The Y Factor 2012 auditions are coming up , if you can put the poster and entry form online Id appreciate it thanks.

12 acts for one night only at The Walter Raleigh Hotel Youghal.The Y Factor talent show held for the last few years is a fun and exciting platform for young performers to let their voices resound and their gifts shine through.The whole show is modeled on the ever so popular X Factor only without all the drama.

Last year seen an audience of 300 or more come to encourage and support the Youth from the community and around.
A DVD of the show along with a cd was released and is testament to the exceptional talent abounding within the youth and the success of this project

Sacred Roots Productions is a non profit voluntary run project ‘Where music speaks louder than words’.

Entry forms can be got at Tom Scotts , The Hot Spot Youth Center South Abbey Youghal  & Youghal Library
Forms are to be returned to Tom Scotts or The Hot Spot before the 13th of December

Tickets for the show in The Walter Raleigh will be on sale at Scotts 137 North Main Street Youghal

ART AND CULTURE VENUES open their doors in Youghal on Friday night, Sept. 23th 2011. Drama, behind-the-scenes tours, and music performances are all part of the fare on offer. The night is one of the highlights of Youghal’s cultural calendar and will give people the opportunity to explore venues and facilities at night and for free!

Youghal Library Books A Place For Lace – By Christy Parker

Every Wednesday morning, a dedicated gathering convenes at Youghal library to nurture one the town’s oldest and most internationally renowned traditions. The Youghal Needlepoint group are preserving a practice that spans over a century and half and which derives from one nun’s inspiration and desire to provide work for local people during the Famine years.

Bridgid Keane (nee Neville, of Neville’s drapery), is central to these gatherings. Something of a historian on the topic, she has the facts, figures and fancies of Youghal lace at  her fingertips so to speak, as she reads a passage from an old manual: ‘Youghal needlepoint lace was born in poverty and fostered in famine from 1845-1847. Mother Mary Anne Smith found in the convent a small piece of old Italian lace known as Crecian Point. She carefully took it asunder, examined the stitches and soon devised a method of reproducing them. A regular lace-school was then started.’ Thus did Youghal lace begin, the nun’s mission assisted by Youghal’s then stature as a vibrant trading port, meaning cotton/linen was in plentiful supply (although very little is required to create a piece of design.)

Distinctive

Youghal lace is comprised of very fine thread and is defined, explains Bridgid, by four particular attributes. “Firstly, the lace is flat,” she begins. “Secondly, each motif is surrounded by what is called the shell stitches, which are seven tiny stitches on each loop. Next, it has shades of dark and light, formed by the number of stitches. Lastly, it has Raleigh bars -distinctive loops joining one motif to another and which end up forming the background of the lace. No other lace combines these four factors.”

By tradition, the designs to which the unique style was applied came from the Presentation Convent sisters, with influence from the Cork School of Art. The patterns were inspired by the influences of the ‘Ecclesiastical,’’ the Celtic’ and ‘Nature,’ the latter being particularly manifest as fuchsias, ivy leaves and the symbol Youghal Rose. Nowadays some practitioners veer towards the contemporary, vis-à-vis birds, animals, local monuments, etc. While Bridgid personally favours the traditional, she considers this new tangent to be “positive” and an indication that the craft stands “progressive and modern.”

Royalty

From the outset, the lace makers were well paid, suitably reflecting the high esteem and prices associated with their produce. A ledger from 1906 reflects such rates as “handkerchiefs from 25 shillings to £12, scarves from £12 to £50 and babies’ bootees from £2 to £4.”

Those who could and would support such acquirements were the nobility, the gentry and the exalted classes throughout Europe and beyond. The Vatican prized Youghal lace in priests’ vestments and much of it probably still lingers behind those secretive Roman walls. The British royal family were particularly patrons. It is recorded that in 1896, a Youghal Lace fan leaf produced at the Presentation convent held “a crowned M in the centre” it being a wedding gift to Queen Mary’s sister-in-law Princess Maud. Another such fan presented to Queen Alexandra on her first visit to Ireland in 1903 includes an Irish harp in the centre and a ribbon inscribed (in Irish) ‘I cool, I refresh, and I can keep secrets’. In 1905 Princess Margaret of Connaught, received a wedding gift of a Youghal lace fan which had won a prize at the Dublin exhibition in 1897- an early example of the many accolades to be earned by Youghal lace over the years. In 1911, on behalf of Northern Unionists, Youghal lace-makers made a lace train gift for Queen Mary to wear at the time of the Delhi Durbar (a mass assembly in Delhi to mark the coronation of the king and queen.) Said to be the largest lace creation ever, the donors had the Gaelic reflection, ‘Deanta (made) in Eireann’ removed and replaced by a shamrock!

The advent of machinery in the early 20th century heralded the end of Youghal needlepoint lace’s illustrious stature. It remained unique but mass production of lace diminished demand for the unique artefacts. It all but died except for a few private and personal practitioners. Most of the made lace was and is stored in such places as Cork’s Fitzgerald Museum, for the want of a proper storage place in Youghal.

Revival

Bridgid Keane turns another page in her files: ‘Sr. Mary Coleman Reid of the Presentation of Youghal wishes to revive the traditional techniques of making Youghal needlepoint lace.’ It was the 1989, the convent was closing and Sr. Mary gave access to many lace items within the building. A year later George Ward, principal in the Youghal Technical school provided a work room, as subsequently would his successor Donal O’Grady. “We continued to meet and provide tuition there on Wednesday mornings for several years,” Bridgid recalls.

There would follow another 10-year lapse in public demonstration until last May, when librarian Marion O’Halloran offered the members a space on the premises. The ballpoint needles weave their magic on Wednesday mornings once again. Bridgid summarises the motivation: “We love the town, the lace and our hobby and we want to share it with others,” she enthuses. “We don’t want it to die.”

Future

Should it live, its future may well intertwine with the efforts of its native town to itself weave a new pattern of prosperity. “I can see its potential as a valuable tourism asset, both in us teaching and demonstrating it to visitors and perhaps as a stored attraction in a Clock Gate museum or other, suitable, buildings.” She concedes that the skills must be passed on to future generations for the thread to thrive long-term. “We managed to attract some interest from transition students in Dungarvan,” considers Bridgid, “but wouldn’t it be brilliant if it found a place in Youghal’s school system?” That’s would bring Youghal lace full circle and tie things up very tidily indeed. Why knot?!

Youghal Needlepoint group meets at Youghal library every Wednesday at 10 am; further details on 086-6020536 or from Youghal library on: (024) 93459. Spontaneous visits welcome also.

In 2008, Youghal was awarded Fair Trade Town status in recognition of its commitment to supporting producers in the developing countries.  To maintain fairtrade status Youghal must meet the renewal criteria every two years.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

In the coming weeks the committee will be writing to existing fairtrade businesses to remind them of their fairtrade commitments e.g. stocking at least two fairtrade products.

The committee wants to thank all the businesses, retailers, and shoppers in Youghal for their commitment to fairtrade.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Youghal Town Council for all their support to date.

The committee would like to hear from new businesses / retailers who would support fairtrade by selling their products.

When we sell or consume fairtrade products we guarantee a better deal to developing countries.  It strengthens their hand in trading relationships so they can earn a better living and have access to education and health care.

The committee would welcome new members who are interested in promoting fairtrade. For further information on fairtrade contact Stacey at Cumann Na Daoine, Catherine Street, Youghal. Tel 024-91900.

Launch of Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 (February 22nd-March 7th)

Fair-trade representatives visited Gael Scoil Chorain, Pobal Scoil Na Trionoide and Youghal Library today (Thur. 25th Feb. 2010) to launch the Fair- trade fortnight in Youghal.
Photo: B. Murphy YoughalOnline.com

Make A Difference: Make The Big Swap

‘THE BIG SWAP’ is the theme for Fairtrade Fortnight 2010, which will also highlight the continued growth in Fairtrade sales and support in Ireland.

“The Big Swap is all about encouraging people to swap some of their usual purchases – tea, coffee, chocolate and bananas for example – for a Fairtrade Certified product,” says Peter Gaynor, Executive Director, Fairtarde Mark Ireland.

“Thousands of Irish consumers have already made the big swap; regularly switching some of their spending to Fairtrade products and in doing so making a real difference to the lives of producers in developing countries.”

The proof of this is in retail sales of FAIRTRADE Mark products in Ireland which increased by estimated 27% in 2009 to €118million – and expected to grow further in 2010.

“We expect Fairtrade sales to grow again in 2010,” says Gaynor. “In the last few months, and again this week, some of the best known brands in Ireland have announced they are switching over to Fairtrade.”

In recent months, significant conversions to Fairtrade have been announced by Cadbury Ireland and Nestlé.  And this week, Ben & Jerry Ice Cream announced that it will complete the global conversion of its entire product range to Fairtrade ingredients by 2013.

“The big manufacturers are realising that Fairtrade is also good for business,” says Peter Gaynor. “It’s also important to acknowledge that Fairtrade’s growth in this country is a testimony to the work of our volunteers – they believed in Fairtrade when it was perceived as a worthy but unrealistic niche business.”

Volunteers have driven the Fairtrade Towns and Schools initiatives and 45 towns and cities north and south, including Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway, are now certified Fairtrade Towns. Three more – Tuam, Tipperary and Carrick-on-Suir – will be Fairtrade-certified in the next fortnight.  An additional 29 towns are working towards Fairtrade Town status.

These towns will be hosting their own Fairtrade Fortnight events over the next two weeks and some other Fairtrade Fortnight highlights include:

·         Appearances by Fairtrade ‘ambassadrice’ Stefan Steverink, aka Dutch housewife ‘Gerri’

·         Bewley’s ‘The Big Swap Wall” campaign – customers are invited to sign their support for Fairtrade on a wall at Bewley’s Grafton Street shop. For each signature received, the company will donate €1 directly to a Nicaraguan coffee co-operative

·         Oxfam’s nationwide swap-a-cuppa campaign

Three overseas producers will also be touring the country during Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 to share their first hand experience of the difference that Fairtrade’s support has made for their families and communities. They are:

* Hella Alikuru: Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Hella is the Africa Region Coordinator for the International Union of Food & Agricultural Workers (IUF)

* Josephat Sylvand: Josephat is a coffee producer and the Assistant Export Manager of Kagera Co-operative Union Ltd (KCU Ltd) in Tanzania

* Oscar González: Oscar is the communications director for the Coomprocom coffee co-operative in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

An important archive of historical photographs of Youghal and surrounding areas has been donated to Cork County Library and Arts Service and is being made accessible to the public for the first time in Youghal Library. Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com

This important collection of nearly nine hundred photographs was made by various members of the Horgan family who for many years ran a successful photographic business in Youghal and who also operated one of the cinemas in the town. Reaching back to the 1890’s, the Horgan Collection is a unique and invaluable collection of photographs which records the landscape, streetscape and social history of Youghal into the twentieth century

Speaking to a very large gathering of people in Youghal Library at the launch of the collection on Thursday evening, Cork County Librarian, Ruth Flanagan thanked the members of the Horgan family for their generosity in making the entire collection available to the public through the Library Service. She noted that the Horgan collection is a priceless historical document that depicts the town of Youghal, the Blackwater river, Ardmore and many other areas and its importance for its representation of the social and commercial life in the area, through vivid images of maritime, agricultural, leisure and tourism activities.

Jim Horgan talked about the beginnings of the Horgan family involvement in photography and film and showed a series of images giving an overview of the extent of the collection.  Frank Mills, Liam and Michael Coveney also spoke about the maritime heritage of Youghal and the Blackwater using photographs from the collection to illustrate their talks.

In accepting this donation Cork County Council have preserved and conserved all of the images in the collection.  These images have now been digitally recorded and will in due course be available for members of the public to view in Youghal Library

The collection is launched as part of National Heritage week celebrations.  During the week a selection of photographic prints will be on view as well as continuous slideshow of digitised images on a public access computer.

For further information contact 021 546499 or email arts@corkcoco.ie

Click on image to see who was at the launch of the Horgan Collection

Youghal Library hosts an Open Day of Community Celebration on Thursday the 12th March. ’09. Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

An action planned programme of events will take place throughout the day including an official welcome by the County Librarian, Ruth Flanagan.  Among the items on the programme will be information tables on community information provided by Youghal Citizens Information Group, Cumann na Daoine,SECAD, Heritage,etc.  There will be a DVD presentation on Fairtrade, music and song,school visits, representatives of clubs will drop in etc etc. The highlight of the day will be a chance to meet and talk with our own celebrity author John Stack.  Our aim is to showcase the Library as a focal point in the local community and to advertise the wide range of services and resources provided by the public library to a wider audience. Read more

The Polish community in Youghal have asked for our help at Youghal Library, in promoting a campaign to encourage Polish children and young people to read in their own language. To this end, we are hosting Polish story time at the library at 12.00PM every Saturday (Except Saturdays of Bank Holiday weekends, when we are closed). I would be very grateful if you could publish the following translation of the above information.
Translation
W ramach kampanii ,,Czytam po polsku” Biblioteka Miejska w Youghal (Rivergate Mall, North Main Street – pasaz) zaprasza wszystkie maluchy wraz z rodzicami na wspòlne czytanie polskich bajek oraz mini konkurs plastyczny!!!

Impreza odbedzie sie w bibliotece (pasaz obok Vodafone’a) w najblizsza sobote,

18.X.08 o godzinie 12.00. Prosimy o Read more

 

Have you ever been curious about your family history? About those who have gone before and how the lives they led may have played a part in shaping your own?

“Tracing Family History” is a presentation that will introduce you to what is involved in starting a process that can turn into a rewarding journey.

“Tracing Family History” forms part of Positive Aging Week (26th of September – 4th of October) and will be Read more

Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

In order to mark Heritage Week 2008, Public Libraries throughout Ireland will host various diverse events to celebrate the many aspects of our Heritage. Here in Youghal Library, we are happy to present two such events which we hope will interest the Public. There is no admission fee to either event and all are welcome to attend.

One of the events will explore the Medieval Archaeology of Youghal, which take place on Thursday, the 4th of September at 7pm. The presentation entitled “Beneath Our Feet”the Medieval Archaeology of Youghal” will be delivered by well known Youghal native, Daniel Noonan, Archaeologist , of Daniel Noonan and Associates. The presentation will take approximately 40 mins. with time for questions afterwards and should be most informative.

On Thursday, the 28th of August, Clifford Winser, of the National Coastguard Service who also lives locally, will deliver a presentation entitled “From Coast to Shore, Keeping our Waters Safe – the work of the Irish Coastguard Service”

Again, this will be a very interesting talk, as Clifford has vast experience of his subject, having devoted a lifetime to Read more