Tag Archives: clare

ENNIS Cathedral Choir Director Fiona Walsh is hopeful a new musical programme launched this month will strike the right note when it comes to reinvigorating cathedral choral singing. The new Ennis Cathedral programme offers singing opportunities for youngsters, teenagers and adults with Fiona telling us, “We are really trying to elevate the music in the Cathedral and to attract people who really enjoy singing and give them an opportunity to get involved.” She adds, “A huge amount of choirs couldn’t really operate during Covid, we had music at the Cathedral but this is a way for us to get people back singing together.” Part of the new programme will be monthly performances at a special Sunday mass of music by the great church composers Mozart, Mozart, Gounod, Hadyn and Jenkins. Singers interested in joining the choir in delivering this programme are being encouraged to get involved. The adult choir is also actively recruiting 20 male and female teenage voices from …

TEENAGERS will be showcasing and sharing their creativity at a special gathering in Ennis this weekend. ‘A Teenage Gathering’is part of the Local Creative Youth Partnership’s Call & Response Festival and will be held on Saturday, September 17 in glór. Monica Spencer, Creative Youth Partnership Co-ordinator with the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board explained, “It is a social and cultural event taking place over an afternoon where young people can share their creative skills in dance, music, spoken word, make-up, photography, henna tattoo, drawing and food. “This event is presented by the Local Creative Youth Partnership in response to requests from teenagers through consultations throughout Clare in recent years.” A Teenage Gathering is free but participants are asked to bring something to share in the form of a song, poem, drawing technique, some food or any part of their everyday culture that others might like to see or hear. LCYP is now in its third year of running …

TALENTED young Clare singers struck gold at the national Community Games finals. A choir made up of 20 children ranging in age from nine to 15 representing the Quin – Clooney Parish brought home gold medals in the under 16 category of the finals in Carlow last weekend. And for those who haven’t yet had an opportunity to hear these award winning singers a performance is planned for Quin village later this month. Una Clune who put the choir together and has been working with the youngsters told us, “We’re thrilled with the win, the kids are so excited and happy.” The choir itself was only set up last May with Una saying the children have been “exceptional” and rehearsed diligently to prepare for the competition. “It involved a huge commitment from each member since May and all through the summer”. Explaining why the choir was set up, “I’m a music teacher and I have been working with choirs for …

THE Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Clare has launched its third level Education and Training Bursary for 2022/23. The Bursary will support Clare students of all ages who may be struggling financially to access or stay in third-level education and training programmes Denis Carty, SVP Clare Area Council President said, “SVP recognises the importance of education at all levels. However, for many people accessibility and affordability are real barriers to obtaining a third level education and training. “In the last few years, Clare SVP has dealt will many students from different backgrounds whose grant payments are simply not enough to cover accommodation costs, let alone the addition costs of food, travel and books. This had been made worse by the current rental and cost of living crises.” Last year Clare SVP spent almost €60,000 on helping individuals and families realise their potential. Mr Carty gave a number of examples of how students, both first time and mature, …

ART lovers are able to enjoy a brand new exhibition of work by Clare artist Cathal Butler from anywhere in the world. Clare Arts Office, in conjunction with the Cultúrlann Sweeney Gallery, have launched Cathal’s exhibition ‘Scenes from West Clare’ which will run at the Kilkee gallery until September 23. The pictures for the Kilkee exhibition are all of iconic sites and scenes in County Clare, painted in oils. However, you don’t have to head to West Clare to see the works with Cathal embracing multimedia through a virtual tour of the exhibition available online at: https://clarearts.ie/events/scenes-from-west-clare/ Cathal Butler is registered as a professional member with Visual Artists Ireland, working from EASI Art Studios in Ennis, and mainly paints landscapes in oils, completing several collections for hotels around the country. Along with the pictures on sale, there is also an opportunity to buy prints of the pictures, both framed and unframed, with limited editions of each image also available.

WATER quality in parts of Ennis has been described as “deplorable” resulting in illness and malfunctioning appliances for concerned householders. Homes in Ard na Greine, St Michael’s Villas and St Flannan’s Terrace have been affected by “ongoing difficulities” with the quality of their water supply a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard this week. Councillor Paul Murphy highlighted the issue while urging the Ennis Municipal District and Irish Water to facilitate mains rehabilitation and road reinstatement works between Captain Mac’s Junction and Station Cross roundabout. Ian Chaplin, Acting Senior Executive Engineer confirmed that the Ennis Municipal District and Irish Water have been in discussions and a meeting is due to take place to finalise plans for the works. He added that the council is aiming to schedule works for a time that “least inconveniences the public”. According to Councillor Murphy these works were due to be carried out during Christmas of last year. He said that the issue needs …

VIEWERS tuning into Friday’s return of the Late Late Show to our screens were in for a big surprise when some very familiar faces were beamed to the nation. The popular Ennis Brass Band played a starring role in the opening sequence of the first show of the new season, playing its famous theme tune along with two other bands surrounded by dancers. Grainne Kearney of the Ennis Brass Band told The Champion they were sworn to secrecy about their involvement with the Late Late ahead of the broadcast, and they have been delighted with the reaction to their appearance. The filming was done in Limerick’s Na Piarsaigh GAA club with Grainne saying it was a fantastic experience for the band. Explaining how they got involved she said, “They got in touch and told us they wanted to do something to show that Ireland is up and running, that people are back doing their hobbies and enjoying themselves. I’m not …

AN Ennis councillor has resigned from the company set up to deliver Ennis 2040 objectives having appealed to An Bord Pleanala against controversial plans for a €450 million data centre. Councillor Johnny Flynn made the announcement he was stepping down from the Ennis 2040 (Strategic Development) Designated Activity Company (DAC) at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. The development of a data centre at Toureen plays a central role in the Ennis 2040 plan where it is included among a number of ‘Transformational Projects’ for the county capital. Councillor Flynn told the meeting he did not want to “distract” from the Ennis 2040 DAC’s work after lodging his appeal against the development on the Tulla Road. He outlined that he has been engaged with the planning process for the site for a number of years including making a submission relating to its rezoning in 2019. Last month Art Data Centre Campus in Ennis became the first to be …