Tag Archives: Clare Volunteer Centre

NEW voices and new stories collected as part of the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive of oral history will be aired next Monday night, as part of the Bealtaine Festival of creativity in older age. At the online event, from 7.30pm on May 31, Paula Carroll will host an evening of memories and stories from Clare’s older citizens. In recent times, Cuimhneamh an Chláir has welcomed new members through the Clare Volunteer Centre and they have been recording and transcribing more stories for the online archive, Clarememories.ie. Topics in the latest round of collecting include the scourge of TB in 1940s Doolin; the cheapness of workers’ lives on the Shannon Scheme; pipe-smoking grannies; dead bodies in the yard, and houses that weren’t there. On the last day of Bealtaine, Cuimhneamh an Chláir is inviting all interested people to a Zoom gathering to listen to these new voices and stories. To register your interest, e-mail at info@clarememories.ie A zoom link will be …

ENNIS local Margaret Hurley has been presented with a national award for her volunteering work. Margaret was named a winner in the Health and Wellbeing category in the national Volunteer Ireland Awards for her commitment to the Irish Wheelchair Association. Margaret Hurley has been volunteering with the Irish Wheelchair Association in Ennis for over 15 years. Known to her friends as ‘Mags’, she has been the backbone of the Ennis branch, and has been the driver, literally and metaphorically, of hundreds of activities over the years. She is currently the Branch Treasurer, but also acts as a driver of IWA’s wheelchair accessible minibus when required. Despite the considerable time commitment Margaret gives to the local volunteer branch, her dedication to the organisation is so strong that she also has another volunteer role with the Irish Wheelchair Association charity shop in Ennis. According to Clare Volunteer Centre Manager, Sharon Meaney, “The Clare branch of the Irish Wheelchair Association were determined to …

THE positivity that surrounded the huge level of voluntary participation in the London Olympics has been likened to that which was seen in Ennis for the 2016 All-Ireland Fleadh. “In London, people got involved in the event by volunteering to help in many ways. It was a sense of ownership, there was plenty to do,” commented Sharon Meaney, development manager of Clare Volunteer Centre Team. “In Ennis last year, there was also a strong sense of ownership of the Fleadh. A total of 1,549 volunteers registered with us and many more helped directly at camp sites. “As well as people from the town and Clare, we had volunteers from the UK and much farther afield. They were from diverse backgrounds, all spectrum of society, and what was very encouraging for us was the fact that 10% of the total were under 18. “One of the lovely aspects about the profile of the volunteers was family support. We had quite a …

LAST year saw an increase of volunteer registrations with the Clare Volunteer Centre, bringing the total number of volunteers registered to more than 1,400 people, who contributed over 8,563 hours to the local community – up from 7,949 in 2013. These volunteers are only a small fraction of the estimated 41% of Irish people who volunteered in 2014. Of the volunteers who signed up in 2014, the most popular areas of interest were befriending/mentoring, retail and teaching/tutoring. The most popular reasons for wanting to volunteer were, to assist career/employment prospects and to make a difference in the community. Nearly two-thirds of the volunteers who signed up with the Clare Volunteer Centre last year had never volunteered before and more than 160 community and voluntary organisations are now registered with Clare Volunteer Centre. Commenting on 2014, Sharon Meaney, manager with the Clare Volunteer Centre, said, “Every year, we are delighted to see the registration figures for the Clare Volunteer Centre increasing. …