Month: April 2008

CLARE farmer Michael O’Brien will represent the county at the an- nual Macra Na Feirme Mr Personal- ity competition to be held this Friday and Saturday in Kilkenny. The fes- tival which is in its third year will be held in the Springhill Court Ho- tel and will again be sponsored by Kilkenny Carlow and District Farm Relief Service.

Clare hopeful Michael Carey is a

26 year old farmer from the Kincora Club whose interests include Macra, hurling, socialising and he is also a big supporter of Manchester United HIG ON E-buer

He also feels he will be a good Mr Personality because he’s very ap- proachable and he gets on well with everybody.

The competition consists of a two day schedule of activities in which the contestants will be judged on their ability to interact and display

their individual personalities.

They will be interviewed on stage on Friday night by former Macra president Matt O’Keeffe followed by music by Domino Effect and DJ till late.

On Saturday morning, the contest- ants will participate in challenges and in the afternoon, they will be interviewed by an esteemed judg- ing panel — Helen Carroll present- er on RIE’s farming programme Ear to the Ground, Seamus Phelan

former Macra President and Sinead O’Sullivan former County Person of the Year in Kilkenny.

On Saturday evening there will be an informal gala banquet followed by music by Loaded and the Mr Per- sonality 2008 will be announced at approximately 12 midnight.

The winner will be presented with the perpetual trophy, a cheque for €500 and a weekend which is beigng sponsored by the Springhill Court ee)roe

THEY are passionate about their fashion in Kilkee and this year Pai- san Faisean presenter Blathnaid Nic Dhonnacha will present the annual event.

The former Clare Rose in the Rose of Tralee contest will have 150 local models to introduce on the night.

In its fifth year, the fashion show run by the fourth year students from St Joseph’s Community College, Kil- kee 1s attracting models from all over the community.

Not only are the local football team signed up yet again, as well as many of their fellow students, parish priest

Donagh O’Meara will also take to the catwalk.

The fashion show has proven a success in the last number of years, proving one of the biggest fundrais- ers for the school.

Last year, as a result of the fashion show the school developed a canteen for students.

The money raised through the fash- ion show funded all the furniture for the canteen.

The school then invited a cater- ing company into the school to sup- ply healthy food to the students and provide another option to going into town for lunch for the students.

TJ’s catering provides soup and

sandwiches to the student. They can also bring their own lunch to school and avail of the new surroundings for Cr BnereaB Lm

This year’s fashion show will take place in the Kilkee Bay Hotel on April 18.

It will begin with a cheese and wine reception at 7.30pm with the show beginning at 8pm.

More than a dozen shops from Kil- rush, Kilkee, Miltown Malbay and Ennis will be displaying their fash- ions on the night.

Teacher, Deirdre Kennedy who has overseen the fashion show with the students for the past number of years, said that there has been great support

from the local community.

There will also be a number of stalls displaying jewellery, lingerie and other accessories to browse on the night.

“We have had support from all the shops in Kilkee, Kilrush and the county. They also sponsored ads in the programme as did a lot of local B)EISID ORT SI MMIC) OLoMSTAN TOD

“We would also like to thank the Kilkee Bay Hotel for its support last year and this year.”

Ms Kennedy said that the fashion show not only provides funds for the school but also helps develop the or- ganisation skills of the 25 students on the organising committee.

KILRUSH children and teenagers are being encouraged to help other kids while displaying their own tal- OLAS

This May will see the inaugural Kilrush talent show, an event organ- iser’s hope will be repeated for years om ere) eaten

The brainchild of Kilrush woman Teresa Carrig, the talent show will see children from 10 to 18 year olds take to the stage to show case their talents.

And the talents will be as varied as the performers.

Boys, girls and groups are encour-

aged to enter the competition. Tal- ents can range from singing to danc- ing; comedy acts to drama sketches, gymnastics to hip-hop dancing, and magic tricks to juggling.

“We are looking for everything, whatever they think 1s their talent,” said Ms Carrig.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Irish Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Children.

The event is being supported by the Whole community with local busi- nesses all providing spot prizes for the night.

“It is very much community driven and it is great to see all the commu- nity involved in something like this,”

said Ms Carrig.

The winner on the night – May 17 – will walk away with the perpetual shield sponsored by Hartman’s Jew- ellers in Kilrush. The jewellers will also sponsor a €50 voucher as a prize.

There will also be medals for sec- ond and third prizes on the night.

To appear on stage on the big night, participants must first of all take part in the auditions on May | in the Kil- rush Community Centre from 3pm to Bye

All of the judges will be local.

The Simon Cowel and Sharon Os- borne on the audition day will be TG4 Country and Western star Sonia

Carrig, primary school teacher and singer Linda Clohessy-O’Gorman and Hell for Leather’s John Fennell.

When these judges have picked the 20 participants for the show, two more – hip-hop instructors Nelly Gil- ligan and a mystery judge yet to be revealed will join them on the night of the talent show.

did for Cong in County Mayo – plenty of tourism and visitors decades after the film was released.

The Canadian production has al- ready contributed to the local econo- my in off peak holiday season.

St Mary’s Hall, Teach Ceol and

Fennels have all been rented by the 8Q0-strong crew, as well as renting lo- cal holiday homes.

“It 1s a blessing,” said well-known publican Seamus Carmody

“Sure it is an ideal place for a film. The estuary down there is beautiful and it would sell any film,” he add- ed.

It is not just the contribution such a venture has made to the economy, the filming also brought an air of excite-

ment to the community last week as the locals got involved in the drama.

‘I don’t know what I am going to do next week when they are gone. It will be so quiet. They have been here six weeks painting and everything, and the filming has been this week,” said postmaster Pat Galvin.

‘There has been a fantastic reaction from the people around the village.”

The local fishermen got involved in the filming on Tuesday last, as did the

Kilkee Marine and Rescue Service.

All of the extras on the film were local people, who caught the eye of one of the producers Kevin Tierney for their professionalism.

“It is very nice to have background action that looks real,’ he said.

Among the local stars were De- borah Hunter, Jack Sheehan, Brianna Byrne and Elizabeth Byrne from KOT corer

‘The crew are lovely and encour- aging,’ said Ms Hunter, who was amused by the stocking she had to wear.

Little Jack Hunter looked very handsome in the 1960s boy’s clothes, with Brianna proving a very pretty Tl Oeearee

Ten-year-old Saoirse Quinn from Cooraclare was absorbing all of the detail of the day. With her beautiful red hair in pigtails and wearing a lit- tle grey hat she looked the perfect schoolgirl.

Mum Geraldine was kitted out in a coat – like her mother would have ve) u OF

There was a lot of standing around for the Irish extras, but they had al- ready learnt some of the tricks of the trade, as Geraldine showed off the warmers she wore in her shoes. Like a lot of the mothers involved, she had taken her daughter to the auditions after they received notice through their speech and drama classes. It was while enrolling their children that the Mums and Dad’s also got roped into the adventure.

The filmmakers hope that all of the local people will be seen in cinemas worldwide soon, in the film that tells the story of a young Canadian ge- ologist that comes to the Burren and falls in love with a young Irish girl who is about to enter the convent.

DESPITE doom and gloom predic- tions on the tourism font, a fourth generation Lahinch hotelier has rea- son to smile this week.

Michael Vaughan of the Vaughan Lodge, Lahinch walked away with the Small Hotel and Guesthouse of the Year honour at the eleventh an- nual Ireland Golf Tour Operators Awards Dinner.

For Michael, his wife Marie and 17 staff of the hotel, it was a proud pubhca ale

“We’re absolutely delighted. Hav- ing been open for just three years and heading into our fourth season, it’s a

real honour to get an award this early on. And coming from our peers, it’s areal fillip’, said Michael.

The couple returned to Michael’s home-ground of Lahinch to set up the hotel and fulfill a dream.

“It’s always been my ambition to come back to Lahinch’, said Michael. The proprietor of Vaughans is a fourth generation hotelier in the town, his father having run the Aber- deen Arms and his father and grand- father before him.

Having trained in London and France and worked for thirteen years with Jury’s then a stint as director of golf at Dromoland, Michael was de- lighted to be back on home turf.

The hotel is a four-star operation employing 17 people with seasonal opening between March and Novem- ber for links golfing holidays.

It has already been commended in the Bridgestone Guide, Georgina Cambell, Lucinda O’Sullivan, Alis- tar Sawdays and Best Loved Holi- days.

Michael says that the forecast is not good for the lucrative US golf tour- ism business.

“It’s widely anticipated that busi- ness will be down by about 15 per cent. So this award is a great morale boost coming at a time when we are facing into a challenging season’, he Sr HKOe

The black-tie gala event at the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Powerscourt, Co Wicklow was attended by more than 250 influential members of the Golf Industry, with visitors from England, USA and Scotland includ- ed.

Central to the function was the presentation to the golf clubs and accommodations which excelled in their field over the past year.

Marty Carr, Chairman of the IG- TOA stated that “the reason that Ire- land is such a premier golfing desti- nation is because the service visitors receive, from golf to accommodation to transport, is of the highest cali- lionel

AN all-round community effort in Corofin has played a key role in over €2,000 being collected for a charita- ble organisation.

Corofin national school organised a cake sale in aid of Bothar, an Afri- can-based charity.

The event, co-ordinated by junior infants teacher Eilish O’Connor, in- volved all staff and students at the school and the money raised signifi-

cantly surpassed all expectations.

All 139 students were encouraged to bake cakes and buns and all were sold at the one-day cake sale at the school. School secretary Geraldine Cahill explained the idea behind the fundraiser.

“The junior infants decided that, as their Lenten contribution, they would help others who are less well off than themselves,” said Ms Cahill.

“A curricular was sent to all par- ents, inviting them to get involved

and the response was overwhelming.

“This was the first time this was done to that scale. The whole com- munity got involved, coming and buying cakes, while the children sold raffle tickets on the day. It was an all-round community effort,” she added. Ms O’Connor, supported by the school’s student council, then de- cided to encourage everybody to get involved in the project.

The organisers set a fundraising target of €300, but were overjoyed

when the final tally amounted to €2,170.

Under the Bothar project, live ani- mals are purchased here and sent to villages in Africa. All of the money raised helps improve the lives of those who are deprived of many of the basics in life.

All seven teachers at the school, including acting principal Gareth Heagney, played a role in ensuring the project was a resounding suc- cess.

THE countdown is on for all north Clare romantics, a special Moonlight to Midnight walk will take place on the Flaggy Shore in north Clare later this week.

The walk, which will take place on April 18, will be undertaken in complete darkness except for the moonlight and a few guiding torches placed along the way to add atmos- je) aster

All the money from the event will go towards the Irish Red Cross.

“It is going to be a very relaxed, kind of serene night. We will have no light, no nothing. The full moon is out that night so we are going to meet at the Flaggy Shore at half nine and we are going to start rambling at 10,” said organiser Joe Queally.

“It’s about four and a half miles of a ramble, maybe five. Just to add a bit of extra atmosphere to the occasion we are going to have a few old fash- ioned lanterns placed along the way.

“We are going to have music on the beach as well. As people pass by in the moonlight we have a flute player

and a violin player going as well. They are just to help to get the stones talking and get the ocean talking as well. We are hoping it’s going to be a bit of a fairytale night.

“It would be a great night for peo- ple to look to renew old friendships, a night to help the Red Cross or for young people just to get out there and enjoy themselves, to hold hands and EN e

“It’s not a long walk and we will be taking it very handy as well. More of a stroll. We will be keeping the group fairly together, no one will be flying

off in front, but we want people to have their privacy to be together in the group.

“It’s a nice relaxing walk for eve- ryone. It would be a great walk for people who want to walk it on their own, clear their head and find peace in their head. It should be a very spe- cial night.”

All people need to do to take part is to get a sponsorship card from Joe and collect €100 worth of sponsor- ship for the Red Cross. For more in- formation or to collect a sponsorship card, contact Joe on 087 6260301.

A MAJOR fundraiser for the devel- opment of the school field in Quin will take place on Friday night.

‘Who wants to be a Thousandaire’ will take place at The Clare Inn ho- tel. The aim of the event is to raise €100,000 for the development of the nCOAKGD

The overall project is costing more than €200,000. While more than half of this has been raised locally,

Friday night’s event is the single big- gest fundraiser for the project.

Contestants will have the opportu- nity to win up to €1,000 on the night, as well as entering a draw for a holi- day worth €750.

The cost of tickets for the event is €15 and they are available at the school office and from parents and members of the organising commit- Koto

The fundraising at the school is not confined to this initiative. The par-

ents association, assisted by school staff, raised almost €2,000 through bag packing in Dunnes Stores re- cently.

This initiative was carried out with the aim of buying a third interactive board for the fourth and fifth class- room.

A churchgate collection generated €500, towards software for the in- teractive boards, while a clean-up af- ter the Point-to-Point in Dromoland added €300 to the school develop-

ment fund.

Elsewhere, two of the school’s young students, Liam Fahy and Cian O’Mara, brought joy to the school when they appeared on national tel- evision on April 1. The duo entered the Fado Fado competition and were shortlisted to appear on RTE televi- sion. Through the competition, which is based on myths and legends, the two were filmed during last summer. The culmination of this was their tel- evision performance.

A WEBSITE, linking those involved in the tourism sector in Shannon, 1s being set up, in an effort to ensure the town benefits more from the in- flux of visitors to the region.

The website is the brainchild of the mayor of Shannon, Councillor Sean McLoughlin (FG), who included the project as one of his aims when he was elected mayor last year.

He feels that tourists coming in to Shannon should spend longer peri- ods of time in the town. He believes that if the incentive was there, tour- ists would spend more than just one night in the town, after they fly into

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He said that positive feedback was generated from a meeting on the is- sue earlier this year.

“There was a good response. We are setting up a dedicated website for Shannon, so that people can stay in Shannon. The idea is to keep peo- ple in Shannon for longer than one night,” he said.

“I feel that people who use the airport generally stay in Shannon for one night. They fly in and are gone the following morning. Shan- non hasn’t been getting its fair share of the trade. We need to let people know we have a town here and nice facilities.

“Shannon is well located. People could take bus and coach tours to places such as the Cliffs of Moher, Ailwee Caves or St John’s Castle in Limerick. Shannon 1s just a half hour drive from those places. It is a good place to base yourself for a couple of days,” he added.

“We are hoping to tie up with all the other agencies in the county. If we can get all the agencies working together, we can all link together,’ he said.

He said the ultimate aim is that the Shannon area will benefit from the establishment of the website.

‘We hope to be able to attract more people into Shannon and that they

can stay longer,’ he stressed.

Among the services he hopes to link through the website include bed and breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, coach and car hire firms and taxis, in Shannon and surrounding areas.

So how will the website work, once it is up and running?

“Anybody involved in tourism in the area is invited to take space on the website,’ he said.

Councillor McLoughlin and Paddy Halton — who was the grand mar- shall at the St Patrick’s Day parade in Shannon last month — have been working on the website and will an- nounce details of its launch within weeks.

THE Brothers of Charity and the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club will benefit from the proceeds of this year’s Mayor’s Ball in Shan- nee

The ball will be one of Fine Gael councillor Sean McLoughlin’s final functions as mayor of the town, be- fore he completes his one-year term in office. He is due to be succeeded by Independent councillor Gerry Flynn as mayor, in June.

Each year, the mayor picks one or more charities of his choice, who will receive the proceeds of the ball. Last year’s mayor, Labour councillor Tony McMahon chose Clare Haven, which provides support for female victims of domestic abuse.

This year, Cllr McLoughlin picked

two charities which he feels are de- serving of funds. The ball will take place at the Oakwood Arms Hotel on May 17.

“It 1s one way for the mayor to show his appreciation to the people by lending his name to this event to raise money for people in need,’ said SY la Retell ite

“We did look at a lot of local chari- ties in Shannon. We felt these groups were deserving of the money,” he SHIGE

According to the mayor, the Broth- ers of Charity money will go towards providing respite for children with special needs in Shannon.

Chairman of the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club, Frank Fit- zgerald, said his organisation de- pends on local financial assistance. He is delighted his group has been

chosen by the mayor.

The club caters for up to 20 athletes, ranging in age from six to 16.

“We are going to use the money to buy new tracksuits and gear for the athletes. Our athletes will take part in the regionals in Cork in May and June and some of the money will also be used for that,’ he said.

“We need funding and the local organisations keep us going. Funds are an important part of any club,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said that allied to funds, the availability of volunteers is essential to the existence of the club.

‘The Special Olympics is a one-on- one club. Volunteers are stretched. We need between six and eight vol- unteers every week. While we are lucky in Shannon, we are always

looking for volunteers to help out,” he said.

He pointed out that the club, which has been in existence for the past five years, 1S consistently expand- ing and caters for children not just from Shannon, but from all over the county.

“The club is growing. We need more bodies on board,” he said.

The club meets and trains every Saturday morning at Shannon leisure centre, between 10am and Ilam. An- yone wishing to get involved should contact Frank on 086 2557001.