Tag Archives: Ennistymon

The Rekindle Festival of Lost Skills is set to return to North Clare on August 16 and 17, with this edition focused on uniting communities across generations and cultures through traditional skills and crafts. Following its success at the National Pride of Place awards in 2023, this year’s festival, part of National Heritage Week, promises an enriching experience with live music, workshops, and demonstrations showcasing the richness of Ireland’s heritage and beyond. Festival Highlights include ‘LASRAÍ’ – Rekindle Launch Concert, Ennistymon Community Centre on August 16. Lasraí, which means gathering around the flames, will ignite the weekend with an intercultural traditional music and dance concert featuring masters of tradition from Ireland and also all over the world including Stephanie Keane, Ultan O’Brien and Seamas Hyland. Aindrias De Staic and Louise O Connor will be performing with top class traditional musicians from around the world including Mohammad Syfkhan, a Kurdish bouzouki player living in Leitrim, Citadel a 10 piece global sounds …

Two lobby groups who want an end to the war in Gaza have pledged to continue their “Banners on the Bridge” demonstrations over the coming months. Members of East Clare for Palestine and Nenagh Friends for Palestine waved flags and shouted slogans such as “Free Palestine”, “Ceasefire Now” on both sides of Killaloe Bridge on Friday. This third demonstration was part of a nationwide protest at bridges to encourage more people to come out in support of Palestine. While Carol McNamara, Scariff, welcomed the government’s decision to recognise a two-state solution, she stressed this was not enough as it needed to introduce boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures akin to what happened to South Africa under apartheid in the eighties. “We are here to show solidarity with people in Gaza. A lot of these vigils are being filmed and are being and are going back to people in Gaza who are facing starvation on a massive scale,” she said. “There …

After an uncertain 12 months, when it looked for a time like it would be forced to leave Ennistymon, Salmon Poetry began a new chapter in its existence this week in the former Daly’s Pub. More than 550 people from all over the world collectively donated in excess of €50,000 to the North Clare publisher and bookshop earlier this year, to help them secure their future in Ennistymon. Having previously been based in Galway and Liscannor, Salmon Poetry has made Ennistymon its home for the past 11 years. Over that time, the North Clare capital has been transformed, with scores of artists, musicians and artisan food producers relocating there – making it one of Ireland’s cultural and artistic hotspots. Salmon Poetry’s position in the heart of that movement came into doubt last year, when owner Jessie Lendennie, was told that she would have to vacate their current headquarters and book shop on Parliament Street, as the landlord intended to use …

Ennistymon woman, Pam O’Loughlin, has been unveiled as the Farmers’ Alliance candidate to contest the upcoming local election in the Ennistymon area this summer. Pam, whose younger sister Emer was murdered in a caravan on the border between Clare and Galway in 2005, says that she doesn’t recognise the kind of country Ireland is starting to become. Ms O’Loughlin has been campaigning for justice for her younger sister for almost 20 years and says she is well able to fight her corner. “I left Ireland in the 1980s and, of course, Ireland has changed a huge amount since then. But since I came home three years ago the values and attitudes of people seem to be changing,” she said. “We have changed from a country that feels safe to a country that doesn’t feel safe anymore, and I mean physically as well as psychologically. ”I feel so strongly that Ireland is going in the wrong direction. I have seen politicians, …

The groundwork has been laid for a major restoration of the Ballymacraven River in North Clare, which was devastated by pollution last year. The Restore Ballymacraven River Association hosted a public meeting in Ennistymon last Friday, and outlined their plans for the river for this year, and into the future. The river, which is a tributary of the Inagh River, was the site of a significant water pollution event in May of last year, with thousands of fish and other wildlife being killed. Earlier this year, Uisce Éireann were fined €10,000 for the incident, which threatens the viability of the river’s population of Atlantic salmon and eels among other species. Local community group, the Restore Ballymacraven River Association, now plans to help restore the waterway, starting with the area around The Glen in Ennistymon. The first step is to remove a large number of invasive trees from the river bank and replace them with thousands of native trees. This will …

A new volunteer organisation is aiming to reverse the recent devastation caused to the Ballymacraven River in North Clare and restore it to its former glory. Thousands of fish were killed in the river in May of 2023 following a significant water pollution event. Earlier this month, Uisce Éireann were fined €10,000 for the incident, which threatens the viability of the river’s population of Atlantic salmon and eels. In the wake of this decision, the newly formed Restore Ballymacraven River Association now aims to painstakingly rebuild the habitat of the river and hopefully help restore the local fish population. Group spokesperson, Kevin Nunan, said the group welcomed the recent case against Uisce Éireann but also committed to working with the water utility in the future to help rebuild the river. “We were delighted with the outcome of the recent case again Uisce Éireann and we would like to pay tribute to the staff of Inland Fisheries Ireland who put all …

The premier of a new documentary film about North Clare’s finest, The Stunning, will will take place on RTÉ 1 television this coming Sunday, December 17, at 11.40pm. Ennistymon brothers Steve and Joe Wall have spent the past two years working on this film, which will feature some of the most talent people in music in Ireland including Máirtín O’Connor, Camille O’Sullivan, Faye O’Rourke from Soda Blonde, Niwel Tsumbu, Zoë Conway, Mundy and Shobsy. It also features North Clare bassist and regular collaborate with Steve and Joe Wall, Jon O’Connell. ‘We Come Alive’ was produced independently by The Stunning and Wonderbread Films and licensed to RTE.

A protest rally highlighting the “dire situation” facing North Clare’s waterways will be held in Ennistymon next week with campaigners saying “The rivers of Clare cannot be used as toilets”. The Save Our Rivers campaign was recently formed by a group of North Clare citizens who say they are “tired of the pollution, the fish kills and all the other forms of environmental destruction”. Group spokesperson Denis Vaughan is urging members of the public to show their support at the rally which will be held on Saturday, September 9 at 2pm at the Ennistymon Area Office of Clare County Council. According to Mr Vaughan there is a “clear need” for the campaign, explaining it comes after the recent high profile fish kill in the Ennistymon area in which thousands of fish died. They are also highlighting concerns over untreated sewage being pumped into the sea and rivers in North Clare. “Lahinch Beach is frequently closed because of the presence of …