Search Results for 'Connemara'

Several television networks are to broadcast the recent Trail World Championships organised by Run Connemara in a development which has been hailed as a major boost for the event.

It may sound like a contradiction of terms, but teaching the Irish language in the opening decades of the last century could also be a method of teaching English. Irish was the spoken language in most homes of the west of Ireland, but it was recognised that knowledge of English was essential when emigration was usually the only way a young man or girl could better themselves. It is to the great credit of the Gaelic League, established in 1893 to promote the teaching of Irish in all national schools, that it recognised that fact. The Gaelic League, like its near contemporary the GAA, idealised the culture and way of life of the surviving Gaeltacht areas; and its success was largely due to its understanding that a bilingual approach would best serve everyone’s purposes.

The 49th Oughterard show will take place at the end of next week and prospective entrants are encouraged to move fast as today marks the deadline for applications. The committee have yet again put together a sterling line up which is sure to attract patrons from all over the country.

Clifden Community Arts Week, the west of Ireland’s most prominent and longest running community arts festival, will return this September for its 34th year of artistic celebration. Taking place from September 15 to 25, the festival boasts an impressive line up of national and international talent with a jam-packed programme that covers all spectrums of the arts from literature and music to theatre, film, and comedy, as well as inspirational talks and lectures and a dedicated schools’ programme.

I have often heard my grandmother say that the fun of Galway races began when you were hauled up onto a sidecar, behind a lively pony, and driven at a smart pace to Ballybrit. Passengers held on tightly to each other, or to the wooden seat, as the smell of horse, and the jolting ride over rough roads gave it a carnival atmosphere. The races were a two-day meeting then yet the jarvies, or ponymen, would hang about the town for the week hoping to get a fare. As well as bringing racegoers to Ballybrit in the mornings, and home in the evenings, they also brought them to Salthill. Sometimes they carried them to the dogtrack at College Road. Either way it was a long and busy week for the ponymen who came mainly from the Moycullen area, renowned for its Connemara ponies, and passionate owners.

“Free at last, thank God almighty, I’m free at last,” exclaimed RTE celebrity Ryan ‘the Tubs’ Tubridy after receiving the freedom of Clifden and Connemara at the weekend.

ConnQuest Connemara takes place on September 17 and promises to be a unique event that will take you to some of Connemara's amazing mountain tops. Imagine the views while summiting the north face of Ben Choona (584 metres) and then traversing three more peaks in the Twelve Bens/Garraun Complex while taking in a test of your skills with some conventional and quirky tasks in the outdoors.

The gates of Clifden and Connemara will be thrown wide open to RTE celebrity Ryan Tubridy when he receives the Golden Key at a ceremony this weekend.

Oughterard, currently in the spotlight for Celebrity Bainisteoir, will continue its action-packed summer activities with its annual show, which takes place this year on August 27 and 28.

Joyces Supermarkets have this week said they are delighted to help promote the brand of Connemara Hill Lamb in all their stores and that they look forward to working with farmers to ensure the furtherance of the brand.