Clare Set Dancing

"Set dancers headed up by Aidan Vaughan, from Miltown Malbay,County Clare. Clip from around early 90's." Posted on Youtube on the 6th of February 2009 by clarebannerman.

Mullagh Half Set

"Mullagh is a little village near Miltown Malbay in West Clare and is famous for traditional music and set dancing. This clip is from 1973 and some of the dancers are no longer with us." Posted on Youtube on the 14th of October 2007 by clarebannerman.

Support the Home Library Service in Clare

Clare County Library and Caring for Carers Ireland are seeking your help, as a volunteer, to set up a home library service for people who are unable to access their local library. This will involve delivering books to people in the community and may involve reading to the person.

As a volunteer it is desirable that you have an interest in reading, a good command of the English language and you are a good communicator. Empathy and understanding of people who experience social exclusion is also desirable.

If you are interested, please contact Brigid Barron, Caring for Carers, 2 Carmody Street, Ennis, County Clare. See brochure attached... This is an initiative of Caring for Carers Ireland and Clare County Library. You can make a difference. Support the Home Library Service in County Clare.

In the steps of Delia Casey of Ballinacarra

"A Father and son travel to Ennis in Ireland's Clare County to visit with the family that stayed in Ireland. We visit Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, La Hinch, the Burren, the town of Ennis and other sites in County Clare and reminisce with the family - Delia Casey emigrated to America in the early part of the last century and several of her brothers and sisters stayed behind. Dad met with his first cousins and their families." Posted on Youtube on the 12th of August 2010 by MediamanTube.

Emmet O'Halloran from Tulla on button accordion

"Emmet O'Halloran from Tulla in County Clare. One of the founding members of the Lough Erne Ceili Band. A young talent that is going to light up the dance floors where ever good Irish Trad is to be found!". Posted on Youtube on the 29th of August 2010 by martone397.

Crusheen celebration after winning the Clare County Final 2010

"Crusheen celebration after winning the Clare County Final 2010". Posted on Youtube on the 27th of October 2010 by btechennis.
More links:
Crusheen defy the odds to take Clare hurling title.
Viva Crusheen on County Final Day

Cycling in Boston, County Clare

"Boston is a village in north County Clare, Ireland. It is situated off R460 the Corrofin to Gort regional road, at the northeastern edge of the Burren National Park, and close to the border with County Galway. The village is situated in the parish of Kilkeedy, the main settlement of which is the County Clare portion of the village of Tubber. The name Boston is most likely to have been originally a nickname or ironic reference to what was described in 1839 as a few cabins situated on the property of the Marquis of Thomond, while the Irish name, Móinín na gCloigeann ("little meadow or bog of the skulls"), appears to be a mistaken transfer from that of another place, also called Boston in English, near Cratloe in the south of the county. The ruins of Cluain Dubháin Castle and Skaghard Castle can be found near Lough Bunny. Today, the ruins of the castle are a reminder of the past sieges endured by its previous occupants. Mahon O'Brien defended the castle for three months, before being killed by a musket ball during a siege of the castle laid by Richard Bingham in 1586." Posted on Youtube on the 1st of November 2010 by 700c1.

See also http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/placenames_branch.htm

Richard & Judy’s 100 most inspiring reads of the last decade

The Richard & Judy Bookclub has published a list of their pick of the most inspiring books of the last decade. Among these 100 books you might find an old favourite which nudges you into reading it for another time and reminds you once again why it’s your favourite, or perhaps you’ll discover a new must-read to recommend to your friends but whichever you choose, Richard and Judy’s message to everyone is to enjoy your reading.
Click here to see the full listing...

Surfing in Clare 2010

"A Film by Frank Thiele. Music by The Naked And famous - Young Blood." Posted on Youtube on the 21st of November 2010 by FrankTh99.

READISCOVER Clare County Library in March

The library READISCOVER campaign sponsored by Bord Gáis Energy, takes place this year during the month of March and also coincides with Library Ireland Week. Events are being organized by libraries all over Ireland and there is no shortage of events taking place locally in almost all branches of Clare County Library.

On World Book Day, March 3rd , artist Alan Shoosmith will run workshops in three of Clare’s libraries in Ennis, Shannon and Sixmilebridge where 3rd and 4th class children can draw and paint their favourite book characters. Library staff are looking forward to welcoming children from nearby schools who are invited to dress as their heroes from the world of children’s books on the day. Kilrush, Kilmihil, Scariff and Ennistymon libraries will host the same workshop on alternative days during the week.

Tulla, Scariff and Killaloe Libraries welcome children's writer and journalist Olive O’Brien on World Book Day 2011. Her recently published eco-friendly books aim to inform children about environmental issues and promote environmental awareness in a unique way through her recently published titles: Eco Zico, Perry the Playful Polar Bear and Perry the Polar Bear Goes Green.

Thirteen libraries in the county will run events for Seachtain na Gaeilge. Library staff Seamus Ó Rían and Teresa Carmody O’Shea will provide scéalaíocht do dhaoine óga in several branches for local schoolchildren. Seamus and Teresa are regular entertainers each year of 1st and 2nd class children, delivering interactive storytelling sessions in the Irish language using books from the County Library’s collection of leabhair ghaeilge do pháistí óga.

Author and musician Maidhc Dainín O’Sé has published eleven books so far. His autobiography, A Thig Ná Tit Orm is studied by thousands of Leaving Cert students each year. Senior students from Secondary Schools will have an opportunity to meet him in deValera Library, Ennis and Scariff Library on the 4th of March. Other events celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge include an interview by Clare County Council’s Irish officer Emer Ní Fhlathairtaigh with Lisa Ní Laoire in Shannon and Miltown Malbay libraries. Lisa plays Molly in the popular TV series Ros na Rún.

Ailbhe ni Ghearbhuigh will facilitate a a poetry workshop for second level students in Ennistymon Library on the 8th of March.

Storyteller Niall de Búrca will regale primary school children and indeed anyone who loves a good story in Ennis, Newmarket on Fergus and Shannon Public Libraries on March the 9th. Recognised for the diversity of his stories and with an ability to reach all ages, Niall is always a welcome visitor to the libraries of County Clare.

Promoting its regular services specific to teenagers, a lending library will be available at Clare Youth Service on the 10th of March from which students can borrow the latest novels, graphic novels, non fiction books, music CDs and film DVDs from Clare County Library’s collection.

Our continuing multi-cultural storytime project with the children of Scoil Chriost Rí also takes place in March. Having so far explored the Nigerian language Yoruba and Croatian, the next session will concentrate on the Irish language in a special Seachtain na Gaeilge event with stories for the children of 1st class delivered as gaeilge at the deValera Library, Ennis.

Details of all events are available from library branches and the online Library Events calendar.

Irish Book Club of the Year Award for Limerick Group

A County Limerick book club has been named ‘2011 Irish Book Club of the Year’. Ballingarry Book Club beat off competition from other book clubs throughout Ireland to be named overall winner of the second annual competition, which was won in 2010 by National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) Audio Book Club from County Dublin.

Organised by the Ennis Book Club Festival, in association with Clare County Library, the competition attracted dozens of entries from book clubs throughout the country. The three-day festival is expected to attract hundreds of Book Club members and book lovers from all over Ireland. The Festival programme features author visits, readings, musical entertainment, a professional development workshop for library staff, and lectures and workshops in various venues around Ennis.

Among the contributors to the fifth annual festival will be Anne Enright; Pauline McLynn, Peter Sheridan, Paul Murray, Eamonn Sweeney, Dr Eibhear Walshe, John Curran, Doug Stanton, Blake Morrison, David J. Lynch, Vona Groarke, Tom Conaty, Marie Louise O'Donnell, John Lonergan, Lisa Fitzpatrick, Des Kenny and Justine McCarthy.

Helen Walsh, Clare County Librarian, congratulated Ballingarry Book Club on their award success, and paid tribute to the book club’s community focused approach. “Entrants to the competition were asked to say why their book club is special. Ballingarry Book Club stood out as a deserving winner for a number of reasons. The book club has enabled new friendships to be formed and has also embraced the positive change that can be delivered to community life through exchanging opinions on books. Over the last five years the members have shared their combined passion for reading and in doing so have had their opinions valued amongst new friends. The book club has also shown a commitment to encouraging other members of the community, both young and old alike, to start reading. The enthusiasm of all book club members made our decision of choosing this year’s winner much easier”, added Ms. Walsh.

Ballingarry Book Club member Yvonne Sweeney said she and her fellow members were delighted at being named overall Book Club winner. Ms. Sweeney continued: “Over the past five years or so we have read all manner of books, read outside our comfort zones, explored film adaptations, found new favourites and shared our old reliables with the group. We do not always agree, but this throws up lively discussion and banter. When we do unite in discovering a shared treasure, we sing its praises loudly! Over time, and through our discussions, we found we had more in common than we thought. This has led us to work beyond our Adult Book Club remit. Drawing on our diversity, our range of skills and experiences, and our community spirit we have continued to expand. For example we have formed a Children’s Book Club, addressing a need in the local community”.

Ballingarry Book Club will be guests at the 2011 Ennis Book Club Festival from 4th to 6th March in Co Clare, courtesy of the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis. The Festival is supported with grant aid from Ennis Town Council, the Arts Council, Fáilte Ireland/Shannon Development, and Clare Arts Office/Clare County Council. Local sponsors include the Ennis Bookshop, ANV Technology Ennis, Temple Gate Hotel, Dermot & Mary McMahon, Michael Houlihan & Partners. National sponsors include International Education Supplies, Leixlip. Local support from individuals, community groups and businesses plays an invaluable part in creating a successful festival.

Tickets for all events are on sale at Glór Box Office 00353 656843103 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              00353 656843103      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              00353 656843103      end_of_the_skype_highlighting & boxoffice@glor.ie. Further festival information is available from www.ennisbookclubfestival.com, www.twitter.com/ebcf, info@ennisbookclubfestival.com and tel 087-9723647/085-7758523.

Peter Sirr wins Michael Hartnett Prize in Poetry

Peter Sirr has been awarded the 2011 Michael Hartnett Prize in Poetry. The prize of €6500 is awarded to a single collection, that must be a poet's third or subsequent book published in the last two years. Sirr, born in Waterford and a member of Aosdána, was the winner of the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1982 and a former editor of Poetry Ireland Review. The adjudicators for the award were James Harpur, Thomas McCarthy and Mary O'Malley.

Willie Clancy Festival 2010 in Lynch's Pub (Friel's)

"Held annually since 1973 in memory of the piper Willie Clancy, the Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy is Ireland's largest traditional music summer school. During the week, students from every part of the world attend daily classes taught by experts in Irish music and dance. In addition, a full program of lectures, recitals, dances (céilithe) and exhibitions are run by the summer school." Posted on Youtube on the 26th of January, 2011 by worldvidd.

And nice dancing there from Angela Crotty and Tim Dennehy towards the end!

Clare Past Forum seeks volunteers for new transcription project on emigrants

Some members of the Clare Past Forum have initiated a project which seeks to list people who have emigrated from County Clare and who passed through the emigration station on Ellis Island, New York between 1892 and 1954, using free and publicly available data provided online by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. The project will be managed by Paddy Casey, a member of the forum, in association with Clare County Library staff. We are now seeking volunteers to assist in this project by agreeing to transcribe relevant records relating to individual Clare parishes. More info...

Historical Novel Promotion

Clare County Library has launched a new book promotion entitled Down Through the Pages. Featuring a selection of the best books in the historical fiction genre, the 31 novels cover the time periods from the Stone Age, through ancient Greece and Rome, Medieval and Renaissance times up until the mid 19th century. The genre features a diverse range of subgenres including medieval mysteries, regency romances, literary thrillers, nautical adventures, westerns, family sagas, multiperiod epics and many others and therefore should contain something to cater for everyone’s taste. The Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni said that the historical novelist is required to give ‘not just the bare bones of history, but something richer, more complete. In a way you want him to put the flesh back on the skeleton that is history’. This collection of historical fiction should appeal to all those devout fans out there as well as encouraging those as yet unfamiliar with the genre to try something new. Allow these novels to transport you back in time to “put the flesh back on the skeleton that is history”. The books and accompanying leaflets are available for borrowing at the DeValera Library in Ennis over the next three months, after which they will move on to the other branch libraries throughout the County.

Based on the Book

Film adaptations of the books below are currently playing in cinemas throughout Ireland:
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene starring Helen Mirren and John Hurt;
The King’s Speech by Mark Logue starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter;
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston which is filmed under the title 127 Hours;
True Grit by Charles Portis – a Coen Brothers remake of the John Wayne classic with actors Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon starring;
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro starring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley;
Gulliver’s travels by Jonathan Swift starring Jack Black and Billy Connolly.

Film adaptations of the following books are due to be released during 2011:
Dark fields by Alan Glynn which is filmed under the title Limitless;
Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly;
We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver;
One Day by David Nicholls;
The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Over 4,500 links added to Townland pages on website

4,719 links have been added to the townlands pages on the library website, providing links to the derivation, meaning and Irish translation of each townland from the Placenames Database of Ireland, and a link to a list of occupants, map and original page of Griffith's Valuation for each townland from Ask About Ireland. Clare County Library is grateful to Rainer Kosbi and the staffs of The Placenames Branch of the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Ask About Ireland website for their assistance with this project.

Bord Gais Energy Readiscover Your Local Library Survey

As part of their work around the Bord Gáis Energy READISCOVER Your Local Library initiative, Bord Gáis Energy is conducting some research into libraries and what consumers understand about the services offered by libraries.
Click here to take part in the Bord Gais Energy Readiscover Your Local Library Survey...

Library presented with CIGO Award for Excellence in Genealogy

Photo shows Cllr. Brian Meaney (Deputy Mayor of Ennis), Helen Walsh (Clare County Librarian), Steven Smyrl (Executive Liaison Officer with CIGO) and Peter Beirne (Local Studies Centre). The library’s ICT & Information Services Department was represented on the night by Jackie Dermody-O’Brien and Mona O’Connor. Anthony Edwards (Library Website Manager) and Maureen Comber (Library Website Editor) were unable to attend due to personal commitments.

On Thursday, 10th February 2011, Clare County Library was officially presented with the CIGO (Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations) 2010 Award for Excellence in Genealogy in the De Valera Public Library, Ennis. The award, which was announced in November 2010, recognises the facilities provided in the Local Studies Centre at Ennis (which includes a magnificent collection of Clare newspapers and the recently acquired microfilmed parish registers) and particularly the online genealogy section of the Library's website. Presenting the award Steven Smyrl of CIGO said, “where would we be without such people willing to undertake work on a voluntary basis and then to disseminate it through the wonder of the Internet? Where would we be without such far thinking staff as those who run the Clare County Library? Well, I can tell you where… in a place devoid of philanthropy, selflessness, generosity of spirit and an overriding wish to assist others. It is perfectly obvious that the website of Clare County Library provides a forum for the demonstration of these important values and long may it last!” Deputy Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Brian Meaney, who introduced the presentation, commented that the facilities at the library often go largely unrecognized but there can be no doubt as to what an invaluable resource it is. Clare County Librarian, Helen Walsh, said it was an honour to receive the award and credit was due to all the staff involved. Also in attendance on the night were members of The Clare Roots Society, whose contribution of material to the website was gratefully recognised by the library and by CIGO. Previous recipients of this award include The National Archives, The Irish Times and Dublin Public Libraries and Archive.
More info... Clare Library wins major award for genealogy (Irish Library News).
More links:
Clare County Library website - Genealogy & Family History
About Clare County Library's website
Clare County Library Local Studies Centre
Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations

Atlantic Edge Exhibition at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience

"This is the exhibition inside the underground Cliffs of Moher visitor centre in County Clare Ireland. There's the Clare Journey, an aerial tour of County Clare with amazing footage of the landscape including one of the first people to surf Aileen's wave at the Cliffs - John McCarthy, caving and deep sea diving footage that will blow you away. Also the virtual reality Cliffs movie from the birds eye view. On this wild rides see puffins, choughs, fulmar, kittiwakes and marine creatures like dolphins, conger eel, basking shark, grey seal and humpback whale." Posted on Youtube on the 15th of January 2011 by travellingkitty.

Valentine themed craft session at Scariff Public Library

Over 25 children attended Scariff Public Library's "Valentine" themed craft session recently. The children were delighted with a choice of two crafts-coloured flowers in a vase or a special Valentine's card designed especially to hold a picture of their Valentine! Aileen McDonagh held the craft session for older children while Samantha Morrissey oversaw proceedings for the younger ones. The event was a great success with most children leaving with two special handmade crafts.

IMPAG Conference at Clare Museum

Cllr Brian Meaney, Deputy Mayor of Ennis, and Tracy Collins, Chairperson of IPMAG at the opening of the conference at Clare Museum. Cllr Meaney welcomed the group to Ennis on behalf of Ennis Town Council.

Brian Meaney, Deputy Mayor of Ennis, opened the Irish Post-medieval Archaeology Group’s annual conference held at Clare Museum on Friday, 4th February, 2011. The theme of the conference was "Hearth, Home and Household", and archaeologists explored the post-medieval sites and material culture of houses and homes over the last 400 years. There were discussions on excavations and research on a wide variety of topics ranging from historic buildings and gardens throughout Ireland, through Cashel’s water supply, to prostitution and piracy in the 17th Century. Delegates travelled from all over Ireland for the three-day conference and it was also well supported by history enthusiasts locally. IPMAG was established in Belfast in 1999. Apart from an annual conference, the group also issues a newsletter and seeks to promote a great understanding of Ireland’s post 1550 AD archaeology, history and material culture amongst academics, professionals and the general public. The 2012 conference is scheduled for Wexford.

Library Anywhere: a version of the WebOPAC (online catalogue) for mobile devices

Library Anywhere: a version of the WebOPAC (online catalogue) for mobile devices, including iPhone, Android, and a Universal version that works on any phone with web-browsing capabilities; Clare County Library's online catalogue is now available on a range of mobile devices via a specially commissioned interface from LibraryAnywhere.

* Search the catalogue, reserve and renew items - it does what the regular catalog does.
* Works on any phone with a web-browsing feature - not just smart phones.
* "Universal Version" is fully compliant with Section 508 and other accessibility standards.
* Includes information also on library events and branch libraries, Ask-a-librarian and the library website's What's New RSS feed

And here's the link for your mobile device: http://www.libanywhere.com/m/306

Doolin Céilí Band in Listowel

"Doolin Ceilidh Band performing in St. Johns Listowel." Posted on Youtube onn the 13th of September 2010 by DoolinCeilidhBand

Costa Book of the Year

Poet Jo Shapcott was the surprise winner of the 2011 Costa Book of the Year for her collection of poetry entitled Of Mutability, her first new work in over a decade, influenced in part by her experience of breast cancer. Judges felt that the book was "so accessible, and the subject matter was so relevant that if any poetry book could capture the spirit of life in 2011, this would be it". They said "These strong poems are rooted in the poet's experience of breast cancer but are all about life, hope and play. Fizzing with variety, they are a paean to creativity and make the reader feel that what matters to us all is imagination, humanity and a smile." Shapcott received £35,000 on winning the award. The firm favourite in the literary world – and among the bookies – had been Edmund de Waal for his family memoir, The Hare With Amber Eyes. The five winners of the Costa category awards were eligible for the overall prize. The other three titles in the running were The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell, Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai and Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace. It is the second year in a row that a poetry book has won the overall award with Christopher Reid winning the award for A Scattering. It is the seventh time a poetry collection has taken the overall prize, which began as The Whitbread in 1971. Séamus Heaney won the award on two occasions - for his verse translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf (1999) and The Spirit Level (1996).

Bestselling Authors

The Bookseller magazine recently listed the 5 authors who sold over £10million worth of books each in the UK market in 2010. Topping the list was Jamie Oliver whose latest book Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals was a huge seller over the Christmas period. In second position in terms of sales was Steig Larsson. All 3 books in his Millennium trilogy sold more than 1 million copies each in 2010 making him the biggest selling translated author since records began. Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer was in third place, with thriller writer James Patterson in fourth and children’s picture book author Julia Donaldson in fifth. All five writers had books sales worth over £10million in the UK last year. Maeve Binchy sold £3.6million worth, up 8% on her sales in 2009. Books by Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl continue their enduring appeal to children with sales of £3.4m and £4.2m respectively in 2010. Book sales overall for 2010 totalled £1.7bn, down 3.2% on 2009. For full details see www.thebookseller.com

Rupert and Eithne Strong Poetry Award Shortlist

The shortlist for the €2,500 Rupert and Eithne Strong Award for a first poetry collection was announced recently. The nominees for the award are Caitríona Ní Chléirchín's Crithloinnir, Órfhlaith Foyle's Red Riding Hood's Dilemma, Paul Maddern's The Beachcomber's Report and Grace Wells' When God Has Been Called Away to Greater Things. This year's winner will be presented with the award during the DLR Poetry Now International Poetry Festival, which takes place from March 24th to 27th.

Aughty The Film

Galway based film artists Tom Flanagan and Megs Morley are spending the next six months in the Sliabh Aughty region making a film about the community, the landscape and the culture of this unique rural region. The film is part of number of public art projects commissioned by Galway County Council, supported by Clare County Council and curated by Clare based lecturer and artist Dr Aine Phillips called Aughty Public Art Projects. Tom Flanagan and Megs Morley have been working together on short films for the last seven years, and this film project aims to be a feature length exploration of the Aughty Region and its hinterlands, spanning from Loughrea, Woodford, Tuamgraney, Crusheen, to Ardrahan, aiming to capture the unique landscape of the Aughty region and its impact on everyday life for the people that live there. They are calling on the people on both sides of the county borders living in the Aughty region to help them identify the key agricultural, environmental, cultural and community moments, events and dates over the next 6 months.
For example the artists are interested in filming traditional and modern farming methods eg. lambing, ploughing, planting etc. along with any key events like fairs or marts. Community examples might be local interest groups, sporting events, school events eg. concerts, religious events eg holy communion, weddings etc. Environmental examples might include documenting natural lifecycles of native plants and animals of the woods, lakes and mountains. Cultural examples might be traditional music, singing and stories that might be told at home with family or at the pub, and special celebrations. Tom and Megs are also very interested in the everyday, normal routines that take place in peoples lives in the area, so if you see a couple strolling around with cameras and equipment it will more than likely be them! So please stop and say hello to them! Likewise if you can offer any information big or small that could help the artists create this unique look at the Aughty region, please contact them on: 087 92020432 (Tom); 0879140131 (Megs) or at aughtythefilm@gmail.com

'Closing Time' - Mickaleen Conlon and Friends in Ballyvaughan, 1994

"Mickaleen Conlon playing at Greene's Pub, Ballyvaughan, Co Clare. 'Closing Time' was made on 17th August 1994. The great late [North Clare] musician Mickaleen was a regular on the traditional music circuit, in particular at the Road Side Tavern in Lisdoonvarna.
Mickaleen Conlon - Concertina /Accordion
Vincent Browne - Guitar
Gabrielle Casey - Whistle
Shane Holden - Guitar
Liam Lewis - Fiddle
Sean Tyrrell -Vocals / Mandocello / Banjo
A magical night of Irish Music featuring some of the great names of Irish traditional music." Posted on Youtube on the 5th of December 2009 by AlisonKinnane.

Clare Band EARTHSHIP plays...'Stratus'

Lahinch based jazz/funk band Earthship playing Billy Cobham's Stratus at Tully's, Kinvara, November 2010. Earthship are Mark Farrelly (keyboards), Karl Clews (bass guitar), Blendi Krasniqi (drums) and Andrew Collins (alto sax, percussion). Posted on Youtube on the 28th of January 2011 by EARTHSHIPFUSION.

Win place on writing workshop with Roddy Doyle

The Dublin Book Festival has launched a new writing competition for young writers aged between 12 and 14. The teenagers are being asked to write and submit a story on any theme - scary, funny, sad or whatever you like - between 500 and 1000 words in length for the chance to win a place on a creative writing workshop with Roddy Doyle. The story must be submitted by the 11th of February 2011 and judges will pick eight winners to attend the workshop on the 26th of February at the Fighting Words Centre, Dublin.
Send your entry to:

Young Adult Writing Competition
Publishing Ireland
Guinness Enterprise Centre,
Taylor’s Lane,
Dublin 8

For more information or competition rules visit www.dublinbookfestival.com
The Dublin Book Festival runs from Wednesday 2nd March until Sunday 6th March 2011. Author events will be held in a variety of venues throughout Dublin City including the National Library of Ireland, The Gutter Bookshop, The Project Arts Theatre, Dublin City Libraries and Dublin’s City Hall.

Kindle Amazon’s best selling product ever

The Kindle e-book reader, of which 8 million were said to have been sold in 2010, is Amazon’s greatest selling product ever. The company announced that sales of the Kindle 3 had overtaken the previous record holder, the book of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, released in July 2007. Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was the bestselling book on Amazon.co.uk in 2010, with Larsson's other two books in the Millennium trilogy also making the top 10. The runaway Christmas success, Jamie's 30 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver, was in fifth place overall. The Toy Story 3 DVD reached number 2 on the bestselling list with the videogame Call of Duty: Black Ops in fourth place. The British boyband Take That’s latest offering Progress was Amazon's sixth best seller of 2010. The other places in the top ten list were claimed by the electronics items Integral USB 2.0 Single Slot SD Reader and SanDisk 8GB SDHC Secure Digital Card.

Are you registered to vote?

Clare County Council wishes to advise the public that the closing date for entry onto the Supplement to the Register of Electors is Tuesday next 8th February 2011 to be entitled to vote at the upcoming General Election. Check the register now at http://www.clarecoco.ie/your-council/voting/register-to-vote/check-the-register/default.aspx. If you have any queries please telephone 1800 245 426.

Volunteering opportunities with the Clare Volunteer Centre

‘Together we can make a difference’
The Clare Volunteer Centre will be in deValera Public Library, Ennis on the 21st February from 10.30am to 2pm, in Kilrush Public Library on Wednesday 23rd February from 2.30pm to 5pm, and in Seán Lemass Public Library, Shannon on the 24th February from 1pm to 5pm. Why not come along and have a chat about the volunteering opportunities in your area? Find out how you can ‘make a difference’.

Every dog has its day ……. at the library!

Clare County Library’s multi-cultural storytelling project takes place monthly in deValera Public Library, Ennis. In co-operation with the staff and parents of Scoil Chriost Ri, Cloughleigh, 1st class children benefit from shared story participation and an introduction to the languages and cultures of their classmates. To date Shola Kogbodoku, a parent of children in the school has introduced the children to the Nigerian language Yoruba translating words from stories chosen and read for their invited audience by library staff.

On Thursday the 27th January it was the turn of another parent Svetlana Circovic who over the course of two storytelling sessions has introduced the children to her language, Croatian. Bringing to the attention of the children the difference between story books and information books, library staff chose to read a picture book, Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates followed by a book on caring for your puppy offering simple advice and tips on how to care for your dog from birth to old age. A class of very attentive children were rewarded at the end of the visit by meeting Eliot, the much-loved dog owned by library staff member, Bernadette Roche. Ber told the children a little of Eliot’s sad start in life and his rescue by Dublin based animal rescue charity Dogs in Distress, from whom Ber adopted Eliot a year ago. The children were delighted to hear that Eliot is now a happy and healthy little dog.

The Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group at Clare Museum

The Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group is proud to present its annual conference "Hearth, Home and Household From the 16th – 20th century: 400 years of material culture" from the 4th to the 6th of February, 2011 at the Clare Museum, O’Connell Square, Ennis. All welcome. The Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group (IPMAG) was established in Belfast in 1999. It is a voluntary organisation which seeks to promote amongst academics and the general public a greater understanding of Ireland’s past post-1550AD archaeology, history and material culture. It also seeks to promote a holistic approach to this material by means of greater cooperation with persons working in related fields of study. Click here for full conference programme...