West Clare

THERE will be huge Kilrush and West Clare interest in this Saturday’s Hell of the West Triathlon in Kilkee.Organised by the Limerick Triathlon Club, approximately 20 local people will be taking part in either the whole event or as part of a relay team. In previous years, there was very low participation from the West Clare area in the event.The Hell of the West is regarded as one of the toughest Olympic triathlon races in Ireland. It first took place in the summer of 1983, when approximately 40 athletes competed.More than 800 competitors from all over Ireland are expected to participate this weekend and it will again be part of Ireland’s national series race calendar. It will consist of a 1,500m swim in Kilkee Bay, a 45km cycle over the West Clare hills to Doonbeg and a 10km run around the cliffs in Kilkee, via the Dunlicky Road.Some of the Kilrush or West Clare people participating include Eileen Mulcahy, Nikki …

THE possibility of the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush Wood having small enterprise units put in place is being pursued by Kilrush Town Council. This month’s meeting of the town council confirmed the walled garden will host a craft display this summer. Town clerk John Corry also said the town council is examining the possibility of establishing craft units in the walled gardens.The idea was mooted by Councillor Tom Prendeville, who asked the meeting to invite the Clare Craftworkers Association to stage an exhibition at the gardens this year, as it is the Year of Craft.“This council, in association with the West Clare Task Force, has identified job creation opportunities in this area,” Councillor Prendeville said.“The creation of a craft enterprise village within the Vandeleur Walled Garden has employment potential,” Councillor Prendeville suggested.“Similar enterprises in Spiddal and Kilkenny have been outstanding successes. Staging an exhibition of the best craft products in Clare would be a first step in realising that …

ESB Moneypoint representatives paid a visit to Burrane National School in Killimer last Thursday as part of their IT link up with the school.

Kilrush Town Councillors are anxious that a proposed Retail Incentive Scheme be extended to the whole town. The proposal was debated at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the town council, where it was mooted that Moore Street would be the primary beneficiary of the initiative. In introducing the Retail Incentive Scheme proposal, acting town manager, Nora Kaye, said the council had conducted a survey to find out how many businesses had started or ceased in a 12-month period. “It was found that while 11 businesses ceased trading in the last 12 months, 10 new businesses opened up in the town,” she revealed, adding that the rates income in Kilrush for 2010 was down 20% on 2007 figures. Ms Kaye explained the genesis of the scheme is to encourage people to set up businesses in vacant premises. “This is done by way of a grant towards the fit out costs of the new business, subject to the amount of the grant …

AN Eye for the Music is the title of the Breandán Breathnach memorial lecture by Tony Kearns at the 39th annual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, which opens on Saturday, July 2.Tony has been photographing events and people at the Willie Clancy festival for two decades and he is in a unique position to offer some interesting perspectives on the social and personal interactions between musicians and photographers during the 20th century, from the more formalised encounters of the early decades to the casual presentations of later years.While he will be using examples from his own extensive stock of material, including some already published in his book Music and Light/Ceol & Solas 2008, Tony will also be illustrating his talk with examples of rare photos of influential Clare musicians from the ’20s and ’30s, as well as material from the Liam McNulty collection.Liam McNulty took most of the photos at the Willie Clancy Week in the 1970s when, with Breandán Breathnach, …

A KILRUSH man has once again expressed his annoyance at the poor state of the Church of Ireland graveyard in Grace Street in the town.Last September, The Clare Champion highlighted the dishevelled state of the historic graveyard. While the church has been refurbished and since 2007 is the responsibility of Kilrush Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, hundreds of the graves at the back of the church were unkempt, while a number of vaults were wide open and could be accessed without undue difficulty. The graveyard was also completely overgrown and the knee-high grass had not been cut since June 2010.Last year Kilrush man, Tommy Scully, who has tried to upkeep the graveyard for several years along with Seán Danaher, spoke of his frustration. He expressed the hope at the time that the graveyard would be cleaned up and maintained and that a caretaker should be employed to do this.However, nothing has changed and Mr Scully contacted The Clare Champion last week to …

A CLARE TD has called on Clare County Council to prioritise the upgrading of Moore Street in Kilrush. Speaking in Dáil Éireann last Thursday, Deputy Michael McNamara urged Clare County Council to repair Moore Street in the town.

OVER the past two years, West Clare Cycling Club member and Kilrush-based Paul Edson has cycled over 1,200km in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF).