Thursday 30 June 2016

Traditional Music of Clare - Live Recordings, from the 1960s to the 1990s; over 100 sessions with over 60 hours of music, featuring the BR Taylor Collection, the John Joe Healy Collection and Carroll Mackenzie Music Collection

Traditional Music of Clare: Live Recordings

Shortly after Clare County Library launched the online Singers & Songs of County Clare from the Carroll Mackenzie Collection, we were approached by Barry Taylor who wondered if we would be interested in his collection of live recordings of Clare musicians from the 1960s and later. When we took a look at the collection we recognised its value immediately, and began work on a new music of Clare project based on live recordings; when Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie donated their song collection to us, they had also donated a substantial music collection, and the music collection of John Joe Healy which they had been caretaking.

The result is this new online collection of traditional Irish music, played by Clare musicians, recorded from the 1960s to the 1990s, totalling over 100 sessions with over 60 hours of music in total.

As well as the actual recorded sessions, names of tunes are included and the timing for each tune in each session is also included on each session’s webpage.

We are extremely grateful to Barry Taylor, John Joe Healy, Pat Mackenzie and Jim Carroll for donating their collections for this project. We are also grateful to Peter Laban and Pat Mackenzie for allowing us to use some photographs from their collections, and to Mary Custy and Paddy Comber for their help in identifying tunes.

Musicians featured in this project include Paddy Canny, Bobby Casey, Willie Clancy, Martin 'Junior' Crehan, Elizabeth (Mrs) Crotty, Michael Downes, Martin Hayes, P Joe Hayes, John Kelly, Patrick Kelly, Paddy Killourhy, Séamus MacMathuna, Peadar O'Loughlin, Seán Reid, Micho Russell, Seamus Ennis, Martin 'Junior' Crehan, Miko Doyle, Thady Casey, James Flynn, JC Talty, Angela Crehan, Ita Crehan, Paddy Fahy, Martin Talty, PJ Crotty, Christy Dixon, Martin O'Brien, Tommy McCarthy, Kevin Burke, John Joe Healy, Tommy McCarthy Jnr., Stevie O'Halloran, John Kelly, Jnr., Joe Ryan, Joe Rynne, Sean Keane, Kitty Hayes, Peter Laban, Paddy Galvin, JP Downes, JC Talty, Michael Falsey, Michael Sexton, and Ita Crehan.

Sessions were recorded in Doolin, Mullagh, Ennis, Feakle, Coore, Cree, Tulla, Miltown Malbay, Annageeragh, Spanish Point, Kiltannon, Lahinch, Crosses of Annagh and Knocknahilla in County Clare, and in Dublin and London.

This new project adds greatly to the traditional music services of Clare County Library; the library offers a wide range of music for lending throughout the county, and we have had a very strong traditional music collection (tapes & CDs) in our branch library in Miltown Malbay for many years.

In 2012, we launched the Music of Clare project on the library website, offering a sample of the rich musical culture of the county of Clare, featuring traditional tunes associated with County Clare, played by musicians who are from the county or who have lived in it for many years. The tunes were accompanied by transcriptions designed to help anyone who wishes to learn the basic notes of a tune.

In March 2015, we launched the online Singers & Songs of County Clare from the Carroll Mackenzie Collection, featuring over 400 songs from over 40 Clare singers, collected by Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie in London and west Clare over a period of 40 years, with transcriptions of song lyrics accompanying each recording, and various playlists for easy listening. The project was also enhanced by the addition of articles on singers and the song tradition in County Clare.

And now we are delighted to launch the Traditional Music of Clare: Live Recordings project, featuring live recordings of Irish traditional music sessions from the 1960s to the 1990s, from the archived tapes of three outstanding collections of Clare music: the BR Taylor Collection, the John Joe Healy Collection and the Carroll Mackenzie Collection.

Maureen Comber, Executive Librarian,
Anthony Edwards, Senior Executive Librarian,
Library ICT & Information Services Department,
Clare County Library,
June 2016

Image above shows Barry Taylor and Michael Downes, photo by Pat Mackenzie.

Friday 17 June 2016

TG4’s HUP FEAKLE with Mary McNamara, Andrew McNamara & Sorcha Costello

Mary McNamara, Andrew McNamara, Sorcha Costello playing in Feakle, County Clare, on TG4's TV Series HUP, which filmed musicians within particular locations and traditions. Posted on Youtube on the 1st of April 2016 by Hup.

TG4’s HUP FEAKLE with Martin Hayes and Denis Cahill

Martin Hayes and Denis Cahill playing in Feakle, County Clare, on TG4's TV Series HUP, which filmed musicians within particular locations and traditions. Posted on Youtube on the 1st of April 2016 by Hup.

TG4’s HUP FEAKLE with Joe Fitzgerald

Joe Fitzferald playing in Feakle, County Clare, on TG4's TV Series HUP, which filmed musicians within particular locations and traditions. Posted on Youtube on the 1st of April 2016 by Hup.

Riches of Clare concert featuring Elaine Hogan, Padraig Rynne, Tara Breen, & Conor Crimmins, June 1, 2016

"Riches of Clare featuring Elaine Hogan, Padraig Rynne, Tara Breen, & Conor Crimmins - June 01, 2016. #1." Posted on Youtube on the 2nd of June 2016 by Niamhaines.

Riches of Clare concert featuring the Droneys- Chris Droney, Ann Kirrane, Aine McGrath, and Francis Droney on May 23, 2016

"And so it begins - Riches of Clare - Concert #1 featuring the Droneys - Chris Droney, Ann Kirrane, Aine McGrath, and Francis Droney on May, 23, 2016- #1." Posted on Youtube on the 23rd of May 2016 by Niamhaines.

Riches of Clare concert featuring Padraig O'Reilly, Edel Vaughan, Francis Cunningham, & Eimear Coughlan, June 8, 2016

"Riches of Clare featuring Padraig O'Reilly, Edel Vaughan, Francis Cunningham, & Eimear Coughlan - June 8, 2016. #14." Posted on Youtube on the 9th of June 2016 by Niamhaines.

Summer Stars - Summer Reading Programme for Children at Clare County Library

Clare County Library will run the Summer Stars Reading Programme for children in all library branches during the summer holidays up to the end of August. The Summer Stars programme is a free programme and libraries in Clare will be delighted to welcome all children and their families to join in. Staff look forward to working with teachers and families to encourage children to continue reading and to participate in a range of storytelling and other fun activities taking place in some of our branches during the summer months.

Each child who registers for Summer Stars at their local library joins in the fun of reading lots of exciting books during their summer holidays. They will receive their own Summer Stars Reading Card to record their progress along the way and a library reward stamp will be added to their card at the library after each book read. Children will be encouraged to continue reading throughout the programme. Fun rewards will be provided as they discover new books and authors. At the end of the challenge, all children who participate are invited to attend a special Family Reading Programme event at which they will be presented with award certificates.

Children and families will also have access to fun reading activities on the Summer Stars webpages at www.librariesireland.ie/summer-stars/. The resource includes lots of fun activities, games, talking ebooks, stories, reading tips, book suggestions and funny interviews with children’s authors and other celebrities.

Further information about the Summer Reading Programme and about reading related events taking place during school summer holidays is available from your local library service or on www.librariesireland.ie.

Summer Stars - children’s activities in Shannon Library

Seán Lemass Public Library in Shannon will host their ‘Summer Stars’ activity programme for children from Sat 2 July to Friday 15 July inclusive. These summer activities are always popular and this year, we welcome back some old favourites along with new events. Activities include Gardening for Kids with Sinéad Monahan, two workshops with Susanna Anker - one on Sewing and one on Wool Spinning, a Music Workshop with Noel Madigan, a Fire Engine visit, Poetry for kids with Elaine, Fun with Words with Catherine, Craft Session with Siobhán as well as Storytimes and Film Screenings. Numbers are limited on activities so pre-booking is required. All activities are free of charge and the timetable is available at www.clarelibrary.ie. Further information can be sourced at the library at 061 364266. Shannon Library will also participate in the Summer Stars Reading Challenge where each child is encouraged to read six books over the summer and will receive a Certificate in September as well as some incentives along the way.

Tuesday 14 June 2016

Launch of The Ennistymon Art And Craft Trail on 23rd June 2016

On June 23rd 2016, follow the Ennistymon Art and Craft Trail to find your way to 13 art galleries, artists’ studios and exhibitions in Ennistymon, County Clare. The trail follows a free map which contains details of free workshops, exhibitions and events running throughout the town as part of the Ennistymon Midsummer Festival. The Trail takes in 5 permanent art galleries, 10 artists’ studios, a full-time art course, a sculpture and poetry garden, and temporary art exhibitions in 5 Ennistymon businesses.

Ennistymon is rapidly gaining a name as an art town! Since 2005, with the opening of the Courthouse Gallery and Studios, Ennistymon has gained a reputation as the best place in County Clare to see contemporary art exhibitions of all kinds. Any casual visitor to Ennistymon will now see a wide range of art galleries throughout the town. Less well-known are the many artists’ studios and the full-time VS Art Course also hidden away in nooks and crannies of this not-so-sleepy market town. Now you can find them too with the free art trail map!

The idea for the Ennistymon Art and Craft Trail came as a result of a collaboration between Peter Goossens of The Secret Vault Art & Craft Gallery and Sara Foust of Foust Gallery. “When I opened in April this year, Peter came across the street from his gallery, delighted that another gallery was opening and to propose the idea of an Art Trail in the town,” says Sara Foust. “I immediately saw the advantage of working together to bring art-lovers to Ennistymon as a destination. The upcoming Ennistymon Midsummer Festival was the obvious time to begin! “

The Ennistymon Art and Craft Trail Launch includes:
Free music, poetry readings, art workshops, artist presentations, historical presentations, watch artists at work, sculpture garden and many many photography and art exhibitions at these participating venues in Ennistymon:
Foust Gallery; The Secret Vault, Art and Craft Gallery; Courthouse Gallery and Studios; Byrnes Art Gallery and Violin Shop; The Salmon Bookshop and Literary Centre; Centre Artists Studios, Ennistymon Community Centre; Art by Caitriona Sheedy; Blue Frog/Ennistymon VS Art Course; Byrnes Wine Dine and Stay; Wall’s Picture Framing; Hair Design; Market House Café; ‘Gateways’, exhibition in empty storefront. For more information, please contact: Sara Foust, Foust Gallery, Phone 0863366908/ Email sarafoust@yahoo.com Kathryn Comber or Trudi van der Elsen, Courthouse Gallery, Phone 065-7071630 Peter Goosens, The Secret Vault, contact@thesecretvault.eu

Kindly supported by Clare County Council - Clare County of Culture.

New e-books, e-magazines and online learning at the library

Want to browse an e-magazine while in a waiting room, pack books for your holiday without the weight or learn a new language or take an online course? Then log on to www.clarelibrary.ie to see the new online resources available free to library members.

There are now two e-books services – Bolinda BorrowBox and Wheelers with almost 7,000 titles to chose from. BorrowBox also offer almost 2,000 e-audiobooks which can be enjoyed either on your PC/laptop via the website link or on your mobile device via the BorrowBox app.

Zinio is a digital magazine service offering the latest and back issues of popular magazines such as Gardeners’ World, Hello, Ideal Home and Amateur Photographer.

Proquest Newspapers provides access to almost 700 of the world’s top newspapers including the Irish Times, Irish Independent and Examiner.

Mango Languages is an online language learning resource that teaches real conversations in over 70 foreign languages.

Universal Class features over 400 e-learning courses on topics such as Excel, creative writing and dog training.

All services are free of charge. Separate registration is required for each service.

University College Cork museum studies intern creates a disaster plan for Clare Museum

This is Andrew Songhurst, a Masters student from University College Cork. Andrew served an internship at Clare Museum during the spring where he was charged with the creation of a Disaster Plan for the museum building and offsite storeroom which would help the museum achieve one of the standards for Full Accreditation under the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland. It is the first time that Clare Museum has facilitated an intern from UCC.

The placement provides obvious advantages to the student in terms of relevant work experience, but from the museum’s perspective we benefitted from having a trained person who could concentrate on bringing all of the elements of the plan together efficiently, something that the full time staff found difficult as we juggled our regular duties.

There are a number of reasons why having a Disaster Plan is a good idea.

Firstly, it is considered best practice for museums to have a Care of Collections strategy as there is an ethical responsibility to look after items donated or loaned to the museum by the public for the public benefit. A disaster plan is an important part of this strategy.

Secondly, across the world there are disasters - both natural and manmade - on an almost daily basis, and many of these disasters will also impact museum buildings, exhibitions, artefacts, staff and visitors. These threats can include:

• Weather extremes
• Flooding
• Earthquakes
• Civil disorder and war
• Theft and vandalism
• Terrorismp

We have an obligation to the taxpayer to protect our public resource to the best of our ability from such threats.

Thirdly, appropriate planning helps to counter the threat of poor building maintenance and pest infestation. While we cannot control nature, a lack of planning for minor problems can result in avoidable disasters befalling a museum.

Finally, it makes economic sense to have a Disaster Plan, as potentially years of investment in conservation can be eliminated in very short time when disaster strikes.

In our Disaster Plan, Andrew sets out maintenance regimes and the procedures to follow in the event of a list of threats in order to save the collection. Andrew conducted risk assessments of the museum building and the offsite storeroom and identified a number of areas were a maintenance schedule was required or needed review.

With the assistance of museum curator, John Rattigan and Facilities Manager Eamon Fennessy, Andrew also drew up a salvage priority of list of objects in the collection, consulted with the fire service for advice and helped to identify alternative accommodation in the event of the collection requiring evacuation.

At the end of process, Clare Museum now has an emergency preparedness and response plan that is tailored to the needs of our museum. As for Andrew, aside from gaining valuable experience in the creation of a Disaster Plan, he also sat in on a number of meetings between the curator and the museum’s education programme partners while on placement. As a consequence, he was able to establish contacts that would assist in his MA research which relates to learning and museums.

We look forward to an ongoing relationship with Andrew and also to reading the results of his post-graduate research.

Friday 3 June 2016

Riches of Clare concert with Elaine Hogan, Padraig Rynne, Tara Breen, & Conor Crimmins, 1st June 2016

A Riches of Clare concert featuring Elaine Hogan, Padraig Rynne, Tara Breen, & Conor Crimmins, 1st June 2016. Posted on Youtube on the 2nd of June 2016 by Niamhaines.

Riches of Clare concert with Aine Bird, Jack Talty, Damien O'Reilly, and Mick Conneely, 27th May, 2016

A Riches of Clare concert featuring Aine Bird, Jack Talty, Damien O'Reilly, and Mick Conneely, 27th May, 2016. Posted on Youtube on the 30th of May 2016 by Niamhaines.

Sea Kayaking at Diarmuid & Grainne's Rock, Loophead, County Clare

Sea Kayaking at Diarmuid & Grainne's Rock, Loophead, County Clare

"Attack on Diarmuid & Grainneʼs Rock Loop Head, County Clare, Ireland. This was incredible, paddling through there you are padding downhill at a fair gradient. All the breathing is due to a fair adrenaline rush." Posted on Youtube on the 29th of May 2016 by kayak Man.

Tebing Moher (The Cliffs of Moher) - Pemandangan yang menakjubkan

"Tebing Moher (The Cliffs of Moher) - Pemandangan yang menakjubkan (Stunning scenery)". Posted on Youtube on the 25th of May 2016 by yusniati noni.

Killaloe & Ballina from the Air

"Killaloe is a large village in east County Clare, Ireland. The village lies on the River Shannon on the western bank of Lough Derg and is connected by Killaloe Bridge to the "twin town" of Ballina on the eastern bank of the lake. The surrounding area is popular for hill-walking." Posted on Youtube on the 19th of May 2016 by Aerial Video & Photo Production.