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MUSIC lovers from all over the world have turned their attention on Miltown Malbay this week for the Willie Clancy Summer School. As the summer school approaches it’s 5Oth year in operation, thousands of music lovers have descended on west Clare for what is the highlight of many peoples traditional music year.

Almost 1,000 musicians and danc- ers, young and old will attend classes on each day of the school – with mil- lions of euro likely to be generated for local businesses.

Some of the remaining highlights include tonight’s whistle and flute recital featuring Mary Bergin, Paul McGrattan and a host of others, a lecture by Len Graham on the Ulster song tradition in English on Wednes- day night and a night of old style dancing led by Michael Tubridy on Thursday night.

On Friday night Noel Hill and Mar- ty O’Keeffe will host a concertina recital while on Saturday the Ceol- choirm Mhor will feature a top class line-up of traditional musicians, like- ly to be the highlight of the week.

Meanwhile, those not fortunate enough to be able to make it up to Miltown Malbay for the week can still get a flavour of the festivi- ties by tuning into RTE Raidio na

Gaeltachta will be broadcasting live from the festival all week.

Indeed, Raidio na Gaeltachta have a long association with the festival, having broadcast live from Miltown Malbay each year since the festival started back in 1973.

‘There were no live broadcasts in the early days, but that changed in the eighties with improvements in technology,’ said Meaiti Jo Shéa- muis, Music Editor at RTE Raidi6 na EF YOlerel alee

“I remembers broadcasting live from a national school six miles out- side Miltown Malbay, Scoil Naisiun- ta Sliabh na Leice, because it was the most elevated place they could find — which we needed to be able to get a good signal.

“I remember on another occasion recording a traditional singer in out- door toilets, as it was too windy to record in the open air. As technology improved, live broadcasts were pos- sible from the town, and Raidio na Gaeltachta used to broadcast from a caravan situated outside the hall.

STRATFORD is known as William Shakespeare country, but last Tues- day it became better known as the home for one of the biggest betting coups landed in many years, one that came all the way from Clare.

Bookies and betting exchanges in Ireland and England were hit to the tune of over €500,000 when the Clare-owned King Keano trained by Liam Burke in Cork landed a mas- sive gamble when winning the 6.45 maiden hurdle at Stratford.

“Tt was a fantastic coup,’ one bookie told

SCHOOL OF HAIRDRESSING

SQUALLS of rain did nothing to spoil the festival fun in Killaloe at the weekend as visitors turned out in droves to enjoy the annual Brian Boru celebrations.

A packed programme of events in- cluding a fireworks display, a gig-rig, a treasure hunt and a pig on a spit went ahead undaunted, John Grimes of the festival organising commit- tee said. “We were delighted with the turnout. The town was packed all weekend and we got very posi- tive feedback from the people who or bn alse

“Particularly with the weather be- ing the way it was, we were worried that people might not come out but they did and it all worked out really well – we didn’t have to cancel any- debeetcam

There was all the fun and colour of the parade as well as power-boat and dragon-boat racing.

The Lakeside Hotel are very in- volved in this year’s festival and organised a treasure hunt, the Brian Boru Quest, based on the sort of clues given in the Da Vinci Code.

And the food and cooking fair which proved so popular last year went ahead again as festival goers sampled local culinary delights.

And the beautiful young things turned out for Killaloe’s answer to Oxygen on Saturday night when the Plectrum music festival, organised by the local youth club, was in full swing.

The Féis Ceoil also proved to be a huge success and the quality and variety of music on offer all over the town meant there was something for everyone to listen to.

ONE of the largest collections of ar- chived traditional Irish music in the mid-west was officially opened in Ennis last Friday.

Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon O Cuiv joined with members of the Board of Meitheal na hAbhna and man- agement at the opening of Cois na hAbhna Regional Resource Centre.

Cois na hAbhna is the regional base of Comhaltas Ceoiltoiri Eire- ann (CCE) for the Meitheal region.

It houses the Comhaltas Regional Archive in its Sean Reid Library. The venue also has an auditor1um for céili dances and concerts, a tradi- tional-style Irish kitchen, a bar/teach

cheoil where lively weekly sessions are held and classrooms for music lessons.

Speaking last week, Cois na hAbh- na manager, Doreen Norris said the venue has been busy since re-open- ing in 2007.

‘“We’ve been pretty busy. We have céilis, workshops and classes. It’s been fairly busy for the past two years. September to May is usually busier for us. There is a lot more go- ing on but we still have a few things happening in the summer. We have céilis on Wednesdays and Fridays,” she said.

The original Cois na hAbhna build- ing was constructed during the early 1980s by local Comhaltas members, who worked on a voluntary basis, and

was officially opened on St Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1983.

Redevelopment work on the Gort Road venue began in October 2006 and concluded in May 2007. The building was extended to include a teach cheoil and new conference room facilities.

The jewel in the crown is the Cois na hAbhna regional archive, one of several established by CCE through- out the country, to record collect and preserve the cultural heritage of parts of Munster.

Since work began in 1990 over 1,500 hours of recordings of mu- sic, songs, dance and folklore from Clare, Galway and Limerick have been collected in the form of 78s, LPs, reel to reel tapes, cds, videos,

books and photos.

Four main collections form the ma- jority of the archive’s holdings.

The Culturlann archive collections consists of recordings made and collected by Seamus MacMathuna, timire cheoil, CCE, covering a peri- od from the late 1950s to the 1970s.

The Vaughan collection is of a se- ries of private recordings made by Joe Vaughan from Miltown Malbay during the 1960s. The McNamara collection consists of recordings made by Martin McNamara from Scariff in the 1960s and 1970s. The fourth collection, the Field record- ings, 1s composed of material gath- ered by volounteers and participants in the ‘Meet the Musician Project’ since 1991.

A SHANNON businesswoman has won a prestigious accolade in fash- ion design. Michelle Carrig won the award for Outstanding Creativity as part of her City & Guilds Diploma in Fashion Design and Tailoring at the Mallow College in Cork.

She has operated her own dress- making business in Shannon for the past six years, having taken a ‘Start your own business’ course with the Clare County Enterprise Board. Three years ago, she decided to take a City & Guilds course, culminating in her being honoured with the ac- colade. She also won the Designer of the Year award in evening wear last year. She was honoured with the lat-

est award because of her work with lace. “I incorporated it into all of my designs,’ she said.

She is no stranger to dressmaking. Her mother, grandmother and great grandmother were all interested in this area. “Everything was knitted for us and everything was made for us. My Holy Communion dress was made. I learned everything from my mother and my grandmother,” she said.

‘T had the art background and I de- cided when my son (Jack, now aged 13) was going to school, I wanted to be at home for him. I had the ability and I saw a niche in the market. I set up in my mother’s back kitchen over six years ago and then moved into the workshop,” she said.

She enjoyed the work and then de- cided to ascertain what kind of ability she had by taking the course, which she was very enthusiastic about. “I put a lot of effort, time and commit- ment into my collection and the day I handed it over to the examiners I felt that a part of me went with it. I really poured myself, my dreams, my sweat and sometimes tears into it so it was fantastic that the examiners recog- nised this by presenting me with the Outstanding Creativity award over 140 designs shown at a recent fashion show to over 600 people,’ she said.

Acknowledging that successfully completing the course was her target, Michelle said that this section of her course work allowed her to express herself and her ideas. It also enabled

her to put into practice many of the techniques that she learned. Michelle also made time to complete a milli- nery course and can design a head- piece to match any outfit.

A native of Limerick, Michelle moved to Shannon at a young age. Her business, Material Girl, is lo- cated at Caragh Park in Shannon. While she thoroughly enjoys her job, she is anticipating the future. “I can see myself teaching sewing and de- sign. That would be my ambition,” she said. Michelle can be contacted on michelle_carrig@yahoo.co.uk.

Get the low down with new guide

CLARE accounted for six per cent of the fines and penalties imposed for cigarette smuggling and the illegal sale of tobacco, according to figures released by the Revenue Commis- sioners. The figures, published as part of the Revenue Commissioners de- faulter’s list, show that the market in illegal tobacco is spread right across

Ireland. Fines and court penalties were imposed in 1] counties, with Dublin having the highest number of fines and penalties imposed with 43 per cent of convictions secured. Louth, with 11 per cent of penalties imposed, also showed a high involve- ment in the lucrative trade in illegal tobacco.

Kerry was third highest county where penalties were imposed with

8.5 per cent of the national figure. Clare, Wexford, Limerick and Gal- way each had six per cent of the total number of penalties imposed, while Kilkenny, Cavan, Waterford and Kil- dare were on three per cent.

While the figures showed the geo- graphic spread of the market, which is estimated to cost the exchequer €500m every year in lost revenue, it also showed that that the average

fine for cigarette smuggling and the selling of illegal cigarettes was just oOo

A spokesperson for the Irish Tobac- co Manufactures Advisory Commit- tee (ITMAC) stated, “These figures reflect both the widespread growth in the profitable trade of illegal tobacco and the urgent need for increased penalties to act as a deterrent to en- sure this illicit trade is stopped.

‘Because Ireland has the most ex- pensive cigarette price in Europe, we are an attractive destination for smug- glers. This evidence highlights that with continued insufficient penalties, Ireland will remain a smuggler’s par- adise. ITMAC will continue to work together with all stakeholders to find solutions to combat this growth in the illegal trade of cigarettes,” the spokesman said.

WHEN Crusheen and Clarecastle last met in September at the quar- ter-finals stage of the championship, there was little between the sides be- fore Crusheen eventually prevailed by the bare minimum. This Clare Cup game may not have had as much significance but with the winners holding the best chance of disrupt- ing Clooney/Quin and Newmarket’s passage to the knock-out stages, it should have ensured a titanic battle. What transpired however, was a

relatively one-sided affair. So much so in fact, that the ease at which Crusheen strolled to victory must have even surpassed their own ex- pectations. Both sides were without key performers but what would have disappointed Clarecastle most is how easily they lay down once Crusheen settled into their stride.

The home side started brightly easing into a 0-4 to O-1 lead by the 11th minute with points from Tyrone Kearse (2), Sean Talty and Derek Quinn. However, in a dramatic turn- around, Crusheen assumed control

and halting the supply to the Clare- castle forward line, Crusheen secured nine unanswered points in as many minutes to power into a 0-10 to 0-4 advantage including a brace for both Cian Dillon and Conor O’Donnell. Such was their dominance that they also had the luxury of hitting five wides in the same period including a goal opportunity for Paddy Meaney who weaved his way through the defence before striking his shot just wide of the right post.

From the resulting puck-out, Tyrone Kearse, Clarecastle’s most effective

player, almost punished Crusheen with a goal of his own as he soloed through the heart of the Crusheen rearguard but his shot was tipped away by goalkeeper Donal Tuohy for a ’65 that Kearse converted. And the former Clare senior panellist added two more frees before the break to reduce the deficit to three.

In an effort to revive their fortunes, Clarecastle made a host of switches at the interval, including the intro- duction of substitutes Eric Flynn, Fearghus Ryan and Aaron Consid- ine and it was the latter who opened

the second half scoring after only two minutes. Patrick Kelly’s lineball managed to break through to the Clare minor at the far post and for a split second, it appeared that a goal was on the cards but in the end, he had to be content with a point. That brief recovery was as close as the home side would get to Crusheen though and they were only to score twice more, both from Kearse frees while Crusheen eased to victory.

Indiscipline handed Crusheen the majority of their scores through Alan Tuohy (4) and Ciaran O’Doherty but the biggest contrast was in leadership as Crusheen’s young side had them in abundance while Clarecastle simply sank without a whimper. Much like their fading Clare Cup hopes.

FOLLOWING years of waiting, Breastcheck is finally about to reach Clare. According to Health Minister, Mary Harney consent letters have al- ready been issued to women in the county and invitations will be issued from early July.

In response to questions from Clare Deputy Joe Carey (FG) she said, “The programme will ultimately of- fer screening to the approximately 8,000 women aged between 50 and 64 in the county.

“IT am happy that the minister has confirmed that in the past week let- ters have been sent to eligible women

in the first screening areas.

“IT would hope this is not a move- able date and that the process, now underway, can roll out across the county in a speedy and professional manner,” said Deputy Carey.

“There was concern in _ recent weeks that the HSE recruitment freeze would affect this programme. I was happy to raise this issue dur- ing an adjournment debate in April, when I got a commitment from the minister that the programme would not be affected by the HSE cuts. I would hope that in the future, similar programmes and vital aspects of our health service such as this, are also protected.”