Frank Custy - Sé Mo Laoch

"Is as an Díseart i bparóiste Ruán i gCo. an Chláir do Frank Custy. Múinteoir scoile a bhí ann a spreag agus a spreagann daoine fós chun dul i mbun ceoil. Níor chuir sé mórán suime sa cheol go dtí go raibh sé 25 bliain d'aois agus é ag obair mar mhúinteoir scoile. Ag an am ní raibh uaidh ach iománaíocht agus chaith sé a óige ar an bpáirc. Tháinig príomhoide chuige lá amháin agus dúirt sé leis go gcaithfeadh sé ceol a mhúineadh do na daltaí scoile. Bheartaigh sé triail a bhaint as. Scéal neamhghnách is ea scéal Frank Custy. Bhí sé an-tógtha leis an iománaíocht ach ní raibh a fhios aige go mbeadh an ceol mar chuid lárnach dá shaol.

"Frank Custy was born in Dysart in the Ruane parish of Co. Clare. As a teacher he inspired and still does people to take up music. He didn't become interested in music until he was 25 year old and working as a school teacher. At the time he was a passionate hurler and wanted nothing else but to be on the pitch. One day the principal came to see him and told him that he would have to teach music to the pupils in his class. This was a worry to him but he decided to try it out. The rest as they say is history. Frank Custy's story is an unusual one, he changed from being a man who was crazy about hurling into a man who had music pumping through his blood."

Posted on Youtube on the 11th of June 2010 by TG4gaeilge. See also part 2 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHmUhlOsACc

County Clare (featuring the Tulla Ceili Band)

"Le comté de Clare en Irlande, vit au rythme de ses pubs. Les 'anciens' racontent, les jeunes reprennent le flambeau, mais toujours en musique. Véritable Mecque de la musique celtique traditionnelle, le comté de Clare nous invite à taper des mains et des pieds avec lui." Posted on Youtube on the 5th of October 2007 by vodeotv.

The changing moods of Dysert O'Dea

The changing moods of Dysert O'Dea - part 2 of 3
Posted on Youtube on the 7th of November 2009 by Robertisfilming.
See also
The changing moods of Dysert O'Dea - part 1
The changing moods of Dysert O'Dea - part 3
The mysteries of Dysert O'Dea part 1

Earthship play 'Kilimanjaro'

"Jazz Funk Fusion band Earthship, from County Clare, plays original tune 'Kilimanjaro' at Tully's, Kinvara [April 2011]. On bass Karl Clews, keyboards, Mark Farrelly, sax and percussion Andrew Collins, drums Blendi Krasniqi, guitar Eoghan..." Posted on Youtube on the 20th of April 2011 by EARTHSHIPFUSION.

Biddy Early Brewery on RTÉs "Farmers Market"

"Ireland's First Pub Brewery, The Biddy Early Brewery, in Inagh, County Clare, is featured on an organic produce promoting programme on RTÉ television." Posted on Youtube on the 11th of September 2008 by cgarvey. The brewery has since closed.

DeVane brothers at Russell Family Festival, Doolin

The DeVane brothers [from Barna, County Galway] at the Russell Family Festival, Doolin, 2011. Posted on Youtube on the 10th of March 2011 by fmkeane1.

100 Inspiring Women

To mark the 100th International Women's Day on March 8th, the Guardian newspaper compiled a list of 100 inspiring women. It is not a power or wealth list but instead it's about an inspirational group of women whose influence will last. Guardian readers provided more than 3,000 suggestions from which the 100 were picked in various categories – activists & campaigners; art, music, film & fashion; business & trade unions; law; politics; science & medicine; sport & adventure; technology; television; writing and academia.

The Guardian’s top 100 women – writing and academia:
Maya Angelou - author
Margaret Atwood - author
Judith Butler – academic & author
Carol Ann Duffy - poet
Eve Ensler – playwright
Susan Faludi – author/social historian
Germaine Greer – academic & author
Lynda La Plante - author
Shere Hite – researcher & author
Doris Lessing - author
J.K. Rowling - author
Arundhati Roy - author
Marjane Satrapi – graphic novelist
Jessica Valenti - blogger
Alice Walker - author
Mary Warnock – philosopher & author

To see if you agree with their choices in all of the categories, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/series/top-100-women

Easter Book Hunt at Scariff Library

Scariff Public Library celebrated Easter with an exciting Children’s Book Hunt on Thursday April 21st. Over 30 children, divided into groups of 3, raced to decipher a list of 5 clues each leading them to paper eggs hidden in books all around the library. Each child was rewarded with their own chocolate egg after successfully completing the hunt. Children, parents and library staff all agreed that the event was a great success!

Martin Hayes headlines Aughty Gathering 2011

Preparations are underway for the 6th Aughty Earth Day Gathering. Slógadh Eachtaí Lough Graney 2011 will take place at Caher House on the shores of Lough Graney in county Clare. The date is Saturday 7th May and registration is at 9.15. The Aughty Earth Day Gathering is organised each year in a different location by a local group. The event was previously held in Crusheen, Kilchreest /Castledaly, Woodford, Tuamgraney and in 2010 in Gort. The day is informal and is dedicated to hospitality. Everyone is welcome to attend and to share their knowledge and interest in the heritage of the Sliabh Aughty region.

The picturesque setting of the shores of Lough Graney, famed in Brian Merriman’s Midnight Court, will this year provide the backdrop for the 6th Annual Aughty Gathering. The Aughty Gathering 2011, or Slógadh Eachtaí as it has become known, will take place this year in the beautifully restored Caher House on Lough Graney. Caher House, the home of the O’Hara family and later the O’Dwyers, has been restored to its original magnificence and is set among one of the most breathtakingly beautifully estates in Ireland.

This year’s programme includes all aspects of our heritage. The morning session which begins at 10 am with a welcome from local poet and historian Joe Noonan, is followed by the first presentation by Mary Noonan on The East Clare Way from its very early genesis at local level to what later blossomed into the National Walking Route. Cyril Killeen will consider the benefits of the newly proposed Aughty Walking Festival proposed to be held annually in the region. The Lough Graney Youth Group undertook a wonderful local initiative recently by capturing a snapshot in time of this very rural community. This culminated in the production of the prize winning film, Inside Out. The gathering looks forward to this presentation by the Youth Group and their directors. Cuimneamh an Chlair, a Clare based oral folklore initiative, spearheaded by Tomás MacConmara, has succeeded in amassing an extremely valuable fount of vivid and colourful memories from our elderly community. Tomás will speak on the value of such a record both locally and nationally.

Before lunch the Gathering will be focusing on the hugely significant Reaching Out project, being undertaken at present in East Galway. Mike Feerick will share the experience of a community reaching out to the huge Irish-Diaspora who may never have had the chance to visit our shores. Following lunch at 12.30 and a break to mingle and network, the Gathering will reconvene at 1.45 with a short presentation by Dr Aine Phillips on The Aughty Public Art Project. The presentation on our East Clare Musical Heritage will be in good hands when Helen Hayes will speak on the experience of hosting the hugely successful Feakle International Music Festival held annually in
August. Helen, a long time member of the organising committee will share the group’s experience to date. Finally, the Gathering are hugely honoured to welcome the world
renowned musician Martin Hayes to this year’s Gathering. In an interview Martin will share his experience of growing up on Lough Graney’s shores and how this experience has shaped him as a person and an artist. Paula Carroll, takes charge of this much anticipated interview. Volumes of publications by local authors will be available on the day. Numbers are quite limited, due to space restrictions. Booking early is advised. Further details on the timetable for the day are available on www.aughty.org. Lunch needs to booked in advance also. Further enquiries to Mary on 0861078699 or email slogadheachtai@gmail.com.

Tommy & Siobhan Peoples Live at The Olympia

Tommy and Siobhan Peoples Live at The Olympia. Posted on Youtube on the 10th of September 2009 by k4hx1.

Guidewires with Siobhan Peoples & Noely Ryan at UCC

Guidewires with Siobhan Peoples & Noely Ryan at Aula Maxima University College Cork on the 1st of October 2010, as part of the Cork Folk Festival. Pádraig Rynne (concertina), Siobhan Peoples (fiddle),Sylvain Barou (flute), Noely Ryan (guitar) and Karol Lynch (bouzouki). "The usual Band line up has Tóla Custy on fiddle & Paul McSherry on guitar". Posted on Youtube on the 6th of October 2010 by PRAK14.

3 Debut Novels on Orange Shortlist

Three debut novels feature on the shortlist for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction. They are Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson - a love story about an epileptic, Daniel, and Grace, whom he meets in a mental home; The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht - a journey of discovery about a young doctor coming to terms with her grandfather's death in the aftermath of the war in Serbia; and Annabel by Kathleen Winter – the story of a baby born in remote Newfoundland with male and female genitalia. The favourite to win the 2011 prize is Emma Donoghue’s Room – a moving story about a mother and son imprisoned for years in a single room, resonant of the Fritzl case. Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love was shortlisted for the 2006 prize. Her book on the 2011 shortlist, Great House, takes in three sub-plots: the arrest of a Chilean poet, a man caring for his dying wife in London, and a Jerusalem-based antiques dealer. Aminatta Forna’s The Memory of Love is a powerful portrait of Sierra Leone in the aftermath of a decade of civil war. Bathany Hughes, Chair of the judging panel said "Even though the stories in our final choices range from kidnapping to colonialism, from the persistence of love to Balkan folk-memory, from hermaphroditism to abuse in care, the books are written with such a skilful lightness of touch, humour, sympathy and passion, they all make for an exhilarating and uplifting read. This shortlist should give hours of reading pleasure to the wider world." The winner of the 2011 Orange Prize will be announced in London on the 8th of June. The prize is a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze statue known as ‘the Bessie’. Just getting shortlisted will mean a healthy spike in sales for all of the authors. Recent winners have included US novelists Barbara Kingsolver, who won last year for The Lacuna, and Marilynne Robinson in 2009 for Home. The prize was created in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction written by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers posssible and is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman. To celebrate the 2011 shortlist, the Orange Book Store is giving away 250 free eBooks of The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, winner of the 2010 Orange Prize, excusively to Facebook fans.

My Valentine Poetry Competition

Photo shows winner Richard Hall and the runners up.
Clare County Library and the Ennis Book Club Festival, which takes place in early March every year, partnered with the Ennis branch of Caring for Carers recently to run a poetry competition. The competition was open to carers all over the county and the theme was ‘My Valentine’. There was a huge response and many budding poets emerged. At the launch of the competition in February Frances O’Gorman of Clare County Library and the Ennis Book Club Festival said that she and her colleagues were delighted to be involved with this venture. “This is a wonderful community project and one that the Ennis Book Club Festival is delighted to be associated with. Poetry always features strongly in our programme so it’s a perfect link-up,” Brigid Barron, research and program manager with Caring for Carers Ireland explained that “family carers spend a lot of time caring at home and that often gives them time for reflection…some of the poetry out there has been excellent, very touching and expressive.” Brigid also noted how crucial it is to recognise the role of carers in the home. Susan Hogan, development officer with Caring for Carers, added that there are hopes to roll out the competition to other locations outside of the county. The winner, Richard Hall, received a voucher for a meal for two and tickets to the Vona Groarke and Tom Conaty poetry reading which took place on the 5th March, during this year’s Ennis Book Club Festival. The five runners-up, Maureen Devanny, Anna Sheehan, Elizabeth Curtin, Cissie Collins and Maria Mulqueen, all received tickets to the poetry reading as well. A booklet, containing many of the poems submitted for the competition, is currently being put together by Clare County Library and Caring for Carers.

Winning Poem by Richard Hall:

My Valentine
How do you know when you are in love?
It's a feeling that engulfs your heart
You're alive when you are together
And lifeless when you are apart

I was eighteen she was sixteen
She more than brightened up my life
I was the happiest man on earth
When she consented to be my wife

We were married on St. Stephens' Day
In December of Fifty Nine
I love her more now than I did then
My one and only Valentine.

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill live on Soundcheck

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill playing "The New Custom House" reel in the Soundcheck studio, New York. "Irish fiddler Martin Hayes is such a formidable talent that even classical composers have begun writing for him. But to hear the real Martin Hayes, you need to hear his longstanding collaboration with guitarist Dennis Cahill. This is from their live performance in the Soundcheck studio." Posted on Youtube on the 5th of March 2011 by wnycradio.

Skidoo - Stockton's Wing at Self Aid, 1986

"Skidoo" played by Clare band Stocktons Wing at Self Aid, 1986. Kieran Hanrahan, Banjo; Paul Roche, Flute; Maurice Lennon, Fiddle; Mike Hanrahan, Guitar; John Walsh, Bass; Peter Keenan, Keyboards, Fran Breen, Drums. Posted on Youtube on the 25th of November 2008 by stocktonswinglive.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Infusion (Ennistymon C.B.S)

"Sweet Child O' Mine" [by Guns N' Roses] played by Infusion from Ennistymon C.B.S. "Starring Mr Kieran Meehan, Jon O'Connell, Mike Touhy, Tiarnan Doherty, James Conneely, Daniel McInerney". Posted on Youtube on the 23rd of January 2011 by danielmci9.

IMPAC Award Shortlist 2011

Colm Toibín, Colum McCann and William Trevor have made the shortlist for the €100,000 International Impac Dublin Literary Award - the richest literary prize in the world . "It's a wonderful coincidence that so shortly after Dublin being awarded Unesco City of Literature status, three of the 10 novels on the Impac Dublin award shortlist should be by Irish authors," said Dublin's Lord Mayor Gerry Breen, when announcing the shortlist. They are joined on the shortlist by three novelists from Australia, two from America and one from Canada. The Impac literary award has a reputation for championing novels in translation by authors worldwide but this year no translated works have made the shortlist. The IMPAC is unique among literary prizes because nominations come from libraries around the world. The 162 novels in contention for this year's award come from 43 countries around the world, spanning works originally written in 14 different languages. Malouf's Remembering Babylon won the IMPAC Dublin award in 1996, while Toibin won for The Master in 2006. Barbara Kingsolver, Joyce Carol Oates and William Trevor are authors with a huge international following, but the list also includes less well known authors Craig Silvey and Michael Crummey and debut novelists Evie Wyld and Yiyun Li.
The shortlisted titles are:
Galore by Michael Crummey
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Vagrants by Yiyun Li
Ransom by David Malouf
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Brooklyn by Colm Toibín
Love and Summer by William Trevor
After the Fire, a Still, Small Voice by Evie Wyld

The winner will be announced 15 June 2011.

Wallander Bows Out

Fans of Henning Mankel’s Detective Inspector Kurt Wallander will have to say goodbye to Europe’s favourite policeman in the tenth and final book in the series – The Troubled Man. Although Wallander is not dead, his creator has made it clear that he will no longer be with us. The nine previous books featuring the troubled, lonely cop with his horrendous health problems and catastrophic home life, have sold more than 30 million copies in 43 different languages and inspired more than 25 film adaptations. Kenneth Branagh played Wallander in the acclaimed award-winning BBC series. The popularity of the character has turned the small Swedish town of Ystad, where Wallander is based, into one of the country's top tourist attractions. Asked whether there was any hope for a new Wallander book in the future, Mankell said "[Wallander's] daughter is also a police officer so, who knows? That's the best answer I can give you".
The other titles in the Wallander series are:
Faceless Killers
The Dogs of Riga
The White Lioness
The Man who Smiled
Sidetracked
The Fifth Woman
One Step Behind
Firewall
The Pyramid

Storytime at Tulla Library

To celebrate World Book Day on March 3rd, 2011, Olive O'Brien who is a children's writer and journalist based in Cork, visited Tulla Public Library to meet 24 children from 2nd Class at St. Mochulla's Primary School. She read from her Eco-friendly books that aim to inform children about environmental issues and promotes enivronmental awareness. On March 16th to celebrate Seachtaine na Gaeilge, Seamus Ryan from Clare County Library did a storytime as Gaeilge for 1st and 2nd Class from St.Mochulla's Primary school, when 21 children attended. A great time was had by all.

Drive from Ennistymon towards Kilfenora

"A short journey along a country road in the last days of 2010," from Ennistymon towards Kilfenora, County Clare. Posted on Youtube on the 30th December 2010 by lbyinlclh. Click here for map of route...

Hands that Tell Tales – Puppetry Workshop

Transition Year students from Colaiste Muire, Ennis, were recently treated to a three- hour workshop presented by Thomas Baker, Director of Your Man’s Puppets theatre company based in Galway. A puppet theatre director, builder and performer, Thomas also works as a freelance educator in puppetry skills. Sharing his expertise with an enraptured audience of 25 teenagers, the Hands that Tell Tales workshop took place at deValera Public Library, Ennis, on the 30th of March 2011. This event along with others during Teen Week 2011 was organized by library staff with a view to opening doors to possible alternative careers for senior cycle students. During the workshop the group received an introductory course in puppetry and explored puppet making and manipulation. The students were introduced to a large variety of puppets and learned how they’re used to express action and emotions and to deliver dialogue through theatre games and storytelling.

Writing for the Teenage Reader

Recently, as part of the library's Ten Week 2011 promotion, Dubliner and Ballyvaughan-based author Ré Ó Laighléis delivered a lively and interactive reading for fifty students from Ennis Community College, Gaelcholaiste an Chlair and Colaiste Muire in Ennis at which he spoke about his life as a writer, focusing particularly on writing for an older teenage readership. He gave an insight into the writing of some of his novels, particularly Hooked, his acclaimed and multi-translated contemporary treatment of teenage heroin addiction, and he regaled his audience of teachers and students with stories of how his newly published title for older children, Osama, Obama, Ó, a Mhama! was born. Ré’s session was evidence of putting into practice what all librarians aspire to, that is, to bring libraries to life for young people. The level of interest shown, the questions and the fun and laughter coming from what is usually a quiet library reading space in the library in Ennis on a Thursday morning was testament to this author’s ability to engage one hundred per cent with his audience.

Photo views from O'Brien's-Bridge

Photo views from O'Brien's-Bridge, County Clare. Posted on Youtube on the 16th of February 2011 by multimick64.

O'Brien's-Bridge to Clonlara Loop Walk

"A Loop Walk from O'Brien's-Bridge (Co. Clare, Ireland, near Limerick city) to Clonlara and back. This 12 km walk goes out by the Headrace and returns by the Errina canal and the Shannon. May 9th 2010." Posted on Youtube on the 19th of May 2010 by Lisnalty1.

A Visit from the Goon Squad

Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, is the winner of The National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for 2010. Described as a daring and disturbing journey through music, time and technology, Egan’s book was selected from a shortlist of five which included Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies. The judges called the book "a novel at once experimental in form and crystal clear in the overlapping stories it delivers, offering us a sense of youth and what gets lost along the way". The Sandrof Lifetime Achievement winner was The Dalkey Archive Press and publisher John O'Brien. Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall took the 2009 fiction award, and Joyce Carol Oates the 2009 lifetime achievement award. The National Book Critics Circle is a membership organization of more than 600 book critics nationwide and considers all books in English (including in translation), no matter the country of origin.

Flann O’Brien Celebrations

Brian O’Nolan, who wrote under the pseudonyms of Flann O’Brien and Myles na gCopaleen (among others), was born on October 5th, 1911 in Strabane, Co. Tyrone. Mylesday,a celebration of O’Brien/na gCopaleen/O’Nolan, was held in the Palace Bar, Fleet Street, Dublin on 1st April, the anniversary of his death. A number of further events are planned to celebrate O’Nolan’s centenary year. A Flann O’Brien conference will be hold in the University of Vienna next July 24th to 26th where the keynote address will be given by esteemed Irish poet and author Anthony Cronin. Trinity College Dublin will host a conference examining O’Nolan’s work and legacy in the twenty-first century at the Flann O’Brien Centenary Conference on 14th- 15th October. The writer’s alma mater, University College Dublin, plans to mark the centenary on the date of his birth, October 5th, at Newman House on St Stephen’s Green. The focus of one of the UCD talks will be the significance of the university’s old physics theatre as a location in At Swim-Two-Birds. The Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is organizing a Flann O’Brien Centenary Symposium at its International Conference of Literature and the Arts from June 24th to 26th 2011 in acknowledgement of the extraordinary influence of Flann O’Brien’s work on postmodernism, avant garde fiction, metafiction, and innovative fiction in general.

Mick Kinsella and Josephine Marsh play Junior Crehan's "Her Lovely Hair Flowed Down Her Back"

'Mick Kinsella and Josephine Marsh on RTE's "The Full Set" Episode 05 (2007) playing "Her Lovely Hair Flowed Down Her Back" - a composition of Junior Crehan, late of Miltown Malbay.' Posted on Youtube on the 31st of October 2010 by martinmcmutrie.
More info...

Irish Tradition : Junior Crehan ( A Tribute)

'From c. 1990 : Christy Moore and Donal Lunny talk about Junior's influence on Planxty's music and Junior talks and plays...' Posted on Youtube on the 28th of February 2008 by UISTMAN59.

The Lost Errina Canal, O' Brien's Bridge.

'The Errina Canal is an old unused canal which has taken on a rich habitat of woodland canopy that makes it look like a waterway through a rain forest. Was once part of the Limerick to Killaloe Navigation along which horses pulled barges laden with cargo.' Posted on Youtube on the 22nd of March 2011 by multimick64.

Tour of the graveyard of St. Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe

"St. Flannan's Cathedral has been in continuous use since it was built c. 1200. Among its many fine features is the imposing east window. Donal Mór O'Brien erected the first cathedral which was destroyed by Cathal Carrach of Connaught in 1185. At the time of the Reformation the cathedral became a Protestant one and its first Protestant bishop appointed in 1570 was Murtogh O' Brien-Arra. He ruled his diocese for thirty-six years and died in 1613. The tower was increased in height in the late 18th century and was again altered in 1892 when a peal of bells was installed." Quoted from Discover Killaloe.
Posted on Youtube on the 24th March 2011 by thebettyfordclinic.

Poulnabrone Portal Tomb - 'A Journey by Terry Clarke'

'The Poulnabrone Portal Tomb is one of the oldest Neolithic memorials to human history in the Burren...' Posted on Youtube on the 1st of April 2011 by hohnerharpman13.

Thady Wyndham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, the last Earl of Dunraven

Thady Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 7th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (born b. 27 October 1939) died on 25 March, 2011 at his home in Kilgobbin, County Limerick. His ancestors were the O’Quins, originally from the Barony of Inchiquin in County Clare who were driven from there by the O’Briens, legend has it over a game of cards. Thady Quin acquired the lands at Adare towards the end of the 17th century where he built a Quin manor. The O’Quins are one of the true Gaelic families surviving in the Irish peerage. As Thady Dunraven died without leaving a son, his titles died with him. A victim of polio, Thady Dunraven was a prominent disability rights campaigner. He was buried in Adair Manor cemetery.
Hundreds attend funeral of 7th Earl of Dunraven (Limerick Leader).
Obituary in the Irish Times.

Visitors enjoying the Borderland exhibition at Clare Museum

Clare Archaeological Finds On Display...

Kitty Hayes and Eoin O'Neill with Quentin Cooper, Yvonne Casey & Ger Hoyne

Kitty Hayes (Concertina), Eoin O'Neill (Bouzouki), Quentin Cooper (Mandolin), Yvonne Casey (Fiddle), Ger Hoyne (Bodhrán) at Pepper's Bar, Feakle, Co. Clare - for TG4 'Geantraí, May 2002. Posted on Youtube on the 7th of July 2010 by Faha10.