Month: September 2007

Nicola (21) and Mary Ellen (18) Murphy have been fans of the fanta- sy author for years and last week they became the first two of more than a thousand people who had been work- ing as extras on the film to be called back for a second stint.

The two had already been in the UK filming for a couple of days, but when a call came from Pratchett’s personal assistant, Rob Wilkins, to say that there were some people the director particularly wanted to see back, they were delighted.

“We were really delighted because Terry Pratchett is very hands-on in this film and we discovered we were asked back before anyone else,” said Nicola.

Nicola – who is studying folk thea-

tre in Tralee – and her sister, Mary Ellen – who hopes to be accepted in the Galway Film and TV course – were rubbing shoulders with some serious names in the world of film.

Among the stars of production are Sean Austin of Lord of the Rings fame, David Jason, aka Dellboy, and sere etieas

‘“They’re all nice to us, especially Sean, he was fabulous, always mak- ing jokes and talking to the extras and the crew,” said Nicola.

The sisters will be in Guildford for five days filming crowd scenes and riot scenes in the fictional Ankh- morpork City.

Mary Ellen will also be hoping to hear from the CAO that she has been successful in a second round offer on the Galway course.

‘“That’s the one I really want, but I have other options and I’ve looked at other courses. But for now, I’m really looking forward to a second chance at this film’’, she said.

A MAJOR clean-up and renovation of an east Clare cemetery by willing locals has borne fruit.

The last piece in the work jigsaw in recent weeks means Kilavoher Cem- etery now has a new gate, repaired walls and a name plaque.

Plus, said secretary of the Meel- ick – Parteen Graveyard Committee, Councillor Cathal Crowe, “anti-so- cial behaviour at the Kilavoher cem- etery has ceased.”

The graveyard committee jumped

into action after reports that the area was being used for drinking and anti- social behaviour.

Committee members, Fr Fred Mc- Donald, Mike Crowe, Cathal Crowe, Ray Armstrong, Seamus Spaight, Packie Cronin, George White, Mar- tin Manning and Bernard McNamara took on the project and now the cem- etery is back in ship shape.

“At the beginning of the summer it was brought to my attention that the cemetery was being used for drink- ing parties. It was also alleged that the cemetery has been the scene of

debauchery and vandalism. I was even informed by one local resi- dent that rocks were pelted at an old headstone,” said Councillor Cathal Sewer

The work actually began more than two years ago when the committee took a conscious decision to clean up Kilavoher Cemetery.

The historic cemetery was “in very poor condition and briars had grown up to above head height,” said Cllr SOW

Some graves in the cemetery date back to the late 18th century.

‘The summer of 2005 was the first time in a long time that many of these eraves has seen the light of day. At the time of our major clean-up many passers-by remarked that they never knew that a cemetery was beneath all the briars and weeds. Since our clean-up operation in 2005 the cem- etry has been maintained to a high standard by local volunteers,” the councillor said.

He called on anyone who witnesses further anti-social behaviour to report it to either a member of the Grave- yards Committee or the gardai.

IN A striking departure from its nor- mal role the Hector Street Centre in Kilrush will open its doors to the lo- cal community with innovative day courses.

The weeklong daytime classes will cover the arts, crafts, media and re- ED e leone

From September professional tui- tion in pottery, weaving and dyeing, art classes, theatre skills and film making will be available with begin- ners and intermediate classes in Tai Chi and specialist exercise and re- laxation classes for wheelchair users or those with mobility challenges.

This open public access communi- ty based education programme rep- resents a dramatic change in the use of the workshop, which up until now followed a “disability only” ethos.

As more and more programmes come on stream to integrate disabled people with the general community, these buildings originally designed for disabled clientele are becoming places where all can meet and min- gle, develop and learn new skills. Irish Potter’s Association instructor Jackie Maurer will offer throwing, coil and pinch pot making at the state of the art potter’s facility in the Hector Street Centre on Tuesday.

Internationally regarded Artist, Trudi Van Der Elsen will be devel- oping her home studio based classes in a course entitled Painting with Acrylics. Starting with still life sub- jects and moving on to more person- ally developed imaginative pieces, Trudi’s classes are on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

On Fridays Suzanne Anker, a pop- ular tutor on the school’s alternative activity circuit, introduces the sourc- ing and applying of natural dyes and

the development of basic weaving techniques, creating home made looms and making attractive hand crafted products.

She will be sharing the Friday slot with well-known Dublin Actor Mick Daly who is expanding his Tiger Box Theatre Company along with song- writer Dave O’Brien. They want to invite anyone with an interest in de- veloping theatre skills, acting, stag- ing, production, lyric and script writ- ing on Friday afternoons.

The group will also be collaborat- ing with Documentary Film Maker Paddy O’Connor who will work at Hector Street in partnership with the Galway Film Centre under the Arts Council Sponsored “Artist in

the Community Programme”. Pad- dy will provide training and hands on experience in all aspects of film making from story boarding through camera work, sound and lighting to post production.

“This programme offers a great op- portunity to cement a growing satel- lite relationship between ourselves and this nationally credited commu- nity film maker which already has strong links with Clare,” said Rob Hopkins of the Brothers of Charity.

Three film projects will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 4 pm, at three monthly intervals from September 20 to May 2008.

Finally to provide mind, body and spirit balance recently arrived Span-

ish national Francisco Lerdo de Te- jada, better known locally as ‘Paco’ will be extending his Tai Chi classes from the golden sands of Kilkee to the shifting sands of Hector Street beginning Monday September 3 with classes designed specifically for wheelchair users and people with mobility challenges followed by a Tai Chi beginners class on Wednes- CP hYapneleyuspentcace

For further information contact Hector Street at 065 9052299.

IT MAY be a full 16 weeks away but the people of Kilrush are already preparing for Christmas.

As the children return to school distant thoughts of the festive season begin to seep into the mind no matter how hard you try to keep them out and now there will be no avoiding the thoughts of sugar plums dancing in your head, as the contractors be- gin the preparation for the Christmas hfe alte

While last year the west Clare capi- tal may have had to recycle decade old lights this year its residents and

visitors can look forward to a state of the art LED lighting display.

As part of the first phase of the project the specialised light contrac- tors Rossa Lighting and Effects Ltd, Cavan, began the installation of con- nection boxes/meters on designated buildings in Vandeleur Street, Henry Street, The Square, Moore Street and Frances Street and the laying of con- necting cables along adjoining prop- erties yesterday (Monday).

Designing the display for the mari- time town took a lot of planning, with challenges like the width of Francis Street having to be overcome.

The lights will be installed in two

stages with the majority of the work being completed this year.

The main streets will be lit up for December 2007, with the smaller streets catered for in the second phase.

Two Irish signs will be erected on Vandeleur Street and Burton Street wishing visitors and shoppers a hap- OO) batineet-by

Garlands will hang across the streets with the exception of Francis Street, where lighted wall mounts will be displayed, all in time for the lighting ceremony on December I.

Kilrush Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Kilrush Town

Council is currently undertaking the ambitious “Spirit of Kilrush Christmas Lighting Project”, with major sponsorship by the ESB Mon- eypoint, Kilrush Credit Union and other smaller businesses.

Kilrush Town Council allocated €10,000 for the new Christmas lights in the annual budget.

Kilrush Chamber of Commerce has asked for co-operation from resi- dence and business and stage one of the installation begins this week.

The second phase will involve the installation of support brackets and the individual decorative lighting ef- fects later in the year.

BREAST cancer diagnosis and care in the mid-west was in crisis last week as a Limerick private hospital was asked by the State to cease pro- viding breast cancer services.

The unprecedented move came as the care and treatment of 10 women attending Barrington’s private hospi- tal came under scrutiny.

Breast cancer services are in disar- ray, the investigation following close- ly on the high-profile case of a Killa- loe mother who was diagnosed with

advanced breast cancer 14 months after she was given the all-clear and the case just weeks ago of a Tipper- ary woman who was also incorrectly given the all-clear.

The 51-year-old Tipperary woman attended Barrington’s Hospital for the first time in September 2005 with a breast lump.

The following day, she underwent a mammogram which confirmed a “poorly” defined “mass” highly sug- gestive of malignancy.

The lump was removed the same day and the specimen sent to the Pa-

thology Laboratory at the University College Hospital in Galway, which reported no evidence of malignancy.

She returned again to Barrington’s in June 2006 with continuing con- cerns regarding her breast.

A mammogram was_ performed which, she was informed, was nor- mal.

In March this year, she returned to the Limerick private hospital and a biopsy showed evidence of cancer.

She went through a mastectomy and removal of glands and referred to the regional director of cancer serv-

ices in the west, Professor Rajnish K Gumpta, in April and is currently un- dergoing intensive chemotherapy.

The case of 10 patients at the hos- pital between 2003 and August 2007 are now being vetted. One of the women has since died.

The investigation began following concerns raised in a report commis- sioned by the Health Information and Quality Authority.

Professor Gumpta also raised a series of concerns about diagnoisis treatment at the hospital.

The cancer specialist has repeated

his belief on many occasions that breast cancer patients should be treat- ed in specialist triple assent units.

Management from _ Barrington’s Hospital were last night meeting with the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, to discuss the establishment of an independent review of patients who attended the breast cancer serv- ice at the hospital between Septem- ber 2003 and August 2007.

“The department has also asked Barrington’s Hospital to assess how many patients may be involved,” said Minister Harney.

A DAY IN THE LIFE – 6am and the dawn is peeping through the banana leaves. The ceiling fan drones lazily above the mosquito net but our neigh- bours are already out and about.

A group of barefoot teenagers are training for soccer, children are on their way to school and the goats and hens are foraging for breakfast in the dump behind our house.

There is something stimulating about the trot across the yard for a cold shower followed quickly by breakfast of passion fruit and banan- as on toast.

Then it’s on the bikes and it’s off down Kilimandege (Bird Hill) to the teacher training College a mile eae

No two days in college are the same So one 1s ‘winging it’ a lot of the time. Yes, there is lots of team teaching in English, Maths and Science but that’s the easy bit! Often we are called on to fix the computer or research some- thing on the internet.

We have been put on the spot to solve complicated problems in Maths or questions in English Literature by students who are resitting their Form 4 exams or correct essays written on

scraps of paper! Staff need help to write proposals or letters of applica- tion for further studies and teachers who are doing Open University some- times discuss their assignments.

We hear stories of the struggle for

education, of infant death, of the harsh choices some people have to make and tales of abject poverty. It is a humbling experience to share our life with these wonderful, resilient people.

Evenings are varied but most eve- nings we teach English or computers at the Catholic Mission or students call to the house. Just before dark there is the race to the ‘kidala’ for fresh bread and at exactly 7 o’clock a shrill voice is heard.

‘Neeeenas, no school au yes?’ as ten year old Hiradi, outside on the veranda pleads with Neilus to come and teach reading to herself and her friends by torch light.

It has been a good day with the add- ed luxury of uninterrupted water and electricity. At last it’s time for rest, reading, relaxation and a sound sleep under the lazy drone of the ceiling e0F

that there is more to the society than just acting and di- recting.

“There is a lot of behind stage work putting on make up, helping with the set, driving the van, even collecting the tickets on the night,” he said.

There is also a strong social ele- ment associated with the drama so- ciety that was reformed in the early ereL Oks

“It is a great way to meet people and get involved in the community. There is a lot of travel involved when you get involved with the circuit, and you get to meet a lot of different peo- ple and strike up friendships.”

This year is going to be a very busy season for the members of the dra- matic society as it embarks on a very ambitious three act play and three

one act plays.

The three-act play selected 1s Mar- tin McDonough’s award winning ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane”.

For the first time 1n years the group hope to travel the festival circuit in the new year with the play.

Experienced local producer John Clancy will take on the daunting task of producing the well-known play.

The blend of black comedy, melo- drama, horror and bleak tragedy is set in the Galway village of Leenane, Sreyibateseet-ve- seme bereden

The one-act play will take place in early December with one of the plays also going on the competitive circuit. These plays have yet to be revealed by their producers.

On September 15 the society has organised a workshop for its mem- bers and new people wishing to join.

Anyone who is interested in join- ing can contact the Chairman, James Neylon at O85 7526538 or email jameseneylon@eircom.net or contact the secretary Carol Andrews at 086- 3936257.

THE Burrenbeo Resource Centre in Kinvara has been celebrating Herit- age Week.

Located in the heart of the pictur- esque seaside village of Kinvara

For Heritage week, the centre hosted events including children’s environmental workshops, free Bur- ren multimedia shows and weekend walks with local experts in the Bur- KOE

The childrens’ wildlife workshop was a big hit led by Gordon D’Arcy naturalist, author and artist.

On Sunday, families enjoyed the Burren Family Walk led by Dr.Brendan Dunford.

There were Audio-visual Burren displays, all week as well as free Burren cards and factsheets and much more.

There were also free guided walks of the Burren looking at the geology, archaeology, ecology and agricultur- al traditions of the Burren.

Last Thursday, there was an Illus- trated Talk on “The Burren — One Vast Memorial to bygone Cultures’ at Café Beo

The various events celebrating her- itage week were just part of on-going fun and educational initiatives which the centre runs.

Burren for Beginners – an intro- duction to the unique heritage of the Burren is a 40 minute illustrated presentation on the Burren including geology, flora, fauna and monuments ran through the summer.

Getting to know the flowers with Burrenbeo 1s another initiative.

Using a handy monthly check- Sheets, flower fans get to recognise and identify many of the flowers in

bloom.

The sheets can be downloaded printed and then taken on walks in the Burren.

“When you find one of the flowers on the list, tick it off on your check- list, and then go on and search for the others! It’s perfect for amateur bota- nists, schoolkids or anybody with an interest in our rich natural biodiver- sity. Good fun for the family too, to See who can find all ten flowers first,” a spokeswoman for the centre said.

Every month the centre features ten flowers currently in bloom in the Burren and elsewhere.

The Burrenbeo Resource centre is a little oasis of all things Burren. The centre forms an important part of the non-profit work of Burrenbeo in en- hancing awareness and appreciation of the Burren’s unique landscape and heritage. Visitors to the resource

centre can avail of Burren informa- tion through real time access to the acclaimed website www.burrenbeo. com, as well as a range of Burren reading materials, maps, images and a wide range of heritage and environ- mental resources.

Upstairs, nestled amid the ruins and graves of a medieval church, sits Café Beo, which serves up locally sourced vegetarian foods, organic juices and fair trade coffee.

Customers of the café can avail of a free Burren library, catch weekly lectures on the Burren, get free Wi Fi access and get up to date on all the news and events from the Burren.

A SURVEY of ancient monuments, including churches, castles and ring forts, in the Shannon region, 1s cur- rently being undertaken.

Duchas na Sionna is spearhead- ing the project, which includes visits to some 150 sites, between Bunratty Castle to the Fergus Estuary.

Among the main monuments in- cluded in the survey include ring forts, an Anglo-Norman moated site,

an Anglo Norman motte and bailey, a hilltop enclosure which dates back to the bronze era, several fulachta fiadh (cooking places), which also date back to the bronze age, along with several churches and castles. More than 100 ring forts in the area were also visited by members of Duchas na Sionna. This is the first time these sites were visited – from an archaeological point of view – since the 1970s. The project has been ongoing for almost two years and is due to be completed at the end

of this year.

Duchas member Olive Carey, who is involved in the survey, said a number of aspects are taken into account, dur- ing the visits.

“We look at the condition of the sites and we check with the record of monuments and places to see which sites are listed,” said Ms Carey.

“Some of the monuments are not there any more, but most of them are,’ she said.

“We carry out a report on the sites,

for example, taking measurements. The last survey done locally was un- dertaken in the 1970s, by a MA stu- dent. We compare with that survey, to see if there has been any deterioration in the monuments since then.

“With this in mind, we write up a proper report, which we will publish,” said Ms Carey.

She said that landowners have been particularly helpful, offering vital bits of folklore, which adds hugely to the project.

THE young people of Newmarket- on-Fergus have been busy raising money for local groups, over the summer holiday break.

The beavers, cubs and scouts club raised €1,500 towards their own club and also collected €500 for the Meals on Wheels committee.

The Meals on Wheels group in the village prepares meals for several people in the area, on a weekly ba- sis. Earlier this year, they obtained a permit for a flag day, during the vil- lage’s show.

The scouts organised the flag day for the group and in the process raised €500. This was presented to the Meals on Wheels committee by their leader Ger Fahy.

The beavers, cubs and scouts also raised money, to assist in the day-to- day running of their club.

Up to 200 people took part in a sponsored walk, from Newmarket- on-Fergus, to Mooghaun Woods. SW sl Komm detente yO icre ae DulOLemeelela bars activities.

The club’s 10 beavers, 25 cubs and 20 scouts were involved, along with their families and the club’s leaders.

The sponsored walk raised €1,500 and these funds are crucial to the club’s existence. Along with a churchgate collection, this is the main fundraising event annually.

According to Ger Fahy, the club has been enjoyed a hugely successful period and its members are anticipat- ing its re-opening in September.

“The new season kicks off next week. We will have camps in Ruan and overnights in Cratloe, while we hope to go ice skating before Christ- mas,” said Mr Fahy.

There will also be a jamboree next year, to mark the centenary year of

scouting.

The club had been strong in the 1970s and again in the 1990s. It went out of existence for a number of years in between and was rejuvenated two years ago.

Once it resumes later this month, the club will be busy and volunteers are invited to lend a hand.

“We are always looking for lead- ers, if anybody wants to help with the scouting in the parish,” said Mr Fahy.