Tag Archives: Clane

Keep a date – for the annual Parish Fête

The Clane Union of Parishes has announced the annual Parish Fête will be held in the grounds of the Hewetson School, Millicent, on Sunday May 13th. The fun (and, for the first time, live music) kicks off at 1pm when special guest 9 year old singer/songwriter Ashley Tubridy will open the event. For more details please see the dedicated Facebook page.

Saving Clane Swifts…

Swift (by Dick Coombes)

A recent study by volunteers of Kildare Branch of Birdwatch Ireland revealed that Clane is at risk of losing a species that has graced our skies since possibly the first buildings were built in Clane. A bird with an amazing story: the swift.

Swifts only spend a few months of the year in Clane, arriving in late April from sub-Saharan Africa, and departing by the end of August. Somewhat similar to swallows, house martins and sand martins, swifts are perhaps twice as large with stiff scythe like wings. They can sometimes be heard frantically chasing and screaming after each other in and around our buildings in the summer evenings.

Swifts are true masters of the air. They eat, drink, mate and even sleep on the wing – in fact swifts typically only stop flying to breed. So, once young swifts leap out of their nest for the first time, they may not stop flying for two or three years, until they are ready to look for a nest site themselves and start a family. Swifts typically nest in gaps under roof tiles of tall buildings, but modern building and roofing techniques are making it more and more difficult for them to find suitable nesting sites. Luckily solutions are not too complex and volunteer groups such as the Northern Ireland Swift Group are working to raise awareness and improve the lot for these birds.

The Abbey, Clane

Last year about 10 swifts were seen flying in and around Clane, but only two swift nests were actually located – both in very old buildings, and one in a building that may be redeveloped shortly. With the possibility of existing nest sites being lost, Clane Community Council and Clane Tidy Towns have made a special effort to preserve this species in Clane by providing dedicated accommodation for swifts in the tower of the Abbey.

A swift colony nest box that includes space for five nests has been specially constructed and installed behind the louvres of the window high up above the main door to the Abbey. The entrances are designed to line up with existing gaps in the louvres, and yet not let starlings in. The rear is designed to allow the nests be checked discreetly, and cleaned. Each nest includes a simple ‘concave’ to keep the eggs from rolling around and possibly even out of the nest box.

The new nest boxes with rear windows and walls removed

The next challenge in this project will be encouraging swifts that have been flying non-stop for two or three years to finally come to a rest and consider a nest site in this particular window. Although one of the current nest sites is nearby, success is not guaranteed. Another factor is food supply. Swifts only eat insects, so the health of our surrounding gardens, fields, rivers and countryside will also be important to ensure that there are enough insects for them to breed successfully. However, fingers are crossed. If the younger swifts simply discover the nest boxes this summer it could be an important step to securing the presence of this amazing bird in Clane for hopefully many years to come.

The nest boxes with their rear wall removed

Temporarily blocking the louvres beneath the nestboxes

The new nest boxes awaiting prospective tenants

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/

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.

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

Clane Tidy Towns 2011 – kick-off April 16th

Having tackled various ceanup projects over the winter, and with the successful Clane Spring Clean event on April 2nd, Clane Tidy Towns are now looking forward to launching their 2011 activities in earnest on April 16th.

All are welcome to join in. Plans include preparing the street flower tubs and the approach signage for summer planting. The group will gather by the Stream park across from the Abbey on Saturday April 16th at 10AM – all equipment will be provided – we hope to see you there!

Spring Clean 2011 – thank you!

On Saturday April 2nd Clane Tidy Towns held the annual Spring Clean for Clane, armed with a National Spring Clean kit from  An Taisce, and the support of Kildare County Council and Clane Community Council. With some volunteers getting a head start earlier in the week, by the end of the day a substantial mound of rubbish had been cleared from our approach roads, country lanes, Liffey-side park, streams and rivers.

Some of the rubbish gathered during Clane Spring Clean 2011

The weather was kind, fresh air was enjoyed, and friendships were made and renewed. There were some surprises on the day too, including close encounters with some lobster-like animals – White-Clawed Crayfish – in the River Liffey!

Although two tonnes of general material had to be collected by Kildare County Council and sent to landfill, this year a substantial amount of the rubbish collected was metal and was segragated and is being sent to a scrap metal merchant. Similarly, the timber reclaimed has been kept for recycling.

Congratulations to all the volunteers who helped make Clane Spring Clean 2011 a success, and thanks to Cllr. Pádraig McEvoy for arranging the support and his hands-on help on the day.

Some more of the rubbish gathered during Clane Spring Clean 2011

Please help us keep Clane beautiful, and report any dumping you may observe to the local Gardaí or the Kildare County Council litter warden.

If you have some time during the week and would like to help Clane look its best this summer, why not come out and lend a hand with Clane Tidy Towns. They are kicking off their 2011 programme with a cleanup on Saturday April 16th, meeting at 10:00 AM at the Stream Park outside the Abbey. All are very welcome.

Close encounters – with a lobster?

During the National Spring Clean on April 2nd some volunteers were cleaning up along the banks of the Liffey. When pulling out some rubbish they came across perhaps one of the most unusal animals living in Clane: the White-Clawed Crayfish. Check out our Wild About Clane White-Clawed Crayfish article to see some pictures, a video and find out more about these remarkable animals.

Give Clane a Spring Clean this Saturday

The daffodils are in flower and the trees beginning to bud: it’s time to give Clane a Spring clean. This Saturday April 2nd at 10:00 AM everyone is invited to gather where the Capdoo Road meets the Kilcock Road to help and play their part. Clane Tidy Towns and Community Council will organise small teams to go out and tackle key spots in and around the town. Our thanks to An Taisce and Kildare County Council for supporting this event.