Latest news with #MahareesConservationAssociation
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Lost onion basket revived: Kerry community come together to reclaim traditional craft
With funding from the Heritage Council Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2025, the project saw Diane Southey of the Irish Basketmakers Association recreate a model of this locally iconic basket, which was last seen in use during the 1990s. To ensure this craft is not lost again, a workshop will be held later this week where participants can learn the skills needed to make these baskets. The newly made baskets and their makers will then be showcased at the Castlegregory Agricultural Show on Saturday, August 2. The hope is that this once-forgotten artefact will now find a place as a sustainable household item for future generations. Reflecting on her experience, Diane Southey said: "I was thrilled, and admittedly a little nervous, to be asked to replicate a long-lost basket from the Maharees area. Over my 20 years as a basketmaker, I've repaired many old shopping and Moses baskets, and the techniques I've learned echo those ancient skills. "Working from descriptions and a blurry photograph, I pieced together the basket's construction, drawing inspiration from similar items in the Irish Heritage Basket collection. When locals who remembered using the basket assessed my prototype, it received a huge thumbs up — nearly identical to the original." Aidan O'Connor, Chair of Maharees Conservation Association, shared his enthusiasm: "We're delighted to partner with the Castlegregory Agricultural Show for this project. Preserving our tangible, intangible, and natural heritage is at the core of what we do. When Pat suggested reviving the basket, we were eager to get involved. Since no physical examples remained, we knew we needed the expertise of a heritage basketmaker like Diane." Pat Hennessy, Secretary of the Castlegregory Agricultural Show, added: "The onion basket revival is a fantastic project. It was once a valued, everyday item in sheds and fields around here, yet had completely disappeared from use and memory except for a few. Through discussions with those who remembered it, we captured its design and created a 'best guess' model. "The skill of making these baskets had been lost too, but now with the basket back, we have the chance to learn willow-working skills once again." ADVERTISEMENT The completed baskets and a presentation on the project will be on display at the Castlegregory Agricultural Show on Saturday, August 2, as part of a full-day programme. For full event details, visit the show's Facebook page: Castlegregory Agricultural Show. To register interest in future onion basket-making workshops, email: mahareesconservation@
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Canadian couple's message in a bottle found 13 years later 2,000 miles away: "A metaphor for resilience"
A message in a bottle thrown into the Atlantic Ocean by a Canadian couple in Newfoundland 13 years ago recently washed ashore on a beach in Ireland. The couple, identified by various U.S. and Canadian media outlets as Brad and Anita Squires, were on Newfoundland's Bell Island in 2012 when they decided to cast a message out to sea. "Anita and Brad's day trip to Bell Island," the note said. "Today, we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other, at the edge of the island." It asked whoever might find the message to "please call us," followed by a scribbled number. "I gave it everything I had," Brad Squires told The Canadian Press in an interview Wednesday. "We didn't see it hit the water, it was too high up. I just assumed it smashed on the rocks." The bottle survived the throw and for 13 years, it floated across the Atlantic Ocean until it washed up ashore about 2,000 miles away on Scraggane Bay in the Maharees Peninsula along the southwest coast of Ireland. It was picked up on Monday by Kate and Jon Gay, who shared the discovery with a local conversation group. "Really? A message in a bottle? Really? Wow!" Kate Gay told CBS News via email on Friday. "We couldn't see any writing on the paper inside — and decided to save the excitement of opening it until that evening." She is a community partner of the Maharees Conservation Association. They are working together to strengthen coastal resilience through creative exploration with the community, she said. "I thought it would be a fun way to start a project meeting we were having in my house that evening … and I wasn't wrong!" she said in her email. "That bottle had survived so many storms that have caused damage, erosion and flooding in Maharees … yet it arrived on our beach, that day, a little weathered but holding strong!" That night, the association shared a post on its Facebook page with photos of the bottle and the message. It quickly went viral. "Such a long way to travel and such a long time to get here but we got it! Now if only Anita and Brad would just answer the phone they told us to call them on!!!" the post said. "It seems we let a genie out of that bottle!" Kate Gay said. Within an hour, the Squires — now married with three children and living in Newfoundland, according to The Canadian Press — reached out to the conservation group confirming they were the Brad and Anita in the note. "Anita and I both feel like we have new friends, and we're all equally amazed," Brad Squires said. He and his wife are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary next year. It is also the conversation association's 10th year anniversary. "It's such a romantic story - and it has brought joy to so many," Kate Gay told CBS News. "The 'message in a bottle' has gone from being a time capsule of a happy moment on Bell Island to a metaphor for resilience and the ripple effect of positive actions and connections."
Boston Globe
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A love note in a bottle is found years later, an ocean away
Nearly 13 years later, Kate and Jon Gay, who were walking on a beach in Ireland, nearly 2,000 miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, came across the bottle with the note inside. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up They were walking on the Maharees - a stretch of coastline in western Ireland - when they found the bottle on Monday, Kate Gay told The Post in an email. She said they decided to save opening it for a meeting that evening with the Maharees Conservation Association and local artists for a project about resilience and climate adaptations for coastal communities. Advertisement 'It seemed like a fun way to start the meeting,' she said, 'and I wasn't wrong! That bottle had survived so many storms that have caused damage, erosion and flooding in Maharees … yet it arrived on our beach that day, a little weathered but holding strong!' Advertisement Everyone was delighted, and intrigued by the note inside, which read: 'Anita and Brad's day trip to Bell Island. Today, we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other, at the edge of the island. If you find this please call us,' followed by a phone number. While the phone number did not work, the group raised a toast of nonalcoholic mojitos to Brad and Anita, and wished them the best. Martha Farrell, co-founder of the MCA, then posted the news on the group's Facebook page - sparking a viral detective hunt as people tried to track down the mysterious Brad and Anita, and wondered: Were the two still together? At home in Portugal Cove-St Philips, Newfoundland, Anita said she was putting her son to bed when her and Brad's phones started buzzing with messages. Within an hour, she was in touch with Farrell and able to confirm that she and Brad were indeed still together - in fact, they married in 2016 and have three children, and she has changed her surname to Squires. Finding out the couple's news 'was like the perfect ending,' Farrell told The Post in a phone interview Friday. She said it felt like 'serendipity' for a member of the group to have found a bottle and a story that had traversed an ocean and linked two communities on either side of the Atlantic. 'It's almost like a love letter to each other capturing that moment in time in their lives,' she said. Gay said the response to the romantic story 'has been phenomenal,' adding, 'the message in a bottle has gone from being a time capsule of a happy moment on Bell Island to a metaphor for resilience and the ripple effect of positive actions and connections.' Advertisement The conservation group has invited the couple to Ireland next year to celebrate its 10th anniversary, which coincides with the Squireses' 10-year wedding anniversary. Anita, who is from Prince Edward Island, is also working to connect the Irish group to local Canadian initiatives. 'We were so surprised to hear that this had even happened and how big the story has become,' Anita said. 'A private moment between Brad and I all those years ago now is reaching so far and so big, it's hard to believe.' As for what the Squires children think of their parents' story, Anita said they were unfazed. 'We've always loved each other. We've always had a happy relationship, so I think they just think it's kind of like a cute cherry on top,' she said.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Couple's message in a bottle found 13 years later 2,000 miles away
A message in a bottle thrown into the Atlantic Ocean by a Canadian couple in Newfoundland 13 years ago recently washed ashore a beach in Ireland. The couple, identified by various U.S. and Canadian media outlets as Brad and Anita Squires, were on Newfoundland's Bell Island in 2012 when they decided to cast a message out to sea. "Anita and Brad's day trip to Bell Island," the note said. "Today, we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other, at the edge of the island." It asked whoever might find the message to "please call us," followed by a scribbled number. "I gave it everything I had," Brad Squires told The Canadian Press in an interview Wednesday. "We didn't see it hit the water, it was too high up. I just assumed it smashed on the rocks." The bottle survived the throw and for 13 years, it floated across the Atlantic Ocean until it washed up ashore about 2,000 miles away on Scraggane Bay in the Maharees Peninsula along the southwest coast of Ireland. It was picked up on Monday by Kate and Jon Gay, who shared the discovery with a local conversation group. "Really? A message in a bottle? Really? Wow!" Kate Gay told CBS News via email on Friday. "We couldn't see any writing on the paper inside — and decided to save the excitement of opening it until that evening." She is a community partner of the Maharees Conservation Association. They are working together to strengthen coastal resilience through creative exploration with the community, she said. "I thought it would be a fun way to start a project meeting we were having in my house that evening … and I wasn't wrong!" she said in her email. "That bottle had survived so many storms that have caused damage, erosion and flooding in Maharees … yet it arrived on our beach, that day, a little weathered but holding strong!" That night, the association shared a post on its Facebook page with photos of the bottle and the message. It quickly went viral. "Such a long way to travel and such a long time to get here but we got it! Now if only Anita and Brad would just answer the phone they told us to call them on!!!" the post said. "It seems we let a genie out of that bottle!" Kate Gay said. Within an hour, the Squires — now married with three children and living in Newfoundland, according to The Canadian Press — reached out to the conservation group confirming they were the Brad and Anita in the note. "Anita and I both feel like we have new friends, and we're all equally amazed," Brad Squires said. He and his wife are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary next year. It is also the conversation association's 10th year anniversary. "It's such a romantic story - and it has brought joy to so many," Kate Gay told CBS News. "The 'message in a bottle' has gone from being a time capsule of a happy moment on Bell Island to a metaphor for resilience and the ripple effect of positive actions and connections." ICE raids in California turn violent after protesters clash with agents One year after Thomas Crooks tried to kill President Trump, here's what's known about him Reflecting on the selfless heroism shown during the Texas floods
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Canadian couple's message in a bottle found in Ireland 13 years later
A message in a bottle tossed into the Atlantic Ocean by a Canadian couple on a date nearly 13 years ago washed ashore in Ireland this week. Anita Squires — who's now married to the man who threw that bottle from a Newfoundland cliff — told NBC News when she wrote the note placed inside the bottle, she figured it'd quickly be lost at sea. Instead it traveled nearly 2,000 miles and wound up on Scraggane Bay on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula 4,600 days later. It was discovered there by Maharees Conservation Association workers cleaning up the bay's eroding beachfront. The organization's chairperson, Martha Farrell, was amazed by the resilience of the glass bottle as well as that of the couple responsible for setting it afloat. She described its recovery as a 'moment of pure joy.' The short note inside the bottle summed up the date Anita and her now-husband, Brad, were enjoying about a year into their courtship. 'Today we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other on the edge of the island,' she wrote along with a phone number. 'If you find this, please call us.' Farrell said her organization dialed the number, but got no reply. After searching for its author on Facebook, she got in touch with Anita. 'It was phenomenal,' Farrell said. Anita and Brad Squires, who married in 2016, now have three children. _____
