31 youth councils across the country
Clare Comhairle na nÓg
- Coordinator name: Brian McManus
- Contact email: bmcmanus@clareyouthservice.org
- Address:
C/O Kathy Coleman
Áras Contae an Chláir
New Road
Ennis
Co. Clare - Tel: Brian: 065 6845354 / (086) 6090051
- National Executive representative: Oisín Coughlan
- Facebook: Clare Comhairle na nÓg
- Instagram: comhairlenanogclare
About us
Current topics
Clare Comhairle na nÓg are focusing on the following three areas in 2021:
- Positive Mental Health: Key Action – 5 A Day Campaign linking to the Government ‘Keeping Well’ plan.
- Discrimination: Key Action: Working with people in the local Direct Provision centres. Hosting intercultural events.
- Environment and Climate: Key Action – Beach Clean with promotion online. Video encouraging responsible actions towards the environment.
This space has been turned from a derelict and dangerous site into a small all-weather pitch and a shelter used by many different groups for exercise, music and youth work. It has been a complete community effort involving many different groups and Comhairle involvement is part of a contribution to a much bigger project. The photo shows Comhairle members from around Ennistymon preparing the back wall for the artwork. Following a consultation with people who use the space it was decided that his will include targets for football and hurling practice with the decision on the rest of the background to be discussed at the next meeting. Watch out for the finished version which will be showcased here.
June is Pride Month! The young people and staff of Clare Comhairle na nÓg and Clare Youth Service have been taking part in some Pride-themed groups and activities and the Pride flag is flying proudly at their building.
Comhairle members took part in a Clare Youth Pride Celebration and Bake-Off organised by Clare Youth Action in Lahinch. There has been great support shown by the local community and businesses, and flags have been flying from Clare Water Safety and Clare County Council.
• Clare Youth Service – including consultation with Clare Comhairle na nÓg
• Clarecare
• Clare Local Development Company
• Shannon FRC
• HSE Suicide Resource Office
• Mary Immaculate College
Comhairle members respond to Covid crisis
Here’s a recent video from Clare Comhairle na nÓg showing how to make home-made face masks to leave those all important surgical masks for frontline staff.
The group are also developing care packages to address the need of mental health for young people, looking particularly how help is needed for young people in exam years. Comhairle members are developing ideas for items to include in the care package such as lavender to aid sleep, and to support young people’s mental wellbeing.
The group are also researching Care Homes and Bingo groups and gathering information and making plans to write post cards to older people.
Past topics
Clare Comhairle na nÓg worked on three key areas in 2020:
1. Alternative Sports
2. Mental Health
3. Cyber Safety and Discrimination
Clare Comhairle decided to focus on three distinct topics in 2019: Alternative Sports, Discrimination and Mental Health. They organised a number of events including a wheelchair basketball tournament, Ireland’s fittest Comhairle event, workshops on discrimination and a number of mental health initiatives as part of the 5-a day for your mental health.
The first of these events “Be the Best You Can Be” took place on Tues. 11th April 2019 with special guest Jason Sherlock. 250 students from 11 secondary schools attended this “Story on Resilience” – a joint initiative with Clare Comhairle Na nÓg, Clare County Council, Clare Youth Service and the Joint Policing Committee.
Katie and Laoise from Clare Comhairle MC’d this event and Laoise said in her introduction how there is much more to Jason than just the sportsman or TV presenter. Jason gave an honest and insightful talk, asking young people to self-reflect and pointing how there is much more to all of them than any one-dimensional label attached by a bully, someone on social media or just society in general. He offered them advice on how to “Be the Best You Can Be” by following your dream and having a plan to help. It also stressed the importance of developing resilience and belief in who you are.
The feedback from the students and teachers was very positive. This was part of the Comhairle actions relating to Positive Mental Health and Identity. What Jason said in his talk echoed Comhairle’s 5-A-Day Campaign for Positive Mental Health – Accept yourself, Connect with Others, Be Creative & Relax, Be Active and Healthy and Give something back.
2018
Clare Comhairle have been working on the topic of Cyber Safety for the past two years and have achieved massive successes on the back of this. Cyber Safety has been a central part of their work plan since 2015 and their ideas on online safety and inappropriate sharing have been incorporated into the new government policy. On Wed 11th July 2018, six representatives travelled to Dublin on invitation from the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who along with several Government Ministers, launched the Government’s Action Plan for Online Safety. It’s the first plan of its kind in Ireland and was drawn up following engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including at the Open Policy Debate held in March, and the recent report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs. Clare Comhairle members were involved in both of this processes and have had the opportunity to firmly put their stamp on national government policy and to bring about changes that will influence all our lives.
The involvement of Clare Comhairle members in these events, and the subsequent invitation to attend and MC the launch was extended on foot of their mentoring programme on Cyber safety with McAfee. Members have become ambassadors for McAfee in Cork and have been involved in delivering a workshop to the Professional Master of Education class of NUIG. Their work on cyber safety grew out of their own research and that of Clare Youth Service “Younger Voices” forum, surveys and focus groups run by youth workers.
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children & Youth Affairs presentation:
On 7th February 2018 two members Jody and Fearghal presented at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children & Youth Affairs. They discussed their projects on Cyber Security & Safety for children & young people. They talked about their cyber safety programme, run in partnership with McAfee, and their sexting workshop, co-run with Samfés, the Icelandic equivalent of Comhairle, through an Erasmus+ exchange with Iceland. In 2017 they hosted a “Sexting Peer Education Workshop”, based on an initiative by Samfés. Their presentation follows new research showing that almost half of Irish teenagers in their final year at school say they have participated in sexting, which is defined as the sharing of sexual text, video, and photographic content using phone, social networks, apps and other technologies. The study shows that sexting activity increased progressively through each year of second-level education.
The presenters also talked about the outcome of a Cyber Safety Workshop for students which was designed by McAfee, facilitated by Clare Youth Service and funded by Clare Local Development Company in 2016 and 2017. 752 young people, mainly first year students, took part in the programme in schools across Clare. Their presentations received a lot of media coverage that day.
Following on from this, Jody and Fearghal participated in an Open Policy Debate on Online Safety in Royal Hospital Kilmainham on 8th March. You can read more about this here:
5 a Day is what Clare Comhairle na nÓg base itself on.
- Accept Yourself– “Be at Onesie With Yourself” is our motto
- Connect– We brought our exchange group over from Iceland where we discussed life being on an island, sexting, E.U. positives and negatives and taught each other about our language and culture.
- Be Creative- Every year we take part in the Shoebox Appeal where we make gifts for kids who mightn’t get presents for Christmas.
- Give Something Back- Becoming Cyber Safety Ambassadors on behalf of MacAfee has led us to raising awareness among our peers and also gave us the opportunity to give a lecture in NUIG to student teachers.
- Physical Exercise- our annual Onesie Run and our Alternative Sport theme both link in with physical exercise.
Over the past two years Clare Comhairle na nÓg have worked on a wide range of topics including positive mental health, relationships and sexuality with an emphasis on online activity, and youth democracy. We produced a film which premiered on an exchange to the Icelandic Youth Parliament in October 2016. During the exchange, we examined the idea of youth democracy, and presented a workshop based on the work of Clare Comhairle over the past two years, which has been focused on mental health, and sexual health and relationships.
We also showed off our Irish dancing skills to the Icelandic Youth Parliament federation, and even taught the natives, and other visiting students a few steps.
In addition, we organised Mental Health & Art Workshops; and ran the now annual “Great Onesie Run” in Clare, promoting other worthwhile charities and bringing a smile to peoples’ faces.
All the resources produced have been distributed to schools and youth clubs in Clare.
Clare Comhairle na nÓg’s primary topic for 2015 was Relationships and Sexuality Education, with special reference to the growing availability of pornography. We worked on developing a ‘think before you view’ app or similar product to ensure that young people are aware that they cannot ‘unview’ a video download. We also worked on a creative Cyber-Safety project, to raise awareness with the general public, adults and youth on how much of their personal information is open to public viewing.
We also hosted the second annual ‘Onesie Run’, as part of the ‘Be at Onesie with Yourself’ Campaign to continue our work on promoting positive mental health.
In 2014 Clare Comhairle na nÓg worked on the topic of Positive Mental Health, with particular reference to young people. We ran a ‘Be at Onesie with Yourself’ Campaign to promote awareness of the importance of positive mental health. This included “The Great Onesie Run” in five Clare towns promoting Pieta House and Cycle Against Suicide, Zorbing in a Onesie, the Limerick Pride Parade in Onesies and lots more besides.
We also worked on the topic of Relationships and Sexuality Education, as it applies to young people, and adapted a number of resources for use in schools and youth clubs in Clare. We produced two films, carried out a fitness programme, and ran LGBT awareness workshops. All the resources produced have been sent to schools and youth clubs in Clare. We had so much fun, despite the it being a lot of work.
