Muiris Ó Rócháin

A report from TG4 on the funeral of Muiris Ó Rócháin, (Dingle, 1944 - Miltown Malbay, 17 October 2011), co-founder of the Willie Clancy Summer School, Miltown Malbay. Posted on Youtube on the 23rd of October 2011 by stevenmoss1.

Tony MacMahon - My Love is in America, and Castle Kelly (reels)

"Classic clip of the master box player, Tony MacMahon from Clare. Sonny Brogan is named at the beginning of the clip as the major influence on this (then) 17 year-old musician." The clip is introduced by the late Ciarán MacMathúna. Posted on Youtube on the 15th of July 2011 by martinmcmutrie.

Betje Wolff Choir at Poulnabrone

"Singing next to the Poulnabrone Dolmen (a portal tomb in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland)." Posted on Youtube on the 8th of October 2011 by Mongolino88.

Peadar Clancy Festival, Cranny, 2010

Peadar Clancy Festival, Cranny, County Clare. Posted on Youtube on the 25th of August 2010 by PhilipMcKernanInc.

The Playful Doolin Dolphin

"This playful Dolphin spent its time swimming and diving amongst a group of swimmers at Doolin Pier. Doolin, in County Clare, is one of the maritime gateways to the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland from where ferries to the islands depart." Posted on Youtube on the 10th of October 2011 by corkfireman.

Films for Halloween

Fancy a scary movie for Halloween? Films on DVD are available in Ennis, Ennistymon, Kilrush, Scariff and Shannon Libraries and may be requested from any library. We've got The Birds, Blair Witch Project, Bride of Frankenstein, Dawn of the Dead, Nosferatu, The Wickerman and lots, lots more. Check the library catalogue at http://opac.clarelibrary.ie/ and for a list of new DVDs just click here...

Girls’ Night Out at De Valera Public Library to celebrate Ennis Fashion Week

Clare County Library celebrated Ennis Fashion Week (October 24th-29th) in style. A special Girls’ Night Out was held at the De Valera Public Library, Ennis on Tuesday 25th October at 7pm where attendees enjoyed an evening of glamour, style and, above all, fun! Experts were on hand to give all the hints and tips needed to prepare for any night out. Sarah Mulvihill from Visage Hair Studio gave advice on hair care and explained how to get the salon look for any night out, Linda Carey from Radiance Beauty Clinic demonstrated what is needed to create that flawless finish from cleansing & toning to the completed made-up look while Niamh O’Brien from Forty Coats Fifty Pockets had some amazing tips to share on how to revamp one’s existing wardrobe to make it look like you’ve just been shopping on the High Street. Every girl loves a good night out and wants to look her best when going out and these ladies certainly showed how to save on time and money getting ready so that there can be more of both left to spend when you leave the house!

The library also had book displays on the evening for recommended reading for those who wanted to learn even more about style and beauty. Surprise opportunities were given to win a spot prize at the end of the evening when random members of the unsuspecting audience found more than they bargained for under their seat! Prizes given on the night included bottles of wine, book vouchers for Ennis Book Shop, a Pantene Hair gift set kindly donated by Clarecastle Pharmacy and a delicious box of Wilde’s Irish Chocolates sent especially from their factory in Tuamgraney. Tea, coffee and delicious refreshments were provided by The Tea Rooms, Quin, who also provided the tea cups and crockery with a style all of their own. All in attendance thoroughly enjoyed the night and said it was the ideal opportunity to indulge in the perfect Girls’ Night Out.

Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards

The shortlists for the 2011 Irish Book Awards have been announced.
The categories are:

Argosy Nonfiction Book of the Year
Easons Popular Fiction Book of the Year
Hughes and Hughes Irish Novel of the Year
International Education Services Best Irish-published Book of the Year
Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year
John Murray Show Listeners’ Choice Award
Specsavers Irish Children’s Book of the Year (Junior)
Specsavers Irish Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)
Sports Book of the Year
Sunday Independent Best Newcomer of the Year

Vote for the book you would like to see win in each category at http://www.irishbookawards.ie/PublicVote.aspx. Everyone who votes will be entered into a draw from which five winners will receive €100 worth of National Book tokens. The closing date for voting is 13th November.

Halloween Festival at Clare Museum

Clare Museum launched its first Halloween Festival on 25th October to run until 1st November inclusive. There are tours at 10am and 3pm on most days and other activities include face painting, traditional storytelling, pumpkin carving, quizzes and prizes. The festival is designed to accommodate schools and family groups. For more information call curator John Rattigan at 065-6823382.

Clare well placed to gain from genealogy tourism

Nicola Corless, writing in this week’s Clare Champion newspaper, reports that County Clare is well placed to gain from genealogy tourism, not least due to the work done by Clare County Library on its website. She writes that

Clare could attract thousands of overseas visitors to the area as part of a national project targeting the Irish diaspora but only with a long-term approach, a local genealogist has said. While the county has yet to find its Katy Perry or Ned Kelly, Clare is ideally placed to take advantage of a resurging interest in genealogy and a growing genealogy tourism market according to the chairman of the Clare Roots Society, Gerry Kennedy. “Clare is very well placed because of two things. The Clare County Library website has a genealogy section, which is attracting a lot of interest from people all over the world. It is regarded as one of the foremost genealogy sites in Ireland and we are very fortunate that Clare library has such an excellent site”, he told the Clare Champion. “The second reason is that Clare was one of the counties in the West of Ireland that had a lot of people emigrating over the years. There is a huge interest in Clare, particularly from Australia, because of the large numbers who left,” he continued…..