Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

In much the same way as Connacht won the hearts of rugby followers by winning the Pro 12, Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir won the acclaim of choral and music lovers when they visited the Emerald Isle last weekend. The choir members made the trip across the Irish Sea for the 5th County Mayo International Choral Festival. They sang in sang in two festival concerts at an event which is growing in international stature year by year. Under the direction of music director D Eifion Thomas, the choir's first concert was at the town of Kiltimagh, where the beautiful Church of the Holy Family was the venue for a religious concert which included The Moy Singers, Knock Junior Choir, The Witness To Hope Choir and The Kiltimagh Parish Choir. The church’s acoustic was an ideal medium to appreciate the warmth and intensity of Côr Meibion Llanelli’s rich tones and musicality as they performed their programme. Particularly emotive was Luigi Picchi's Kyrie Eleison and the culmination of the...

Passengers boarding the Stena Europe ferry in Fishguard today should expect to make way for an unusual passenger. A replica of Dylan Thomas’ famous writing shed will be sailing across the Irish Sea to take part in the Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival in Dún Laoghaire from September 11-14. The shed - complete with curled pictures on the walls, boiled sweets on the desk and the poet’s jacket still hanging on the back of his chair – is on tour as part of Dylan Thomas 100, the year-long festival commemorating the centenary of the Welsh writer’s birth. The original sits above the Boathouse in the seaside town of Laugharne, where Thomas lived with his wife Caitlin (whose family hailed from County Clare),and where he penned some of his most famous works including Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and his play for voices Under Milk Wood. Hannah Ellis, Dylan Thomas’ granddaughter, said: “Given my grandparents’ connection with the country, I am really pleased to see the Dylan Thomas cen...

The replica of Dylan Thomas's writing shed is setting sail for Ireland as part of the DT100 celebrations. In partnership with the festival, British Council Ireland is to take the replica of the shed across the Irish Sea to the Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival from 12th-14th September 2014. The shed will set sail on board the Stena Europe from Fishguard and makes the sea leg of its journey to Ireland courtesy of Stena Line ferries. The shed - complete with curled pictures on the walls, boiled sweets on the desk and the poet’s jacket still hanging on the back of his chair – is on tour as part of Dylan Thomas 100, the year-long festival commemorating the centenary of the great Welsh writer’s birth. The original shed sits above the Boathouse in the scenic seaside town of Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, where Thomas lived with his wife Caitlin (whose family hailed from County Clare), and where he penned some of his most famous works including Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and hi...

Ireland's first two Beer Sommeliers have been announced by the Beer Academy. Phil Tavey (above) and Paul Maher (top), from the Dublin beer import company Fourcorners, were accredited after passing a viva examination with Beer Academy Chief Examiner, Dr George Philliskirk. George said “You only have to look at the company website to see that Phil and Paul live and breathe as beer advocates in their daily working life. "It is packed with facts and figures about beer, guidance on getting beer quality absolutely right and how to match beer to food. This passion for beer sharing their beer knowledge shone through during their assessment to become Beer Academy Sommeliers. "It is still less than a year since the Beer Academy announced its first Sommeliers and we already boast 21 Sommeliers around the world; from Norway to Australia. "The Sommelier qualification has really caught the changing public attitude to beer. Nowadays beer drinking is about quality not q...

The match against Tramore from County Waterford, Ireland, will be played on at The Ashburnham Golf Club in Pembrey on Friday, April 20, and Saturday, April 21. Members wishing to play in the fixtures should sign the board in the foyer of the clubhouse. There is a match fee of £5 per day, plus £20 if you want to attend the dinner on Saturday, April 20. Entertainment will be provided on Friday and Saturday night.

BBC Sport - Wales lock Bradley Davies banned for rest of Six Nations Wales lock Bradley Davies will miss the rest of the Six Nations after being banned for seven weeks for his tip tackle on Ireland's Donnacha Ryan.

BBC News - Swansea-Cork ferry: Fastnet Line to close service with loss of 78 jobs The Swansea-Cork ferry service is to close with the loss of 78 jobs. Sailings were suspended in November due to rising fuel costs but backers hoped to resume services in March.

A treasure box of Carmarthenshire’s attractions has spilled out to the Emerald Isle. The county’s tourism officers have been visiting tourism and travel exhibitions in Belfast and Dublin enticing more than 200,000 Irish people to come and see what we have to offer. County marketing and tourism manager Huw Parsons said the stand and costs were shared with Pembrokeshire. “We had a great response and people were really interested in our attractions that well displayed and promoted at both the Belfast and the Dublin World Holiday Shows," he said. Marketing and development tourism officer Hywel Davies said: “It was a real eye opener for the Irish how much we had to offer. “The exhibition worked well for both counties and shows a good working partnership working between the tourism departments. “There was a huge amount of interest in our joint South West Wales stand and we even had I’m A Celebrity star Kim Woodburn from How Clean Is Your House visit our stand. “Many already knew about ...