Kilkee Civic Trust is a non-profit organisation working to enhance the quality of life in Kilkee, and its hinterland, by preserving and promoting its cultural heritage, and so making it a more attractive place to live, work and invest.

All 2024 Talks are hosted at Cultúrlann Sweeney, O’Connell St., Kilkee.

Entry to all the Talks is Free of Charge.
All of our speakers give of their time and energy on a pro-bono basis.
The appreciation of the audience & is expressed by way of presenting each speaker with a Book Token at the end of each Talk.
A Donations Box is provided at all Talks to assist us in defraying necessary expenses.

Summer Talks 2024

Summer Talks 2023

Summer Talks 2022

Summer Talks 2019

Summer Talks 2018

Summer Talks 2017

Summer Talks 2016

Summer Talks 2015

Summer Talks 2014

KCT Talk – on 20th September 2023
Jackie McGrath & Ruairí Ó Conchúir – From Source To Sea– Protecting Our Rivers and Coastal Waters



Kilkee Civic Trust: An Evening Of Musical Favourites

We are delighted to let you know that we are hosting an autumn concert titled:  An Evening of Musical Favourites

When: Saturday, 7th October 2023 at 8 pm
Where: Cultúrlann Sweeney, O’Connell Street, Kilkee V15 P960

Tickets may be purchased online at www.clarearts.ie

Alternatively; you may contact the Box Office at Cultúrlann Sweeney, Kilkee – at 065 906 0769 – or call in person for ticket bookings – on Wednesdays & Fridays, 2:30 to 5 pm.

Tickets are priced at €15 each, (including the €1 booking fee).
Please feel free to circulate this E-mail, especially to your family and friends, to assist us in spreading news of events in and around Kilkee.
Here is the direct link to the relevant page to book tickets: An Evening of Musical Favourites Hosted By Kilkee Civic Trust (ticketsolve.com)

Every good wish,

Joseph McCloskey

Honorary Secretary,
Kilkee Civic Trust


Kilkee Civic Trust:Charlotte Brontë Kilkee Honeymoon Festival at Kilkee Library.

Kilkee Civic Trust

The Kilkee Civic Trust inaugural festival honouring Charlotte Brontë’s Kilkee Honeymoon will be hosted on this coming Friday, 15th September & Saturday, 16th September 2023.






KCT 3 – Éanna Ní Lamhna – Going wild in Co. Clare – the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees


Speaker: Éanna Ní Lamhna
Talk Title: Going wild in Co. Clare – the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees.
Talk Description:Éanna will give us a whirlwind tour in her own inimitable way of the fascinating wildlife of Co. Clare.Éanna Ní Lamhna She will tell us about the original native Scots pines that still exist in the Burren as well as the butterflies there that occur nowhere else in Ireland.The seabird colonies on the coast in high summer as well as the wildlife rich turloughs will be described and you will make the acquaintance of the fairy shrimp and the legless lizard. The unique situation leading to both Arctic Alpine and Mediterranean plants living side by side on the Burren will also be described. You are in for a treat.

About the Speaker:
Éanna Ní Lamhna holds science degrees from UCD. Her thesis on the ecology of sand dunes and salt-marshes was published in the Journal of Life Sciences.

She set up the Irish Biological Records Centre in 1974 and is responsible for the original distribution maps of mammal and insects. She lectured post graduates on sustainability for 20 years in TU Dublin.

Her publications include a series of five studies on Irish Air Quality, eight books including Wild Dublin and her most recent – Wild Musings.

Éanna was President of An Taisce from 2004 – 2009 and was until recently President of the Tree Council of Ireland.

Éanna is a Judge of Environmental Initiatives undertaken by local groups on a county level such as Pride of Place.

A highly respected radio and television broadcaster on environmental issues; she has been an expert on the RTÉ Mooney Goes Wild radio programme since it began in 1995 and indeed is still the only female voice.

Alongside Derek Mooney, (Presenter), she is joined on the panel by colleagues Terry Flanagan, (Science & Wildlife Reporter), Niall Hatch, (BirdWatch Ireland) and Dr. Richard Collins, (Ornithologist).

She also appears regularly on Virgin Media’s The Six O’Clock Show with an environmental and wildlife slot.

Included in “Irelands influential 100” list in 2012; she is a much sought-after speaker and lecturer and is a fluent Irish speaker.


KCT 2: Michelle Dillon – Forecasting Ireland’s Weather

Kilkee Civic Trust – at Cultúrlann Sweeney

Our summer season of weekly Kilkee Civic Trust Talks continues this Wednesday, 12th July at 8 pm

Speaker:

Michelle Dillon


Forecasting Ireland’s weather

Talk Synopsis:


Michelle will give an insight into the world of weather forecasting at Met Éireann, giving an overview of some of Met Éireann’s forecast products and services. Met Éireann is the authoritative voice on meteorology in Ireland,its forecasts and warnings feeding into decisions that need to be taken by key stakeholders such as airport authorities, county councils and in extreme weather, the National Emergency rdination Group. Michelle, a native of Tullycrine, near Kilrush, will afford an insight into the world of weather forecasting at Met Éireann.
FREE of Charge Entry and all are welcome.
Request your KCT E-mail Newsletter / Summer Programme from:

Kilkee Civic Trust – Patrick Galvin , Pilots on The Shannon.

Date: Wednesday, 5 th July 2023 at 8pm No. 1 of 9 Talks

Speaker: Patrick Galvin

Talk Title: Pilotage on the Shannon, near Past, Present, and Future

Talk Description: As an island nation, we rely on our ports to facilitate 95% of all imports and exports. Ensuring the safe and efficient movement of ships in and out of our ports is the job of our Maritime Pilots.

Patrick’s talk will be broken into three sections: the near past, the present, and the future possibilities. In the near past, he will be looking at developing critical infrastructures on the Shannon, like Moneypoint and Tarbert power stations and the challenges they posed to the Maritime Pilots who were on the Shannon at the time.

A River Pilot himself; Patrick will expand on the career path to becoming a Pilot, and explain why a Maritime Pilot is necessary and regarded as one of the most critical risk mitigation measures to ensure the safe movement of ships in and out of our ports. Not only will Patrick Galvin tell us all about the ships in Irish Waters, he will also speak about the various types of cargo that our local ports import and export. Then, he will look at the possibilities of what lies ahead, from potential developments on the Shannon Estuary, to how shipping may evolve and explore the potential to see autonomous shipping on the Shannon anytime soon.

About the Speaker: Born and raised on the banks of the Shannon Estuary, in a village called Cappa, just outside the town of Kilrush in Co. Clare. Patrick Galvin is a Class 1 licensed Pilot on the Shannon Estuary. His seagoing career started in 1992 with Arklow Shipping. In 1998 Patrick attended Cork Regional Technical College and attained his 2nd Officers Certificate. Later, he completed Mate/Masters and Masters Unlimited certificates in South Tyneside College (United Kingdom) in 2002 and 2006.

While at sea, he worked for Arklow Shipping, P&O Ferries, and Stena Line, working in various roles on board up to the rank of Master. 11 Patrick Galvin became a Pilot on the Shannon Estuary in 2009. In 2017 he was elected to the position of Chairman of the Association of Marine Pilots of Ireland; in 2021, he was elected Vice President of the European Maritime Pilots Association. A proud Clare Man – Patrick Galvin is the first Irish Vice President of the European Maritime Pilots Association.