July 2009 Connemara View by Connemara View Publishing

In The View

Naomh Feichin U 16 League Win...Page 14

All eyes on Connemara skies! The Connemara summer season was kicked off in tremendous style in June when the spectacle and sound of aircraft of varying sizes, shapes and speeds resounded over Clifden Bay in celebration of the 90th Anniversary of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown’s historic first non-stop transatlantic flight. Onlookers in various locations were treated to a free display of thrilling performances by the featured aircrafts and their crews. What started as a grey day gradually improved to ensure that while some people were dampened

(including the photographers), spirits were not! Team Guinot’s Wingwalkers, the Blades formation ﬂying team and the Team Viper Jets drew gasps with their high octane displays and the eagerly anticipated return of the elegant and intriguing Vickers Vimy was superbly received by the crowds when it appeared on the horizon as the Grand Finale of the Air Show. See Pages 26 and 27 for a full round up and photos of the Connemara Air Show and Alcock & Brown 90th Anniversary celebrations.

Connemara Starlets Premiere...Page 39 Local Election Results...Page 4 Kylemore Abbey Reunion...Page 7 Summer Events Schedule...Page 23 New Businesses...Page 29 Hello Dolly Photos...Pages 38-39

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REGIONAL

Omey Tragedy Benefit Night The Benefit Night, organised by the Omey Island Tragedy Fund Committee in aid of the families of Fechin Mulkerrins and Tony Coohill who lost their lives earlier this year, will take place at the Station House Hotel on Friday July 3rd, starting at 8pm sharp. Music on the night will be provided by performers from all over Connemara, including Inishbofin. A large auction will also take place due to the fantastic amount of items donated, including works of art by Margaret Irwin, Joe Boske, John Coll, Caroline Canning, Cathal O’Malley and other local artists. An enormous community effort and expressions of support have already taken place and the night is sure to be a great success. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. (See also acknowledgement on Page 31).

Class of 1989 Reunion

A Clifden Community School Class of ’89 reunion will be

held in the Station House Hotel on Saturday 4th July 2009 at 7.30pm. For further information or to book your ticket please contact France at 087 7595035 or Yvonne at 087775-8579. Books of Solidarity opened for Abuse Victims and Survivors Books of Solidarity with the victims and survivors of clerical abuse in Irish Institutions have been opened in Clifden and Letterfrack, which members of the public may sign as a gesture of support and solidarity. In Clifden, a Book of Solidarity has been placed at the entrance of Clúid, the old convent building, by Clifden & District Community Council, where it will be available for signing by members of the public for the summer months between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday. It will then be forwarded to the Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland (SOIAI) as a gesture of solidarity from the people of Clifden and Connemara. The Parish of Ballinakill has also placed a Book of Solidarity at the entrance of the Connemara West building in Letterfrack, formerly St Joseph’s Industrial School, and members of the public may sign it between the hours of 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.

quickly as possible”. The changes to services will begin on Sunday 5th July 2009 and be phased in over a period of time. The routes affected within the Connemara Area are; 416 Galway-Carna, withdrawn, 424 Galway-Carraroe, reduced by 50% and 419 Galway-Clifden, Thurs and Sat, cancelled. Source www. irishrurallink.ie & www.irishtimes.com

VTOS Letterfrack goes to Petersburg

Every year, VTOS Letterfrack has an end of year trip and this year the group went to Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre on June 19th last. The day started with some orienteering and some team work to get the group going. After a lovely lunch, we got geared up in our buoyancy aids to go to Red Island for the obstacle course. This was great fun. The team work continued until we had to go against each other – if we had the energy! We were all pretty exhausted after the day but it was extremely enjoyable and great fun. Thanks to Brian and Pete for looking after us so well. So it

Commuter woes over reduced Bus Services

Bus Éireann are reducing bus services and withdrawing many routes under a current cost-recovery programme. The company has stated that the routes chosen have had little customer support and that due to the current climate the company has seen a 10% fall in demand and that it now has “no choice but to take action to address these losses as

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July 2009

is not all work and no play at VTOS, Letterfrack! If you are interested in returning to full-time education and keeping all your beneﬁts, please contact Sorcha O’Toole on 09541302. VTOS is currently enrolling for September 2009. Pictured on their trip to Petersburg Outdoor centre in June were VTOS Letterfrack group: Danny Scullion, Lisa McNamara, Anita Daly, Louise Mullen, Jacinta Walsh, Maria Faherty Caﬀerkey, Front (l-r): Claire Mullen, VTOS Co-Ordinator Sorcha O’Toole, Catherine Walsh.

Connemara View Newspaper

July 2009

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REGIONAL Foinse Set to Close down Despite efforts and negotiation between Foras na Gaeilge, the body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the whole island of Ireland and the management of Ireland’s only complete Irish language newspaper Foinse, the paper is now set to close. Foinse and Foras na Gaeilge have been in talks about the renewal of a four year contract since last year but no satisfactory terms could be reached. The paper, which is owned by businessman and Aer Arann operator, Padraig O Ceidigh, say Foras’ current offer of €355,000 in funding is simply not enough to keep the paper afloat. Ten full time jobs from the Foinse office in Carraroe have now been lost and Foras na Gaeilge now say they will put the current contract for an Irish language paper out to tender. Foinse is Ireland’s only fully Irish language paper and the President of Conradh na Gaeilge, Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa said its loss is a huge disappointment for everyone in the Irish speaking community.

CSI: Clifden News Update On the 5th June the planning section of the Department of Education & Science confirmed in writing to CSI: Clifden that the band rating for the Community School rebuild was increased from 2.3 to 2.1. This is a significant development and was brought about through local pressure with petitions, public meetings and input from our local and national government representatives. However, there is some way to go yet and the local pressure must be maintained to progress plans for the badly needed new school building. This affects everyone in the community and we appeal for your support. Everyone is asked to attend our public meetings to show our elected representatives the interest we have in this campaign. We all can realise the benefits that a new, modern “fit for purpose” school building will be for the students coming down the line from the feeder national schools across Connemara. This campaign has being going for over ten years and we need to ensure that it doesn’t take another ten. The more people who are vocal the better chance we have of being heard sooner rather than later. Our next meeting is Wednesday July 15th at 8pm in the Community School. Councillor Eileen Mannion will be attending this meeting. Please support this initiative to get our new school building.Log onto www.connemaraview.com/csiclifden for more news. Jessica Hansson recently completed the Mini Marathon in Dublin with sponsorships for CSI: Clifden. CSI: Clifden tee-shirts are on sale now in Keane’s Shop, Main St, Clifden.

GMIT Letterfrack Graduate Furniture Exhibition The annual Graduate Furniture Exhibition at the Letterfrack Campus will open to the public on Monday July 6th and features many pieces of work from talented students studying furniture design making, production, conservation, restoration, research and technology. The Graduate Furniture Exhibition is housed in the new gallery on campus, which was oﬃcially opened by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. Opening hours are 9am to 5pm daily and admission is free. The exhibition runs until August 28th.

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Election Results: Please note that there were a number of boxes not tallied. These included box numbers 88,92,104,120,121,123,125 and there were partial tallies done on 115, 125 & 127. The tallies are undertaken by the political parties and are done when the boxes are open and they cannot be calculated at any later stage. The Local Authority has no input into the tallies except that the sorters will facilitate the tally people to see the No. 1 vote on every paper.

July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Domestic Arts Revival

Fire Brigade New Recruit

A popular aspect of pony show attractions for those without a four legged entry in the competitions of the day is enjoying a revival. The Claddaghduff and Roundstone Shows have added Domestic Arts and Home Produce classes to their events. The Claddaghduff Show on August 9th will have craft classes at the Claddaghduff Hall. Classes will be held for Eggs, Homemade Produce and Home Grown Produce. There will be special classes for under 12’s. The entry fee is €3 per class and there will be a trophy for each first prizewinner, and a rosette for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each class. Entry forms are available at local shops and the closing date for entries is Sunday, July 26th. For further details contact Susan Cockburn on 087-676-8584 or Laura Woods on 085-121-1544. Roundstone Connemara Pony Show have also added an Arts and Crafts competition to the Show on Sunday July 12th. Entry forms are available to download from the website www.roundstoneevents.com or from Paddy McDonagh on 086-346-9372 and entries will also be accepted on the morning of the Show at Farrell’s Field. Entry Fee is €3 per Class or 4 Classes for €10 and there are classes for home produce, crafts and home baking. The Clifden Pony Show saw a great renewed interest in the Domestic Arts competition in 2008, with an increase in entries making for a great display. Entry forms are available now from the CPBS Office at the Showgrounds and by calling 095-21863 and can also be downloaded from www. connemaraview.com . The closing date for entries is Friday July 10th.

Kenny Flaherty of Clifden is the latest addition to the Clifden Fire Brigade crew and is pictured here undertaking training exercises at his ﬁrst oﬃcial Fire Drill at Clifden Fire Station.

Fire Brigade Car Wash The annual Clifden Fire Brigade car

Oughterard in over 20 primary schools and every year school children in those schools help by colouring approximately 1,000 posters which will be used in August to advertise the day. Activities on the day include scubadiving, kayaking, boat and pony rides, the big sandcastle competition, beach races, bouncy castle, slide and face painting, sheaf throwing and Tug O’ War, all rounded oﬀ with a barbecue and refreshments, all for just €4 per adult and €3 per child. This day would not be possible without all the voluntary help from the WaterSports Day Team who tirelessly give of their time year after year. Newcomers who wish to become involved are always welcome. 095-41024.

1920’s Masquerade Ball

wash for charity will take place outside the Fire Station on Saturday July 11th from 12-4pm. All are invited to come along for a great day’s fun and meet with the local Fire Brigade crew who will ensure you leave with a sparkling clean car!

Watersports Day 2009

A Roaring Twenties Masquerade Ball in aid of Cancer Care West will take place on the 15th August 2009 in the Clifden Station House Hotel. For further information please contact Cancer Care West on 091545000-info@cancercarewest.ie. Thanking you in advance for your generous support.

Research Study of Connemara In June of 2009, researchers and students from the University of Notre Dame and Hamilton College Cultural Landscapes of

The ever popular WaterSports Day will be held this year on Sunday, August 9th. This event is held on Glassilaun Beach, Renvyle, Co. Galway since 1995 as a fundraiser for ISPCC & Childline. It has proven itself to be a great success both as a fundraiser and as a wonderful day out and over €30,000 has been collected for ISPCC/Childline over the years-this money goes towards helping abused and neglected children. The annual Colouring Competition recently took place throughout Connemara, Westport and

The ‘Golden Mile’ of Galway 2009

the Irish Coast Project (CLIC) spent three weeks conducting historical and archaeological research in western Connemara. The project combined archaeological survey and excavation with paleo-environmental, historical, archival, linguistic and photographic research to study topics related to changing rural and coastal life ways. This included one week camping on Inish Shark and two weeks centered in Clifden. While staying on Inish Shark researchers focused on three tasks; (1) to photograph and record the abandoned 18th - 20th century fishing village, (2) to undertake test excavations of the remains of two Bronze Age (approximately 2,000 to 600 BC) huts at the western end of the island and (3) to record oral histories of the people who lived on Shark. In addition, the team conducted a boat survey to record early Christian (5th to 8th century) occupation of remote islands along the northwestern area of Connemara. The work to date was shown at an exhibition on Inishbofin in the Community Center on Saturday June 27th. This research will now be expanded over the next three years. Photo below: The abandoned fishing village on Inish Shark which was recently studied by U.S. researchers.

Slí Dhúlra na Gaillimhe 2009

Galway County Council in conjunction with Galway Rural Development Company, Comhar na nOileán, Forum Connemara, Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta and Galway County Heritage Forum, invites community groups to enter this important heritage competition. The Golden Mile of Galway is an initiative of Galway County Heritage Plan, the aim of which is to foster a greater appreciation and awareness of our country roadscapes by rural dwellers and visitors. This can be done through careful management of the flora and fauna, ditches, traditional stone walls and other natural and man made features in a litter/rubbish free environment.

Tugann Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe i gcomhar le Forbairt Tuaithe na Gaillimhe, Comhar na nOileán, Fóram Chonamara, Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta agus Fóram Oidhreachta Chontae na Gaillimhe cuireadh do ghrúpaí pobail cur isteach ar an gcomórtas tábhachtach oidhreachta seo. Is tionscnamh de chuid Phlean Oidhreachta Chontae na Gaillimhe é Míle Órga na Gaillimhe, a bhfuil sé d’aidhm aige tuiscint agus aithne níos fearr ar ár mbóithre tuaithe a chothú i measc chónaitheoirí tuaithe agus cuairteoirí. Is féidir é seo a dhéanamh trí bhainistíocht chúramach ar flóra agus fána, díoga, ballaí traidisiúnta cloiche agus gnéithe eile nádúrtha agus saorga i dtimpeallacht shaor ó bhruscar/dramhaíl.

Awards will be given for:

Bronnfar dámhachtain ar

- Applications are confined to either a local primary, local secondary or local tertiary road. - It is hoped to produce a calendar at the end of the year which will highlight the rich heritage of the miles selected. - Judging will be by an independent panel of judges and will take place in September/ October 2009.

- Tá iarratais teoranta do phríomhbhóthar áitiúil, bóthar áitiúil den dara grád nó bóthar treasach áitiúil. - Tá súil féilire a chur le chéile ag deireadh na bliana a thabharfadh suntas d’oidhreacht shaibhir na mílte a roghnófar. - Is painéal moltóireachta neamhspleách a bheidh i mbun moltóireachta, agus beidh sé seo ar siúl i Meán Fómhair/Deireadh Fómhair 2009.

Closing Date: Friday 21st August 2009 at 4.00pm

Dáta Deiridh: Dé hAoine 21ú Lúnasa 2009 ag 4.00i.n.

Application forms and further information from

Foirmeacha iarratais agus níos mó eolais ó

Marie Mannion, Heritage Officer, Galway County Council, Prospect Hill, Galway. Phone 091 509198 E-mail: mmannion@galwaycoco.ie or Frank Keane,Rural Resource Officer, Galway Rural Development, Mellows Campus, Athenry, Co. Galway. Phone 091 844335 E-mail: fkeane@grd.ie

Marie Mannion, Oifigeach Oidhreachta, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe, Cnoc na Radharc, Gaillimh. Fón 091 509198 Ríomhphost: mmannion@galwaycoco.ie nó Frank Keane, Oifigeach Acmhainní Tuaithe, Forbairt Tuaithe na Gaillimhe, Campas Mellows, Baile Átha an Rí, Co. na Gaillimhe. Fón: 091 844335 Ríomhphost: fkeane@grd.ie.

Workshops will be held as follows:

Tionólfar Ceardlanna mar seo a leanas:

•Overall award : Perpetual trophy •The mile showing best potential •Best natural heritage mile •Best built heritage mile •The safest mile •The Tony Dervan RIP, award for best community effort (including litter management)

•Dámhachtain Fhoriomlán : buantrófaí •An míle a léiríonn an acmhainneacht is fearr •An míle leis an oidhreachta nádúrtha is fearr •An míle oidhreachta tógtha is fearr •An míle is sábháilte •Dámhachtain Tony Dervan RIP don iarracht phobail is fearr (bainistiú bruscair san áireamh)

Dé Sathairn 27ú Meitheamh 2009 ag 10.00r.n. Scoil Náisiúnta Fuarchoill, Fuarchoill, Creachmhaoil, Co. na Gaillimhe. Dé Sathairn 18ú Iúil 2009 ag 10.00r.n. Ionad Coiste Gairmoideachais, Uachtar Ard, Co. na Gaillimhe.

Saturday 27th June 2009 at 10.00am Coldwood National School, Coldwood, Craughwell, Co. Galway. Saturday 18th July 2009 at 10.00am VEC Centre, Oughterard, Co. Galway.

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Clifden

Local pubs get ‘Pub Spied’ Two of Clifden’s pubs were recently visited by the Sunday World Pub Spy. Griffin’s and The D’Arcy got great reviews and even though the first thoughts regarding Clifden were “how anyone lived this far out…”, just a few minutes in Griffin’s made them feel they could spend a week here. Griffin’s was described as ‘ a real auld Irish pub that any tourist would be happy to visit’ and was one of the nicest pubs visited in the area. It also got a ‘Sparkling’ four out of five Guinness rating. In The D’Arcy, ‘the craic was just mighty’ and the barman described as ‘very friendly and attentive’.

Connemara Chamber News Air Show Weekend June 13th saw the culmination of 18 month’s planning for the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the historic first nonstop transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown from Canada to Connemara. Our hard working committee included Gerard King, Joe Lynch, Paul Mannion, Conor McEvaddy, Michael King and Paula Bann, aided as always on behalf of the chamber by Michele Hehir. The media exposure the area got from this event far exceeded even the most optimistic estimates with national news and media carrying extensive reports on the event. There was also a significant short term commercial boost to the area with a big visitor influx for the weekend. The show was spectacular and was only made possible by the hard working committee and the ongoing financial support of the members of the chamber who, every year, invest in the promotion of events like this, to ensure our area remains at the forefront of visitors’ minds when they are deciding where to holiday. However, we did also have principal sponsors who gave significantly to assist the Airshow committee and they were: Galway Airport, Galway County Council, Fáilte Ireland, SuperValu, Station House Hotel, Bank of Ireland-Clifden, Foyles Hotel and Abbeyglen Hotel, but in fact all chamber members who, actively contribute to this and other successful events through their support of the marketing and events fundraising by the chamber. (See photos on pages 26 & 27).

Other Festivals In fact June was a busy month for chamber activities as we also organised a Family Walking Festival for the June bank holiday weekend. Working with Fáilte Ireland, we hope to build on the experience of this event to make this an annual event to add to the activity calendar of the area. We held the Jazz and Blues weekend on the same weekend, with many old favourites returning to Clifden. This event will grow in the coming years as we establish a working relationship with our sponsors to get back to the heady days of the old Country Blues Festival.

Ongoing Developments We currently have a number of major projects which we are advancing to build on the tourism infrastructure of the area. All are at various stages of design and we hope to make signiﬁcant inroads in all of these projects in the coming months. Marconi/Alcock & Brown Guided Tour We have submitted planning (thanks to Shane Joyce Engineer for all his voluntary

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help in this) for a self-guided tour of the site in Derrygimla together with a proposal to upgrade access and parking facilities on the site. This project is being worked on in conjunction with NPWS and Failte Ireland, and once planning is approved, we hope to be able to seek funding for this project from various sources.

Architectural Guided Tour Funded by Galway County Council, we are at an advanced stage to developing a guided tour of the town and developing a professionally designed brochure together with text and an audio guide. We would hope to have the end product in place for Arts Week this year.

Pontoon/Jetty for Clifden Bay The chamber has a foreshore licence for the development of a jetty structure in Clifden Bay. This would be a permanent structure and would allow a degree of all water access to the boat club. The proposal is expandable, so in time it could be added to create a signiﬁcant boat infrastructure area in the bay. We are working closely with the Clifden Boat Club (thanks to Damien Ward for his input) on this joint eﬀort and again we have our funding proposal with the Forum Leader Company for this project, so we await developments.

Clifden 2012 The plans to celebrate the bi-centenary of the town in 2012 are already underway. A committee has been formed and various proposals are being worked on and considered and the funding options explored. If you would like to get involved in any way, please contact us and we will put you in touch with the committee. Please note that all this work is mostly undertaken by chamber volunteers. We provide the time and we are delivering on various projects but we do have costs. If you are in business in the area you should support this valuable work and join the chamber. By sticking together and advancing our principal industry of tourism we will all beneﬁt. In fact it is in tougher economic times that the greatest need for collective action is required. Contact our treasurer Brendan Madden (brendanmadden@gpasolutions.com) for details of how you can help by joining the chamber. Declan Mannion, President, Connemara Chamber of Commerce.

Meeting with Galway Co.Co. The Council has also held an introductory meeting with representatives of Galway County Council on Monday June 22nd. In attendance were Community Council members together with Mr Evan Molloy, Senior Engineer, Ms. Eimear Dolan, Administrative Oﬃcer, Community Enterprise & Economic Development and Mr TJ Redmond, Clifden Area Local Engineer. Issues including the new Sewerage scheme, Water supply and an Urban Renewal Scheme were discussed. Procedures regarding community expression of concerns in relation to County Council issues were also discussed. Further meetings will be arranged for later in the year.

Suggestions/Proposals The Community Council is currently in the process of arranging to have a suggestion box or boxes placed locally in order that ideas, complaints and concerns regarding local issues may be brought to the Community Council notice. In the meantime, queries and suggestions may be sent or dropped to Clifden & District Community Council, c/o The oﬃces of JB Joyce Solicitors, Main Street, Clifden or e-mailed to info@clifden.org.

Book of Solidarity A Book Of Solidarity for the Victims of Abuse in Irish Institutions has been placed at the old Clifden Convent building, now Clúid Housing Association. Members of the public may sign the book from 9am-5pm from Mon-Fri over the summer months, and the book will then be forwarded to the Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland (SOIAI) as a gesture of solidarity and support from the people of Clifden and Connemara. John Durning

Scoil Mhuire News School Year 2008-2009 On Thursday 18th June, 6th class graduated at a beautiful ceremony. Earlier in the day, at a special assembly, the staﬀ and students honoured and said goodbye to them. They are a very special group of young people. Their quiet leadership had a positive impact on the entire school and this was reﬂected in the tributes paid to them by fellow

students and staﬀ. They are such a talented group of young people. Their parents must be so proud of them as are all of us at Scoil Mhuire. Thanks to the 5th class parents who supplied the treats for the evening and to Loretta Joyce, Maureen McGrath, Patricia Moran, Mary and Shauna O’Toole, Siobhan and Megan Stoney who served the refreshments on the night. Thank you to Fr. James Ronayne, PJ Lee, Eimear Kelly, Christine Mullen, Aodan McGlynn and the students and staﬀ of Scoil Mhuire who helped make this a very special evening.

Year Book 2009 This year 6th class has been involved in producing a yearbook for the entire school. Normally, as in the years gone by, the yearbook would be a 6th class production, but this year it has been extended to cover the entire school. We have noted the events and goings on from Junior Infants to 6th class. Editors from 6th class students were chosen to take on the stressful role. They were assigned one class to gather articles, information, and art during the course of the year. It was a lot of hard work, so we hope that you enjoy the whole yearbook in general. Our hard working team of editors were: Grace Barry Hughes, Elaine Fahy, Katherine Kelly, Ryan Maher, Aoife Mannion, Muireann Mc Gylnn, Steven Slevin and Arlene Walsh Wallace. Special thanks to Marie-Noëlle who directed this work throughout the year and laid out and published the year book. We remind families that they can pick up their copy of the year book at the oﬃce for €5. Photo: Scoil Mhuire 6th class students in Ballintubber in April.

Mol an Óige 2009 The Mol an Óige concert took place in Christ Church on Sunday 21st June. Students from 3rd and 4th class and four violinists from Scoil Mhuire with their teachers took part in what was a wonderful display of talent from the Connemara area. Special thanks to Attracta McEvaddy, Siobhan King and Eimear Kelly.

New School Year 2009-2010 All monies and relevant forms must be in the school oﬃce by July 31st. See your school calendar for oﬃce opening hours.

Clifden & District Community Council Ball Alley Development The Clifden & District Community Council has recently applied to Galway County Council for planning permission for an all weather outdoor facility on the grounds of the Ball Alley. The project is being promoted in conjunction the Clifden Community Playground Committee and has already been given grant aid approval. It is hoped that planning will be granted for this community facility and that work on this project will begin as soon as possible.

LEADER Presentation Karen Mannion of FORUM Connemara Ltd. gave a very informative presentation to the Council on Wednesday June 24th on the FORUM LEADER programme and in particular the funding supports available to community groups. The Council wishes to thank Karen and look forward to further meetings and collaboration with Karen and LEADER.

July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Over 600 Grace Kylemore Abbey Reunion

The Kylemore Abbey School Reunion took place on Saturday 27th June when over 600 former pupils descended on the grounds of Kylemore Abbey on a hot sunny afternoon. Registration took place from 9am on the Saturday morning as the schedule was to kick off at 12pm, but due to the large amount of girls, the schedule was running slightly behind time, as the queuing time exceeded expectations. On registration and payment (€35 p/p), each girl received a form to fill out for the reunion database, a schedule of the day’s events, a specially commemorated reunion memento key ring or emblem and a lunch ticket. Girls came from near and far, from as near as Renvyle, Clifden, Galway and Dublin and as far away as Spain, Switzerland, Mexico and California. A ceremonial Mass took place in the gym which was adorned with pictures from yesteryear from as far back as there was a camera available, right up to the present day, and it was packed to capacity with 3 priests giving Mass, Fr Gerry Burns, Fr. James Ronayne and Abbot Patrick Hederman. The school choir gave an exceptional and admirable performance. Following Mass there was a tree planting ceremony, followed by lunch in a specially erected marquee where friends mingled and chatted over times gone by. After lunch a ‘History of Kylemore’ presentation was shown in the Gothic Church and many girls chose to wander around, taking in a tour of the classrooms, the ref, the dorms and the Abbey itself before the concerts kicked off in the gym. Tea, coffee, water and sweet pastries were available throughout the day, as many chose to sit and reminisce in the sunshine outside the marquee or stroll along the avenues. Inside the gym, the Irish Dancing display kicked off with a phenomenal display of some of the finest dancers who would give River Dance a run for their money. Local girls Emma O’Sullivan, Amy Coyne, Chelsea Kane, Hannah Mamalis among a few, displayed their Sean Nos and Irish Dancing talents to a very impressed audience. Some of these displays can be now be seen online on YouTube. Throughout, there was also an exhibit of Irish music and a show from the children of Letterfrack N.S. Up in the music room in the Abbey there was a reunion shop where memorabilia was on sale; cards, soaps and much more. Nearing the

Connemara View Newspaper

end of the day, a special plaque dedicated to the nuns was unveiled and presented to them. Sharon Molloy, the organiser of the event was also thanked and praised, before the girls started to say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. There were also Vespers in the Abbey church for anyone that wanted to partake after the day’s events came to a close. For many more the party continued as the hundreds of girls descended upon the villages of Letterfrack, Tullycross, Tully and also on to Clifden to celebrate the day a little more. All in all it was a great day

July 2009

of memories and nostalgia and it will be remembered for many, many a year to come. Priscilla Diamond Photos: Photos from top (l-r): Aoife Lydon nee Faherty, Catriona Conneely, Charlene Conroy, Nicola O’Malley nee Lydon. Chlodagh-Muire Callinan, Triona Doyle, Gerrie O’Neill, Carmel Ribbon, Priscilla Diamond and Sr. Dorothy. Fr James Ronayne and Sr. Genevieve. Carmel Rigney-Conneely and Ann Kane. Below: Nicole Coyne and Louisa Jack. Photos courtesy of Priscilla Diamond and Louisa Jack

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Clifden continued

Clúid 5th Anniversary Clúid Housing Association held a 5th Anniversary Patio Party at St Joseph’s Court in Clifden on Wednesday June 3rd where residents and friends enjoyed a great day of ceol and craic and a buﬀet lunch and refreshments in the sunshine. Photo below courtesy of Kathleen Mortimer

Tigger by Leah Dyck I’ve had a cat called Tigger since I was three years old, She has black and brown stripes, she is as good as gold, ‘Meow, meow’ is what she likes to say as she sits on the windowsill all day, I love to stroke her soft fur and listen to her gentle purr, She likes to lie in the warm sun, She is loved by everyone.

Summer Reading Challenge The summer reading challenge takes place during July and

proceeds of the book sale will go towards funding the children’s events at the library. Bernie Jeﬀries Photos : Clifden Community School Transition Year student Patrick Wallace on work experience in Clifden Library. Readers of the month for April and May Clifden Library: Eoghan Walsh and Alexander Davitt. Winners of Clifden Library Poetry Competition with Paul and Bernie.

Ballyconneely

Pony Show Fundraiser A Fundraising night in aid of the Ballyconneely Pony Show 2009 will take place at Ballyconneely Hall on Saturday July 11th when the Cunningham Family bring their acclaimed show “Fuaim na Chuinneaganai” to Ballyconneely for the ﬁrst time. Special guests will join the show and a fantastic night of the best Sean Nos dance and song is promised. The show will start at 8:30pm; tickets are €25 and can be bought locally where the poster is displayed, or by calling Bridget on 095-23053.

FORUM Leader Information Night

Library News Poetry Competition The winners of the poetry competition were Leah Dyck aged 11 and Sadhbh O’Toole aged 6. Prizes were also awarded to: Oriana Young; Ciara Heagney; Luke Carty; Matthew Barry; Alexander Davitt; Gráinne King; Ben Bartley; Aoife Mannion; Katherine Mannion; Eoghan Walsh; Lorcan Gay; David Stoney; Gemma Walsh; Johanna Browne; Cliona Gay; Anthony Curran; Amber Rima; Niall Heagney; Victoria Rima; Kelsi Young; Annie Conroy; Annabel Redman.

Winning Poems Dawn by Sadhbh O’Toole Dawn is my favourite pony, I ride her every day, She’s silver grey, She’s only six, She doesn’t bite, She doesn’t kick, She only licks! Dusty is her foal.

An information evening on the FORUM LEADER rural funding programme will take place at the Ballyconneely Hall on Wednesday July 8th at 9pm. Karen Mannion of FORUM will explain the beneﬁts and potential for obtaining funding for both individuals and community groups at the presentation and all are welcome and encouraged to attend on the night. August. Children are encouraged to read all types of books and points are given for each book read; any child who reads six books or more will receive a certiﬁcate at the end of the summer. The theme of this year’s challenge is Fantasy.

Photo Competition The library is running a junior pet photo competition over the summer; just take a photo of your pet (or a friend’s) and attach it to the special entry form available at the library and send it in. Only photos attached to the special entry form will be accepted. Special thanks to Noreen Casey of Clifden Pharmacy for sponsoring 1st prize which is a fabulous digital camera.

Book Sale Keep a look out for our one oﬀ book sale later in the summer; thank you very much to everyone who has donated books to the library. All

Ballyconneely NS Principal Retires A surprise party organised by the Parent Association to mark the retirement of Marion O’Malley was held at Ballyconneely N.S. on Friday June 26th. Family, friends, parents, pupils and past pupils attended to thank Marion for her years at the school and wish her well for the future. She was presented with two beautiful pictures by the students and vouchers by the parents. Marion then planted a shrub in the school grounds and took another plant of the same type with her to plant at home to remind her of the school. Photo top: Marion O’Malley pictured with her family at her recent retirement function. Photo below: Retiring principal Marion O’Malley with past and present pupils of Ballyconneely N.S. Photos courtesy of Ann Mitchell

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July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Ballyconneely continued PigFest 2009!

Ballyconneely’s first ‘PigFest’ will be held on Saturday August 1st at 1 o’clock sharp until late in aid of Ballyconneely and Aillebrack National Schools, Ballyconneely Playschool and After School Service and Inclusion Ireland. A great day of fun is guaranteed for all the family. While the pig is roasting in the Ballyconneely Show Field, a lot of field events will be available for all ages from bouncy castles, face painting and novelty field sports for the children and adults, to three legged races, sack races, and egg n’spoon races. There will also be football matches, an over 35’s Vs under 35’s, and an adults tug-o-war. Lights refreshments will also be available in the hall. All are welcome to attend and support what promises to be a great day out for all the family.

Carna Pictured are Geraldine and Riona McTavish from Carna at the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway in June. Riona was a mascot for the Puma team at the closing ceremony.

alann Peile’; Rachel McDonagh from 4th class, with her book ‘Bia’ and Cailim Higgins from 3rd class, with his book ‘Michael Breithla’. Photo below - top (l-r): Rachel McDonagh, Roma Joyce, Cailim Higgins and Niamh Mannion.

Write A Book winner Every year, Cashel School enters the Write-a-book Competition. This is a competition that is nearly the same as the Scriobh Leabhar Competition, but you write your book in English, not Irish. They have the same system as the Scriobh Leabhar Competition except for the fact that one winner will be picked from the school. This year, our winner was Gracie McDonagh. She went to the lovely Galway Bay Hotel to collect her prize. She is pictured with our teacher Ms. Stephens. Photo below - second from top (l-r):

Cumann na mBunscoil We entered the Cumman na mBunscoil. This tournament is Gaelic Football and we like to enter it as many years as we can. This year, we entered a Boys team, which includes a few girls. On Friday the 12th, our school played against other schools. Our ﬁrst match was against Cleg-

gan School. Cleggan has a very good team and after a 14 minute match, we won the match. Our second match was against Roundstone. They were also a good team and we won against them also. We then found out that we were through to the semi ﬁnals in Oughterard on the 18th of June. We then played other matches there and got through to the ﬁnals for The Plate- but unfortunately lost- c’est la vie! Photo below - third from top.

Oﬀ to Secondary School On the 30th of June, we broke up for the summer and this year two of our pupils will be leaving. Niamh Mannion and Lorraine Cunningham will be leaving for Clifden Secondary School. We will miss them very much. We will also miss their wonderful talents that they had shown to us and we hope that they will carry on their talents in Secondary School. We will remember them for a long time in our school. Induction day and meeting for new pupils take place soon as well as our sports day. Photo below - bottom Bye! Cashel School Journalist, Roma Joyce.

Send in your news, views & photos to

news@ connemaraview. com

Carraroe

EU Direct Centre Carraroe is one of seven library authorities across Ireland which has been awarded a four year contract to operate EU Direct Centres and is the only dedicated Irish language centre. These public libraries have taken on a valuable new role to provide easy access to EU information to everyone. People who require information about Europe can contact Europe Direct Information Centres, where they will ﬁnd a wide range of documentation, multimedia information and expertly trained staﬀ ready to discuss any questions about Europe. The centres will provide free phone access to a live Q&A service and free PC access to EU online services.

Cashel

Cashel NS News Hi everyone! Seeing as it’s the last Connemara View for us before we go on holidays, I thought we could make it an extra-special review over the last month! Scríobh Leabhar Competition Winners Every year, our school enters the Scriobh Leabhar Competition. The Scriobh Leabhar Competition is a competition where pupils from schools around Galway write books in the Irish language. They send them to a group who send the books around to other schools around your area. The pupils from other schools decide who wins in your class and they send it back to the group, who then send a letter to your school to tell them that they have won and that they must go to the Ardilaun Hotel in Salthill to redeem their prize. There is an award ceremony and you will get a medal, a certiﬁcate and a t-shirt. This year, the winners from our school were; Niamh Mannion from 6th class, with her book ‘An Cluiche Peile’; Roma Joyce from 5th class, with her book ‘Mo Dhi-

Connemara View Newspaper

July 2009

Page 9

Cleggan/Claddaghduff Festival of the Sea Claddaghduﬀ

Volvo Ocean Race – “Let’s Do It Galway”! During the recent stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, the community of Cleggan and Claddaghduﬀ made a presentation to Eamon Conneely to mark his tremendous contribution and tireless work in bringing the race

to Galway port for the two week stopover event. Eamon was presented with a beautiful painting titled “Omey from Patches” by Cathal O’Malley which depicts the view from Eamon’s homeplace of Patches in Claddaghduﬀ. The presentation was made by one of the community’s most senior and well known citizen’s, Stevie King of Aughrismore. Photo (l-r): Cathal O’Malley (Artist), Eamon Conneely, Stevie King, Ian Walker, Skipper of the Green Dragon. Photo courtesy of Dorothy Conneely

Dolphin Country Market-Cleggan Every Saturday and Wednesday-fresh vegetables, ﬁsh, free range eggs, home baking, arts, crafts and lots more. Saturdays: 11:00am to 3:00pm, Wednesdays: 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Location: Cleggan Community Centre at the top of the pier in Cleggan Village.

Bingo Bingo takes place in Claddaghduﬀ Hall every Sunday evening at 8:30pm. Come along and try your luck! All welcome.

Books-Bring & Buy Every Sunday morning at Claddaghduﬀ Hall from 11:00am to 1:00pm-bring your used books and have a browse through the extensive collection of books available.

Friday July 31st Opening of the Festival by Declan Nee of Bord Iascaigh Mhara. Declan will give a short talk on local maritime which will be followed by a talk and presentation by Brendan O’Connor on the marine environment of the Aughrus area.Time: 8pm,Claddaghduff Hall. Saturday August 1st Over 40’s Soccer on Omey Strand-Peter Lydon Cup-check festival posters for time. 8:30pm. Margaret Irwin-Art Exhibition, Claddaghduff Hall. Launch of exhibit of works by artist Margaret Irwin. Margaret studied in Dublin and with André L’Hôte Paris. From 1977 to 1991 she lectured at Dun Laoghaire School of Art, Co. Dublin and at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. Margaret has received many international awards for her work. In 2008 she was the recipient of the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Galway County Council. Margaret lives in Claddaghduff where she has a modern print studio and an etching press. The exhibition will run for the duration of the festival. Sunday August 2nd 11am-1pm . Kids Badminton Tournament Claddaghduff Hall. 1pm . Family Sports Day on Omey Strand. All welcome. Followed by Super Soccer Match! Married VS- Singles on Omey Strand. 8:30pm. Bingo. Claddaghduff Hall. Monday August 3rd 1pm. Senior Badminton Tournament–Mixed Doubles.Claddaghduff Hall. 8pm. Talk and Presentation with Guest Speaker, Claddaghduff Hall. 9:30pm. Table Quiz (teams of 4). Sweeney’s Strand Bar, Claddaghduff. Tuesday August 4th 10:30am sharp. Archaeology Field Trip with Michael Gibbons. Cleggan to Bundowlish. Please wear suitable footwear and clothing. €15 per person. Meeting point, Cleggan Beach. 11am. Irish Dance Workshop with Síona DeLappeCladdaghduff Hall. 8pm. Not-to-be-missed Seafood Buffet at Oliver’s Bar, Cleggan - Tickets available locally. €25 per person. 9:30pm. Darts Competition. Pier Bar, Cleggan. Wednesday August 5th 11am. Sean-Nós Workshop with the Cunningham Family–Claddaghduff Hall.

Community T’s

Inishboﬁn

Inishbofin N.S. News Three children from Inishboﬁn N.S won medals in the recent Scríobh Leabhar competition. The children had to write a book ‘as Gaeilge’, decorate it and type it up. All the children took part in the competition and the three prizewinners are pictured here. Photo: Chloe Cunnane (4th Class), Sarah Lavelle O’Connor (3rd Class) and John Ward (5th Class). Photo courtesy of Mary Day Lavelle

Kylemore

Community T-shirts are now selling at Gannon Sports Clifden, O’Toole’s Foodstore in Cleggan, Sweeney’s Claddaghduﬀ and at Claddaghduﬀ Hall.

Day Retreat A Day retreat will take place at Kylemore Abbey on Saturday July 25th. All are welcome to attend.

Slogan Competition Winners Children from the Cleggan and Claddaghduff area were invited to enter a slogan for the new community website which is currently under construction. The winners are: Ciara Hewitt with “Can’t get enough of Cleggan and Claddaghduff ”; Róisín O’Malley with “Beautiful features with friendly creatures”; Kelsi Young with “Home Away from Home”. Each of our winners will receive a “Community T” and their slogans will be displayed on the home page of the Cleggan / Claddaghduff community website. Well done to all of the entrants and thank you for your input. You are certainly a talented group! Dorothy Conneely

Flag of Ramillies Unveiled Sr. Máire, O.S.B., Superior of the Benedictine Community, Kylemore, Connemara, Co. Galway is pictured talking with the Belgian Ambassador Mr. Robert Devriese after he had unveiled the Flag of Ramillies. The historic flag has recently been restored and is now on display at Kylemore Castle. Also attending the ceremony were Minister Éamon O’Cuív, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Ms Marie Mannion, Heritage Officer, Galway County Council. The Flag of Ramillies belonged to the Irish Brigade, led by Charles O’Brien, Viscount of Clare that fought in support of the French King in the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 1700’s. Continued on next page

Green Flag Success Claddaghduff National School recently raised their new Green Flag awarded to them by An Taisce. This is the school’s second Green Flag achieved for energy awareness. All the children have put in a lot of work in helping to get this flag for the school. Photo right: The pupils of Claddaghduff N.S. raise their latest Green Flag.

Page 10

Guided Walk with John O’Halloran to Omey Island or Inisbofin–see posters for more info. 7pm . Archaeology of Connemara:a talk by John O’Halloran, Claddaghduff Hall. 8pm. Céilí Mór–Céol agus craic at the Irish Night in Claddaghduff Hall. Thursday August 6th 11am . Irish Dance Workshop with Síona DeLappe–Claddaghduff Hall 8pm. “A History of Cleggan Lobster Pond”. Talk and presentation by John Fouere. Claddaghduff Hall. 8:30pm. Art Exhibition at Sweeney’s Strand Bar, Claddaghduff with Wine & Cheese Reception. Friday August 7th 4pm. Golf: 3 Ball Scramble, Ballyconneely Golf Club. Followed by evening Bar-B-Q, prizegiving and presentation of trophies at Oliver’s Bar, Cleggan. 8pm . “Chasing Tom Crean – An Antartic Experience”. Talk and presentation by John Coll. Claddaghduff Hall. Saturday August 8th 2pm. Children’s Art and Poetry Workshop with John Dunne. Claddaghduff Hall. 8pm. Close of Festival with music, song and dance-Claddaghduff Hall. Sunday August 9th Claddaghduff Pony Show. Showfield adjacent to Sweeney’s, Claddaghduff. Domestic, Arts & Crafts Fair on show in Claddaghduff Hall. Fun Day for all the family!

July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Kylemore Flag of Ramillies Unveiled continued At the Battle of Ramillies (12 miles north of Namur in Belgium) on 23rd May 1706, the French army was routed by the English under the Duke of Marlborough aided by the Dutch. Even as the French troops fled, Viscount Clare’s brigade turned round and engaged with the oncoming victorious English. They succeeded in recovering their regimental flag, which the English soldiers had captured from them. The rescued flag was later deposited for safe keeping in the convent of the Irish Benedictine nuns in Ypres, where it hung for many years in the choir, as a proud reminder of the courage of the Irish soldiers. By the time the Irish nuns left Ypres (1914) to return to Ireland after an exile of over 200 years, they took the precious relic with them. It had however been damaged and only the middle part of the flag, depicting the Irish harp, has survived. It has now been restored and can be seen in Kylemore Abbey. Photo courtesy of the Benedictine Community, Kylemore

ton, Co. Kerry. All three are delivering a 10-week training programme to a group of local students in Maamba, Zambia. This is not the ﬁrst time GMIT Letterfrack has been involved in overseas voluntary work. A few years ago three students went to Thailand for their placement and helped set up a furniture making enterprise in one of the villages aﬀected by the Tsunami. Photo: Recent graduates of the GMIT Letterfrack campus who have traveled to Zambia to help build a woodwork training skills facility in Maamba. L-r: Dan Wright from Liskeagh, Co. Sligo, Ann Foley from Lisselton, Co. Kerry

Letterfrack CIC The Citizen’s Information Service will be available at Connemara West, Letterfrack on Tuesday July 7th and Tuesday July 28th from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Call on 087-130-1100 or drop in on the day.

Maam Féile an Mháma

Letterfrack NS Graduation The Graduation of sixth class pupils from Letterfrack N.S. took place at the school on Tuesday June 23rd. They are wished all the best as they continue in their education and paths through life. Photo below (l-r): Chloe Folan, Ellen Ormsby, Gillian McGreal, Teacher Laura Dunne, Aoife Prendergast, Yasmin Rima, Seamus Walsh, Dylan Holloway, Cathal Acton, Alan Kearney, Keith Kane.

Sewerage Scheme Update Cllrs Sean Kyne and Thomas Welby presided over the opening of tenders for the pre-qualiﬁcation stage of contracts for the Oughterard Sewerage Scheme. The County Council received a total of 14 expressions of interest. These documents will be reviewed by the County Council Water Services Section and there will be a short-listing of possibly 4 or 5 consultants. An interview process will follow to select the successful consultants. The approved consultants will draw up contract documents for the sewerage scheme. Both councilors have impressed on Galway County Council to appoint the winning consultants as fast as possible to allow the next stage of this scheme to proceed.

WestRun Vintage rally hits Oughterard

and Fiachra McInerney from Raheen, Limerick, with their GMIT lecturer and project co-ordinator Dr. Paddy Tobin.

Letterfrack

Oughterard

The Festival Weekend in Maam, organised by Coiste Forbartha an Mhama, will take place on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July. On Friday 24th there will be Mass in Breenane Graveyard at 7.30pm. This will be followed by the opening of the Festival and music in Ionad Pobail An Mháma. On Saturday a hill walk will take place. Climbers are requested to be at the Community Centre in Maam at 11amstarting time. That evening there will be Ceol agus Craic in the Kilmilkin Bar. Sunday 26th will be a great day for families, with a Children’s sports day, bouncing castle, tug of war, barbeque etc. The festival will ﬁnish with music at Keane’s Bar. (see posters for further details.) Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the weekend activities. Fáilte Róimh Gach Duine!

On Sunday 26th July, Oughterard will be welcoming WestRun 2009, which is a rally of Veteran and Vintage cars, organised by the Western Veteran and Vintage Motor Club. The stopover is being organised in partnership with Oughterard Community Council. The cars will be stopping in Oughterard on their return journey from Clifden to Galway and will be parked in the village for viewing starting at approximately 12 noon. Additional events have been organised including live traditional music, face painting and competitions. The Oughterard Tidy Towns Group will also be running a summer fair, which will take place in the grounds of the church starting at 12:30. On sale will be locally produced fresh cakes, veg and refreshments. Proceeds of the summer fair will be in aid of the Oughterard Tidy Towns Group and all are welcome to attend on the day.

Oughterard Community Archive Launched Oughterard Culture and Heritage Group in Partnership with the National Museum of Ireland launched their Community Archive for the internet on Thursday evening June 18th at the Oughterard V.E.C. Guest of Honour at the launch was Minister Éamon Ó Cuív. The Oughterard Community is the ﬁrst group in Ireland chosen by the museum to spearhead their “Capture it before it’s gone” project. The Museum is hoping to encourage groups across the State to use the museum’s facilities to organise, record and create digital archives which are then to be published on the web for all to share. Photos: David Collins, Éamon Ó Cuív T.D. and Pat McGrath. Pictured at the launch of the Oughterard Community Archive were Dermot Joyce and Christy Butler. Photos courtesy of Tom Broderick

Maamturk Walking Group This group meets every second Sunday to climb diﬀerent mountains in the locality. They recently climbed Croagh Patrick, Benbaun Mountain and Diamond Hill. Their next climb will be Ben Gorm and Ben Creggan, also Maméan, from the Recess side to Maam. There are two hill climbs each fortnight, depending on experience and levels of ﬁtness. Everyone is welcome to come along and join the Walking Group.

Maam Women’s Group GMIT Students travel to Zambia Three students from the Letterfrack GMIT campus have set off for Zambia in Southern Africa to set up a woodwork training facility in a remote village. The three recent graduates, supported by GMIT, the Irish Sisters of Charity and the parish of Tourlestrane in Co.Sligo, left Galway in early June with the proceeds of several fund-raising events in Sligo, Kerry and Galway. Fiachra McInerney from Raheen, Limerick and Dan Wright, from Liskeagh, Co. Sligo who have just completed the B.Sc. in Furniture Design and Manufacture at the Connemara campus, have spent the first few weeks setting up and fitting out the woodworking training centre and have been joined by another graduate Ann Foley from Lissel-

Connemara View Newspaper

The Women’s Group meets on the ﬁrst Thursday of every month at 8.30pm. Plans for the future include a pottery workshop in Westport in July, Art classes in the Autumn, and various other talks and workshops. At the next meeting, a Citizen Information Oﬃcer from MFG will give a talk on aspects of social welfare, housing, health entitlements, taxation, etc. To celebrate their 15th birthday the Women’s Group are organising a concert in Maam on Sunday, September 6th. More details in the next issue of Connemara View!

Wedding Congratulations to Brenda Laﬀey, Mounterown and Kenneth O’Dea, Clarinbridge who got married in Italy on 23rd of June. We wish them many years of happiness together. R. Hanley

July 2009

Page 11

LEADER Presentation

Oughterard continued Community Council AGM The Oughterard Community Council held its AGM at the Oughterard Community Centre on Wednesday June 17th. The committee are pictured (l-r): Brid Mhic An Iomaire (Treasurer), Marie-Helene Poudevigne, Robert Watson, Theresa Tierney, Eoin Bresnihan (Vice-Chair), Patrick Faherty (Chair), Justin Keogh (Oughterard Business Association & G.A.A.), Carmel Geoghegan (Secretary) and Heather Watson ( P.R.O.).

A LEADER Presentation Night explaining the beneﬁts and potential of the FORUM LEADER programme took place in Oughterard at the Connemara Lake Hotel on June 9th. Photo below middle (l-r): Cllr Tom Welby, Marie-Helene Poudevigne, Joe Conaty, Cllr Sean Kyne, Christine Mulkerrins, Cathy Keane, Patrick Faherty, Carmel Geoghegan and Theresa Tierney.

HB Ice Cream Party The HB Ice-Cream Party held in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland on June 29th was a huge success! Held in the beautiful Brigit’s Gardens who allowed all attendees entrance free of charge, the event attracted many local parents, children and adults. HB donated the icecream while the Oughterard Parent & Toddler Group donated the cones and organised the day. Everyone enjoyed a free ice-cream cone with a donation to DSI. There were also toddlers toys, volunteers face-painting, and Brigit’s Gardens’ huge sand-pit with gorgeous surroundings, which made for a really great afternoon. A total of €511.17 was raised on the day and with the left-over ice cream, the Toddlers Group is organising a few small parties to increase the total raised as high as possible. The Oughterard Parent & Toddler Group would like to especially thank Brigit’s Gardens and all who made such generous donations and helped out with the day. The Oughterard Parent & Toddler Group is on break for the summer but will reconvene on September 2nd. The group meets in the Oughterard Community Centre on Wednesday mornings from

10am-12am. Mothers, fathers and carers are all welcome. For more information please contact Renske 085-765-0075. Photo bottom left: Oughterard Parent & Toddler group enjoy sunshine and ice-cream at the HB Ice Cream party in Brigit’s Garden.

Oughterard Show/Special Olympics Fundraising Day Oughterard Show Society has teamed up with Special Olympics for a Fun-day fundraiser to take place on Saturday 4th July. Things kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a Treasure Hunt designed for age groups 4 to 6, Under 10 and Under 12. This will be followed by Novelty Sports at 12 noon and will include a 40 foot inflatable obstacle course as well as a wide variety of fun races and activities for adults and children. The day finishes with a barbecue and music at the Boat Inn from 2.30 to 5pm. Cost is €5 per child and adults are free. Contact Maria at 086-151-7289 for further details. Oughterard Show takes place this year on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of August and we look forward to having two bright sunny days as in 2008! In the meantime look out for the launch of the 2009 Show Schedule in a few weeks time. Leslie Lyons

Renvyle Animal Rescue A sale in aid of Renvyle Animal Rescue will be held on Sunday 2nd August in The Ellis Hall, Letterfrack from 10am3pm. Home baking, plants, toys, bric-a-brac, household items, crafts, pottery, curios, books, DVDs, clothes and more. If you have anything to donate for the sale please contact Judy on 087-056-6302 or Babs at WestVet. We would also welcome more contributions of home baking on the day. Thank you for helping us to help animals in need.

Roscahill Funding for St Annin’s N.S. Deputy Frank Fahey and Councillor Seamus Walsh have announced that they have secured additional funding to cover costs associated with car parking which was recently applied for by the school authorities. The school has been granted an overall amount of €360,000 from the Dept. of Education to build 2 classrooms and 2 resource rooms as part of the Permanent Accommodation Scheme. To date, 1 classroom, a principal’s oﬃce and 1 resource room have been built and completed. It is understood from the school authorities that a planning application is to be submitted for the additional classroom, and if permission is granted, the works are scheduled to commence immediately. The further funding, as secured, will allow for a badly needed car park to be provided at the school. Both Deputy Fahey and Cllr. Walsh were in direct contact with the Minister in order to secure this grant. Welcoming the news both Deputy Fahey & Cllr. Walsh added “we are delighted to have secured this funding for the people of Killannin and surrounding areas.” They have also complimented and congratulated the Board of Management of the school and their architects for the hard work done in achieving this development.

Roundstone Arts Festival 2009 Arts Week has gotten oﬀ to a good start, of course the weather helps! I take my hat oﬀ to Ann Conneely-I had to be away in Dublin for a family commitment for those few days and Ann was on her own to see that all went well with the opening of various events.Trust me when I tell you it’s quite stressful to be on your own, but the feed back to me from the attendees was that Ann did a good job and survived! Well done to you Ann and to all the other various helpers. There is a lot more to come over the second weekend for all ages, workshops, cooking demonstrations, the making of Bridget’s Crosses, dancing work shop with Brian Cunningham, the build up to a fabulous parade on the Sunday 5th July with theme of the sea and the environment, drumming-the drummers will also lead the Parade on the last day, lots of noise, through the village-that will be fun! One thing that should not be missed is the Saturday 4th July 6.30pm in the protestant church, is a concert with two very well known harpists, Glynis Casson and Cormac de Barra. So we hope to see great attendance from all over Connemara for these events. Richard de Stacpoole. The full schedule of events of the second weekend of the Roundstone Arts Festival can be found on Page 36.

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July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Quick Response To Strike

Roundstone

Noyelles sous Lens visit The second half of the Noyelles Sous Lens group, i.e. the cyclists, arrived on Wednesday evening June 10th after a 520k ride from Dublin, to a real Roundstone welcome, (there are some photographs of the event on the website, which were taken by Sam Reynolds) led by the Mayor himself. Their whole trip was a great success as far as they were concerned, particularly with the friendships made throughout Ireland as well as Roundstone. A reception was held for them in Eldon’s hotel with speeches and presentation of gifts from both sides. Chairman Michael Reynolds and Michael Ferron represented the Roundstone Community Council. My thanks to Brona and her staff for all their work that night and Brona’s generosity for giving them a buffet supper, Nicky Griffin for giving them wine on Wednesdays dinner in O’Dowd’s, the Shamrock Bar for their help and generosity and various members of the Youth Club. All in all it was a very successful event for Roundstone. I am sure they will also look after us when we go over to France to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Twinning.

Birth Congratulations to Allison & Steve: Allison is the daughter of Liz and the late Marty Devane. A baby girl was born to them recently and they have called her Fay. We wish them all well and hope that little Fay will grow up good and strong.

Engagement Congratulations to Simon Ashe and Anne Pryce on their engagement- I gather Simon proposed on Inishlacken-how romantic on an island close to home, perfect Simon! Congratulations to Simon and Anne. We all wish you both all the very best for the future.

Wedding Congratulations also to Nicky Griﬃn and his new wife Diana who got married in Bulgaria in June. A long and happy life together is wished to them both.

Gurteen Graveyard Mass

Father McCarthy will say Mass at Gurteen graveyard on the 19th July and not on the 12th July, as he announced some time ago. This is owing to the pony show being on that date. So that’s the 19th July at 3pm. Plenty of time to get graves tidied up.

On Tuesday June 30th striking Galway County Council workers could be seen assuming strike position complete with placards all over Galway, including Clifden, in protest at the suspension of 17 outdoor council workers for failing to work with private contractors elsewhere in the county. After three hours of talks between council oﬃcials and union representatives, the council agreed to reinstate the workers later that evening. Trade union SIPTU is also asking the Labour Court for an early hearing to try to resolve issues surrounding job cuts and reductions in allowances paid to Galway Co.Co. employees.

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor My name is Jane Andrews and I was elected to the CPBS Council on May 10th 2009. It was a great honour for me to be elected to the CPBS Council and I was the second deemed elected out of four seats to be ﬁlled on that day. I have been a member of the CPBS for approximately 18 years. I have produced ponies in hand and under saddle, including performance in England and Ireland and am currently a Junior Judge with the CPBS. In October of 2008 the Council of the CPBS voted to change the judging procedure in Clifden to having one judge per ring, where there are normally 2 or 3 judges, similar to inspections. I lodged a petition to the CPBS for the members to decide whether this was the right thing to do. In order to call an E.G.M. I had to get 75 names; I got double that amount in just 2 days. This motion went forward to the AGM where a vote was held. The vote resulted in an 84

The Roundstone Connemara Pony Show in association with Western Alzheimers foundation are to hold their Queen of the Show 2009 selection evening at the Community Hall, Roundstone on the 10th July 2009. Due to the success of last year’s event, the Roundstone Connemara Pony Show committee has decided to associate their Roundstone Queen of the Show 2009 selection evening with a charity for this year also. Roundstone Connemara Pony Show in association with Western Alzheimers

has teamed up for the Roundstone Pony Show Queen selection and fashion evening. All information on the Roundstone Pony Show dates and events for 2009 can be seen on our website www.roundstoneevents.com Our Queen selection will be put forward to enter the Galway Rose selection in 2010, an exciting concept for the winner on the night. The winner at our event will receive a beautiful tiara sponsored and designed by House of Mag Aoide. The winner will also receive a consultation with Maureen O’Halloran of Anu Image Consultant. There will be prizes of jewellery for the 2nd and 3rd placed competitors. Queen entries are now been taken by contacting Paddy at 086 3469372. Running alongside the enjoyment of the Roundstone Pony Show Queen selection the evening will showcase Designer Hat Fashion, produced by designer, Suzie Mahony. There are many spot prizes planned throughout the evening, alongside the main raﬄe. A little nostalgia - fashion through the bygone eraoutﬁts from each decade from 1950’s to present day fashion will be modelled on the evening. Look out for your favourite fashion trend and the memories that you experience with it. You might even spot a local face on the ramp modelling their favourite fashion trend! Tickets for the event on sale are priced at €15. Getting your tickets early is advisable. Not only are you enjoying a great evening out, but you are supporting a worthwhile fundraiser and event. For more details or tickets email paddyyank@ yahoo.com or call 086 3469372.

Connemara View Newspaper

July 2009

Bottle Banks Talking about tidying up, there has been a few comments about the overflowing of the bottle banks in early June. A lot of boxes filled with empty bottles were left strewn all over the place in front of the banks. It looked awful. I only hope none of the Tidy Towns adjudicators saw this, as it rarely happens. If this overflow happens again, don’t leave the bottles out, take them home with you or inform a member of the Community Council to give Rehab a ring. So please don’t leave any rubbish whatsoever around those banks. It’s also very unfair on those who live within that area, looking out on the mess, never mind what our visitors will think.

Death Our condolences to Donal Nee and his immediate family, on the passing of his mother Sara, sister to Paddy Folan. Sara was one of these extraordinary people who had a great glint in her eye, gentle and a sense of humour right up to her later years. Sara will rest in peace, knowing a good job has been done. God bless you.

Date Reminders To end oﬀ with reminders-10th July is the selection of the Show Queen in the Community Hall. On 11th July there will be Mass at 8pm for all the deceased in Connemara, and of course, the Roundstone Pony Show on the 12th, but another date for you- 19th September up on the show grounds, there will be a town fair and sale of ponies rather like Ballinasloe. Richard de Stacpoole

Queen of the Show Selection 2009

to 24 majority in favour of having more than one judge in Clifden. However, after the vote I was told that the final decision would have to go back to the Council. To date, there has been no decision since May 10th,-does this mean that the wishes of the members are to be ignored? I would also like to bring to member’s attention that on the day of signing on the Council, I notified both the secretary and the president that I had an unavoidable prior arrangement to travel to England for 8 days. The meeting was then called during the dates when I was away. This meeting was very important to me as it was to be my first Council meeting and all committees were to be re-elected. Also for the first time ever, and without prior notice the meeting was informed that all committees are now limited to 3 members. More outside members can be elected by the sub committees of which there are 9. This gives 27 positions to 24 Council members. I was not elected to any committees despite being proposed and seconded. Some Council members hold 3 positions, most have 2 positions and 5 of us are without positions. One person holds two chairperson positions, and three others have chairperson positions. I now have no position at all, and in my opinion this is as a result of block voting, which is illegal, as all members of the Council should be on 2 committees in order to represent the people who elected them. I strongly feel that there may be discrimination within the Council, in addition to the member’s wishes being ignored in relation to having more than one judge in Clifden. The second Council meeting took place on June 30th and lasted all of 5 minutes as the president and a fellow director had a dispute at the previous meeting. With no position on the Council now to represent those who elected me, I conclude from what I have seen, and the minutes I received of the June 2nd meeting, that the CPBS has split into 2 groups and is going nowhere. I find this extremely disappointing as there is so much that could be and needs to be done to improve the promotion of the Connemara pony. Jane Andrews Connemara Pony Society Council Member More Letters to Editor on Page 31

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Naomh Feichin Under 16 League Winners The Clifden Naomh Feichin Under 16 side were presented with the League cup after defeating St Gabriel’s from Kilconnell at Pearse Stadium Galway on Friday June 26th. The game was tight throughout with a lot of midﬁeld action and Naomh Feichin led by 8 points to 5 at half time. Overall, Naomh Feichin’s pace and play was superb and they held out to take the ﬁnal on a scoreline of 0-18 to 1-7. Photos: The Naomh Feichin Under 16 League cup winners 2009. Captain Ronan O’Donnell receives the cup amid celebrations from fellow team members. Photos courtesy of Ann Mitchell

Clifden Minors beat Clonbur Naomh Feichin Minors played their ﬁrst Championship match in Rosmuc in June where they got oﬀ to a winning start against Clonbur minors. Photos: Left - The Clifden team. Right - The Clonbur team.

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July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

GAA Cúl Camps 2009 G.A.A. summer camps in both football and hurling will take place all over Connemara this year providing kids with an action-packed and fun-filled week of activity during the summer holidays which revolves around maximising enjoyment and sustaining participant involvement in Gaelic Games. Activities are game based with a strong emphasis placed on skill acquisition and are organised in an age appropriate manner with a view to: optimising learning, enhancing friendships, improving physical and psychological well being and promoting school and club links. A different aspect of the game is worked on each day and on the last day of the camp a “blitz” will be organised to provide each child with an introduction to competitive games. To find out more or book a place at a camp go to www.vhiculcamps.gaa.ie and book online or contact the co-ordinators at the numbers below. Football July 6-10: Moycullen Club Grounds. 086-212-4830 July 13-17: Oughterard Club Grounds. 085-761-5421) July 20-24: Clifden Club Grounds. 095-21631. Registration Day is July 18th 11am-1pm at the Clifden GAA pitch. July 20-24: Clonbur Club Grounds. 087-245-5427 July 27-31: Renvyle Club Grounds. 086-300-1624 July 27-31: Rosmuck Club Grounds. 087-286-9929 July 27-31: Carna Club Grounds. 087-987-8010 Hurling/Camogie July 20-24: Moycullen Club Grounds. 086-811-9373 July 27-31: Clifden GAA Grounds. 086-172-8954

Forum Youth in Action Summer Camps 2009 The Forum Youth in Action Summer Camps will take place around Connemara in July and August at the following locations and dates: July 6-10: Roundstone Community Hall. July 13-17: Claddaghduﬀ National School. July 20-24: Tullycross Community Hall. July 27-31: West Connemara Leisure Centre (Clifden Community School Gym). August 4-7: Cashel Community Hall. Activities will consist of Arts, Crafts & Sports. Kids are asked to bring suitable sports gear and rain gear if necessary, and a packed lunch. There will be a special barbecue on the last day of each camp. All camps are from 12-3pm daily, €4 per day, 7-12 yrs old. It is not necessary to book in advance, just come along on the ﬁrst day of camp.

RNLI 10k Run 2009

Following last year’s big success, the Clifden Lifeboat 10k race will take place in Clifden on Sunday 13th September 2009 at 2pm. The route will once again take competitors up the scenic Sky Road and will have 5 diﬀerent categories to suit all levels of ﬁtness from serious runners, walkers and youths, as well as teams of 3 or 4 people. Entry fee is €10/ individual or €25/team. Last year’s race raised almost €9000 for the Clifden Lifeboat and we hope to match this again this year. For more information/entry forms, you can email: clifden10k@gmail.com, or text/phone 085-168-0402 or enter online at www.runireland.com.

SAILING Hallmark Continues Winning Ways Clifden’s yacht racing ‘Team Hallmark’, led by Jackie Ward, started this season’s racing in the ‘Purcell Marine Spring Series’, a month of Sunday racing in Galway Bay. There were six races in this series and the end result was an impressive six wins for Hallmark. After the Volvo yachts had drawn the crowds and held their races in Galway Bay, there was then the Galway Bay Sailing Club’s annual regatta, GB’09. A further six races were held in this regatta, and a further six wins for Hallmark were achieved. The following week saw the ‘ICRA National Championships’ held on the West Coast, in Tralee Bay, for the first time. This brought an extra 30 or so yachts, comprising of the best of the East and South coasts, to race against the best of the West. This event also coincided with the ‘WIORA West Coast Championships’ and both events were hosted by Tralee Bay Sailing Club. Six races were held at the Nationals but this time it wasn’t quite so straightforward. The hot favorite and defending title holder, ‘Alliance’ from Howth Yacht Club and another of Hallmark’s favorite competitors, ‘Battle’ from Foyne’s Yacht Club, were but two of the accomplished Class 3 IRC Fleet. Of these top three it was a fight to the very last race to decide who would be this year’s title holder, but to cap off a great run of wins, Hallmark once again prevailed, gaining the title of 2009 ‘Class 3 IRC National Champions’. Photos: Team Hallmark 2009 (L-r): Thomas Davis, Barry Ward, Damian Ward, Jackie Ward, Mike Coquil, Michael Davis. Hallmark flying her latest spinnaker in Tralee Bay in June. Photo courtesy of Donal McCormac, yacht ‘Battle’, Foynes Yacht Club.

The Naoimh Feichin Under 11’s squad performed superbly in Moycullen in June. The team is advancing in skills at a rapid rate, according to a prominent GAA oﬃcial who commented at the end of the scoring “blitz” by the young Clifden based side. Photo courtesy of Malachy Kearns

Connemara View Newspaper

July 2009

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Oughterard Golf 07/06/09 18 Hole V Par Competition, Sponsor: Valu Homes.1st Dick Lyons (23) 7 Up. 2nd Chris Gould (11) 6 Up (4Up, b9). Gross: Liam O’Reilly (3) 2 Down Gross. 3rd Richard O’Brien (18) 6 Up (2Up, b9). 4th Christy Smyth (18) 5 Up (5Up, b9), 5th John M Walsh (17) 5Up (4Up b9). CSS 1 UP. 14/06/09 18 Hole Stableford Competition. Sponsor: Sutton Oil. 1st Colum O’Grady (18) 42 pts. 2nd Darren Waters (10) 41 pts (21B9). Gross: Hugh Walsh (4) 33 Gross pts (18b9). 3rd JJ Faherty (12) 41 pts (20b9). 4th Maurice Power (8) 40 pts. 5th Seamus Hynes (12) 39 pts. CSS 36 pts. 10/06/09 Ladies 18 Hole Competition. Sponsor: Dixon Carpets-Open. C.S.S. 73. 1st Laura Gore (16) 40pts (B9) 2nd Ann Kavanagh (23) 40pts Gross: Gina Gilligan (10) 29 Gross pts, 3rd Marguerite Fallon (15) 38pts. Category 0 – 20. 1st Ann Woods (17) 35, 2nd Ann Casburn (19) 33, Category 1 – 28. 1st Mary Slyne (28) 37, 2nd Valerie O’ Toole (26) 36, Category 29 – 36. 1st Mary Mylotte (29) 37, 2nd Bridie Duane (32) 34. 16/06/09 18 Hole Open Day. 1st Joe Healy (18) 40pts, 2nd Robert Monroe (16) 39pts (23b9), 3rd Ken Jenkins (18) 39pts (19b9), 4th Antone Kelly (14) 38pts (21b9), 5th Brendan King (23) 38pts (18b9, 15b9), CSS 36pts. 20/06/09 Brendan Ferguson’s Presidents Prize Competition. 1st Gerry Cox (11) 64 Nett. 2nd Bartley Lydon (16) 65 Nett (33B9). Gross: Frank Ford (5). 3rd Donal Conlon (15) 66 Nett. 4th Eugene McMahon (14) 68 Nett (33B9). 5th Darren Waters (9) 68 Nett (33.5b9). 6th Seamus Connelly (17) 68 Nett (35.5B9). 7th Gerry Carroll (16) 69 Nett (32B9). 8th Rory Murphy (15) 69 Nett (33.5B9).9th Cathair Connelly (6) 69 Nett (35B9). 10th Pierce Lawrence (22) 69(36B9). Front 9 John Morley (13) 31.5. Back 9 Eugene Thornton (9) 31.5. Veterans: Joe Trehy (23) 71 Nett. Past Presidents Joe Brown (13) 76 Nett. Committee: John Waters

(17) 71 Nett. CSS 71. 21/06/09 18 Hole Pairs Competition. Sponsored by Ray and Mary Croke. 1st Ted Murphy (17) & Alice Murphy (26) 54 pts. 2nd Gerry Egan (11) & Bernard Merrick (16) 53 pts. 3rd Tom Gallen (14) & Ken Jenkins (17) 52 pts. Ladies: Bridget Walsh (16) & Linda McDonagh (29) 47 pts. Mens: Pat McEvilly (10) & Pat Egan (16) 51 pts. Mixed: Cyril Foye (11) & Mary O’Grady (26) 48 pts. 23/06/09 Open Day Competition 18 Hole Stableford.1st Brian Buckley (22) 44pts, 2nd Robert Monroe (15) 40 pts, (22B9) 3rd Stephen Thornton (26) 40 pts(21B9) 4th Mike Matthews (21) 40pts(19B9) 5th Vivian Noone (13) 40pts(18B9) CSS 36 Pts. 24/06/09 18 Holes Stableford. Sponsor: Wrapsody, Moycullen. C.S.S. 73.1st Martina Duggan (23) 40pts. 2nd Phil O’ Reilly (28) 35pts (B9) Gross: Patricia Lee (17) 16 Gross pts 3rd Phil Kavanagh (20) 35pts Category 0 – 20 1st Monica Power (19) 32pts, 2nd Barbara Buckley (20) 30pts, Category 1 – 28 1st Debbie Ann Leonard (25) 34pts (B9), 2nd Peggy Blehein (24) 34pts,Category 29 – 36 1st Cathy McGoldrick (35) 33pts, 2nd Una Russell (30) 32pts. 28/06/09 18 Hole Medal Competition Sponsor: M. Power. 1st Sean Coyne (18) 67 Nett (35B9). 2nd Robert Monroe (14) 67 Nett (36B9). Gross: Michael Darcy Jnr. (5) 74 Gross. 3rd Cammie Gallagher (13) 68 Nett (32.5B9) 4th Rory Murphy (15) 68 Nett (32.5B9). 5th James Geoghegan (14) 68 Nett (33B9). CSS 70 Nett.

GAA Scoreboard 05/06/09 West Junior C League Group 2 Clifden 2-3 / 4-15 Renvyle 07/06/09 West Junior A League Group 1 Killanin 3-16 / 1-6 Oughterard Renvyle 1-11 / 5-14 Lettermore 13/06/09 Claregalway Hotel Intermediate Football Championship Williamstown 2-10 / 0-5 Clifden Carna Cashel 2-10 / 1-7 Oranmore-Maree Dunmore McHales 0-13 / 2-9 Oughterard 14/06/09 West Junior C League Group 1 Kinvara 1-4 / 2-7 Oughterard West Junior B League Ballinderreen 2-7 / 1-12 Carna Cashel

Marty Courcey(16)/Leo Decourcey (22)42pts(b9),3rd: Julian Jeff ries(21)/Ger Lynch(5)42pts. 15/06/09 Open Singles Stableford: Connemara Fisheries, Ladies:1st: Margaret Carrigan(27) 40pts(last 6),2nd: Eileen O’Brien(11) 40pts, Gross: Margaret Lavelle(10) 22pts gross,3rd: Margaret Davis(20) 37pts,CSS: 36pts Mens: 1st:Stuart Healy(13)39pts,2nd: Norman Doyle(10)39pts,Gross: Rory Sweeney(3) 34pts gross,3rd: Mike Kearney(14) 37pts,Visitor CSS:35ptsHome CSS:35pts. 16/06/09 Open Singles Stableford: Golfstyle, Ladies: 1st: Judith Kelly(27) 38pts,2nd: Mary McGeough(16) 35pts(b6),Gross: Paula Ledbetter(12) 21pts,3rd: Colette Jordan(23)35pts(b9),Visitor CSS: Connemara Golf 33ptsHome CSS: 36pts ,Mens: 13/06/09 Open 4 Ball Betterball 1st: Pat Hamell(20) 40pts,2nd: Stableford,Sponsor: Clifden Supply Tom Pomphrett(14) 38pts,Gross: Centre. Ladies: 1st: Ita Mangan (21)/ Peter Higgins(6) 30pts,3rd: WilMary Arthur (17) 37pts(b9),2nd: Laura liam Faller(15) 37pts,CSS: 34pts Daly (10)/Ethna Moran(21)37pts. 17/06/09 Open Singles Stableford: 3rd: Mary McGeough(16) MargaRenvyle House Hotel, Ladies: ret Lavelle(10)35pts, Mens: 1st: Tar 1st: Sheila Nolan(20) 38pts,2nd: Higgins(12)/Des Griffith(11)46pts. Margaret Lavelle(10) 36pts,Gross: 2nd: Padraic O’Gaora(10)/Dermot Paula Ledbetter(12) 22pts,3rd: Cribben(16)41pts,3rd: Rory MacMaCatherine Hetherington(24) 35pts,Visitor hon(10)/Ray Lyons(23)38pts(b9). CSS: 33ptsHome CSS: 34pts ,Mens: 1st: 14/06/09 Open 4 Ball Betterball StaCiaran Arnold(12) 39pts,2nd: Kenbleford, Sponsor: Abbeyglen Castle neth Coyne(19) 35pts Gross: Frank Hotel. Ladies: 1st: Anne Joyce(21)/ Kealy(4) 28pts(b9),3rd: John Keely(9) Geraldine McGettigan 45pts,2nd: 34pts(b9),Visitor CSS: 32ptsHome CSS: Margaret Lavelle(10)/Maureen 33pts Brennan(19)42pts,3rd: Laura Daly(10)/ 18/06/09 Open Singles Stableford: FindEithne Moran(21)41pts,Mens:1st: Tar later Wine & Spirit Group,Ladies: 1st: Higgins(12)/Des Griffith(11) 44pts,2nd: Catherine Kelly(25) 31pts,2nd: Margaret Fagan(18) 29pts(b9) Gross: Maurethe Jackson(12) 17pts,3rd: Catherine Hetherington(24) 29pts CSS: 33pts,Mens: 1st: Stephen Mullen(20) 34pts,2nd: Pat Hamell(18) 32pts(b9) Gross: James Moore(8) 23pts,3rd: Jimmy Joyce(16) 32pts,CSS: 32pts(Reduction Only). 19/06/09 Open Singles Stableford: AIB,Clifden, Ladies: 1st: Karen Jackson(18) 39pts, 2nd: Tare DeCourcey(8) 37pts, Gross: Terese Kennedy(12) 18pts, 3rd: Sharon Kaine(21)35pts,CSS: 35pts,Mens: 1st: Clive Grainne Mhaoil Under 9 and Under 11 Girls team who played in Barna in June. Clarke(8) 39pts,2nd: Photo courtesy of Geraldine McTavish

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July 2009

West Junior A League Group 1 Renvyle 0-6 / 1-10 An Cheathru Rua 21/06/09 West Intermediate League Oranmore-Maree /Clifden (conceded by Clifden) West Junior A Championship Oughterard 2-5 / 3-14 Fr Griﬃns Eire Og 23/06/09 Sweeney Oil Knock Out Stages Oughterard 0-6 / 1-13 Annaghdown 24/06/09 West Minor B League Group 2 Carna/Na Piarsaigh 1-13 / 4-14 Aran Islands City & County West Minor B Championship Oughterard 0-4 / 2-12 Lettermore 27/06/09 West Junior A League Group 1 Oughterard 1-9 / 0-12 An Cheathru Rua

Rory Sweeney (3)38pts,Gross: David Collins(5) 26pts,3rd: Macdara Clancy(20) 37pts,Visitor CSS: 33pts,Home CSS: 34pts,9 Holes Mixed Scotch Foursomes:1st: Mary McGeough(16) / Kevin McGeough(15) 30nett. 21/06/09 Open Singles Stableford: Electronic Concepts, Ladies: 1st: Antoinette Waldron(20) 37pts, 2nd: C Nash(26) 36pts,Gross: Teresa O’Buachala(14) 21pts,3rd: Catherine Hetherington(24) 35pts, CSS: 36pts Mens: 1st: Chris Shanahan(12) 43pts(b9),2nd: Rory Sweeney(2) 43pts,Gross: David Stapleton(1) 34pts,3rd: Derek Joyce(13) 41pts,CSS: 35pts. 28/06/09 Captain’s Prize, Tom Vaughan. 1st: Donal Standun (13) 99.5 2nd: Paddy Gannon(16) 102 ,Gross: Gerard O’Donnell(5) 114gross.3rd:Ian Davidson(14) 103, 4th:Hugh Millar (7) 108.5, 5th:JP McDowell(9) 109(b9). Ladies 18 Hole Singles Stableford. 1st Kathleen Burke (26) 37pts; 2nd Marie Bourke (27) 34pts; Ladies 9 Hole Stroke; 1st Dolores Kilgarriﬀ (25) 34.5 (last 6). Best 18 Holes: Jim Mulcair(10) 70,Past Captains: Sean Birmingham (18)111. Visitors Prize: Seamus Vaughan 72 ,CCS: 72nett,Visitor CSS: 72nett. Photos: Captain’s Prize Winners Donal Standun and Ladies Winner Kathleen Burke both shown with Captain Tom Vaughan.

Connemara SportsView

The Connemara Pony Show Scene As the show season gets into full swing, several winning rosettes have been awarded to Connemara Breeders. At Westport the Jane Andrews owned Coral Misty Jane won the Supreme Championship and Cailin Conneely from Roundstone repeated a previous success at Claremorris when awarded the Junior Championship with Letterdyffe Rira. Raymond Conneely from Ballyconneely was awarded the Stallion class with Bay Shadow. At Ballinalee, Padraic and Nicola Heanue’s stallion Village Fionn, (Boden Park Finnard-Village Grey) (Abbeyleix Owen-Village Belle) bred by Paddy King at Lehid, was judged Supreme Champion, while Padraic Hynes from Canal Stage was Reserve with Currach Court Lady (Clonberne Boy and Clydagh Maria) which he bought at Clifden Mart sales last May. She also won her class for four to five year-olds and qualified for All Ireland Broodmare Final. The Junior Champion at Ballinalee was another Clifden sales bargain, P.J.Watson’s three year-old filly Be My Star (Monaghanstown Fionn-Gentle Star 2nd). Sienna Bright Sparrow (Callowfeenish MairtinAshfield Grey Sparrow)(Ballydonagh Bobby-Wise Sparrow) bred by Shirly Caracciolo and owned by Sean Hoare from Bushypark, Co.Galway also qualified for the All Ireland Broodmare Championship. At Galway County, Danesfield Heather owned by Martin Feeney from Moycullen and Oughterard’s Roger Joyce with Knockillery Tomas emerged Champion and Reserve champions of the show. At the Cork show, judged by Henrietta Knight, Gearoid Curran’s Glencarrig Rose took the Supreme Championship sash. The Midlands All Ireland Broodmare qualifiers are now in full swing. Performance classes are sponsored by Jim Derwin Bloodstock, The Open Stallion class and Supreme Champion have a prize fund

Culfin Angling Culﬁn Anglers held a fundraising competition on June 21st in aid of Clifden Hospital, with weigh-in afterwards at Ros’s Bar, Tully. Approximately 20 anglers took part as well as 5 junior anglers. First place went to John Peter Coyne, second was Ricky Cronnelly and third was Brian Walsh. The

of €500 each plus several other In-hand and ridden classes. Entries close Friday July 17th. Ruth Rogers Photos: Jane Andrews ‘Coral Misty Jane’ exhibited by Tom Conneely was judged Supreme Champion at Westport Show on May 31st. Currach Court Lady owned by Padraic Hynes was judged Reserve Champion of the show at Ballinalee on June 10th and also qualiﬁed for the Midlands All Ireland Broodmare Championship on July 26th. She is seen here receiving the Midlands Rosette from Midlands’s secretary Mary Rabbitt. Padraic Heanue is pictured here with Village Fionn, who was judged Supreme Champion Connemara of the Show at Ballinalee on June 10th last. Photos courtesy of Ruth Rogers

EQUESTRIAN Connemara Riding Club A meeting is to be held in Cleggan on July 7th with a view to setting up a riding club in the Connemara area to be affiliated to the AIRC (Association of Irish Riding Clubs). The intention behind this is to fill the void of facilities and interaction among the Connemara equine community, and also bring horse riding enthusiasts from the area together with a view to competing in various disciplines such as dressage, showjumping and eventing in a relaxed environment. To allow people who do not own a horse or may lack experience the chance to partake fully in all the activities, the intention is to base the club at Cleggan Riding Centre, as the wide range of horses and quality of instructors would benefit the club. The aim of this meeting is to form a committee for the club and make a formal submission to the AIRC requesting affiliated status. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting which will be held in Oliver’s Bar Cleggan on Tuesday 7th July at 8.30pm. Anyone with questions or queries before this date can contact Andrew Cahill at connemararidingclub@ gmail.com.

heaviest ﬁsh was caught by Chris O’Connor. The event raised approximately €500 for Clifden Hospital. Photos from top: First place winner John Peter Coyne with his father Jackie Coyne. Jackie Coyne, winner of the heaviest ﬁsh Chris O’Connor and David Keane. Photos courtesy of Tracy Joyce

Send in your news, views & photos to news@connemaraview.com or phone 095-22888 Connemara SportsView

July 2009

Page 17

Photo Corner New Arrivals

Congratulations to (photos from top left): Paula Conneely and Rainer Prauer on the birth of their daughter Ella, born on June 2nd. Lavinia and Brian O’Malley of Clifden who welcomed their ﬁrst baby Evan on May 24th. Aoife Heanue and John O’Toole on the birth of their son Emmet, born on June 17th. (No photo).

Birthday Greetings Niall Davitt of Ballinafad celebrated his 6th birthday on June 19th. Graduation Success (photos above l-r): Connie Conneely of Errislannan, Clifden, recently received her National Vocational Qualiﬁcation Certiﬁcate in Pharmacy Services from City & Guilds at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. Connie is pictured here with Noel Stenson M.P.S.I. and Sheila O’Driscoll M.P.S.I. from the Irish Pharmaceutical Union. Anne Walsh of Oughterard was conferred with a Ph.D. in Sociology on Tuesday June 16th. She is pictured here with her cousin Tomas Finn who was conferred with a Ph.D. in History. Paul Nessans of Oughterard was conferred with a Ph.D. in Archaeology on June 16th. He is pictured here with his wife Bridy. Photos courtesy of Tom Broderick

Rolling Stone at Walsh’s Bakery On a recent visit to Clifden, Ronnie Wood, of Rolling Stones fame, dropped into Walsh’s Bakery on Market St. where Róisín Walsh was delighted to have her photograph taken with the iconic rock star.

Tom Burke Turns 80 Congratulations to Tom Burke of Clifden who celebrated his 80th birthday in June with a party of a large gathering of family and friends at the Station House Hotel on

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July 2009

Saturday June 27th. Tom and Mary have been married for 52 years and are wished many more happy years together.

Croí Cowboys hit Colorado Declan Ridge (left) and Peter Coneys travelled to a working ranch in Colorado in May to take on the challenge of becoming cowboys for a week, having raised over €5,500 each for Croí, the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation. They first had the idea after seeing a Croí flyer at the Clifden Pony Show last year and then embarked on a fundraising campaign all over Connemara for the heart charity, consisting of a monster raffle, two bingo events, darts competitions and much more. Private donations were also made, and after a long winter’s work, the lads set off on their trip. Despite little experience in the saddle, both Peter and Declan took to it with no problems and very quickly got into the routine of the early morning starts (5am sunrise) and long days. Days were spent driving and moving the ranch’s stock of over 1000 cattle and experiencing life as the real deal cowboys employed at the ranch do on a daily basis. Highlights included a trip to a nearby rodeo and bar on the Friday night, where Peter joined the band performing on stage to sing Johnny Cash’s ‘A Boy named Sue’ to a crowd of over 400 people! Declan also brought home an unusual souvenir, the rattle of a rattlesnake which they encountered out riding one day and which was presented to him by the cowboy who killed it. Both Peter and Declan agree that the entire process turned out to be the trip of a lifetime and having gotten a taste for adventure, who knows where they will end up next!

Connemara View Newspaper

AA and Al-Anon Meetings Connemara AA and Al-Anon meetings: Al-Anon: Mondays, Elm Tree Centre (Day room), 8-9 pm. AA: Tuesdays, Old School, Recess, 8.30 pm. Wednesdays, Clifden Day Centre, (behind the hospital) 8.30 pm. Thursdays, Clifden Day Centre, 8.30 pm. Fridays, Ellis Hall, Letterfrack, 9pm. Saturdays and Sundays, Clifden Day Centre 12 noon.

Antiques & Restorations

Prendergast Antiques. Lower Market St, Clifden. For that unique gift or special piece for your home why not peruse our extensive collection of antique furniture, silver, ceramics, collectibles, antique and reproduction glassware, prints, mirrors. Best prices, 32 county delivery, worldwide shipping, trade welcome. www.clifden.biz Phone 087-629-6195 anytime.

Automotive

Omey Tyres. Connemara’s 1st complete mobile tyre ﬁtting centre. The best prices - Every day – Guaranteed. 24 Hour - 7 Days. Call Out Service throughout Connemara. March special oﬀer available on Saturdays only: Wholesale pricing on the following tyre sizes – 175/70/135, 175/65/14 reinforced, 195/65/15. Call Daniel Ryan on 095-44979 or 087-244-5129. D&N Auto Store. Suppliers of: Oils, parts, batteries, accessories, body kits, alloys, number plates. Now stocking tractor parts. Open 6 days 9am-6pm. Unit 4, Clifden Business Park. 095-30615. 087-274-4165.

Bicycles & Quads

Mannion’s Bikes. Bridge St, Clifden. 095-21160. Adult and children’s bikes. Rentals. Galway Quads. Quads, buggies, repairs, servicing, accessories. Kids Quad July Special Oﬀer: €650. Plus: Sale prices on helmets & kids clothing. Boley, East Barna. Contact Keith Trill on 087-988-6514 or email keith@galwayquads.com. www.galwayquads.com.

Books & Periodicals

Clifden Bookshop oﬀers a comprehensive range of titles with particular emphasis on local Connemara history, Irish literature, guide books, maps, best sellers, memoirs and book tokens. Also stockists of artist’s materials, cards & stationery. Provides ordering and mail-order service. The Clifden Bookshop, Main St, Clifden. 095-22020. theclifdenbookshop@eircom.net. King’s Paper Shop. Main St, Clifden. 095-21119. Lotto. Newspapers & magazines.

Building & Trade

Summer Deck Offer: 100 sq. ft. deck including treated timber, railings and labour for €1200 inc vat. Also specialising in roofing, attic conversions & timber framing. Contact Pat O’Malley. Full service builder. C2. Ltd Co. North Star Builders. 087-228-3862 or 085-780-6351. northstarbuilders@live.ie. Connemara Seamless Gutters. Suppliers of roof line cladding and guttering systems. Over 17 years experience. Aluminum, UPvc. Wide range of colours. Free quotations. 095-41180. Gerry: 086-103-1053. Peter: 085-760-4130. Diamonds of Renvyle. General Merchants & Builders Providers. Animal feedstuffs, fencing, gates, wire, fertilizer, hay & bedding. Blocks, lintels, cement, pipes & much more. 095-43486. Auro Natural Paints...let your house breathe again! Auro products contain no environmentally harmful additives like petroleum based solvents. For more information about our extensive interior and exterior high grade paints and care products, call Matrix Custom Interiors on 091-39-57-07 or 086-366-5768. Airflow Renewable Energy Solutions, Ballybrit, Galway. 091-76-47-61.www.airflowireland.ie. Daikin air to water heat pumps. Ground source geothermal heat pumps. IVT heat recovery ventilation. Solar panels. System design & project support. Domestic & commercial. SEI approved. 3

Connemara View Directory

year warranty. Cut your oil bill by two-thirds with solar powered water heating. Call Michael Carey for a free no obligation quote. Testimonials from satisﬁed customers available. SEI grants available. Carey Solar Powered Systems. Sky Rd. Clifden. 086-603-9299. www.careysolar.com. Creative Wood Flooring & Fireplace Warehouse. Kilroe, Inverin, Co. Galway. Factory prices, nationwide delivery. 091-553-995. 087-285-3114. www.creativewarehouse.ie

July 2009

Page 19

Building & Trade

Computers & IT Supplies

Entertainment / Sports / Arts

Painting and Decorating: Interior and Exterior, timber ﬂoors sanded and varnished. Neat and tidy job guaranteed. Also oﬀering garden and lawn maintenance service. Competitive rates. References available. Contact Johnny Coyne, Renvyle, 086-857-0302.

Two Dog Computer & Business Solutions. Website design services. Full computer repair services. 095-22194 or 086-404-3125. kennel@twodogcafe.ie Office Chat. Office supplies, digital cameras and printers, mobile phones. Vodafone, Meteor, 3 networks. Galway Rd, Clifden. 095-21911. sales@officechat.ie.

Fundraising Night for the Ballyconneely Pony Show. Cunningham Family Sound Fuaim Na Chuinneagáinaí Sean Nós Dancers with special guests. Ballyconneely Hall, 11th July 2009 at 8:30pm. Tickets €25. Contact Bridget on 095-23053 or 087-655-5804. Art Classes. Would you like to learn watercolour painting? One to one and small group classes available. Take a one oﬀ class or several. I can also come to your small group. Patricia Morrison. Derrigimlagh, Ballyconneely. 087-656-9255. Yellow Door Expressive Arts. Dance (ballet, creative, hiphop); Drama and Singing School. Trained and experienced teacher previously with Stagecoach and Gymboree worldwide companies in creative education. For ages 4 and up. Contact Elaine Enright on 085-154-4664 or laineyenright@gmail.com. View my webpage at www.yellowdoor.ie. Station House Theatre, Clifden. Check out our fantastic line-up of cinema and live acts. www.stationhousetheatre. com. info@stationhousetheatre.com 095-30303. Video rental and purchase. Music. Video Games. Video Vault. Main St, Clifden. 095-22033 The Ultimate Girls Night In!! An Ann Summers party is the great girls night in for you and your friends. Parties are full of games, fun and laughter and it will be one night you will not forget. To book your party or order a catalogue please contact Paula on 087-758-9710.

Cafés, Pubs & Restaurants

Oliver’s Seafood Bar and Restaurant, Cleggan. Fresh seafood. Bar food served daily until 9pm. Restaurant open every night in July and August. Live music on Saturday nights. 095-44640. O’Dowd’s Bar & Seafood Restaurant. Roundstone Harbour. Food served daily from 10am-9:30pm. Fresh seafood daily. 095-35809. EJ King’s Bar and Restaurant. The Square, Clifden. 095-21330. Open 7 days a week. We cater for all kinds of parties. Special 2 course and 3 course meal offers available. Live music every night including our Rock night every Friday. Great fun. Griffins Bar. Main St, Clifden. Serving hot food Mon-Fri from noon to 5pm. Live music every night. 4 TV Screens for the best sports viewing. Air conditioned. Beer Garden and smoking area. 095-21370. Abbeyglen Castle Hotel. Sky Road, Clifden. Open for dinner 7 nights a week. Early booking is advisable. Tuesday night is Irish Night. Entertainment nightly. 095-21201. info@abbeyglen.ie. www.abbeyglen.ie. Steam Café at the Station House Courtyard, Clifden. Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Mouth watering selection of salads, sandwiches & desserts. All homemade. Java Republic coffees and teas. Dinner & desserts available to order for collection. 095-30600. Mon-Sat 10:30-5:30.

Riding Centres Cleggan Beach Riding Centre. Connemara’s Premier Beach Trekking Centre. Long & short beach rides. Lessons for beginners to advanced for children and adults. Selection of horses and ponies to suit Adults and children. www. clegganbeachridingcentre.com Tel: 095-44746 Email: jcaz@eircom.net. Diamonds of Renvyle. Equestrian Centre and Connemara Pony Farm. Trekking daily and professional horse training. 095-43486. Knockillaree Riding Centre, Oughterard: Children’s lessons every Saturday. New! Adult lessons & trekking. Book now for our Summer Pony Camp 6th – 11th July. Beginners welcome! Livery – Breaking – Tuition – Private & group lessons – Stallions at stud. Contact Roger Joyce on 087– 9604517 or email: rogerjoyce04@yahoo.ie.

Financial/Legal Driver Training John Lyden – Clifden School of Motoring. Road Safety Authority and UK approved driving instructor. Lessons given in Toyota Yaris Diesel or an Automatic Car. For details and appointments ring 095-21170.

Cashel-Connemara Credit Union. Clifden Oﬃce at Unit 3, Tom Barry House 095-21101. Cashel Oﬃce 095-31128. Therese Thornton, Solicitor, Clifden, Co. Galway. Professional, comprehensive legal service at reasonable rates. Call (087) 2625385 or email ThereseThornton@gmail. com for advice or a quote with no obligation.

Employment Cards, Gifts & Flowers King’s Paper Shop. Main St, Clifden. 095-21119. Visit our new Card & Gift Gallery. Oﬃcial opening Friday, July 3rd. Homeware Plus & Shamrock Dry Cleaners. The Square, Clifden. Everything at discount prices! Household products and toiletries. Cards & gifts. Tools. 095-21348.

Catering

A la Carty Catering: For all your home catering needs contact Joe and Olive Carty. 095-22842. 087-260-5961. alacartycatering@gmail.com. Award Winning Chef John Walsh is now oﬀering catering services and cookery courses. Look for the Pangur Ban stall at the Clifden & Moycullen weekly markets for gourmet breads & more. 095-4124. pban@indigo.ie www. pangurban.com.

Page 20

Part-Time Secretary Required 12 hrs per week. Computer skills necessary. Applications with C.V. and references by July 17th to: The Chairperson, Board of Management, Kingstown National School, Clifden, Co. Galway. Pub staﬀ required for busy Irish pub in Naples, Florida, U.S.A. For details contact Paddy Yank McDonagh 086-346-9372. Email: paddyyank@yahoo.com.

Childcare Childminder required to mind 2 small children in their own home 5 days a week. Must have own transport. Ring Karen. 086-846-0009. Qualiﬁed, experienced childminder available to mind children in own home. References available on request. Please contact Olive. 087-2605961. 09522842. Established Childcare Service: A home away from home for your child to get the care they thrive for with daily activities and a fun place to learn new things. Now taking enrolments for September for toddlers/babies and afterschoolers. Perfect for siblings of diﬀerent ages. Registered and fully insured. Jessica Hansson 086-406-2604. Nanny looking for summer job. Exp nursery nurse in England looking for live in Nanny position in Connemara. sjash84@ yahoo.co.uk.

July 2009

Send in your news, views & photos to news@connemaraview.com or phone 095-22888. Connemara View Directory

Food & Wine Duanes Fish Shop, Main Street Clifden For a large selection of fresh fish, locally produced organic salmon, live lobster and fresh crab. Also, top quality frozen prawns, garlic mussels, Manx kippers and lots more. Open six days a week for summer months. 095-21804. Des Moran Family Butchers. Main Street, Clifden. Home of the national award winning sausages, white pudding and black pudding. Catering to all of your meat and poultry needs. The Connemara Hamper. Lower Market St, Clifden. Large selection of Irish and European farmhouse cheeses. Organic wines, fruit and vegetables. Freshly baked breads and baguettes. Gourmet lunches and Illy coffee to go. Open all year. Phone for opening hours. 095-21054. Malone Meats. Lower Market St., Clifden. Stop in for quality and service from your local butcher. 095-21868. Clip out this ad to receive 10% off your purchase. Pangur Bán. Gourmet breads and more by Award winning Chef John Walsh. Visit our market stall in Clifden & Moycullen. Custom cookery courses available. 095-41243. pban@indigo.ie www.pangurban.com. Jagur Organic. Eat healthy and get your organic fruit and vegetables from your local organic grower at Friday market in Clifden Square and Saturday Dolphin Country market in Cleggan. Box delivery to your home available. Call Linda and Vincent 095-44855 or 087-691-0234. Kavanagh’s SuperValu. The Square, Clifden. 095-21182. Opening Hours: Monday-Thursday/Saturday 8am-9pm. Friday 8am-10pm. Sunday & Bank Holidays 8:30am9pm. Clifden Fruit & Veg, Main Street, Clifden. Half price sale now on. Briquettes & coal. Open Mon-Sat 8:30am-6pm. 086-836-5864.

are full of games, fun and laughter and it will be one night you will not forget. To book your party or order a catalogue please contact Paula on 087-758-9710. The 5 Rhythms® Movement Meditation Practice of Gabrielle Roth is a movement meditation practice- simple, profound, joyful and transforming. The practice helps to free our bodies, still our minds, reduce our stress levels and alleviate depression. Caitríona Nic Ghiollaphadraig, Finisglen, Recess, Connemara, Co. Galway. 095-34664. Email: info@deorade.com Web-site: www.deorade.com Clifden Outreach Service by Cancer Care West at the Clifden Health Centre opposite Clifden Hospital on the 4th Thursday of every month. Drop- in, information and support service. 091-545-000. www.cancercarewest.ie. Nicolas Kats, ND, Lic. Ac., is a Naturopathic Doctor and a licensed acupuncturist. Nicolas integrates acupuncture, herbal medicine, diet, supplements, homeopathy and hydrotherapy. 087-7714710. Ní Ráighne Opticians. Bridge St., Clifden. 095-30995. Eye exams. €35. Medical cards and PRSI welcome. Wide selection of designer frames and sunglasses. The Treatment Rooms at Abbeyglen Castle oﬀering Hot Stone Massage, Luxury Yonka facials, Indian Head Massage, Reﬂexology, Zen Spa Pedicure/ manicure, waxing, California tanning. Non Residents welcome. Open 9-6 Monday to Saturday. Sunday 12 – 5. 095-21306. Connemara Chiropractic Family Health Clinic. Bridge St, Clifden. 095-21376.

Items for Sale or Rent Connemara Bouncing Castles for hire for all occasions, supplied with rain covers, delivered, erected and collected. 095 21219.

Music The Bens. Bridge St, Clifden, Connemara. 086-103-1154. Now Open. Irish Music – Traditional, Country and Local Artists. CDs & DVDs. Large range of personalised gifts. Picture framing.

Office Supplies

Oﬃce supplies, digital cameras and printers, mobile phones. Vodafone, Meteor, 3 networks. Galway Rd, Clifden. 095-21911. sales@oﬃcechat.ie.

Pets, Animals & Ponies

Animal Rescue Fundraiser: A sale in aid of Renvyle Animal Rescue will be held on Sunday 2nd August in The Ellis Hall, Letterfrack from 10am-3pm.

Health & Beauty

Hedz. International Haircare Locally. Clifden Station House Courtyard 095-22202. Opening Hours Tue-Sat 9am to 6pm. Late night Fri. till 9. Shiatsu Massage. The ancient art of touch for health and relaxation. Serving all Connemara. €10 Summer discount! Irene Buglia 085-101-6140 Acupuncture Clinic. Maara Mulgrew Lic.Ac.TCM. Restore and maintain health naturally. Wide range of conditions treated. Anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, depression, eczema, fatigue, headache, insomnia, IBS, menstrual disorders, muscular pain, sports injuries, stress. VHI, VIVAS, Quinn Healthcare approved. Connemara Chiropractic, Bridge St, Clifden. 087-970-1648. www. acupunctureclinic.ie. Úna McKeever M.Sc., M.I.A.H.I.P., M.I.A.C.P. is a fully accredited Psychotherapist/Counsellor who offers private and confidential counselling. For an appointment call 0872505015. email: unamckeever21@gmail.com. Do you suffer from anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, digestive disorders, depression, headaches, lack of energy, ME, MS, muscle tension, stress? I f so, contact Lucy Lydon (BEHA Dip) on 087-757-9237. True Awakening Plexus Bio-Energy Therapy. Reiki/Seichem. Experience the calm and healing energies of this treatment which is drug free and non-invasive. These powerful energies can heal on a mental, emotional, spiritual and physical level. Qualified Reiki/Seichem Master Practitioner, call Yvonne on 086-365-3266. Clifden Holistic Centre. Kinesiology, Food Testing, Acupuncture, Bowen Therapy, Massage and Hypnotherapy at An Bhean Fheasa Health Shop, Lr Market St, Clifden.095 30671. Open Mon-Sat 9:30-6 p.m. Patrick McKeown author of “Close Your Mouth – Stop Asthma, Hay Fever and Nasal Congestion Permanently” will be delivering a talk in An Bhean Feasa on Wed 8th July at 2p.m. Patrick is a renowned expert in the Buteyko Breathing Method and has appeared on RTE’s Health Squad and RTE 1’s Open House. €3 Admission Please Book Early to ensure your place at this life enhancing talk. Afternoon Tea on 15th July at 2p.m – Learn to DeStress and Relax and add years to your life. €3 Admission, please book early. The Ultimate Girls Night In!! An Ann Summers party is the great girls night in for you and your friends. Parties

Connemara View Directory

Home Furnishings Homeware Plus & Shamrock Dry Cleaners. The Square, Clifden. Everything at discount prices! Household products and toiletries. Cards & gifts. Tools. 095-21348. Creative Wood Flooring & Fireplace Warehouse. Kilroe, Inverin, Co. Galway. Wood florring, fireplaces, stoves, granite worktops, firewood. Factory prices, nationwide delivery. 091-553-995. 087-285-3114. www.creativewarehouse.ie Lydons Carpet & Furniture. Moycullen. 091-555-962.

Information Services & Media Does your partner? Call you names, constantly criticise you? Control your access to money/phone/car etc? Monitor your time, threaten you and the children? If so you may be in an abusive relationship. For free, friendly, confidential advice and support call D.V.R. @ 091-866-740. Clifden Citizens Information Centre. Free and confidential service to the public. Galway Rd, Clifden. 095.22000 and 087-130-1100. Thurs 7pm-8pm. Friday 10:30am3:30pm. Connemara Community Radio. Letterfrack. 095-41616. Connemara View Newspaper. Clifden. 095-22888. AWARE Depression Support Group meetings take place at the FORUM Office (upstairs), Ellis Hall, Letterfrack on the 1st Thursday of every month at 8pm. Contact Margaret 095-21741 afternoons except Tuesday for more details.

July 2009

Page 21

Photography Services Photos Restored, Rescued & Reprinted. Have your photos digitally scanned, burned to cd, ready for print at Video Vault. Main St, Clifden. Call 095 22033.

be carried out by specially trained BER assessors, registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). Call Sinead at Matt O’Sullivan Estate Agents on 095-21066 or e-mail property@mattosullivan.com www.mattosullivan.com. Listing properties for long term rental.

Sand & Gravel

Websites Website Design: Creative, professional and aﬀordable websites by Cuán Mara Design, Letterfrack, Co. Galway. For pricing and to view portfolio visit www.cuanmaradesign. com. For a competitive quote phone Caroline Herriott on 086-0791918 or email caroline@cuanmaradesign.com.

Just need a bag or 2 of sand, gravel, decorative chippings or bark mulch? We are now supplying 25kg, 40kg and 500kg bags. Free delivery throughout Connemara. 095-43473. 087-130-7752. 086-199-1988. Mongan’s, Derryinver, Letterfrack The Original Bagged Sand Supplier. 5% discount with this ad until the end of July if you buy 2 or more bags. Stonetech, Clifden. Call Seamus on 087-668-7437.

Wedding Services For Hire: 20 free-standing 4ft cast iron candle stands for your church wedding pews. Contact Maureen 095-22829. Wedding Videography by Pat Coyne. 095-43756. 086-406-2394. email: ﬁddisco@mac.com. www.ﬁddisco. com. Phone for a Free Demo DVD. Hat Hire. Wedding headpieces, occasion shoes, bags, scarves & jewellery. Schu Concept. Bridge St., Clifden. 095-30606.

Properties Petrol shop at Maam Cross is available for lease. Interested parties should contact Caroline on 091-552-306. Clifden: 2-bedroomed cottage to let. Five minutes from town centre. Parking. Oil-ﬁred central heating. Available immediately. Contact 086-805-3760. Clifden: 2-bedroomed apartment to let. Town Centre. All mod cons. Spacious and refurbished to a high standard. Responsible tenants sought. Available immediately. Contact 086-805-3760. Clifden: Commercial premises to let. Prominent location in Clifden town. Suitable for shop or oﬃce. 700 sq. ft. Includes WC and two storerooms. Available immediately. Contact 086-805-3760.

Taxi Service

TV/Satellite/Broadband

Properties - BER Selling Your House or Renting Long-term? Then you must have a Building Energy Rating. Contact Oliver Coyne today! 095-35813. 086-238-4195. olivercoyne@gmail. com. Listed on the SEI Register of BER Assessors. Building energy rating (BER)call today for a quotation,also a solar panel and heat recovery ventilation installer.SEI registered.contact Aodan on 087 0660755 or email at aodanmacdonncha@gmail.com. Book now for your Building Energy Rating certiﬁcate which is compulsory for all homes for sale or rent from January 1st 2009. If you are buying or renting a new house or apartment now, you are entitled to a BER. BERs will

Page 22

Wireless broadband. Aerial and satellite installation and repair. Peter Keane, Clifden. 095-21827. 087-668-7468. Lighthouse Networks provides a high quality broadband service throughout most of Connemara using the very latest wireless technologies. (Lo-Call) 076-6020502 or visit our web site at www.lightnet.ie.

NEXT ISSUE: Thursday, August 5th Display Ad Reservation Deadline: Friday, July 24th News Deadline: Wednesday, July 28th Classified Ad Deadline: Friday, June 30th

July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper 8,000 copies distributed monthly throughout Connemara 095-22888 087-290-9351 086-400-6666 news@connemaraview.com www.connemaraview.com Editor-in-Chief/Publisher: Ellen McDonough News Editor: Catherine Pryce Distribution Mgr: John Dunne Graphic Design/Layout: Marie-Noelle Biddulph Features: Paula Bann, John Durning Contributors: John Amenhauser, Gareth Anthony, Marie Bourke,Tom Broderick, Kathleen Burke, Andrew Cahill, John Claró, Dorothy Conneely, Laurence Conneely, Terri Conroy, Tim Gordon,Rosemary Hanley, France Ingelbach, Laurence Ingelbach, Louisa Jack, Caroline Joyce, Mary Day Lavelle, Richard de Stacpoole, Priscilla Diamond, Rosemary Hanley, Roma Joyce,Nick Kats, Patricia Keane, Bridget Lee, Padraic Lyden, Leslie Lyons, Brendan Madden, Declan Mannion, Iain McDonald, Geraldine McTavish, Ann Mitchell, Simon Murray, Kevin O’Connor,Mike O Malley, John O’Neill, Breandan O’Scanaill, Maurice O’Scanaill, Kate O Toole, Sorcha O Toole, Ailbhe Patten, Marie-Helene Poudevigne, Ruth Rogers, Suzann Schley, Cathriona O’Toole, Theresa Tierney, Cathal Walsh, Marie Walsh,Damian Ward, Declan Weir, Alex Xuereb. Plus many local schools, groups & organisations. Photography by staﬀ unless credited otherwise.

Connemara View Directory

Connemara View July June 27th - July 6th: Roundstone Arts Week 2009. Details-www.roundstoneartsweek.net or 095-35834. 3rd: Omey Island Tragedy Fundraiser Event, Station House Hotel. 4th: Clifden Community School Class of ’89 Reunion. Station House Hotel. Call 087-759-5035/087 -775-8579. 4th: The Cunningham Family Show. Station House Theatre. Doors open 8pm. Show starts 8:30pm. €20. 4th: Oughterard Show/Special Olympics Fundraising Day. Contact Maria at 086-151-7289 for further details. 5th: Maam Cross Pony Show 6th –10th: Inishboﬁn Summer School 095-41034 www.ceecc.org. 6th - 10th: Connemara Drama Club Summer Camp. tation House Theatre. 10.30 - 11.30am 5 days. Ages: 4 - 7 years. €30. To Book phone Ros on 095-43589 7th: The Citizen’s Information Service, Connemara West, Letterfrack, 1:30-4:30pm. 087-130-1100. 8th: Patrick McKeown - renowned expert in the Buteyko Breathing Method, An Bhean Feasa, 2pm, €3. 8th: Forum Leader Information Night, Ballyconneely Hall, 9pm. 8th: Tommy Tiernan, Station House Theatre 8pm, €25. 095-30303. 10th: Closing Date for Clifden Pony Show Domestic Arts entries. 10th: Roundstone Rose Selection, Community Hall, Roundstone. Details Paddy McDonagh 086-346-9372. 11th: Ballyconneely Show Fundraiser Concert: The Cunningham Sound, Ballyconneely Hall, 8:30pm. 11th: Fire Brigade Annual Charity Car Wash, Clifden Fire Station, 12-4pm. 11th: Volvic IRFU Tag Rugby, Omey Strand. Detailswww.tagrugby.ie. 11th: The Three Tenors, Station House Theatre,9pm, €35. 095-30303. 11th: Mass in honour of all the deceased Connemra Pony owners all over the world in Roundstones’ Star of the Sea Church. 8pm. 12th: Roundstone Connemara Pony, Dog & Sheep Show & Arts and Crafts Fair. Farrell’s Field, Roundstone, 12noon. 15th: Afternoon Tea - Learn to De-Stress and Relax, An Bhean Feasa, 2pm, €3. 15th: CSI: Clifden meeting. Community School Clifden, 8pm. 16th: MacDara’s Day, Carna and Roundstone, Galway Hooker Racing. 18th-24th: Ceol na Mara Summer School for strings, Connemara West, Letterfrack. Details: Oonagh Keogh. 086-266-8428. 18th: Mick Molloy Classic 10k Run, Oughterard. 18th-19th: Roundstone Regatta, Roundstone Harbour. 19th: Gurteen Graveyard Mass, 3pm. 19th: Ballyconneely Pony Show. 24th-26th: Feile an Mhama, Maam Valley, 24th –26th: WestRun 2009. Annual Summer Run of the Western Veteran & Vintage Motor Club Rally (WVVMC).Details-wwvmc.com. 25th: Triathlon Chonamara-Ras Na Portaigh 09, Cill Chiaráin, Connemara. Details-www.galwaytriathlonclub.com. 25th: Day retreat at Kylemore Abbey, all welcome. 25th: Omey Races, Claddaghduﬀ. Connemara View Newspaper

Summer Events Schedule

31st- August 2nd: Feile an Doilin August, Galway Hooker regatta and festival events. Details-www. doilin.com. 31st - August 8th: Cleggan/Claddaghduﬀ Festival of the Sea.

Irish Nights, Dolphin Hotel, Inishboﬁn, Tuesday nights from July 21st-August 25th. Dolphin Country Market, Cleggan Community Centre, every Saturday: 11-3 and Wednesdays: 4-7.

August

1st: New works by Phillip Morrison at the Stable Gallery, Errisbeg House, Roundstone with wine reception. 6:30pm. 1st: PigFest 2009, Ballyconneely Hall & Show Field, 1pm till late. 2nd: Cashel Pony Show. 2nd: Renvyle Animal Rescue Fundraiser, The Ellis Hall. 3rd: Oughterard Regatta. 3rd: All Ireland Dog Show, Roundstone, 12 noon. 6th: Roundstone Tour de Bog 2009 Cycle event. 8th-9th: Clifden Regatta. 9th: Claddaghduﬀ Pony Show. 9th: Connemara WaterSports day, Glassilaun Beach, Renvyle. Annual Fundraiser in aid of ISPCC and Childline commencing at 1pm.Details: 095-41024. 13th –16th: Roundstone Summerfest, Roundstone. 085-706-6535 info@roundstonesummerfest.com. 15th: Roaring Twenties Masquerade Ball in aid of Cancer Care West, Station House Hotel, Details 091-545000 - info@cancercarewest.ie. 15th: Volvic IRFU Tag Rugby, Omey, Claddaghduﬀ. Details- www.tagrugby.ie. 16th -21st: Festival of the Connemara Pony Show and the Connemara Pony Show on August 20th. 22nd-23rd: Gaelforce West, the World’s largest multisport one day race. North Connemara & Mayo. More details from www.gaelforcewest.ie. 29th–30th: Oughterard Show, Oughterard.

September

13th: All-Ireland Supreme Champion of Champions, Connemara Pony Show. 086-346-9372. 13th: RNLI 10K Fun Run. Clifden. 2pm. 085-168-0402. www.runireland.com. 17th to 27th. Clifden Arts Week. 19th: Roundstone Connemara Pony Fair. 086-346-9372. 26th - 27th: Leenane Food Festival. 25th - 27th: Feile an Doilin September, Carraroe. Maritime Festival and Giants Parade.Details-www. doilin.com.

Weekly Events

Connemara National Park, Letterfrack. Open daily. Clifden Irish Nights at Town Hall. 8pm, every Tuesday and Thursday from June 23rd to August 27th. Roundstone Irish Nights, Community Hall, 8pm Wednesdays weekly from July 1st-August 26th. Irish Music sessions at the Teach Ceoil, Tully, Renvyle 8pm, weekly on Tuesdays from July 7th for 8 weeks.

July 2009

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Bogman 51

Bogman Across 1 Deathly response to a chap’s show of amusement and pleasure. (12) 8 Claimed, incorrectly, to be the point of mathematics. (7) 10 A good deal of the reason that the landlord makes his profit. (7) 11 Cold at first, but made warm by unfair means. (7) 15 From trips like this, I go nuts, crazy. (7) 19 It is not in dispute that shuffling the remaining letters will be a sham. (5) 20 Initially, Australia’s largest state, being backward, is swallowed by African state to make it change into another. (6) 21 Giving out for doing about fifty? (6) 22 Unprincipled scoundrel about to join select group? (5) 25 Basic division in the prison system first reveals the one behind a major fiddle. (7) 28 Good place for a prayer or a large party? (7) 32 How stupid! I had half a score before getting an attack of nerves at the end. (7) 33 They travel round and round in circles, but never in the same plane. (7) 34 And added on top of all that, it’s a chaotic mess up. Period! (12) Bogman Down 2 When it’s such a small volume, regret that it’s going to accumulate. (6) 3 Peak when there’s just the tiniest measure in a suit. (6) 4 Thatcher’s beginnings lead to split on economy. (6) 5 Could this be the cause of a Spanish wife becoming upset? (6) 6 Find that there are tarts going about on little rides? (6) 7 Had company reorganised as a temporary measure. (2,3) 9 This comes down on such estates? (5) 10 To a degree, you could find yourself up the creek in the Bible Belt. (5) 12 With great effort, provides some pull in the avenue? (5) 13 Take advantage when arteries and veins begin to get sick? (5) 14 Write long stories about spice. (5)

Connemara Crossword 57

31. Language of the Koran (6) 32. Furniture wheel (6) 33. Cantering (8) 34. Revised (6) 35. Sudden loss of ability (9) Crossword Down 2. Counting frame (6) 3. Lunatic (6) 4. Closer to (6) 5. Supervise (7) 6. Insect (6) 7. Flight, the art of (8) 8. Colourful Ulster marchers (9) 11. Passageway (5) 13. Sea bird (4) 17. Job opportunities (9) 19. Deriving pleasure from inflicting pain (8)

June Winners Bogman 50 Mark Mac Mahon, Ballyconneely Crossword 56 Mary Gough, Clifden

20. Performer (5) 22. Change course (4) 23. Popular rodent (7) 25. Sagacious (6) 27. State of U.S.A (6) 28. Informed on (6) 29. Small fish (6)

SUDOKU

Crossword Across 1. Game played with a shuttlecock (9) 9. Large amphibious rodent with flat tail (6) 10. Metal goods and utensils (8) 11. Acquire (6) 12. Vicars helper (6) 14. Ride the waves (4) 15. Self assurance (5) 16. Mentally infirm with age (6) 18. London soccer outfit a.k.a. ‘The Gunners’ (7) 21. Vengeance (7) 24. Kidnap (6) 26. Dread this viper (5) 30. Weaving apparatus (4)

Enter crossword answers into a draw of correct answers for a voucher for Homeware Plus in Clifden by July 29th.

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July 2009

16 Used to steer losing head and becoming part cow. (5) 17 Land that has been rented out in an offshore location? (5) 18 How an indefatigable traveller around the north became a hopeless case. (5) 23 Make room for the high livers. (5) 24 How the loser readjusts to having them in play. (5) 25 Have some say in whether or not to remove the centre of an ice-cream and chocolate lollipop on a stick. (6) 26 They are very popular, that is, amongst boys. (6) 27 Visit a low joint in March. (6) 29 With just a pound to start, in no way will he be one of our more colourful characters. (6) 30 Notes that after a shortened month an old greeting is given. (6) 31 Raising production in some part of the food industry, yet about as much of a clue as you’ll get. (5)

What Do You Know? Quiz 10 No winner. Prize money now €30 for 12 correct answers for Quiz 10. Nature: Who was London Zoo’s resident Giant Panda from 1958 until her death in 1972? Science: Who was the first to discover that the Universe is in fact expanding? Politics: Who sits on the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland’s throne, where and why? Sports: In what year were the Olympics first televised? Entertainment: In what year were two actresses rewarded with a best actress Oscar and who were they? Geography: If the equator crosses Africa’s West coast in the country of Gabon, in which country does it cross the East coast? Literature: How many of Shakespeare’s heroines disguise themselves as males and in which works? Food: What very popular food item was invented by Alexander Grant in Edinburgh in 1799? Music: What was the name of The Rolling Stones TV Show that was filmed in 1968 but wasn’t released until 1996? History: Who was the first head of state in the 20th century to give birth in office? General Knowledge: What is the most common non contagious disease in the world? Local Interest: How many of the Twelve Bens are part of the Connemara National Park?

June Quiz Answers

Geography: What is the name of the plain that was once the chief industrial region of the USSR? Answer: The Oka Don Plain. http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/Geography/40/answers.html History: The Brittanic and the Olympic were sisters to what? Answer: The Titanic. http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/History/0/answers.html Sport: How many times has the host nation won the football World Cup? Answer: 6 (Uruguay 1930, Italy 1934, England 1966, West Germany 1974, Argentina 1978, France 1998). http://www.quizzone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/Sport/20/answers.html Math: What number is an improper fraction always greater than? Answer: One. http://www.triviaplaying.com/62_Math_.htm Science: What is the only animal that cannot jump? Answer: Elephant. http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/Science%20and%20Nature/20/answers.html Cooking: The fear of having peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth is called what? Answer: Arachibutyrophobia. http:// homecooking.about.com/library/trivia/bltrivia1.htm?lastQuesti on=8&answers=3&submit=Next+Question+%3E%3E&ccount=2 General Knowledge: If you walked one mile south, one mile west, and then one mile north, and ended up where you started, where would you be? Answer: The North Pole. http://www.quizzone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/General%20Knowledge/20/ answers.html Politics: The shortest presidential inaugural address was delivered in which year? And by whom? Answer: 1793, George Washington. http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20090109/pl_cq_politics/politics3005493 Music: What was the first song played on Radio One? Answer: “Flowers in the Rain” by The Move. http://www.quiz-zone. co.uk/questionsbycategory/Music/40/answers.html Art: Which artist had Blue and Rose periods? Answer: Pablo Picasso. http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/Art%20 and%20Literature/80/answers.html Entertainment: Who was the first American actor to be nominated for Emmy Awards for portraying the same character on 3 different shows? Answer: Kelsey Grammar (Cheers, Frasier and Wings). http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/questionsbycategory/ TV%20and%20Films/20/answers.html Literature: From which French novelist is the term `sadism` derived? Answer: Marquis de Sade. http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/ questionsbycategory/Art%20and%20Literature/120/answers.html Local Interest: Who were the only football team to beat the Republic of Ireland in their qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup Finals? Answer: Iran. http://www.quiz-zone.co.uk/ search_qs.php?search=ireland&start=&display=answers

Connemara View Newspaper

Saint Joseph’s Church, Clifden The typical view of Clifden is the town nestled below the mountains, overlooking the sea and dominated by its twin spires. These spires belong to the two churches, Christ Church and St Joseph’s. St Joseph’s is described as a large Gothic revival style, cruciform plan church with side aisles and chapels, apse, tower and spire. It is set on an open site overlooking the town. Those few lines describe the structure in a nutshell, but give little clue as to the majesty of the building. It is very impressive standing on top of its hill, with the roof, tower and spire standing out against the sky. The weathered cut stone dressing, almost honey coloured, gives it a warmth, even though it is a large building. It becomes even more impressive when you get closer and look at the quality of the work, especially the finely cut and beautifully worked limestone around the doors and windows. As fine and lovely as the exterior is the interior; open and high with arcades, clerestory windows, gallery and an open truss roof. The beautiful early 20th century decoration and windows give a warm feeling to the whole building. The church was designed by J.J. O’Callaghan of Dublin in 1875. The priest at that time was Patrick McManus, and he worked tirelessly to build Saint Joseph’s. It is difficult for us to imagine what it would have been like at that time; the famine had been part of a good many people’s lives. The priest himself had arrived in 1853, six years after the worst year, but as we all know, the famine didn’t just go away. There were many years of hardship and near starvation, mass emigration and land issues to follow. I think that Rev. McManus, in building the church, was trying to give back a sense of pride to the people, allowing them to rise out of the state of dejection in which they had spent so many years. As with any new venture, fundraising was a major part of the process and quite a lot of this would have taken place lo-

Planning Applications May 091000 St. Paul’s Secondary School, Board of Management, Carrowmanagh, Oughterard 20/05/09. For ball stop netting to all-weather playing pitch previously granted planning permission Ref. No. 08/3368. 091007 Clifden Chamber of Commerce, Derrigimlagh 20/05/09. For a walking trail with ancillary signage, car park, improvements to existing access road and roadside passing points. 091024 Community Council, Clifden & District , Clifden 21/05/09. For an allweather pitch, ancillary ﬁttings, fencing and lighting at the Ball Alley. 091030 Community Development Ltd, Foscadh, Letterfrack 22/05/09. For retention of playing pitch and boundary fence as constructed on reduced site to that granted under planning reference 01/1145 and permission for a new sports hall to include a new site entrance, service road, car parking, boundary walls and associated works. 091036 Bourges, Ronan, Inishnee, 25/05/09. To retain existing dwelling house, ancillary sheds, wastewater treatment system and access road. 091042 Folan, Brendan & Anne, Inverin 25/05/09. For the construction of a single storey extension to the front and another single storey extension to the side of existing dwelling. 091052 O’Lochnain, Beartla, Inverin, 27/05/09. Le haghaidh 1) teach nua conaithe a thogail chomh maith le 2) garaiste nua a thogail agus 3) coras nua searachais Kingspan Envirocare. 091053 McWilliams, Leo, Ballyconneely, 27/05/09. for a developement comprising of

cally. A number of the shop keepers and merchants from the town would certainly have been contributors. Around that time there was a big increase in the Catholic middle class, and these would have been supporters of the church, but it was the people abroad, particularly in America who contributed the majority of funds. Those who contributed so much to the building fund were ordinary people, people from our parish and the locality who were working hard, saving a bit of money, some even doing well, but all willing to support this eﬀort. The tower and spire which are such important features of the church have been through many changes. Early Lawrence photographs show the tower without the spire but this was added in 1898, while the clock and bells were added in 1899. A cross was put on top and the distance from ground to the top of the spire was 200 feet. This spire has been damaged a number of times and the old cross has also been replaced. The early photographs show the interior as having fairly simple decoration, especially around the sanctuary area. The structure would be recognised but there have been many changes made. The timber rails dividing the sections of the church are gone, as are the gas lights along these rails. These changes came about especially at the time of Canon Patrick McAlpine. This energetic man was parish priest from 1898 until his death in 1932. The mural decorations added at that time were by Joshua Clarke. The Clarke Studios were also responsible for the very ﬁne stained glass, which depict local saints, such as McDara, Fechin, and Flannan. There are also many representations of national and international saints and other scenes. The early 20th century saw a big increase in the interest in Irish stained glass and such important places as Loughrea Cathedral and Laban church played a major role in fostering this interest. Joshua Clarke had moved from Leeds and in 1886 had set up his own business as a church decorator and manufacturer of objects of art. His company supplied many churches throughout Ireland with various works, while his son Harry became one of our greatest stained glass artists. It is possible that Harry could have worked on some of the windows in the church, but I think it would be fair to say that none are in his signature style. The windows are still much admired and recently an

the construction of a single house dormer style and connection into previously approved sewerage treatment scheme (reg ref:05-776. Permission is also sought for retention of an entrance, gate and access road. 091066 Shaughnessy, J, Ballynew, Cleggan, 28/05/09. To (a) convert existing store/loft to habitable space comprising of kitchen/ living space, 2 no. bedrooms, bathroom, (b) raise wall-plate level of store/loft to provide increased living space at first floor level (c) construct 2 no. dormer windows to front elevation (d) additional sky-light windows (e) decommission existing septic tank and replace with treatment system with percolation area to serve proposed development area (f ) extension to front elevation of store/loft and existing dwelling comprising of hallway and sunroom, linking the respective buildings (g) up-grade existing roadway to serve as access to site and (h) associated external site works. 091073 Mulkerrins, Christine, Canrawer West, 28/05/09. To demolish and reconstruct an existing chalet/flat. 091074 Coyne, Catherine, Cloonamore, 28/05/09. To convert existing garage to granny flat. The original garage was granted under planning ref no 04/609. 091077 Inglebach, Anne, Derryinver, 29/05/09. For retention of extension/attic conversion. 091085 McDonagh, Christy, Moycullen, 29/05/09. Chun teach conaithe, garaiste agus coras searachais a thogail. 09867 Ferguson (nee O’Malley), Barbara, Lettermullen , 01/05/09. Chun teach conaithe, garaiste agus coras searachais a thogail. 09891 O’Toole, Kim, Crocknaraw, 07/05/09. To retain alterations to the dwelling house and garage previously granted under Pl. Ref. no. 02/884. 09892 McDonagh, Ultan, Leagaun, 07/05/09. For the construction of a dwellinghouse,

Connemara View Newspaper

important and timely restoration took place on many of them. As well as being artistically important, they also have an importance in social history as many of them were paid for by prominent people around the area. The fabric of the church has also been changed on a number of occasions and of course after the Vatican Council, there were many changes. It has to be regretted that this led to the destruction of the altar rails and pulpit but we are lucky that the general decoration was not changed. The graves of the various Parish Priests are to be found outside to the right of the building, but recently it was discovered that the grave of the builder of Saint Joseph’s, Patrick McManus was located under the Sacred Heart chapel. A plaque now honours this man for his dedication and hard work. Breandan O Scanaill

garage and kingspan envirocare sewage treatment system. 09897 Homburger, Philippe, Cloonderowen, 07/05/09. For the renovation and extension of a derelict cottage and the installation of a septic system. 09908 Whelan, Tommy, Clifden Demense, 07/05/09. To retain and complete new agricultural entrance upgraded cattle crush and all ancillary site works. 09909 Monahan, Daragh , Claddaghduﬀ , 07/05/09. For single-storey rear extension to dwelling house with ancillary storage area in roof space and replacement upgraded wastewater treatment system with percolation area. 09911 Diamond, Liam Tully More, 07/05/09. For the construction of commercial storage warehouse on existing storage yard for storage of general merchandise equestrian and agricultural supplies and all ancillary site works and services. 09925 Mulkerrin, Dermot, Cloon, Cleggan , 11/05/09. For renovation of existing semiruinous structure consisting of the following (a) Proposed new roof to existing structure, which shall be retained. (b) The construction of a new extension to the north. (c) New septic tank, percolation area and ancillary site works. (d) Proposed upgrade of access road. 09927 Dillane, Kevin, Cartronlahan, 11/05/09. Chun an meid seo leanas: garaiste nua a thogail chomh maith le aon seirbhis a bhaineann leis. 09934 O’Conaola, Simon, Dooyeher, 12/05/09. Chun a) uasghradu a dheanamh ar an gcoras searachais ata ann cheana, agus b) cloch aitiuil a chur ar an mballa binne tosaigh. Ta cead a lorg freisin chun c) na hathruithe ata deanta ar an teach agus an garaiste a choinneail, agus d) na hathruithe ata deanta ar theorainn an tsuimh a choinneail, o bhi ceadaithe faoi iarratas pleanala 00/2767.

July 2009

09935 Barry, Kevin and Jennifer, Clooncree 12/05/09. For the construction of a single dwelling house, a proprietary effluent treatment facility and all ancillary site works and services. 09942 Scholes, Josephine Roundstone, 13/05/09. For the construction of dwelling house with associated site works and services. 09948 O’Flaherty, Sinead Drinagh, 14/05/09. For a road entrance, single storey dwelling home with waste water treatment system and raised soil percolation area. 09951 Laffey, Kevin Bunowen, 14/05/09. For an extension to an existing building which development will constitute a dwelling house, also a sewage treatment plant, percolation area and ancillary services. 09954 Thornton, Kathleen Cloughanover, 14/05/09. For extensions to existing dwelling house. 09963 Boylesports Ltd, Clifden, 15/05/09. For retention for development at this site (formerly known as AIB Bank). The development consists of retention of existing signage to the front elevation. 09976 Ni Shioradain, Elisa, Derryloughaun, 15/05/09. Chun a) cloch aitiuil a chur ar clonna tosaigh an ti. Ta cead a lorg freisin chun b)na hathruithe ata deanta ar an teach agus ar an ngaraiste a choinneail, agus c) na hathruithe ata deanta ar theorainn an tsuimh a choinneail, o bhi ceadaithe faoi iarratas pleanala 07/2107. 09980 Kenny, Mary, Cloonkeenmore, 18/05/09. To extend existing bungalow and convert it into a dormer style dwelling house with proprietary treatment system. 09984 Daly, John, Carrowmanagh, 18/05/09. For the construction of a building and associated services, for the storage and handling of grain and feedstuffs. Continued on page 29

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Alcock & Brown Remembered In Style The historic landing in Derrygimlagh Bog by John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown after making the first non-stop transatlantic flight, 90 years ago, was celebrated with nostalgia and enthusiasm in an impressive weekend’s programme of events from June 12th-14th organised by the Connemara Chamber of Commerce. The weekend’s main event, the thrilling Air Show, was launched at Galway Airport on the morning of Friday June 12th, where Team Guinot, the world’s only formation wing walking team, demonstrated their skills and the Vickers Vimy replica biplane flew (photo right) over Galway city, whetting many appetites for the main event in Clifden the following day. The Connemara Air Show weekend was officially opened on Friday 12th at the Station House Museum with an exhibition by local historian Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill. Archaeologist Michael Gibbons led a guided walk on the Marconi site and gave a lecture on the aerial archaeology of Connemara in honour of Marcus Cases. The undoubted highlight of the weekend was the thrilling Air Show that took place over Clifden Bay on Saturday June 13th. The crowds that gathered along the Beach and Sky Roads and various look out points were treated to extraordinary displays by many acts, including the extremely impressive and exciting ‘Blades’ formation aerobatic team, while the wingwalkers of Team Guinot drew particular interest with their unique and stunning performances. The Irish Coastguard Sikorsky S-61 also gave a winch display with the Clifden Lifeboat crew and the Air Corps Agusta Westland 139 helicopter also featured, in addition to appearances by the Vans RV-7, Bucker Jungmann, Pilatus PC-9M, and the Casa CN 234. Another huge hit with the crowds, the Team Viper Jets gave a high octane display of rapid formation changes, loops, barrel rolls, fast passes and vertical breaks that amazed onlookers. Despite some unpleasant weather earlier in the day, all of the planned displays went ahead and the return of the beautiful Vickers Vimy biplane replica rounded off a fantastic programme. Crew John Dodd and Clive Edwards soared over the Bay and surrounding areas, evoking memories of the re-enactment landing in 2005 by Mark Rebholz and the now sadly deceased Steve Fossett. The largest biplane flying

today, and the world’s largest home-built aircraft, the Vimy is now owned by the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, U.K. and was represented in Clifden by Jenny Moseley, crew chief of the Atlantic ﬂight, and Brooklands Museum General Manager Julian Temple who said “after the Vimy successfully completed the transatlantic re-enactment in 2005 she was donated to Brooklands Museum and we were delighted to be in Clifden this weekend to pay tribute to Alcock and Brown and to what we consider the most important ﬂight in aviation history”. Saturday evening saw the launch of Brendan Lynch’s book ‘Yesterday We Were in America’ at the Station House Theatre where Minister Éamón O Cuív congratulated him on his achievement in the book, saying that while reading the book ‘we live through their anxious ordeal of cloud, snow and ice, we share their hopes and aspirations, their trials and their triumph and we celebrate with them in their remarkable achievement’. Brendan himself related an irreverent anecdote at the launch- ‘It’s wonderful to see Alcock and Brown being commemorated in such stirring style. Sadly, I can’t resist repeating what a Clifden man said to me last night – drink had been consumed, of course!- “Sure we never

did anything for those fellows. We stole all we could from the plane and, a few years ago, tried to concrete over their bog landing site to make an airport. And as regards Marconi, whom we also celebrate, didn’t we burn his entire station right down to the ground!” ‘While I’ll give this gentleman credit for his sense of humour and veracity, I think all will agree that this weekend’s programme has been a memorable and highly professional one, without tasteless or commercial over-kill and well worthy of the historic ﬂight. So well done, to all those involved - and long may your commemorations continue in that vein’, Brendan Lynch concluded. A gala dinner at the Station House Hotel rounded oﬀ a nostalgic and hugely enjoyable weekend for all involved which marked Clifden and Connemara’s place in the history of aviation indelibly on the map once again. Catherine Pryce

Night at the Dogs Fundraiser The Connemara Chamber of Commerce coordinated numerous fundraising efforts to finance the activities of the Alcock & Brown 90th Anniversary weekend. The most money was raised through the ‘Night at the Dogs’ held at the Galway Greyhound Stadium. It was a fabulous night with a rotation of wining, dining and betting from the big crowd (photo left) from Clifden and Connemara. Great fun and to top it off, a few big winners! Photo courtesy of Iain McDonald

Alcock & Brown Documentary Premiere London paid tribute to Capt John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown at the City of Westminster Archive Centre, on Saturday June 22nd, with a drama-documentary and a play on the British airmen and their historic flight across the Atlantic. The documentary entitled, ‘Yesterday we were in America’, is the first documentary to be made on the historic achievement of the airmen and is expected to be screened by television stations throughout the world. Among those interviewed in the documentary are Mark Rebholz who, with Steve Fossett, flew the replica Vickers-Vimy to Clifden in 2005, and historian, Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill. The play was a dramatisation of the flight, which the producers hope will go some way towards awakening the British public to the story of their forgotten heroes. Photo below: Attending the London screening of the first documentary produced on the first non-stop transatlantic flight were, Terence Potter, Producer, Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill, historian and Peter Daniel.

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July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Photos left from top: Vickers Vimy, Guinot Wing Walkers, Irish Coastguard Sikorsky S-61, Vans RV-7. Photo above: Blades formation aerobatic team.

Connemara View Newspaper

July 2009

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Business & Finance

Surviving the Recession Reduced sales need not mean reduced profit All businesses are looking to grow or at least retain the level of revenue they have achieved over the last few years. An obvious strategy now is to put more effort into retaining existing customers and attracting new business. But what do you do when even your most loyal customer is shopping around? To remain profitable you need to consider your margins. Put simply, this is the gap between how much it costs you to deliver a product or service and the money you receive for it. There are two levels of margin, Gross Margin and Net Profit Margin. The first is the one we think of immediately. This takes into account the direct cost of making the product which can usually be traced directly to the product e.g. the ingredients in a meal, or the materials and labour costs of a building job. When you deduct these from the money you received, you get your Gross Margin. This is not profit since there are a number of other costs in the business which are not directly related to the final item delivered but without which you could not be in business. These other indirect costs are known as overhead costs which are mostly fixed, e.g. premises costs such as rent and phone. These cannot be assigned to a particular job or meal, but they are necessary to deliver your business. There is always room to renegotiate the

overhead costs but assuming you have already reviewed these, and made the appropriate cuts in premises and suppliers etc, the area where savings can be most dramatic will be around the Gross Margin. Every percentage point saved here will boost the bottom line directly. Since the overheads will not change, this means that any gain will be proﬁt.

An example of how this works: If you receive €10,000 and it costs you €5,000 in direct costs i.e. wages and materials for the job your Gross margin is €5000 or 50%. To calculate your profit you would have to include your other indirect fixed costs and overheads, fuel, transport, tools etc. Assuming these cost €3,000, then your net profit will be €2,000 or 20%. Increasing Gross Margin is done either through charging more or reducing your direct costs. If you manage to increase your Gross margin to €5500, i.e. 55%, and indirect costs are relatively fixed, the result will be an increase in Net Profit of €500, increasing Net Profit from 20% to 25%; the whole 5% is added to your bottom line. Increase your gross margin and therefore your profit, by getting more revenue. One of the best ways to do this is to review your services or products to identify where you make the most profits. Can you justify charging a higher price to some customers? This could be a particular group of customers e.g. a builder may be able to charge higher rates to corporate clients than private individuals. Aim to increase sales to these groups. Another way to increase revenue is to with all programs. Good luck finding out which file(s) need to be restored to the original version.

Keep Free Space on the Hard Drive.

Tips for A Healthy Computer Here’s a guide to a few things you can do on a regular basis to keep your computer running smoothly. Anti-Virus Program. This Is A Must! Make sure you have an Anti-virus program on your PC. Again I say, this is a must! Get an anti-virus program on your PC! Once a week (or even every day), download the latest anti-virus deﬁnitions from the web with Norton Antivirus, this is called doing a Live Update. About once a week (or every day), run a virus scan. Remember, you usually have to renew your software license every year. Don’t let it expire on you! Delete Unknown Emails. Delete emails from people that you don’t know. Most viruses come from email attachments.

A Warning about Downloading Freeware. When you download freeware from the Internet, you run the risk of messing up your system. Some programs share the same files. If one of these shared files is downloaded from the web and it overwrites the one on your hard drive, the program that was using that file may not work anymore because a newer version of the shared file has been installed. This newer version doesn’t necessarily work

Page 28

Before you install a new software program, make sure you have enough hard drive space, plus some! The documentation for the software program will tell you how much space the program will use on your hard drive. (However, hard drives are big enough these days that most people don’t fill them to capacity.) Some people still have older PC’s with smaller hard drives. One symptom of the lack of hard drive space is that either Windows or an application might not open, or your system keeps crashing. Delete Temp Files. Periodically remove the temp files that build up on your PC. (When applications are opened, temporary files are created that are ‘temporarily’ stored on your hard drive, usually under C:\windows\temp or C:\documents and settings\user profile\local settings\temp). These temp files are in use by the application that is opened. This is one reason why you always need some free space on your hard drive. When Windows shuts down properly, these temporary files are removed. If Windows crashes, the temporary files aren’t removed, they build up and can take up a lot of space on your hard drive. The temp files can be removed via Windows Explorer (Go to My Computer – right click on C drive – left click Properties – left click Disk Cleanup) or by doing Start..File..Search..*.tmp. Delete Temporary Internet Files. Also

adjust the price you charge. You should consider the impact of a price increase as well as a price decrease. Be aware of the impact of discounting which will directly impact on your bottom line; a drop in price will need a larger percentage increase in sales to maintain current profit levels. If you buy something for €7 and sell for €10 your gross margin is €3. If you reduce your selling price by 10% to €9 your margin drops to €2. You would need to sell 50% more to get back the €3 you have now. This percentage will change based on your specific margin, but in this scenario, if you cannot reasonably expect to increase your sales by more than 50% of their current levels, do not consider lowering your prices. Aim to create value for your customer rather than reduce your price. By creating value for your customer, you can justify charging slightly more for your service. In this example: If you increase your prices by 10% you can afford to lose 25% of your sales before you go below your current profit level. Buy for €7, sell for €11, your gross margin is now €4. That’s €1 more for every item sold, so you can afford to sell 25% less and still make the same profit. Re-work your prices based on your current gross margin. You may be surprised at the impact a small price change will have on your bottom line. Fear of losing customers is the main argument against increasing prices, but the ones you lose will be those who are most price sensitive. This group will probably move to your competitors anyway as they continually

monitor the market for the best prices and are not necessarily interested in quality or value.

periodically remove your Temporary Internet Files. This can be done via Windows Explorer or through your internet browser (For Windows Internet Explorer: Tools Menu – Internet Options – Browsing History) Back up your data. If your data is so important to you, back it up! Remember this...all hard drives eventually fail and yours will too one day, so save your data or else have a good cry. Email Tips. Keep the inbox of your email application relatively small. I’ve seen people with 2,000 email messages in their inbox and they wonder why their email is slow or crashes. Either delete your messages or create folders and move your email messages into the folders. Also, email in the Sent folder and Trash can build up (unless it’s conﬁgured to automatically delete). Many people are unaware of this and are surprised at the size of their email when they back it up. Computer Noises. Pay attention to the sounds your PC makes. If you hear a loud humming noise coming from your PC, it’s probably a dirty fan (either the CPU fan or Power Supply fan). In either case, this means the bearings are dirty and are giving out. If the noise ceases, the fan stopped and your CPU or power supply is now overheating. Don’t say ‘oh good, the noise stopped’. You need to replace the fan.

Revenue focussing on cash-based businesses

John Claró is an I.T. Consultant with over 20 years international experience, operating Two Dog Computers in Clifden. Contact him on 095 22194 / 086 404 3125, or at kennel@twodogcomputers.com.

July 2009

Direct Costs Try to increase your gross margin and therefore your profit, by decreasing your direct costs. One way to reduce direct costs would be to increase productivity. Get more out of your existing resources, for example, a hotel may be able to service a large group such as a conference or wedding at a lower staff cost than if the same number of people booked individually over time. Aim to increase sales where you can-utilise existing staff and premises to maximum effect. Another option is to negotiate with your existing suppliers but be careful about cutting quality; remember you are trying to create value for the customer. In summary, your priority in these recessionary times should be to sort out your profit margin-either increase the value of your sales, or decrease the costs of delivering each item or service. Suzann Schley is a Chartered Management Accountant based at Bridge St, Clifden, open Monday to Friday 9am-6pm. Contact her on (095) 30584 and (086) 2664542 for all business & accounting solutions.

Send in your news, views & photos to news@ connemaraview.com

The Revenue Commissioners are stepping up their surveillance of cash businesses with a number of unannounced visits to companies in the West of Ireland. The Revenue confirmed that its officials visited shops in Portunma, Tuam and Gort. Revenue Chair Josephine Feehily said 2,000 officers would be targeting shops, pubs, restaurants and other cash businesses and that the officers now have the technological ability to access tills’ electronic memory to get a record of all transactions and discover if there is any under-declaration of sales. Unlike Revenue audits, retailers will not get any advance warning of the visits, although proof of identity must be shown before entering the premises. Accountancy sources said that staff were interviewed and asked if they received bonus pay, holiday pay, what hours they worked, whether they received payslips and how they were paid. As the recession deepens, it’s feared that many businesses are using monies destined to the Revenue to stay afloat. “There’s a significant number of businesses in the hospitality sector that are now going into liquidation and we’re finding under-declaration there,” stated the Revenue Commissioners recently. Ms Feehily stated that struggling businesses should contact the Revenue Commissioners if they need to arrange to pay taxes in instalments. “ We have no interest in making a difficult situation worse for a viable business. I can assure you that you will find us very willing to engage,” said Ms Feehily. Source: www.sbpost.ie / www.barkeeper.ie / www.rgdata.ie

Connemara View Newspaper

New & Changing Businesses Diamond Hair in Letterfrack Rose Coyne, formerly of Hedz Hair in Clifden has now opened her new salon, Diamond Hair Studio in Letterfrack, the premises that was previously Honeyfoot gift shop. The impressive and stylish new salon has been refurbished and reﬁtted to an extremely high standard by Rose’s son Raymond and is now open for business to both ladies and gents, from washing and blowdrying to a full and extensive range of cutting and colouring techniques. Rose uses the TiGi range of hair products and looks forward to welcoming clients to her new salon in the heart of Letterfrack village.

Cong and Connemara. From €5 per transfer, per bag, BagCab can pick up and drop oﬀ luggage to any of their listed locations along the route. Same day delivery is guaranteed to listed accommodations and luggage is transferred in BagCab’s branded and highly visible vans. For more details and a list of drop oﬀ locations all over Connemara go to www. bagcab.com or call 087 25 9885.

The Paper Shop Card & Gift Gallery The spacious new area at the rear of King’s Paper Shop on Main St, Clifden has now been transformed into a light and airy Card and Gift Gallery with an extensive range of greeting cards for all occasions and to suit every budget. Soft toys,

Roma Takeway & Pizzeria There are new faces at the fast food restaurant on Bridge St, Clifden as new management Hisen Zejnullahi and Afrim Morina have taken over, operating as Roma Takeaway and Pizzeria. Originally from Kosovo, Hisen and Afrim have been in business there now since early June and oﬀer an extended range of fast foods, from kebabs and burgers to a wide range of fried chicken and freshly made to order pizzas and calzone. Roma also oﬀers a number of combined meal deals, from pizza and drink deals to a special kid’s menu, and lunch time specials. Roma is now open 7 days a week, from 2pm ‘til late, and orders can also be phoned in on (095) 30661.

themed kid’s helium balloons, gift bags, wrapping papers and ribbons, and a wide range of gift items are now on sale with new items arriving on a regular basis. Proprietor Joan King and her staﬀ are always on hand to oﬀer assistance and advice and the Gallery will have a Grand opening day with instore promotions on Friday July 3rd. All are invited to drop in and browse the extended new premises.

Get Snug in Guy’s Bar A new snug style bar has recently been added to Guy’s Bar on Main St, Clifden, oﬀering cosy and comfortable

Moycullen Back & Wellness Clinic Dr Patricia Roy, DC, has recently established Moycullen Back & Wellness Clinic in Moycullen village where she specialises in chiropractic and acupuncture. Patricia uses gentle techniques, eﬀective for all ages and can combine chiropractic and acupuncture care for faster recovery if necessary. Arthritis, back and neck pain, headaches, jaw pain, knee pain, maternity and infant care, sciatica, shoulder pain, and trapped nerves are just some of the conditions that Patricia treats and she can be contacted for appointments on (091) 868 675.

Acupuncture at Connemara Chiropractic Connemara Chiropractic has added another element to its business- Maara Mulgrew Lic.Ac.TCM. is now holding an Acupuncture Clinic there. Her aim is to restore and maintain health naturally, a wide range of conditions are treated, from anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, depression, eczema, fatigue and headache to insomnia, IBS, menstrual disorders, muscular pain, sports injuries, and stress. For more information go to www.acupunctureclinic.ie or contact Maara on 087 970 1648.

Shiatsu Massage

surroundings in addition to the bar’s original layout. The intimate second bar area, which replaces Guys oﬀ license, incorporates one private snug as well as a number of tables with soft scatter cushions, next to an open ﬁreplace with a vintage style feel provided by the decor and lighting. The new area has been a hit with locals and visitors alike so far, adding an old style and welcoming feel to one of Clifden’s oldest bars.

West PC Repair A new computer services business has opened an oﬃce premises on Market St in Clifden. West PC Repair, run by Paul McNamara and Emma Wennersten oﬀers a full range of IT maintenance and repair, from PC clean-up, networking and troubleshooting, to onsite repairs, pick-up and return of PC, and much more. Internet access, printing, laminating, media transfer and CD burning from digital cameras are also available. West PC’s dedicated van is available for collections and house calls when necessary and is open from 10-6 daily from Monday to Friday, phone (095) 22668.

Shiatsu Massage uses the fingers and palm of one’s hand to apply pressure to particular sections on the surface of the body for the purpose of correcting the imbalances of the body and for health and relaxation purposes. It is now being offered in the Connemara area by Irene Buglia, I.E.S, F.I.S. Shiatsu works along the same pressure points as acupuncture, but is needle free, using pressure with fingers. Irene can be contacted for appointments at 085 101 6140.

Have your Luggage Delivered A new 7 days a week Luggage Transfer Service is now fully operational throughout Galway, South Mayo, Westport,

Connemara View Newspaper

July 2009

Planning Applications continued 09986 Foyle, Barbra, Belleek, 18/05/09. For renovation of existing semi-ruinous structures: consisting of the following (a) proposed new roofs to existing structures, which shall be retained (b) the construction of a new extension (c) new septic tank, percolation area and ancillary site works. 091088 McDermott, Ruth & Paul , Roundstone, 02/06/09. For a new dormer window in the front roof pitch to replace existing roof light. 091089 Hession, Ivan, Inverin, 02/06/09. Chun coimeadu do oiriunu aileir do dha sheomra codlata agus seomra teaghlaigh, agus cead togaa do gharaiste le ailear. 091090 Murphy, Catherine, Oghery, 02/06/09. For the construction of a storage shed. 091093 McWilliams, Leo, Ballyconneely, 03/06/09. For a development comprising of a single house dormer style and connection into previously approved sewerage treatment scheme (reg ref: 05-776). Also for a retention permission for an entrance gate and access road. 091094 Emin, Chris & Lesley, Derryadd West, 03/06/09. For (a) retention of demolition of existing dwelling house, (b) retention of foundation and site works to date, (c) completion of works as per granted permission Ref. No. 08/2410. 091105 McDonagh, Brid, Minna, 04/06/09. Chun teach conaithe, garaiste agus coras coireala fuiolluisce a thogail. 091106 Tiernan, Cathal, Aille, 04/06/09. Chun teach conaithe, garaiste agus coras coireala fuiolluisce a thogail. 091124 De Brun, Reamonn, Mweenish, 05/06/09. Chun sineadh a chur ar theach conaithe agus poirse le cloch aitiuil ar thosach an ti. 091127 O’Dowd, Peter, Kylemore, 05/06/09. For the development of a two-storey dwelling, conservatory, garage, treatment unit and percolation area. 091128 O’Toole, Michael, Cloonisle, 05/06/09. To erect a dwelling with sewage treatment plant, polishing filter and ancillary site works. 091130 Donovan, Richard & Elanor, Eighterard, 05/06/09. For the change of house plans and elevations on new revised site boundaries (on already approved planning ref. no. 06/502) and new rear garage/store with septic tank and associated services (lands zoned residential). 091146 Coyne, Darren, Tooreena, 09/06/09. For the construction of a dwelling house, garage proprietary treatment plant, percolation area and ancillary site works. 091155 Gallagher, Peter & Mari, Letterfore, 10/06/09. For demolition of existing single storey extensions to existing cottage and construction of new dormer extension, new shed, connection to main sewer and associated site works. 091172 Flaherty, Anthony, Tooreena, Renvyle 11/06/09. For retention/completion for development consisting of an existing dwelling house which differs in design from that submitted in the original planning application which was granted and the enlargement of an existing septic tank. 091173 O’Neill, Winifred, Ballyconneely, 11/06/09. To replace existing unoccupied dwellinghouse, with a new one, tertiary sewage treatment system including sand filtration system and percolation area and ancillary services. 091192 McDonagh, Patrick, Clynagh , 16/06/09. To retain (1) alterations to existing office to funeral home, (2) retention and completion of rear yard, toilet, store and headstone storage area to rear of existing building and (3) change of use of office to toilets and kitchen. 091193 Doorley, Eamonn, Scrahallia, 16/06/09. To construct a dwelling house, domestic garage, advanced mechanical wastewater treatment plant, polishing filter and all associated services. 091219 Ni Thuathail, Maire, Bealadangan, 19/06/09. Chun teach conaithe, garaiste agues coras eisilte a thogail. 091221 McHugh, Kathriona, Dohulla (Ballynahinch by), 19/06/09. For a dwelling house and private wastewater treatment system. 091265 Redmond, Colm J, Cashel, 25/06/09. For 1) new sewage treatment and polishing filter, 2) construction of 8 no. self-contained holiday units, 3) construction of new facade, including singage to the existing bar of the hotel and extend same at the Zetland Hotel, which is a protected structure, RPS (Ref. No. 659). 091269 Staunton, Ann, Clifden Demesne, 26/06/09. For (a) extension and alterations to existing dwelling house, (b) construct a new septic tank and provide puriflo sewage treatment system, (c) all ancillary site works and site services. 091271 McNulty, P, Ballynahown, 26/06/09. Chun teach conaithe, garaiste agus coras searachais. Source: www.galway.ie

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Consumer Watchdog: Online Shopping and WiFi Hotspots Scared To Shop Online? Does the idea of entering your credit/debit card details online send a shiver down your spine? Well, you are right to be cautious, however, shopping online can be a good experience when you do it wisely. It may surprise you to know that Irish shoppers are leading the way in online retail therapy. According to Europewide research by online marketplace eBay, the Irish are at the forefront of the growing business of online shopping! E-commerce specialists Magico.ie found that in 2008 more than €12 million a day was spent on online sales in Ireland. EU consumer aﬀairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva recently proposed new rules to make cross-border internet shopping easier and safer.

Internet Fear is Common A recent survey - conducted by the Office of Fair Trading in the UK - stated that over a third of Brits who use the internet are too scared to shop online! Enterprise-ireland.com stated that of the Irish Internet users surveyed, 51% said they would not shop online. First let’s look at the major pitfalls and then guidelines to avoid being ‘click pocketed’. • Debit and credit card fraud: Misuse of your financial details. • Identity theft – When personal information is stolen and used to open credit card accounts, apply for loans etc.. all in the victim’s name. • Faulty goods – Receiving and returning goods can be seen as a major hassle, but is really no different to returning goods to a high street shop, especially when using a reputable business. • Scams – Yes they are out there and I have been the victim of one or two in my time! One rule to follow is that if it seems too good to be true it normally is. One ‘scam’ that stands out for me was an offer from a ‘Garda Auction Site’ only one item per buyer. Items ranged from 50” flat screen tvs to digital cameras. As silly as this may sound, it really did look above board. I am still waiting for my flat screen tv! I (and many of my friends) had paid through PayPal though and we were all fully reimbursed.

Guidelines to Shopping Wisely • Protect your financial info and identity. Using payment methods such as PayPal or 3V Visa Vouchers (www.3v.ie) ensures that you are not giving sensitive financial details away. PayPal in particular allows you to send payments quickly and securely online. Your item will be protected to its full value (including postage). PayPal also protects you, the buyer, if you are unfortunate to have been a victim of a “scam” and have paid through the official PayPal site. You WILL be reimbursed. • Choose shopping sites that are reputable, for example eBay or Amazon. Well established firms are more likely to make the efforts needed to protect your information and sellers on eBay are reviewed and monitored carefully. • Basic computer protection – Before logging on to the Internet make sure to install firewall software, anti-viral

Know Your Rights I am 67 and live in Ireland and my pension is paid from the UK. I own my house and live alone. Can I get Living Alone Allowance or other Irish benefits? Unfortunately, as you are not getting an Irish social welfare payment, you do not qualify for Living Alone Increase. However, there are several other benefits for which you may qualify, including Household Benefits, Free Travel and Fuel Allowance. The Household Benefits Package is made up of: Electricity Allowance: Covers normal standing charges and up to 2,400 units of electricity per year. Natural Gas allowance: Up to €540 per year. Electricity (Group Account): For tenants who have slot meters or whose bill is in the landlord’s name. Bottled Gas Refill Allowance: For people who are not connected to an electricity/gas supply.

programmes and anti-spyware as these ensure people cannot scan your PC once you are online. As much as I love living in the wild west of Connemara it often really frustrates me how hard it can be to ﬁnd certain items and within my price range. Therefore shopping online has become a necessity for me. Don’t get me wrong, I know how unsettling it can be to enter your ﬁnancial details on a website, but if you take certain precautions it can actually be as safe as shopping on your local high street. Paula Bann

eBay Shopping I have been using eBay for nearly 10 years and although I’ve had to deal with a few ‘questionable’ sellers, the good experiences definitely outweigh the bad, especially when it comes to finding something weird, wacky and original for that special person in your life. Essentially eBay is an online auction and shopping website which sells a plethora of goods and services worldwide. Most people fail to realise that a vast majority of sellers on eBay are genuine retailers. Most sales take place through a set-time auction format, but a large number of listings contain a “Buy It Now” or “Best Offer” option. The eBay homepage is very user friendly, simply type a keyword or phrase into the search bar and this will give you a list of items. Often you will find it is better to bid closer to the end of auctions, this reducing the chance of getting pulled into a bidding war! Also check auctions finishing on Sunday evenings as many people bid on working days. Once you have entered you maximum bid, eBay (through automatic bidding) will bid until the reserve price or your maximum amount is met. Your maximum bid is kept confidential until it is exceeded by another bidder and eBay will let you know if you’ve been outbid.

Staying Connected In Connemara It is not so long ago that the ‘real world’ was very far away from Connemara. Connecting to the internet when touring our beautiful countryside was near to impossible. However, this has all changed and whether you are a tourist or a local on a day out, you can check your email, Skype, upload your photos or even do some work throughout the region. If you are travelling with your laptop, you have a wealth of wiﬁ hotspots at your disposal. Below we have a chart outlining some of the outlets that have internet access. The list is continuously changing and some outlets (not included) have reservations about advertising the service. While some outlets may charge, you might be surprised what a smile and the purchase of a beverage or two might do for you. Where a coded password is required this may be gotten from a staﬀ member on request.

eBay Tips • Research, read the item description very carefully and make sure you understand all details and pay particular attention to Postage & Packing – as P&P charges can be ridiculous! Do not make assumptions. If in doubt ask the seller. • Look at similar completed eBay listings. Decide on the amount you are actually willing to spend and stick to it! Believe me, it is very easy for your competitive streak to raise its head as an auction is about to end. • Review the seller’s feedback, this is a must!! Read the seller’s feedback score and what other buyers have said about doing business with them. Also check how long they have been a member of eBay group. • Don’t bid on multiple matching items from diﬀerent sellers, because you may be the winning bidder in more than one auction. If you do win, pay though PayPal. Buying on eBay is easy and can be great fun! You can ﬁnd almost anything for sale - from electronics to relics. So think of me next time you’re ordering your Guatemalan Trouble Doll!! (yes, they really are listed!) Happy Shopping! Paula Bann

There are also a number of internet cafés in the region if you have left the laptop at home: Video Vault, Main Street, Clifden. €4 per hour. Atlantic Hotel, Market Street, Clifden. €4 per hour. O’Dowds Café, Roundstone. €1 for 15mins. There are also Izone cards available that oﬀer internet access at a rate of €1 for 30mins or €4.50 per day. These rates also apply to use of the wireless facility in O’Dowds Bar. The Bards Den, Letterfrack. €2 for 20mins. John Durning

Telephone Allowance: Worth €26 per month. Free Television Licence: ‘Lifetime’ TV Licence. To apply, you need Form HB1. Everyone aged 66 and over living permanently in Ireland is entitled to the free travel scheme. Free travel is available on all State public transport (bus, rail and LUAS), and also on some private bus services. To apply, you need Form FT1. Under the National Fuel Scheme, a means-tested Fuel Allowance is payable to people who cannot provide for their heating needs from their own resources. It is paid weekly from the end of September to May. To apply, fill out Form NFS1. Declan Weir Further information is available from Clifden CIC, which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Telephone: 095 22000 & 087 1301100 / Email: clifden@citinfo. ie. Address: c/o VEC Office, Statoil Apartments, Galway Road, Clifden. Open Thursday 7pm to 8pm & Friday 10:30am to 3:30pm. Phone service available outside those hours (087 1301100). Citizens Information is also available online at www.citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service, Lo-Call 1890 777 121.

Have a Consumer Complaint? Let us know! Phone us at 095-22888 or email us at news@connemaraview.com Page 30

July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper

Omey Island Tragedy Fund Update & Acknowledgement Following the setting up of the Omey Island Tragedy Fund Committee, it was agreed to carry out door-todoor ticket sales throughout the Connemara area for the Benefit Night set for July 3rd at 8:30pm in the Clifden Station House Hotel. Assistance was requested by way of local radio and press, as well as word of mouth to the various parishes, and the response was overwhelming to say the least. The Committee would like to sincerely thank all the people who participated in the door-to-door sales and introduced our members to their local communities who have given so generously to this fund. We would also like to say a huge thank you to all those who have purchased tickets and given donations. The Benefit Night function will begin at 8:30pm sharp. The music on the night will consist of many performances including local musicians and musicians from Inis Bofin. Due to the considerable number of prize contributions we will also be holding an auction on the night. We have received a wide variety of items including artwork (paintings, prints and sculpture) – by Joe Boske, Caroline Canning, John Coll, Margaret Irwin, Cathal O’Malley and some other local artists. Thanks also to all of the local quarries and suppliers for their kind donations of several loads of sand and gravel

and hardware. Going on the generosity shown so far, the night is sure to be a tremendous success. Finally, we would like to thank the wider community who have taken tickets and sold them the length and breadth of the country. We have received donations from north, south, east and west of Ireland, as well as from across the water in the U.K. The support is very much appreciated by all. Laurence Conneely

Death Notices Monica Casey (née Canavan), Streamstown, Clifden Margaret Gearaghty, Carna Sarah Nee, Roundstone Chris O’Toole, Streamstown, Clifden The Connemara View would like to extend sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased. This list is compiled from various sources and we apologise for any errors or omissions.

The Connemara View now welcomes Acknowledgements & Remembrances. Special offer June through October 2009: Price per word: €0.15 (normally €0.25). Photo: €5.

Letters to the Editor No Pony Studbook Madam, At the AGM of the Connemara Pony Breeders Society, radical changes were made on several issues, including a proposal to discontinue the production of a written Studbook. The memorandum of Association states clearly to inspect Connemara ponies offered for registration, in compliance with the Society’s Rules for Registration and to publish a Stud Book containing particulars of eligible ponies. The founder members that were responsible for the initial drafting of the Articles of Association of the Society clearly could not have had a computer in mind. Therefore one can only assume that the intention was to produce a printed Stud Book in which case the Council of today would be bound to follow those directions. It was stated at the meeting that due to the rising cost of printing it is no longer viable for the society to publish a written version of the Stud Book. Instead the delegates were told that the society proposes to have the information online “as everybody has a computer these days”. The grassroots are getting thin on the ground as time goes by, many are now in their twilight years and do not deserve to be treated like second class citizens, least of all by the Mother Society put in place by men and women who worked so hard to establish the Stud Book and the Connemara Pony as a true native Irish Breed. With the influx of foreign stallions plus Classification and Frozen Semen, breeders are more confused than ever as to what is happening. It is vital to document information in written form and to maintain the Stud Book as the founders intended it. The Pony has put Connemara, especially Clifden on the map all over the world. Without the studbook the pony will wilt into the wilderness, buried beneath bureaucracy. On a personal note, I appeal to the Society to consider when, and why, they were established; was it not, as I, like many others understand, to produce and maintain the written studbook. Ruth Rogers

Connemara View Newspaper

Dear Editor, I was both dismayed and saddened by Ruth Rogers’s recent letter concerning the decision of the Connemara Pony Breeders Society to discontinue printing a studbook. The internet, we are told, is to take its place. There are many breeders who do not have or want an internet facility. There is NO substitute for the written word. An American breeder remarked, when an earlier volume was out of print, and it was suggested she use the internet; ‘I cannot take a laptop to bed with me’. It is a fact that the studbook sits on many a bedside table. It has been my bible for the last ﬁfty years and I cannot imagine life without it. I humbly suggest that the CPBS have an obligation to members and breeders, at home and abroad, to continue the publication of a studbook. It has always been their most important responsibility and without it, I fear, the Society is in danger of failing in its duty. Yours Sincerely Pat Lyne (Author of Shrouded in Mist and companion volumes). Note: This letter was ﬁrst published in ‘The Irish Field’ in response to Ruth Rogers’ letter.

St Joseph’s Industrial School To The Editor, Last month I wrote of the ironic preservation order which has been placed on the old St Joseph’s Industrial School in Clifden which now stands empty and ruined. This order arrived after the property had been initially oﬀered to our organisation to develop as a special needs unit for children and for social housing. Now we see that there is a strong and expensive looking fence being erected around the property. As one prominent citizen of Clifden then remarked to me: “So it would seem an old building is worth more than the people themselves. The needs of the building are more important than the needs of the people!” What a sad reﬂection, but how true of the methods so often employed to ensure that nothing is done. Co Councillors please note! Yours etc, Anthony Previté Connemara Sheltered Housing Association Ltd, Elm Tree Centre, Clifden

July 2009

Connemara Community Radio Weekly Schedule Broadcasting 11 am to 9 pm each day on 87.8 FM & 106.1 FM Weather Forecast and Community Notices at 3 pm, 4 pm and 8 pm. Sponsored by Broderick Electric, Sweeney Oil and Gannon Sports. * Indicates Sponors

Monday: 11am-12 Noon: Magazine Programme with

Heather Heanue and Colleen Currran. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Listen Here with Pete Ball. 5.05-6pm: Hooked on Music with John Duane. *Clifden Chamber of Commerce. 6-7pm: Alternate Weeks - As Gaeilge with Caitriona Nic Ghiollaphadraig OR Heyday with Sinead Mannion & Bobbi O Regan. 7-8pm: Talk Sportwith Vivian Cotter. 8pm: Roundstone Report with Richard de Stacpoole and Anne Conneely. 8.15-9pm: Ann’s Mixed Bag with Ann Conneely. Tuesday: 11am-12 Noon: Magazine Programme with Cliona Sheehan. *Connemara View Newspaper. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Gateway Hour with Louisa Jack. 5.05-6pm: Jack’s Spot with Jack Tomlinson. 67pm: Live with John Dunne. 7-8pm: Community Matters with Pat O’Toole. *Tullycross and Cashel Credit Unions. 8pm: Cashel Report with Bernard Lee. 8.30-9pm: Classical Half Hour with Pat O’Toole. Wednesday: 11am-12 Noon: Magazine Programme with Mary Roe. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Gateway Hour with Mickey Mac. 5.05-6pm: Double Trouble with Mickey Mac. Inishbofin Report returning soon. 6- 7pm: My Kind of Music with Martin Conroy. *ClifdenSupply Centre.7-8pm: Lift the Latch with Michael O’ Neill and Helen King. 8pm: Clifden Report with Breandan O’Scanaill. 8.15-9pm: Music with Pat Keaney. Thursday: 11am-12 Noon: Magazine Programme with Cathy Keane and Brendan O’Malley. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Gateway Hour with Kathleen O’Brien. 5.05-6pm: Fáilte with Mary Corbett Joyce. 6- 7pm: Take it Easy with Michael O’Toole. 7-8pm: The Great Outdoors with Breandan O’Scanaill. *Acton Construction.8 pm: Cleggan Claddaghduff Report with Mary Gordon O’Toole. 8.15-9pm: Breandan O’Scanaill. Friday: 11am-12 Noon: Magazine Programme with Samantha Heanue & Priscilla Diamond. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Gateway Hour with Tonya Ni Chuirínn. 5.05-6pm: The Friday Feeling with Margaret Sheehan. 6-7pm: Lyrical Allsorts with Linda O’Malley. 7-8pm: Injury Time with various presenters. *AIB Clifden. 8pm: Ballyconneely Report with John O’ Malley. 8.15-9pm: American Country with Brendan Ridge. *Alcock & Brown Hotel.

Saturday: 11am-12 Noon: Monkeying Around with

Heather Kearney. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Gateway Hour with Tonya Ni Chuirrín. 5.05-6pm: Pretty Good Day so Far! with Sean Halpenny. 6- 7pm: Blue Highways with Lol Hardiman. 7-9 pm: Music Spectacular Alternate Weeks - Shelter from the Storm with Dave O’ Halloran or Coast to Coast with Paul Phelan. Sunday: 10-11am: Sounds a Bit Irish with Eamonn McLoughlin. *Mulchrone Bros, Westport. .11am-12noon: Mass from Clifden. 12-4pm: Repeat of previous evenings broadcast. 4-5pm: Listen Here with Pete Ball. 5.05-6pm: Words & Music with Kathleen Faherty . 6- 7pm: Footappin’ Time with Tom Mongan. 7-8pm: Senior Side of the Street with Josephine De Courcey. *FORUM. 8pm: Ballinakill Report with Paddy Gannon. Insihbofin Report with Tommy Burke. 8.15-9pm: Decades of Hits with Michael Coyne.

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JULY Horoscopes Aries (Mar 21-Apr 20) If you are on the top of your game or in the slump of a lifetime, remember that it takes both the highs and lows to make life work. Taurus (Apr 21-May 20) It’s time for you to splurge and get that little item or thing that you have had your eye on for some time now, you deserve it. Gemini (May 21-Jun 21) Start advancing towards your desired objective. Now is the time to move and take action to get what you want. Cancer ( Jun 22-Jul 22) Happy Birthday! This will be a very good month for you Cancer, lucky things will just happen for you and all around you. Leo ( Jul 23-Aug 23) It’s time to trust a little more this month, take down some of the barriers you use to protect yourself and be open to what others have to offer. Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 22) A timely message from a ginger pal sets you on a new course that will prove to be advantageous for you. Libra (Sep 23-Oct 23) When other people want what you have, sometimes you do need to put up a fight to keep it. The choice is yours as always. Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22) Know that this month you can be calm, assured and relaxed. There will be nothing to worry about or that you cannot handle. Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21) It is your time. This month sees you complete any goals, jobs, plans, etc. So get out there and get it all done. Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20) This is a month of big changes for you Capricorn. Be ready and as prepared as you can be, don’t get blind-sided. Aquarius ( Jan 21-Feb 19) This month celebrate all the good things that have been happening for you lately. Even if they are small, they deserve to be enjoyed. Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20) After a long and exhausting work schedule you can finally take a bit of a break, so rest up as the work never really ends.

JULY Tarot The King of Pentacles reversed in the past tells you that you did not trust your instincts about a recent decision and now have some doubts about it. With the 2 of Swords in the present you are stuck between two diﬃcult choices and are not sure what to do. Go back to that gut feeling and let it guide you. In the future the Ace of Cups lets you know that all will be well and good as long as you make the right choice and follow the correct path for you.

JULY runes The blank rune is your action and you are being told to trust in everything and your own destiny. Remove all doubts about the future and simply wait. The challenge you face with the Warrior rune is to not take any action, but examine your own motives carefully. You will ﬁnd the answers within yourself. Growth as the Overview lets you know that after the time of inaction will come a period of growth and movement forward can be achieved.

“Blossoming Does Occur” Connemara Corncrakes BirdWatch Ireland are renewing their appeal for reports from anyone hearing the very loud, nocturnal call of Ireland’s only endangered species of animal or bird, the Corncrake.

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So far this year, at the halfway point of the annual Corncrake count, there is a minimum of 12 Corncrakes in Galway, with nine so far counted in Connemara, including at least five on Inishturbot (although as many as seven have been reported), two on the mainland at Cleggan and near Tully and one on Omey Island. Of two initially reported on Inishbofin, only one has continued to be heard at Westquarter. A report of one heard on Inishshark is thought to have been the remaining Bofin Corncrake on a day-trip! Three Corncrakes have been confirmed so far in the Shannon Callows. Nationally, three Corncrakes have been confirmed on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, six in Sligo, 30 in Mayo and 50 in Donegal. The next few weeks are the last chance to find more Corncrakes this

On Saturday July 4th, the Earth is at aphelio, its furthest distance from the Sun, about 3% further away from the Sun than we are at perihelion in early January, but the longer hours of sunlight and the higher altitude of the Sun more than make up for this. Moon: Full Moon is on Tuesday July 7th, when the Moon is in Sagittarius. At Full, the Moon is on the opposite side of the sky to the Sun; so it rises in the south-east at sunset, slides just above the southern horizon during the short summer night, and sets in the south-west at sunrise the following morning. During the following week, as it wanes gibbous, it continues to rise at about the same time each evening, but it sets much later each morning. New Moon is on Wednesday July 22nd. The new crescent Moon probably won’t be visible in the north-west after sunset until at least Sunday 26th. It sets a little later each successive evening. Full Moon occurs again on Thursday August 6th. Lunar Occultations: As the Moon orbits around the Earth each month, it passes between us and the distant stars. Occasionally, it moves directly in front of a naked-eye star, and occults (hides) it. This happens much less often than one might expect. But in the early hours of Saturday July 18th, the Moon passes in front of-not one star, but a large part of the Pleiades or “Seven Sisters” star-cluster. As soon as the Moon rises high enough to be visible, soon after midnight BST, a pair of binoculars will show the star-cluster immediately to the left of the narrow crescent. Around 2:30am (the exact time depends on your precise location), 4thmagnitude Merope will disappear behind the bright crescent. The disappearance may be hard to see, but Merope will re-appear magically from behind the dark upper limb of the Moon about half an hour later. The brightest of the Sisters, Alcyone, will just graze the top edge of the Moon, but Atlas and nearby Pleione will be occulted soon after 3:30am, reappearing about 4:15am. Mercury is at superior conjunction (almost directly behind the Sun) on July 14th. We are very unlikely to see this elusive little planet, this month. Venus is rising two or three hours before the Sun, and by dawn it shines a hand’s breadth above the eastern horizon. Although it is low in the twilight sky, the “Morning Star” is so bright that it can be picked up easily in clear conditions. On the morning of Sunday July 19th, the real waning Moon will appear close above Venus and slightly to the left; the two objects will be five degrees apart, and may just fit into the same field of view in a pair of binoculars. Mars: At the start of July, Mars appears very close to Venus in the eastern sky at dawn; it’s a little higher and further right, just 4 degrees away. As the month goes by, the orientation of the two planets stays year-most of them stop calling in early July. BirdWatch Ireland is renewing its appeal for reports from anyone hearing one. The local number to report hearing a Corncrake is 095 44941, or online at www.birdwatchgalway.ie. Photo courtesy of Birdwatch Ireland.

July 2009

much the same, but the gap opens up; by the end of July, Mars is 15 degrees to the upper right of Venus. But the Red Planet is far further away than Venus, and it looks much fainter-just like a dim yellowish dot. On the morning of Saturday July 18th, the Moon will appear directly above Mars, about 7 degrees away. Jupiter is rising in the south-east before midnight, and is well up in the southern sky at dawn. Relative to the stars, the giant planet is moving very slowly westwards in Capricornus, much lower down than the three bright stars of the “Summer Triangle”. Jupiter should still outshine any of the real stars. In the telescope, Jupiter shows a disc growing to 48 arc-seconds in diameter, but at such a low altitude it may not show much detail, except perhaps for a faint banding. In binoculars, some of its four major moons may be seen as tiny points of light, in a near-straight line to either side of the planet. Often, only two or three may be visible-either because one is hiding behind the planet, or occasionally because one moon is hiding behind another moon, or in another moon’s shadow. Early on the morning of Friday July 10th, our own waning Moon will be the same height as Jupiter, but about 10 degrees to the right; the following morning, the Moon will be 4 degrees to the upper left of the planet. Saturn is in the W sky at dusk. At the start of July, it doesn’t set until after midnight, but by the end of the month it disappears at 10:30pm. Relative to the stars, it is moving slowly SE, in the constellation of Leo, well to the left of the bright star Regulus and a little higher up. Saturn appears a little brighter than Regulus, and it shines with a steady, untwinkling light, slightly creamier in colour than the bluewhite star. In the telescope, Saturn’s rings form a very narrow oval, 38 arc-seconds wide but less than 2 arc-seconds high. The disc of the planet itself is about 17 arcseconds across, and may show some faint banding. Many of Saturn’s moons may also show up; the largest and brightest one is Titan. Titan will be immediately north of Saturn around July 2nd and 18th, about 3 arc-minutes west of the planet around July 6th and 22nd, immediately south of the planet around July 10th and 26th, and 3 arc-minutes to the east around July 14th and 30th. On the evening of Monday July 27th, if you manage to ﬁnd our own crescent Moon very low in the western sky, Saturn will appear about 7 degrees above it. Meteors: There are various minor meteorshowers which are active in July, mainly with radiants in the Capricornus-Aquarius area. Towards the end of the month we may also start to see the ﬁrst of the Perseids, which peak in August. John Claró

Send in your news, views & photos to news@ connemaraview.com

Connemara View Newspaper

Too wet for trees? I recently had a conversation with a couple who had spent a lot of money on planting trees and shrubs and having an area of their garden drained. They were very disappointed with the results. Out of all the trees they planted only one has survived. The area has gone back to being wet again and they are now growing a fine crop of rushes. I have great sympathy for anyone in that situation and believe me, there are many people in the same boat. It is difficult to give them much encouragement as they very often lose interest after such a costly exercise. Before you start to garden two things are important, check your soil type and the conditions of the garden. This should be done before planting anything, or certainly anything special or expensive. By this I mean learn the good and bad points about your garden. Firstly, consider the soil type. Is it acidic or neutral, heavy or light, stony or sandy? There will probably be different conditions in the various parts of the garden. These should be identified and marked on a plan of the garden. A simple and inexpensive soil sample kit can be purchased in many garden shops and perhaps from chemists. This will give you a reading of the ph balance and you can plan for that. Of course, it is possible to alter the soil to a certain extent, but this is often costly and of limited value. Secondly, it is important to be aware of the aspects of the garden. Which way is the sun shining throughout the day? Is there much trouble with wind, frost or dry conditions? Is there heavy shade or none? Will the children play football in that area? Is that where the

Make Your Garden Even Greener While many of us are aware and informed on the beneﬁts of composting, it seems to be one of those habits that we often begin with gusto then lose interest in as it is not a process that gives quick results. Even if the eventual compost is just given away, it is still better than contributing to large amounts of waste comprising of both bio and non degradable matter into our already rubbish overloaded world, and paying for the privilege. Composting your suitable household waste is simple, good for the environment we all live in and signiﬁcantly reduces the amount of rubbish you need to get rid of, thereby saving money. It all makes sense - so start composting now!

Where and how? There are many composting bins on the market, but they are really just containers. While bins are neater and easier to manage, a heap surrounded by concrete blocks, rocks or wood can just be covered with polythene or cardboard. It should be located in a sunny or semi shaded location, directly on the ground and away from water courses. The optimal conditions for producing good compost: Drainage. Good compost bins allow liquids to drain easily. The materials in your compost pile should be as moist as a damp, wrung out sponge. Air flow. Most compost bins are designed to maximise air flow and circulation. Oxygen keeps away the anaerobic microbes that can create bad smells and is fuel for the aerobic microbes that break down matter into finished compost. Get air into the

cars will be parked, or will the cattle or sheep from next door be able to stretch in and eat your newly planted trees? These may seem obvious but the number of people who get it wrong would surprise you. There’s no point in planting trees or shrubs which require full sun and a free draining sandy soil if your garden is dark and shady and on boggy heavy clay. They might survive, but you shouldn’t aim for mere survival, your aim should be for thriving plants. Getting back to the couple in question, they planted trees which were not suitable for the site. It is diﬃcult to ﬁnd plants which do well in waterlogged soil, but alder trees (see photo) are always a good choice. They grow fairly fast and although not evergreen have

from the really wet areas. Then, with the view of the road blocked, they could begin to plant bog plants. These would settle in quickly, give colour and provide a small bit of shelter to that area.

Making use of what you have That brings me back to something I have written about before, and that is making use of what you have in the garden. Some people spend fortunes to have rocks and walls removed while others spend fortunes putting these features in. If you have what seems like a problem area, try to look at it from a diﬀerent angle. A rock face or a pile of rock can be used to display a huge range of plants and add form to an otherwise featureless garden. The

and its branches. By allowing it to become a support for other plants they could give it a second life. If you have a very wet area, think about creating a pond, lake or bog garden. Remember that exposed water can be a child hazard, so if you have young children or grandchildren, it can be a risk. There are ways around this, like fencing in the area. Of course, there need be little or no standing water for making a bog garden if your conditions are correct. There are hundreds of plants which can be used in this type of garden and some can be very exotic looking, so let your imagination go free. Most garden centres will have plenty of plants which are suitable, from actual water plants to marginal ones, which grow around water and even damp loving plants.

Gunnera

a dense growth pattern which will shield you from nosy neighbours. The other thing I would suggest is to plant trees and shrubs on a raised platform, something like a lazy bed, which helps keep the roots above water level. In the case of the couple, it would seem obvious that as their land sloped down to the wet area, they could put shelter belts up a little compost by turning it through with a fork. Insulation. Temperature is key to the breakdown of compost which is self insulating.If you pile materials on top of compost, the middle of the stack will be the warmest. Position it so that the wind doesn’t blow on it and so that it sits in sunlight. Good mix of various ingredients. If you have just one thing, like grass clippings alone, or leaves alone, it takes a long time to break down. But if you have several materials mixed together, they break down much more quickly. Organic material falls into two categories: Green or ‘Nitrogen Rich’ organic material is wet and often green, like grass clippings or fruit and vegetables. Brown or ‘Carbon Rich’ organic material is dry, woody material that is usually brown, such as fallen leaves, and tree-cuttings. A decent mixture of both types of components will yield the best compost. A guideline mix is 75% “brown” material and 25% “green” scraps by volume.

Do Compost: Green • Coﬀee grounds • Tea leaves and tea bags • Fruit and vegetable waste (cooked or uncooked) - roots, cores, etc • Bread, pasta and rice • Cut and dead ﬂowers • Manure from any vegetarian pets e.g. rabbits, hamsters. (Activator) • Grass cuttings and green leaves (Activator) • Weeds (Avoid roots and seed heads) • Old plants (Not diseased-if in doubt, leave it out!) • Seaweed or garden-pond cleanings (Activator) Activators are the primary food of the organisms,

Connemara View Newspaper

Victorians were great at exposing rocks and creating rockeries, some of which were rather bizarre. Old walls can be repaired or left a bit untidy; these are perfect as backdrops to climbing plants and can add drama and height to any garden, particularly ﬂat ones. A friend asked me about a dead tree that they were planning to move from their garden. This was going to prove a bit awkward, as taking it from its position would probably work out fairly expensive. I suggested that as long as it was not dangerous, they should consider planting climbing roses, clematis or sweet peas against and around the tree and help to establish the bin or speed up the process

Brown • Egg shells • Kitchen paper • Newspaper, papers and light cardboard, e.g. cereal or crumpled shoe boxes (Newspapers, cardboard and paper can be added in small crumpled amounts but it is better to recycle them). • Pet hairs and human hairs • Wood/peat/peat ashes (no coal ashes) • Tree prunings and woody material (chopped) • Hay and straw • Sawdust or wood shavings.

Do Not Compost: • Scraps from meat and ﬁsh-this will attract pests and vermin • Grease and oil-takes a long time to decompose and attracts pests • Cat or dog litter and faeces, disposable nappies-pathogens (diseased cells) will not be killed by the temperatures • Glossy magazines or papers-the plastic coating will not decompose • Barbecue or coal ash • Large woody material • Evergreen shrubs-too acidic

A number of people have again asked me about Gunnera which I have mentioned on many occasions. The Galway County Biodiversity Project has come out with a very useful leaflet which talks about this plant and suggests ways of getting rid of it. This is one of a number of leaflets which look at invasive species in County Galway. A copy of these brochures and advice on the do’s and don’ts can be got from Elaine O’ Riordan, Applied Ecology Unit, Centre for Environmental Sciences, NUI, Galway, (091) 493863 or by e-mail elaine.oriordan@nuigalway.ie. If the hot weather comes back to us, please remember to water all plants in containers and newly planted trees and shrubs especially. No harm to give them a top dressing or mulch so that the soil will retain moisture longer. If you have a large number of pots, you could stand them on wet newspaper or old carpet, keep this wet and the water will soak into the pots, or at least the air around the pots will be a little cooler. Happy gardening! Breandan O Scanaill ery and also offer free advice on how to use them. Assistant Environmental Awareness Officer Mark Molloy can be contacted at 091-476485 or mkmolloy@galwaycoco.ie. Further information can also be obtained from www.galway.ie . (Click Services, then Environment on the drop down menu on the left, then Waste Management & Recycling. There is then another click-through for information and guidelines on composting, as well as many other environmental matters). Helpful information can also be obtained from the Composting Association of Ireland on www. cre.ie. Catherine Pryce

Galway County Council’s Environment Section oﬀers home composting bins for a one oﬀ price of €45 including deliv-

July 2009

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Herbs: Everywhere and for Everyone! We are very blessed to be living here in Connemara, one of the most beautiful and unspoiled areas of the world. Not only do we have amazingly wonderful views, beaches, mountains, lakes and countryside, there is also a plethora of healing herbs right there at our feet. Some people believe that the herbs growing at your door in any given time of the year are the very ones that you might need at that time. Whether that is the case or not, it is true that our fields and gardens offer us a veritable natural pharmacy. Some easy to recognise herbs would be the common daisy, red clover, horsetail, coltsfoot, heal-all, dandelion, marshmallow and stinging nettle. Often these herbs are discarded as weeds and pulled out of the garden because we have lost the knowledge that our forbears had. Just think of all the back breaking work we put in to pulling daisies from a lawn when, if we only knew it, the Daisy, or Bellis Perennis, is a great natural solution to back pain from over work! Red Clover is an herb that can help both women and children. For children with eczema or psoriasis, Red Clover cleanses the blood relieving the itching and other distressing symptoms. It also makes an excellent expectorant during chesty coughs. For women, it can help reduce menopausal symptoms because it is full of isoflavones which can regulate hormones.

A simple tea made from flower heads would be one way to use it. Horsetail is one of the oldest plants on the planet, literally millions of years old and is full of silica which makes it ideal for the lungs and the urinary system due to its capacity for rebuilding tissue. Silica is one of our body’s building blocks and is necessary for tissue repair to delicate areas such as the lungs, the pelvic floor, skin hair and nails. Dandelion is very easily recognisable and can be used as a health supporting food-put young leaves into your salad-or the root can be used as a kidney tonic and natural diuretic. Unlike other diuretics which expel water from the body and upset the balance of tissue salts, Dandelion replaces potassium which is particularly important in maintaining the cell membrane and correct functioning. People suffering from hay fever at this time of year can often develop skin rashes and prickly heat, as do those who are sensitive to the sun. Nettle is a great blood cleanser and can therefore reduce the itchiness and

Slip, Slop, Slap… Confusion about sunscreen can often be the main cause of sunburn. Sunscreens are designed to protect your skin by absorbing and/or reflecting UVA and UVB rays and reduce the risk of skin damage. UVB rays affect the top layers of the skin and are responsible for burning while UVA rays affect the lower layers of the skin and are responsible for ageing. The Irish Cancer Society advise people to use at least SPF “Sun Protection Factor” 15 or more and to cover up, as clothing offers the best protection. Sunscreen products sold in Ireland carry an SPF rating (2 to 60 – strength guide). SPF

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July 2009

discomfort by removing high levels of histamine. It also has anti inflammatory properties so it can be very useful for those suffering with gout and other forms of arthritis. In days gone by, people would whip their joints with nettle plants in order to get the inflammation down. Self-heal or Heal-all is a delicate small purple flowering herb which does exactly what its name suggests. It heals breaks, wounds, fractures, sprains and any other injuries. A compress would be made and applied to a wound in the past, which would have been very handy when you consider how far away and how expensive a doctor may have been. An herb which is particularly good for inflammatory problems of the digestive and respiratory systems-in fact it will soothe any mucous membrane irritation is Marshmallow. Both the leaf and the root can be used and the flowers and seeds are very tasty in a salad. If you stroke the velvety soft leaves and flower petals of this pretty pink flower, you can easily imagine how soothing it would be as a medicine. Terri Conroy is the proprietor of An Bhean Feasa Health Shop and the Clifden Holistic Centre on Lower Market St, Clifden. All information in this article is for advice only. Always consult your GP or medical practitioner with any health concern. rating measures how much longer it takes to burn skin with sunscreen, than it does without. There is some controversy about high SPF numbers and how much more protection they provide, the difference in protection between SPF 15 and SPF 30 is 5%, but is just 0.5% between SPF 30 and 40. Sunscreen shouldn’t be used to stay out in the sun longer, but should be applied liberally before moisturiser or make up, at least 20 minutes before going out. This allows the sunscreen to bind to the skin for maximum effectiveness. Reapply every two hours or more frequently if you have been swimming or perspiring. SPF does not indicate protection against UVA radiation. Look for the letters UVA in a circular shape on the product to ensure the sunscreen complies with EU standards. Two thirds of Irish people have fair skin, so we are more at risk to UV radiation and its long-term effects. Met Éireann includes a UV index by region in their daily forecast: 1-2 = Low Risk, 3-7 = Medium to High Risk, 8-9 = Very High Risk and 10- 11+ Extreme. So remember Slip on a shirt, Slop on some Sunscreen and Slap on a Hat! Paula Bann Source: www.cancer.ie / stickyfingerstravel.com/www.gosunsmart. org/www.met.ie

Connemara View Newspaper

S u ng l asses: Fash io n Acce s s or y o r H e a l t h P ro te c to r ? If the sun doesn’t bother me, do I still need to wear sunglasses? Fashion aside, sunglasses serve an important purpose: protecting eyes from the harmful rays produced by the sun. You’re probably well aware of the need to protect your skin from the sun, but it’s equally important to protect your eyes. Wearing sunglasses makes sense. Properly chosen sunglasses will protect your eyes against damage from UV rays, bright light, and blue light. The reason UV is so dangerous is because, unlike the suns infrared and visible rays which manifest themselves as heat and light, it is not easy to detect. Excessive exposure to UV light can cause permanent damage to the eyes’ surface or internal structures resulting in corneal opacity or cataract, skin cancer on the eyelids and macular degeneration. The highest risk groups, children and the elderly often wear little or no protective eyewear in the sun. There are also other safety factors to consider. For example, if you are driving a vehicle in bright sunlight, it is safer to wear sunglasses, because they reduce glare and improve contrast.

What are my options to prevent damage to my eyes? You must wear sunglasses to prevent damage to your eyes. While some contact lenses provide UV protection, they don’t cover your whole eye, so you still need sunglasses. Look for sunglasses that protect you from 99% to 100% of both UVA and UVB light. This includes those labelled as “UV 400,” which blocks all light rays with wavelengths up to 400 nanometres. (This covers all of UVA and UVB rays.) Also, you may want to consider wraparound sunglasses to prevent harmful UV rays from entering around the frame.

Do I still need those “UV Protective” sunglasses if my lenses are really dark? Yes! Most people believe that the darkness of the lens is what protects their eyes. The degree of darkness has no eﬀect on UV rays. For adequate protection, you need to buy sunglasses that indicate they block 100% of the sun’s UV rays.

What are the different kinds of lenses that are available? Polarized lenses are made using a special optical filter which absorbs reflected glare that bounces off flat surfaces such as roads or water. Photochromic lenses adjust their level of darkness based on the amount of UV light they’re exposed to.

Do those sunglasses for specific sports

really make a difference? Yes. Sports eyewear in general tends to be safer than regular sunglasses because the lenses and frames are made of special materials that are unlikely to shatter if struck and can give you the beneﬁts of both sunglasses and protective eyewear. Also, certain lens colours can enhance your vision for certain sports; brown, for example, is popular with golfers because it provides nice contrast on those very green golf courses.

Which lens colour is the best? Colour is a personal choice and doesn’t aﬀect how well the lenses protect your eyes from UV light. Grey and brown are popular because they distort colours the least. Athletes may choose other tints for their colour-enhancing properties.

What sunglasses should be avoided? Sunglasses without UV protective lenses are potentially dangerous and should be avoided. This is because the iris in your eye reacts to visible light, causing the pupil to become smaller in bright conditions. However, when light is restricted, for example by tinted lenses, the pupil opens wider to let in more light. If the tinted lenses are not 100% UV protective your eye will, in fact, absorb more UV than if you had not worn sunglasses at all! For your own protection, however, only ever wear ‘oﬀ the shelf ’ sunglasses that display the appropriate CE mark and guarantee to absorb all UV light up to 400nm. Many fashion sunglasses with pink or blue tints oﬀer little or no protection.

My children wear “Bob the Builder” glasses - they’ll do for them. Wrong. Children are at particular risk because they’re in the sun much more than adults and their eyes are more sensitive as well. UV damage is cumulative over a person’s lifetime, which means you should begin protecting your child’s eyes as soon as possible. Most parents would not allow their children to go outside without shoes, or sunscreen, yet many seem unaware of the need to protect their children’s eyes.

What type of sunglasses suit me? It is important to find a pair of sunglasses that fit properly and suit your face shape and skin tone. Ní Ráighne Opticians have a wide range of designer and prescription sunglasses to suit everyone and will advise on the best style to suit you. Each pair purchased are adjusted to provide an optimum fit. Ailbhe Patten, Optometrist at Ní Ráighne Opticians, Bridge St, Clifden. 095-30995.

Connemara View Newspaper

A G u i d e To T h e M o s t Common Health Supplements Over two articles, here and next month, I will be describing the uses of and applications of ten of the most common health supplements that are widely available and regularly used by many people to treat and improve a number of conditions. Vitamin C is not made in the body and must be obtained from fruit and vegetables. This is why we get scurvy when it is completely absent from the diet. It is sensitive to heat, so eat fruits and vegetables raw, or cook lightly. Vitamin C bolsters the immunity system. For bronchitis, the flu, or the common cold, try large doses-5 to 10 grams a day. It supports the adrenal glands-consider taking it for persistent fatigue aggravated by stress. It helps to metabolize iron into a far more absorbable form. Take it when on iron supplementation for iron deficiency anaemia. Typical dosage is 1 gram 3 times a day. Chromium is low in refined food. Polishing rice and wheat removes the husk which contains most of the minerals, including chromium. When eating carbohydrates, blood levels of chromium goes up five times. It helps metabolize carbohydrates to energy. Use it for irregularities of blood sugar, i.e. prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes (adult onset), Syndrome X, hypoglycaemia. It can also help with conditions that are associated with blood sugar irregularity Polycystic ovary syndrome, apple-shaped obesity, craving for sweets, ADD/ADHD. For superior absorption, make sure the supplementary chromium comes from living tissue (plants), not from inert matter (chromed car bumpers!). Recommended dosage is 200-300 micrograms 3 times daily. Glucosamine sulphate is popular for OA-osteoarthritis. It is a building block for joint regeneration. An antiinflammatory, it compares well with aspirin, but without the side effects. Glucosamine sulphate may work better for OA of the smaller joints (fingers, wrists, toes). The dosage is 500 milligrams 3 times a day. OA of larger joints (hip, knee) might respond better to green lipped mussel extract. Chondroitin sulphate doesn’t help-don’t bother with it. CoQ10 is critical for energy. The more active an organ is, the more CoQ10 it needs. This is why the heart, liver and kidneys are richest in CoQ10. All muscle tissue has CoQ10. It excels for heart deficiency conditions: congestive heart failure, infarct (an area of tissue death due to a local lack of oxygen), heart surgery, and stroke. Kidney weakness may benefit from CoQ10. Statins (drugs for high cholesterol

July 2009

– lovastatin, avastatin, etc) can compromise CoQ10 levels, and it may be important to take CoQ10 when on statins. Hypertension and energy problems may also be helped by CoQ10. Recommended dosage is 20-50 mg 3 times a day. Calcium: Everyone believes that calcium prevents osteoporosis. This is overly simplistic! Bone needs lots of other nutrientsmagnesium, vitamins D and K, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, and silica. Clinical trials show that a multi supplement is more eﬀective than calcium only, so use a multi. Keep in mind the big picture for osteoporosisthat it is a disease of the modern Western lifestyle. Factors to investigate include a poor diet (reﬁned foods are low in minerals and vitamins), inactivity (activity stimulates bone), and too much time indoors (direct sunlight is needed to activate Vitamin D). In the second part of this article next month I will deal with Probiotics, B vitamins, Garlic, Omega 3 and Vitamin E. Nicolas Kats ND, Lic. Ac, uses acupuncture, herbal medicine, exercise, spinal manipulation, diet and supplements. He practices in Clifden (095 30671 or 087 7714710) and Galway (091 583260). Acupuncture is partly covered by VHI, Quinn Healthcare.

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Roundstone Arts Week Second Weekend July 3rd-5th

Friday July 3rd 12pm to 2.30pm. Children and adult workshop-the creation of a St Brigid’s Cross. Max 20 people with Brendan McGowan (Galway Museum) Roundstone Library. €5. 3pm to 5pm. Full Circle African Drumming workshop with Patrick Naughton. Children of all ages. Community Hall, €5. 3pm to 5pm. Roundstone, Inspiration of artists for 100 years. Presented by John Dinan. Lower Community Hall. 4pm. Music outdoors. 9pm. The History of Curraghs from Donegal to Connemara with Author Donal Mc Polin (Donegal), Donal Green (Carna), Patrick Davis (Innishnee). A talk on lighthouses with author Jackie O’Grady (Clifden). The Anglers Return, Toombeola.€10. Saturday July 4th 10.30am - 2.30pm. Archaeological, Cultural & Wildlife Walk with John O’Halloran. Roundstone area. Approx. 4 hrs. Flagpoles. €20. 10am-12pm. Full Circle African Drumming Workshop with Patrick Naughton. Children of all ages. Flagpoles (Weather perm. or Community Hall). €5. 12.30pm. Sand Castle Competition. ‘A Story of Your Creation’, BBQ, (weather permitting). Dogs Bay. €5. 3pm. A Talk with the Rev. Anthony M.A. Previté. “A guide to Connemara’s Early Christian Sites”. Lower Community Hall. Tea will be oﬀered. €5. 4pm. Music Outdoors. 5pm. Three - Legged Pub Race. Over 18yrs. Pairs to be a man and a woman. O’Dowd’s wall. €10. 6.15 pm Tegolin’s Tales Theater presents two plays: “Tom Connor’s Cat” and “Fionn McCumhaill & The Dark Pool” Suitable for children of all ages. www. tegolinstalestheatre.com. Lower Community Hall €5. 6.30 pm. “The Harp That Once” with Glynis Casson and Cormac de Barra. Web: www.glyniscasson. com. St Mary’s Protestant Church. €10 Booking: destacpoole@eircom.net. Tel: 086-821-5153. 10pm. Traditional Music with Ben Salmon and the “Roundstone Band” from England. Shamrock Bar. Sunday July 5th 12.30pm. Music outdoors after Mass. Outside Eldon’s Hotel with “Some Like It Hot”. 2.00pm. A Bog Walk with Carol Reynolds, and turfcutting demonstration. Roundstone Bog Cross Roads. €5. 2.30pm sharp. Clay Pigeon Shoot. The Joe Conneely Perpetual Challenge Cup. Single down the line, doubles down the line, spring & teal. Roundstone Pony Show Ground. €20.00 per gun, three rounds of five. Music in Roundstone’s Main Street with Micky Martin. 4.30pm. The Arts Week Parade. Theme: ‘The Sea and the Environment’. Local children dressed in costumes designed by Tina Jack, and friends. Departing from the community hall. 5pm. Prize giving from the Workshops Week. Steps of Eldon’s Hotel after the parade. 10pm. Traditional Music.

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‘Musician of the Future’

Shannon Biondi of Recess who recently received the “Musician of the Future” award at the National Concert Hall in Dublin and who also graduated from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in music teaching and performance will give a lunchtime concert in Galway this summer. She will be performing Mendelssohn’s ‘Violin Concerto in e minor’ at the Galway City Museum on Saturday 25th of July 2009 at 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the museum (phone 091 532460 or log on www.galwaycitymuseum.ie). Shannon is also running a two-week violin masterclass, both in classical & traditional music which will take place in the VEC, Camp Street, Oughterard from the 6th of July to the 10th and/or from the 13th of July to the 17th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. All levels are welcome. For further information, call Shannon on 087 6294524.

Connemara Rocks!

Connemara based artist Dolores Lyne will unveil a major new exhibition as part of Galway Arts Festival, inspired by the drama of the far western landscape featuring iconic Connemara rocks, ranging from the lakebound limestone formations in the Corrib to the glacial boulders scattered across the interior terrain. Works range from six feet in width, right down to the more intimate twelve inches. They evoke through a rich-toned palette, savannah coloured boglands surrounded by rugged mountains, and small explosions of colour reflecting oﬀ their rocky surfaces. This major exhibition is the latest in a series of landscape explorations by Dolores and the show will be opened by Irish Times and Sunday Independent cartoonist Tom Mathews, a long time Connemara visitor whose second home is in the west. Creator of the popular “Art Toon” in Saturday’s Irish Times, a familiar face in Galway, Clifden and Bofin, witty art collector Mathews prides himself in not having missed the Galway Arts Festival in twenty years. The exhibition is in the White Room Gallery in the Liosban Retail Estate, Tuam Road, Galway, opening on Friday July 10th at 8.00pm, running until Saturday July 25th. (Easily accessible by car or the No 3 bus from O’Connell’s pub Eyre Square).

Ceol Theatre

A big Thank You to everyone who supported “Hello Dolly”. We had a wonderful time. The next show will be A Christmas Carol in December with both adults and children. The next Musical Review Night will be an 80’s Night on August 21st. If you would like to be a part of this show or any of Ceol Theatre’s productions please contact John on 087 750 4697.

Heritage Society

The Clifden and Connemara Heritage Society held a wonderful meeting at the Station House Hotel on Wednesday June 17th. There was a very large attendance and plenty of discussion on the plans for the coming few months. The Society are very much involved with the

July 2009

celebrations. This event will celebrate the found found2012 celebrations ing of Clifden by John D’Arcy in 1812. They also hope to hold an exhibition of photographs as part of Heritage Week and will be holding a family history seminar in October. Anyone interested in taking part in this seminar can contact me at 095 21148. The main speaker on the night was Anthony Previté (pictured above with Breandan O Scanaill) who gave a great illustrated talk on the Early Christian Sites of Connemara. Last year Anthony brought out a book on this subject and the talk was based mainly on this publication, but also looked at other items not covered in the book. There was then a lively questions and answers session after the talk. The Clifden and Connemara Heritage Society will be meeting on a regular basis again after the summer, watch this space for details. Breandan O Scanaill

Galway Film Fleadh 2009

The 21st Galway Film Fleadh was launched on June 23rd in Galway by Clifden’s Kate O’Toole, Chairperson of the Board. The Fleadh runs from July 7th -12th, showing over 200 films in six days. This year’s prestigious line up of guests include rising Irish star Michael Fassbender of ‘Hunger’ fame and Anjelica Huston, who will be taking part in a public interview at the Town Hall Theatre on Sunday July 12th at 2pm. As part of the Anjelica Huston tribute, her father John Huston’s last film, ‘The Dead’ (which Kate O’Toole also features in) will be screened. ‘The Dead’ is based on the James Joyce story of the same name and boasts an all Irish cast - including Anjelica, who went to school in Galway and still holds an Irish passport. Tickets for the event and for all screenings can be bought from the Town Hall box oﬃce, online at www.tht.ie and by phone on 091 569777. For further details of the programme go to www. galwayfilmfleadh.com.

Mol an Oige Summer Concert

The Summer solstice Mol an Óige concert took place on Sunday June 21st at the Church of Ireland Clifden, featuring performances of music, song and dance from almost 100 youths from all over Connemara. Letterfrack NS group the Polka Dots and friends gave a great display, as did pupils of Scoil Mhuire Clifden. Sean Nos singer Clare Gibbons from Camus also went down a treat with the audience while Sean Nos dancing saw some great performances from the Hernon brothers Brendan and Proinsias from Carna, who were also joined by their cousin Labhras on the fiddle, box and mellotron. The newly formed West Coast ceili band coached by Marie Walsh also impressed, and the end result of the great night’s entertainment provided by the youth of Connemara was the sum of approximately €1,100, which is to be donated to the Clifden Lifeboat.

Connemara ArtsView

Restoring former glories

At various times in the past few years in Connemara, passersby may have noticed statues of various holy figures being taken down and then re-appearing some time later having been ‘made-over’. This is largely due to the work of Michele Thierbach and Nicholas Von Kerckhoﬀ, two German artists based in Tullokyne, outside Moycullen who are specifically skilled and experienced in liturgical art and restoration. Michele has worked and studied the craft extensively

July DVD Reviews Gran Torino On screen

internationally and having moved to Connemara is now undertaking many diﬀerent projects of various sizes and contexts, both private and liturgical commissions. She may be spotted on the way to collect statues and works for restoration and improvement in Ireland’s only dedicated restoration truck. However, liturgical restorations are just one aspect of the work carried out by these artists; any aspect of restoration on almost any item can be accommodated by either Michele or Nicholas, who work closely together. From statues of any size to furniture and architectural

West Coast Céili Band

A group of young trad musicians from all over Connemara have been making great ground in recent months. Under the teaching of Marie Walsh, an Under 18 Céili Band and Under 18 Grúpai Cheoil was formed called the West Coast Céili Band. Both groups took part in the County Fleadh Cheoil in Ballinasloe in May and did extremely well. They are now through to the Connaught Fleadh which is taking place in Roscommon on the first weekend of July. This is their second year in action and the reaction

Connemara ArtsView

gilding, ildi any a y requests e ue t will ill be considered o ide ed upon u o enquiry. e ui y Recent restorations have been carried out at Leenane church, Oughterard church and many other locations both public and private. At present, there are statues of St.Patrick, Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette in the process of being restored at Michele’s studio in Tullokyne and she and Nicholas are currently in the process of restoring some items from the sets of the famous films ‘The Quiet Man’ and ‘The Field’. Nicholas is also well known for the restoration works he carried out in the chapel at the summit of Croagh Patrick. On her travels through Connemara, Michele has noted that there are many stained glass windows and doors, paintings and fountains that have lost condition and looks forward to continuing the specialised work she is clearly passionate about. She also hopes that her interest in pursuing restoration work on church bells and church clocks is the next step to bringing those old traditions back to life in parishes across Connemara. For more information and images of works by Michele Thierbach go to www.studio-michele.com or contact her at 091-556735, mobile, 087-2203257. For information on Nicholas Von Kerckhoﬀ go to www.nicholas-antiques. com or call 091-556735. Photos: Restoration artist Michele Thierbach restoring a statue of St Therese of Lisieux from Tullycross church. Michele works on a statue of Jesus at Oughterard church. to these young musicians coming out of Connemara has been excellent. They are wished all the best in the upcoming Connaught Fleadh and in their future performances and competitions. The young musicians involved are as follows: Photo (l-r) Back Row: Plunkett O’Toole, Conall Flaherty, Florence Pryce-Williams, James Coyne, Hannah Mamalis,Emma McCann, Hazel Corbett, Teresa Gibbons, Rebecca Sweeney, Doireann Sheridan. Front Row: Seamus Flaherty, Ashling Canavan, Ronan Canavan, Ronan Flaherty, Cliodhna Hallissey, Sarah Delappe, Emma Keane, Emily O’Reilly, Jessica Ridge.

July 2009

for the final time, Clint Eastwood stars in and directs the magnificent Gran Torino. Clint’s swansong tells the tale of a curmudgeonly Korean War veteran who begrudgingly befriends his Hmong neighbours after their eldest son tries to steal his prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

Revolutionary Road Based on a novel by Richard Yates and directed by Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett as Frank and April Wheeler; a young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid1950s, who struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Marley & Me Marley is the yellow lab adopted by Grogan (Owen Wilson), a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife. Their idea was to give them a taste of parenthood, but the dog proved to be a hyperactive handful. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes, gets kicked out of obedience school and gets even worse when the children begin to arrive, yet becomes an indispensable part of the family. The International centres around Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman ermined to bring to justice (Naomi Watts) who are determined one of the world’s most powerful banks. Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the ‘Doomsday Clock’ - which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. Video reviews courtesy of Video Vault, Main St, Clifden. 095-22033

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‘Hello Dolly’ a Hit

Ceol Theatre, by now well known for its highly entertaining and humourous interpretations of classic gems of musical theatre has delivered another hit in the form of ‘Hello Dolly’ which had 8 performances in the month of June at the Station House Theatre. Olive McFadden shone as the irrepressible and incorrigible Dolly, while her counterpart Joe Coyne made a curmudgeonly but ultimately soft hearted Horace Vandergelder, unable to eventually resist her unique charms! Inspired performances from Claire Greene as Irene Malloy, Brid Griﬃn as her sidekick Mini and the dashing double act of Fred Biddulph and John McDermott as a hapless pair of shop attendants enthralled audiences throughout the run, and the cast successfully captured the humour and romance of the story in inimitable Ceol Theatre style! A great deal of

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laughs were raised by natural comics John McDermott as Barbnaby and Marie-Noëlle Biddulph, who put in an extremely funny turn as Gussy Granger, aide to Dolly’s scheming and plotting. Oliver Griﬃn and Carla Keeney also impressed as a pair of young loves struggling to be together, while Gerry Claﬀey as dramatic restaurateur Rudolph Risenfavor presided over one of the play’s most entertaining scenes. The cast was completed by a finely costumed complement of extras which all added to the atmosphere and fun of the excellent production. Producer/Director John Amenhauser, Choreographer and prompter Maureen Corbett, Technical Director Mike O’Malley, Head of Back Stage Marta Stankiewicz and all involved in any way are due great credit for the hard work and time that went into creating another memorable Ceol Theatre play, of which they can be justifiably proud. Catherine Pryce Photos this page and next page.

July 2009

Connemara ArtsView

Connemara Starlets Premiere ‘Damhsa’

Clifden town centre and the Station House Theatre were a hive of activity on the evening of Friday June 26th when ‘Damhsa’, a 21 minute short movie written and directed by Ceol Theatre’s Mike O’Malley was premiered to a fantastic reception. The short film was the culmination of a project spanning several weeks in which the cast of no less than 18 young girls from all over Conne-

Connemara ArtsView

mara took part, and explored their skills in drama and acting. The entire cast first gathered at The Func Room, from where the young stars were transferred to the Theatre by a fleet of vintage and prestige cars. Clifden Garda Eoin Hayes provided a special Garda escort for the cast, who reveled in the attention and fanfare as they made their way to the specially provided red carpet awaiting them. On arrival to a huge crowd, the young cast members enjoyed champagne glasses of pink lemonade while the grown-ups were treated to the real thing, before taking their seats in the packed to capacity Theatre for the show! A 15 minute presentation of footage of the various monologues and vignettes that the participants filmed during the course was shown to great applause before the main event. Mike spoke to each cast member individually and it would be fair to say that the overwhelming response that the girls expressed to the whole process was: ‘It was fun!!’ The two main characters of the film, which incorporated sean-nos dancing with

July 2009

a modern take on friendship, were played extremely well by Kate Griﬃn as ‘Croí’ and Nada Uí Chuirrín as ‘Cynthia’, but all members of the cast must be praised for their mature and very impressive performances. The Ceol Theatre Class of 2009 were then presented with certificates acknowledging their participation and achievement, and all involved certainly enjoyed a great expression of creative and enthusiastic young talent in the Connemara community; a credit to all involved! Photo: Ceol Theatre’s writer and director ‘Damhsa’ Mike O’Malley with the entire cast of the film.

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July 2009

Connemara View Newspaper