Tag Archives: Feakle

FEAKLE native Kathleen Snavely (nee Hayes) became the State’s oldest ever living person when she turned 111 and 327 days last year but, having reached her 113th birthday this week, she looks set to become the island’s oldest living person. Annie Scott was the oldest living person from the island of Ireland. She was born in Northern Ireland on March 15, 1883, living to be 113 and 37 days, having died in 1996 in Scotland where she settled. Kathleen was born in Garraun, Feakle on February 16, 1902. Indications are that she is in good health, so she looks set to make history once again on March 24 of this year, which would make her the oldest person born on the island of Ireland. However, she has a long way to go to outlive the longest living person in recorded history, who was French woman Jeanne Calment, who died aged 122 years and 164 days in 1997. The current oldest …

By Seamus Hayes Cratloe move a step closer another title when they defeated Thurles Sarsfields from Tipperary at Cusack Park on Sunday but down the road in Sixmilebridge there was disappointment for the county intermediate hurling champions Feakle who suffered a one point loss to their Waterford opponents Cappaquin Cratloe 1-18 Thurles Sarsfields 0-14 While the sending off of Denis Maher from Thurles Sarsfields in the opening minute of the game will lead to much discussion, it cannot detract from the fact that Cratloe delivered another impressive performance when defeating their Tipperary counterparts in the semi-final of the Munster senior club hurling championship at Cusack Park in Ennis Conor Ryan, Enda Boyce, Podge Collins and Conor McGrath, with a haul of 0-11, delivered outstanding displays as Cratloe qualified for yet another final, this time in the Munster championship where they will meet the Limerick champions, Kilmallock on November 23. Of course Maher’s dismissal in the very first play, will be …

O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge will host the Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship semi-final on Sunday (throw-in 2pm) when county champions Feakle take on their Waterford counterparts Cappoquin. Little is known about the Déise representatives and with home advantage, Feakle will go into the game as slight favourites. In their only competitive outing since winning the title, when beating Parteen in the final, they made county senior champions, Cratloe, fight all the way before going under narrowly in the semi-final of the Clare Champion Cup. The East Clare side have a couple of injury worries ahead of Sunday and won’t finalise their line-up until nearer match time. Definitely ruled out of contention is defender Ger Hanrahan who suffered a cruciate knee injury in the championship final. This will keep him out of action until well into next season, at the earliest. “Ger is due to have his operation this week and he is certainly a big loss to us. We also have …

AMONGST the most intriguing of the items which will be on display at a 1914 All-Ireland hurling exhibition in the county museum in Ennis will be an oil stock used to anoint Biddy Earley when she died. Historian Tomás MacConmara is hoping that this element of the exhibition will finally dispel the belief that Biddy Earley had cursed the Clare hurling team, thereby playing a role in denying Clare an All-Ireland title between 1914 and 1995. “It’s time to refute that story for once and for all. To be fair to Biddy Earley she was an incredibly important historical figure and actually a very liked figure, certainly in her native Feakle,” Tomás MacConmara said. The fact that Biddy Earley died decades before 1914 suggests that apportioning blame to her on the subsequent short comings of the Clare hurling team was stretching things. “To be very clear on it, she died in 1874; the GAA was formed 10 years later and …

By Seamus Hayes Crusheen 0-10 Clonlara 0-8 Championship favourites Clonlara were dumped out of the Clare senior hurling title race at Cusack Park on Saturday evening when fourteen man Crusheen deservingly took the spoils. In a dour struggle, the winners showed the greater hunger for victory and were full value for their win. They were dealt a massive blow just before half time when they had Pat Vaughan dismissed on a straight red card but throughout the second half, they were the ones that looked to have an extra man. Clonlara got the opening two points of the game after which they exchanged points three times before Crusheen levelled at 0-5 each. They swapped points in injury time to leave the half time score at 0-6 each after Clonlara had shot seven wides, five more that the winners. The third quarter produced just two points, both for Crusheen and they went three clear with ten minutes remaining. Despite Clonlara’s best …

Nine East Clare community and Tidy Towns groups have benefitted from a once-off funding allocation, totaling €34,000, under the Public Area Enhancement Scheme, to improve their own locality. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is providing 75% of the finance, with the remainder being matched by Clare County Council. Scariff Community Council’s project to carry out improvement works to Riverside Park, and Sixmilebridge Development Association/Tidy Towns’ proposal to develop a Slí na Sláinte Walk Route have benefitted from most of the funding available, each receiving €6,000. Further to this, two East Clare groups will receive €5,000 under the fund. They include Kilkishen Development Ltd, which aims to develop a Kilkishen Castle Bog Walk, while Tuamgraney Development Association will also benefit from this funding, which will be used to carry out improvement works to the approach road to Tuamgraney from Bodyke. Aistear Iniscealtra Mountshannon have been awarded €3,000 in funding to upgrade the public park, while, in a …

A MISSIONARY priest from Feakle died aged 85 on Tuesday, February 11 in Tallaght Hospital. Fr Cyril Sheedy CSSp was born in Feakle on April 7, 1928 to Lily (née McGrath) and Jeremiah Sheedy. After secondary-school studies in Rockwell College, he entered the Spiritan (Holy Ghost) novitiate in 1946, completed his BA in 1950 and later got his H Dip Ed. In line with the then custom for Spiritans studying for the priesthood, he spent two years in a Spiritan school as a prefect on the Caribbean island of Trinidad from 1950 to 1952. He worked as a member of school staff, teaching classes, coaching teams and helping to supervise pupils. After completing his theology studies at Kimmage Manor, Cyril was ordained to the priesthood in Clonliffe College in July 1955 by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid. Also ordained that day was his older brother, Val, who went on to minister with the Spiritans in Nigeria and subsequently in the USA, …

By CAROL BYRNE THE community of Feakle has laid to rest centenarian John Michael Tobin. He died last week in his 102nd year. The 101 year old from Laccaroe, Feakle died peacefully at Limerick Regional Hospital on Thursday, February 13. He was laid to rest in the local cemetery following funeral mass on Saturday at St Mary’s Church, Feakle. He lived with his son, JJ in Feakle, up to his death and he is also survived by his daughter, Martina, extended family and friends. John Michael was a post man in Feakle and a farmer. Hewas the last remaining person to have attended the funeral of the Scariff Martyrs, four men who were shot by Auxiliaries on Killaloe Bridge on November 16, 1920. John Michael attended their funeral with his mother on November 20, 1920. Each Easter Sunday, a memorial event is held to these men organised by East Clare Memorial Committee. John Michael has laid a wreath at the …