A LOCAL organisation are endeavouring to bring some positivity into the lives of others in these uncertain times. The Clarecastle Heritage and Wildlife Group have issued a call for uplifting stories of how people are coping with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
They aim to share these stories on their recently launched website with the aim of highlighting the goodness in the world in these uncertain times. It is hoped that these positive messages will bring comfort to others.
Eric Shaw of the Clarecastle group explains, “Clarecastle Heritage & Wildlife Group feel that in the midst of this unprecedented public health emergency, there are so many positive responses that deserve to be recorded and shared so as to give the community an uplift. Clarecastle has set up a Covid-19 Support Network involving groups such as St Vincent de Paul, GAA, Men’s Shed, Daycare Centre, Tidy Towns, Clarecastle Community Development Company linked to Clare County Council to provide support to the community. Many of the older people are cocooned in their homes and this network is of tremendous support and comfort to them. 
“The Heritage Group would love to gather and feature positive and uplighting stories on how people are coping. Sharing these stories may inspire others to get through these restrictions. We would like to know what people are doing to overcome the challenges and how they are helping themselves and their neighbours.
“It is a difficult time for children to be confined away from their friends. They are even missing school and we wonder how they are managing to pass the time. Older people are missing visits from grandchildren. With social media it is easier to stay in touch and it would be wonderful if children could gather stories from their grandparents or quiz them about doing a Family Tree for example. The Group has been posting a series of old images of Clarecastle on an Instagram account in recent days. The children might use these old photographs to prompt memories of times past from their grandparents.
The Heritage Group will post a selection of the stories on their website https://clarecastleballyea.clareheritage.org/ with the permission of the writer.  Contributions can be given to any member of the group or emailed to clarecastleballyeaheritage@gmail.com