Tag Archives: Irish College

A fire inspection at Coláiste Eoghain Uí Chomhraidhe in Carrigaholt was due to take place on Wednesday evening, to determine if the 105-year-old building can open for its August intake of students on Sunday. Fifty children have enrolled for a two-week course in the Irish language from Sunday until August 13. Following concerns over fire safety, the college was forced to close in early June and all 25 students had to return home. There were no July classes but significant maintenance work has taken place in the intervening weeks. Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, college principal Domhnall Ó Loingsigh said that Clare County Council was due to carry out a fire safety inspection, which would determine the immediate future of the historic college, which is located on the Shannon Estuary. The June and July closure was the first in the college’s history. “The council fire safety inspectors are the people who laid down the requirements and we’re following their recommendations to …

THERE was immense shock in Carrigaholt and the surrounding communities last Thursday, when it emerged that Coláiste Eoghain Uí Chomhraidhe, which is the only Irish college in Clare, was forced to close due to Department of the Gaeltacht fire safety concerns. Approximately 25 students had commenced a summer course for the month of June but college principal Domhnall Ó Loingsigh had to contact parents, across the country, last Wednesday and Thursday to inform them that the month-long course had come to an abrupt halt. However, the principal and college board are confident that the college will reopen later this summer. The board has said that local politicians must take urgent action to ensure that the college is funded for the necessary repair works. In recent years, Ministers of State Joe McHugh, Dinny McGinley and, most recently, Michael Ring, at the invitation of Deputy Pat Breen, have either visited the college or met with representatives. However, the college’s appeal for funding, …

THREE of the organisers of a teenage gambling awareness workshop in Ennis last week have told The Clare Champion that it is a significant issue for some young people. The gambling awareness seminar at Coláiste Muire involved interactive, peer-led workshops, which were designed by the school’s transition-year class. Among the guest speakers were Barry Grant, CEO of Problem Gambling Ireland, and addiction counsellor Justin Campbell. Shona Hale, Niamh McHugh and Rachel Kennedy, all of whom are transition-year students, played a central role in organising the event. As part of the project, Niamh interviewed a teenage girl with a gambling problem. “You wouldn’t think this girl had this problem. She gambled on online poker. She told us it all started with innocent slot machines. She was like, ‘if you know how to play it properly, you’re obviously going to win’. That’s what she said. She was gambling on slot machines, then internet slot machines and then online poker. “She made a …