A large audience enjoyed the community fund raising gig held at St. Mary’s Collegiate Church last Sunday- May 30th 2010

Concerts at the beautiful 13th Century, St Mary’s Collegiate Church, Emmet Place, Youghal, have become very popular in the last few months with artists such as Mick Flannery, Kila and Declan O’Rourke to mention a few, performing there and these concerts have been greatly supported by the people of Youghal and the surrounding areas.

Slowly but surely we have been upgrading this beautiful ancient church with the addition of cushions in the pews, replacing old carpets and replacing the plastic partition in the chancel with a beautiful blue velvet curtain. The Church unfortunately doesn’t receive any funding whatsoever, therefore we rely totally on donations and income from the rental of the church.  Only recently grant aid has been approved for the acquisition of a mobile stage and the three extra doors in the building are currently being repaired and will be open in the next week or so making concerts safer in the event of a fire.

In an attempt to continually improve the comfort of concert goers, we plan to install a heating system as it can be extremely cold during the winter months.   The fundraising concert held on Sunday May 30th  in the Church to raise funds towards the installation of said system.

Participation from community groups and individuals at this event has been so great that there were 17 acts performing on the night from children’s dance groups to church choirs, from theatre groups to Michael Jackson impersonators to individual solo singers.  Acts include Harmony, Youghal Choral Society, Chatterbox Dance Studio, Colin Lee, Terri McCarthy, The Blackwater Academy of Performing Arts and many many more great local singers and dancers.

For further information call 083 360 6507.
Oona Colin
Facilities Coordinator
The Mall Arts Centre/St. Mary’s Collegiate Church
Tel: 083 360 6507

Click on image to see some of the acts that performed at the fundraiser

Youghal Family Fun Festival   16th – 18th July 2010

Following Youghal’s designation by Failte Ireland as a ‘Family Friendly’ destination in 2009, a number of significant initiatives have been developed in order to promote Youghal as THE ideal family holiday destination in the south of Ireland. Being a ‘Family Friendly’ holiday destination means a commitment to giving a warm welcome to families with children; the family being Youghal’s key target market.
Photo: www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

Together with Failte Ireland and Youghal Chamber of Tourism & Commerce,  a local ‘steering committee’ of tourism representatives from the area was set up to promote the ‘Family Friendly’ concept for Youghal.

Key among the activities for 2010 is a major festival for the town; dedicated to attracting families from all around the country to Youghal, to experience a complete ‘Family Experience’.  We are delighted to announce that Youghal Family Festival will take place from 16th – 18th July 2010.

Last March at The Walter Raleigh Hotel, the launch by Failte Ireland of theYoughal Family Friendly Brochure for 2010 took place.Youghal has become a Hub for Family Friendly Destinations as there is a wide range of activities for all the family as well as outstanding Restaurants and spectacular views. The Event was aimed to kick starting the tourism season, At that event, Guest speaker Sandra McLellan, Mayor of Youghal, said, “Tourism is now Youghal s number one industry and it is initiatives such as the showcase that will only serve to nurture and develop the industry here and in local economy”

Youghal is blessed with stunning natural assets and resources, among them the Blackwater River – one of the most beautiful Rivers in Europe, miles of sandy beach, all set in the backdrop of a medieval town steeped in history and heritage.

Tuesday June 1st 2010
Official Statement
from
The Select Vestry and Youghal Town Council

Further to a meeting with a representive of the Select Vestry and the Council, it has been decided that from this point forward  St Mary’s Collegiate Church and grounds, Emmet Place, Youghal, will only accommodate and be used for charitable community fundraisers, coffee mornings, musical concerts and recitals of a classical and religious nature.

This decision has been taken in recognition that this church is an active place of worship.

Oona Colin
Facilities Coordinator
The Mall Arts Centre/St. Mary’s Collegiate Church
Tel: 083 360 6507

The excitement outside Neville’s Shop in Youghal on Thursday morning last brought traffic to a standstill, and caused passersby to stop and stare in amazement.    But there was good reason for the excitement, as the Neville family were delighted to be suppliers of the official after match attire for the entire panel of Cork Senior Hurlers.
Report: Denise Fitzgerald/Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com

Flags were flying, children were dancing, Áine sang a song and Pauline was floating about the place asking everyone if they wanted a cup of tea!  Each member of the Neville, O’Donoghue and  Scott families were there to greet  Martin Walsh, Logistics Manager, Cork Senior Hurling Team, who was due to arrive in the Cork Hurlers Van at 3pm to accept the official match day outfits.

The Neville family and staff had spent quite a lot of time wrapping and packing the outfits into individual Neville bags, with the exact measurements and names written on the outside of each bag to prevent errors.  Each player received a slacks, belt and shirt and all were supplied by Wm Neville, Drapers, of Youghal.   A great honour indeed for such a long established, and wonderful family run Drapers shop.

The Cork Senior Hurlers bring glory to the game of hurling and now, in their custom finished official match day outfits supplied by Wm Neville’s of Youghal, they will not only look the part but will know that “the cap definitely fits”……

Youghal fisherman Kevin Murphy, had an unusual find while out fishing recently. When fishing for Monkfish in his boat ‘The Sea Lion’ 11 miles South East of Youghal Harbour he found this Lobster (Homarus gammarus) caught up in the nets. The lobster is not only very big at 10lbs but was white in colour when first taken out of the water.
Report/Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

 

Kevin said the female lobster was approx. 20 years old and would have laid millions of eggs in that period of time. Kevin kept the lobster in a suitable container for a week to show his wife Stephanie, daughter Emily and sons Jason and Stephen. Emily decided that the crustacean should be called CLAW-DIA on account of her huge claws and soon she had a new pet!. Rather than ending up in a fashionable sea food restaurant lady luck Claw-dia will be set free back to where the fisherman first caught her.

 

Kevin explained that Claw-dia was a protected species and he will make a special cut on her tail, a V shape, so that if in the future Claw-dia  may be caught again, she will immediately be placed back at sea. Kevin didn’t have to prise Claw-dia away from Emily as she was delighted her new found pet was going back home. ” The crustacean needs a vacation “.

In post celtic tiger Ireland it’s heartening  to know the Youghal Fisherman will rightfully put Claw-dia back to sea instead of selling her for some euros. The Lobster is liberated thanks to the Murphy family from Youghal. Free Claw-dia!

Lobster v-notching

‘V-notching’ is one of the most important technical conservation measures for the Irish lobster stock. The practice was introduced to Ireland in the early 1990’s from Maine in the USA, where it is used in the American Lobster fishery. The technique was perfected by BIM in co-operation with the Shellfish Research Laboratory Carna, Udaras na Gaeltachta, and with the inshore fishing industry. It involves cutting a small notch in one of the flaps on the tail of a female lobster to create an easily recognised mark that remains for up to two moults

When a lobster is marked in this way, it is illegal to land, possess or sell it and it must be returned live to the sea. This ensures the lobster has an opportunity to breed at least once before the notch grows out, as female lobsters generally breed and moult in alternate years. The aim is to boost egg production and thus recruitment to the stock, by protecting a proportion of the female lobster population from fishing pressure.

 

Congratulations to Tom and Mary Clohessy from Meat Shambles Lane, Youghal, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Tuesday 1st June 2010. The happy couple were delighted with the party the family held for them on the big day, and also for their 2nd eldest son, Barry, who celebrated his birthday on the same day. Pic: Youghalonline.com

The Golden Wedding Anniversary couple have 5 children, 17 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Tom and Mary married in St. Mary’s Parish Church, Youghal, on 1st June 1960 and Fr. O’ Dwyer celebrated the Mass. Mary told Youghalonline.com that the reception was held at The Green Park Hotel (Gowens) later known as The Motor Inn and now sadly no more.

Click on image to see more of Tom and Mary’s Golden wedding celebrations