Paddling the river Caher, Fanore, in high water, November 2011

The river Caher, Fanore, in high water November 2011. Paddlers Barry Loughnane, Andrew Regan & Toby Fischer. Posted on Youtube on the 16th of January 2012 by baz9000.

The Most Popular Books and Films for Children in County Clare

Given the popularity of Jacqueline Wilson, Jeff Kinney and Francesca Simon among young readers worldwide, it’s no surprise that books by these authors were among the top issuing books for children in Clare County Library during 2011. Diary writing has never been more avidly read by young people with Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 5: The Ugly Truth topping the table. Jacqueline Wilson holds a consistent place at the top, year on year. Her book Little Darlings was in second place in 2011, indicating that children want to read about emotional issues if they are uniquely presented in a light hearted and amusing way. The theory that boys are not as keen on reading as girls is debatable if we acknowledge that the third most popular book issued in the past year was The Guinness World Records which is mainly borrowed by boys. A greater range of engaging fiction has become available for boys in recent years with heroes of the page and screen such as Percy Jackson and Greg Heffley sure to generate interest. Horrid Henry, the ultimate comic book bad boy of the 21st century does the bold things most kids only ever get to dream of. In Horrid Henry Rocks, number 6 in the library top ten list, he’s up to his usual mischief. He continues to make life hell for his younger brother, ruins Moody Margaret’s sleepover, drives his teacher, Mrs. Battleaxe crazy, and invents the most amazing schemes to go to a concert by his favorite band, the Killer Boy Rats.

Clare County Library staff are delighted that Judi Curtin, who has been described as Ireland’s Jacqueline Wilson, has two books in the Top Ten Titles for Children, All About Alice and Alice and Megan. Judi visited Killaloe, Scariff, Newmarket on Fergus and Shannon libraries during Children’s Book Festival in October 2011 where she met with hundreds of her fans from primary schools in the area. Shrek Forever After – The Final Chapter and Shrek The Third were the two top issuing children’s films, followed by six new releases based on books by popular authors including Rick Riordan, Kate DiCamillo, J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman.

The children’s top ten film list reads as follows:
Shrek Forever After – The Final Chapter
Shrek The Third
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Tale of Despereaux
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Toy Story 3
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline and
Shrek.

St. Brigid's Festival at Clare Museum

The Teetotallers - Kevin Crawford, Martin Hayes, and John Doyle at O'Flaherty's 2011 (Parts 1 & 2)

"The Teetotallers - Kevin Crawford (flute), Martin Hayes (fiddle), and John Doyle (guitar) - perform at the O'Flaherty Irish Music Retreat 2011." Posted on Youtube on the 16th of November 2011 by WayfFromOYAN.

The Legend of Hag's Head (near Cliffs of Moher)

The legend of Hag's Head, County Clare, as told by Katherine Webster, the Director of the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre. Posted on Youtube on the 4th of January 2012 by richardbangs.

Wide variety of music borrowed by members of Clare County Library

Mayhem, by Irish Rockabilly singer Imelda May, was the most popular music CD borrowed by members of Clare County Library in 2011. Her debut album Love Tattoo released in 2007 also proved very popular with borrowers. Second in popularity among library members was the highly anticipated fifth album from American rock band The Kings of Leon. Their album Come Around Sundown has been nominated in the Best Rock Album category of the 54th Grammy awards. The third most popular music CD among County Clare library members was The Witmark Demos by Bob Dylan. This collection features forty seven songs recorded by the artist between 1962-1964 – accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, harmonica and occasionally piano. Fifteen of the songs were recorded by Dylan especially for these sessions, and have never been officially released to the public until now.

Sharon Shannon’s album Galway Girl continues to be popular since its release in 2008. The album has gone Platinum in Ireland four times and the title track has won the Meteor Award for most downloaded song for the last two years. This is the fourth year in a row that Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon has appeared in the list of the top ten most borrowed music CDs by members of Clare County Library. Sixth on the most popular list was The Suburbs by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. The album won Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards and Best International Album at the 2011 BRIT Awards.

Three places on the ten most popular music CD list were claimed by traditional music. An Traidisiún Beo by Angelina Carberry and Martin Quinn is a collection of traditional Irish music tunes played on button accordion and tenor banjo. Seanchas is the first album in five years by County Waterford based band Danú. It features vocals by Muireann nic Amhlaoibh and has received wide critical acclaim. Dance Sean Nós by Tom Doherty features a section of lively, old style melodion tunes recorded at various tempos for sean-nós dancing. Number ten on the most popular list was Station to Station by David Bowie. Bowie’s highly influential 1976 album was released as a 3-CD Special Edition by EMI in 2010. A 5-CD, DVD and heavyweight vinyl Deluxe Edition of the album was released at the same time.

Clare - Land of legends and dreams

Doolin, Bunratty, Lahinch, The Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and more are featured in this clip from hagitttt86, posted on Youtube on the 26th of December 2011.

The Doonagore and The Coalminer's Reels - Kitty Hayes & Peter Laban

"Two reels played in the late Kitty Hayes's kitchen in Shanaway West, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare. Recorded February 13, 2008". Posted on Youtube on the 3rd of March 2010 by Kilfarboy2.

Cliffs of Moher and The Burren - Wild Tracks

"The Moher cliffs are more than two hundred metres high and stretch more than eight kilometres. There are fantastic walks here and rich bird life. The most common birds here are puffins, guillemots and those hungry gulls. From O'Briens tower you can take a three hour walk. The purists among us walk our feet off. The Moher cliffs are breathtaking, even when shrouded in fog. For those who are interested the rocks are of sandstone alternated with layers of black shale. The word Burren comes from the Irish word boireann which means rock land. Burren lies in the north west of county Clare. The land is rich in contrast. Green meadows on one side and bare rocks on the other. Over the centuries each generation built a life for themselves from the tough environment." Posted on Youtube on the 10th of January by dreamshot.

Four Men And A Dog - Spanish Point, 2009

"Back in August 2009 Spanish Point on the west coast of Clare was awoken to the sounds and beats of 'Four Men and a Dog'. This traditional Irish band who emerged from the 1990 Belfast Folk Festival add in blues, rock, jazz, swing, salsa and more to their tunes." Posted on Youtube on the 17th of March 2011 by geofflyons.