Tag Archives: Clare Youth Service

CLARE Youth Service are helping to smooth the move to secondary school for sixth class pupils. CYS are offering a new transition to first year programme for students in schools across Shannon and Ennis. The aim of the programme is to address many of the concerns and issues experienced by those making the move to secondary school.  There are limited spaces available. “This programmes aims to provide a safe space for the young people to have fun and explore the changes that lie ahead of their move to secondary school.  The programme covers things such as hopes and fears for the coming year, reading timetables, taking notes and good sleep habits among other things. There is also an emphasis on tips for minding our minds and our wellbeing,” explains a spokesperson for CYS. The young people taking part will also get to sample a selection of Clare Youth Service activities such as the very creative Scribble Bots! The programme runs …

CLARE Youth Service has been at the forefront of responding to the challenges faced by young people as a result of the onset of Covid-19. Now its efforts and those of its summer camp leaders has resulted in their winning the online Covid Community Responder award at this week’s Creative Techfest. With the changed environment last spring, CYS moved rapidly to ensure accessibility of its services for young people across a variety of new platforms but one of the greatest challenges was how to ensure the continuation of the long-established summer camps which have achieved such a significant place in the lives of local young people.   Working with Techspace’s Leigha Dugdale, a group of young people came together to create an online experience for young people in the absence of a traditional in-person summer camp experience. Learning new skills in online journalism and training techniques, they worked with CYS youth workers to create instructional videos, songs and activities to recreate the summer camp …

CLARE has been selected as one of eight counties in the country to receive funding for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) services under the Dormant Accounts Fund. In November 2019, Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development, published the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2020 providing funding to address disadvantage across the country. This includes the provision of €200k to support LGBTI+ community organisations. County Clare was selected as one of eight organisations nationwide and has been awarded €35,000 from the Dormant Accounts Fund. The funding is based on proposals received from organisations around the county who are seeking to complete projects which ensure that existing community infrastructure is inclusive and welcoming to LGBTI+ people. Following a countywide call for expressions of interest, 10 organisations across the county will benefit from the funding, including: Clare Women’s Network, Clare Haven, Clare Youth Service, North West Clare Family Resource Centre, Ennis Musical Society, Fishbowl Youth, Burren Art Gallery, …

Four leading Irish youth organisations have formally launched a new unique online youth chat system called the Digital Youth Information Chat Service.  This service is a result of a pioneering national pilot conducted in association with Clare Youth Service late in 2019 and, in an uncanny harbinger of future events, put in place new digital structures to provide online information to young people and to engage and communicate with them. Crosscare, SpunOut, YMCA and Youth Work Ireland, to whom Clare Youth Service is affiliated, have expedited the launch to support young people during Covid 19 lockdown and having being piloted in Clare, the Youth Information Online chat service is now the first national service of its kind in Ireland. The Youth Information online chat service builds on a long standing partnership of professional Youth Information providers in Ireland and involves communications, safeguarding, data protection, and youth information practice. The service is staffed by professional Youth Information Workers and is aimed …

Clare Youth Service volunteer, Nicky Brennan has been presented with the Extra Mile Award, the prestigious annual accolade of Youth Work Ireland. Nicky has been involved with Clare Youth Service for over 43 years and is the longest serving volunteer involved with young people in the county. Over the years, he has been involved in several youth clubs in Ennis and since the early 1980’s, he has devoted countless hours to supporting hundreds of young people through the medium of music primarily. Many young musicians and bands, even some now in their late forties, can testify to Nicky’s guidance and how he facilitates them to discover their skills and talents CEO of Clare Youth Service, Margaret Slattery, says “Quite simply, he has made an amazing contribution to young people, to adults, to entire community and especially to the Youth Service.” “Underpinning all of his work has been a commitment to supporting young people to take a leading role in developing …

Killian Hogan has two major ambitions in life: to be a professional rap artist and a marine biologist. These two goals are remarkable considering Killian has a mild general learning disability. The 25-year-old former St Flannan’s College, Ennis student has taken the first steps to realising his musical dream. Residing in Ballybeg, Ennis, Killian loves making the short trip into the Clare Youth Service office, where he is working on his latest rap song – Gatorade. Michael Gavin, who works in the Clare Youth Service music studio in Carmody Street, is helping Killian to produce his first professional rap song using all the latest technical musical equipment at his disposal. Killian plans to release Gatorade online on his YouTube channel, BigRed4Eva channel, Twitter and Facebook pages. He is also on the way to realising his second dream, as he has just been accepted for a place on a level eight course in Applied Fresh Water and Marine Biology in Galway-Mayo …

TWO thirds of teenagers and young adults surveyed by Clare Youth Service have felt unsafe in the Ennis Town area during the past 12 months, while 60% of those who said they had experienced crime said they were assaulted, a study by UL has revealed. More than half (54%) of senior-cycle secondary school students surveyed have also admitted to feeling unsafe, and a little less than half (46%) of the general population, who responded to the survey questionnaire, said they also felt unsafe. The study, Feeling Safe in Ennis, an exploration of perceptions of safety in Ennis, was presented to Tuesday’s Ennis Municipal District councillors by Dr Chris McInerney from the Department of Politics and Public Administration in UL. The study was commissioned following feedback gained during the Ennis 2020 consultations that had indicated some level of concern about safety issues in the town. Dr McInerney told the councillors that Ennis ranks on the lower end of the scale in …

THE Church of Ireland on Bindon Street, Ennis, is the venue for a new live music experience coming to Clare. Switch, a Clare Youth Service initiative, aims to showcase old and new music talent from all over Ireland in unexpected locations around the county. The group of volunteers involved promise a “unique live music experience” with the events aimed at 18 to 25 year olds in the Clare area. Shane Killowry, volunteer with the Ennis Music Project explains, “Switch aims to give you a concert experience with a professional atmosphere, and introduce you to your new favourite Irish artists.” Their first show this Friday, will present local alternative rock band 39 Shots who have been writing and performing together for over six years. They will be joined by Ennis rap veteran Clerk 5 who will be showcasing his forthcoming EP which he recently recorded with music producer Deviant and Naive Ted. Korazoncito, a five piece band playing mainly Spanish music …