Cape Clear Charity Funday 2010

Niamh Ni O Drisceoil Lá Spraoi Chléire ~ Cape Clear Charity Funday 2010

Music, merriment and madness are words that can only be used to describe the 2nd Annual Cape Clear Charity Fun Day 2010. This is a day put aside by the community of Oiléan Chléire to raise much needed funds for 3 charities close to our hearts ~ Irish Cancer Society, Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association and Baltimore RNLI.

In fact, the day began for many as they departed Baltimore, as passengers aboard the Cailín Óir and were entertained on their inbound journey by the St Patrick’s Pipe Band, Bandon. They were then met by a sight in North Harbour that would rival Croke Park on any match day! Red and white hung from every available height, balloons in every colour under the sun bounced in the warm breeze, while laughter and cheer could be heard echoing from the luminous bouncy castle.

The event kick started at 12.30pm with a kiddie’s treasure hunt and progressed with a busy line up of events thereafter. Much enjoyment was procured by young and old, by throwing wet sponges at our two willing victims Margaret and Jamie, though a few “innocent” bystanders also received a splash or two!!

The Ní Drisceoil sisters stood diligently by their cake stand that held a feast of fabulous treats while the dynamic duo that are ‘Free Beer’ entertained the masses without payment with their song and gaiety throughout the day. Cllr Brendan Leahy also obliged us with a tune or two from his newly released album, ‘An Island in Time’, and the pipe band once again filled the air with their unique sound and rhythm.

Of course another important event was also part of our day ~ Cork Vs Dublin! And what a day it was too. With 30 odd Dubs decked in blue and many more in their Rebel jerseys, the atmosphere in the local pub was electric to say the least. Tensions ran high but the banter remained friendly! The afternoon began with the boys and girls in blue hitting the high notes but the blue tide soon turned red and renditions of ‘the Banks’ nearly lifted the roof!

Disheartened though they may have been, the Dubs present that day gave generously, with Hal and Derek volunteering to have their hair dyed, raising €600 between them to do so. Not to be outdone, our skipper Fachtna O’ Drisceoil raised enough to get his hair coloured bright red for the day that was in it, as did Kevin and co.

When the last of the visitors left, the sun began to set and the final tally was made, €4,590 was raised to share equally between our 3 charities of choice. The day was an outstanding success and much thanks goes to the voluntary committee who worked tirelessly in the previous weeks to ensure all who came would have a ball…....and that they did, on a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon.

The committee would like to express our thanks to all those who contributed and donated in anyway and travelled across seas to be with us. A special thank you must go to the local business who kindly sponsored generous prizes for the event. We look forward to doing it all again next year!

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Baltimore Tidy Towns on Facebook...

BALTIMORE TIDY TOWNS is now on Facebook. This is a great way to get further exposure for Baltmore and all that Baltimore and the surrounding area has to offer visitors and residents alike.

We would encourage ALL to "like" Baltimore Tidy Towns as this increases our exposure to a wider world. Click on the "like" button at the top of the Baltimore Tidy Towns Facebook page...

Just one more way to promote your community and show your support...

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Baltimore Heritage Festival (9th - 11th April)

The weekend after Easter Baltimore celebrates its cultural history and skills with the 3rd annual Heritage Festival. The Festival features based on Baltimore’s local talent, together with its wonderful blend of people, seascape, maritime activity and enterprise.

The weekend kicks off on Friday evening at 8 p.m. in the Glebe Café. Join our local shanakees, Mrs. Walsh and Mr. Neily Bohane, around the fireplace with tales from our past while enjoying a drink and fingerfood, followed by music, song and dance.
There will be leisure activities, history, drama, music and old trades, crafts, vintage vehicles and old-time kitchen and cooking utensils. The presentations & talks are as follows:

• Saturday 11 a.m. in the Glebe Café – Tim Rowe on “Bees & Beekeeping under Threat”

• Saturday 3 p.m. in Dún na Séad Castle (entrance fee €3 pp) – Gary McMahon on the “Restoration of the Ilen”

• Sunday 3 p.m. in Dún na Séad Castle (entrance fee €3 pp) – Bernadette McCarthy on “The History and Restoration of the Castle”

• Sunday 11 a.m. in The Glebe Café - Darina Allen on “Forgotten Skills of Cooking” and book-signing afterwards

For children there will be a chance to see some small animals including goats, donkeys, chickens, sheep, rabbits, turtles, fish and a horse & trap, near the Sailing Club on Saturday between 2 and 4 pm. Inside the Club there will be a book exchange, face painting and crafts for kids.

Activities by local enterprises include kayaking with Atlantic Sea Kayaking; scenic rib rides in the harbour and to nearby islands with Baltimore Sea Safari; River Ilen Cruise or Ten Island Tour with the Sherkin Island Ferry company; marine wildlife tours with Whale Watch West Cork; sailing on a 50’ yacht to the Skeams or Horse Island with Baltimore Yacht Charters. Due to popular demand, these all need to be prebooked and are of course weather dependant. You can also avail of the special swim concession in the Baltimore Community Leisure Centre or play lawn croquet at Inish Beg.

It might sound odd to be asked to pay to attend a wake, but the wake on Saturday evening is one with a difference. The Skibbereen Theatrical Society will perform “A Wake in the West”, a black comedy by Mayo man Michael Joe Ginnelly. Set in a small West of Ireland fishing village, it’s a wonderful play about a professor and a student who meet after 16 years, when the student discovers that his much loved tutor is suffering from a terminal illness. The performance commences at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday evening in the Fr. Cashman Community Centre (fee €10 pp and tickets for sale in Casey’s Hotel Baltimore and Thornhill Skibbereen).

On Sunday afternoon there’s the “Now and Then” traditional trade and craft exhibition in the Sailing Club. Displays include lobsterpot and basket weaving, bronze / copper craft (which in the Bronze Age brought traders from the Mediterranean hereabouts, who fetched local copper to be combined with Cornish tin for bronze), jewellery and stained glass-making, wool spinning, crochet and knitting, portrait art, butter, soda breads, local honey and jams, chutneys, wine and Irish carrigeen moss dessert (free entry). Outside the Sailing Club will be a display of vintage cars, bicycles and agricultural transport.
Those wanting to stretch their legs may join the Baltimore Tidy Town group for their walk and unveiling of the Heritage Trail together with the launch of an accompanying brochure. New plaques give details of historical buildings and structures. It will be viewed with a local guide during an easy stroll through the village, starting Sunday 2 p.m. at Casey’s.

Over the weekend, local bars and restaurants will have live music and include traditional Irish choices on their menu. All proceeds during the festival are for the Baltimore Community Playgroup.
Further details available on www.baltimore.ie

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Rianne Smith o.b.o. Explore Baltimore (Marketing Cooperative)
Aquaventures, The Stone House B&B, Baltimore, Co Cork 028-20511 / 087-79614546
Email: rianne@aquaventures.ie

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A Summer School on Cape Clear...

Island Ecology

A Summer School on Cape Clear
Monday 5th – Friday 9th July 2010
Éiceolaíocht Oileán

A course organised by Drs. Geoff Oliver and Paddy Sleeman on behalf
of Comharchumann Chléire Teo, Cape Clear Island, Co. Cork
www.oilean-chleire.ie

Islands are fascinating places and Cape Clear is no exception. Situated approximately 9 miles off the south west coast of Ireland it is a famous place for numerous species of rare migratory birds and a well-known sighting point for cetaceans. It has a dramatic and beautiful landscape and can be easily and safely explored on foot.

As a participant on this summer school, you will discover habitats in the hedgerows, fields and seashore and explore the rich variety of flowers on the island. You will learn the basic skills of bird and whale watching from experts and learn other hands on skills such as diet analysis of native animals.

There will be presentations on pressing environmental issues such as sustainability, biodiversity and conservation, given from a local perspective, and offering unique and valuable insights.

Cape Clear is one of the few remaining Gaeltacht areas in Ireland. It has a rich linguistic and cultural heritage. You will look at ancient remains and hear of some of the high and low points of the island’s 5,000 year history from a well known local historian. A professional linguist and Irish speaker will talk on the language and explore some of the evocative meanings and stories behind the local dialect.

The course will run between 5-9th July 2010. It’s a busy 5 days but there will be ample opportunity for wandering, spontaneity and fun.

Course Cost: €200

Now in its eight year Island Ecology is led by Dr Geoff Oliver and Dr Paddy Sleeman.

Geoff Oliver first visited Cape Clear on a birdwatching holiday in the 1960s and has been living on the island for 10 years now. He went to Exeter University as a mature student and gained a BSc in Biology and Geography in 1989 and a PhD from University Dublin in 2005 for a study of coastal lagoons. He is now based on Cape Clear and works as a self-employed biologist doing survey work mostly of coastal lagoons, estuaries and birds

Paddy Sleeman holds a degree in ecology from the University of Ulster and did his PhD on the Irish stoat at University College, Cork. He has worked on several wild mammals in Ireland and Britain. He has worked in South Africa, Zanzibar and Madagascar and is involved in the ecological reconstruction of islands. He is currently studying badgers and TB in south-west Ireland.

This course is open to all and is likely to be approved by the Department of Education summer course for primary school teachers.

Travel: www.capeclearferry.com

Accommodation:: www.oilean-chleire.ie/english/accom1.htm

Further Information: Stephanie Murphy on 085 1211281

Cape Clear Island Walking Talking Festival

May Bank Holiday Weekend 2010

Cape Clear Island, Ireland’s most south-westerly point, is famous for stunning scenery, birdwatching, Gaeltacht colleges, traditional music, sailing, storytelling and whale and dolphin watching . These attractions draw thousands of visitors every year. Like other similar places, the Island inspires poetry, art and storytelling and in recent years has become host to one of Ireland’s premier storytelling festivals.

The May Walking Talking Festival will be launched by author and broadcaster Damien Enright, author of many popular walking guides to Cork and Kerry. There will be a series of walks around the hidden corners of the Island focusing on different aspects of its history, folklore and ecology, all led by local enthusiasts. Whalewathing trips are combined with other low key events such as singing workshops, poetry readings, local folklore and also culinary and musical fare, sometimes idiosyncratic, always local.

This is a low key festival for those who like to give as much as to receive, who enjoy great walking in good company, who like to exchange tales and stories and also the art of good conversation. No pressure, no hassle, bring a raincoat and good walking boots, sing a song or play a few tunes if you are so inclined, or just sit back and listen.

The local cast of characters has been set and are looking forward with great anticipation to an enjoyable weekend. See website for details http://www.walkingtalking.info


Séamus Ó Drisceoil,

Comharchumann Chléire Teo.

Cape Clear Island, West Cork.

353-28-39159/41923

Cape Clear Island – Walking Talking Festival – May Weekend 2010

To paraphrase our chief walk leader, Damien Enright, "The thrill of a trip to Cape Clear begins at the ferry. As the mainland recedes, there emerges a sense that the everyday world is another country we have left behind. The island ahead moves in another time. For those not old enough to remember, this is what Ireland was like before the traffic and the hurry, a less busy and more gracious place."

Cape Clear provides superb walking. The stunning scenery is complemented by a marine environment frequented by whales, dolphins and basking sharks. Beside the paths and boreens, wild flowers bloom in a untainted profusion. The only sounds come from the ever present sea and the cries of the different birds in season. The Bird Observatory records large migrations of sea birds and the autumn brings exotic vagrants from the Americas, Asia and Africa.

The Islanders enjoy a rich and seasonal quality of life supported by farming, fishing and tourism. The Walking-Talking Weekend will explore the hidden places of the island with local guides and talkers and will mingle good conversation with poetry, stories and music in intimate surroundings. This is a weekend to slow down and enjoy nature's bounty and the joy of good company. Nature, history and folklore combined in a series of small human adventures.

Damien Enright is the author of the critically acclaimed A Place Near Heaven – A Year in West Cork and of an immensely popular series of walk guides to west Cork and Kerry including Walks of Seven West Cork Islands. His weekly column in the Irish Examiner has been running for almost twenty years.

Resident walkers and talkers include Chuck Kruger, author, poet and broadcaster and founder of the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival; Steve Wing, Warden of Cape Clear Bird Observatory; Ed Harper, local goat farmer and singer: Mairtín Ó Mealóid, Sean Nós Singer and Seamus Ó Drisceoil weekend organiser and occasional guide. Music will be provided over the weekend by local musicians.

Full details including the weekend program are available on the website at http://www.walkingtalking.info/

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Maritime Safety Training

Traenáil Sábháilteachta Mara

The following courses have been arranged to take place during the Easter School Holidays to facilitate both students and adults who require them.

First Aid for Seafarers – One day course in Baltimore, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on Thursday 1 April – Tutor Cormac Mc Ginley, BIM, Cost €75

Sea Survival Course – One day course in Dunmanway, 10.30 am to 6.30 pm on Thursday 8 April 8 (late sailing to Cape Clear to be arranged), Tutor Cormac mc Ginley, BIM, Cost €75

Bookings and enquiries to Séamus@setantaabu@hotmail.com or 028-39159/41923

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Notice from Oileán Chléire...

A Special Island Tribute to

Tom Mc Sweeney

A buffet will be held in Club Cléire, Cape Clear Island on Friday 5th March, St Ciaran’s Day starting at 8.00pm to honour RTE Marine Correspondent Tom Mc Sweeney on his retirement. Fellow Islanders and members of West Corks seafaring communities are also invited to attend. The buffet will cost €5 per person and overnight accommodation is available at a special rate of €30 p.p at 028-39119 ( Co Op Office)

Ferries ( Dún Aengus) from Baltimore at 5 & 7 pm need to be pre-booked at 028-39159 or 086-3465110 www.cailinoir.com

Weather permitting

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Coffee Morning...

Baltimore Yacht Charters hosted a coffee morning on November 28 in aid of ILFA - The Irish Lung Fibrosis Association. An astounding total of € 2337.42 was raised on board the yachts "Inishbeg", "Inishceim", and "Inishleigh" which were moored at Baltimore pier. Baltimore Yacht Charters wish to thank everybody who attended, subscribed, helped or contributed in any way to make the morning such a tremendous success. Also we were extremely lucky with the weather - cold but dry.

BALTIMORE SET DANCERS are holding a fund raising ceili and old time dance in The Father Cashman Community Hall, Baltimore on Tuesday night 9 March at 9.30. Music is by Finbar Dennehy. All proceeds raised go towards SKIBBEREEN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (Pallative Care). All support will be greatly appreciated.

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I'm supporting the Cork to Swansea route with Fastnet Line because.......

Rianne Smith is Chairperson of Explore Baltimore (a marketing co-operative of 100 business people in the Baltimore, Co. Cork region) and runs Aquaventures Diving & Snorkelling Tours from The Stone House B&B in the village. Rianne and her husband Jerry are also shareholders with others in the West Cork Co-Operative which owns the Fastnet Line.

'There are several shareholders in this region and we are very proud to welcome back the visitors to the area, where they can enjoy good food, a great variety of activities and a sincere welcome. It is so important to show support and enthusiasm for this much needed return of a direct link between Cork and the UK, and I know of several people from this area who have happily invested in the future of this service, seeing it as an investment in the future for themselves and future generations' she said.

'Here in Baltimore we run several festivals throughout the year, so this year-round service will surely make a positive impact. Our Fiddle Fair with traditional musicians from all over the world, The O'Driscoll Clan Gathering, The Heritage Festival, as well as the Wooden Boat and Seafood Festivals and festivals in the adjoining islands, are quite unique and, I'm sure, will attract great interest from our UK neighbours.' Rianne went on to stress that this has to be a two-way street and that the people of the region might consider utilising the service for freight or pleasure purposes into the UK also.

Now open for bookings on www.fastnetline.com, this year-round service, which will carry passengers, cars, commercial freight, campers/caravans, bikes (and pets!) will run 6 nights a week, with additional sailings in high-season, i.e. July and August. Sailing will be overnight departing at 21.00 hours and arriving 07.00 a.m. next day. With a capacity of 1860 passengers, 440 cars, 40 trucks/trailers, and 300 cabins (including 14 deluxe cabins), the MV Julia is well suited to the route and to the enjoyment of a mini-cruise en route to Swansea. With a number of bars and restaurants, an on-board cinema and retail space, a new children’s' area, casino, kennels and extensive deck areas to enhance the experience, there is no doubt but that this route adds an exciting new option for consumers and businesses alike.

All aboard for a bright future!

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Press Release -Ráiteas Nuchta

The Cailín Óir service has contracted to provide a temporary ferry service to Cape Clear Island for 9 months starting on 1 March 2010.
The company has charted a second vessel, the Dun Aongus for this period to supplement the Cailín Óir. The Dun Aongus , built in 1983 was recently refurbished and has a class 2A license. She is approximately 50 feet long and has a 15 ft beam and can carry 30 passengers in the winter and 64 in the summer. The main consideration in sourcing the vessel was that she has a load line to carry up to 7 tons of cargo which will largely fulfil the cargo carrying requirements of the Island. The vessel does not have a crane and arrangements will be put in place to load and unload the vessel using land based equipment.
Some changes and flexibility will be required to provide an adequate ferry service to the Island during this time. In the shoulder season additional sailings are proposed and at certain peak times the two boats will operate together to provide an hourly service from Baltimore. These changes will provide additional choice for the Island community and enhance the tourism industry on the Island. A public meeting will be held before the end of February to agree these changes with the Island Community.
During the weeks ahead the company has many challenges to overcome but is confident that the new service can be mobilised in the time available with the consideration and support of all concerned.

Séamus Ó Drisceoil,
Secretary, Cailín Óir Ferry Service
Runaí, Seirbhis Farantóireachta an Chailin Óir

A comment by Séamus Ó Drisceoil, Oileán Chléire

Cork Swansea Ferry and a nice surprise to Cape Clear Island

Residents of Cape Clear Island who were amongst the earliest shareholders in the Cork-Swansea Ferry service, are delighted that one of the bars of the ferry is to be named after the Island.

Islanders are used to fending for themselves and the ‘get up and go’ and ‘self help’ ethos of the campaign to bring back this essential link was quite naturally reciprocated and supported by island based investors. Chairman Conor Buckly has indicated publicly on various occasion that the ‘Capers’ by population are amongst the highest investors in the service.

Plans are afoot to publish a new map/guide to the three local Islands of Cape, Heir and Sherkin together with their natural gateway and hinterland around Baltimore which will be distributed on the ferry and in other suitable locations in Cork City and Airport.

We are all part of a bigger picture and should appreciate the sense of leadership and direction provided by the Cork-Swansea Initiative and be ready for a sustained effort in the years to come to take the best advantage from this great opportunity.

Go raibh maith agat, Cork Swansea Ferry.


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