 was held at the walled garden centre. However, some councillors expressed their fears that a possible reduction in funding for the facility might impact upon the garden’s long-term viability.“It would be a disaster for the community if it had to close,” Councillor Tom Prendeville said.The meeting heard that Pobal will continue to fund wages for the garden supervisor and staff for 2013 but the town clerk said there is uncertainty regarding what funding will be available in 2014.Mr Corry said at the Kilrush Amenity Trust meeting held on December 5, it was decided to advertise to establish if any individuals or a company would be interested in operating the garden, if public funding runs out.The town clerk described this approach as “a back-up plan”. He also reported …

KILRUSH Town Council hosted the annual Cissie Roughan Awards at the Vandeleur Walled Garden last Thursday evening and the 2012 overall winner was endurance swimmer Fionnuala Walsh.On October 9, the Cappa woman became the first Clare person to swim the English Channel and only the 15th Irish person to complete the 15 hour and 26 minute swim from Dover to Calais in France. All money raised from her efforts was donated to Muscular Dystrophy Ireland and Pieta House.This was Fionnuala’s second attempt at the Channel, having had her hopes dashed on August 8 by fog, a couple of hundred metres from the French coastline.Training for the Channel swim started in earnest in September 2010 and, since then, Fionnuala has spent countless hours training in pools, lakes, seas and, mostly, in the Shannon Estuary. Before leaving for France, she had amassed more than 1.5 million metres in training.The Cissie Roughan Awards scheme was instituted in 1993 and honours the memory of …