Category: News

A KILMIHIL woman is celebrating after becoming the first Clare musician in 10 years to take first place in the senior button accordion competition at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

Vanessa Millar took the prize at Ireland’s largest festival of traditional music and dance in Cavan earlier this month.

The 25-year-old musician hails from Greygrove in Kilmihil.

Vanessa has being playing classical and traditional music since she was eight years old. She entered her first fleadh competition at under 15 level.

A four time county champion (under 18 and senior), Vanessa has also won four Munster titles.

She is one of the founder members of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann (CCE) St. Michael’s and is currently Youth Officer with Clare County Board Comhaltas.

Her family are steeped in music. Vanessa’s grandfather, the late Paddy Murphy, was a concert flute player and the late Willie Clancy was a regular visitor to house dances at the old farmhouse at Greygrove. Her late grandaunt, Ida Millar studied classical piano and organ under Music Professor Ernest de Regge (1901-1958), who tragically lost his life in the Carmody’s Hotel disaster in Ennis in 1958. Her grandmother, hails from Kilfenora and Vanessa’s cousins there are keeping the tradi- tion going.

A former student of Clonigulane National School, Vanessa also attended St Michael’s Community College Kilmihil.

Vanessa furthered her studies at National University of Ireland, Galway and completed a masters in Irish traditional music at University of Limerick.

Vanessa said she would like to thank her parents for all the time and effort given to get to this level and to her younger sister, Caoimhe (All Ireland Winner 2010, U18, Button Accordion),

She adds, “Also, a special thanks to her Teacher and Master Accordion maker and former All-Ireland Senior Champion, Martin Connolly, whose help and master classes were invaluable over the last ten years”.

WELL known Clare priest and rural campaigner Fr Harry Bohan has called for a complete change in the way that the Church in Ireland is organised – with a return to a style of Church that was originally envisioned by Jesus.

Speaking to The Clare People yesterday, Fr Bohan said that the Church in Ireland had never fully embraced the changes suggested by the second Vatican Council which had resulted in an organised Church which was disconnected from the feeling of the people on the ground.

Fr Bohan said that is was because of this historic disconnect with the people that recent scandals with the Church and subsequent cover-ups were allowed to take place.

“As we look to the future of the Church in Ireland, I think that we have to look to the past – Jesus was a man of the people and the Church in Ireland has been one dominated by the hierarchy of clerics. It has been this top-down attitude which has led to the disconnect which exists between the Church and lay society,” he said.

“I think that we need a new defi- nition of leadership in the Church in Ireland. There has to be a systematic change in the way in which the clergy interacts with lay people. The number of priests are declining and there will be a much bigger role for lay people in the Church but that is not the reason why they must be involved – they should be involved because it is there right to be involved.”

Despite the current crisis in the Irish Church, Fr Bohan is confident that there is a future for organised Catholicism in Ireland.

“When you look back through history, which is something that I like to do, you begin to realise that a crisis like this is not something to be feared. It is through things like this that God brings us closer to his people,” he said.

Fr Bohan also described the recent abuse scandals in the Church – the crimes themselves and the Churches decision to hide from the scandals.

“I can say for certain that I didn’t even know that things like that existed,” he said.

“On two levels I’m appalled with the thing. Firstly, the fact that this kind of crime could have been committed, but secondly, the hiding of it.”

THE ‘Yes We Can’ spirit was alive and well in Ennis on Sunday as 91 small Clare businesses participated in the Open Fair.

Almost 1,500 people passed through the doors at the West County Hotel at an event designed to showcase the talents of local craftsmen and service providers.

Exhibitors ranged from bakers to home insulation providers to traditional music websites.

The Open Fair was officially launched by well-known entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den panelist Bob- by Kerr. The fair was also praised by Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes (FF), the Mayor of Ennis, Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) and the Ennis Town Manager, Ger Dollard.

The concept of the Open Fair was first developed in 1992 by Jim Connolly, founder of Rural Resettlement Ireland. The fair was then run in conjunction with Clare VEC.

Speaking at the West County Hotel, Mr Connolly said the event gave small businesses a chance bring their talent to the wider public.

He explained, “What’s happening here is really an exposé of the kind of talent that’s out there. Even though the fair is on today, it’s the people that are there; the exhibitors are making this stuff anyway. It’s a stunning array of talent that we see and nobody knows they’re at it. This whole idea of the Open Fair is a talent-sharing exercise whereby these ordinary people with extraordinary talents brought all their products together, many of them offering services through a website, many offering computer services, a whole range of services.”

He added, “People are not aware of it. It’s not an invention; what I look upon it is common sense in action. That’s really what it is.”

Mr Connolly said the underlying reason for running the fair was to give people “a bit of heart and hope in these recessionary times”.

“You’re kind of exposing yourself in a sense. When you make something that’s very, very personal to you, it takes a bit of courage to put it up in front of your neighbours and take the first step into maybe making a business out of it. That’s what we’re trying to do, it’s an opportunity to take that first step without pressure.”

Mr Connolly, who thanked the West County for providing the exhibition hall free of charge, urged communities around Clare to run their own Open Fairs. He said local groups would be assisted by RRI.

He added, “There is no guarantee that things are going to get any better in this country. We’re on our knees as far as I’m concerned but the human spirit never dies. The philosophy behind this as far as I’m concerned is that it taps into two fundamental human traits: one is the instinct to survive and the second one is their endless potential for creativity. So when you add those two together you have a strong driving force and that’s what produces results at any time. These people have courage, colossal courage.”

A CLARE couple are seeking to tap into the online music revolution through a new traditional Irish tunes website.

Thetunesfoundry.com is the brainchild of Matt and Áine Heslin.

Musicians can upload recordings which will then be made available as paid downloads. Customers can also purchase manuscripts and listen to music at different speeds in order to learn tunes.

The couple, who live in Kilmurry McMahon decided to design their own website after musician and composer Áine started searching for a suitable site to make her music available on.

Matt explained, “She wrote some tunes and we were looking for a suitable site to put them on. We couldn’t really find one particularly for Irish music, new Irish tunes. So we set up a website called thetunesfoundry. com and we’re uploading her tunes on to that and then other composers are welcome to upload their tunes. We’ll have them in manuscript; a recording of the tune and people can pay for a download. That’s what we’re at.”

He continued, “We originally thought we would have physical paper distribution of manuscript. It’s just kind of impractical. We took some advice. They advised that it’s ideal for an internet business. That’s why we went that road. We came up with the name after a couple of months. We had different names but this one seemed to click.”

Matt explained that the website offers new composers a chance to bring their music to a global audience.

He said, “There are lots of sites for existing tunes. Any composer and I believe there are maybe six or seven people writing tunes in Clare and maybe they had the same problem we did, with nowhere to put the tunes. It’s an opportunity for musicians and anyone to write new tunes. At the moment we’re looking at the Irish tunes.”

He added, “Even abroad people are always looking for new tunes. There are sites for new tunes but none particularly for new Irish tunes. That’s what we want to do, have a quality website, quality manuscript. They’ll get the tune, the person who wrote it, their name would be on the tune with the copyright. Then they can download the tune as well.”

The website went live on Sunday morning with members of the public getting an opportunity to learn about the service at the Open Fair in the West County Hotel.

Matt said, “There has been very good interest. This is a mixed audience. While people are interested, the person who maybe makes the music isn’t here. But they are emailing me now. So we’ll put them on the site and let them know when we are up and running.”

Having been involved in the running of the first Open Fair back in the early nineties, Matt was excited to be a part of the venture again.

He said, “It’s the exact same buzz when I came in today as I got in 1993. People are just delighted for the opportunity to get out and show what they can do. It’s very rare that you get that opportunity, especially when it’s free.”

PROMOTING a greater understanding of Clare’s rich heritage for both local and visitor alike has emerged as a major tenet of Clare County Council environmental policy from now until 2017.

This commitment going forward, in tandem with conserving and enhanc ing the county natural environment, is contained in the second Clare Heritage Plan (2011-2017) that has been put together over the last year.

The launch of the plan in the Vandeleur Walled Garden on Monday was followed by visit to Scattery Islands – considered to be one of jewels in Clare’s heritage crown – by some of the key partners in formulation of the ambitious six-year plan.

The publication of the heritage bluerprint marks the culmination of a year’s work by the County Clare Heritage Forum and brings together the interests and agendas of the 23 forum members and 64 submissions made by the public.

“There were 66 partners in the development of this plan,” revealed Heritage Officer, Conjella McGuire, “all of whom have generously committed their time, energy and expertise.

“As a result of this, the Heritage Plan brings together a wide range of backgrounds and interests.”

Launching the plan, the Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Hayes said “our heritage is about people, place, culture, nature and the opportunities that it can offer in the future.

“Our heritage is one of our greatest strengths in the county and I intend to lead the implementation of this ambitious plan for the benefit of the county,” added Mayor Hayes, who has been chairman of the council Heritage Forum since 2006.

“The plan has three overall aims which are supported by 14 objectives and in total contains 77 actions. It is an ambitious plan and seeks to complement and build on the achievements of the previous Heritage Plan 2003-2007,” said Ms McGuire.

“Community groups have fostered and enhanced their local heritage and a wide variety of community heritage initiatives are underway in the county at present, many of which are showcased throughout the county this week during Heritage Week,” said Cllr Oliver Garry, chairman of the West Clare area group of county councilors.

“Community groups and individuals require funding and technical advice in order to implement best practice,” he added.

CLARE traditional musicians and dancers excelled at last week’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which saw the best of traditional Irish talent descend on Cavan. A large brigade of Clare talent made their way north for the event, with just under 40 Munster champions travelling from Clare for the event.

The wind was clearly with the Banner musicians and dancers as they returned home yesterday with no fewer than 19 first-place All Ireland medals in their back pockets. The main Clare winner in the competition was Fergal Breen, who took home two first-place titles for the uilleann pipes and for the uilleann pipes slow airs.

There were first-place finishes for Paul Farren and Tara Breen in the fiddle category; Cara Ní Chíarba and Eimear Coughlan in the harp category; and Vanessa Millar on the button accordion. Other All-Ireland titles went to Karen McMahon on the concertina, Tara Ní Amhlaigh on the mouth organ, Anthony Devitt on the mandolin and Elvie Miller in the accompaniment section.

There was also a strong performance for the bands, with Burren Band taking the U-12 title while Aoife Daly won in the Songs in English category, Eimear Coughlan won the Harp Slow Airs and Isobel Elger won the Fiddle Slow Airs.

The Banner dancers were not to be outdone either. St Mary’s Full Set Ladies U-12, St. James won the Full Set Mixed U-12 and Croí na hÓige won the Full Set Mixed 12-15, while there were also first-place finishes for Drithle an Iarthair in the Full Set Mixed U-18 Ruagairí an Chláir in the Full Set Mixed.

The Clare branch of Comhaltas yesterday paid tribute to all the teachers, local organisers, parents and musicians who have put in the effort over the last 12 months to make this year’s fleadh such a success for Clare musicians and dancers.

“This success is testament to the dedication of the musicians involved and the calibre of teachers we have in the county,” said Séamus O Lideadha, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Board CCÉ.

“In addition to this, the great tradition of Irish music in County Clare and the active promotion of this by Comhaltas and the County Arts Office play an important role. I have special praise for the parents of the children for passing on the love of our traditional music, culture and language.”

CLARE’S heritage can become one of the key drivers in the local economy for much of the next decade, a leading local government official has said this week just as a new blueprint for the development and preservation of key environmental sites around the county was unveiled.

The county’s Heritage Officer, Congella McGuire, has told The Clare People that the county’s rich heritage has a crucial part to play in aiding Clare’s economic recovery through the creation of new visitor attractions and amenities around the locally built environment.

“The arts get a lot of kudos in terms of national recovery, but heritage is the basis for all that,” said Ms McGuire at the launch of County Clare Heritage Plan in the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush on Monday.

“Heritage is the base product, if you want to put it in crude terms. Heritage is going to be part of the national recovery and Clare can very much play its part in that.

“The Heritage Council has that message.

“By protecting our heritage, raising awareness of it and giving an authentic experience to people about our heritage, there is great scope going forward for the Clare economy,” added Ms McGuire.

Recent developments such as the opening of the Loophead Lighthouse and a number of walking trails in West and North Clare such the Kilkee Walk and Cliffs of Moher Walk have been held by the environment section of Clare County Council as the local authority’s commitment opening up heritage to as many people as possible.

“The idea is to try and make more sites accessible,” said Ms McGuire, “and this involves partnership going forward.

“If we are involved in a project we work with people who have a vested interest and expertise.

“We have an initiative in Lough Derg to link trails connecting all around the lake.

“This will involve connnected with county council colleagues in North Tipperary and Galway.

“These are ongoing initiatives that we are trying to develop. It’s all about better access to trails and sites, better access to heritage and better interpretation of heritage. One of the challenges for the future would be funding.

“We have to go after funding and avail of funding as it arises.

“We have to this much more than we did in the past and keep standards high,” she added.

THE remaining obstacles to the transformation of the West Clare Railway into one of the county’s new flagship tourism products are set to be removed by the end of the year as the project’s promoter presses ahead with ambitious plans to extend the line and build a state-of-the-art museum that will be the only one of its kind in Ireland.

Ennis-based businessman and lifelong railway enthusiast, Jackie Whelan has told The Clare People this week that the National Roads Authority and Clare County Council are finally poised to pave the way for the narrow gauge line to cross the main Kilrush to Kilkee Road at Moyasta Junction for the first time since it was closed half a century ago.

“It’s going to happen,” said Whelan. “It’s something I have been campaigning for over the last number of years and we have been promised that the big breakthrough will happen by October 20.

“It involves the NRA putting a designated speed limit on the road, making it a 40-mile-per-hour road, which will then allow Clare County Council make the decision to allow the railway cross the road. I have been told that it is more or less approved, it just has to be done officially,” added Whelan.

The impending NRA move comes in the same year that the Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017 gave the West Clare Railway the same designated status as the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

“The NRA stopped us from crossing the road, but now that obstacle is being removed,” continued Whelan. “And once it is, the next thing will be to lay more track towards Kilkee and Kilrush and put a museum in place.

“We have to submit a new set of drawings and plans for the museum. We are putting up a big one. The one at the other side will house all the engines. We have a whole lot of historical engines, while upstairs in the museum will be a film area.

“I have a lot of old rolling stock – the biggest collection in Ireland – that has been preserved and there’s an awful lot more of it to be got,” Whelan added.

A CLARE man says he is confident of winning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records next month when he attempts to swim 10km underwater in under eight hours.

Barefield diver Christopher Healy has been given the official go-ahead from the Guinness Book of World Records to go ahead with the dive on September 18 next. Because this will be a new category for the records, Christopher, who owns the Atlantic Diving School, has been set a target of eight hours to complete the 10km course in order to make the book.

“I am going to go 10 kilometres completely underwater. We are starting off at Crab Island in Doolin and we have a route mapped out which will take us about a quarter of a mile out into the Atlantic, then north up the coast and back again to Crab Island.

“We will be setting a new category for the Guinness Book of World Records. They have set us the challenge of finishing the 10k dive in under eight hours to make the record but I am confident that we can complete it in under seven.

“We are looking to smash the target that they have set and make it very hard for anyone who might want to come after us and want to break this record. We are going to push it all the way and make sure that if anyone wants to come and better us, they will have to earn it.”

The attempt will see Christopher being helped by three safety boats, as well as a safety snorkler and two guide snorklers.

“The guide snorklers will go ahead of me and drag a small lead weight along the bottom of the sea floor that is the mark that I will follow. It is very hard to tell directions under water,” continued Christopher.

“The idea is that we will have two guide snorklers and two safety snorklers who will take the journey in shifts. The safety snorkler will be my son and my wife who will both swim 5km each underwater.”

Sponsorship cards are available for anyone who wants to support Christopher’s record attempt, with all money raised going to the Share A Dream Foundation. To donate money, visit www.mycharity.ie/event/ 10k_world_record_attempt.

THE response of local authorities in dealing with floods that hit Ennis in 2009 was highlighted at a major United Nations conference last month.

A delegation from Ennis Town Council recently returned from the 2011 World Cities Scientific Development Forum held in Chengdu China. The Ennis delegation had been invited by its sister city in Phoenix, Arizona, to attend the Forum. The theme for the Forum was ‘Development and Cooperation among Cities: Building Liveable Cities for Humanity’. 33 countries and 14 different organisations were represented at the Forum.

Councillor Mary Howard (FG) deputising for the Mayor of Ennis and Gerard Dollard, Ennis Town Manager presented to the conference on the Irish approach to major emergency management, with particular reference to recent severe weather crises in Ennis. The opportunity was taken to highlight proposals included in the Clare County Development Plan for the development of a Global Logistics Centre at Shannon International Airport and the contribution such a centre could make to addressing aid issues that arise in major disasters.

Cllr Howard stated, “It was a great honour for Ennis to be asked to attend such a forum and to have an opportunity to contribute to the overall debate for disaster risk reduction. There were over 200 delegates from around the world at the conference and it was very beneficial to be able to present the Irish approach and in particular highlight the strategic location of Shannon Airport in terms of the role it could play in humanitarian aid following major disasters and crises. We were approached after our presentation by a number of parties, including representatives of the UNESCO Global Task Force for Building Codes and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) regarding the potential of the Shannon proposal. We will be following up the comments made to see how Shannon can be part of emerging plans for dealing with major global crises and disasters.”

Mr Dollard commented, “We were very impressed with the range of participants attending from all over the world. The issues faced by Ennis are no different to the issues being faced by countries around the world. The case for Shannon was strongly made and is boosted by the progress on the Lynx Cargo Project, the existence of US Customs and Border Protection facility, the 24/7 nature of the airport, use of the longest runway in Europe and the availability of a substantial land bank. These were all highlighted as being particularly relevant to facilitating a global hub for humanitarian aid.”

The travel and accommodation costs of the Ennis delegation were met by the organisers of the Forum.