Connemara Journal

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August 2015Issue 35

Mongan MemorialsEstablished 1975

Still on the Seafront

on Derryinver Bay

Right beside Ocean’s Alive

Open Monday to SaturdayTel: (095) 43473 / 087-6461189 / 087-1307752

MemorialHeadstonesMemorial

Headstonesgrave

maintenance& services

grave maintenance& services

o

VIVIANA

Italian Boutique – Main Street, Clifden – Tel 095 30751

Footwear, Bags, JewelleryClothes (up to XXXL),

Gift Items and much more!

the next i s sue of the Journa l wi l l publ i sh on September 16

deadline for submissions: Sept 7edi tor@connemara journa l . ie

want somethingdesigned?

contact Rowan Tree

on 085-8613277or email

[email protected]

Clifden Fruit and Veg086-8365864

Cheapest inConnemara...

Gas Cylindersº 11.34kg – €28.99

º 34kg – €75º 47kg – €100

Our fuelprices won’t be beaten!

Ambitious Aran Islandsscheme to eliminate dependence on fossil fuelsis ‘entirely achievable’

An ambitious project to slash the energyimports of the Aran Islands is being heldup as an example to communities acrossthe country.

The islands hope to be carbon neutral,and energy independent, by 2022 – an aimthat the SEAI has said is ‘entirely achiev-able’.

A combination of energy upgrades andgreater use of renewable energy will reduce fossil fuel imports to the islands by84%. Projected exports of locally producedelectricity will complete the journey to

Aoife Ní Dhálaigh

l turn to page 6

The annual Pony Show season is now well underway, with events taking placeacross the region. Pictured here is Josie O'Halloran, from Oughterard, with his coltfoal ‘Lakeside Jo Jo’, winner of the champion foal at Roundstone show on SundayJuly 12. For more show pictures and previews, see pages 8 – 10

It’s show time!

ISLANDS LEAD THE WAYIN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

PHOTO: TOM BRODERICK

August 16 – 23, Clifden Co Galway

www.cpbs.ie

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BROCHUREINSIDE!

A SPECIAL Co Galway edition ofthe boardgame Monopoly will belaunched this autumn, with at leastone local landmark set to have aprime spot.

The ‘big reveal’ will take place inKylemore Abbey on October 2 –and the west of Ireland’s most pop-ular visitor attraction is likely tohave a prominent position on theboard.

Now, makers Winning Moves arelooking for one Galway member ofthe public to become a ‘VIP’ for theday – very important player, that is.

Members of the public are in-vited to write poems, ditties andverses on why they look forward toGalway being immortalised with itsvery own board.

The winner will be invited to thelaunch, collect the first board pro-duced and play the first game withMr Monopoly and a representativeof the Galway landmark that ap-pears on the top Mayfair spot.

Anyone aged six and upwardscan enter, explaining why theyshould be the Galway MonopolyVIP in 25 words or less. Entriesshould be emailed to [email protected] by midnight on Au-gust 19.

Each of the 22 multi-coloured sites on theboard will have a newGalway identity. TheAbbey was one of threeattractions to amass ‘lotsand lots’ of public votes ear-lier this year, but it is yetto be seen if it facedoff stiff competitionfrom The Latin Quarterand Galway Racecourse.

The Chanceand CommunityChest playing cards

will be heavily cus-tomised, and the fourtrain stations from theoriginal London board –

which celebrates its 80th an-niversary this year – will take

on a ‘travel’ theme.Pat Lavelle, Chief Executive

Officer atK y l e m o r e

Abbey and WalledGarden, said: ‘We are

extremely pleased that wehave been asked to host the of-

ficial launch of the Galway Monop-oly board and are looking forwardto welcoming everyone to Kyle-more. We hope very much that wehave landed one of the top positionson the board!’

2NEWS

AUGUST 2015

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l MOYCULLEN PonyShow takes place thisSunday (August 16),starting at 10am. In-handPony classes, HunterTrials, Show Jumping,and High PerformanceQualifier for the ClifdenShow, as well as theshow’s first ever donkeyclasses. Moycullen DogShow takes place on thesame day, with Gun DogTrials a new feature thisyear. Entries from 10am.

l PRESIDENT of theRHA Mick O’Dea willlaunch a series of limitededition prints by JoeWilson at BallynahinchCastle on Thursday,August 20, at 5.30pm. Theprints are reproductions byStoney Road Press ofwork published last yearby Occasional Press.

l TEARMANN ÉannaTeo is to be allocatedmore than €2 million offunding for two socialhousing projects in southConnemara. The projectsare the purchase andrefurbishment of 13 unitsat Eanach Mheáin in Bealan Daingin and for fourunits in the old post officein Indreabhán. Themoney was allocated bythe Department of theEnvironment under theCapital AssistanceScheme through GalwayCounty Council, whichprovides monies tovoluntary housing bodiesto assist those withspecific needs such aselderly people, personswith intellectual orphysical disability andhomeless persons.

News in brief

[email protected]

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Is your LinkedIn profile up to date?

If not, log on to www.barryaccountants.ieand put August 19th at 7pm in your diary

to advert ise, contactsales@connemarajournal . ie

Kylemore Abbey to hostnew Monopoly ‘big reveal’

Aoife Ní DhálaighCall Eugene on 085-1098456 or [email protected]

Expert Driving Tuition given by Patient andProfessional Driving Instructor FORMER DRIVING TESTER IN GALWAY WITH EXCELLENT PASS RATE RSA Approved

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3NEWSJOURNAL

theconnemara

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summer schedule 2015There’s something for all the family at the Clifden Station House Theatre

Monday evenings Trad in the West @ 8pm €15, family, group and children rates availableTuesday Evening Live Magic Show @ 6pm €2pp

NEW Tegolin Tales Wednesday August 5 @ 6pm, Friday August 14 @ 5pm,Friday August 21 @ 5pm, Wednesday August 26 @6pm €2 per child

Thursday Evenings Balloon Craft €2 per childPLUS Blockbuster Movies all summer long in the Station House Theatre!!!

LEISURE CENTRE HOLIDAY MEMBERSHIP:3 DAY FAMILY PASS: €70

7 DAY FAMILY PASS: €120

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FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

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FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

JUST ADDED FOR AUGUST!

RENVYLE’S Sean Rimareturned to Connemaralast month after complet-ing an epic road journeyoverland from Clifden toUlaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The 24,000 km motor-cycle trip was to raisefunds for Temple StreetChildren’s Hospital.

Speaking to the Journallast week, Sean said: ‘Itwas absolutely fantastic,that’s the only way I coulddescribe it. I came off thebike twice, but that wasprobably my fault, notbeing used to the roadconditions I was goingthrough at the time. Apartfrom that, I had no prob-lems at all.

‘The people I met wereamazing, particularly theRussians. Everyone I metwas very friendly andwelcoming.

‘I stayed with friends offriends in Nizhny Nov-gorod and they made mebowls of borsch, then tookme to their friends’ place,where they cooked upsome amazing meat and

vegetables in an Asianbarbecue-type cooker.

‘I stayed with anotherfriend, Albert, and he toldme I could park the bike inhis office – I turned up atthis run-down, ramshacklebuilding and wonderedwhat type of a place thiswas to leave it. It was onlywhen I got inside that I re-alised it was a morgue.He’s a forensic patholo-gist… So I got lots ofjokes after that about thebike being ‘dead safe’!’

He also braved Tbilisi,Georgia, less than a weekafter the city was beset byfloods in June: ‘I had tomake a call on whether tocontinue on to Tbilisiwhen I heard about thefloods, but I was lucky –there was no real damageon my route, and none ofthe escaped zoo animalswere around either!’

l Fundraising is ongo-ing, and donations can bemade via sponsorshipcards in local shops, or atthe iDonate page onwww.ulaan2015.com

l For more photos, seewww.connemarajournal.ie

Aoife Ní Dhálaigh

Rima’s return: Epic24,000km trip complete

STAFF members inKylemore Abbey weredelighted when X Factorwinner Alexandra Burkeposed for photos andsigned autographs duringa visit to Kylemore lastmonth. Alexandra wastaking time out from herbusy schedule, includinga number of well-received Dublinperformances.

l Kylemore Abbey alsoplayed host to FrancisBrennan and the crewfrom Waddell Media,there to film a segmentfor the upcoming seriesof RTÉ’s Are You BeingServed. Francis ismentoring a young mancalled Warren Higgins,who is setting up a newbusiness in Limerick.Warren met withrestaurant managerMarguerite Heanue, whowas able to share lots ofinside information onestablishing and runninga successful cateringbusiness, using ourGarden Tea House as anexample of Best Practice.

Francis took time out tomeet staff and havephotos taken, and waspresented with a hamperof Kylemore Abbeypottery and goodies as amemento.

4NEWS

AUGUST 2015

CNOC Suain cultural re-treat, near An Spidéal, hasbeen shortlisted for a worldaward in Cultural Heritage.

The World ResponsibleTourism Award (WRTA)is presented to a ‘tourismattraction or experiencethat is designed to protectand promote the heritageof a community’.

Owners DearbhaillStandún and Charlie Troyrun residential pro-grammes and retreats, cot-tage rentals andexperiences, immersingvisitors in the Gaeltachtheritage of the area. Thecentre has recently ex-tended its range of serv-ices and can now be usedas a location for a specialevent.

The centre’s activitiesare all run with ‘responsi-ble tourism’ in mind – cre-ating a meaningfulexperience for travellersby connecting them to thenature and culture of a

host community.A spokesman for the

WRTA said: ‘The range oforganisations [in the finalsof the awards] varyhugely in size, fromtourism industry giantssuch as TUI Travel UK &Ireland, to tiny individualenterprises such as CnocSuain; in setting, from citytours to an isolated Ama-zon ecolodge; and in style,from mainstream tour op-erators to small, nichebusinesses.

‘These finalists are alsobased in more countries

than ever before – 20 dif-ferent countries world-wide, with Cyprus, HongKong and Finland repre-sented for the first timeever.’

The finals of the WRTAawards take place at theWorld Tourism Market inLondon in November, theleading global event forthe travel industry.

In March of this year,Cnoc Suain won the GoldAward for Cultural Her-itage at the inaugural IrishResponsible TourismAwards.

An Spidéal retreat upfor international award

Tony Kiely

What’s on in your area?– page 14

connemarajournal @ConnemaraJ

Celebrity visitors bringX factor to Kylemore

Alexandra with visitorcentre staff member andfan Michaela Timmons

Pictured at the Pastime Chonamara Heritage Gathering at Gala, Indreabhánare: Micheál Davy, Katie Sture, LauraMadden and Doireann Ní Choisdealbha

Beartla Ó Dómhnaill,Tommy Ó Toole, Máirtí Davy, Tomás OToole, Bríd O Connor,Tom Wallace and John Joe Ó Dómhnaill

Micheál Ó Máille and Tom Wallace

Francis Brennan withrestaurant manager Marguerite Heanue

5NEWSJOURNAL

theconnemara

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WORK on Letterfrack’sfirst social housing devel-opment has begun afterÉamon Ó Cuív TD offi-cially launched the vil-lage’s Clúid housingproject on July 16.

The 13-unit develop-ment of two-bedroomedbungalows will providehomes for those with re-duced mobility and olderpeople. Each building willbe fully wheelchair acces-sible, and will be allocatedto eligible persons on Gal-way County Council’s so-cial housing waiting list.

Until now, local peoplewere faced with moving toClifden to avail of the so-cial housing scheme. It ishoped the homes will beready to be occupiedwithin 18 months.

A spokesman for Dia-mond Hill Housing Asso-ciation told the Journal:‘Diamond Hill was estab-lished by the local com-munity in 1999 to providehousing for the elderlyand returning emigrants.That vision was finally re-

Housing scheme atribute to years ofcommunity work

alised when the sod wasturned by Éamon Ó Cuív.

‘The local community,through Diamond Hill,persevered with the socialhousing project throughmany ups and downs, anda recession.

‘It is with great pridethat that they were thereto witness the fruition ofa long-held dream, and tosee Clúid Housing Asso-ciation appoint a sub-con-tractor and finally declare

the site ready for work. ‘Diamond Hill hope

that this is only the firststage of the social housingproject in Letterfrack, andthey will continue to cam-paign for a phase two ofthis project to accommo-date more local people.’

The 12.5 acre site wasdonated by the Archdio-cese of Tuam with thespecific purpose of pro-viding social housing, andsport and recreational fa-

cilities for the local com-munity. The project is100% funded by the De-partment of Environment,Community and LocalGovernment through theCapital AssistanceScheme (CAS).

Clúid Housing’s NewBusiness and Regenera-tion Project Manager,Fiona Cormican said:‘This project is all aboutpartnership.

‘Clúid have workedclosely with the peoplehere in Letterfrack, Gal-way County Council,Connemara West and Di-amond Hill Housing As-sociation to secure thefuture social housing needof the community.

‘We are delighted to seethis project coming tofruition.’An artist’s impression of the finished development

Paul Keogh (KPA Architects), Peter Gavigan (Galway Co Co), Karen Kennedy and Fiona Cormican(Clúid), Éamon Ó Cuív, Michael O’Neill and Leo Hallissey (Diamond Hill Housing Association), MichaelBurns (Burns Construction) and Breda Coneys (Connemara West)

Fiona Cormican (Clúid) with Gráinne O’Malley (Connemara FM)

Aoife Ní Dhálaigh

KYLEMORE SERVICE STATION

Kylemore, Renvyle, Co. GalwayTel: 095 41147 Email: [email protected]

Sales, Service, Repairs, 24hr Recovery Service & Tyres

On SPECIAL OFFER this month:

l 2011 Skoda Octavia Elegance TDI 5dr H/B, Tax €270 per yr 1968 D 77,980mls Black €14,000l 2010 Mercedes Benz C220 SE CDI, 4dr Saloon, 2143 D 72,000mls Black €18,950l 2009 Citroen C5, 2.0 VTR, HDI, 4dr Saloon, 1997 D 67,688mls Grey €9,750l 2009 Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 TDCI, H/B, NCT 06/17 1650 D 133,360mls Silver €8,750l 2008 Ford Fusion 1.4 Zetec 5dr H/B, CO2 122, Tax €270 per yr, 1399 D 75,675mls Black €6,900l 2007 VW Touran 1.9, S TDI 105, 5dr MPV 1.9 D 103,168mls Grey €8,900l 2006 Peugeot 207, 5dr H/B, NCT 10/16, Tax 05/15 1360 P 155,279kms Gold €3,500l 2006 Citroen C5, 2.0 HDI Estate, NCT 01/16, Tax 3/15 1560 D 68,644mls Silver €5,500l 2006 Toyota Corolla Verso, 1.6 Luna, Petrol, 7Seater, NCT 01/16, Tax 9/15 1598 P 130,000kms Silver €6,500l 2006 Peugeot 807, 2.0 HDI, 7seater, NCT 01/16, Tax 8/15 1997 D 147,172mls Blue €4,750l 2005 Ford Mondeo Saloon, 1.8, NCT 07/16, No Tax 1.8 P 152,091kms Grey Met €2,000l 2004 Toyota Yaris, 1.0, 5dr H/B, Tax 9/15 998 P 120,792mls Green €2,900l 2003 Toyota Avensis Linea Luna, 4dr S/L, 1.8 Petrol, NCT 22/10/2015 1794 P 193,571mls Silver €1,800l 2001 VW Passat 1.6 Base, 4 dr S/L 1595 P 135,878mls Blue €1,600

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l A SPECIALanniversary festival willtake place in Leenanenext month to mark 25years since the filming ofThe Field. Events willinclude a Taste ofConnemara walk,screenings of the film, aduck race, outdoortheatre, and céilí. Moreevents will be announcedcloser to the festival dates,September 25 and 26.

l REPLACEMENTworks on the water mainsin An Cheathrú Rua arescheduled to begin inDecember. The works byGalway County Councilwill tackle substandardwater quality and supplyin the area, and areexpected to take 20months to complete.Éamon Ó Cuív, TD,welcomed the news.

l PICTURED: JohnMongan and SinéadCreane, who weremarried recently inRoundstone Church.

6NEWS

AUGUST 2015

total energy independ-ence. The island commu-nity is working togetherwith the Sustainable En-ergy Authority of Ireland(SEAI) to target insulationlevels, heating systems,and transport.

Two thirds of buildingson the island have alreadycompleted energy up-grades, improving insula-tion levels and installingefficient heating systems.

Payoffs include morecomfortable homes, lowerenergy bills, and annualenergy savings across the

islands of €250,000. A three-year trial of

eight electric vehicles alsodemonstrated how trans-port fuel needs can be dra-matically reduced.

Analysis shows that en-ergy imports could be re-duced even further byreplacing present heatingsystems with heat pumpspowered by wind or waveenergy.

Brian Motherway, CEOof SEAI, said: ‘Commu-nities working together isthe most effective way tobring about meaningfuland lasting change. TheAran Islands are leading

the way to show howcommunities can stopwasting money on im-ported fossil fuel and be-come truly sustainableand self-reliant.

‘This also brings imme-diate benefits in terms ofquality of life and lowerenergy bills.’

Minister for Communi-cations, Energy and Natu-ral Resources Alex Whitevisited Inis Mór to seeprogress on several en-ergy projects.

Minister White said:‘The Aran Islanders’ am-bition to become carbonneutral has already deliv-

ered many benefits to theislands.

‘Energy efficiency andrenewables will be at thecore of the energy WhitePaper, which I will publishin the autumn.

‘I think the vision setout for the Aran Islandscould be replicated tomaximise energy effi-ciency and the use of re-newables in communitiesacross the country.

‘This would help us tosecure an affordable, low-carbon energy future withminimal reli ance on ex-pensive imported fossilfuels.’

COUNCILLOR Mary Hoade sayshuge concerns remain aboutthe lack of burial plots acrossCounty Galway. The Fianna FáilGeneral Election candidate forGalway West is calling onEnvironment Minister AlanKelly to make more moneyavailable to local authoritiesto purchase additional land forcemeteries. Cllr Hoade said:‘The shortage of burial plotsacross the county is a hugesource of concern and anxietyfor people. Parishes rightacross the county areexperiencing a scarcity ofplots, especially in Connemara.

‘This is a very sensitiveissue for families who areunable to bury their lovedones in the same cemetery astheir relatives.

‘ This is not an acceptablesituation. It is an additionalstress to be putting onfamilies at a time when theyare already emotionallyvulnerable.

‘I am now calling onMinister Alan Kelly to ensurethat the means are madeavailable to local authoritiesto ensure that additional landfor cemeteries can bepurchased.’

Concerns overlack of burialplots in Galway

News in brief

Cat of the day– page 18


STONETECHTHE ORIGINAL BAGGED SAND SUPPLIER

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l from page 1

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White with Eileen Mulkerrin, Inis Mór Árann, and BrianMotherway of Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland

Aran Islands on target for carbonneutral energy supply by 2022

PHOTOS: ANDREW DOWNES/XPOSURE

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A NEW men’s fitness programmestarting in Oughterard this autumnis looking for participants. Men onthe Move will recruit 30 men totake part in a 12-week physicalactivity programme of walking andjogging. Sessions will take place ina local venue, under the guidanceof a local tutor.

Run by Galway SportsPartnership, the initiative is part of

a research project undertaken byWaterford Institute of Technologyin conjunction with eight sportspartnerships across the country. InGalway, it will also run inBallinasloe and Dough Uisce,Galway city.

Each participant will be given ahealth check at the beginning ofthe programme and again at theend of the 12 weeks.

All interested in taking part,from Oughterard, Killanin and thesurrounding areas, can find outmore at an information meeting onTuesday, September 1, in the BoatInn. Look out for more informationlocally nearer the time.

For further details, contact HarryWalsh at 087 9155519, GerryD’Arcy at 087 7598459, or JoeHogan on 085 1251081.

Men’s fitness the focus of Oughterard scheme

~ opportunities for young school leavers ~

The Letterfrack Progression Centre will help you:º Obtain National Qualifications

º Progress to Further Education and Access Coursesº Gain work experience, training and apprenticeship opportunities

º Explore career guidance optionsº College preparation courses

Entry requirements:º aged 16-20º have minimal or no qualificationsº have left school

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For further information, contact the Course Co-ordinator, Letterfrack Progression Centre, Letterfrack, Co. GalwayTel: 095-41893 Fax: 095-41221 [email protected]

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7NEWSJOURNAL

theconnemara

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Family’s summer traditionforges trans-Atlantic linksA CHANCE find by a diver off thecoast at Claddaghduff last monthhas given a New York teenager theperfect summer science lesson – andattracted international attention.

Natalie Schnitzer, 13, threw her‘message in a bottle’ into the sea offNantucket, Massachussets, twoyears ago. Since then, it travelledmore than 2,000 miles to cross theAtlantic ocean and wind up off thewest coast of Ireland.

The barnacle-encrusted bottle wasrescued by Dublin diver RoryGolden, who spotted it floating on thesurface near Friar Island, off theAughris peninsula, on July 13. Seeingthat it had a note inside, Rory and hisfellow divers recovered the bottle.

When they opened it later thatevening, they found a note reading:‘My name is Natalie. I’m throwingthis bottle into the ocean at Quidnet

beach on the island ofNantucket on August 252013. If you find thisplease write to me andtell me you found my2013 message in a bottle.Thanks!’

The news was postedon Dublin shop FlagshipScuba’s Facebook page,and quickly went viral,gaining more than60,000 views.

Rory made contactwith Natalie’s family, and her father,Alan, posted on the shop’s Face-book page a week after the bottlewas found.

‘Rory! So glad you found Na-talie’s bottle! Natalie (13) is mydaughter, and our family has beenthrowing messages in a bottle intothe ocean from the island of Nan-tucket, MA as an end-of-summertradition for more than a decade.

‘Over the years we’vereceived a few notesfrom people who havefound our bottles, butnone from as far awayas Ireland!’

The bottle is the latestin a series to be foundoff the Connemaracoastline in recent years.

Last summer, a Swisstourist found a messagein a bottle thrown into theocean in the Arctic circle

the previous year. In 2012, brothersJoe, Thomas and Jaden Conroy founda bottle near their home in Ballycon-neely, which had taken nearly fouryears to reach Ireland from Canada.

Rory chatted with Natalie on theRay D’Arcy Show at the end ofJuly, and the story featured in theBoston Globe earlier this month.The bottle and note will be returnedto Natalie later this year.

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PHOTOS: RORY GOLDEN

Demelza Gibbons and Katie Geoghegan onLadies Day in Oughterard. The event washeld on July 30 in the Boat Inn, Oughterard,in aid of Galway Hospice.

Ladies Day, Oughterard

Margo Delapp

Gillian Kenny anddaughter SarahKenny-Reilly

Singer songwriter Linda Welby and her daughter Barbara

Nora D'Arcy and Mari Gallagher (Galway Hospice)

Conny Gallagher and Brid Walshe – for more see www.connemarajournal.ie

PHOTOS: TOM BRODERICK

8NEWS

AUGUST 2015

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A BUSY few months inOughterard Youth Café haskept children and teenagersalike occupied throughout thesummer holidays – with plentyof exciting term-time activitiescoming up in September.

The outdoors group put alltheir theory into practice withan end-of-year campingexpedition at the top of theMaamturk Mountains –despite a tough hike to thetop, the trip was a greatsuccess.

This was followed by aweek-long camp for 2nd yearstudents, with activitiesincluding fishing, drumming,movie making, outdoor sportsand hiking. The week finishedwith a trip to the beach wherethe young people learnedabout food foraging on theforeshore.

In early July, the youth caféhosted an arts camp forchildren aged between 7-12years, who started off as greatexplorers, making journals,hot air balloons and bugmobiles. This was mixed withsome games, fresh air and afinal big project, paintingglass.

Two week long camps wereorganised for new 1st yearsentering St. Pauls secondaryschool in September.

The camps were a hugesuccess, giving the youngpeople an opportunity to getto know students fromdifferent national schools,while also learning about themany supports and services onoffer for teenagers within theyouth café.

Thanks to everyone fortaking part and to all thevolunteers for helping out andgenerously giving their time.

From next month, theregular schedule kicks offagain, with Girls group, guitarlessons, junior arts, Codor Dojocomputer programming,Outdoors group, Beatclub, anddrop-in pool, web-surfing andhangout sessions. To find outmore or sign up, drop into thecafé in the Clann centre.

Youth Cafégears upfor autumn

[email protected] connemarajournal @ConnemaraJwww.connemarajournal.ie

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Members of the McDonagh family travelled from all over the globe for a reunion on SaturdayAugust 1 in The Station House Hotel, Clifden. The family has its origins in the Roundstone area.

Meet the McDonaghs!

PHOTO: TOM BRODERICK

Colm and Sean O'Connell with their parentsand prize-winning dogs Cleo and Lucy

The overall champion of the Roundstone show, held on July 12, was John Joe O’Neill’s stallion Caherlistrane Fred. Reserve champion was Tom· Grimes’ mare Cheathrú Chaol Bláthnaid – for more photos, see www.connemarajournal.ie

The winners in their classes at the All Ireland Dog Show,held in Roundstone on August 3

Amy Curran fromMoycullen, won the TJ Maryand Mickey McDonaghperpetual cup with her twoyear old filly GlencarrigCountess

Martin Farragher from Clifden wonthe supreme champion of the showwith his Iceland sheepdog, Miley

Roundstone Dog andPony Shows

Roisin Gannon, fromInverin, pictured withjudge Maebh Conneely,won the O'Cillian familycup, with her ponyGlencovitt April


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Ladies Gaelic football to launch in Clifden

Care workers take on‘hellish’ charity challenge

UP for the craic, don’t take thingstoo seriously, and want to improveyour fitness levels? A new series oftraining sessions in Clifden is look-ing for women to join up.

Gaelic4Mothers&Others providesan opportunity for women to gettheir recommended weekly exercisein a fun way, while meeting otherwomen in the area. The nationwideinitiative encourages the playing ofLadies Gaelic Football in a fun,non-competitive and social environ-ment.

A weekly one-hour session intro-

duces the basic skills of LadiesGaelic Football through fun gamesand drills.

At the end of the six weeks oftraining, it is hoped to hold a smallblitz for the group and to inviteother Gaelic4Mothers&Othersgroups in for small-sided non-com-petitive games. If there is interest,the group can be registered to con-tinue to play and train after the ini-tial six weeks, with provincial andnational blitzes throughout the year.

You don’t need to be a mother totake part, just over 18 and not cur-

rently playing adult club football.Training begins on Monday August31 at 7pm at Clifden GAA pitch,with registration beforehand from6.30pm. Registration forms can alsobe picked up in Dowds Motor &Hardware. Please note, you mustregister and sign a waiver beforeyou can take part in training.

Organiser Bernie Dowd said: ‘Weare trying to get this off the groundfor the moment and need all the helpand support we can get. So if you’reinterested in playing, coaching orsimply supporting us, get in touch.’

CLIFDEN RNLI wasbusy at the the end ofJuly with two call outs inquick succession in theearly hours of Sunday,July 26.

The volunteer lifeboatcrew was first alerted atmidnight to a 29ft yachtreported adrift inCleggan Bay. In a force7-8 easterly wind, theyacht had begun to dragits anchors and drift. TheD class inshore lifeboatproceeded by road toCleggan, while the all-weather lifeboat Prideand Spirit was launchedin Clifden.

After initiating searchpatterns and letting off awhite para flare toilluminate the area, the Dclass crew consisting ofOwen Hayes, Alvin Bell,Thomas Davis andAndrew Bell located thevessel after

approximately 20minutes and returned itsafely to Cleggan pier.

Speaking following thecall out, Clifden RNLIcrew member OwenHayes said: ‘Given thechallenging conditions ofthe weather and the darknight, we were glad tohave been able to locatethe vessel quickly. We allworked together well tosafely and smoothlybring the boat back toharbour’.

The second call outwas at 6.30am when avessel was reported tohave ran aground onInishbofin.

Clifden’s RNLI’s all-weather boat transferredthe local Coast Guardteam from Cleggan to theisland to assist theowners of the strickenvessel, which wassuccessfully refloated.

Double rescue for RNLI

FIVE healthcare workers from Áras Chois Fharraige,Spiddal, have raised more than €2,500 for the WesternAlzheimers Association.

Marion Geary, Róisín Ní Chuinn, Barbara Lynch,Margaret Flaherty and Bertie Reaney took part in theApollo ‘Hell & Back’ adventure race in Bray, Co.Wicklow, last month.

Bertie Reaney, a clinical nurse manager at the Áras,extended the team’s thanks to all those who helpedfundraise for this worthy cause.

From left: Margaret Flaherty with Barbara Lynch,and Bertie Reaney with Róisín Ní Chuinn

PHOTO: SEAN McALEERPHOTOS: HELL AND BACK

THE Ballyconneely Show was held on Sunday,July 19, and a fantastic day was had by bothexhibitors and spectators– with even a littlesun shining over the village for the best part ofthe day.

This year saw the introduction of an IrishDancing competition, which was a huge success,and also a best dressed lady competition, whichwas won by Goada McCann, with Evelyn Conroyrunner up. Also new for 2015 was a drawingcompetition for the local schoolchildren, whichdrew a great response.

The pony section had a great turn out ofexhibits with Raymond Conneely, Errislannon,taking the Junior Championship with DarbyMoon Shadow and Michael Sweeney, Bunowenreserve with Bunowen Grey Lass. Thechampion foal was won by Joseph O’Halloran,Oughterard, with Lakeside Jo Jo, and Reservegoing to Malachy Sweeney, Bunowen, withBallyconneely Heather.

The best turned out pony and handler waswon by Roisin Gannon, Inverin, with GlencavittApril.

The supreme champion of the show went toNoel Noonan, Manor Ponies, Clifden withManor April, and the reserve went to PadraicGannon, Inverin, with Cornarone Hazy Lad.

The champion in the cattle section was wonby Padraic Kane, Renvyle, and the reservechampion went to Brian Flaherty, Errislannon.

The sheep section was extremely wellsupported with Henry O'Toole, Clifden, takingthe champion of the show with his Connemaramountain ewe, and Feichin and Kerry King,Ballyconneely, taking reserve with theirSuffolk cross ewe.

The champion lamb went to Jack Nee,Renvyle, and the reserve went to LewisMcCallion, Murvey. The champion dog of theshow was won by Philip Duane, Aillebrack,with his cocker spaniel, Toby.

Ballyconneely Show

Manor April, Supreme Champion of the Ballyconneely Connemara Pony Show. Manor April isowned by Noel Noonan, Manor Connemara Ponies, Ardbear, Clifden. Judges Michael Flynn andJackie Walsh are pictured here with Sarah Dickinson, Noel Noonan, Ann Conroy, Kitty Noonan

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the golden jubilees ofboth societies. The Ju-bilee Cups being pre-sented to them are butsmall tokens of gratitudefor more than 50 years oftrade, tourism and endur-ing friendships.

‘It is amazing how cul-tural, social, religious andlinguistic barriers nevereven appeared as ‘an ca-paillín’ gave us commonground. It is an incrediblestory and, in welcomingour visitors from all overthe globe, we extend avery special ‘céad milefáilte’ to our Scandinavianfriends’.

The highlight of thefestival is the ConnemaraPony Show, which nowruns over three days andstarts on Wednesdaymorning. The first class ofthe day is the Four YearOld Performance MareChampionship, featuringan attractive €5,000 prizefund sponsored by HorseSport Ireland.

On Wednesday after-noon Emma Massingale,who recently spent amonth on an island off

Connemara with her Con-nemara ponies, will give ademonstration. The GreenHunter and three year oldloose jumping finals willalso take place onWednesday.

Thursday features in-hand classes, riddenclasses, dog show, Irishdancing, sean nós dancing,domestic arts and bestdressed lady competition.The winner of the bestdressed lady competitionwill receive a €500voucher to spend in MillarsConnemara or the DesignPlatform, while the runnerup will receive a New-bridge Rose Gold watchfrom the Celtic Shop.

Dubarry are sponsoringthe ‘most appropriatelydressed lady’, who willwin a pair of DubarryGalway boots. Hehirs ofClifden will present themost stylish gentlemanwith a Jack Murphyjacket worth €250.

Working hunter classesstart on Friday morningwith the High Perform-ance final and Puissancecompetition taking placein the afternoon. The showwill culminate with a Pa-rade of Champions andBBQ and live music in theStation House Courtyard.

A sale of Connemaraponies will take place inClifden Mart on Saturdayand Sunday commencingat 11am each day.

For more details and todownload a brochureplease visit www.cpbs.ie .The CPBS extends itsthanks to the show’s mainsponsors, Sweeney Oil,Galway Irish Crystal andHorse Sport Ireland

l To download the2015 show brochure,visit www.cpbs.ie

10NEWS

AUGUST 2015

THE Connemara Ponyfestival returns to Clifdenfrom this Sunday (August16) to Sunday August 23,with visitors and poniesalready flocking to thetown to experience thisannual celebration of thebreed.

For the first time thefestival will feature an arttrail, with a number ofpaintings of Connemaraponies on display in shopwindows in the town.

The opening event ofthe festival is the ShowQueen competition,which takes place in theStation House Theatre onSunday evening, and theincreasingly popular bustours – which visit studsaround the area – will takeplace over two days thisyear. On Monday, the tourwill travel from Clifdentowards Letterfrack andRenvyle, while on Tues-day it will travel fromCashel to Ballyconneely.

Tuesday is international

day, and the ICCPS AGMwill take place in themorning followed by amemorial service for de-ceased friends, followedby a linear profiling work-shop. On Tuesdayevening the AbbeyglenCastle Hotel will host theinternational reception,where the Danish and

Swedish Societies will bepresented with perpetualtrophies for their nationalshows to celebrate theirjubilee anniversaries.

Tom MacLochlainn,President of the Con-nemara Pony Breeders’Society, told the Journal:‘We take the opportunitythis year of celebrating

[email protected]

THE Oughterard Agriculture Show takes place over theweekend of August 29 and 30.

Saturday will see performance shows, and new forthis year is the Irish Draught All Ireland PerformanceChampionship, which has a prize fund of €9,000.

On the Sunday, classes including domestic arts, dogs,pets, poultry, cattle, sheep, donkeys, horses and ponieswill take place. Championships on the day include thePowers Quarry and the Western Region Irish DraughtFoal. There will also be a vintage display, bonnie babycompetition and best dressed lady.

Further information, including the schedule and entryforms, is available www.oughterardshow.com. Closingdate for entries is Friday August 21.

ClegganBeach Riding Centre

Beach Treks & Riding Lessons Phone: 083-3888135 or (095) 44746

Email: [email protected]

Festival celebrates global reachand success of Connemara pony

Schedule announcedfor Oughterard Show

Claddaghduff Show


Maria Gorham with ‘MollyMalone’ who won the TomKing perpetual cup in the20 year old mare class

Katie Cosgrave enjoyed theface painting! For more seewww.connemarajournal.ie

Grace Maxwell Murphy on her Connemara pony mare Thiergartenhof's Larissaat Furbo Beach for the launch of the Connemara Pony Festival

Padraic and Roisin Gannon’s stallion Cornarone Hazy Ladwas the supreme champion of the Claddaghduff Pony Show. Pictured: Jimmy Canavan and Jayne Campbell (judges),Roisin and Padraic Gannon with the champion

Cathy Snow’s ‘Moorland Champagne’ won the 2 year old registered filly class and was overall reserve champion ofthe Claddaghduff Connemara Pony Show, which took placeon July 26 (pictured with Martin Coyne)

PHOTO: SIOBHÁN ENGLISH

Connemara Pony Breeders’ SocietyThe Showgrounds, Clifden, Co. Galway

Email: [email protected] | Phone: 095 21863 | www.cpbs.ie

Featuring the annualConnemara Pony Show

August 16-23

Wednesday August 19, Thursday August 20& Friday August 21

To download brochure visit www.cpbs.ie

Connemara Pony Festival 2015

Clifden MartGalway road clifden

Friday August 28Cattle & Sheep sale at 6pm

Friday September 4 Cattle & Sheep sale at 6pm



All enquires and bookings telephone the office at

095 21861 or mobile 087 2485422

FÁILTE Ireland will beborrowing the ‘GoogleTrekker’ over the next threemonths to capture many ofthe country’s remotesttourism beauty spots, whichhaven’t yet been capturedby Google Street View,writes Tony Kiely.

Starting along the WildAtlantic Way this week,Fáilte Ireland employeeswill be capturing sights onthe islands of Inishbofin,Achill, the Blaskets andDun Aengus on Inis Mór, aswell as other significantdestinations such as SliabhLiag, Croagh Patrick andMizen Head.

The Google Trekker – awearable backpack, with acamera system on top – isbeing accessed throughGoogle’s ‘Trekker LoanProgramme’ and can beused to capture Street Viewimagery in remote placeswhere the car can’t go.

The Trekker can bewalked through pedestrianwalkways or trails on foot, and auto-matically gathers images as it goes.

Speaking about the benefit ofemploying the Google Trekker,Daragh Anglim, Fáilte Ireland’sHead of Digital, said: ‘Six out often visitors to Ireland last year cited

the internet as an influence whenchoosing the country as a destina-tion.

‘Three quarters of visitors told usthat they use the internet to plantheir itinerary here before arriving.

‘The use of Google Trekker is

therefore a welcome addi-tion to Fáilte Ireland’s sig-nificant engagement withdigital and social media topromote Ireland.

‘When finally capturedand uploaded, we hope thatmillions worldwide get toexplore very beautiful andattractive images of someof our remotest partsthrough Google street view.

‘We also hope that theseimages inspire many view-ers to subsequently makethe crucial decision to comeover here to see the realthing.’

Fáilte Ireland will also beborrowing the Trekker tocapture many of the high-lights of ‘Ireland’s AncientEast’, including the narrowstreets of medieval towns,the grounds of statelyhomes and iconic attrac-tions such as Newgrange.

The camera will also beused to capture parts of theDublin experience, particu-larly many of its scenic

walks in places such as HowthHead, Sandycove and the RoyalCanal.

The footage captured over thenext few weeks will be processedby Google and made available inearly 2016.

11NEWSJOURNAL

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l PICTURED (main): a re-enactment of Padraig Pearse (played by Eoin ÓDubhghaill) practising his O’Donovan Rossa graveside oration at his cottagein Ros Muc one hundred years ago. The event, which took place on July 31,was part of the inaugural Scoil Samhraidh an Phiarsaigh organised by Gal-way County Council at Scoil Bhriocáin and Pearse’s cottage; left: AilishBhreathnach agus Mary Ann Ní Dhonnchadha; right: Róisín Ní Mhainnín agdamhsa don slua taobh le Teach an Phiarsaigh

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IT’S HARD to believethat the weekend of theAll Ireland Fleadh Cheoilis nearly upon us, writesMarie Walsh.

Returning to Sligo

again this year, ClifdenComhaltas is looking for-ward to another weekendof competitions – butabove all, a great week-end of music, song,

dance, fun and friendship. Since its restart just six

years ago, Clifden CCEhas had participants andgroups at the All IrelandFleadh each year. A large

amount of young (andolder!) musicians, singersand dancers from thebranch will take part inthe competitions whichtake place from this Fri-day (August 14) to Sun-day evening.

The branch also has agroup through in the WestCoast Senior Grupa Ceol.With 20 musicians in thegroup, practice has beenongoing for the pastmonth, with a largeamount of work being putin to the performance forSligo.

Clifden Comhaltashave also been selected toperform on the main gigrig at the Fleadh.

As usual our journey toSligo has been a fun one,and we look forward to agreat weekend in Sligo –‘The Land of Heart’s De-sire’!

Clifden Comhaltas tune up for All-Ireland

PHOTOS: SEÁN Ó MAINNÍN

PHOTO: SAOIRSE ROBERTS

12NEWS

AUGUST 2015

THE flexibility of woodwas demonstrated bystudents throughout Ire-land last month at the2015 Third Level Stu-dent Wood Awards – butit was a GMIT Letter-frack student who tookhome the top innovationaward.

Sean Burns, fromClaremorris, took theprestigious award fordesigning a process thatcan produce curvedforms.

Sean, who is in thefinal year of a Bachelorof Science honours de-gree in Furniture Designand Manufacture, waspresented with his prizeby Minister of State TomHayes at the formalawards ceremony in theNational Botanic Gar-dens, in Dublin.

A spokesman for thecollege said: ‘Sean dis-pelled any preconcep-tions that wood might betoo rigid for flexible ap-plications when he de-signed the process thatcan produce curvedforms.’

Sean achieved thestriking results by utilis-ing modern technologysuch as advanced CADsoftware to ‘unfoldcurved and organic 3Dcomputer models,’ as heput it, ‘so that wood canbe used in a variety ofbowed and rounded ap-plications in design’.

Another GMIT Let-terfack student, PaulSweeney from Mount-bellew, was awarded thetitle ‘Highly Com-mended in Design’ acco-lade for his woodproduct ‘Woodbows’, afashion accessory madefrom wood.

Paul won the GMITStudent InnovationAward earlier this yearfor his unique woodenbow ties, which come ina range of hardwoods,complemented by textiledesign details, andhand-finished and hand-stitched by Paul.

Paul came up with theidea two weeks afterwearing a bow tie to afriend’s wedding, whenhis lecturers set his classthe task of designing aproduct that could bemass manufactured.

Dermot O’Donovan,Head of GMIT Letter-frack, says the students’achievements at thisawards event reflectpositively both on theirabilities and skills andon the expertise of thelecturers at GMIT Let-terfrack.

l Pictured: GMITstudent Sean Burns presenting PresidentMichael D Higgins withone of his designs duringMr Higgins’ visit to theGMIT Letterfrack cam-pus last October

l www.gmit.ie

GMIT student takes top innovation award

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TG4’s summertime Féilteprogramme focused onConnemara last week, aspart of the show’s nine-week tour of the westernseaboard and the Wild At-lantic Way.

First aired on Sunday,August 2, and now avail-able on the TG4 Player,the episode sees presenterMáire Treasa Ní Dhub-hghaill in her homecounty, showcasing localhistorical and cultural at-tractions, adventure activ-ities, food, traditionalmusic, song and dance.

The ‘Discovery Point’of the Wild Atlantic Wayhighlighted in the pro-gramme is KylemoreAbbey and Victorian Gar-den, where CEO PatLavelle shows MáireTreasa around.

To work up an appetite,Máire Treasa also goeswalking with guide Bre-andán Ó Scanaill in Con-nemara National Park,before dropping in on TimO’Sullivan, head chef inRenvyle House Hotel.

Music comes fromPaddy Coyne’s bar in Tul-lycross, in the companyof renowned local musi-

cians Fiachra O’Regan,award-winning sean-nósdancer Nada Ní Chuirrínand folk singer EileenKeane.

The Gaeltacht summerschool experience is de-

scribed by Brídann NíChuirrín, who has been aBean an Tí for ColáisteSheosaimh in Kilkerrinfor eight years, and re-counts during the showhow she ‘loves the buzz

of having the children inthe house when theycome to stay in Con-nemara to learn Irish.’

l To view the Con-nemara Féilte episode,see www.tg4.ie

Renvyle extends céad míle ‘Féilte’ to TG4!Bogman returns fortwo-days of cyclingNOW in its sixth year, theBogman Cycle Race laterthis month is set to pro-vide competitors with achallenging course overtwo days of exciting rid-ing. Organised by WesternLakes CC and CEECCLetterfrack, the eventtakes place on August 29and 30.

New to this year’s eventis a Polkadot Jersey com-petition and a team prize.To qualify for the teamprize a club must enter atleast three riders.

Last year’s winnerColm Cassidy ofAquablue CC will returnto defend his title and willbe reinforced by his teammembers.

Stage 1 on Saturdaystarts at 4pm and finishesin Tullycross with threelaps of the KylemoreLoop – 100km total. Stage2A on Sunday starts at9am in Kylemore Villageand finishes in Letter-frack, 8km total. Stage 2Bon Sunday starts at 1pm inTullycross and takes in abig loop through the Inagh

Valley onto Maam, Maamto Leenane and back toTullycross – total 100km.

The winner of theConamara Bog Week 2Day Cycle Race will bepresented with the Goga-rty Cup, sponsored byRenvyle House Hotel.The race is also sponsoredby Eamonn Marrey ofMarrey Bikes, Ballinrobe.Eamonn has been a spon-sor of the event for the lastfew years and will be onhand to present the jerseyson Sunday evening at theMarian Hall, Tullycross.

Other sponsors includeRogan’s Gala, ConnemaraFisheries, The Lodge Let-terfrack and PaddyCoynes.

The Bogman Shield onSaturday will cater for A4riders, the route will bethe same as Stage 1 of themain race but for twolaps. Shield presentationwill be held in the MarianHall Tullycross directlyafter race.

l See www.western-lakescc.com or contact JJFlaherty 087 7060723

Maire Treasa with sean nós dancer Nada Ni ChuirrinMaire Treasa in RenvyleHouse Hotel

Maire Treasa with musiciansJonty and Fiachra Ó Regan

CONNEMARA National Park’ssummer series of talks continuesthis month on Wednesdayevenings. Tonight (Wednesday 12)Brid Colhoun will speak onPeatlands and Climate Change;next week’s talk is on Irish ClimateNow and in the Next Century withDr Rodney Teck; and the final talkon August 26 with BreandanO’Scanaill is Looking at Connemarathrough Historical Postcards. Talksare free and take place in the AVtheatre at 8pm.

There are also free guided walksof the park every Wednesday andFriday morning this month,covering bogland ecology, floraand fauna, local history, andlandscape features. Walks leave at11am and last for between 1.5 and2 hours. Routes cover rough, wetand boggy terrain, and appropriatefootwear and rainwear arerequired.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Funwith Nature for Kids takes place at11am. Tomorrow (Thursday 13),learn about Butterflies and Moths;next Tuesday (18) it’s All ThingsBatty; next Thursday (20) the topicis Garden Birds; with Super FurryAnimals (Tuesday 25) and a WildFlower Walk (Thursday 27)finishing the series. Events are freeand suitable for 5-10 year olds. Call095-41054 to book or for details.

VTOS LetterfrackVocational Training Opportunities Scheme

Phone: 095-41302 Fax: 095-41303 [email protected] www.facebook.com/VTOSletterfrackl Flexible full-time educationl Education and training skills for people returning to full-time education l Preparing people to go to paid employment or further their education l You need to be over 21 years oldl You need to be in receipt of a Social Welfare payment for six months

All courses are accredited to QQI (Quality & Qualifications Ireland) formally FETACIf you are interested in this programme, please contact: Sorcha O’Toole, Further Education Centre, Letterfrack, Co. Galway Telephone (095) 41302 Twitter and Facebook – VTOSletterfrack

Further Education Centre, Units 4/5 Sweeney Oil Apartments, Galway Road, Clifden

QQI Level 4 & 5 Business AdministrationBusiness Administration SkillsBookkeepingWord Processing CommunicationsWork Practice Desktop Publishing ECDLSpreadsheet Methods Maths

QQI Level 4Information and Communication TechnologyCatering Support

QQI Level 5Healthcare SupportEarly Childhood Care and Education Agriculture

QQI Level 7Bachelor of Arts

QQI Level 4 Sport & Recreation

QQI Level 5 General StudiesResearch & Study Skills Communications / Work PracticeWord Processing / Desktop Publishing ECDL / Spreadsheet Methods Maths / Bookkeeping / Event Production

Open Days in 2015Letterfrack: Monday 7th September, 10am - 3pm

Clifden: Friday 11th September, 10am - 3pm

BTEI Clifden & LeterfrackBack to Education Initiative

Phone: 095-41302 Fax: 095-41303 [email protected] www.facebook.com/VTOSletterfrack

Open Days in 2015Letterfrack: Monday 7th September, 10am - 3pm

Clifden: Friday 11th September, 10am - 3pm

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I’VE finished work re-cently on a large fused-glass panel, the third ina series called ‘Wavesof Connemara’. Thepieces all have in com-mon the notion thatboth the ocean and therolling landscape pos-sess a sense of being inconstant, wave-likemotion.

This latest piecemade me think aboutanother form of waving,encountered routinely inConnemara – the simplegreeting between fellowtravellers on our roads.There appears to be anunwritten, local rule ofthe road requiring eachtraveller to acknowledgethe presence of the other– just as we do whenpassing in the street.

In bygone days, whileout walking or cycling, arural roadside encountercould add minutes ormaybe hours to a journey.You’d stop and prop up agate and pass the time ofday, exchange familynews or neighbourhoodgossip. There’d be opin-

ions exchanged about theweather, past or predicted.The farming chat wouldsurely revolve with theseasons and centre onyields and prices. Later,appetites for chat satiated,a swift ‘slán abhaile’would see the traveller onhis way again.

The process took time,when time seemed inmuch less short supply. Inall cases, the encounterwould comprise a greet-ing, some informationalcontent and be completedby a parting of the ways.

You would think that inthese days of fast cars,smart phones and the in-ternet, the rural roadside

chat was extinct. Ofcourse, by all the oldermeasures, it is – buttoday’s equivalent is verymuch alive and kicking inConnemara!

As a relative newcomerto the region (18 briefyears), I’ve always beenstruck by the willingnessof people here to wave atone another on the road.Passing each other in thecar, we all have our ownway of saying ‘hello’.

Whether we actuallyknow the other driver ornot, round here we do thatlittle thing that showswe’re friendly. The thingthat says that we live in aremote rural area, where it

might be necessary tomake a car journey justto encounter anotherhuman soul. The littlesign – sometimes sotiny that it’s easilymissed by the uniniti-ated – that says we’repart of a community.Each in our own littleway, we wave.

Our driver’s wave isas unique to us as oursignature. It can be a

fulsome, whole-hand-in-the-air salute, or just themerest twitch of the indexfinger on the steeringwheel.

In between, the varia-tions seem limitless. Theindex/middle-finger-dou-ble; the whole four-fingers-together-raised-off-the-wheel thing; not tomention the outstretched-hand-accompanied-by-slight-reaching-forward-of-the-head.

There’s even a frantic,floppy-hand-rapid-wavingperformance, reserved foremergency use when spot-ting close friends or rela-tives at speed.

In the fleeting moment

of being waved at, and ofreturning the wave, wesay ‘Hello, neighbour, it’sgood to see you!’

It can cause both‘waver’ and ‘wavee’ to ex-perience a brief, 80kphcombined-speed hand-shake. In a fast-movingworld, for a split second,we’re both there, at thefield gate, having the craic,just like in bygone times.

Then there are the con-sequences of increasedlocal traffic due to public-ity of the Wild AtlanticWay, officially launchedlast year. Anecdotal evi-dence shows that Con-nemara roads are busier –with an influx of the‘151s’ favoured by hirecar companies.

The WAW signs – wig-gly white lines on bluebackgrounds – are foundeverywhere around here,helping the tourers (or‘wigglers’, as I’ve decidedto call them) negotiate thetortuous route to the northor south in their ‘151s’.

So, do we ignore a‘151’ hire car on the WildAtlantic Way, or do wewelcome them and theiroccupants to our neigh-bourhood by treating themas one of our own?

As Connemara resi-dents, we are all keen tomake the wigglers feelpart of our fast-diminish-ing rural way of life. Thisis partly what our visitorshave come here to be partof. They’ve experienced

the light-speed pace of citylife and are here to sampleour alternative, as pre-sented in the tourist adver-tising and TV profiling.

In the literal sense, myWaves of Connemara se-ries represents our oceanwaves, the flowing natureof our landscape, and itsmagical ever-changinglight. It was designed sothat the ambient lightseems to dance across itssurface. In this way, it alsoinvokes memories of thenever-ending waves ofIrish welcome.

Let’s wave to the wigglers!

l Connemara Blue, the Pink House, Market Square, Clifden –www.connemarablue.com

Say hello, wave, goodbyeGlassmaker Ben Crow of Connemara Blue on the welcoming waves of Connemara’s drivers

båàçó=jlob íÜáë=ëìããÉê=~íKKK

[email protected] (095) 52001 www.kylemoreabbey.com

Guided mountain hikes take placeon Wednesdays and Saturdaysthroughout July and AugustBooking advisable – call 095 52001 for full details

PHOTOS: WENDY DEBROCK-JEFFRIES

14NEWS

AUGUST 2015

H O US

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CL

IF

DE N S T A

TIO

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For further details, call (095) 21699 or visit www.clifdenstationhouse.com

CASUAL DINING12 – 9PM DAILY

À LA CARTE DINING7 – 9.30PM DAILY

Date Entertainment Venue Time

Wednesday August 19 Denise Morgan Voice of Ireland Station House Bar 6pm

Trad Session Station House Bar 9pm

Thursday August 20 Showdown Hotel 9pm

Trad Session Station House Bar 9.30pm

Friday August 21 Slyne Heads acoustic performance Courtyard 6pm

‘Performance Day’ mouth-watering BBQ Courtyard 6pm

Live Music with Mickey Mac Station House Bar 9.30pm

Saturday August 22 Resident Pianist Barry Ryan Hotel 8.30pm

Live Music with Mickey Mac Station House Bar 9.30pm

Join us at the Clifden Station House Hotelfor a range of f ine dining and entertainment options throughout Connemara Pony Show Week

MAKE THE MOSTOF SHOW WEEK

Heritage Week opens door to the pastTHIS year’s NationalHeritage Week takesplace from Saturday, Au-gust 22 to Sunday, August30, with events takingplace across Connemara.

In Oughterard, a two-dayevent with archaeologistJerry O’Sullivan focuseson the roads, railways andbridle paths in centralConnemara. A talk on Au-gust 22 is followed by afield trip the followingday.

On August 24, archae-ologist Michael Gibbonsleads a bus trip of discov-ery around the hidden

heritage of Connemara.Organised by the HeritageOffice at Galway CountyCouncil, in partnershipwith Oughterard HeritageGroup, booking is essen-tial for this free event.

Two illustrated talks onthe life of Walter Mackenwill be given by his sonUltan and his nephew,Tom Kenny, on August 27and 28. The author livedin the area from 1951 to1966, and wrote a numberof his novels there.

In Moycullen, events in-clude a family walk andtalk on August 22. This

free tour will visit histori-cal sites and locationsaround the village.

Leenane’s Sheep andWool Centre hosts a fin-ger-knitting event forchildren on August 23.Materials are providedand children aged 5 up-wards will learn a veryeasy way to make a scarf.

There’s a chance to seethe work carried out byspecialist conservatorsand restorers of furnitureat Conservation Letter-

frack on August 23, andchildren are welcome.

Kylemore Abbey hasevents running throughoutthe week, with many of itslocal staff showing offtheir talents and passions.

Free events in the visi-tor centre include seannós dancing and fiddlemusic on August 22; andflute and accordian musicon August 23.

Other events are in-cluded in the usual entryticket price, includingmusic from singer-song-writer Eileen Keane,harpist Lynn Saoirse, and

balladeer Frank Coyne.There will be a naturewalk, guided tours of thewalled gardens, and achocolate-making demon-stration, as well as talksabout the history and ar-chitecture of the abbey,the prehistory of Balli-nakill and the walled gar-dens of Connemara.

Connemara National Parkis running a selection ofevents for children, frompond dipping to wildflower walks (see p 12).

Artist Gordon D’Arcyruns an art workshop forchildren and adults onAugust 23, and RenataHochmanova will run asilk painting workshop onAugust 29 – both eventsare free, but must bebooked in advance.

A series of talks in Clif-den open up some of thetown’s historic buildingsto the public.

Talks as part of ‘LivingStones – inside some Clif-den Buildings’ includeBreandan O’Scanaill ex-ploring the history of his1830s home, GleannAoibheann; a tour of the1879 St Joseph’s Church;a journey through the for-

mer railway buildings inthe Station House com-plex; an exploration ofChrist Church, built in1853; a talk by KathleenVilliers-Tuthill on thetown’s early industrialsites (see p 16); and a peekinto Sheila Griffin’s 1820shome, Seamist House. l Most events are free,but some carry a charge,and many need to bebooked in advance. Seewww.heritageweek.ie

Oughterard

Moycullen

Leenane

ClifdenLetterfrack

Kylemore Abbey

Connemara National Park

Lego team’s meet with German presidentMENTOR Bower Ormsby took threemembers of the First Lego Leagueteam to SAP in Dublin last month,where the German president JoachimGuack was touring as part of hisofficial visit to Ireland.

The children gave a presentationPresident Guack and his entourage of

about 30 people, recounting theirexperiences taking part in the FirstLego League and their trip to the US to represent Ireland after they won theIrish competition in Galway.

SAP sponsor the Irish tournamentand also funded the team’s trip to theUS in May.

Letterfrack NS pupils Ronja Werner, Ben Ormsby and Collin O’Malleydemonstrated their team’s prize-winning robots to German presidentJoachim Gauck and partner Daniela Schadt at SAP Ireland last month

WaterSports Day on Glassilaun Beach,Renvyle, will mark its 20th anniversarywith a great day out for all the family thisSunday (August 16) from 1pm.

The fundraiser – which to date hasraised more than €55,000 to help chari-ties working with abused children –promises fun for all ages with boat rides,pony rides, scubadiving, kayaking, chil-dren’s races, face painting, bouncy castleand slide. To keep the family fully fu-elled there will also be barbecue andplenty of hot and cold refreshments onoffer.

There are currently more than 1,000posters on display all over Connemara andparts of Mayo, each of which wascoloured by schoolchildren from 40 pri-mary schools across the region.

To mark the event’s 20th anniversary,a Helpline Card has been launched,which organisers hope will be displayedin participating schools and, ultimately,throughout the whole country – makinghelpline numbers readily available toevery school child.

A spokeswoman for the event said:‘Statistics say that one in every five chil-dren is sexually abused – a frighteningstatistic.

‘Yet, thinking positively, we ap-proached YouthReach for help with thisproject and we now have our Helplinecard.

‘We hope you will join us on Sundayto participate in this wonderful day outand show your support for this locallyorganised fundraiser for children.’

Glassilaun WaterSports marks twenty years

please recycle your copy of the Journal (and everything else that doesn’t need to go to landfill...)

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CLIFDEN Arts Festival returns fromSeptember 17 to 27, with morethan 200 acts and performancesover 10 days. Combining the best ofinternational and national artists,the festival remains true to its her-itage of education in the artswithin the local community.

The programme includes a widerange of music performance, the-atre, poetry, literary readings andtalks, alongside comedy, visualarts, street theatre and schools per-formance workshops.

The opening performance onThursday September 17 is by Moon-magic, as part of the festival’s ethosof inclusiveness of the arts for allthe community. The local dramagroup is made up of people withlearning disabilities aged between20 and 60, with the aim of reachingout to people in the community ina fun and entertaining way. TheMoonmagic performance promisesto be a truly unique experience,presenting a sensory explorationthrough music, mime and poetrydrawing on themes of friendshipand community.

Some other highlights of thisyear’s programme include the AIBNational Art Collection; talks frommeteorologist Evelyn Cusack andcomposer Bill Whelan; comedy fromsports sketch show Aprés Match;music from Finbar Wright, ChristyMoore, the Voice UK’s Sharon Mur-phy, and Finghin Collins; readingsfrom Paul Durcan, Louis dePaor andJennifer Johnston.

The festival originally developedas a week-long celebration of thearts for the children of Clifden Com-

munity School. The driving force atthe time was to help children to de-velop artistic and social skills, andprovide an outlet for self-expres-sion and development.

This continued dedication to nur-turing a love of the arts in childrenhas kept local schools at the heartof the festival each year. This yearlocal schools will play host to anumber of different events includ-ing workshops, a film festival, spe-cialist talks and lectures over abroad range of topics, musical con-certs and readings from establishedpoets and writers.

Entertainment for children iscentral also to activities on Satur-day September 19, where childrencan enjoy interactive performancesfrom internationally acclaimedIrish spectacle and street perform-ance company, Macnas. The ClifdenFairy Trail, in aid of Clifden TidyTowns projects, will also be re-vealed, and children are invited tofind Fairy Jill and her family whoare residents in the town. Fancydress welcome to add to the magic!

One of the key school basedevents is Humourfit (September 22),led by Michael O’Sullivan. ThroughHumourfit, Michael will present anextended programme of dramasand workshops under the titleDramlink. As part of Dramlink thestudents can write, act and self-di-rect short scenes on social issuesleading to a performance at theend of the week.

Theatre and drama lovers willnot be disappointed with the vastarray of plays and interactive activ-ities to take part in.

The Man in Womens’ Shoes (Sep-tember 19), an acclaimed dramawritten and presented by MikelMurfi, will take place in Town HallTheatre. September 20 will seeGilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury inthe courthouse, where CantairíChonamara – in Victorian dress –will be joined by members of theGalway Baroque singers and theirlegal teams.

Reading and Singing in theBookies (September 20, Paddy Pow-ers) returns for the sixth year withpoems, songs and readings basedon race horses, ponies and grey-hounds.

For literary lovers the festivalonce again presents a comprehen-sive schedule of poet readings,writing workshops and literarytalks by leading lights from homeand abroad.

Louis dePaor, four times winnerof the Oireachtas prize for the bestcollection of poems in Irish, will de-liver a reading on September 17,with internationally acclaimed nov-elists Mary Costello (September 22)and Jennifer Johnston (September23) also likely to draw huge inter-est. This year’s John Moriarty Me-morial Lecture will be delivered byFr. Peter Mc Verry on September 26.

A day of family entertainment inthe town centre on Saturday Sep-tember 26 will feature street per-formance artists and live music.Later that evening, the grand pa-rade rounds things off with ambi-ent theatre specialists LUXE andaerial dramatics from Fidget Feet.

l Programme and tickets atwww.clifdenartsweek.ie

Clifden’s ten days as thebeating heart of the arts

Dermot McLaughlin and Fintan Vallely

Aprés Match

Matt Cranitch

Mick Flannery

Ducasse Trio

Ducasse TrioFinbar Wright

that contained practicaladvice for the gardenerand agriculturist, alongwith plans for a modestfarmhouse dwelling. InClifden, Brennan becamea shopkeeper, innkeeperand later a florist andnurseryman. For a time heacted as land agent forRev. Magee, the propri-etor of over 2,400 acres ofland at Bolard on Stream-stown Bay.

In 1879, Brennan,along with his son,Patrick, purchased thegasworks (old brewery)and stores (old distillerybuildings, now WaterfallHomes). They leased thestores to Jackson Wilsonwho converted the build-ings into a coach factoryfor the manufacture andrepair of coaches. Thefactory was opened in1881 and operated for 40years. This was the onlycoachworks in the townand, along with servicinghis local customers, Wil-son built mail coaches forKennedy & O’Brian, thefirm that provided themail and passenger serv-ice between Galway andClifden from 1867 to1895.

On Wilson’s retirement,the workshop was takenover by his grandson,Henry Harley, who con-tinued the business until

the 1920s. George Brennan at-

tempted to establish awoollen factory at the wa-terfall in 1882 and a pub-lic meeting was held inthe old chapel in supportof the proposal. Speakerafter speaker welcomedthe possibility of bringingemployment to the townin an effort to stem theflow of emigration. How-ever, Brennan’s attemptsto set up a limited liabilitycompany to run the enter-prise came to nothing.

Brennan and his sonPatrick were declaredbankrupt in 1885 andtheir entire holdings at thewaterfall were put on themarket. Jackson Wilsonpurchased the coach-works, but the remainingbuildings were left in thehands of the NationalBank for a number ofyears while new ownerswere sought.

In the early years of the20th century a companyset up by Dr JosephCasey, solicitor HenryGrattan Connolly, andshopkeepers Gerald Stan-ley and Edward Joseph(EJ) King, operated themills for a time. The com-pany was dissolved in the1920s and a new com-pany, Clifden ElectricLight Company, tookover the mill site and con-

verted it into a power-house. The principalshareholders in the elec-trical company were EJKing, his wife, BeatriceMay, and brother-in-law,Dr Joseph Casey.

By 1925 the companywas supplying electriclight to 40 customers inthe town, using a 40hpFrancis turbine.

St Joseph’s Church wasalso electrically lit at thistime, as was an enormouscross on the top of thespire. Measuring 15 feethigh and 6 feet wide, the

cross had thirty electricbulbs on each side and,when illuminated, couldbe seen for miles on landand sea. The spire waslater damaged in a stormand the cross was re-moved in the rebuild.

The Clifden ElectricLight Company increasedits customer base andcontinued to providelighting for the town untilthe arrival of the nationalsupply in the early 1950s.

The last industry to op-erate at the waterfall wasMillar’s Tweeds. RobertMillar opened a tweedfactory in the old gas-works in 1912 and thefactory continued to oper-ate from this locationuntil 1960s, when thebuilding was pulled downto make way for road ex-pansion.

The old distillery site isnow a housing estate(Waterfall Mills, alsoknown as WaterfallHomes) and the powerstation site and WaterfallHouse are in ruin as Iwrite. l For more on the topicscovered above and on theearly buildings and citi-zens of Clifden see AColony of Strangers: Thefounding & early historyof Clifden. l www.connemaragirlpublications.com

16FEATURES

AUGUST 2015

Kathleen Villiers-Tuthillwill lead a guided tour ofClifden’s early industrialarea on Saturday August22 as part of National Her-itage Week Venue. Thetour departs from ClifdenWaterfall at 12pm.

IN THE mid-1850s therewere a number of earlyindustrial buildings nextto the waterfall lying ei-ther vacant or leased totenants as houses andstores. Included amongthem were an old brew-ery, distillery, malt house,a corn mill and a tuck mill(where frieze was thick-ened). The buildings,along with about 17 acresof land, were the propertyof Abraham Creighton.

Creighton was one ofthe three men that estab-lished a brewery and dis-tillery on the site in the1820s. The plant was onlyin operation for a shorttime and was never re-opened. Over the next onehundred years the build-ings had many ownersand were put to a varietyof uses.

By 1863, the buildingsand land were the prop-erty of Walter Coneys.Coneys retained the land,the mills and the old dis-tillery building, now astore, for his own use. Hedivided the house over-looking the waterfall, Wa-terfall House, into twohouses, separating thetower from the rest of thebuilding, and rented bothto tenants. He leased theold brewery buildingsouth of Ardbear NewBridge to Captain AEAcheson of ShanboolardHall, Ballynakill.

Acheson converted thebuilding into a gasworksin 1865 and produced gaslighting for the town. Ap-parently the venture was asuccess and some streetswere lit for a time. How-ever, an attempt by Ache-son to establish acompany a year later, of-fering shares to con-sumers, failed to attractinvestors and the enter-prise was subsequentlybrought to a close.

George Brennan, a na-tive of Antrim, took overthe corn and tuck mills in1874, and erected asawmill on the site a yearlater. The three mills werepowered by two waterwheels that worked satis-factorily in the wintermonths when there wasan adequate supply ofwater from the river, butproved inefficient in thesummer months when theriver was low. Brennanovercame the problem byinstalling an eight-horse-power steam engine in1882 and was attributedwith being the first to in-troduce steam power intothe district.

Brennan had held anumber of positions be-fore coming to reside inConnemara. He workedas an agricultural instruc-tor at Glasnevin ModelFarm for many years andwas described in the pressof the day as a land sur-veyor and agriculturist.He published a booklet

Clifden’s early industrial sites

They grew up, foughtand died together

Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill continues her exploration of the earlyattempts to establish industries around Clifden town

OS map showing GasHouse, Saw Mill and

Coach Factory© National Archives of Ireland

Stephen Joyce (left)and Vincent O’Malleywere neighbours inMaam. Stephen wasthe son of Stephenand Catherine Joyce,and was born in 1894.Vincent was born in1896 and was thebrother of Mrs. OwenStankard, late ofMarket St, Clifden.

In my ongoingresearch into the menfrom west Connemarawho fought in WorldWar One, I discoveredsome interestinginformation aboutthese two young men.They both joined the5th BattalionConnaught Rangersand as theirregimental numbersare very close –Private Stephen Joyce3905, Private VincentO’Malley 3913 – itwould appear theyjoined up around thesame time.

In 1915, the 5th Bn.Connaught Rangerswas part of the 10thIrish Division. Thebattalion receivednotice to proceed tothe Dardanelles,Turkey, at thebeginning of July1915 under thecommand of Lieut-Colonel HJ Jourdain.

They reached AnzacCove on the morningof the August 6. It wasincredibly hot; thesound of fire andmachine gun fire was

deafening and theplague of flies madeany rest impossible;many of the men werealready ill fromdysentery.

The men had beenissued with helmetsand light khaki drillclothing beforeleaving England, butas much as the dayswere hot, the nightsand early morningswere bitterly cold, andthey had no coats.

The battle of Hill 60was the last majorbattle of Gallipoli andcommenced onAugust 21, 1915. Aswell as Australian andNew Zealand forces,there were 700 menfrom the 5th BnConnaught Rangers.

Private StephenJoyce 3905, aged 21years, and PrivateVincent O’Malley3913, aged 19 years,both died on August21, 1915.

They grew uptogether, joined thearmy together anddied together.

They have noknown grave but arecommemorated on theHelles Memorial inTurkey, which standsat the tip of theGallipoli Peninsula.

The photographwas sent to me by afamily member ofStephen Joyce.

Bernie Mulkerrin

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17FEATURESJOURNAL

theconnemara

Rain jackets,tennis rackets,horse shoes,wetsuits,

chicken pox andtonsillitis are some ofthe things that havefeatured heavily thissummer in Connemara.

But also blackcurrants,meadowsweet anddinners with friends;chilly barbecues,honeysuckle andgooseberries, piglets andmuck. Laughter and rainshowers, visitors andwellington boots.

It has not been the bestsummer for sunny beachdays, but we havemanaged to enjoyourselves nonetheless.

I went to a friend’shouse recently fordinner, and it was thenicest dinner I’d had foran age. For desert wehad an elderflower andgrape jelly with gingerice cream, and it wasdeliciously refreshing.

The scent ofelderflower provided ourexperience of summer,offsetting the clouds and

the drizzle of rain on thewindows outside that hasbeen all too familiar oflate.

My friend kindly sentme the recipe for thejelly, a scan of anancient magazinecutting, the recipe itselforiginally from WildSugar Deserts by SkyeCraig and Lyndel Miller.

So I set to workmaking somehoneysuckle cordialinstead of elderflower,and adding gooseberriesinstead of grapes. Wehave passed elderflowerseason and gooseberrieshave just ripened in thegarden.

I fiddled around withthe measurements andadded some proseccoand sparkling water (notthat I’m convinced thesparkling water makes itsparkly when set).

So what I think youneed to do is make amixture of jelly liquidand measure roughly themeasurements below ofcordial, prosecco, lemonzest and water until you

like the taste,remembering thatcooling it will lessen theflavour so it should be atiny bit too sweet andfull of flavour.

Cordials often vary instrength, in bouquet andsugar content – it is forthis reason I think youshould make the mixtureto taste.

Then measure theliquid you have and usethe amount of gelatinespecified on the packetto set the amount ofliquid: this way you canuse leaf or powderedgelatine (this recipe usespowdered gelatine).

After doing severaljellies, the meadowsweetwas the best, but thehoneysuckle came a veryclose second.

First to the cordial andthen to the jelly.

Meadowsweet Cordial(same method forhoneysuckle cordial)Zest of a lemon to tasteLiquid to sugar 1:1 ratio– 16oz of sugar to 16flozof water

½ tsp citric acid(optional, helps thecordial stay fresh forlonger)

Gather lots ofmeadowsweet flowerheads and soak them inboiling water and a fewslices of lemon. Allow tosoak for 24 hours, thendrain through muslin,saving the water/juicethat comes out anddiscarding the flowers inthe muslin once strained.

Measure equalamounts of sugar toliquid.

Bring to the boil,stirring until the sugar isdissolved, add the lemonzest and the citric acid ifyou decide to use it,bring to the boil andsimmer for about 4minutes.

Pour into sterilisedbottles with good caps

Meadowsweet Jelly(Serves 8-10)1ltr of liquid made upfrom approximately:350ml meadowsweetcordial

350ml prosecco350ml sparkling water12 gooseberries½ lemon lightly zestedA few littlemeadowsweet flowerbuds (use sparingly)2 sachets / 24g ofpowdered gelatine

The buds of themeadowsweet are verystrong to eat on theirown, but still a few ofthem in the jelly gives asurprising hint ofsummer hedgerows.

Add the cordial,prosecco, water andlemon zest into a big jugor bowl, taste and adjustto your liking.

Get the jelly mould orglass bowl ready byoiling inside liberallywith sunflower oil.

Now sprinkle a fewmeadowsweet buds atthe base of the jellymould.

Top and tail thegooseberries and cut inhalf, add to the bottomof the jelly mould, roundside down (they will

float to the top).Measure out the

gelatine according to theinstructions on thepacket, or as above.Empty into a heat proofdish. Add a smallamount of the cordialmixture and heat gently,with the heat-proof dishstanding in a pot ofsimmering water or at alow setting in themicrowave until thegelatine mixture is warmand clear.

Then add a little moreof the cordial mixtureinto the warm gelatineand mix.

Pour the gelatine

mixture into the largecordial, prosecco, watermixture. Mix and pourinto the jelly mould or aglass bowl.

Allow to set in thefridge for 12- 24 hours.

When set, run verybriefly under warmwater to loosen it andthen remove from themould to a plate.

Decorate with a fewmeadowsweet flowers.Ginger ice cream is afantastic addition.

l For more, visitwww.breakingeggs.com,www.facebook.com/BreakingEggs, or follow onTwitter @Cliodhnaof

A taste of summer (even when it rains)Cliodhna Prendergast brews up a batch of meadowsweet cordial and jelly

Over the last fewmonths we haveseen Connemara

come into bloom. Thesummer season in mymind opens with theappearance of creamyprimroses and dog violetsat the roadside, withcuckoo flowers appearingin wetter spots in April;followed by a flush ofwoodland flowers as theyall make a mad rush tobloom before the canopyabove closes.

In Letterfrack the smallwoodlands of theConnemara National ParkFriers Wood and EllisWood burst into life with aprofusion of white wildgarlic and noddingbluebells around earlyMay, to correspondwith the HolyCommuniondays for thelocal children.

By thecoast, the seapink flowersearly in April,with the whitepopcorn-likecampion floweringslightly later. On the bogs,fluffy bog bean opens in

ponds and the bog isdotted with small yellowtormentil flowering,interspersed with insect-eating sundew unfurlingin the wettest of places.

By June, some flowershave completed their lifecycle and have gone toseed. Meanwhile, a hostof fresh flowers areerupting out of the soil.Buttercups and clover areabundant, with pockets ofpink ragged robin inmeadows, delicatelymoving in the breeze. Wehave the drama offoxgloves’ tall towers atroadside edges, coupledwith a trim of yellowbirds foot trefoil flushedwith red.

July has got to be myfavourite month, with

abundant ox eye daisieslining the roads

and fields fullof orchids –mainlymarsh orheathspottedorchids, but

also lesscommonly

fragrant orchids,butterfly orchids andtwayblade.

Ballyconneely is ablaze

with yellow irises and, asthese fade away, mauveharebells are becomingabundant on the shell-richsoils. Later, the westerngorse and the heather willbe in bloom together.The rich blue of sheeps bit scabiouscontrasts well with the yellowhawksweed inheathy copses.Bog asphodels’yellow starflowers with orangeanthers pop up in boggyplaces alongside bogcottons.

By August the finalglory of the summerbloom is coming to aclose. Already berries areforming and the hawthornblossom has completed itsjourney from white topink flowers forming redfruit. Blackberries areappearing in hedges, whilewild white strawberryflowers of summer giveway to small, sweet redfruit. Laneways are linedwith the fluffy soft creamyheads of meadowsweetand the tall spikes ofpurple loosestrife areappearing in ditches.

Many of the heathers arein bloom for a month or sowith the pale tight pinkbells of cross leaved heathcontrasting with the deepfuchsia of bell heather and

the loose large pinkbell flowers of St

Dabeocs heath. Just now

the commonling heatheris cominginto bloom

and the hillssoon will take

on a shade ofpurple.

The best is yet to come.My favourite time of yearis October, when thewhole landscape turns agolden red colour and weget the crisp cold clearwinter days with blueskies reflected in boglandlakes. Even the pale buffcolours of winter have acompelling charm, givingway to spring greens.

Connemara captivateswith its colours all yearround.

l Marie LouiseHeffernan is a charteredenvironmentalist andfounder of Letterfrack-based Ecology Centre –for more, seewww.theecologycentre.ie

Connemara captivates withits wild colour all year round

Marie Louise Heffernan

The glory of summer bloom may be over, but the best is yet to come...Inset right: Buttercups and blue sheeps bit

Butterfly orchid with marsh orchids behind Sea aster

PrimrosesYellow flag iris

18FEATURES

THE CONNEMARASKY AT NIGHT

with GERRIT NUCKTON

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

I am getting Job-seeker’s Al-lowance and myoldest child isstarting schoolthis year. Is there

a payment to help with thecosts of children going toschool?

The Back toSchool Clothingand Footwear A l l o w a n c e(BTSCFA) helpsyou meet the costof uniforms and

footwear for children goingto school. Your childrenmust be aged between 4 and22 on or before September

30, 2015. If they are agedbetween 18 and 22 theymust be in full-time second-level education in a recog-nised school or college.

To qualify you must begetting a social welfare pay-ment or taking part in atraining, employment oradult education scheme. Ingeneral, you must be get-ting an Increase for a Qual-ified Child with yourpayment. People gettingFamily Income Supplementand the new Back to WorkFamily Dividend can qual-ify. Your total family in-come must be below acertain level for your familysize. The Allowance is €100

for eligible children agedbetween 4 and 11 and €200for those aged between 12and 22.

The scheme is open fromJune 1 to September 30,2015, and the allowance ispaid automatically to manycustomers. This means thatthey do not have to applyfor the payment.

If you qualify automati-cally, you should get a letterstating when and how yourallowance will be paid. Ifyou do not get an automaticpayment you must apply forthe allowance. If any ofyour children are aged 18 orover you must apply for theallowance for them and

supply evidence that theyare in second-level educa-tion (even if automatic pay-ments have issued for otherchildren in the family).

Application forms areavailable from the CIC,local social welfare officesand Intreo centres, and onwelfare.ie. When a decisionhas been made on your ap-plication you will get a let-ter. If your application hasbeen successful, you willalso be told when andwhere you can collect thepayment. If the allowance isrefused you can ask for a re-view of the decision.l Further information isavailable from Clifden Cit-

izens Information Servicewhich provides a free andconfidential service to thepublic. Tel: 0761 07 7580 /087 1301100 Email: [email protected] – 2ndFloor, Credit Union, Clif-den. Open: Thursday 7pm– 8pm, Friday 10.30am –3.30pm call mobile outsidethese hours and to confirmdates of Letterfrack Out-reach Service.l Please note we will beclosed for annual holidayson Thursday August 20 andFriday August 21.

QA

Connemara Photographic Society

In August we have a spectacular annualevent of note to look forward to, namely thePerseids meteor shower, which is associatedwith debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Thenumber of meteors visible to us – 60 or moreper hour at night – will reach its maximumtomorrow (Thursday, August 13). ThePerseids are so-called because the point fromwhich they appear, known as the radiant, liesin the constellation Perseus. The best time tosee the shower is from midnight to dawn.

We are very fortunate this year in that,with New Moon on August 14, there will beno moonlight to hinder our view. Underclearing skies and from a dark location,observers might expect to see 50 to 70meteors an hour near the peak time.

The meteors can be seen all across the sky,but because of the specific path of Swift-Tuttle's 130-year orbit, the Perseids areprimarily visible in the northern hemisphere.As with all meteor showers, the rate isgreatest in the pre-dawn hours, since theside of the Earth nearest to turning towardsthe sun ‘scoops’ up more meteors as the Earthmoves through space. Most Perseidsdisappear while at heights over 80kilometres above our planet, and the dustseen in the cloud today is around a thousandyears old.

Fast-moving Mercury returns to thetwilight sky before sunset, increasing inbrightness from +1.2 to +0.1 at the end ofAugust as it rises a little higher in the westeach day.

Venus is seen in the morning and rises atabout 55 minutes before the Sun in mid-August and one hour 30 minutes by month'send. As it does so, its brightness increasesfrom -4.1 to -4.5 magnitudes. However, as itis so close to the Sun, it is not safe to observeafter sunrise.

The Moon is new on August 14, is at FirstQuarter on August 22, and is Full on August29.

Mars is found in the Eastern pre-dawn skyabout two hours before sunrise at the end ofthe month, with its brightness only asomewhat dim +1.8 magnitude.

Jupiter passes behind the Sun on August26 and so won’t be visible to us at all owingto its closeness to the Sun from our vantagepoint.

The ringed giant Saturn is the only brightplanet visible outside twilight time thismonth. It is found in constellation Libra nearthe wide double star Alpha Librae, falling inbrightness a little from +0.4 to +0.5magnitudes during the month. One hourafter sunset it will lie just 20 degrees abovethe NW horizon so the Earth’s atmospherewill limit the view of its 17 arc second disk.

The very distant giant planet Neptunecomes into opposition – when it is nearestthe Earth – on August 31, so will be seen wellduring this month and next. Seen all night,its magnitude is +7.9 (not visible to thenaked eye) but is easily spotted with a goodpair of binoculars lying in the constellationAquarius. It rises to an elevation of about 27degrees when due south. Given a telescopeof eight inches or greater aperture and adark night it should even be possible to spotits large moon Triton.

In the North part of the sky, away from theecliptic where the Moon, Sun and planets arealways seen, we find the stars of the Plough,also called the Big Dipper. The stars Merakand Dubhe form the pointers which will leadyou to Polaris, the Pole Star, which is veryclose to true North. The stars Alcor and Mizarform a naked eye double which is worthy ofobservation in a small telescope as Mizar isthen shown to be an easily resolved doublestar. A fainter reddish star forms a trianglewith Alcor and Mizar.

Is there a payment to help cover school costs?

This month’s Connemara Photo Society competition explored the theme ‘food’. The winners are (clockwise from below):

1st Laurence Hofman Passionfruit2nd Laurence Hofman OysterJoint 3rd Aoife Herriott TemptationJoint 3rd Mark Furniss Sirloin, Fillet and Ribeye

The theme for September is ‘Summer Rain’

Needles makepeople nervous– for most peo-ple, their only

association is with the hy-podermic needle used inhospitals and by doctorsfor giving injections ortaking blood.

Acupuncture needlesare very different. Theyare extremely fine andthey are filiform, meaningthey are solid through andnot hollow in the middle,so nothing can be put intothe body or taken awayusing an acupuncture nee-dle.

Most people report asensation that is notpainful, but different toanything they may haveexperienced before. Themajority of people reportfeeling instantly heavy,relaxed, and most peoplewill fall asleep during thetreatment.

The oldest records ofancient Chinese acupunc-ture are found on boneetchings thought to befrom around 1600BC. Itis unclear due to the ageof the practice how it wasfirst discovered, but it hasbeen hypothesised that itdeveloped from observingthe effect of cutting orrubbing and pressing onareas of the body to re-lieve pain.

The origin of the prac-tice is attributed to theChinese, though theJapanese, Koreans, Ti-betans and French havealso developed differenttechniques, styles andphilosophies within thepractice of acupuncture.

Acupuncture and Chi-nese Medicine is a sys-tematic and logicalprocedural approach tothe patient’s presentingsymptoms, as well astheir history, environ-ment, diet, age, mentalwellbeing, activity levels,spirituality and sexualwellbeing. Patterns ofdisharmony provide theframework for treatment.

The modern medicineapproach is to hone in andisolate the precise causefor a specific disease. TheDaoist philosophy under-lying Chinese medicinemeans that no sin-gle part or symptomcan be understoodexcept in relation toits whole and thepattern of othersymptoms.

Imbalance: Weare in a constantstate of change. Ourbodies are con-stantly transform-ing, either to adaptto our environ-ments, our climate,in response to dietand exercise, in re-sponse to other peo-ple, at a cellularlevel, as we age, and at anevolutionary level as ourbodies and brains evolveover millennia.

Chinese Medicine iden-tifies these changesthrough the theory of Yinand Yang. Everything hastwo aspects, oppositesthat can be measured inrelation to each other,such as day and night,hot/cold, tall/short, ac-tive/inactive, extremelyhealthy and terminally ill.Between these oppositesexists a spectrum whichallows for further divi-sion: morning / evening,late morning / afternoon,medium tall / medium /medium short. This fol-lows in Yin Yang theorythat Yin and Yang can befurther subdivided andalso that they are con-stantly transforming –they control and createeach other. One cannotexist without the otherand their balance controlsthe harmony of the whole.

Disharmony comes intobeing when the propor-tions of either become un-equal. So it is with thehuman body, which inChinese medicine is di-vided proportionally be-tween Yin and Yang. Ifthe Yang dominates thenexcess symptoms are ex-perienced: An extremeexample would be the ex-

cess consumption of alco-hol – a yang substance be-cause of its fast acting andhot nature, leading to ared face, a lack of mentalcoherence (the top of thebody is the yang aspect,the head being most yang,and yang is an upward en-ergy), profuse sweating,vomiting, diarrhoea, de-hydration. The Yang isoveracting on the Yin andso Yin – the cool, mois-tening, slow acting natureof the body – is being di-minished, hence the fastand dramatic dryingsymptoms. For this rea-son, it is understood thatalcohol has a worse effecton women than men, aswomen are predomi-nantly Yin in nature andmen Yang. This system-atic reasoning can be ap-plied to all aspects ofhealth and ill health.

What are the needlesdoing? From a westernmedicine point of viewacupuncture causes manyphysiological changes inthe body including va-sodilation (increasedblood flow), stimulationof hormones and neuro-transmitters, and stimulat-ing the parasympatheticnervous system.

A c u p u n c t u r ealso invokes ananalgesic effect byaltering the body’sown natural pain-relieving opiatesystem. Chinesemedicine acknowl-edges the functionsand effects of theinternal organs, theblood, and bodilyfluids have on thephysical body.However, it alsoconsiders the func-tions and effects ofemotions and psy-chology. All of

these are encompassed bywhat is known as Qi.

Qi is the dynamic or-ganising force behind all

change and balancewithin the system of Yinand Yang. Qi is often de-scribed as the life forceenergy; it is metabolic,developmental, intelligentand cooperative. This isnot the same as the func-tions of the nervous sys-tem but is inclusive of it.

When the acupuncturistneedles the body at spe-cific points they are at-tempting to bring about achange for good in theperson’s Qi which whenthey experience pain, dis-comfort physically oremotionally, and illnessindicates their Qi is out ofbalance. The acupunctur-ist promotes the individ-ual’s Qi through theneedling of specificpoints on 12 channelscalled Meridians, throughwhich the Qi runs to rein-force the body’s ownhealing power.

Each point has a localfunction in relation to atrauma sited close to or atthe point, but each pointalso has actions which arerelevant to the channelfrom which is derives itsenergy, actions which op-erate at emotional/ psy-chological level andactions which impact an-other part of the body. Allthis is due to the connec-tivity of Qi running in acircuit through thesechannels.

Modern research hasdemonstrated that mostacupuncture points are lo-cated at neurovascularnodes where there is ahigh concentration of sen-sory fibers, fine bloodvessels, fine lymphaticvessels, and mast cells.These nodes are distrib-uted along longitudinalpathways of the body (inmany instances closelyaligned to the Meridianpathways) where the col-lateral blood vessels sup-ply the capillaries andfine vessels.

What is the differencewith Dry Needling? Dryneedling is a specificneedling technique forpain which relates to thedirect needling of triggerpoints in muscle to releasespasm and tension togreat effect. It can encom-pass either the use of a hy-podermic or acupunctureneedle, and can involvedeep muscle needlingwith strong manipulationof the needle to release

the myofascial tensionwhich causes pain. In themain these points are notspecific to the channelpoints, but points identi-fied by being mostpainful.

It is an acupuncturetechnique; however, it islimited to musculoskele-tal issues. It does not pro-mote the holistic balanceof Qi but is a pain relieftreatment. It does not re-quire the extensive 3

years + training of anAcupuncturist. It is taughtto qualified body workprofessionals usually inone or two weekends asan addition to their prac-tice. It is utilised byAcupuncturists andPhysio / Physical Thera-pists in the main.

Acupuncture encom-passes a much broaderscope to include internalmedicine, gynaecology,psychosomatic disorders,mental health, auto-im-mune disorders, en-docrine disorders andmuch more. Acupunctureis recognised by theWorld Health Organisa-tion as being an effectivetreatment through con-trolled trials for 31 differ-ent health issues. Theseinclude back, neck andjoint pain; peptic ulcers;renal colic; hypertension(blood pressure); and ad-verse reactions tochemotherapy and radia-tion.

l For further information, contactEthel Feneran, Fenwest AcupunctureClinic, Clifden, on 085-1737071 (AFPA Member 840,Health Insurer Approved)

19HEALTH

If a squeamishness about needless is holding youback, you’re missing out on one of medicine’s mostancient and versatile healers. By Ethel Feneran

JOURNALtheconnemara

ACUPUNCTURE(or the needle and the good it’s done)

Acupuncture needlesare extremely fine, and

much smaller than hypodermic needles

20DIRECTORY OF SERVICES

AUGUST 2015

Kevin Barry & Associates Chartered accountants and registered auditors. Tom Barry House, MainStreet, Clifden. [email protected], 1800 476 984www.barryaccountants.ieMannion, Lochrin & Company LtdChartered accountants. Contact us for all your business advisory and taxplanning needs. Tel: (095) 30030, Fax: (095) 30031; Email:[email protected] www.mannion-lochrin.comSinead O Flaherty – Certified Public AccountantChurch Hill, Clifden, Co GalwayExperienced accountant specialising in accounts preparation, IncomeTax/VAT/PAYE/RCT Returns. Rental Income. Contact Sinead at: 083-1551059 or Email [email protected] Accounting Delivering high quality service to our clients who make more profit, payless tax and have more fun along the way. We offer traditionalaccounting services or our Cloud Accounting System to keep on top ofyour finances in an effective interactive way, saving you time and money.Contact us on (095) 30584 or 086-2664542 EMail:[email protected]

Martin Courcey Construction LtdNo job too big, no job too small. Member of CIF with full insurance. SEAIregistered contractor for insulation grants. Knockbrack, Cleggan. Call 09544606 or 086-8161885McDonnell ConstructionC.I.F. / C.I.R.I Registered – T: 087 9633 885 – E: [email protected] – Aughris, Cleggan, Co Galway.

Ballynahinch CastleRelaxed and refined dining in a beautiful and authentic restaurant;perfect for a special occasion or just an evening with friends.Atmospheric extension added to the friendly Fisherman’s Pub.Exceptional food in a casual and authentic setting. Tel 095 31006 or [email protected]’Dowds of RoundstoneSeafood Bar & Restaurant, Roundstone – Value Dining Offer: 2 Coursesfor €20. Take Away Menu available online atwww.odowdsseafoodbar.com – Bar Food 10am to 9pm – RestaurantOpen 5-9pm Daily. Seafood Chowder & Local Seafood our speciality. LocalCraft Beers & large selection of Irish Whiskeys. Home-made soups,sandwiches, desserts, scones and jams.Oliver's on Cleggan PierTraditional family pub in Cleggan Fishing Village operated by Noreen andPeter Higgins. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Freshseafood is our speciality. Trad music sessions. 095-44640.oliversonclegganpier.ieTony’s Diner, MoycullenMonday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday & Saturday 9am to 6pm, Sunday &Bank Holidays 10am to 5pm. 091 868 666 – Follow us on FacebookWalsh's Bakery & CaféConnemara's only craft bakery operated by the Walsh family for over 6decades. Enjoy a Bewley's coffee and a hearty breakfast, or a pot of loosetea with a handcrafted sandwich on freshly baked breads in our Café ... ortake home yummy pastries, cakes and breads from the Cake Shop.Market St., Clifden. Open every day. 095-21283. walshsbakery.ie

Áras Chois FharraigeEnjoy the comfort and security of a modern care facility where we willwork with you to create your own personalised care plan to ensureprivacy, dignity and choice during your stay. Pairc, An Spidéal – (091)553194 – www.thearas.com

Carpentry services/Property Maintenance Newman Carpentry Services. All carpentry work undertaken byexperienced tradesman. Fitted doors, kitchens, stairs, decking, built inwardrobes, PVC fascia and soffit guttering, wooden floors, 2nd fixing,tiling and general property maintenance. Bookshelves and units made toorder. Contact Paddy Newman on 086-3165978 or 095-44931.Ray McDonagh CarpentryCabinets, kitchens, wardrobes, old-style dressers, expert houserenovations, doors, flooring, wall panelling, timber ceilings. Serving all ofGalway. Call Ray on 086-8364377 or email [email protected]

Breakthrough Retreat‘I can help you to find your true self, your gifts, your skills and your talents, so thatyou can make a real difference in your business and/or personal life ... helpingyou to free yourself from any ‘negative baggage’ and empowering you to achievethis both easily and effortlessly. Imagine discovering the key that unlocks yourfull potential.’ – Carol Passemard. www.breakthroughretreat.com E: [email protected], T: 087 1413 026Yellow Door Expressive ArtsYoga, Ballet, Modern Theatre Dance, Drama, Singing and Performance.Classes in Oughterard and Clifden. Skills for stage, confidence for life. Formore information see www.yellowdoor.ie or call Elaine on [email protected] with Aoife: Yoga ClassesClasses continuing Mondays at Yellow Door Studio, Clifden 6.15pmGentle Yoga (suitable for beginners) 8pm New term starts September 7 –pregnancy yoga classes Thursdays 6.30-7.30pm Moyard – new term ofPregnancy Yoga commencing September 10 – €120 for 8 weeks. Formore information or to book your place phone Aoife Lydon 0868421400 – www.yogawithaoife.com

MK Cleaning ServicesTrusted carpet cleaning professionals – commercial and domesticcleaning services. AFFORDABLE PRICES: Upholstery from €60, Carpetsfrom €7/m2. TEL: 083 370 4776, email: [email protected]

Cashel-Connemara Credit Union LtdClifden Office 095 (21101); Cashel Office (095) 31128. Whatever yourneeds, why not consider a Loan from your Credit Union –10% interestcharged on the reducing balance. Loans are protected under our LoanProtection Scheme at no extra cost to the member. Your savings with theCredit Union are guaranteed under the Government Guarantee Schemeup to €100,000

Bike Electric ConnemaraRegular and Electric Bike Hire. Making cycling less strenuous and moreaccessible to all. Open 7 Days a Week 9am till 6pm.at All Things Connemara on Market Street, Clifden.+353 (0)95 22630 www.bikeelectric.ie

Clifden KennelsCounty Council Approved, purpose built Dog Boarding Kennel. IrishBoarding Kennel & Cattery Association of Ireland member. Individualkennels with large enclosed free running paddock. Located just outsideClifden. Short and Long term boarding available. Telephone: 087 2817478 or email: [email protected]

West Coast School of MotoringExpert driving tuition given by patient and professional drivinginstructor. Former driving tester in Galway with excellent pass rate. RSAApproved Driving Instructor. Call Eugene on 085-1098456 or [email protected]

LiveWire ElectricalDomestic wiring, emergency lighting certs, periodic inspectionreports for electrical installations (for fire officer or insurancecompanies), CCTV for cattle/sheep sheds (watch from the comfort ofyour own home during lambing season), fire alarms, security lighting,Internet/Ethernet cabling. Replace existing lighting with energysaving LED lighting. Saorview/satellite television installation. Safeelectric member (registered & insured). Tax clearance cert. Contact:Stephen on 086-6082612. [email protected]

Connemara FloristYour local flower shop for all your floral needs; birthdays, thank yous,congratulations, anniversaries, new baby, weddings, funeral tributes,sympathy bouquets and much more. All budgets catered for. Clifden(095) 21565 [email protected] – Sister shop, VillageFlowers, An Cearnóg Nua (beside SuperValu), Moycullen 091 [email protected]

The Bens FramingFull picture framing service available. Bridge Street, Clifden. T: (095) 22680 – 086 1031154 – E: [email protected]

Bernie’s Hairdressing SalonChurch Hill, Clifden – Ladies and Gents Salon. Open Monday-Saturday.Late opening Thursday and Friday by appointment. Cutting, Colour –10mins permanent colour available. Conditioning body waves and rootlifts. Tel: (095) 21135Curl Up and DyeHair and Beauty, Moycullen – Clifden Rd. We offer a range of BeautyServices including Sun Beds, Spray Tan, Colours and Cuts and Waxing.SUN BEDS SPECIAL OFFER 10 sessions for €50. Area for nail stationavailable to rent – need own equipment and clientele. Call Bridget on085-2711531. Open Thursday–Saturday. Open late Thursday and Fridayby appointment and Sundays by appointment. HedzHedz Salon, Station House Courtyard. Est. March 1999 and growing stillon the strength of our referrals. Don't gamble on your hair, ring Hedz on(095) 22202. Open Mon-Sat. Call in for a free consultation or seewww.hedz.iePauline Coyne's Hair Design.Ladies and Gents Hair Studio.RELOCATED PREMISES TO MAIN STREET,CLIFDEN. Salon Opening Times: Monday to Saturday 9.30-18.00To make an appointment telephone: 095 21927

Dowds Motor & Hardware, Galway Road, Clifden. We stock a wide range of general hardware & household products as wellas motor products. We can advise and mix your Fleetwood paint and canperfectly match any colour, just bring in the details. We also cut keys,print and press number plates and stock agri and tractor parts. RugDoctor rental available. Open Mon-Sat 8.30-6. 095-30615 087-2744165www.irishnumberplates.ie Email:[email protected]

Mongan MemorialsHeadstones – Sandblasting – Additional Names Engraved. Still on theSeafront on Derryinver Bay, right beside Ocean’s Alive. Open Monday toSaturday.Tel: (095) 43473 / 087-6461189

Acupuncture and Massage TherapyEthel Feneran, Dip. Ac, Lic. Ac, Cert. Nanjing, China. Recognised by theWorld Health Organisation to be beneficial in the treatment of: Backpain, Sciatica, Neck Pain, Headache & Migraine, Muscle & Joint Pain,Sinusitis & Allergic Rhinitis, Insomnia, Digestive & Bowel Disorders,Depression, Anxiety and Stress, Gynecological Problems, Stroke-relatedcomplications. Dooneen Clinic, Clifden. 085 1737071Back Pain Specialists In Moycullen!Rolfing is a comprehensive treatment of deep tissue manipulation andmovement education. We specialise in releasing chronically tightenedmuscles and mobilising stiff joints causing pain anddysfunction. Effective for back/shoulder pain, sciatica, walking difficulty,fatigue. Get back into action after injury and surgery. Regain a pain free,flexible body. Experienced certified Rolfing practitioners, Susanne Keane,B.A., LSLT. Seamus Keane, M.A.,M.P.H. Quality treatment, clinicalknowledge, personal approach. Tel 091 555221, 087 2355749Claire Hanniffy – Pain & Injury RehabilitationBSc. Hons, GSR, ITEC, EFR, CDNS, CKTP, NKT™. Sports/ Occupational/ Overuse Injuries, Joint/ Back/ Chronic Pain,Muscular/ Skeletal/ Neural Stress/ Strains/ Sprains all healed through avariety of treatments; Soft Tissue Release, Trigger Point therapy, DryNeedling, Manipulation therapy, Electrotherapy, NeuroKinetic therapy™,Thermo/ Cryotherapy, Dietary/ Yoga therapy. Sports Strapping,Rehabilitation/ Restorative Yoga programmes available. Team/ AdvancedPitchside care. Holistic Treatments; Massage, Reflexology, Indian HeadMassage, Hopi Ear Candling. Clifden Area. VHI, Laya, Aviva. 0879784261Nicolas Kats ND, Lic. Ac.Herbs. Diet. Supplements. Acupuncture (VHI, VIVAS, BUPA) DooneenClinic, Clifden. 086-3651590 (text only), [email protected]

Social Media ConnemaraOur mission is to help small businesses in the West develop and use socialmedia to target their markets and develop their brand. We understandthat small businesses often don't have time to work on their socialmedia. We are here to make it happen at an affordable [email protected] – 087 2819825 – Greenmount, Renvyle,Co. Galway www.socialmediagalway.com

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Accountants

Cycling

Credit Unions

Cleaning Services

Building Services & Contractors

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Cafés & Dining

Care Homes

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An annual subscription to our A-Z Directory costs just€120 plus VAT (12 issues in print, 12 months online)

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21DIRECTORY OF SERVICESJOURNAL

theconnemara

All Things ConnemaraLocal, Crafts and Artisan Producers. Open seven days a week 9am till 7pmon Market Street, Clifden, #Connemara. +353 (0)95 22630Shop online at www.allthingsconnemara.ie – @all_connemarafacebook.com/allthingsconnemaraClifden Fruit and VegWe stock the largest selection of bedding plants and shrubs – 3 bags of compost for €10. Cheapest in Connemara! Call 086-8365864Grant’s GoKartsNew dealership in Connemara – GoKarts come in two different styles: Twoseat GoKarts or single GoKarts. Suitable for children from 5 upwards.Contact Patrick on 086 8903166Lydon’s MoycullenThe largest selection of carpets, laminate and wood flooring in Galway.(091) 555 962Ohh! By GumEco-chic Boutique stocking: childrenswear, womenswear, yarn, sweets andaccessories. Looking for a gift for someone near or far? Why not buy an onlinegift card at ohhbygum.ie – The Courtyard, Station House, Clifden & BridgeStreet (Up!Town) Tel 095-21334. www.facebook.com/OhhByGumPatricia O'Toole Studio & BoutiqueVisit the Studio & Boutique of Connemara fashion designer Patricia O'Tooleat Rose Cottage in Moyard. Browse and try on her SlimmingStyles...dresses, tops, jackets and pants with comfortable built-in supportin stunning colours. Go to patriciaotoole.ie for more information. 087-771-7563. Open Daily.

CPL HealthcareNURSES REQUIRED IN GALWAY & MAYO – Nurses Required for AgencyShifts Available in Clifden, Carraroe and Galway City. Settings: PublicHealth Homecare, Elderly Care Services. Choose When You Work Weeklypay, EXCELLENT RATES. Exclusive Recruitment Partner to HSE West. Formore information contact: 01 482 545

Connemara Taxi CompanyTelephone (095) 30000 Day or Night

West Coast Tree Surgery: Tree pruning, crown reductions, tree removal,hedge cutting & chipping. Tree surveys and tree reports carried out. Est 1998.Contact Alan Linnane on 086-2848340 or 095 43018

West VetGalway Road, Clifden, 095-22209. Emergencies: 087-9179248 (24hr)Business Hours: Mon to Fri 9.30-5.30, Sat: 10.00-12.30

Martin Casey: Window fitting and maintenance. uPVC, aluminiumwindows and doors. 087-2766924

Dowds Motor & Hardware, Galway Road, Clifden. For all your general motoring needs. We can advise and supply you withthe correct oil, bulbs, wipers, battery etc for your car. We also stock allyour maintenance, emergency, safety and cleaning products. We alsoprint and press legal, custom, special event and vintage number plates instore and ship worldwide(free delivery to Ireland). Rug Doctor rentalavailable, ideal for car upholstery and carpets. Open Mon-Sat 8.30-6. 095-30615 087-2744165 www.irishnumberplates.ieEmail:[email protected]

The Bens Music ShopIrish traditional folk, ballads – CDs, DVDs and books – musical instrumentsand accessories. Bridge Street, Clifden. T: (095) 22680, 086 1031154 – E:[email protected]

Ní Ráighne OpticiansBridge street, Clifden – 095 30995, www.clifdenopticians.ie,[email protected]

Johnny CoynePainting and decorating – interior and exterior, timber floors sanded andvarnished. Residential and commercial. Power-washing service. All areas ofConnemara covered. Neat and tidy job guaranteed. Competitive rates.References available. Also offering garden and lawn maintenance service.Contact Johnny Coyne on 086-8570302 or (095) 43006

Connemara Bouncy CastlesBouncy Castles for hire for all occasions. With rain cover. Delivered, erectedand collected. Call 095-21219

Upcoming Connemara Pony Shows: Upcoming Connemara Pony Show: For winners/seconds of Connemaraclasses the All Ireland Supreme Champion of Champions Pony Show onSunday, September 13th starting at 10am. See www.roundstoneevents formore details, , entry forms available online. Immediately after the ponyparade we will have a raffle for our Classy Massey, a fully restored 1962Massey Ferguson 35 - tickets €20, limited to 400, on sale locallyConnemara Pony ShowAugust 16-23, Clifden Showgrounds. In-hand classes, Ridden Classes,Working Hunter Classes, Puissance Competition, Loose Jumping, DogShow, Irish Dancing, Best Dressed Lady Competition & Domestic Arts. Todownload brochure visit www.cpbs.ie or contact 095 21863

Cleggan Beach Riding CentreBeach Treks & Riding Lessons. Phone: 083-3888135 or (095) 44746 oremail: [email protected] – www.clegganridingcentre.com

Connemara Coastal CottagesThe largest self-catering agency in the West of Ireland established for 21years offering professional and fair service to clients and owners alike. Weoffer advice on how to make the best of your property and get the highestreturns for you. We produce a webpage and photos for FREE. Call us Today!00 353(0) 95 41844Connemara Holiday Properties Maintenance ServiceCarpentry, plumbing, electrics, roof repairs, garden maintenance andlandscaping, painting and decorating. Call 087 7771720 – www.chpms.meConnemara LettingsHoliday homes urgently required to meet demand for upcoming holidayseason. Bookings already up 40% on last year!!! Contact Yvonne and theteam on 087-7758579 for a FREE no obligation valuation –www.connemaralettings.ieLove ConnemaraLove Connemara is a new tourism company based in Connemara, offeringvisitors to Connemara the ability to create their own holiday andexperience the real Connemara. Holiday home owners! Avail ofinternational marketing experience and maximise the occupancy of yourholiday rental by listing with us today. Call into our office at Market Street,Clifden, or phone us on 095 – 30620. Email: [email protected] –Web: www.loveconnemara.com

Mannion Quarry and Plant HireSuppliers of High Quality Stone Products & Construction Plant Services.Road & Site Development. Serving Connemara for over 40 years.Lettershea, Clifden. 095-21264. [email protected] – The original bagged sand supplier – call Seamus on 087-6687437

Keane’s Computer ServicesComputer and laptop repairs, smartphone and tablet repairs, websitedesign. 085-7779018 – Market Street, Clifden,www.keanescomputerservices.ie, [email protected] KeaneAerial and satellite installations. Saorview and Saorstat. Sky Road, Clifden. 087-6687468, 095-21827

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connemaraJOURNAL

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we’re movingplease take note of our new address at :

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Co Galway

s t r ic t ly by appointment on lyT. 085-8613277

( land l ine no longer act ive)

22SPORTS

AUGUST 2015


INCLEMENT weather andgreasy underfoot conditionscouldn’t dampen the spirits of theprimary school participants ordetract from their wonderfulsense of excitement, enthusiasmand expectation at the secondannual West Coast United Cup,held recently on the Letterfrack

Community Sportsfield. Leenane, Lettergesh,

Letterfrack, Eagles Nest, Tully,Ballyconneely, Aillebrack,Cleggan and Claddaghduffnational schools – all drawn fromthe club’s extensive catchmentarea – took part, and they weregraded into two divisions in bothboys and girls.

Letterfrack were crowned

overall champions in the former,with Tully taking the top prize inthe latter.

The introduction of a Platecompetition this year was verywell received and it was generallyfelt by all concerned that thisaddition to the existingcompetitive structure brought alot of drama and intrigue to theday’s proceedings and also served

to enhance the overall ethos of thewhole occasion.

Official referees for the daywere West Coast United legendJoachim Lydon, current firstteam player Josh Lydon and FAIDevelopment Officer and GalwayUnited legend John MorrisBurke, who played at left back onthe 1991 team that defeatedShamrock Rovers 1-0 in the FAI

Senior Cup Final. Once again, for the second year

running, InterSport Gannons tookon the role of official sponsor.

In conclusion, I would like toextend a special word of thanksand appreciation to my teachingcolleagues for their ongoingsupport of this wonderfultournament. Long may itcontinue!

Paul Gannon

Young soccerstars make

light work ofheavy weatherat West Coast

United Cup

to inc lude your c lub news , emai l ed i tor@connemara journa l . ie

Aillebrack NS Division 1 Plate winners

Ballyconneely NS Division 1 Plate winners

Eagles Nest NS Division 2 Shield winners

Lettergesh NS Division 2 Plate winners

Tully NS Division 1 Cup winners

Tully NS Division 2 Cup winners

Tully NS Division 2 Shield winners

Leenane NS Division 2 Shield winners

Letterfrack NS Division 1 Cup winnersCleggan NS Division 2 Plate winners

Cleggan NS Division 2 Cup winners

23SPORTSJOURNAL

theconnemara

WHILE the temporarydeparture of GrainneMhaols from the GLFAcompetitive adult struc-tures in 2015 has left anempty void that casts adepressing shadow over aproud and resilient club,the fortunes of its juvenileplayers in recent monthshave certainly dispelledany lingering doubtsabout the long term sus-tainability and viability ofthe club.

As the nine remainingregistered adult playersply their trade with neigh-bouring Connemara clubson permissions to playgranted by the CountyBoard, their younger ap-prentices have taken upthe slack and embracedthe internal rebuildingprocess with energy andenthusiasm.

Pride of place goes tothe U12s who haveamassed a squad in excessof 30 players under the as-tute generalship of EddieFlaherty and MajellaCoyne. Impressive resultsagainst Naomh AnnaLeitir Moir, Clonbur,Moycullen and MichaelBreathnachs saw GrainneMhaols secure a secondplace finish behind Kil-lannin in the initial ZonalLeague and by extension,Division 2 status for theknockout phase.

Dunmore were put tothe sword in Letterfrack atthe preliminary quarterfinal stage, thereby settingup a repeat of last year’sheartbreaking one-pointchampionship final defeatto Bearna. The sides wereinseparable the first day,this time around, but

Grainne Mhaols prevailedin the replay to set up anintriguing semi final clashwith St Brendans. Afiercely contested en-counter on a sun-drenched Saturdayafternoon in Letterfrackwent right down to thewire, and when match ref-eree Johnny Coyne’s finalwhistle sounded, it wascailini an iarthair whoended up on the right sideof the 3-5 to 2-6 scoreline.

This nailbiting victoryover a well drilled Bally-gar/Newbridge outfit setup an all Connemaracounty final against ahighly rated Killanninside, who had already in-flicted a six point defeaton their West Connemararivals in the earlier roundrobin phase.

Rosmuc was the venuefor the eagerly awaited re-match and on the day, Kil-lannin more than justifiedthe tag of favouritismwith a superb first halfperformance, charac-terised by power, speed,clinical precision in thepassing and ruthless exe-cution in front of goal.Grainne Mhaols im-proved immeasurably onthe resumption, restoringa lot of pride in theprocess but the 7-8 to 2-5final scoreline didn’t inany way flatter the vic-tors, who are wellequipped for Division 1Achampionship level nextmonth.

Meanwhile, GrainneMhaols have regrouped inthe interim and will nowrefocus their efforts onwinning the Division 2Around robin champi-onship, where their oppo-nents will most likely be

St Brendans, Salthill-Knocknacarra and theNorth Galway team to bedowngraded from the Di-vision 1 league.

Grainne Mhaols U14shave qualified for aCounty Division 2League Final showdownwith St Gabriels, withboth sides set to enter thefray on maximum points.The westerners overcameKillannin (8-10 to 0-5),Mountbellew (6-14 to 0-4), Salthill/Knocknacarra(6-14 to 3-5), St Brendans(6-10 to 6-7) and Ca-herlistrane (Walkover)and have subsequently in-formed the County Grad-ing Committee that theywish to compete at Divi-sion 1B level in the up-coming championshipregardless of the outcomeof their impending joustwith the aforementionedAughrim/Kilconnell girls.

A similar scenario pres-ents itself at U16 levelwith Grainne Mhaols re-questing permission tocompete in next month’sDivision 3 championshipregardless of the result oftheir forthcoming Divi-sion 4 County LeagueFinal result against Ca-herlistrane.

James O Neill’s chargessuffered a heavy defeat intheir opening fixtureaway to the latter on ascoreline of 5-11 to 2-5but showed great charac-ter and resolve subse-quently to clawthemselves back into con-tention. Victories over StMarys Killererin (3-12 to4-7), Caltra Cuans (3-11to 3-6), Michael Breath-nachs (7-14 to 1-5) andClaregalway B(Walkover) have con-

firmed Grainne Mhaolsplace in the final and pre-sented the players with agreat opportunity to re-verse their opening rounddefeat.

At the time of writing,there are no confirmeddates for these two countyfinals.

Incidentally, this is thefirst time in the club’s 14-year history that its threejuvenile teams have qual-ified for their respectivecounty league finals in theone calendar year. Bothplayers and managementwill be hoping for more ofthe same in the autumnalchampionships.

Meanwhile, at adultsenior inter county level,Mairead Coyne featuredprominently on the Gal-way team that overcame aCora Staunton-inspiredMayo by 0-21 to 1-17 in athrilling Connacht Cham-pionship Final in McHalePark recently.

Mairead has now wonher fourth Connacht Sen-ior Championship win-ners medal in as manyyears and for the fourthyear in a row is onceagain just three matchesaway from emulating LisaCoohill’s achievement in2004.

Everyone associatedwith Grainne Mhaolswishes Mairead everygood fortune in her en-deavours.

The Club’s ExecutiveCommittee would alsolike to take this opportu-nity to thank everybodywho contributed to its re-cent annual churchgatecollection and Supervalubagpacking fundraisers.Your support is verymuch appreciated.

Grainne Mhaols U12 Squad 2015 County Division 2 League Runners Up: Back Row (from left) Aoife OMalley, Eddie Flaherty (Manager), Una Coyne, Joyce O Toole, Sarah Conlon, Emma Luciano, IsobelRuddy, Rebecca Nee, Riona Coyne, Edwina Mannion, Rochelle Connolly, Katie Flaherty, Roisin Gavin,Maria Gorham, Alannah Carty, Majella Coyne (Manager), Ciara Brennan and Camilla Coyne; frontrow: Una McDermott, Noelle Joyce, Eabha Matz, Martha McDermott, Amy Walsh, Caoimhe Joyce,Sheena Cafferky, Maia Lui, Robyn Flaherty and Annie Lee

PHOTO: JOHANNA COYNE

Grainne Mhaols’ fine youngapprentices build for future

Paul Gannon

l THE Cashel SeaAngling Competitiontook place on July 25,with 10 boatsparticipating. Thewinning crew wereFrancis Nee, Seán Neeand Edward Folan,with a record overallcatch of 772 poundsweight; second was thecrew of Conor Folan,Tom Sullivan and PeterConroy with 668pounds weight; andthird was the crew ofJoe Folan, Conal Walshand Dara Langan, with652 pounds weight.

The most speciesprize went to the crewof Paraic Cloherty,Mairtin Jennings andColm Jennings, with sixspecies.

The heaviest fishprize was won byEamon Mannion, witha 6.5 pound pollock.

The Ladies Cup waswon by Annie ÓCarroll. The U18 prizewas won by DavidKelly, second was JackFolan and third wasPaul Lee.

The committee wouldlike to thank their prizesponsors and all whohelped to make theevent a success.

Rosmuc’s Olympic double

THE boys U15 and U17Olympic Handball finalsfor Galway were heldrecently in KillaninCommunity Centre. Thefinalists in both gameswere Gairmscoil naPiarsagh (Rosmuc) andGalway CommunityCollege. In the U15 finalthe Connemara boys (top)won a good, competitivegame on a scoreline of12-9, and they roundedoff a great day for theirschool by winning theU17 final 19-12 (right).The gallant runners upfrom Galway CommunityCollege have had goodsuccess in recent years inthe competition, but thisyear belongs toGairmscoil Na Piarsaghand their coach BridieKinneavey.

Bernard Lee

U18 winners David Kelly, Paul Lee and Jack Folan

Winning crew Edward Folan, Seán Nee and Francis Nee

Cormac Walsh with Ladies Cup winner, Annie Ó Carroll

Cormac Walsh with most species prize winner, Paraic Cloherty

connemaraJOURNAL

the

we’re moving

please take note of our new address at :

MullaghglossRenvyle

Co Galway

s t r ic t ly by appointment on ly

T. 085-8613277( land l ine no longer act ive)


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