Category: News

THE importance of the Clare LEADER programme to community and voluntary groups around the county is set to be showcased this Saturday at a special workshop being hosted by the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC). Groups around the county involved in conservation, tourism or heritage-related activities are being urged to attend the workshop in Woodstock Hotel.

Since 2009, grant aid totalling € 3 million has been allocated to a diverse range of community and enter- prise projects in Clare, while in 2011 alone funding amounted to € 1.8m.

Between now and 2013, the CLDC, which administers funding under the EU-backed LEADER Rural Development Programme, will allocate more than € 5m to projects in the county. The group is also set to pay out € 2.5m to pre-approved projects during 2012.

“CLDC has recently embarked upon a new support programme for community groups in Clare. We are keen to seek out and provide support to a broad range of community projects in the areas of heritage, conservation and tourism in 2012 and 2013, and enable community and vol- untary groups to avail of LEADER funding,” says Sue Targett, Social Inclusion and Community Development Manager with CLDC.

“The aim of the upcoming workshop, entitled ‘Applying for LEADER funding – the process and benefits explained’, is to help community groups to become more familiar with the significant benefits of LEADER, to facilitate a better understanding of LEADER requirements, and also to support more communities to potentially avail of rural development funding towards improving tourism, conservation and/ or heritage projects, activities and facilities in their local areas.

“Over € 5m in LEADER funding is available to support and fund a wide variety of projects in Clare in 2012 and 2013. CLDC is keen that new community projects and initiatives are encouraged and supported, firstly through groups gaining a better understanding of LEADER and, secondly, so that more groups are in a position to avail of and make successful tourism, conservation and heritage funding applications during 2012 and 2013”, Ms Targett adds.

The workshop takes place between 9.30pm and 1.30pm. The closing date for those wishing to register for the event is this Wednesday.

SCOUTS are to return to the Burren region after an absence of more than 30 years with the reformation of the Ennistymon branch of the Scouts later this week. The Ennistymon branch, which will be known as the 9th Clare, will retain the colours of the original Scout group in Ennistymon, which means that the Clare county colours will be worn proudly by each member of the Scout group.

While the group will be based in Ennistymon, the 9th Clare will be open to boys and girls from all over North and West Clare.

After months of planning and training, the new Scout group will host an open day for parents and potential new Scouts this Sunday, February 5, in Ennistymon. The event will take place from 12 midday to 2pm in the Ennistymon Enterprise Centre.

Scout meetings will start officially in February and the open day is designed to provide information to parents and young people interested in joining. The information event will outline what’s involved in becoming a Scout – be it as a Beaver, a Cub, a Scout, a Venture or a Rover.

The two-hour event will be informal in nature and family-centred and will include one-to-one meetings with leaders, details of planned events, illustrated talks, slideshows, demonstration of scouting, walking, camping and mountaineering gear.

Scouts and leaders from other groups in County Clare will also be on hand to talk to young Scouts and parents alike.

“Beavers caters for ages six to eight, Cubs caters for ages nine to 11 and Scouts from 12 to 14. Scout leaders are also welcome and the greater the number of leaders involved, the greater the number of Scouts that can be catered for,” said Cian Kearns, Group Leader of Ennistymon Scouts. “While former Scouts and leaders, and those with experience in the great outdoors, are most welcome, all potential leaders will be provided with full training by Scouting Ireland, so past experience is not essential or necessary.

“Supports are also required in many other ways so, if you wish to get involved, please come along to the information event on Sunday.”

For more information, visit www. facebook.com9thClareEnnistymonS couts.

A NEW dawn in the history of the preservation of traditional Irish music in Clare will be heralded this weekend when Oidhreacht an Chláir plays host to the first in a series of workshops aimed at attracting some of the biggest names in the country.

Oidhreacht spokesperson Barry Taylor has revealed that the masterclass series – featuring Noel Hill this weekend and Martin Hayes the following month – will help begin the process of throwing open the doors of the Miltown Malbay-based organisation to students of the tradition.

“We are mainly concerned with preserving material in our archive and we now want to make that maeterial available to the new generation of musicians that are coming up,” says Taylor, the acclaimed traditional music historian and author of ‘Touchstone for the Tradition: the Willie Clancy Summer School’.

“The masterclass series ties in with our overall aims and objectives. We want to give musicians the opportunity to develop from older generations like Noel Hill and Martin Hayes.

“Both of them are carriers of the tradition – Noel learned from Paddy Murphy, while Martin learned from his father Pat Joe and Paddy Canny and they are now passing on the tradition to a new generation.

“This is an extension of what we do. In the past, we collected material, but this is a way of getting the material out to people.

“By learning from people like Martin Hayes and Noel Hill in the masterclass series, students will also be using the facilities of the Oidhreacht,” he adds.

Oidhreacht an Chláir was launched in 2003 with the aim of conserving and promoting the traditional arts in their native environment and is based next door to the old homestead of Willie Clancy on the Flag Road in Miltown Malbay.

As part of the inaugural masterclass event, Noel Hill will be giving a concert in the Market House in Miltown Malbay on Friday night.

Classes will then get underway on Saturday and will include student recitals at Oidhreacht an Chláir and music sessions in local pubs.

A NORTH Clare jewellery-maker has been crowned as Ireland’s foremost craftsperson at the Showcase 2012 Expo in Dublin last week.

Ennistymon woman Christina Brosnan was presented with the overall Creative Island Award at the festival, which highlights the works of some of Ireland’s best craft people.

Christina began her career in stage design for theatre before moving into film work and was, for a time, the youngest prop master working in the Irish film industry.

“I used to design jewellery as a teenager – people would probably remember me doing that back in Clare when I was younger. I think it was always something that I knew I would come back to, it was just a matter of when. I decided in 2010 to go back to jewellery and so far it has been going great,” she said. “Winning the award is fantastic for me in so many ways. Just to have my jewellery endorsed in that place was amazing. The competition was very tough – there were more than 85 of the best craftspeople in Ireland taking part in this so it was quite stiff.

“To win something like this and to be able to get my work to a wider group of people is really great for me. It is wonderful to get the word out there and hopefully it can take me to a different level.”

Besides being involved in film and TV, Christina also founded her own design company and was given the contract to design the interior of the private members club at the 02.

For more information or to view some of Christina’s work, visit www. christinabrosnan.com.

SIXMILEBRIDGE Mart has been hailed as one of the business success stories of the past year on the back of bucking economic trends to turn out a substantial profit since it re-opened its doors last August.

It has been revealed that the mart has made a profit of over € 100,000 during the first five months, with the Shannon Tunnel and a booming livestock industry huge contributory factors to the success story.

“Some thought we were mad but look at us now,” said Mart Secretary Eddie Punch. “Farmers and dealers come here because they know they’ll get a fair price, wheither they’re buying or selling.

“I’d be confident that the strong prices will continue for this year at least. We are still reliant on the farmers continuing to support us and bring the stock each week,” added Mr Punch.

The mart closed in 2009, but was brought back to life in August on the back of 600 farmers who became shareholders in the mart by raising the € 300,000 needed to buy the 4.5 acre site.

The mart, which now employs 20 people full-time and has a number of part-time staff, is run by a nine- member board. They are chairman Pat O’Reilly, secretary Eddie Punch, Mike Ryan, Seán Hannon, Joe O’Connell, Andrew Dundas, Gerard Liddy, Pat Freeman and Tom O’Connor. The mart is also managed by Seán Ryan, who previously managed the mart in Athenry.

“There’s no doubt that we’re benefiting from the strength in the trade in general at the moment,” said manager Sean Ryan. “I’d say trade is at least € 200 a head up on this time last year,” he added.

ONE of Clare’s smallest primary schools was in the spotlight this week as the Department of Education published its Whole School Evaluation Report. As one of the many small rural schools nationally under threat of closure, the department recommended that the board of management of Bal tard National School should consult with key stakeholders regarding the future viability of the 100-year-old school.

Situated close to the village of Doonbeg, the school enrolment on the day of inspection last March was just seven. The report questionned what it described as the “erratic enrolment at the school.” “Due to the low and fluctuating enrolment trends, the school’s viability is in question,” it said. “The board reports that children from the local, indigenous population attend other nearby primary schools by choice. The school rolls indicate that many pupils enrol for short periods in the school. A very small number of pupils have attended Baltard National School for the period of their full primary education during the last 10year period. In light of these facts, it is recommended that the board commence a process of consultation with key stakeholders regarding the future viability of the school.”

The Board of Management responded to the comments, stating it was in consultation with the key stakeholders regarding the future viability of the school and is in the process of making a submission to the Department of Education and Skills.

“In the past number of years, the Board of Management have been aware of the challenges faced by the school regarding enrolments. They have liaised with Rural Resettlement Ireland and still continue to do so.

“Rural Resettlement Ireland have been supportive over the years and continue to be. On a positive note, housing is readily available and we hope to promote this via a website which the BOM are currently considering developing in order to further promote the school,” it said.

The report was positive about the day-to-day running of the school, however. It stated that the building and grounds were very well maintained. It also praised the recently appointed school principal who it said is “strongly committed to the development of the school.”

DOOLIN residents and members of the local surfing community will come face-to-face this Wednesday following the decision by Clare County Council to host a public consultation event as part of the new planning process for the controversial development of the Doolin Pier.

There has been some animosity between the two groups since the surfers succeeded in delaying the construction of the pier last year by appealing to An Bord Pleanála to force Clare County Council to produce a complete Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

With scores of local surfers lodging objections to the planning process for the pier and more than 60 Doolin residents attending at Clare County Council when the Part 8 planning permission was decided, this Wednesday’s meeting is likely to be well attended on both sides.

The Lahinch-based West Coast Surf Club say that the design for pier will impact on the famous wave at Crab Island, just off Doolin, while the local community in Doolin say the pier could open Doolin up as a major gateway to the Aran Island and create hundreds of jobs locally.

Clare County Council is currently mid-way through preparing an EIS in relation to the pier and will have to submit this statement to an Bord Pleanála for approval before any work can begin on the € 5 million project. Clare County Council’s senior engineer Tom Tiernan said that alternative options for the pier are being considered.

“The council recognises the importance of facilitating public consultation and considering fully the views of the various stakeholders,” he said.

“The Doolin Pier Project is a critically important piece of infrastructural development for the North Clare area and will serve to significantly enhance the tourism industry in both North Clare and the Aran Islands in future years.

“All submissions will be considered in detail along with all of the other pertinent detail collated by the council’s consultants. This will ultimately lead to the selection of one option, which in turn will become the proposal to which the Environmental Impact Assessment refers. Once the pier option to be proposed in association with the Environmental Impact Assessment is confirmed, the overall proposal will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála for determination.”

The public consultation event will take place at Hotel Doolin, this Wednesday, January 25, from 3pm to 8pm.

JOB creation will not happen overnight and it will be painful.

That was the message from Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton (FG) when he addressed Shannon Chamber last week.

“If we are to create the jobs and growth we so badly need, we are going to have to undertake radical reform across the entire economy to make it easier for businesses to create employment. This means above all reducing costs, improving access to finance, providing better and more supports to job-creating businesses, and putting innovation at the centre of everything we do.

“This will not happen overnight. We will have to grind out the reforms one by one if we are going to achieve the Government’s ambition of making Ireland the best small country in which to do business,” he said.

They will be painful for some peo ple, particularly in sheltered parts of the public and private sector, and we will need support if we are to drive them through. However, if we are to build a strong economy with solid foundations this is where the hard work must start.

“In next month’s Action Plan for Jobs, we will begin a rigorous, monitored process of driving changes across government and the economy to improve the business environment and enable the creation of the jobs we need,” he added.

One company present who was not waiting for a Government-led job’s initiative was the Shannon-based CREGG Group.

Through lateral thinking, it enhanced its existing operations and brought a major international brand to Shannon – ZAGG International.

President of the Shannon Chamber Damien Gleeson said, potentially 130 extra jobs are being created by CREGG at Shannon, as a result of the company’s initiative to identify a company in the US with a similar process to itself and a desire to cite an operation within Europe.

“This has had a positive outcome for Shannon/Ireland – 70 of the jobs have been filled in the past nine months. It has sustained the company’s existing base at Shannon and brought in new skills and new products,” he said.

DEVELOPING new routes out of Shannon Airport has been identified as key to growing tourism in the Mid-West region as Clare gears up to position itself for the ‘The Gathering’ project that aims to bring over 300,000 extra visitors into Ireland in 2013.

In announcing its blueprint for tourism in the mid-west, Fáilte Ireland, has pledged to play its part in driving new business at Clare’s international airport – a commitment that was de- livered in the same week that passengers numbers at Shannon reduced to their lowest since 1994 when 1.5 million passengers were recorded.

It was revealed that 1.6m passengers used the airport in 2011, a figure that Fáilte Ireland’s head of operations in the region, Fiona Monaghan, said can be improved by the development of “a close working relationship with industry practitioners in the destination to grow international business through the development of authentic tourism experiences.

“Under our Sales Connect initiative, Fáilte Ireland will continue to work closely with Shannon Airport in the development of making the business case to support new route development into the region,” she added.

Fáilte Ireland’s new commitment to working with the airport to try and drive the region’s tourism product was announced in tandem with the launch of the Wild Atlantic Drive initiative at a briefing at the Radisson Hotel in Meelick on Wednesday last.

“Although 2011 was an encouraging year, there is no room for complacency,” sais Fáilte Ireland chief executive, Shaun Quinn. “We must all remain focussed on doing all we can to maintain a momentum towards recovery.

“Fáilte Ireland, through a mixture of marketing, supporting tourism businesses and developing attractive tourism destinations, will work closely to boost the full potential of the Shannon region in 2011,” he added.

“A key focus for 2012 will be the development of clearly defined destination development plans for West Clare,” said Fiona Monaghan.

“Key elements of the destination plans will be to maximise the sig- nificant investment in tourism product in the destination over the last two years and to have a strategic approach to future developments.

Looking to the east of the region, the Lakelands destination has a clearly defined work programme for the Lough Derg zone including the development of canoe trails, a tourism signage plan and a series of themed itineraries linking in to the overall Lakelands strategy. Fáilte Ireland will work closely with the Lough Derg Marketing Group in the implementation of these plans,” she added.

A BUSINESS offering to manufacture prototypes at cost for entrepreneurs and a 12-month free office lease are just some of the ways one business is helping other businesses to grow, despite the current economic climate.

The initiative was welcomed this week by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Shannon Chamber of Commerce.

Connor Winfield Ltd, in association with Irish Executives Network, have offered entrepreneurs developing products in the electronic hardware field to have up to 20 prototypes manufactured at cost at its manufacturing facility in Shannon.

The company has also offered one entrepreneur the opportunity to avail of office accommodation, free of rent, for 12 months at the Shannon facility.

“We hope, through these actions, to not only assist, in a small way, Ireland in our national recovery process, but also to inspire other businesses, whether multi-national, like ourselves, or indigenous to reach out and support business development in Ireland in a similar way,” said a spokesperson for the company.

“This is a great example of how Irish-based businesses and leadership can make a difference. What John O’Connell (Managing Director) and his team are providing is so crucial, and so important to both recovery and nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs,” sais John Keogh, founder and president of Irish Executives Network.

Community support for job creation, such as The Clare People ’s free jobs advertisement service and the Conor Winfield Ltd Imitative, was welcomed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton (FG), and encouraged by the Shannon Chamber of Commerce.

Minister Bruton told The Clare People that communities and businesses had huge roles to play in job creation. “It is often quoted that if people diverted € 4 a week of their spending to locally produced goods, you would create 6,000 jobs,” he said.

Shannon Chamber President, Damian Gleeson said that business supporting business was necessary for maintaining indigenous and multi-national companies and jobs.

“The onus is on everyone to encourage entrepreneurial endeavour. Businesses need to start playing their part,” he told members of the chamber at their annual lunch.

During the lunch, he raised concerns with Minister Bruton about the lack of support for existing companies. “It is now down to the Government to play its part in tackling local government costs and reduce redundancy cost charges to help sustain existing businesses,” he said.