Events

Connemara West, the fifty-four-year-old community development company based in Letterfrack, is set to launch its new five-year strategic plan on Sunday, June 15th at 12 noon at its Centre in Letterfrack Village. The plan will be officially launched by Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Cllr Martina Kinane, and will be followed by a day of celebration for the entire community.

The strategy, which draws on key input from the community, shareholders  and stakeholders, outlines key goals and initiatives that aim to address the social, economic, and environmental challenges facing north-west Connemara. It also lays out a vision for sustaining and strengthening the local community over the next five years.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Kevin Heanue, Chairman of Connemara West, said:
“This is an important day for Connemara West, its shareholders, the local community and stakeholders.  This strategic plan and the initiatives flowing from it are based on consultation with, and clear feedback from, the local community about the direction Connemara West should follow for the next five years”

Following the official launch in the Wild Goat Café, attendees are invited to take part in a guided tour of the Connemara West campus. This will include visits to Conservation Letterfrack, ATU Letterfrack, Connemara Community Radio, and other local initiatives that form part of the organisation’s network.

To celebrate this important milestone, the day will continue with a Family Fun Day for all ages. Activities include races, face painting, bouncing castles, and much more – a joyful way to bring neighbours, families, and friends together.

All are warmly welcome to attend.

Connemara West was lucky to qualify for support under The Hare’s Corner project 2025   and received  species of native trees and heritage apple  trees from  Irish Seed Savers to plant at the Teach Ceoil, Tully.

Children and their teachers Roisin (Clarke) and Roisin (Hennessey) from Rainbows End Playschool helped to plant the apple trees and native woodland trees at the Teach Ceoil in Tully on Wednesday 28th June 2025.  The children were assisted by members of the Connemara West community employment scheme.

The “Hare’s Corner” biodiversity initiative is organized and coordinated by the Burrenbeo Trust,  a non-profit organization, based in County Clare, works with landowners, farmers, community groups, and schools to create habitats for biodiversity. 

Inspired by the term ‘The Hare’s Corner’ – an old farming expression for an awkward section of a field which wasn’t intensively farmed and so was ‘left to nature’ – the aim of this project is to help create habitats that have proven benefits for biodiversity, for climate-action as well as for the well-being of participants.

It was  great to have the Aquinas College Ireland Programme visit the Connemara West Centre on 14 May and learn about our different projects and activities. Thanks to our partners  ATU Connemara, GRETB Youthreach Letterfrack  and Connemara Community Radio for facilitating the visit.  The Aquinas 2025 cohort of students were led by  Mark O’Toole, Father Bob Keller and Dr. Penny Avery.  The students also  planted  two mountain ash trees at Connemara West holiday cottages in Tullycross village. The Ireland Programme is in its 54th year!!

A get together has been organised to explore setting up a Men’s Shed for the Letterfrack/Renvyle/Kyelmore/Moyard area.

The event will take place in the Wild Goat Cafe on Tuesday 15th April at 3.30pm.

Contact colin.clarke@connemarawest.ie for further information.

Join us for a ‘Casting The Net’ workshop with Caoimhe Dunn where we will weave stories and found objects into willow sculptures.

Saturday 18th January – Teach Ceoil, Tully – two workshops – families 10am-1pm and adult 3-6pm.  Bookings to Twistedlaneproductions@gmail.com.  The workshops are  Twisted Lane Productions and Connemara West collaboration and are  kindly supported by Galway County Council Arts Office.

About ‘Casting the Net’ workshop

Cast the net and gather up what you find.   Bring a token, a scrap, a found object from your journeys here and we will fill our net. Find a fragment of a story, a snippet of an old jumper, a sliver of something new, cast-offs, odds and ends. A leftover from your everyday life. Is it trash or is it memory? Come join us for an exploration of our journeys, our stories, our scraps.

Join artist Caoimhe Dunn for this workshop exploring found objects, stories and coming together. Participants are invited to bring some small scrap, old clothes, or found objects that you are happy to part with for this workshop.

About Caoimhe

Caoimhe is a Wexford-based artist with twenty years experience in the arts, specialising in street arts & spectacle, model-making, and community arts.  Folklore, the natural world, & history are all major influences for her and she endeavours to offer participants the opportunity to engage with an innate desire to be creative and to play.

Recent work includes Puffins On Parade  an outreach project  with National Circus Festival of Ireland:  Walking with Giants, a giant illuminated puppet created for Longford Lights 2024; a puppet-making commission for The Ark’s 2023 production The Race ; and Lost Songs Of Tipperary, a shadow puppet film created to accompany an outreach project in collaboration with Nenagh Arts Centre and Music Generation Tipperary.  Over the last two years, Caoimhe’s street theatre show ‘A Snails Tale’ – which premiered at Spraoi Festival 2022, and was inspired by the margins of medieval manuscripts – has performed at festivals across Ireland, with their first international performance coming in 2025 at England’s Medieval Festival.

To register please send an email to twistedlaneproductions@gmail.com stating which workshop you would like to attend, and how many people will be with you.

This workshop is hosted by Connemara West Plc and Twisted Lane Productions and supported by Galway County Arts Office