Tag Archives: kilkee

HOMEWORK clubs started for Ukrainian children in West and North Clare in recent weeks are already proving themselves to be a success, with hopes of expanding the idea to other parts of the county and maybe further afield. The Homework Club Project, established by Clare Local Development company started for Ukrainian children on October 10 in Kilkee, and on October 17 in Ballyvaughan. Lisdoonvarna’s Homework Club is now up and running successfully for the last three weeks and that one is also open to local children in Direct Provision. Project Leader for the three clubs, Ailbhe Crowley of Clare Local Development Company Ailbhe explains how they work. “These are Ukrainian afterschool homework clubs. We already have homework clubs running around Clare in the Deis schools and these were hugely successful, so after the Ukrainian new arrivals had got involved in the summer camps we decided to expand the homework club system.” “The idea has been a great success so far, we began to …

CUAR, the Irish chamber music ensemble founded by Neil Ó Loclainn from Ballyvaughan, will play in Cultúrlann Sweeney, Kilkee this Thursday. Neil’s talents have been recognised by some of the greatest traditional musicians from Clare in terms of his groundbreaking work. Cuar explores composition and improvisation within the framework of Irish traditional music, playing new music written especially for them. Citing influences as varied as Tommie Potts, Tony MacMahon, sean-nós singing and uilleann pipe music, on the one hand, and the Karnatak (South Indian) music tradition, composers Morton Feldman, Béla Bartók and downtown jazz on the other, the music creates a boundary-less style rich in melodic detail. Together they forge a unique sound. The group has been featured at festivals and events throughout Ireland and Europe including Paris Jazz Festival, Jazzy Nights Brussels, Galway Jazz Festival, Féile na Bealtaine, Dingle, Masters of Tradition, Bantry, Kaleidoscope Night Dublin, and NUI Galway Arts in Action concert series. They are currently touring Ireland …

CLARE County Council estimates there are 3,207 beneficiaries of temporary protection, most of which are believed to be Ukrainian refugees, currently accommodated in 30 hotels, hostels and self-catering accommodation across 14 local settlements. The council is coordinating local response services across the county and the matching of Ukrainian people displaced as a result of the war to hosted accommodation. Councillors were told at a meeting on Monday this is being done through the repurposed Community Response Forum, with meetings at a county level being held on a bi-weekly basis and local meetings in Shannon, Ennis, Kilkee and Lisdoonvarna. Prior to the war in Ukraine, it was widely recognised that Clare was already lacking available bed nights, considering the level of product available in the county. A Clare Visitor Survey of domestic and international visitors facilitated by the council between late April and September found high satisfaction levels, but 81% of overseas tourists had to travel by car to the Banner …

AN EXCITING mix of trad and classical sounds comes to Kilkee on Saturday, October 29, as the West Ocean String Quartet come to West Clare.  Among the programme on the night will be pieces from their latest, and fifth album, Atlantic Edge. Blending traditional and classical elements, the album was recorded in Dublin  over three days in November 2019, and marked the Quartet’s two decades together. The album release was to have been accompanied by a tour of venues along the Atlantic coast in Spring of 2020, but as with so many other cultural events fell victim to Covid. The Quartet’s founder, Belfast musician, composer and television producer, Neil Martin, said that the Quartet is thrilled to be fulfilling the original tour schedule, including Cultúrlann Sweeney on Saturday. The repertoire for their Clare concert  is music from or about the west of Ireland, both traditional and newly-composed.  The Quartet celebrates the deeply rich vein of airs and dance tunes that …

AWARD-winning and much loved singer-songwriter, PJ Murrihy will be in concert in Kilkee this Saturday night.  The eagerly-anticipated event, which features Séamus Shannon, follows on from a very successful appearance by PJ at the Ploughing Championships. In the wake of the pandemic, fans from all over Ireland lined up to see the Mullagh man live in Ratheniska, and Clare followers will welcome the chance to see him at 8pm, at Cultúrlann Sweeney.  A veteran of the Irish music scene, PJ first came to prominence  in the late ‘80s, with a song called ‘Pat Murphy’s Meadow’. The hugely popular ballad was originally a poem, written by JM Devine in the 1930s. He has since had many successes with his songs including ‘Life in the Auld Dog Yet’, ‘Soldier On’, and ‘Drawing Little Men in the Ashes’. To date, songs written by PJ have been recorded by a number of prominent artists including, Big Tom, Daniel O’Donnell, Foster and Allen, Michael English, …

GOLD Star Homes 3 Limited has been refused permission for the development of a caravan park at Dough Kilkee. There had been a number of objections to the proposal, while permission was refused on a number of grounds, including one that the road network was inadequate. “The road network that serves as the access to the site from Circular Road is deficient in terms of its capacity, its horizontal alighment, surfacing and pedestrian provision in order to accommodate the volume and composition of vehicular and pedestrian traffic associated with the development. “In addition the proposed layout and boundary treatments would restrict visiiblity at the proposed access points and the existing adjacent access points to the east and west of the site.” The site is zoned for low density residential development and the Chief Executive’s report stated that “the proposed development is not in accordance with the onsite objective as it does not constitute an appropriate consolidation of the structure of …

A PLAY focusing on one of the most intense incidents in the War of Independence in Clare comes to Cultúrlann Sweeney in Kilkee, on Friday night (August 12). The drama, entitled Two Days in September, secured prestigious funding support from Clare County Council through the Decade of Centenary Arts Project Awards, and premiered in North Clare in June.  Written by Doolin-based playwright Dermott Petty, the play tells the story of the Rineen Ambush. The drama unfolds, in film and theatre form, and traces the events of autumn, 1920, when a British Army convoy was ambushed by the Mid-Clare Brigade of the IRA. It follows the aftermath of revenge and the sacking, looting and burning of the villages of Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown Malbay by the Black and Tans on September 22 and 23.  “West Clare in 1920 was recovering from a land war, famines, World War 1 and Spanish influenza,” said Dermott. “While a beautiful part of the world had …

A WOMAN working at Kilkee Golf Club had to receive medical attention following an incident last weekend. It occurred at around 10.35pm, in the vicinity of the clubhouse, when the woman approached a group of youths and an altercation took place.  At the time of writing Gardai are seeking witnesses to the incident, and no arrests had been made. Kilkee-based County Councillor Cillian Murphy said that it was a very disturbing incident. “It’s hugely concerning. This is an older lady just doing her job on ostensibly private property. There are serious questions to be asked as to who are the responsible adults over these young people. Do they know where they are, do they know what they’re doing, do they know what their behaviour is like? I think it’s appalling.” The incident came shortly after a young person was imprisoned for an assault on a garda in Kilkee in 2020. Councillor Murphy said that while most young people are well …