April 29, 2026

Snapshot- April 2026- What CLDC does for Clare

Most people in Clare have heard of Clare Local Development Company. Maybe they spotted the CLDC logo on a sign at the Carran Loop, or a neighbour mentioned it in connection with a job-seeking course, or they came across a flyer for a cooking workshop in Ennis. But ask anyone to explain the full picture — what CLDC actually does day-to-day, week-to-week, across every corner of this county — and even the most community-minded Clare person might struggle to answer.

The truth is that CLDC is one of those organisations that is quietly, consistently, everywhere. Last year alone, it oversaw more than €7.3 million in programme investments across County Clare, supporting community groups and social enterprises, placing people in jobs, maintaining walking trails, and pushing Clare’s energy future in a cleaner direction. If you live in Clare, CLDC’s work almost certainly touches your life — you just may not know it yet.

CLDC Family Tree- Snapshot of services provided by Clare Local Development Company

The Breadth of It: Twelve Programmes, One Purpose

CLDC operates what it calls a “family tree” of programmes — distinct strands, each addressing a different community need, but all rooted in the same core belief: that no one should be left behind.

Those programmes span:

Happening Right Now: Events This Week and Next

If you want a window into CLDC’s daily rhythm, look at what is actually happening this week.

On Wednesday 29 April — today — women across Ennis are gathering for the Cooking for Women’s Health programme. It’s a fun, interactive series covering food for mood, sleep, digestion and energy — practical nourishment that connects wellbeing with real, everyday life. The sessions continue through May.

Also this week, the Journey to Employment programme has been running in both Ennis and Kilrush. This four-week course is designed for people who want to rebuild their confidence, sharpen job-seeking skills, and open doors to new employment opportunities across County Clare. That it runs simultaneously in two towns underlines CLDC’s reach across both east and west Clare.

Elsewhere, the unique Paths of the Aran Makers workshops are underway — a cultural journey introducing participants to the ancient craft of pampootie-making, the traditional rawhide shoe of the Aran Islands. Led by Cortney O’Farrell, the series spans ten countries and ten workshops, weaving Irish tradition into a broader international tapestry of craft and culture. The first session took place in Kilrush, with more to follow.

And for the farmers and gardeners among us, a Soil and Compost Management Workshop, delivered under CLDC’s Just Transition Programme, is in the works — practical, hands-on guidance on soil health and composting techniques with expert Jason McCormack of FoodTree.

What Made Headlines This Spring

The past few weeks have showcased the remarkable cultural and social range CLDC brings to Clare.

This April, CLDC marked International Roma Day with a ‘Lost Voices’ exhibition in Ennis — an awareness campaign giving voice to the experiences and culture of Clare’s Roma community. It was a powerful act of cultural visibility in a county that is home to Roma families in Ennis and Kilrush, many of whom have been supported by CLDC’s Roma Inclusion Project since 2018, through art classes, Zumba sessions, intercultural community events, crochet and knitting workshops, and more.

Easter brought another cultural flourish: CLDC helped communities across Clare discover the ancient Ukrainian art of pysanka — the intricate wax-resist technique of decorating Easter eggs, a tradition dating back thousands of years. With Ukraine’s cultural identity under acute pressure, these workshops offered something quietly profound: a space for Clare’s Ukrainian community to share their heritage, and for Irish neighbours to learn from and celebrate it. An Easter Egg Painting Workshop in Kilkee drew participants to The Elliott Centre in late March.

Over Easter, CLDC’s children and young people’s team delivered creative workshops in Scariff, Lisdoonvarna, Ennis, Kilrush and Kilkee, offering fun, structured activities for children who might otherwise miss out during the school break. Across the five locations, the sessions helped build confidence, strengthen relationships with families, and deepen links with local schools and accommodation centres – and they highlighted a clear appetite for more workshops and camps in future.

In March, CLDC received national media attention when RTÉ’s Countrywide programme broadcast from the Burren, spotlighting the work of Mountain Meitheal West volunteers — supported by CLDC’s Rural Recreation Scheme — maintaining the Carran Loop walking trail. The segment, broadcast on 21 March 2026, highlighted how CLDC’s Rural Recreation Officer Eoin Hogan works with volunteers and even UL students to keep Clare’s iconic trails safe, accessible, and legally compliant with the Wildlife Act.

Powering Clare’s Future

One of CLDC’s most forward-looking strands is its work on sustainable energy. Through the SEAI Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) programme, CLDC is helping local communities throughout the county to develop Energy Master Plans, coordinate Solar Meitheal group projects, and conduct building energy audits.

In Shannon, CLDC Sustainable Energy Communities Mentor Denise O’Brien has been working closely with the Shannon Town SEC group to develop a roadmap to 2030 covering energy efficiency, renewables, and sustainable transport. Shannon Town SEC has secured 100% funding from SEAI for the development of their Energy Master Plan.

Alongside the technical work, CLDC’s Just Transition Programme — backed by SICAP — ensures that the benefits of the energy transition reach those most at risk of being left behind: people facing digital barriers, cost-of-living pressures, and limited access to grants. Free community energy clinics and workshops are set to roll out across 2026.

By the end of 2025, CLDC’s energy work was active in over 50 Clare communities.

Building a Stronger Voluntary Sector

Behind every GAA club fundraiser, every tidy towns group, and every community garden in Clare, there are volunteers who need support. CLDC’s Connecting Clare Communities Training and Mentoring Programme — launched in January 2026 and running for 18 months — is designed specifically for them.

Led by CLDC in association with Levie Consulting and funded by the LEADER programme, the initiative is free to attend and open to community groups at every stage of development — from newly formed resident associations to long-established sports clubs. Rather than imposing a fixed curriculum, the programme begins with the community itself, using co-design sessions to identify what volunteers actually need help with: governance, fundraising, digital skills, volunteer recruitment, sustainability.

“This initiative is built around what local people tell us they need,” said CLDC’s Anneli Vaughan.

Social Enterprise: A Growing Movement

Clare’s social enterprise ecosystem is growing fast, and CLDC is a central enabler of that growth. In December 2025, CLDC hosted the Clare Social Enterprise Network Conference at The Inn at Dromoland — an afternoon of keynotes, panel discussions, networking, and the exclusive launch of a Social Enterprise Directory Flipbook listing 73 enterprises across the county.

CEO Doirín Graham noted the surge in new social enterprises since the previous year’s Expo, describing it as “a really exciting time for everyone involved”. The directory is designed to make it easier for social enterprises to connect, collaborate, and do business with one another beyond formal CLDC structures — a joined-up ecosystem that benefits the whole county.

CLDC Rural Recreation Activities

Nature, Biodiversity, and the Environment

CLDC’s commitment to the natural world goes well beyond policy statements. Through the Citizen Science Biodiversity Training Series — funded by the LEADER programme and delivered in partnership with Nature Network Ireland — CLDC ran in-person and online sessions throughout 2025 and into 2026, teaching community members, farmers, and nature lovers to identify invasive species, native habitats, and freshwater ecosystems.

Sessions included a hands-on invertebrate workshop at Ballyalla Lake, field trips to Lough Grainey in Flagmount and along the Inagh River in Ennistymon, and online webinars on invasive species, Irish water habitats, and native species identification. All data collected by participants is uploaded to the National Biodiversity Data Centre to support conservation policy.

The Clare Community Garden Network is also under development — a county-wide initiative to increase access and participation in community gardens, with capacity-building workshops delivered in community settings.

Getting People Into Work

Employment support is a cornerstone of what CLDC does. The Local Area Employment Service (LAES) provides 12-month one-to-one support — matched caseworkers, personal progression plans, and access to training and mentoring for people on Jobseekers Allowance. Whether the goal is returning to work, building a CV, or developing new skills, LAES works at the individual’s pace and towards their own goals.

The Tús scheme, which CLDC has administered since 2011, places long-term unemployed people in 12-month work activations with community and voluntary groups — providing social connection, structured routine, and meaningful contribution. Together with the Rural Social Scheme, which supports low-income farming and fishing families through community work, these programmes support over 190 community and voluntary groups across Clare.

For those looking to start their own business, CLDC offers the Start Your Own Business course and assistance with the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, helping to turn ideas into viable enterprises.

Care for Clare’s Most Marginalised

No article about CLDC would be complete without acknowledging its deep, sustained work with some of Clare’s most marginalised communities.

The Clare Traveller Community Development Project aims to improve living conditions, opportunities, and the realisation of human rights for Travellers in Clare — through building Traveller leadership, strengthening local alliances, and amplifying a Traveller voice in public life.

The Traveller Primary Healthcare Project takes a peer-led approach, delivered by members of the Travelling community themselves, to improve health outcomes and quality of life for Travellers and their families in Clare.

The Roma Inclusion Project, running since 2018, supports Roma families in Ennis and Kilrush with English literacy, community integration, health, wellbeing, and employability — through everything from art classes and crochet workshops to intercultural community events and excursions.

And in Kilrush, Cairde Beag Community Childcare — a registered charity operated by CLDC — provides excellent, play-based early years care with an in-house chef, fully vetted staff, and a child-led approach that recognises each child as an individual.

Funding Clare’s Future: LEADER

Underpinning much of CLDC’s work is the LEADER Programme — EU rural development funding that has supported an extraordinary range of projects across the county, from renewable energy installations to walking trail development, from scout equipment to arts and craft training, from market town strategies to youth participation.

CLDC-administered LEADER funding has supported projects including:

  • Community Area Based Plans in eight geographic areas across Clare
  • A Japanese Knotweed survey, treatment programme, and equipment purchases to protect Clare’s natural environment
  • Farm biodiversity enhancement plans and invasive species training
  • Ennis–Clarecastle Greenway feasibility work
  • Youth spaces, surf clubs, and kayak programmes for young people in rural Clare
  • The Glebe House Rural Youth Project

In total, LEADER grants across Clare have amounted to over €9.6 million in tracked project investment.

The People Behind It

What emerges from any encounter with CLDC is the depth of the team behind all of this. Coordinators, development workers, energy mentors, employment caseworkers, childcare staff, rural recreation officers, community link workers — specialists in their fields, spread across the county, working on the ground where it matters.

East Clare Community Co-operative put it well in a testimonial: “Beyond our own experience, we recognise and commend CLDC’s work across County Clare — from their support for social enterprise and climate action to rural recreation, employment initiatives, and empowering marginalised communities. Their model of local development is visionary, practical, and rooted in justice.”

One Roof. One County. One Purpose.

From a cooking class for women’s health in Ennis this morning, to pampootie-making workshops in Kilrush, to energy master planning in Shannon, to Burren trail maintenance, to Roma cultural exhibitions, to biodiversity field trips along the Inagh River, to employment casework for someone trying to get back on their feet — this is all CLDC.

One organisation, one county, one shared purpose: “We want to help people improve their lives, and build a better future for their communities.”

If you’d like to find out how CLDC can support you, your group, or your community, visit cldc.ie or call 065 686 6800.