Tag Archives: clare champion

A 97 year old bachelor farmer who attended the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival for 72 years has passed away without finding his soul mate. Mick Bourke from County Tipperary began attending the festival in 1946 when he was 23 years old and never missed a year until his health began to fade a few years ago. His death caused by pneumonia was announced last week. “Mick was well known and loved by many in Lisdoonvarna and messages of sympathy have been pouring in all week to us, via social media. People are speaking of his warmth, his sense of fun and his razor-sharp dancing skills. He was a legend in Lisdoonvarna and he never gave up hope of finding love in over 70 years, attending”, said Julie Carr, Marketing Manager of Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival. Back in 2016, a party was organised for Mick at the Spa Wells in the village, where he was presented with a cake by Matchmaker Willie Daly. …

THE hardwork and dedication of people who are working to make Ennis look its best has been honoured by the local Tidy Towns group. Ennis Tidy Towns annual Local Awards recently took place, with awards presented to residents for their voluntary efforts in keeping the town tidy. The usual awards night could not be held due to Covid-19, however Tidy Towns committee members visited the award winners to present them with their prizes. Cormac McCarthy, chairman of Ennis Tidy Towns said, “Even though our local awards night could not take place this year, we had the wonderful job to go around to each of our category winners with Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Mary Howard and present them with their awards in the winning gardens, green areas, approach roads and shrines. “In a year that shook us all to the core it was a lovely way to end 2020. A huge congratulations to all our entrants.” Along with the overall …

CLARE engineer Micheál (Mick) Ryan, who died tragically in a plane crash in Ethiopia last year, has been posthumously named the Humanitarian of the Year by the Irish Red Cross. The Lahinch man was named as the winner of the award at Wednesday’s virtual Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards, with his wife, Naoise Ryan, accepting the award on his behalf. Mick, who lost his life in an Ethopian Airlines flight last year, had dedicated his life to humanitarian work overseas. During his career, Mick worked tirelessly to ensure that vulnerable people in remote parts of the world had access to food and were protected from flooding and other disasters. Speaking of the win, Naoise said, “This award means so much to us and my only regret is that Mick isn’t here to accept it himself, I know he would be so humbled by it. To me it’s recognition of the person that he was, he was a humanitarian in every …

A RESOURCE pack for professionals working with children and families, ahead of what is expected to be a particularly difficult Christmas for people affected by domestic abuse has been developed by a network of agencies including An Garda Síochana, Tusla, community support services, legal services and health service providers in County Clare. The Domestic Abuse Resource Pack has been undertaken jointly by The Clare Local Area Network Opposing Violence Against Women (CLAN)* and Tusla Clare Prevention Partnership and Family Support (Clare PPFS) and is supported by Safe Ireland. The network group decided to be proactive ahead of what is expected to be a very difficult time for many families, by launching an interactive, one-stop-shop, of relevant information and supports for those subjected to domestic abuse, their families and the professionals on the frontline supporting them.  This specially designed interactive document and information booklet will be available on the Clare Haven Services website not just at Christmas, but will remain active as …

LOOP Head Lighthouse is to play a key role in a moment of national solidarity this month. Photographs of front-line workers are to be beamed onto the Clare lighthouse in tribute to their tireless work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The images were taken by photographer Jeanette Lowe and are one of six projection instalments across the country which will be illuminated in the days leading up to the winter solstice. The art installations will form part of a nationwide multi-platform event Shine Your Light, or Lonraigh Do Sholas. The event will also feature a live TV broadcast on RTÉ One featuring Clare’s Sharon Shannon, and a radio special on RTÉ Radio 1. Funded by Creative Ireland, the Shine Your Light installations by Irish artists will be visible around the country from December 17 to 20 and will bring artworks from the Illuminations online gallery to epic and dramatic locations including Loop Head, bringing light, hope and colour to towns and …

ENNIS students with a passion for fashion have made it to the finals of a nationwide competition where their stylish looks will be judged by celebrities Michelle Visage and Louis Walsh. Rice College fifth year students Carla Griffin, Eunice Boateng and Caitlin Mc Allister will be taking part in the Junk Kouture 2020 grand final, which will be broadcast on the RTÉ Player this month. Their entry is titled ‘Do Your Own Sting’ and has been inspired by bees. Their art teacher Lorraine Hogan explains, “They used a variety of recycled materials to make it, the skirt is inspired by a beehive and hundreds of cardboard hexagon shapes. Plastic cups were used to construct it. The bodice is woven using the core of toilet rolls and beautiful handmade flowers were fashioned from food wrapping. Real beeswax was used in the beautiful headpiece.” The students had been due to showcase their creation at the grand finals last spring, but Covid-19 meant …

CLARE Champion journalist, Owen Ryan, has scooped a major journalism award for an article on how Shannon’s Jamie Walsh embraced his transgenderism after years of depression and inner torment. “The Importance of being Jamie” outlined Jamie’s experience of being a young transgender person and the impact on his mental health. The article won the top award in Headline’s Mental Health Journalism Local Print category for a news report or feature, published in a regional outlet, that deals with mental health issues. The judges citation stated: “The judges felt that the Importance of Being Jamie was a beautiful and well-written piece. It gave a voice to Jamie, a young transgender person, to share his experiences of being trans and the impact on his mental health. He did so with great openness and integrity. It felt especially important that a piece on this topic appeared in a local paper, shining a much-needed light on what can be a very dark and lonely …

AN appeal to support homeless people in Clare and other parts of the Mid West has had a “phenomenal” response according to organisers. Mid West Simon joined forces with Bus Éireann recently with a ‘Fill a Bus’ appeal, seeking contributions for the vulnerable, homeless and those at risk of homelessness in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary this Christmas. More than 1,000 items were donated to fill bus parked up in Limerick last Thursday. The ‘Fill a Bus Food Appeal’ has been a “fantastic success” according to Jackie Bonfield, CEO of Mid West Simon. “The response from the people of Limerick has been phenomenal and the bus was filled to the brim with basic food staples, Christmas treats, toiletries and household goods. I would like to sincerely thank all those who contributed and especially to Bus Éireann staff for organizing this wonderful initiative and for helping out on the day. Please know that many adults and children have benefited from the …