Tag Archives: Miltown Malbay

MORE than 160 outlets, including shops, pubs, post offices and banks, have closed in West Clare in the last 25 years. These approximate figures, which have been compiled by The Clare Champion, do not include additional outlets such as seasonal businesses in resort towns like Kilkee. The figures show that the region, from Ballynacally to Kilbaha and up to Miltown, has lost 102 shops and 53 public houses since 1989, while AIB has closed outlets in Kildysart and Kilkee. Ballynacally, Coolmeen, Cranny, Cross and Knock have lost their post offices in that period. In the last decade, Kilrush has lost eight pubs and a total of 53 businesses, including 19 in Moore Street alone. However, in the same period, 42 businesses have opened in the town. The breakdown of what has closed in West Clare towns and villages during that period include: Ballynacally, two shops, one post office. Lissycasey, two pubs, two shops; Kildysart, three pubs, two shops and AIB …

Shannon  Councillor Gerry Flynn  raised the possibility of running in the next general election. An independent, he is a former member of Fine Gael and has been a member of Clare County Council since 2004, while he served on Shannon Town Council from 1999 until it was disbanded earlier this year. Speaking to The Clare Champion, he was very critical of the county’s six Oireachtas members (TDs Pat Breen, Joe Carey, Michael McNamara and Timmy Dooley, as well as senators, Martin Conway and Shannon’s Tony Mulcahy). “I feel that the six Oireachtas members aren’t really representing the people, that they have been mute in the Dáil and that’s not the type of representation the people of Clare want. “I said that if they don’t buck themselves up and represent the people of Clare, I would consider running in the Dáil election, basically to replace one of them. “ I don’t think they are representing the people and you need somebody …

TG4 music and magazine series, Féilte will visit Clare on its journey of discovery along the Wild Atlantic Way on this Thursday at 8.30pm. TG4’s Féilte programme continues its nine-week tour of the hidden treasures along the Western seaboard, following the Fáilte Ireland-promoted 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way.The tour began on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal and ends in Kinsale, County Cork. The programme, which will be aired this Thursday, sees presenter, Síle Ní Bhraonáin come to the Banner County. The show will feature the finest traditional music, song and dance, local cuisine and adventure activities. Síle discovers some of the secret gems in the towns and villages along the route, as well as some spectacular scenery. Síle drops in to Friel’s, also known as Lynch’s pub, in the Willie Clancy festival town of Miltown Malbay, where entertainment is provided by renowned musicians, Edel Fox, Therese McInerney, Marian Curtin, Deirdre O’Brien and Cian Talty, who all come from local families …

A group of Germans took a break from the music in Miltown Malbay on Tuesday to celebrate their country’s 7-1 win over Brazil in the World Cup.  They are among a large contingent from all over the world at this year’s Willie Clancy Summer School. Festival administrator, Harry Hughes, has reported steady participation in most of the classes on offer in Miltown, while the town has been generally busy, day and night. “We seem to have an enrollment that would certainly match last year. We have an increase in the banjo, fiddle and concertina classes. The piping and other classes would be rather stationery but we are returning the same figures as last year,” he explained. “The picture seems to be pretty busy. The pubs are busy at night-time, as are the hotels. I think the town has the same numbers back again as they would in previous years. I’ve just come up the town now and the streets are pretty …

Members of the Mosaic Course 2013 at West Clare Resource Centre (WCRC) in Miltown Malbay will launch a unique bench on Thursday afternoon next. The Miltown Mosaic Bench, which was designed by Liscannor artist and teacher, Marie Connole, reflects the theme of music. It features musical notes floating across waves of coloured tiles and a piano keyboard, which acts as the seat. The bench was completed in late 2013 by local adult learners from the WCRC mosaic course and was facilitated by Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. Geraldine Cotter, who will launch the event, comes from a well-known musical family and many in Clare will remember her mother, Dympna Lernehan, who traveled on the West Clare Railway to teach music at St Joseph’s in Spanish Point. Cora O’Grady, co-ordinator at WCRC and chair of the community garden projects, initiated the mosaic course and encouraged locals to take part. The bench itself was constructed by Fred Hems using concrete and brick, while …

Peter O’Connell The programmes on offer at Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, July 5 to 13, are now recognised by the Department of Education and Skills as approved summer courses for teachers. Among the courses on offer are Dúchas an Cheoil, the Heritage of Irish Music programme which examines the historical, cultural and social backgrounds to the evolution of the Irish traditional music heritage, and the traditional singing workshops which explore the different genres of song in the Irish and English language traditions. These courses are suitable for those wishing to develop a critical overview of the key personalities, events, publications, organisations and influences that have shaped the development of Irish traditional music, song and dance over the past two cenruries. One does not have to be a musician, singer or dancer to participate in these programmes. For those determined to improve their practical skills there is a full programme of instrumental tuition as well as classes on old-style step dancing, …

By Róisín O’Sullivan St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point Highly commended, senior Clare Champion Short Story Competition EVERY year, a boisterous gaggle of grandchildren gather in one place in order to prove their dedication to their grandmother. Many are young, too young to understand that what they will be doing is something that will be forever engraved in their memories. They will learn skills only taught to those worthy of such high regard. Some will falter and give up, yet the majority, goaded on by their proud parents, will master their skills and become true and noble glass collectors. Each year in July, for the Willie Clancy Week festival, every bar, restaurant and street corner in Miltown Malbay transforms into a bustling atmospheric cauldron of instruments, musicians and nameless voices singing songs of old. The week brings thousands of people of every age to the normally quiet town. It is this week that my grandmother’s pub renews its youth and …

HUNDREDS of cyclists will set off from Ennis this month for a very special fundraising event to remember an avid member of a local cycling club who died suddenly last year. This year’s Dolmen Challenge Tour is being dedicated to the memory of the late Seamus Mullane, a keen cyclist and member of Dolmen Cycle Club. The father of four was also known to many through his work with Aer Lingus in Shannon and more recently the court service in Ennis. As part of the cycle, the participants will pass the Mullane family home in Kilnaboy and will mark a minute’s remembrance at the nearby graveyard. The cycle will take place on April 27, leaving from the Woodstock Golf and Country Club on the Shanaway Road at 10am. As well as honouring the life of the late Mr Mullane, the event will also raise money for the valuable work of Doolin Search and Rescue. According to John Colleran of Dolmen …