13 July 2012 - 15 July 2012

A weekend of ceili, sets and two hand dancing in an intimate venue. Music provided by Danny Webster and calling by Clement Gallagher.

Telephone:+353 (0)74 973 9297
Email: odonnellsbar@hotmail.com
Website: www.odonnellsbar.net

The death has occurred of Agnes BYRNE of Meenacannon, Kilcar, Donegal
Reposing at her residence until removal tomorrow morning, Wednesday, at 10.30am to St Cartha’s Church, Kilcar, arriving for Funeral Mass at 11am. Burial afterwards in the local cemetery.

The death has occurred of Seamus CARR of Meenacannon, Kilcar, Donegal
Remains leaving St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin tomorrow, Tuesday, at 10am, to arrive at his late residence at 4pm, approximately. Removal on Wednesday at 6.30pm to St Cartha’s Church, Kilcar, to arrive at 7pm. Requiem Mass on Thursday at 12 noon. Burial afterwards in the local cemetery.

28 July 2012 - 04 August 2012

"Explore the archaeology of South West Donegal - 5,000 years in stone with lectures, fieldtrips and workshops led by experts and directed by Professor Michael Herity. Field trips are organised to the numerous pre and early Christian sites around Glencolmcille, Kilcar and Ardara. Evening lectures are given by scholars of Irish history, folklore and archaeology. Glencolmcille is known to have the highest density of archaeological artefacts of any western Europe community. Come along and explore for yourself!"

Telephone:+353 (0)74 973 0248

Email: oideasgael@eircom.net

Website: www.oideas-gael.com

Address: Glencolmcille, Co Donegal

Suitable applicant must be capable of dealing with the public in a friendly manner.
The job consists of driving school children and transporting the elderly to various day centres in the Carrick, Kilcar, Glencolmcille area. The vacancy operates from Monday to Friday with approximately 35 hours per week. Applicants must supply suitable character references and be prepared to complete a Garda vetting form. Suitable applicant must have the following courses completed or willing to complete them within a short period: Occupational First Aid, Manual Handling, Midas Meeps & Pats, and up to date CPC training.

Ceol na gConallach (Donegal Music Session) Kilcar

Donegal GAA starlet Patrick McBrearty has again been targeted by Aussie Rules teams this week.

The 18-year-old from Kilcar attended an AFL Skills Trials Day at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin, yesterday (Wednesday) under the guidance of AFL Ambassador and former Kerry All-Ireland winner Tadhg Kennelly.

It is not the first time that young McBrearty has come under the Aussie Rules radar. Two years ago well known Aussie Rules agent Ricky Nixon famously followed McBrearty with a video camera as he played for Carrick Vocational School in an Ulster final at Healy Park, Omagh.

As can be seen by the photo attached, McBrearty, who is tall by Donegal GAA standards, is dwarfed by some of those other young Irish hopefuls who attended the trial in Dublin.

McBrearty has been very busy on the field in recent times, playing four games in eight days recently including scoring 0-4 for Donegal in their defeat at the hands of Laois on Sunday last.

He is also preparing for an All-Ireland Vocational semi-final when Donegal meet Cork this Saturday in Portarlington.

If he were to take up an offer to go to Australia, it would be a huge loss for his club, Kilcar, and to Donegal at senior and U-21 level.

For the second year running, Donegal’s Slieve League Centre has won the Gold Award of Overall Excellence for Best Visit in Ireland.

The award, which is decided by clients of CIE Tours International, was presented last night at a ceremony in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin.

Established in 2005 by Paddy & Siobhán Clarke, the Slieve League Centre and its Artisan Café (Tí Linn) coordinates and guides coach tours to the cliffs at Slieve League.

At 600m, the Slieve League (Sliabh Liag) sea cliffs are among the highest Sea Cliffs in Europe and over twice the height of the Cliffs of Moher.

These little-known, unspoilt cliffs offer the tourist the wild and rugged Ireland that they seek.

The Slieve League Centre is situated in Teelin village on the road to the cliffs. Tour guiding, hill walking and archaeological tours are some of the activities provided. The artisan café at the centre , called Tí Linn, is a member of Good Food Ireland, with a craft shop selling local and other Irish handmade goods and knitwear.

From a humble beginning of one CIE Tour in 2006, last year saw over 60 CIE Tours to the cliffs.

Paddy, a former fisherman who is also a fully qualified Failte Ireland tour guide and holds a Masters in Maritime Archaeology, gives the tourists a guided tour at the viewing point, providing a unique insight into Slieve League’s past from the last Ice Age to World War 2. On the tour’s return to the centre, Siobhan, an artist and qualified chef, treats everyone to fresh home made scones and other delights.

With plans to develop the business further, this enterprising couple believe there is a future in sustainable cultural tourism, providing the real Ireland that the tourist is looking for - great unspoilt scenery, good food and a traditional Donegal welcome.

Kilcar may have to do without the services of Mark McHugh and Patrick McBrearty when they make their bow in the Ulster U21 club championship this Sunday. McHugh was rumoured to be out for up to 4/5 weeks earlier in the week but is now expected to be in the Donegal squad for tonight’s national league opener against Down. Patrick McBrearty is likely to start tonight as Jim McGuinness shuffles his pack, and his participation on Sunday will depend on his recovery after tonights encounter.
Derry champions St Canices from Dungiven are the opponents tomorrow at the Creggan GAA grounds in Antrim, the throw in is at 2.30pm

Three hundred Irish-language audio and video recordings, including recordings made in Donegal, are now available to the public through a new Irish resource on the internet that was launched yesterday.

The materials date back to 1972 across a range of subjects, said Séamas Ó Concheanainn, project manager for the iTunes U-COGG Channel and administrator of the Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, NUI Galway, centre in Carna, Co. Galway.

Through the web site, the recorded materials “are now being brought back to the communities that the material originated in,” Séamas said. “That’s important because there has been a train of thought traditionally that a lot of the folklore and culture collected was removed from the communities where it was collected.”
The channel is available free on line at the Cogg web site, http://www.cogg.ie as is the download of any software necessary to access the materials.

There was no winner of last week’s Bingo Jackpot and this week it will be €1,950 on 49 numbers. Some of winners were; Yvonne O'Donnell €70, Brid Campbell €70, Catriona McShane €70, Eithne Boyle €120, Francie Cunningham €200.The LOTTO Jackpot this week will be €4,700 as there was no winner last week. The winning numbers were 1,13,16,20. Drawn prizes were €50 – Charles Campbell. Main St. €30 – Pauric Sweeney. Bavin €20 – Ann Doherty.Bogagh. The next Club Meeting will take place on Friday 3rd February at 8.00pm in Towney. Everyone is welcome to attend. Club gear and merchandise is now available and can be ordered from Carol McBrearty (087) 2530501. Items for submission to the Club notes can be forwarded to the PRO on (086) 3333320

EARTHQUAKES ARE QUITE common and frequent in Ireland despite the country not sitting on any major fault lines.

And not only is the island susceptible to earthquakes, Ireland has been hit by tsunamis in the past – and could be again.

Following a minor earthquake in Donegal this week, TheJournal.ie got in touch with the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN) to ask what is the actual threat to Ireland from seismic activity.

Speaking to us, the INSN advised that not only do earthquakes occur in Ireland but that they “happen continually”.

Director of the organisation Tom Blake says there are two areas in Ireland where major faulting occurs – Donegal and Wexford.

In Donegal, fault lines come in from as far away as Scotland and in the Irish Sea, near Wexford, there are fault lines coming from Anglesea.”

This week’s earthquake in Donegal measured 2.2 on the Richter Scale and Blake advised that it was “normal” in terms of seismicity in the area.

“The measure was within the standards we expect,” added Blake, who oversees five seismology stations in various parts of Ireland.

More powerful earthquakes have been experienced in the Irish Sea with “bangs” measuring about magnitude 5 being relatively common. On 19 July 1984 an earthquake hitting 5.4 on the Richter Scale hit the Irish Sea causing some structural damage on the east coast.

This can be expected to happen every 25 to 30 years, said Blake, but added that no seismologist in the world can accurately predict quakes.

We can only look at previous patterns and we can see something of a similar nature has occurred before.”

However, sometimes the earth offers up surprises.

The largest onshore event in Ireland since records began in 1978 happened in Clare in May 2010 when an earthquake of magnitude 2.6 hit in an area previously thought to be aseismic.

Image of a seismometer reading during the 2010 earthquake in the region of Ennistymon and Inagh.

The past

There is plenty in Ireland’s past to indicate that earthquakes occur here. Folklore from before the 1800s shows us that seismic activity is not new phenomenon.

“The writings of various peoples from the past show there are indications of people writing down effects of earthquakes. In the Mallow area, there are depictions of the earth shaking and crockery rattling during events of the 1800s. This folklore give us an insight into the past activity onshore and offshore Ireland,” explains Blake.

Going back even further, there are details in The Annals that depict an earthquake in Sligo in 1490 during which 100 people, as well as cattle and sheep, died.

The Irish Connection

Although Ireland is known as a quite stable land with little risk of a major earthquake, it was an Irish scientist and engineer Robert Mallet who coined the term seismology and created the first seismometer in 1846.

Earthquakes in Ireland are not connected with plate movement but with a buildup of stress and tension on the rocks. As this pressure becomes too much and is released, it manifests as an earthquake.

The nearest plate boundary to Ireland is the Mid-Altantic Ridge about 2,500km off the west coast. Although active, it is very unlikely that an earthquake there would cause a major problem for Ireland – unless a massive tidal wave occurs.

And that is a greater possibility than one might think…

The Great Lisbon Earthquake on 1 November 1755 was felt in Cork and about 2-and-a-half-hours later a tsunami engulfed the coast of Cork.

“Nobody was killed, thank goodness,” exclaims Blake, “But it does raise an interesting topic about monitoring seismicity around the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay.”

If the event is strong enough and shallow enough, another tsunami is “quite possible”, continues Blake.

Similar waves to that seen in Cork in 1755 were recorded at Newlyn, England after earthquakes west of Portugal in 1941 and 1975.

As well as the network’s five permanent stations in Dublin, Kerry, Galway, Donegal and Wexford, the group’s outreach programme has installed 55 seismometers in schools across the country to keep an eye on activity.

It says that the 2010 expansion of its work plays an important role in monitoring for tsunamis to feed data to the North East Atlantic and Mediterranean Tsunami Warning Centre.

A Donegal knitwear company has won the prestigious ‘Exporter of the Year’ award at the Showcase 2012 creative expo.

Kilcar company, Fisherman Out Ireland, has been shipping garments around the world for over a decade.

The company manufactures knitwear in simple, contemporary designs with clever details. They use 100% natural yarns to create all their authentic knits.

The coveted ‘Exporter of the Year’award is designed to give recognition to Irish exporting companies which provide a top class service to their overseas customers.

Nominations came from registered buyers at Showcase and winning it was a huge coup.

“This is a great win for all the team at Kilcar. It recognises all the hard work the staff have put in over the years and I am very thankful to them all. It’s great to receive this award from industry, from our loyal buyers.

“We employ 21 and these are tough times. But we have a very loyal customer base and we give them something new every year.

“We have been very export-led for a few years now as things are tough on the home market. We’re hoping they will improve and winning this award is a sign we’re on the right track,” a delighted Des Daly of Fisherman Out said.

Now in its 36th year, Showcase is the country’s largest international trade fair. While the global economy remains under pressure, buyers from Ireland and over sixteen countries around the world attended this year’s show to discover the latest innovative products from enterprises throughout Ireland.

An estimated €20 million in sales orders were placed at the event, reflecting its huge importance as an export channel for the craft and design sector.

The next Country Market is on Saturday 28th January. From 11.00am till 1.00pm.
In the Old School in Carrick.
New members are most welcome, and membership for the year is €25!
Contact Marion 0866063923 or Liam 0749730065 for further details.