Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball will be held each Monday and Wednesday at Leabgarrow Beach for ages 14+. Please contact 0870983749 or 074 95 20024 for more information.

Swimming Lessons

The Irish Water Safety Association swimming lessons will take place on the island this year from 7th - 11th July. For more information please contact 0870983749 or 074 95 20024.

Eye Testing

Louis Walsh will be on the island, subject to demand, for eye testing. Please contact Margaret in the health centre on 074 95 20535 for an appointment.

Reminder for Kayaking

Reminder: Kayaking with Cumann na mBád Árainn Mhór will take place tomorrow, Saturday 28th June on Arranmore Island. Please contact 0870983749 to book a place. Spaces are limited so hurry to avoid disappointment!!

Childrens Activities

There will be football and games on the Rannagh every Tuesday and Thursday from 2.30 - 4.30 for ages 5+ and a girls/boys group every Friday from 3pm ages 6+. All welcome. For more information please call 0870983749 or 074 95 20024.

Broadband

"The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has outlined the areas in Donegal targeted by State led intervention under the National Broadband Scheme, the areas referred to is an initial indicative list. Further locations may be identified as the mapping process continues. Similarly it may be determined that some of the locations will be addressed by the commercial sector and will not require a State intervention. The mapping process is expected to be concluded later this year. This strategy will definitively address the connectively challenges faced by rural Ireland in a meaningful and sustainable way. Places in the Glenties Electoral Area that have been included are Aran Island, Braade, Brinalack, Carnboy, Carrickfin, Carrowcannon, Clooney, Crannogboy, Crolly, Doochary, Dore, Fintown, Gweedore, Kilrean, Kincasslagh, Leabgarrow, Maas, Maghery, Meenlaragh, Money Beg, Portnoo, Rannafast, Rossbeg and Tory Island."

Deá-scéala faoin leathan bhanda - Good news about broadband.

Beidh muid ag cur fáilte roimh Aire Rabbitte go dtí an oileáin le linn na seachtaine seo chugainn.
We will be welcoming Minister Rabbitte on his visit to Árainn Mhór later this week.

Comharchumann Árainn Mhór

Inshore Fishermans Meeting Hailed a Success

Speakers at the DIMRO fishermens meeting L-R, Seamus Bonner,
Jerry Early, Dr Easkey Britton, Jerry Percy and John Walsh

A meeting of Irelands island based inshore fishermen has been hailed as a great success by its organisers DIMRO. The day long event which was called by DIMRO – Donegal Islands Marine Resource Organisation – was held in the Maldron hotel, Galway, last Monday 16^th June and seen a gathering of fishermen and community representatives from island fishing communities dotted around the Irish coast. Some of the islands represented included islands off the coast of counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Cork.

DIMRO, which was formed out of a collection of Donegal fishermen who had been fighting for the rights of island inshore fishermen since the imposition of bans in 2006, has a growing support base now in the island fishing communities of Donegal and in recent years its core members have proved to be a strong voice for the rights of fishermen not only nationally but at a European level also. From their work the Irish Government has now moved more towards a recognition of the need to engage more with representative bodies on the ground such as DIMRO to aid and assist communities like the inshore fishing sector.

The morning period of Mondays meeting seen a closed session of the fishermen and their community representatives at which there was wide ranging discussion of the current situation within the sector, the various hardships being felt by those of the islands inshore fishing industry and possible ways forward to improve both conditions and sustainability. In that session it was decided that there should be further groups formed and built on the model of of DIMRO to represent the island regions of Mayo, Galway and Cork and that a national body on island fishermen would also be formed for the regional groups to feed into. The national group in turn would then exist to represent all offshore islands at meetings with the likes of government officials and bodies both nationally and internationally.

The afternoon session chaired by John Walsh of Bere Island and which was also attended by BIM - the Irish Sea Fisheries Board - and the media consisted of of two guest speakers, Dr Easkey Britton and Jerry Percy of NUTFA followed then by a questions and answers session.

Dr Britton, a research associate with the campaign group Too Big To Ignore, The Global Partnership for Small Scale Fisheries Research, first gave a very well presented talk on the current issues within the small scale fishing sector and how to identify and move forward with opportunities that might exist for island fishing communities. Speaking of Irish inshore fishing Dr Britton said there were over 1800 small scale fishing vessels in Ireland being under 12metre in length and said “Everyone should remember that behind every boat is a family”. She explained the importance of the fishing sector to their larger communities and the knock on effect their growth or demise can have on those communities. She also spoke of how inshore fishermen have not had a voice due to discussions about the sector only ever being held between government bodies and others and not with the fishermen themselves saying that if this changed it could bring huge improvements in the sector.

Jerry Percy of NUTFA – the New Under Tens Fishermens Association – which represents the small scale fishermen in England and Wales then addressed the meeting to speak of ways forward for the islands inshore sector in Ireland and spoke of how NUTFA was formed and the successes they have been able to achieve to date. Mr Percy said it was vitally important for the sustainability of the industry that small fishing communities built alliances with groups such as DIMRO and NUTFA and also with other fisheries both locally, nationally and across the EU. He also recommended the continued interaction with scientists like Dr Easkey Britton and to also do what was possible to help inform and educate the wider public.

Speaking at the event Jerry Early of DIMRO said “Today is a landmark event for the islands inshore fishing industry and from today we have a great opportunity to move forward and now be recognised and taken seriously.

“A number of us have been fighting the case for our island fisheries for several years now especially in Donegal with the closing of Area 6a. On the back of an article published in the french paper Lamont seven European film crews visited Arranmore Island to report on its fishing community and they were astounded at how our own politicians and Europe had failed us by trying to systematically break down our industry and our community” the Arranmore man said.

Speaking of the days event he said “All coastal regions have to organise now. We have to be heard and its now or never given the opportunity we now have since the joint fisheries committee made the report recommending that the coastal island fisheries communities organise themselves and come to the table with exactly what it is we need to survive. And it's not just the island fishing communities that have to organise and pull together. The islands recognise that they are only one part of the sector and we'd call on all coastal communities to organise themselves as we have done so that we can all feed into the National Inshore Fisheries Forum.

“Today we will come away from this meeting with one strong voice and a mandate which will have the opportunity to help Irelands island fishing communities immensely and I would encourage all the islands to feed into the work done so far by DIMRO and form one collective voice. To date a lot of the work we have done we have had to fund out of out own pockets but it has been worth it to get to this point.

Concluding Mr Early said “Ultimately we are doing this for our future generations and for the survival of our communities. We will be taking a holistic approach to it covering everything from social, environment, economic and sustainability issues as our speakers mentioned and while we know it will be hard work we know it will be worth it in the end. To date the government has been putting a sticking plaster on a wound that needed stitching simply because they had no real understanding of our industry or our communities. But today we move forward and we will now have fishermen sitting at the tables that discuss and make decisions that impact on our communities. From today those impacts will now have a voice and presence ensuring those impacts are positive.”

The meeting closed with representatives appointed for each region to organise and engage with their own island fishing communities and another meeting will be held on July 16^th at which further plans will be made for the moving forward of a national representative body for the island inshore fishing sector.

Scoil Aphort

Go raibh maith ag achan nduine a chuidigh linn leis an ceolchoirm le gairid. Thanks to everyone who helped us with our concert recently. A special thanks to Ionad an Crois bhealaigh, Jerry, Hugh Nancy, Anna, Darren, Naimh, Clara, Leanne, Alec and the pipe band, all the parents, teachers and those who sold raffle tickets and donated prizes. Thanks to everyone who came and made the night a huge success. We raised a total of €768.00.

Maistreas Stacy received €471.50 for completing the Derry marathon. Thanks to everyone who sponsored it. All monies will go towards school funds. Go raibh maith agaibh uilig. 

The Energy Engage Code

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The ‘Energy Engage Code’ is a new code of practice which aims to protect energy customers who are in financial difficulty, particularly those in arrears on their bills. It applies to five energy suppliers with effect from 1 June 2014 – these are Bord Gáis Energy, Electric Ireland, Energia, Flogas Natural Gas and SSE Airtricity.

Under the Energy Engage Code, suppliers guarantee that no customer engaging with them will be cut off. The energy suppliers will seek to identify vulnerable customers at an earlier stage. They commit to treating each customer individually and offering realistic and achievable payment plans to customers in difficulty. The Energy Engage Code will be independently audited to ensure that the participating energy suppliers are complying with it.In addition to the new code of practice, all energy suppliers must comply with certain mandatory consumer protection standards that are set out by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER).

All suppliers are obliged to establish a register of vulnerable customers and to keep it updated. Customers listed on this register cannot be disconnected during the months November to March. A customer in arrears must be offered a payment arrangement, which can include the installation of a Pay As You Go meter, while avoiding a situation where the debt becomes worse. 

“At risk” customers must be referred to MABS, The St Vincent de Paul Society or a representative of the Department of Social Protection (formerly called the Community Welfare Officer). A supplier can consider applying for a disconnection only if these measures fail, and only after at least four separate attempts to contact the customer have been made.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.

Know Your Rights has been compiled by Dungloe Citizens Information Service which provides a free and confidential service to the public. 

Tel: 0761075431 Address: Dungloe Public Services Centre

Information is also available online at citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service, 0761 07 4000.

Elder Abuse Awareness Event

As June is National Elder Abuse month, designed to raise awareness and to inform people about all aspects of elder abuse, vulnerable people in our community there will be a re-showing of of a video in The Day Centre about elder abuse, how to spot the signs, where to get information and how to report elder abuse. The programme is open to all and we encourage people of all ages to come along and get informed about elder abuse, specifically carers and those with elderly relatives. The video will be shown again on Tuesday 17th June. Please contact the Day Centre for times on 0749520136. All welcome.

REMINDER - Inshore Fishermans Meeting

Reminder: There will be an Inshore Fishermans Meeting, this Monday 16 June, Maldron Hotel Galway organised by DIMRO - Donegal Islands Marine Resource Organisation. It will be a one day workshop and information meeting with the aim of the meeting being to look at possible representative structures for island inshore fishermen as well as bringing fishermen up to date on the significant developments which have taken place in the sector recently. Please pass the word!

Basketball Workshop

Paul Langan will be running a two hour basketball workshop on the island at the Culturalann court, Saturday 15 - Sunday 16 June from 5pm. Learn new skills in the sport such as teamwork, dribbling, shooting, passing, defense and offense. All welcome, under 15 boys & girls. Call 0749520024 to book. Cost €5.

Islands Inshore Fishermen Meeting - Galway, June 16th

DIMRO - Donegal Islands Marine Resource Organisation are organising a one day workshop and information meeting on Monday the 16th June at the Maldron Hotel in Galway. The aim of the meeting is to look at possible representative structures for island inshore fishermen as well as bringing fishermen up to date on the significant developments which have taken place in the sector recently.

Elder Abuse

June is National Elder Abuse month. It is designed to raise awareness and to inform people about all aspects of elder abuse, vulnerable people in our community. The Day Centre will be showing a video on elder abuse, how to spot the signs, where to get information and how to report elder abuse. The programme is open to all and we encourage people of all ages to come along and get informed about elder abuse. The video will be shown on Tuesday 10th June from 2-3pm. All welcome.

Arranmore United Football Club AGM

The Arranmore United football club Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 9th June at 8pm in Ionad Chrois Bhealaigh. Everyone is welcome to attend and it would be appreciated if as many people could attend as possible. The football club is a major part of the island community bringing both business to the island during the football season and is also a good advertisement and ambassador for our island off it. It has played a huge part in the June Bank Holiday soccer weekend for the last fourteen years and has been recognised many times for its efforts over the years both locally and nationally and deserves all the communitys support. So please come along and sit in for the AGM this Monday evening and help to continue to build our local club.

Carers Event in Gweedore

Reminder: Jumble Sale Fundraiser this Friday

Reminder: There will be a Jumble Sale this Friday starting at 10am in the community centre. Please stop in to browse, have a cup of tea and enter our raffle. All Welcome!!

Scouting Ireland Interest on Islands

Scouting Ireland recently gave a presentation to the islands and are interested in setting up island scouting groups. If we can get 8-10 interested parents we will be able to set up a group on Árainn Mhór. If you're interested in getting involved contact Seamus at Ionad an Chrois Bhealaigh, Árainn Mhór.