Search Results for 'Clew Bay'

A vital link on what is fast becoming one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions - the Wild Atlantic Way - is in a ‘desperate state of disrepair’ and in such urgent need of upgrading as to be deemed unsafe for visitors and locals alike by one county councillor.

It brought the traffic to a standstill while it passed up Bridge Street - but it wasn't a protest march. Cars beeped and people waved - but it wasn't a wedding. One hundred people rushed into action when the bell rang - but it wasn't a race.

Organisers of a novel event on Clare Island this August Bank Holiday weekend are urging people to go a bit Bear Grylls and build their own seafaring raft to race around Clew Bay.

Some of Mayo’s leading artisan food producers were celebrated recently at the launch of the 2014 Gourmet Greenway in the Mulranny Park Hotel.

“One of the questions I get on the doorstep is ‘what’s Europe ever done for me?’ The answer is – a lot!” said MEP and European election candidate Jim Higgins. He went on to say this week that “as well as general achievements such as opening up our export and trading market, our membership of the EU has directly benefited Mayo in many, many, ways. One of my biggest priorities in Europe has been the reform and support of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and of this, Mayo has been a big recipient – receiving €22m of CAP single farm payments in 2013 alone. Of the 61,000 jobs created last year, approximately 25,000 were in agriculture. I’d be the first to say that agriculture is driving our economic recovery and that’s why I fought to safeguard the CAP budget. The new CAP will provide Irish farmers with €12.5 billion from 2014-2020, so that our agriculture sector has the support it needs to prosper.”

Clarke's of Ballina have more than 60 years of experience using fish from Clew Bay and the Moy River. As we continue our look at local businesses in Co Mayo, we continue to see the fantastic produce available on our doorstep. Clarke's also offers a service to local anglers lucky enough to land their own memento of the river Moy, Clarke’s will smoke their catch. Yes, you can get oak smoked salmon here in the county. How fresh is that? I know that smoked salmon is a fantastic starter on its own, but I have a little twist to make a modern starter. This is Mayo smoked salmon with a pan fried scallion potato cake, with horseradish and leaves, that will be a tasty delight for four people.

Details of the 2014 Clare Island Charity Walk were announced at the launch in Walshe’s Bridge Inn, Newport this week. This, the seventh year of this great walking event, will take place on Saturday, June 28 and all funds raised will go to Western Care Association local services. Speaking at the launch Clare Island Walking Committee chairman, Willie Murphy, stated that he and his committee are delighted to be supporting Western Care Association this year. Western Care is a community based organisation that provides support to more than 1,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families throughout County Mayo. The Annual Clare Island Charity Walk has grown from strength to strength over the years and the hard working committee have raised in excess of €100,000 for local and regional charities and causes over the past six years. It provides a great opportunity to visit the idyllic Clare Island and experience the beauty and scenery of the island and Clew Bay.

A lifetime of local knowledge of the wildlife and heritage in the hills between Newport and Mulranny brings a unique element to the annual Burrishoole Walking Festival. Now in its 27th year, the majority of guides are local farmers, who have been leading visitors, local and international, on the walks each June Bank Holiday weekend since the late 1980s.

Galway city has been announced as one of top 10 finalists in the search for the ‘Foodie Town of Ireland’ which is being run by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, in association with Admailer.ie from An Post.

I do not think that it is a coincidence that the famous Galway Races coincide with the ancient festival of Lughnasa, celebrated on Garlic (Garland?) Sunday or, in the west, on the last Sunday in July. Máire Mac Neill, in her epic and scholarly study*, tells us that the date marked the most important farming benchmark of the year, the harvest, and it was robustly honoured. There were many Lughnasa gatherings throughout Ireland. Perhaps the most famous one in Connemara was at Mám Éan in the Maamturk mountains. People would camp out for days, musicians and hawkers would entertain the crowds; but the main event was a massive faction fight often resulting in serious injury or death.