Kilcullen News Update

Home safety meeting tonight in Kilcullen ... Fundraising for KCA mural project ... KWWSPCA Calendar launched ... Documentary about Camphill Ireland founder ... Photography Club launches 2026 Calendar ... Santa switches on Christmas Lights ... The passing of Philomena O'Neill ...

Reporting since 2005 from a Village Grown Bigger. Produced by Brian Byrne for Kilcullen Diary.

Christmas reflections in Woodbine

Shane Sullivan and John MacKenna will perform at Woodbine Books on Sunday, 14 December, offering an evening of song, music, stories, and poems for the Christmas season.

A Moonlit Christmas will start at 8pm. Tickets at €15 are on sale in the bookshop or on Eventbrite at this link. 

All welcome.

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Joan Healy Christmas Concert

Singer-songwriter Joan Healy will be performing a Christmas Concert in McAuley Place in Naas on Thursday, 11 December, writes Brian Byrne. The evening will feature festive tunes, musical theatre numbers, and some of her original songs. 

There will also be a support trad band, Tripping to the Well. Tickets are €20 at the door, or can be booked on Eventbrite. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30 start. 

Joan first began performing in public, as a busker outside the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, during the pandemic. Now, alongside her career as a primary teacher, she arranges and promotes her own venue gigs.

From busking, she moved on to Open Mic nights in Dublin, getting spots at festivals, and performing in spaces like the Moat in Naas, the Brady Sessions in Terenure, and regularly at the Tuesday singer-songwriter nights in Darkey Kelly's in Dublin's Fishamble Street. She has also supported in gigs by Mundy and Megan O'Neill. 

Renowned Newbridge-based Colm Cahill has produced some of Joan's recordings, which are available on Spotify and YouTube. 

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Home safety meeting

A Safety Meeting with Kilcullen Gardai will be held in Kilcullen Parish Centre TONIGHT, Monday, 1 December. It will also be the opportunity to meet Kilcullen's new Community Garda.

Home safety and online fraud will be among the items discussed.

All are welcome to the event, which runs from 6pm to 7pm.

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The passing of Philomena O'Neill, née Somers

The death has occurred in Melbourne of Philomena O'Neill, née Somers, formerly of Kilcullen, on Monday, 17 November 2025, in her 76th year.

Athy-born Philomena was raised in Kilcullen by foster parents. She studied nursing in St Michael's Hospital, Dun Laoghaire, before emigrating to Australia in 1971, where she met and married Eddie O'Neill. In addition to raising their family of four, she worked as a nurse and Palliative Care specialist.

Loved and loving wife of Eddie, loved Mother and Mother-in-law of Kathy and Brad, Chris and Alana, Sarah and Kevin, Emma and Stu. Loving and proud Granny of Brianna, Denim, Abbie, Aidan, Callum, Rachel, Jordon, and Penelope. Beloved Sister of Francis (Somers) and Beloved Auntie of Margaret (Somers O’Brien), along with Tommy, Kate, Cillian and Lorcan (O’Brien).

Her loss will be sorely felt by so many in Australia and here in Ireland.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis 

Rescue dogs calendar launched at Table Quiz

Karen Piggott of Cottage Veterinary Clinic with Sally McCaffrey of KWWSPCA.

The support for local animal welfare charity Kildare & West Wicklow SPCA was very evident in the packed-out Table Quiz held at Fallons on Friday night, writes Brian Byrne. A fundraising 2026 Calendar was also launched at the event, with the photographs taken by members of Kilcullen Photography Club. 

The main calendar sponsor is the Cottage Veterinary Clinic, Newbridge, with other supporters including Eurospar Kilcullen, Fallons, Mart Coffee, and Berney's Chemist, Mace Athgarvan, Mindology Wellness Centre in Clane, Medals & Pedals in Clane, and Studio Print Clane. Sponsors of the raffle on the quiz night were Kilcullen businesses Stina Flowers, the River Cafe, and the Hair Emporium.

Representing the Cottage Veterinary Clinic, dog behaviour and training consultant Felicity Kelleher acknowledged the brilliant work of KWWSPCA, adding that they are one of the most compassionate and welfare-led teams she has ever worked with. "The standard they set in the clinic makes everything I do more effective. It's a big honour to be here to celebrate the calendar launch." 

Felicity Kelleher of Cottage Veterinary.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 animals are now living better lives this year through the work of KWWSPCA, the organisation's Sally McCaffrey told those present. She also said that more than 400 feral cats had been neutered, many of which were rehomed on farms or as domestic pets. She said the primary focus for the coming year will be to raise funds and begin work on a new Shelter to replace the current leased premises in Athgarvan. 

The charity bought 15 acres of land near Kildare three years ago and was recently granted planning permission for the project. Sally McCaffrey also paid tribute to the volunteers at KWWSPCA, without whom the charity wouldn't have started in the first place, and who enable it to keep going.

Sinead Phelan and Sabina Reddy of Kilcullen Photography Club.

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Old Kilcullen Christmas gathering

A reminder that the Old Kilcullen Area Community Association are hosting their annual Christmas event at the old post box in Old Kilcullen TODAY, Sunday, 30 November.

There will be carol singing, along with festive drinks and snacks, in Brennan's Car Park. The event starts at 3.30pm.

Children can post their Santa letters in the restored post box.

All welcome.

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Fundraising launched for KCA mural project

KCA's Noel Clare and Anne Cashman.

A fundraising campaign has been launched for an ambitious mural project unveiled in Kilcullen yesterday, writes Brian Byrne. When completed, it will provide an eye-catching feature at the Newbridge Road entrance to the town. 

The Kilcullen Heritage Wall, commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action, will complement several other artworks around the town, many of them KCA-sponsored. The artwork will cover the entire double gables of a building that has been derelict for decades, now under refurbishment by Fitzpatrick Heavey Homes, which is facilitating the project. 

Fundraising is centred on an iDonate page. “These things are quite expensive, and we will need grants and the support from the community to make it happen,” KCA chair Anne Cashman said at the launch event in Fallons. “But it is a beautiful, vibrant image and will be a fantastic piece of art to add to the town.”

KCA’s Noel Clare said the space is at one of the town's main traffic entrances. “The building has been quite an eyesore, and it is wonderful to see it being done up now. But to have been allowed to develop this Heritage Wall project is something we wouldn’t have expected, and it is great to have it.”

Anne Cashman emphasised that the piece's representations are not yet final, and it can be tweaked before work actually begins. “We now have a gold medal standard in Tidy Towns to live up to — we constantly have to engage and elevate ourselves, and this will be another great addition.”

KCA selected the artist following a tender process for a carefully developed brief. The artistic team that won the commission, All Out Design, has more than 15 years’ experience in this kind of project, having created over 400 murals for Irish government bodies and major global corporations. 

Their design theme is a Visual Story of Kilcullen, incorporating Local History & Heritage and Nature & Environment. The draft design includes motifs of Kilcullen bridge, a horse, a stylised waving hand of welcome, the Liffey, swans, badgers and wildflowers. The whole execution is bold, modern and exciting.

It is hoped to have the piece in place in the spring.

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Story of a 'gentle hero' for Kilcullen cinema

A film screening in Kilcullen Town Hall on Wednesday, 3 December, is about Patrick Lydon, described as 'the spirit and engine' behind the growth and development of the Camphill Communities in Ireland, writes Brian Byrne. Born That Way tells his story. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.

Patrick Lydon was born in Massachusetts to an Irish family and came to Ireland in 1972 to avoid being sent to fight in Vietnam. With his wife, Gladys, he established the innovative Camphill Community for children in Ballytobin, Co Kilkenny. The initiative provided people with special needs with dignity and fulfilment in their lives, and over the following three decades, growing out of the community in Ballytobin and steered by Patrick and Gladys, seventeen more communities and inclusive social initiatives were established for children and adults in Ireland, including three in Kildare alone, The Bridge in Kilcullen being one.

Patrick Lydon was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2021 and died on 18 January 2022.

Born That Way was the winner of the Dublin Film Critics Circle prize for Best Irish Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival last February. When it was released in cinemas earlier this month, Irish Times reviewer Donald Clarke described it as 'a desperately moving and beautifully made documentary about a gentle hero who deserves greater recognition'. He awarded it his maximum five stars. 

Born That Way was directed by Éamon Little, who will attend the Kilcullen screening with Patrick’s widow, Gladys. There will be a Q&A with them afterwards, hosted by the writer John MacKenna.

A trailer to the film can be seen here.

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Photography Club launches 2026 Calendar

Kilcullen Photography Club's 2026 Calendar was launched in Woodbine Books last evening, writes Brian Byrne. It’s the eighth such publication by the club, which uses the proceeds for club development and donations to local organisations and charities. To date, some €4,000 has been given to deserving causes.

Club chairperson Sabina Reddy told those present that the main reason for the Calendar is to ‘capture’ Kilcullen, and in that respect, feedback from the many places it goes to has been overwhelmingly positive. She added that, even in the first year, the Calendar was being sent to Kilcullen people, family members, and friends across four continents.

Noting that this year submissions were invited from outside the club, Sabina said there had been a ‘fantastic’ response. She congratulated Noel Dunne (above), whose photo appears on the April calendar, and the runners-up: Celia Travers, PJ Lydon, Elisabeth Kehill (all below), Fr Gary Darby and Rachel O'Sullivan.

The 2026 Calendar will be on sale at next week’s Kilcullen Christmas Market, and is also available in Woodbine Books, Nolan’s Butchers, the Parish Centre, and from club members.

Sabina thanked local businesses for their sponsorship, noting that their generosity made the initiative possible. She also thanked Dawn in Woodbine Books for hosting the launch and her continued support of the club.

She concluded by saying the club always welcomes new members, and offers a range of projects, seminars, outings and exhibitions for them to enjoy. 

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Children's science author in Woodbine Books

A reminder that children's author and scientist Dr Shane Bergin will be in Woodbine Books  TODAY, Saturday, 29 November, to talk about his book The Experimenters.

The book and event are suitable for children aged four upwards, and Dr Shane will discuss how Luke and Ruby have a sleepover with their grandparents, who teach them about science and how to explore the world around them.

The event starts at 3pm. Grandparents welcome too.

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