Scrabble at Scariff Library

Calling all Scrabble lovers - Scariff Public library is starting up an adult Scrabble Club. The first meeting is on Thursday 13th May at 2pm. Scrabble boards and tea/coffee will be provided. All levels welcome. Bring your friends or come on your own and join in the fun!

Fleadh Nua, Ennis, 23rd to 31st May 2010

As they embark on their second century, the Kilfenora Céilí Band has certainly hit the ground running. Having fulfilled their customary St. Patrick’s Festival engagement at the National Concert Hall, Ireland’s premier Céilí Band returns to Glór in Ennis for a concert on Saturday, 24th April. This concert marks the launch of the Fleadh Nua 2010 Programme and is sure to be a sell-out. Tickets cost €22.50 and may be purchased online at www.glor.ie.

Last year Fleadh Nua planned to pay tribute to the Corofin Teach Ceoil for its enviable record of hosting an uninterrupted series of Seisiún since Comhaltas’ summer series of traditional entertainment was initiated many years ago. Unfortunately, the occasion was deferred as a mark of respect on the passing of stalwart, Joe Kierse. The tribute has now been rescheduled for Cois na hAbhna on Sunday, 23rd May as part of the Official Opening of the Festival.

Aos Óg showcases the very best of underage talent, and it comes as no surprise that performing at this Concert has proved an important milestone in many musical careers. Witness Tara Breen, Dermot Sheedy and James Mahon - who play with Cirrus the band created by Donal Lunny for the hit TG4 programme “Lorg Lunny” – all of whom have performed in recent concerts. Some seasoned Fleadh Nua observers opine that the Aos Óg concerts of the 1970’s were the highlight of the Festival and attained a standard that remains unsurpassed. In an effort to keep the raging fires of this debate well and truly stoked, Fleadh Nua offers the voting public a chance to make up its own mind. In the red corner, the customary Aos Óg Concert on Friday, 28th May. In the blue corner, the Celebrity Concert on Saturday, 29th May will comprise artistes who performed at the Aos Óg in the halcyon days of the Seventies including Eoin Ó Riabhaigh, Conal Ó Gráda and Colm Murphy. Both concerts take place in Glór and tickets are available on www.glor.ie.

Set Dancers will want to add the extensive programme of Céilithe and workshops to their diaries. Serious dancers demand serious bands and what better band to get the show on the road than the Tulla Céilí Band in the familiar surroundings of the Old Ground Hotel on Thursday, 27th May. The action switches to Cois na hAbhna on Friday, 28th May when the Rebel County’s finest, the Abbey Céilí Band invites you to take to the floor. And to prove – if indeed it needed proving – that as well as putting on a top class show, they can also play a mean Céilí the Kilfenora play in Cois na hAbhna on Saturday, 29th May. Sunday night sees Matt Cunningham and Band take to the stage at the Gort Road venue. Chase away the Monday morning blues with Dave Culligan and the Star of Munster on 31st May – venue to be confirmed. The Four Courts Céilí Band bring proceedings to a close at Cois na hAbhna on Monday, 31st May. And in case you are worried that your steps aren’t up to scratch fear not as our programme of Set Dancing Workshops will have “dancing at home” and “round the house” in no time. One of the aims of this year’s Festival is to increase accessibility to and visibility of our traditional arts. Thanks to the generous assistance of the Clare County Council Arts Office “The Riches of Clare” series of free lunchtime concerts provides an ideal opportunity to sample what the Fleadh has to offer. A full programme of Street Entertainment will take place on Saturday and Sunday, 29th and 30th May involving performances on the Gig Rig, Cosán Ceoil/Music Trail and open air Céilí. Watch out for “The Banjo Strikes Back” – a dedicated session for Banjo players – Fiddlers, Flutes and Box Players need not apply.

A hallmark of previous Fleadhanna has been the extraordinary breadth of the programme of events. So it should come as no surprise that this year’s programme also includes Foinn Seisiún Workshops, Storytelling Sessions with the inimitable Eddie Lenihan, Guided Walking Tour, Singers’ Club, Fleadh Club, Pub Music Trail, and Competitive Stage Shows.

On the fringes of the Official Programme are a number of events which will undoubtedly be of interest to Traditional Music lovers. On Thursday, May Cork singer, John Spillane visits Patrick’s Bar in the Market as part of the CeolÓlta Sessions – more information is available on www.ceololta.com. A late night gig at Glór on Friday, 28th May provides Lúnasa - “the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet” according to the New York Times – with an ideal opportunity to showcase their new album Lá Nua. If it’s high energy performances, breathtaking arrangements and infectious melodies you seek then join Guidewires’ Late Night Party in Glór on Saturday, 29th May. See www.glor.ie for details

Micho Russell playing two jigs on tin whistle

The late Micho Russell, of Doolin, County Clare, playing two jigs - The South West Wind & The Little Black Pig. Posted on Youtube on the 9th February 2008 by clarebannerman
More info: http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/russell_brothers.htm

British Science Fiction Association award for best novel of 2009

China Miéville’s lastest novel The City & the City has been awarded the British Science Fiction Association award for the best novel of 2009. Miéville’s story of a murder investigation in parallel worlds has been compared with the works of Kafka, Orwell and Phillip K. Dick. The City & the City has also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2010 for the best science fiction novel of the year. He has previously won that award on two occasions with Perdido Street Station and Iron Council.

The City & the City is also considered to be the leading contender for the two most prestigious American science fiction awards – the Hugo and the Nebula. Miéville’s novels have previously been nominated for both of these awards but to date have failed to capture either title. The Hugo Awards are awarded for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy and are run by and voted on by fans. They were first awarded in 1953. The shortlist for that award was announced on April 4th with the winner to be announced in September. The children’s book entitled The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman won the 2008 award. The Nebula Awards are annual awards presented by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to celebrate excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing and are awarded for the best books published in the United States during the previous year. Miéville’s book is one of the six titles to be shortlisted for the 2009 award for best novel, the winner of which will be announced on May 15th. The young adult novel Powers by Ursula Le Guin won the 2008 award.

The Fifth Aughty Earth Day Gathering - 17th April

A celebration of hospitality around the Sliabh Eachtaí or the Slieve Aughty Mountains, the Fifth Aughty Earth Day Gathering will be held in the community centre, Gort on Saturday, 17th of April 2010. The annual event provides a platform for community groups in counties Clare and Galway to share information and to tell their own stories and experiences around themes of local heritage interest. The focus of Slógadh Eachtaí - Gort 2010 is:
Making it Happen - Our Own Stories
• From Schoolhouse to Museum - The Story of Kiltartan Gregory Museum by Ms. Rena McAllen and Sr. de Lourdes Fahy - Kiltartan Gregory Cultural Society.
• Ardrahan Community Heritage Projects - Karen O'Neill - Ardrahan.
• Killinane graveyard Restoration Project - Dympna Fahy - Kilchreest Castledaly Heritage Group.
• East Clare Heritage - Twenty Years a growing - Gerard Madden, Tuamgraney.
• Placenames of the Parish of Inchicronan - Gerry Kennedy - Heritage Inchicronan
• Restoration of the Holy Wells of Beithe - Tony Diviney - Beagh Integrated Rural Development Association
• Music of the Sliabh Aughty Region - Mary Coen | Tim Collins
• Sarsfields Way - Ultach names and sites of Monuments and Places of Interest around Woodford - Dermot Moran.
Slógadh Eachtaí | Gort 2010 - The 5th Aughty Gathering - is hosted by community groups from Ardrahan, Beithe, Kiltartan, Killanena and Gort Inse Guaire. Registration from 9.00 am. Opening at 10.00 am.The event is open to the public and admittance is free of charge. A selection of local history / heritage publications will also be available to view and for purchase. More information...

Ireland - Dig It at Clare Museum

Clare Museum is involved in a new RTE production from ‘Mind the Gap Films’ called ‘Ireland – Dig It’. The series will air on The Den on RTE during Heritage Week at the end of August and in order to have programmes ready by then, filming will take place in late May and early June this year. The aim of the series is to foster an interest in local history and archaeology in children throughout the country and to take that history and archaeology out of the museum and bring it to life for the entire community. The series will explore prehistoric Ireland, the Bronze Age and the Viking Invasions, possibly extending into the Norman period. The current format of each programme will see three teams of three 5th or 6th class primary school children from all over Ireland competing in a series of archaeology and history based physical and mental challenges. The teams will be divided so that two members of the team (the code breakers) will be based at one of the museums while the other team member (the seeker) will be out in the field at a historical site or a reconstructed site that sees them guided by a mythological figure to solve a series of clues, using the information fed to them from their teamates at the museum. The programme culminates with two teams’ seekers arriving at specially constructed dig site to excavate some replica artefacts.

‘Mind the Gap Films’ have designed a web-based application process to allow children and schools who wish to take part to follow a series of online clues relating to local and national history and archaeology. When all the clues have been solved they get a password that allows them to apply. The local authority museum sites are linked to this online process. So for example, a player must search for an artefact on the museums’ sites, and when they find a picture of it, they click on the image and it takes them to the next level of the game. It is hoped that children with a genuine interest in history will take part, while at the same time raising awareness of museums around the country. Staff at Clare Museum are delighted to be involved in this exciting new programme and are looking forward to working on the project.

Phoenix Sister Cities International Competition for Writers with Disabilities

The Phoenix Sister Cities International Competition for Writers with Disabilities is open to persons with disabilities 19 years of age and older residing in Arizona, or one of Phoenix Arizona’s nine sister cities, including Ennis in County Clare. Poems of 32 lines or less, consistent with the theme “Reflections on Life” are due by May 1, 2010. There are cash prizes for the winners and opportunities to have the poetry published. The $15 contest entry fee is waived for members of Phoenix’s sister cities, including Ennis.For further information contact Harry P. Wolfe at hwolfeaz@cox.net. Click here for the competition fact sheet, and click here for the competition brochure and entry form...

Ireland – Dig It! Calling all 5th and 6th class students!

Ireland – Dig It! is an exciting new archaeology TV programme for primary school students. They are looking for enthusiastic teams of three students, aged between 9 – 13 years, to compete in archaeology and history themed challenges on the programme, with the chance to win a unique school trip for their entire class! Each episode will be filmed at a different Local Museum and the programme will air on The Den on RTÉ later in the year. Follow the link from the Clare Museum homepage…

Tara Breen and Cathal Mac An Rí (Fiddle/Flute duet)

A selection of tunes commencing with “The Bee’s Wing” hornpipe and continuing with “Jackson’s Reel” by All-Ireland Senior Duet Champions for 2007, Tara Breen and Cathal Mac An Rí from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Doora/Barefield, County Clare. Posted on Youtube on November 14th 2007 by comhaltas.

The Lost Books – ‘Booker Prize 1970’

The shortlist for The Lost Man Booker Prize - a once-off prize to honour the books published in 1970 that were not eligible for consideration for the Booker Prize was announced on March 25th. The Booker Prize started in 1969. The original concept was to award a prize to the best fiction book written by a Commonwealth citizen in the previous year, 1968. Then, in 1971, the rules were changed. It was decided the prize would be awarded to the best book of the current year. At the same time the award moved from April to November and, as a result, a wealth of fiction published for much of 1970 fell through the net and was never considered for the prize. The shortlist was selected, from a longlist of 21 titles which are still in print and generally available today, by a panel of three judges, all of whom were born in or around 1970. They are journalist and critic, Rachel Cooke, ITN newsreader, Katie Derham and poet and novelist, Tobias Hill. The winner of The Lost Man Booker Prize will be decided by the international reading public. Voting, via the Man Booker Prize website closes on 23 April 2010. The overall winner will be announced on 19 May 2010.
The six books are:
• The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden – a tale of middle-class parents struggling to cope with their troubled eldest son
• Troubles by J G Farrell - about an army major in 1919 Ireland where the struggle for independence is about to begin
• The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard - chronicles the impact of the city of Naples, new friends and lovers on a lonely English girl
• Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault - tells the story of the life of the young Alexander the Great and the years that shaped him.
• The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark - a story of a bored accountant whose search for adventure and sex on holiday becomes a journey to self-destruction
• The Vivisector by Patrick White – follows the driven life of the celebrated painter Hurtle Duffield

Three of the authors on the shortlist - Farrell, Spark and Bawden - have previously been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. J.G. Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur won in 1973. Patrick White, Mary Renault and Shirley Hazzard have never been shortlisted for the prize. JG Farrell was born in England. He grew up in Ireland and was living here at the time of his early death by drowning off the coast of Cork. Down All the Days by Christy Brown was longlisted but failed to make the shortlist.