Celebrating with Annual Harvest Mass
The annual Harvest Mass of celebration takes place at St. Brigid’s Church, Corofin on this Friday night October 16th providing an opportunity for all sections of the community to give thanks for the blessings received throughout the year. For the past number of years the celebration has included a fundraiser for the Third World charity, Bothar, and once again this year it is planned to send two in-calf heifers from the local farming community via the charity to needy families in Africa. Following the mass light refreshments will be served at St. Patrick’s Hall and everyone is invited to come along.
The Drama Continues
Corofin Dramatic Society kicked off their new season with the staging of two-one act plays at Corofin Community Centre on Wednesday of this week and again on this Thursday night. Eileen Lahiffe directs ‘Last Panto in Little Grimley’ which will be the Corofin entry for this year’s one-act festival circuit. The local group will be on the road as early as next week with festivals taking place in Birr, Co. Offally and Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. Prior to that local audiences will have a further opportunity to see the productions in Corofin on Monday and Tuesday night next. The second play on the programme is the Jimmy Keary comedy ‘A Night to Remember’ and is directed by Bridie Cox. Both shows are very funny and will appeal to everyone. Curtain each night is at 8.00pm.
Tidy Towns Progress
Thanks to the hard work of a dedicated group of volunteers Corofin continues to make steady progress in the National Tidy Towns Competition as evidenced by the results for 2015 which were recently announced. Corofin increased its marking by eight points from 269 to 277. While there is always more to be done a good foundation has been laid which should see a realistic target of 300 points achievable over the next three years. The local Tidy Towns committee deserve the thanks and support of the community for their on-going efforts to enhance our village. One very practical way of doing this is to participate in their annual fundraising Table Quiz which takes place at Crowley’s Bar Corofin, on Friday of next week October 23rd.
Eyesore On The Market
Two very attractive town houses at Riverview, Corofin adjacent to Corofin Community Centre were purchased more than fifteen years ago to serve as the staff offices for The Burren National Park. They were used for a relatively short period for this purpose during which time more elaborate plans were drawn up to extend the property and provide additional office space. It is understood that funding had been allocated for the development at the time but delays in getting the project off the ground saw this funding diverted to other uses. The result was that the staff in Corofin moved to rented office accommodation in Ennis and the buildings in Corofin were allowed to fall into a sad state of disrepair. The local community has called on successive administrations to address the situation but nothing much was done. However in line with recent government policy to offload unwanted assets it is understood that the buildings are to be put to public auction and hopefully will be redeveloped in 2016.
Sports Capital Grant for GAA
Corofin GAA Club benefited to the tune of €50,000 under the latest allocation of Sports Capital Grant funding. The funding has been very much welcomed by the club which will use the money to completely revamp the original dressing rooms which were constructed almost thirty years ago and will also complete resurfacing work around the walking track and parking areas of the Pairc Finne complex.
On the playing front Corofin u-15 footballers defeated Lissycasey in the annual James O’Gorman memorial shield competition at the week-end. Members of the O’Gorman family were on hand to present the trophy to winners following the game. The club also paid tribute to Ambrose Heagney who took charge of the Clare senior hurling final between Clonlara and Sixmilebridge on Sunday last.
Winterage Weekend
Corofin is preparing for a sizeable influx of visitors next week as it is the main base for the annual Burren Winterage Week-end organised by BurrenBeo Trust. Corofin Community Centre will be the venue for the Winterage School which runs from Thursday October 22nd until Saturday 24th. Up to one thousand people are expected to participate in a range of planned activities in Kilnaboy, Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora as well as Corofin over the four days. On Sunday October 25th the traditional Burren Catttle Drive will be enacted on the farm of James Flanagan at Glenquin, Kilnaboy.
Youth Club Officers
Corofin Youth Club has reopened for the new season having recently held its Annual General Meeting. The outgoing officers were thanked for the efforts on behalf of the club and the following committee was elected. Chairperson: Margaret Corry, Secretary: Brid Shannon, Treasurer: Siobhan Kenny and PRO: Miranda Hearne. Carol Andrews of Burren Beads was the guest speaker at the first get together on Friday night while a number of parents attended an adult leaders gathering organised by Clare Youth Service and hosted by Kilnaboy Youth Club on Saturday.
Awards Finalist
Corofin-based Niall Minogue and his business Trike Tours was one of the finalists in the Best New Business category in the FBD sponsored business awards held in Ennis a the week-end. This was a big boost for the fledgling with Niall and his motor trike having become a familiar feature on the roads of North Clare since he launched his business in the summer.
Tourism Association
Corofin Tourism Association held its Annual General Meeting recently and reviewed a very productive year in terms of tourism promotion and activity for the area. Tributes were paid to outgoing Chairperson Pauline Roberts for her endeavours on behalf of the group over the past three years. She had been a driving force behind the group’s activities and was instrumental in overseeing the successful revival of the annual Festival of Finn. The officers elected for the coming year are, Chairperson: Janet Bluel, Vice Chair: Martin Waldron, Secretary: Marian Darcy and Treasurer: Tina Boyle. Elwood Lynch and Miranda Hearne will continue to run the groups internet and social media presence.
The Burren National Park Information Point in Corofin closed following a very busy season at the end of September and expressed its thanks to everyone which supported all of the activities which it had promoted throughout the summer.
Bring and Buy Sale
A Monster Bring n Buy and Fun Day Out will take place on Sunday 8th November in Kilnaboy School Halla between 2pm and 5pm. There will be lots of attractive items for sale on the day and a mini auction will also conclude the activities. It promises to be a great family day out with face and nail painting and many other family activities. Anyone that would like to contribute saleable items can contact the school at 065-6837702. Items for sale can viewed and uploaded onto the Facebook page ‘Kilnaboy Hall & Astroturf Pitch.’ The school will begin to take items from this Friday onwards..