Tag Archives: Tuamgraney

    Tuamgraney’s internationally acclaimed novelist Edna O’Brien has been buried in Holy Island in keeping with a request she made to her family years ago. In the region of 150 mourners were ferried from Knockphort, Mountshannon to this picturesque monastic site by numerous boats with assistance from Clare Civil Defence volunteers and under the watchful eye of the Killaloe Coast Guard and the RNLI. Chief Celebrant Fr Donagh O’Meara described Ms O’Brien as an “extraordinary woman” and “speaker of truth” who held up a mirror to Irish society during her Funeral Mass in St Joseph’s Church, Tuamgraney on Saturday. “We didn’t thank her for it. Like a lot of prophetesses of the past, we undermined her, we isolated her and rejected her message and she must have deeply felt that,” he admitted in reference to the fact that her debut novel Country Girls was banned and burned in East Clare in 1960. He noted that it must have been …

TRIBUTES have come pouring in following the death of Tuamgraney’s internationally acclaimed novelist Edna O’Brien (93) on Sunday. President Michael D Higgins said it is with great sorrow that I have heard of the passing of a dear friend of Sabina’s and his, Edna O’Brien. “Edna O’Brien has been one of the outstanding writers of modern times, her work has been sought as model all around the world. “Edna was a fearless teller of truths, a superb writer possessed of the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed. “Through that deeply insightful work, rich in humanity, Edna O’Brien was one of the first writers to provide a true voice to the experiences of women in Ireland in their different generations and played an important role in transforming the status of women across Irish society,” he said. While the beauty of her work was immediately recognised abroad, President Higgins stressed it is important to remember the …

      A bid by Tuamgraney’s Michael Blake to win an Olympic team medal in showjumping ended in disappointment when Team Ireland finished seventh in Friday’s final. Chef d’Equipe Michael Blake steered the Ireland Showjumping team into Friday’s Olympic final at the stunning Château de Versailles with a good display in the qualifier on Thursday. The Irish trio of Daniel Coyle, Cian O’Connor and Shane Sweetnam were hoping to produce a great performance in the final at the Chateua de Versailles but just fell short. Shane Sweetman on James Kann Cruz almost got Ireland off to the perfect start up until the final obstacle, which they clipped and knocked, as well as picking up one time penalty, leaving them on five penalties after one round. Derry rider Daniel Coyle on his mount Legacy kept Ireland in the hunt for major honours after a perfect round. They never knocked a barrier and were well inside the allotted time. This left …

  Tuamgraney’s Michael Blake has steered the Ireland Show Jumping team into Friday’s Olympic final at the stunning Château de Versailles. Chef dEquipe, Michael Blake was satisfied with the professional work of his athletes in the qualifier. “Today worked out very well. We had some tiny bits of misfortune. A lot more teams had a lot more. The horses are jumping well and I think they will jump better tomorrow because this is an unusual event in that there is no class beforehand so you’re going in cold. “But the course builder did a good job with that in mind. It was probably a bit of a surprise that 20 faults got in so it caused plenty of trouble but I would expect it to be tougher tomorrow. But we are looking forward to it and to being right in the mix at the business end,” he said. Ireland finished Thursday’s qualifier on an overall score of nine faults in …

  Irish President Michael D Higgins has led the tributes following the death of internationally acclaimed Tuamgraney novelist, Edna O’Brien, (93), describing her as “one of the outstanding writers of modern times”. “Edna was a fearless teller of truths, a superb writer possessed of the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed,” he said. “Through that deeply insightful work, rich in humanity, Edna O’Brien was one of the first writers to provide a true voice to the experiences of women in Ireland in their different generations and played an important role in transforming the status of women across Irish society.” “While the beauty of her work was immediately recognised abroad, it is important to remember the hostile reaction it provoked among those who wished for the lived experience of women to remain far from the world of Irish literature, with her books shamefully banned upon their early publication.” Paying tribute to the author, publishing house …

TUAMGRANEY historian and author Dr Tomás Mac Conmara is set to spend time in the US state of Arkansas, where he will work with the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas to help build a project to document the memories and tradition of the Irish American community living there. The project is being funded by the Irish Abroad Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland, Austin, who have invited Dr Mac Conmara to bring his expertise in the field of oral heritage stateside. Dr Mac Conmara is recognised as one of Ireland’s leading oral historians, with multiple national projects including with the Local Government Management Agency, Dublin Port, the National Museum of Ireland, the Defence Forces, as well as several local authorities. The project in Arkansas is called Deep Memories: The Arkansas Irish Oral Heritage Project and aims to digitally record, preserve and disseminate the unique memories, testimony and tradition of members of the Irish American …

A LARGE-scale housing development has been given the green light for the village of Tuamgraney, despite concerns raised by a number of local residents. Conditional permission for the 52 homes on Dock Road, has been granted by Clare County Council in the face of fears about a “population explosion” which would turn Tuamgraney into a commuter village. The planning application was submitted by Michael Pearl in April of last year. The proposals generated six objections, including one from a group called ‘Reddan’s Quay Residents’. That submission raised objections to the principle of development; over-development; housing design and layout; traffic and pedestrian safety; flooding; and environmental impact. The submission described Tuamgraney as having “a small close knit community of residents” and said large-scale developments had not been built, despite the fact that some have had the benefit of planing permission. The objection contended that the proposed estate “will have a severe impact upon the physical and social fabric of the village”. …

An EAST Clare woman, who is living in deplorable living conditions without any central heating, electricity or running water in her mobile home, has vowed to challenge an enforcement notice about her accommodation in the “District, Circuit or High Court”. Clare County Council has been accused of breaking its own rules after the planning section confirmed it doesn’t wish to take any further action concerning an enforcement notice issued on December 11, 2017 relating to the alleged “unauthorised storage of two mobile homes, one caravan and ancillary services” by its own housing department at Ballymalone, Tuamgraney. Duncan Young, who has lived in Ballymalone for some years and complained about this planning crux, believes the council has now set a new precedent by allowing a person to live in a mobile home allegedly without any planning permission for the last five years, which could be replicated by others in Clare. A council spokesman said: “As this remains an open and ongoing …