Pulling Power Brings Champions To Corofin
The Burren Tug-O-War Club will host the All Ireland Tug-O-War championships at the Corofin GAA grounds on Sunday next July 14th and this is sure to be a major spectacle. Clubs are expected from all parts of Ireland including World Champions, Boley from Wexford and Lakehill from Mayo. With several titles on the line competition is expected to be fierce and the local club will be competing with the best in the land in the hope of adding to their impressive haul of silverware this season. On Sunday last Burren were competing in Co. Sligo where they had to be satisfied with the silver medals in both the lightweight and heavyweight classes. They will be going all out on Sunday to add an All- Ireland title to their achievements. The championships are also a welcome boost to tourism in the Corofin area with many of the teams expected to arrive on Saturday and stay in local accommodation. Competitive fare gets under way at 1.00pm on Sunday and with fine weather predicted over the week-end a huge crowd is expected to pack the Pairc Finne venue. Gus O’Loughlin is very proud of the achievements of his charges so far this season and he is appealing to locals to come out in force on Sunday to cheer the Burren on.
Website Launch
Another boost for local tourism will happen at the Inchiquin Inn on this Friday night July 12th when the new Corofin website promoted by the Corofin Tourism Association will be officially launched by the Mayor of Clare, Cllr. Joe Arkins. The revamped website is very user-friendly and contains a huge amount of information on everything to do with the Corofin area. The launch is being promoted as a social evening for the community with refreshments being served and live music on offer, which means that everyone is invited to attend. The event gets under way at 9.00pm.
Harps Organise
The Annual General Meeting of Corofin Harps Soccer Club will be held at the hall on this Friday night July 12th commencing at 7.30pm. The club is appealing to anyone interested in the promotion of schoolboys and junior soccer in the parish to attend this meeting, which is seen as an attempt to get the club back on a sound footing before the start of the new season in August.
Professed In France
Sr. Mary, daughter of T.P. and Bridie Cox of Ard na Reithe, Corofin recently took her final vows of profession in France. A nun of the St. John order she was joined by family and friends for the happy occasion including some family members who had travelled from Australia to be present. Having spent three years in the Cameroon where she ran a school for local children she will now be based in France to continue her studies. Sr. Mary will spend the month of July with her family in Corofin before returning to her new role in France.
Burren Walks
The guided walks in the Burren continue to be very popular and the National Park information centre is inviting anyone interested to join them for two upcoming events. On Sunday 14th July there will be a guided walk along the Orange Trail in the Burren National Park. The meeting point is at Mullaghmore Crossroads, Gortlecka, at 14.15. The free National Park bus service leaving the Information Point in Corofin at 14.00 will arrive at the crossroads at 14.15. The walk will last approximately 1.5 hrs. On Tuesday 16th July there will be a guided walk on the Brown Trail at Slieve Carran/Keelhilla Nature Reserve. Meet at the parking area outside the nature reserve at 11.00. The walk will last approximately 1.5-2 hrs.
GAA News
In Minor A hurling two rounds have been played to date. In the first outing the Corofin/Ruan side were narrowly beaten by a last minute goal against Inagh/Kilnamona on a scoreline of 1-14 to 3-11. They hosted Feakle/Killanena last weekend and in a very entertaining game they went in at the break a point in arrears. In the second half the home side were unlucky not to convert a number of goal chances and this proved to be the difference in the end with Feakle/killanena winning on a scoreline of 1-17 to 0-14. In the U 16 hurling B championship the combination of Corofin/Ruan played Doora-Barefield in a first round tie, with the sides level heading into the three quarter stage on 3-06 each Doora-Barefield had marginally the better last quarter and the game finished 4-09 to 3-09 in their favour. In their second championship game they hosted Sacrriff/Ogonnelloe and had a very comprehensive win on a scoreline if 2-24 to 1-08. The U14 footballers kicked off their U14 A championship with a comprehensive win against Clondegad on a scoreline of 4-07 to 1-06. In their second round game they then met a very strong Kilmurry Ibrickane side and were defeated. They face Kildysart/Coolmeen in the next round. In U12 hurling the two under 12 teams had good wins against Clonlara in the division 1 for the county hurling league. Last weekend they travelled to Sixmilebridge and recorded a good win on a scoreline of 3-09 to 2-03. They face Inagh/Kilnamona in their final league games next weekend.
World Skills Gold Medalist
Joseph Kelly, son of Noel and Anne Kelly won a gold medal at this year’s World Skills Championships held at Leipzig in Germany earlier this week. Joseph represented Ireland in the Aircraft Maintenance category and took first place ahead of competitors from several leading nations including Sweden and China. This is a wonderful achievement by the local man who can now claim to be a world champion.
Development Meeting
A meeting of Corofin Development Association will be held at the Teach Ceoil, Corofin on Monday night next July 15th commencing at 8.30pm. The meeting will discuss a range of local issues including Tidy Towns activities, Tonquedec twinning, tourism development and a range of other activities. All members and interested individuals are invited to attend.