Have you seen our missing nest box?

Earlier this year Clane Tidy Towns ran a nest box scheme in association with the Kildare Branch of Birdwatch Ireland. We were delighted with the response: in the end 18 boxes were generously donated by the community, and installed in carefully chosen locations.

Unfortunately however, one of these boxes has been removed by somebody in the last few weeks.

The missing nestbox number 1, with distinctive Clane Tity Towns logo.

Box number 1, with our Abbey and “CTT” Logo painted on the side, was carefully hand-made by a local retired gentleman. This unique box even boasted a torched felt roof. We were really curious to see if it would be occupied: it is very disappointing that this box has been interfered with.

If you come across the box, or have any information on its whereabouts, please let anyone on the Tidy Towns team know. Information can also be sent (in confidence and anonymously if necessary) to ClaneTidyTowns@gmail.com.

Nestbox 1 after installation

The bare tree today

Clane goes a little bit Batty

Hot on the heels of a successful Nestbox Scheme for our feathered friends, Clane Tidy Towns is not forgetting our other aerial, ahem, acro-bats. Working closely with Kildare Bat Group and Bat Conservation Ireland, two specialised bat boxes have recently been installed.

Clane's new bat boxes

These ‘boxes’ are actually a bit like large concrete mineral bottles. They are made from concrete so that the temperature does not fluctuate as much as in a wooden box, and are painted black and installed facing South so they absorb as much heat as possible. The inside of the box has a rough surface so that bats can climb up inside them.

All Irish bats are insect eaters, and so are very small. Anything from one or two to twenty or thirty bats might move into these boxes. We will monitor the boxes carefully and keep you posted of any developments.

You can see one of these bat boxes for yourself by the Liffey in our Liffeyside Nature Park. Four species of bat (the Leisler, Daubenton, Soprano Pipestrelle and Common Pipestrelle) have been recorded by the Liffey recently. These bats can each hoover up more than 2000 moths and midges every night. We hope they enjoy their new accommodation.

For more information on bats in Ireland check out Bat Conservation Ireland‘s website.

Kildare Bat Group records installation details of bat box 1

Bat box 2 open for business

Community Games 2012 off to a flying start…

Congratulations to the Clane & Rathcoffey Community Games Gaelic Football Under 10’s team who kicked off their campaign in style with a great win away to Monasterevin last Thursday evening (5th April) in Ballykelly. The final score was Monasterevin 1-00,  Clane & Rathcoffey 4-8.

Here’s wishing them and all our Community Games athletes and competitors the best of luck. Information on our ever-popular summer games, to be held May 27th, will be posted here in the coming weeks.

Spring Clean 2012 – thank you!

A big thank you to everyone who turned out today and in previous days to help clean up the countryside around Clane. With the initiative coordinated by Tír na Móna, and with support from An Taisce, AES and Kildare County Council, the local effort was spearheaded by Cllr Pádraig McEvoy. Members of Clane Tidy Towns and Clane Community Council organised teams of volunteers of all ages, and spread out around the local roads. A phenomenal amount of rubbish was removed, some of it with a JCB, and Clane’s Main Street also received a thorough spring clean.

Many residents’ associations took the opportunity to clear up their public spaces, and this waste was removed also.

To help sustain energy levels throughout the day a wonderful cup of tea and lunch were provided by the volunteers in St. Kevin’s GAA, Staplestown.

To minimise landfill, the rubbish collected was segregated, and the various piles of green waste, general waste, electrical appliances, metal, tyres and litter (collected on an ongoing basis) can be seen in the accompanying photos.

All who helped out can sleep easy that this volume of rubbish has been cleared from our environs. If you spot dumping appearing from now on, please inform Clane Tidy Towns or the Kildare Litter Warden hotline at 1800 243 143.

Clane Community Council – Best Themed Float 2012!

Clane Community Council was delighted to be awarded Best Themed Float for the Clane St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2012. Featuring Oisín Aosta, Oisín Óg, Niamh and a team of warriors and volunteers from Clane Tidy Towns, the team dragged the last boulder out of Clane, revealing a beautiful village twinned with Tír na nÓg.

Despite the inclement weather there were smiles all round during the parade itself and it seemed like everyone had a great day.

A big thank you to everyone who helped put our float together, and a very well done to the St. Patrick’s Festival Committee for pulling off a fantastic 8th festival in a row.

Spring ‘Clane-Up’…March 31st

The Spring is upon us and it is time for our annual Spring Clean. In association with Tír na Móna, Clane Tidy Towns will be cleaning up the roads and ditches in and around Clane on Saturday March 31st starting at 10AM.

Why not organise your neighbours or resident’s association to adopt a local ditch or clean up the area outside your estate. Please contact Cllr Pádraig McEvoy on 086 8658262 to organise disposal of the rubbish you collect.

Happy St. Patrick’s Weekend!

This is going to be a packed weekend for Clane Community Council! Proceedings kick off at 3pm with our entry in Clane’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade…keep an eye out for Oisín, Niamh and their special announcement in association with Clane Tidy Towns. We also have our Church gate collection this weekend – all support is gratefully appreciated. Finally we are participating in the “Reeling In the Years” exhibition in the Parish Hall on Sunday from 11:00am to 5:30pm. Please drop in and say hello.

Keep up-to-date…

The Community Council is delighted to introduce a new mailing list which everyone is welcome to join to keep up to date with Clane Community Council activities. It will include news from our Community Games, Tidy Towns, Heritage and Clanewatch initiatives.

To subscribe:

  1. Type your email address into the “Join our mailing list” box on the right and click subscribe.
  2. Check your email. You should receive a “confirm your subscription” email. Follow the instruction to complete the subscription.

If you use a calendar on your computer or phone we have another feature that might be of interest – you might be able to add the Community Council calendar to your calendar.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to use these facilities. Complete details on how to keep up-to-date at https://clanecommunity.ie/council/keep-up-to-date/

Available To Let – 17 new Nest boxes!

Clane Tidy Towns and Kildare Branch of Birdwatch Ireland were delighted with the reponse to the Nest Box Scheme for Clane, 2012. A grand total of 17 boxes were donated to the cause and are now installed in and around the town awaiting prospective tenants. A special thanks to the folks of the Man’s Shed, organised by Clane Project Centre’s and based in Thompson Business Centre, for constructing 4 of the boxes.

The boxes will be monitored over the coming breeding season…keep an eye out here for future updates. If you spot any activity at any of the boxes, please send a note to us at wildaboutclane@gmail.com.

Liffey Cleanup – thank you

Volunteers from Clane Trout and Salmon Anglers Association and Clane Tidy Towns with some of the rubbish collected along the Liffey

A big thank you to all the members of Clane Trout & Salmon Anglers Association who spent the morning of Feb 19th with volunteers from Clane Tidy Towns cleaning up along the Liffey in Clane. A full trailer load of rubbish was collected, some of it washed down from upstream, but some of it dumped here in Clane.

The Liffey is a beautiful amenity in Clane and is an important wildlife corridor. It has a wonderful wheelchair-accessible Liffey walk which leads into our Liffeyside Nature Park.

Please play your part to keep this amenity clean and safer for our children. Don’t litter, if you have a dog clean up after it (and don’t dump the bag), and if you come across dumping here or anywhere else in Clane please contact the Kildare Litter Warden at 1800 243 143.

Volunteers from Clane Trout and Salmon Anglers Association and Clane Tidy Towns

Wild About Clane – Nest Box Scheme!

In recent months volunteers from the Kildare Branch of BirdWatch Ireland have surveyed public spaces in Clane and identified numerous sites that would be suitable for nestboxes for certain species. Based on this we would like to invite you to root out that jar of screws and spare bit of plywood in the back of the shed and bash a nestbox together for us!

Different species prefer different types of nestboxes, so for this year we are requesting  boxes with holes of diameter 25mm (for Blue Tits and Coal Tits) and 28mm (for Great Tits
and Tree Sparrows) – we can drill the hole if that suits better. For complete plans for the ideal nestbox please see our recommended nest box design.

We will be siting these boxes carefully with the guidance of BirdWatch Ireland, and of course the sooner we install them the better the chances they will be found. If you could drop off your box to The Abbey, opposite the playground, at 5pm on Saturday February 18th, we would be delighted to also take your details and make sure you are
told of the final location of your box.

Please note we won’t be installing nestboxes in housing estates, so why not consider making a box for your local residents association too. You are welcome to contact WildAboutClane@gmail.com if you would like a survey of your estate to suggest which locations might suit certain species. Good luck!

Liffey Cleanup at Clane – Sunday Feb 19th

Clane Trout and Salmon Anglers Association are organising a cleanup along the Liffey on Sunday February 19th. Starting at Alexandra Bridge, where the Sallins Road crosses the Liffey, the cleanup will continue downstream, along the Liffey walk. Many hands make light work – if you could spare an hour or two why not come along and lend a hand – kick-off at 10:00AM!

Interesting in teaching English?

Failte Isteach runs English courses for non-English speaking adults who need assistance with their spoken English skills. The classes are held in Clane Parish Centre each Thursday evening from 19:00-21:00. The atmosphere is one of friendly assistance in developing spoken skills in small groups rather than traditional lessons. They need extra tutors to help their growing number of students. Tutors do not need formal teaching skills – only an ability to speak English and a willingness to help those who are struggling to.

For anyone interested in finding out more please contact Peter Thew at pthew@ireland.com or on 086-958-3116.

Congratulations to our Best Kept Estates and Premises

On Monday October 17th the winners of Clane Best Kept Estates and Best Presented Premises were announced to an eager audience. With a record 21 local estates entering the competition, 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes were awarded for large, medium and small estates. The winners are all listed here, and congratulations to all estates that entered this years competition.

The recently inaugurated Best Presented Premises award this year went to Heavenly Shoes and Accessories, on Main Street.

Nick Fitzgerald, Chairman of Clane Community Council, thanked everyone who helped in any way with Clane’s Tidy Towns efforts, and encouraged people to get involved in whatever way they could. Mr. Ted Murray, Chairman of Clane Project Centre, generous sponsers of the awards, congratulated all involved and was delighted to see the competition going from strength to strength.

Your invitation: Clane Heritage Forum – Discussion Day

All are welcome to take part in a forum on Clane’s rich heritage this October. It will take place in The Westgrove Hotel on Saturday 22nd October. Registration is from 2.00pm  with the main events starting at 2.30pm and finishing at 6.00pm.

National and local speakers will make short presentations of value and interest to all. Speakers include Éanna Ní Lamhna broadcaster and author. Your views are important so come along.

This event is organized by Clane Community Council and will be opened by Clane Lord Mayor Dessie Marron.

For more information please see the Clane Heritage Forum Flyer.

Congratulations to all our Community Games athletes

Congratulations to all the young sports men and women from Clane and Rathcoffey that represented Kildare at the the recent National Community Games finals.

Our 12 local swimmers had a very successful weekend at the National Community Games finals. While a number of the boys had a tough draw this year in the heats, they achieved excellent success with Matthew Walsh-Hussey receiving a Bronze medal in the boys U-8 freestyle and Enda O’Connell receiving a 4th place bronze medal in the boys u-14 freestyle. The remainder of the team performed well with Eoghan Maguire reaching the semi-finals and Peter Doyle swimming strongly in his heat. A very young boys relay team – age 13 – performed exceptionally in the u-16 relay as they reached the semi-final. We expect great things from this team in the coming years.

On Sunday, the girls team also performed very well in their respective heats with Aine Maguire reaching the u-8 semi-finals; and Claire Delaney, Zoe Mason and Eimear O’Connell both coming 4th in very tough heats. The girls u-16 relay team performed very well by winning their semi-finals, only to be subsequently disqualified on a technical infringement – a very disappointing result to an excellent team performance by the girls.

A great exciting weekend with some excellent swimming by all competitors.

Thank you to the Westgrove Hotel whom facilitated training sessions for the squad over the summer. A very special Thank You to coach Paul McLoughlin for all his experience, time, energy, enthusiasm and most of all fun.

Swimming team training with Paul McLoughlin

Swimming team preparing for the finals with coach Paul McLoughlin in the Westgrove Hotel

In the Gaelic football events our boys made it all the way to the All Ireland final and picked up silver medals, losing out to Carrick-on-Shannon in the end. our under-12 girls also made it all the way to the medals, being awarded bronze after winning their play off.

Well done to everyone who participated in the games, and a big thank you to all those who helped make it possible. The coaches, the organisers, the parents:  everyone who supported Clane Community Games 2011.

Best of luck to our young sports-men and -women!

Clane’s Community Games is having a tremendous year.

After a very successful run of local and regional events, two teams from Clane/Rathcoffey are this weekend representing Leinster (Kildare – Clane) in the National Community Games Finals in Athlone. A record number of 12 of our swimmers are also representing Kildare.

The Under 10 boys Gaelic football team are scheduled to play the Muster representatives (Kerry – Rathmore/ Gneeveguilla) in the 2nd semi-final at 11.00am on Saturday 13th August. The winners of this play the winners of the 1st semi-final between Connaught (Leitrim – Carrick-on-Shannon) v Ulster (Down – Clonduff) on Sunday 14th August.

The Under 12 girls Gaelic football team are scheduled to play Munster (Cork – Glanmire) at 3.30pm on Saturday 13th August.

The full details of all these matches are below.

Our yong swimmers are also having a fantastic year. In fact more of Kildare’s representatives come from Clane/Rathcoffey than anywhere else: we have 12 swimmers representing Kildare in this weekends competition – all the details are below. The majority of these children have trained in the Health & Leisure Club on the Celbridge road which has recently closed.  However, we are grateful to the Westgrove Hotel for facilitating training sessions for the squad over the summer, coached by Paul McLoughlin.

Here’s wishing all the young sportsmen and women the best of luck in their matches.

Gaelic Football Under 10 Mixed

First Semi-Final: Connaught V Ulster
Leitrim – Carrick-on-Shannon V Down – Clonduff

Second Semi-Final: Munster V Leinster
Kerry – Rathmore/Gneeveguilla V Kildare – Clane/Rathcoffey

Gaelic Football Girls Under 12

First Semi-Final: Connaught V Ulster
Mayo – Charlestown V Cavan – Baileborough

Second Semi-Final: Munster V Leinster
Cork – Glanmire V Kildare – Clane/Rathcoffey

Gaelic Football Provisional Time Table:

Saturday 13th August:

  • 9.30am – U10’s 1st Semi-final
  • 11.00am – U10’s 2nd Semi-final
  • 2.00pm – U12’s 1st Semi-final
  • 3.30pm – U12’s 2nd Semi-final

Sunday 14th August

  • 9.30am -U10’s Play-off
  • 11.00am – U10’s Final
  • 2.30pm – U12’s play-off
  • 3.30pm – U12’s Final

Boys Swimming – Saturday August 13th:

  • Boys U8 Freestyle Matthew Walsh-Hussey
  • Boys U12 Freestyle  Eoghan Maguire
  • Boys U14 Breaststroke Peter Doyle
  • Boys U14 Freestyle Enda O’Connell
  • Boys U16 Squad  Enda O’connell, Peter Doyle, Dara McKeon, Brian Corbett

Girls Swimming – Sunday August 14th:

  • Girls U8 Freestyle Áine Maguire
  • Girls U10 Backstroke Claire Delaney
  • Girls U14 Freestyle  Zoe Mason
  • Girls U16 Freestyle  Eimear O’Connell
  • Girls U16 Squad Zoe Mason, Sinead Corbett, Rachel McCarthy, Eimear O’Connell

Community Council Golf Classic

For many years  Clane Community Council’s main source of funding has been its Annual Golf Classic, sponsored in recent years by Nellie Dillon-Ford of Larchfield Park Nursing Home. The money raised, totalling €5000 in 2010, supports the extensive voluntary work that the Council does in Clane village. Besides providing a forum for discussion of local issues and representation of the Community’s interests, the Council’s projects include Tidy Towns, Community Games, the Abbey Community Centre and its Garden of Remembrance, the Friary Graveyard on the Sallins Road, the recently opened Liffeyside Nature Park as well as the more established  Stream Park in the village centre . This year has been particularly expensive for the Council because of the need to spend significant sums of money on the fabric of the Abbey, so all money raised is much needed.

The  Council is  hoping for good levels of support from the Community in Clane for its Golf Classic at Knockanally Golf Club on Friday August 5th , with tee-times between 12 noon and 4pm. Recognising the more difficult times this year, not only has the cost has been maintained at €180 but this is now for a four person team, instead of three as previously. For those unable to play golf or put in a team then sponsorship of a hole is available at  €100 – and is restricted to one sponsor per hole.

The time sheet is in Marron’s Pharmacy, Main Street, Clane and Des Marron can be contacted at 045-868112 . Alternatively Des Drumm can be contacted at 086 2241761. Other members of the organising sub-committee are Nellie Dillon-Ford, Tom Cleary, Sean Kealy and Jack Kinsella , who will happily take bookings for teams!

All  support is very much appreciated by the Community Council and is being acknowledged with a certificate, which can be displayed in business premises, as well as in the Council’s publication Le Cheile,  local press as well as signs at the golf course on the day.