Events
Connemara West Community Sports Day
As part of our 50th birthday celebrations, Connemara West are sponsoring a family fun sports day on Sunday 21st August. The sports day will start at 2pm. We are planning a mixture of races and novelty events which we hope will please all the family. The event will take place on the Diamond Hill Community sports pitch in Letterfrack. The new centre will also be open and it will also give the local community the opportunity to see all the new facilities in the centre. We hope to have a good crowd on the day and have a bit of fun before the children head back into the new school year.
WILD – Community Art Project: 5th-18th September 2022
Project on hold until further notice.
Wild is a project to bring people together in our community spaces and work together to create a large scale piece of art.
The aim is to upscale an image and recreate it to the size of 50m x 25m.
We will do this by cutting the image into smaller chunks and individual groups will paint one small section each.
On the afternoon of Sunday 18th September everyone will gather and put all of the sections together to reveal the final image. We will document the process and capture the full image via drone.
If you would like to express an interest in being involved, please complete this google form to let us know about your availability etc:
WILD – Expression of Interest Form
Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions about the project:
What help do we need?
About 200 people to paint in small groups and then gather on Sunday 18th of September to hold the sections together for the big reveal.
Do I need any experience?
Absolutely not! The image will be projected onto the fabric, so you just need to paint over what you see projected. There will be refreshments available, so we will drink tea, chat and paint. Very relaxed.
How much time do I have to commit?
One painting session of 2-3 hrs
and 3 hours on Sunday 18th September to put the image together.
(If you can only do one of these two…that’s ok, we would like you to be involved in as much as you are available for)
Do I need to bring a group?
If you would like to come as a group, that’s great, just let us know. Otherwise come alone and meet some new people.
Can children attend?
Absolutely, but children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian who must remain (and hopefully participate) for the full session. Children cannot be left unsupervised.
Where and when are the painting sessions being held?
The painting workshops will run from Monday 5th September until Saturday 17th September. Exact times will be confirmed once we have established interest and availability. In the sign up form we ask you to tell us what times suit you the best so we can make sure we get lots of people involved.
We are using the Teach Ceoil, Tully and Ellis Hall, Letterfrack – again in the sign up form we ask you to indicate what works best for you.
How do I Sign Up?
We are so happy you asked! Just follow this link to express your interest in being involved and we will get back to you to confirm your participation!
WILD – Expression of Interest Form
We look forward to seeing you as part of this project.
Aoife and Mark Carry
Twisted Lane Productions
in partnership with Connemara West plc.
Supported by Creative Ireland Galway County
Family and local history course
Connemara West have been working with our wonderful community volunteers to survey and map the six graveyards in the Ballinakill Parish area. There is such a great interest in this project and in local and family history that Connemara West, with support from GRETB, are offering a free Family and local history course on line via ZOOM led by Tutor, Monica Hynes. The course will concentrate on the skills to carry out computer based research in archives and repositories, census records, land and estate and Civil and Church records. The course will be mainly held on line but there is now a possible that the final two sessions will be amalgamated into a classroom session or field trip. There will also be a break for mid-term so there will be plenty of time to do the research. Booking by 4th Feb. Contact Janet on 095 47117 or email on janet.otoole@connemarawest.ie.
Understanding local graveyards and burial grounds with Michael Gibbons
Connemara West are running a series of talks with Michael Gibbons for people who have an interest in learning more about graveyards and the rich heritage that is to be found in the area. The 3 workshops will take us on a journey from early Christian Ireland to the present time.
The course will be delivered online and is free of charge and will take place on the following Wednesday evenings: 28th April, 5th May and 12th May at 7.30pm
There are limited places available on the course and booking is essential.
We would ask that you would only register for the course if you can commit to attending all of the sessions.
Tickets can also be accessed through Eventbrite to book your place on this free online course – link below
If you are experiencing difficulties in accessing a ticket contact Janet on 086 244 5948
Interchanges
Interchanges is an annual micro conference which is an initiative of Connemara West plc, Aquinas College, Michigan and Lourdes University, Ohio. The primary aim of the conference is to provide a forum where intending or existing US Ireland study abroad programme directors and other faculty and students can network with each other and Irish collaborative partners, on location in rural Ireland. The first Interchanges conference was held in Renvyle in June 2015 and over the past four years the conference has gone from strength to strength.