Gathering up a calendar of events

PLANS are underway by the steering group for The Gathering Clare to produce a calendar of events for 2013. The calendar will be used as a promotional and marketing tool for the county and members of the public, community groups and organisations are being asked to submit details of events they plan to hold next year.

The calendar will be profiled on the Gathering Ireland website, www.thegatheringireland.com, as well as distributed nationally and internationally.
The Gathering, which was launched by the Government in late 2011, has been described as one of the biggest tourism initiatives ever staged in Ireland and is expected to bring 325,000 extra visitors to the country. A steering group has been established in each county to coordinate local events.
Dozens of ideas have so far been put forward as possible Gathering events following on from a recent community meeting for The Gathering Clare 2013.
Plans are afoot to celebrate Daniel O’Connell, who was elected MP for Clare in Ennis on July 5, 1828, as a special Gathering event during 2013.
If your name is Clare, then you might like to be involved in trying to set a world record for the number of Clares at one location, while Corofin will see the revival of the Festival of Finn next year. Meanwhile, the Clare Roots Society is organising a conference entitled ‘Gathering the Scattering’, which will take place in the Temple Gate Hotel on April 6, 2013 and will be preceded by a week-long programme of events.
Monica Meehan, co-ordinator with the County Gathering Steering Group, stated, “We are asking all groups/individuals who are planning events next year to submit details as a calendar of events for 2013 is currently being prepared. This calendar will be a key promotions and marketing tool for County Clare for the year of The Gathering.
“We hope to focus on a number of headline events during the year and the Steering Group is continuing to work through all the suggestions that have been received to date. Our key task is to mobilise and drive The Gathering throughout the county by engaging, planning and coordinating community-based activity,” Ms Meehan added.
Anyone organising a festival or event during 2013 or planning a specific event for The Gathering 2013 is asked to submit event details by Friday, September 14 to Monica Meehan, senior executive officer, Tourism & Community Development Department, Clare County Council, New Road, Ennis; email: mmeehan@clarecoco.ie.