Sandcastle dream for creative Carthy’s

A Cooley family saw their sandcastle dream come alive after they scooped a top award for their creative lego talents!

Having previously competed five times annually in the National Sand Sculpture Competition in Bettystown, the Carthy family from Jenkinstown were delighted to win first prize in their category, the ‘Senior Scupltor’ award.

Founded by Dick O’Reilly in 2003, the competition has been a growing success for more than a decade as sandcastle designers pit their talents against one another on the picturesque Louth shoreline.

Despite the high tide, the event drew a large crowd with over fifty entries into the competition itself.

The 2016 finals even had an international turnout with people from all over Ireland, and as far away as New Zealand.

The Overall Winners were the Devenish Family from Bettystown who were presented with the Dick O’Reilly Perpetual Cup.

The Carthy family have a proud history in the competition, having previously entered towering sculptures - ‘Celtic Tortoise’, the ‘Buddha’, ‘In Good Hands’ and ‘Genie from Aladdin’.

This year Mum Clodagh drew on inspiration from her new appointment as facilitator of ‘ The Brickx Club’ in Dundalk.

Together with her son Eoin Carthy, her daughter Aisling Carthy and Pádraig Begley, the family created a sand sculpture of Lego bricks that really caught the eye of the tough judging panel.

Other creative Lego projects the Carthy family have undertaken are stop motion music videos like the official video for Chris de Burgh’s ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling and Louth singer/songwriter, Sinead McNally’s ‘Just For Today’.

Clodagh added that her new position as facilitator with The Brickx Club Dundalk as an exciting new challenge, but one in which she feels quite at home.

‘Set up in 2013 by Kathy Lambkin, The Brickx Club Ireland is a creative brick building and social activity club for boys and girls aged four to twelve, and is all inclusive, with all abilities welcome,’ explained Clodagh

She added that the Brickx Club Ireland was developed through a specific Lego therapy programme. It provide preschool clubs, after school clubs, Saturday workshops, corporate workshops, birthday parties and have organised a series of summer camps this year in July and August in Blackrock, Dunleer and Lordship.

For further information, call or text Clodagh086-1546940 or check out ‘ The Brickx Club Dundalk’ Facebook page.