Aughrus Peninsula - What's New/What's On, On This Website ?

 WHAT'S NEW?

ON THIS PAGE, we provide updates on things that have been added or altered on this website - and events and activities organised at short notice. So...do keep checking in.

NEW ON THE WEBSITE!!

(Posted 16th September):-

OMEY RAMBLERS - walk round Omey Island, Sat 21st September 2013 - click HERE or click on the "Local News" tab above.

(Posted 11th September):-

Yet another summer of parking chaos in Cleggan.

Read all about it - and follow the link to the article about it, in the September issue of the Connemara Journal - on our "Local News" page on this website.

(Posted 11th September):-

(Posted 11th September):-

The Claddaghduff National School (Scoil Mhuire gan Smal) celebrated its 50th birthday on Friday 6th September 2013.  Read all about it on our "2013 - Past events" page.

(Posted 29th August):-

Photos of some of the members of the intrepid group who undertook the SIX BENS CHALLENGE on 24th August, in aid of Cancer Care West. Lots of the Omey Ramblers were there, and many more besides - and it was a great but a haaaaard day...

The photo above shows the descent of Ben Gabhair

(Posted 16th August):-

A NEW PAGE, which may be of interest to local people, visitors, and those living away from the area!  It's "Local News", and you'll find the menu tab at the top of each page on this site. In it, we aim to provide pieces of information and local news which will help to keep people in touch with small news items. 

We'd welcome ideas and contributions; you can always contact us about it via our "Contact Us" page.

(Posted 14th August):-

More photos from the Michael Gibbons walk on Inishark, during the 2013 Festival of the Sea - on the "2013 - Past Events" page on this site.  We also have a paragraph on the Seafood Cooking Demo (9th August), plus photos and a download pdf file containing recipes.

(Posted 12th August):-

Extensive gallery of photos (thanks, Anita, Kenneth, Karen...) from the SENIOR BADMINTON competition in the Claddaghduff Hall, on Sunday 11th August.

(Posted 10th August):-

Initial information, plus photos, of the MICHAEL GIBBONS EXPEDITION TO INISHARK (Tuesday 6th August), and the GOLF 3-BALL SCRAMBLE (Friday 9th August).

(Posted 9th August):-

 By popular request, we've added a brand new page!  It's "Offshore Islands" (just click on that name to head straight there), and it will cover some of the islands that visitors may not otherwise get to see.

We've started with High Island, a privately owned island filled with beauty, with magic, with ancient history... As we say, it's privately owned, and in any case hard to make a landing upon except in the calmest weather; so many people won't ever get an opportunity to see it.  We'll be adding Inishark shortly; and in due course we hope also to cover islands such as Cruagh, Friar, Inishturbot and Inishturk South... Do check out the page!


(Posted 9th August):-

(Posted 9th August):-

Results of the TUG of WAR contest, on Wednesday 7th August, for the Michael Nugent Perpetual Trophy, plus photo gallery (thanks to Maria Cafferkey and Marty Courcey) - click on the "2013 - Past Events" menu tab, or just click HERE.

(Posted 7th August):-

At "2013 - Past Events" - click HERE - a description plus photos, of one of the most popular events of the year in this locality: the SEAFOOD BUFFET at Oliver's Seafood Restaurant in Cleggan. A night when Noreen and Peter so generously give over their kitchen and restaurant to the community, to serve up a veritable feast of seafood of all kinds!

(Posted 6th August):-

Short description plus pix of the Sweeney's Table Quiz - click HERE or visit the "2013 - Past Events" page.

(Posted 6th August):-

Lots more photos of the 10k RUN (3rd August) in progress, courtesy of Yvonne de Lappe (the first six photos are still those taken and supplied by Maria Cafferkey). Click HERE or select "2013 - Past Events" in the menu.

(Posted 6th August 2013):-

Photo gallery from the FUN TRIATHLON (5th August). Winners' names, plus competitors/times, will be posted as soon as we're given them! Just head to the menu tab "2013 - Past Events", or click HERE.

(Posted 5th August 2013):-

The RESULT - PLUS PHOTOS - of the wonderful MICHELLE O'TOOLE, worthy winner of the 2013 Queen of the Festival title! Click HERE ("2013 Past Events" menu tab as usual).

Michelle is photographed left (courtesy of Maria Cafferkey), with partner Joe.

(Posted 4th August 2013):-

RESULTS, PHOTOS, DESCRIPTION.... of the 10km RUN!  Click HERE.

(Posted 3rd August 2013):-

RESULTS, PHOTOS, DESCRIPTIONS....of the 2013 OMEY DASH, OMEY RACES, and SUPERSTARS events!!  More to follow from the Festival of the Sea programme, as we receive info and photos (we're relying mostly on others to send us their photos, this year - if you have some, contact us at our "Contact Us" page, and we'll arrange to get them; we'll give the photographer full credit!).  Click HERE.

(Posted 7th July 2013):-

THE 2013 CLADDAGHDUFF PONY SHOW
SUNDAY 30th JUNE - A report on the wonderful Claddaghduff Pony Show, plus photos (courtesy of Tom Broderick), is now up on the "2013 Past Events" page.  Thanks to Catriona O'Toole of Buttermilk Lodge for the information and for passing on the photos.

(Posted 4th July 2013):-

Now on, every Wednesday evening in OLIVER'S during the summer months:  an early night of traditional music: tunes, songs, sometimes local dancers.  Join Heather, Mary, Tony, Alan and friends (including the proprietor of Oliver's, Peter Higgins), from 7.30pm Wednesday nights, until 10.00-10.30pm.  You can enjoy the craic over a drink, or while eating from Oliver's "Early Bird" menu.  It's fun for all ages, and visiting musicians or singers are welcome to join in!!

See the new posting on the "Bars-Eating Out-Entertainment" page.

(Posted 1st July 2013): -

We're told (thanks to Michael Mulkerrin, who told us about it) that there's an exhibition by two photographer/artists in the old schoolhouse on Inishark, featuring photos of that island. Well worth a visit!  You can arrange trips to Inishark - enquire for further info at Oliver's, Cleggan.

(Posted 1st July 2013): -

On the page "Further Resources and Reading", we've put in links of two downloads, for item number 23, the book "Inishbofin and Inishark", compiled and edited by James Morrissey.  Do have a look!

(Posted 30th June 2013):

FIFTH ANNUAL  DUSTY BANJOS TRADITIONAL MUSIC WEEKEND CLEGGAN - 21/22 JUNE 2013

Report and extensive photo gallery on this site - click HERE!  Plus - just beneath the gallery - a download of coverage and photos in the July issue in the fabulous Connemara Journal!

And photos are also up on Aughrus Peninsula's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/AughrusPeninsula

TIDE TABLES FOR THE AREA

(Posted 27th April):  We have had requests from people planning to visit the area for information on tide times. Well, now you can find that information, by visiting our USEFUL SERVICES page, and scrolling down a little. There's a link to the Irish Sailing Association's monthly tide tables for 2013, for Galway Bay (and for the tide times here, just add 5 minutes).

MAURICE GORDON'S PERFECT MODEL TRADITIONAL CURRACHS

DOCUMENTARY ON CONNEMARA AND CLEGGAN, FOR LARGE FRENCH-GERMAN TV CHANNEL (ARTE TV)

(Posted April 2013):  This site won a major promotional coup for Cleggan - and indeed all of Connemara - in March/April.  Makers of a major television documentary series about various regions in Europe were researching Connemara as a

                                                       The camera crew at work in Oliver's - Cathal King and

                                                                                   Noreen Higgins were among the 'stars'.

possible location. They always like to select one village as a focal point of each documentary; and having looked through this website they felt that Cleggan could be a suitable venue. There followed a 3-day research visit, with meetings between various Cleggan folk and others throughout Connemara. Then came the decision to proceed, and a couple of weeks later they arrived with full camera crew, spending a week in the region - much of it in Cleggan and on the peninsula.

ARTE TV is a highly respected TV channel, broadcasting in French and German. The half-hour documentary will reach our key markets across Western Europe, and should be tremendous promotion.

The documentary will air later this year, and will be viewable online free of charge, for one week. AS SOON AS WE KNOW WHEN THIS WILL BE, WE'LL PUBLISH DETAILS, BOTH ON THIS WEBSITE AND ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE!

THE OMEY RAMBLERS ON GOOD FRIDAY

The Omey Ramblers on that walk were:  Kenneth de Lappe, Tom Kelly, Mike Coen, Geraldine O'Toole, Michael Mulkerrin, Dami, Ann Mc Donnell, Paul, Deirdre and Emily McKnight, Tiernan and Barbara Quinn and a friend of the Quinns. They joined many others on the pilgramage, and what a way to spend Good Friday!  Great company;  an utterly beautiful walk;  remembrance of what Good Friday is about for so many people... and I'm told they all returned home and just drank tea afterwards!  Well, you can believe anything...  Well done to the Ramblers, anyways!  Thanks to Mike Coen for the photo.

• (Posted 11 March 2013):     On Easter Saturday (30th March, starting at 9.30pm) to SWEENEY's, there was a BIIIG Fund-Raiser Race Night, to raise needed money for the ever-popular CLADDAGHDUFF PONY SHOW.  CLICK THE "2013 - MAIN EVENTS" MENU TAB, FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE PONY SHOW ITSELF, TAKING PLACE ON SUNDAY JUNE 30th (just scroll on down that page till you see the details for the Pony Show).

• (Posted 10 March 2013):    Peter Musgrave of Cleggan Farm kindly gave us permission to photograph scenes from the lambing sheds at the farm, where the Lowland sheep are just now lambing. VERY picturesque! It's a lovely location in its own right.  He tells us that the Lowland sheep lamb indoors, 2-3 weeks before the main lambing by the Mountain sheep. Click HERE to view an album of photos, taken on Saturday 9th March.

• (Posted 1st March 2013): The Aughrus Peninsula receives a promotional boost from 1st March 2013, with a permanent collection of a sample of its butterflies and moths going on display in the Connemara National Park, Letterfrack. The collection is provided to the Park free of charge - and for purely promotional/educational purposes - by local photographer Heather Greer, who has a passion for moths and butterflies. It is on the walls of the Park, beside the indoor and outdoor picnic area, and the kitchen/conveniences; and very near the tearooms - so it should be seen by most visitors to the Park. The accompanying description includes the Aughrus Peninsula community website. Given that the National Park is second only to Kylemore Abbey in terms of annual visitor footfall, this should represent great promotion for this peninsula. Click HERE to view the 27 images on permanent display.
  

• (Posted Feb 2013): We've just updated the programme for the 2013 Festival of the Sea, based on decisions taken at the recent Community Council meeting - click HERE to see the latest on the programme.  We'llaim to keep it as up to date as possible,  and will include as many details as we're given, for each event on the programme.

• (Posted Jan 2013): Details of the 2013 FIFTH ANNUAL DUSTY BANJOS TRADITIONAL MUSIC WEEKEND (21/22/23 JUNE) are now up on "2013 - Main Events" page - click HERE.

• (Posted Jan 2013): Local residents on the Aughrus Peninsula, Mary Lovett and Heather Greer (who run Dusty Banjos and the annual Cleggan Music Weekend - see above);  and who also play summer sessions in Olivers), have just published a major new Tunebook of Irish trad tunes, to celebrate Dusty Banjos's 10th birthday in 2012!  This book contains 419 tunes (jigs, reels, hornpipes, slides, waltzes, flings, airs...), produced in musical notation and in ABC, and most of them arranged in 'sets' commonly played by Mary, Heather and the Dustys musicians. Given that so much of the Dustys music over the past several years has taken place in Connemara, it's not surprising that many of the accompanying photos are of sessions in places such as Newman's and Oliver's;  and there are many familiar faces from this peninsula and from Clifden and environs. Have a closer look at the book at its new website, www.IrishTunebook.com. And you can buy it either online or from John or Mary Margaret O'Reilly, at The Bens Music Shop in Bridge Street, Clifden, or from the main music shops in Galway city.
  

• (Posted Jan 2013): We've just created a new page:  "2013 - Past events" - since the year is underway and some things have already taken place. We've transferred details of the early February National Peace Proms 2013 to that new page, with a live link to another page on this site giving extensive details about this wonderful initiative. Thanks to Breda O'Toole for this information.

• (Posted Jan 2013):  The timetable for Barna Waste collections in the area is now up on this site - just click the "Useful Services" link in the menu, and scroll on down, to find it.
  

• (Posted Dec 2012):  27 young musicians took high grades in the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) exams in December 2012.  See a brief description at the bottom of the "2012 - Past Events" page, or click HERE for full details and some photos.

• (Posted Dec 2012):  A description plus pix (courtesy of Dorothy Conneely) of the wonderful HARVEST HOPE concert that took place recently, with all sorts of performances from the pupils from Claddaghduff National School. AND we were there ourselves to photograph the handover by the pupils of an ENORMOUS cheque, to the Connemara St Vincent de Paul! So check this out, on the "2012 - Past Events" page on this site.

We've produced a "2012 - Past Events" page on this website; so you can link from there to photo galleries and information on all the events that have taken place so far on the Aughrus Peninsula during a busy 2012 season - without ever leaving this website!