T Dear Fellow Gardeners, Usually November is my least favourite month of the year but leading up to it was really fabulous.  I was harvesting some of the Jerusalem artichokes  last week – and they were fabulous. I grow them at the community gardens in Bundoran, Co. Donegal as well as in Co. Cork.  They… Read more »

    It’s long been the case that qualified teachers all around Ireland are struggling to secure full-time, permanent employment in Ireland.   You try looking for a full-time job as a teacher in Donegal, Roscommon or Fermanagh where the local school might have a patronage of under one hundred children and the four teachers have been… Read more »

Dear Fellow Gardeners, Time to prepare for winterPlease don’t listen to the old tale that you should dig over your garden, spread compost or manure and leave it rough over the winter.  Then the freezing and thawing will break the sods and you’ll have a lovely friable soil in spring.This actually works well in Germany and… Read more »

    Gardening with Anne McKeon There is absolutely no reason why your autumn/winter garden should not look as good, if not better, than your summer display. It’s all in the planning. By autumn and early winter your beds and borders can look worn out and generally past their ‘sell by date’, particularly if you opted… Read more »

Dear Fellow Gardeners, I can’t believe it’s already September. Since we got back from holidays a couple of weeks ago it hasn’t stopped raining.  Lough Melvin is already as high as in winter.  However, there is always the Indian summer to look forward to.  In old German it is called the Altweibersommer (Old Wife’s Summer)… Read more »

Madden Conquers the Channel He stood knee height in the waters of the secluded Samphire Hoe Beach on the South East Coast of England. It was 11.40pm, pitch dark, except only for the port and starboard lights of his 30ft support boat called Gallivant piloted by Mike Oram. It was eerie. He wore swimming togs,… Read more »

Rose tinted glasses, that’s what we’re wearing when we return from Qatar to immerse the kids in our mother culture for a few weeks of the summer. We get off the plane, turn our backs on the sweltering heat of Qatar, the dust and the restrictive nature of life in a Muslim society. Sick and… Read more »

Dear Fellow Gardeners, Just in case we do get another dry summer you might have to water your plants outdoors.  If you water your plants, give them a thorough soaking.  Watering little and often is a disaster as it brings the plant roots up instead of encouraging them to go down.  Watering is important if… Read more »

Prestigious international radio award for Clare FM • Clare FM documentary, The Rescue, wins Gold Award in the New York Festivals Radio Awards. • Clare FM the only local radio station to win Gold. • The Rescue told the story of Jim Warny, and the international operation to save the trapped Thai soccer team from… Read more »

Lyme disease Overview Lyme disease is caused by four main species of bacteria. Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii cause Lyme disease in the United States, while Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are the leading causes in Europe and Asia. The most common tick-borne illness in these regions, Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of… Read more »