Tag Archives: Clare County Library

CLARE’S young people are being urged to show they have the write stuff by getting involved in a new county-wide competition. Clare County Library have launched a creative writing competition for children and teenagers. “With schools currently closed and students working remotely on assignments set by teachers Clare County Library would like to offer a different type of exercise to children and teenagers aged between 7 and 15 who like to write stories,” explained a spokesperson. To enter, all you have to do is write a story up to 700 words based on ‘County Clare 2020: A Day in My Life’. Entries must be in before 12 noon on May 12. All entrants are asked to type their name and age at the end of their story and email their entry to library_mailbox@clarecoco.ie When sending entries include the words Creative Writing Competition as the email subject. The shortlisted and winning entries will be posted on www.clarelibrary.ie on June 3 and …

Clare senior hurler and youth wellness ambassador, Podge Collins, and captain, Patrick O’Connor, have pledged their support for Clare County Library’s Healthy Ireland at Your Library programme. Speaking at the launch in the de Valera Library, Podge said, “I am delighted to be associated with this library initiative, it’s a brilliant resource for the county. I hope that young people will call into their local library or log on to the website www.clarelibrary.ie to check out what’s on offer.” Caroline Aherne, executive librarian, explained, “Healthy Ireland is the national strategy to improve health and wellbeing, placing a focus on prevention, individual awareness and keeping people healthy for longer. Public libraries, including Clare County Library, are currently delivering the nationwide ‘Healthy Ireland at Your Library’ programme that will establish libraries as a valuable source within the community for health information.” Through funding granted by Healthy Ireland, Clare County Library has enhanced its health and wellbeing book collections (digital and hardcopy), and …

THE development of the new flagship €8.5 million County Library project in Ennis is moving ahead, with confirmation that the local authority will soon be seeking approval from the Government to apply for planning permission. It is expected that, subject to approval from the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, the planning application will be made in either March or April. It is hoped that the main building development near Glór will begin on site next year, with construction anticipated to take 18 months. Liam Conneally, director of service with Clare County Council for housing, culture, sports and amenities, outlined, “The project is subject to ongoing cost reviews and stage approvals, as per the guidelines issued by the department. “Stage two is due to be submitted to the department in late February 2017 to seek approval to proceed to submission of a planning application in March or April. The date is subject to department approval to proceed.” A full …

CLARE County Council has announced the appointment of consultants for the design and delivery of a new €8.6 million county library in Ennis. The project will see a new library building developed at the site of the existing Glór facility, replacing the current De Valera Library. A full design team has now been put in place to progress the design and planning phases of the new build project and the council says contractors could be on-site early next year, subject to the planning process being negotiated. Some months ago, the council received a €3m capital grant towards the cost of the project from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, while €1m in EU funding came from the Southern Regional Assembly’s Operational Programme 2014-2020. In February, Clare County Council voted to take on a loan to fund the remaining €4.6m. Earlier this year, a county library spokesperson said it was likely the new facility would be an “open …

AN intriguing project, based on information gleaned from the pages of The Clare Champion, will look at life and death in County Clare in the early part of the 20th century. The Biographical Index of The Clare Champion 1903-1934 project is a collaboration between the Clare Roots Society and Clare County Library. Clare Roots Society is looking for volunteers to assist in the collection and recording of biographical notices published in The Champion for the years 1903 to 1934. This information will create a searchable index to be made available on the Clare Library website for public access when completed. A similar project was undertaken some years ago for Clare Champion issues published for years 1935 to 1985 and the index is available online. The project will complete the index for all Clare Champion publication years, 1903-1985. The editions of the newspaper can be on microfilm spool, microfiche and hardcopy, located in the Local Studies Centre, Ennis, where the review …

CLARE County Library is once again participating in the annual Bealtaine festival, a national arts event, celebrating creativity in older age, now in its 19th year. The Clare Champion features prominently in this year’s programme. Over 120,000 people take part in Bealtaine, with over 3,500 events happening all over Ireland during the coming weeks. The Bealtaine festival provides an opportunity to communicate traditions between the generations, to try something new, to share talents or to come back to something you haven’t done for years. This year, the theme for the festival is And Catch The Heart Off Guard, a phrase from Seamus Heaney’s poem, Postscript. Events will be held by Clare County Library to mark the festival throughout the month of May. As with previous years, library events for Bealtaine are varied and widespread. All are free of charge and everyone is welcome. There will be craft displays in Kilfinaghty Public Library in Sixmilebridge and the Dr Patrick J Hillery …

CLARE County Library is encouraging adults and children to read, discuss, share and experience the same book by participating in a One County One Book programme. The One County One Book initiative will be officially launched by county librarian, Helen Walsh, along with a representative from Clare County Council in the De Valera Library, Ennis on Wednesday next at 7.30pm. The title chosen for adults is Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn, while the chosen children’s title is Brian Ború: Emperor of the Irish , also by Morgan Llywelyn. These titles were chosen in keeping with the initiatives taking place throughout the county this year to commemorate Brian Ború and the millennium of The Battle of Clontarf. It is hoped that as many people as possible will read these books between April and October and enjoy the events that are planned at the library to enhance the reading experience. Copies of the books will be available for borrowing at all …