St Vincent's charity auction a success

The recent charity auction in aid of St Vincent's Hospital in Athy raised almost €10,300, writes Brian Byrne.

Director of Nursing at the Hospital Helen Dreelan told the Diary that they are 'absolutely delighted' with the outcome and she wishes to thank auctioneer Leon Kenny and Athy GAA Club, and the many volunteers which made it possible.

Kilcullen has a long history of supporting St Vincent's. Pictured above are Josie Connelly with Helen and Kilcullen friends on their annual fundraising walk for the hospital.

Helen adds a special word of thanks to all who donated items, and those who came and 'spent lots of money on the day'.

Acoustic Picnic 3 open for booking

Conor Mahony and Peter Byrne for Acoustic Picnic 3

Tickets are now on sale for the third Acoustic Picnic Concert, to be held in Kilcullen Town Hall on Friday 16 June, writes Brian Byrne.

Organised by Roy Thompson and friends, the event is again in aid of the Maintain Hope charity in Kenya, founded by Gerry O'Donoghue.

Those taking part will include Conor Mahony and Peter Byrne, Alan Fitzgerald, Frankie Lane, and the Kilcullen Gospel Choir.

Tickets are €10 and available from Berneys Chemists at 045 481497 and Hair by Eilis at 045 482996.

Permission granted for housing development

Planning permission has been granted for a 15-house development at New Abbey Road in Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

The permission, for the field beside the church car park, was granted to Scotpark Ltd on 17 May 2017.

The development will include changes to the access to the church car park, which will have a new entrance through the development instead of its current accessibility directly onto the New Abbey Road. This will retain the situation of having only one exit onto the road from both development and car park.

The grant of permission is subject to 32 Conditions.

The original application was for 16 dwellings, but was revised following a request from Kildare County Council for significant further information.

Drama Dynamics end of year

The Drama Dynamics End of Year presentations take place next week in The Studio on Hillcrest, writes Brian Byrne.

All parents, grandparents and friends of students are welcome to attend the performance, which will be a small improvisation followed by the presentation of certificates.

The events will be during class times on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 29-31 May.

Meanwhile, the Summer Stage summer camp organised by Evelyn O'Sullivan, owner of Drama Dynamics, will take place this year between 24-28 July, with sessions from 10am-2pm daily.

A €50 gift voucher will be presented to the student or parent whose suggestion of a play or musical is decided on for the camp.

CPC Ten to receive Gaisce Awards

Ten CPC students from Kilcullen are receiving their Gaisce medals and certificates at the TY Graduation Ceremony tomorrow, writes Brian Byrne.

They are Ciaran Connolly, Liam Connolly, Anna Hourihan, Ameilia Hennigan, Marykate Langan, Kean McNamara, Orla Murphy, Danny O’Grady, Nina Rogerson, and Hannah Talt.

Gaisce – The President’s Award is a self-development programme which encourages young people to find their passion, get active and make a difference in their community. It is a direct challenge from the President of Ireland to young people aged 15-25 to Dream Big and realise their potential.

The Award has three levels of achievement, Bronze, Silver and Gold, with four key challenge areas — Community Involvement, Personal Skill, Physical Recreation, and an Adventure Journey.

The CPC Ten have worked for their Bronze Awards and a number will continue on to gain their Silvers.

Their effort included a 25-kilometre hike across the Sliabh Bloom Mountains, followed by evening team games including archery, a caving maze, and other games. The following day they competed in teams in Canadian canoes on the River Brosna from Tipperary into Offaly.

A hugely enjoyable experience for students with new friendships forged and memories made that will last a life time.

Reiteration of Crayfish Plague warning

All water users are being urged by the EPA Catchment Unit to take precautions after confirmation of an outbreak of Crayfish Plague on a stretch of the River Suir downstream of Clonmel to Carrick-on-Suir.

It comes after large numbers of dead freshwater crayfish were reported on the river earlier this month. DNA analysis has now confirmed that the cause of death was crayfish plague.

Anyone using the river is being urged to observe the ‘Check, Clean and Dry’ protocol once they leave the river and before using it again.

This means that all wet gear (boats, clothing and equipment) should be checked for any silt or mud, plant material or animals before being cleaned and finally dried. Disinfectant or hot water (over 40 degrees Celsius) should be used to clean all equipment and this should be followed by a 24 hour drying period.

The drying period is especially important in ensuring that all equipment is clear of infectious organism, including the removal of any water inside the boat. The crayfish plague organism can be carried on wet equipment to new sites and containment of the outbreak is essential to prevent spread to other unaffected populations in Ireland.

(ED NOTE: This is especially of interest to Kilcullen, as we have a very healthy crayfish population, shown by last Saturday's demonstration and talk on Life in the Liffey given by Dr Jan Baars. Users of varied waterways should comply with the directions to make sure the Plague doesn't spread to here. )

What's on this week

Some reminders of things that are on this week, writes Brian Byrne.

For music lovers, Tim Grimm and his Family Band are in Mick Murphy's of Ballymore tonight, playing the BAG, very well worth the trip and with doors opening at 8.30pm.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday 23 May, there's the second Kilcullen event of National Biodiversity Week, a Dusk Chorus Walk meeting up in O'Connell's Bar upstairs at 6.45pm. In conjunction with Kildare BirdWatch, it will begin with a presentation on the birds of the area including their songs and calls, followed by the Dusk Chorus walk in the locality (NOTE change of meeting up venue).

The Kilcullen Community Action Tidy Towns AGM will be held on Wednesday evening in the Heritage Centre, all welcome to the event which begins at 8pm.

The Kilcullen Badminton Club Summer Club is in full swing, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at €7 a night. There's a 9pm start and everybody is welcome.

Tai Chi classes have resumed in Kilcullen Parish Centre on Wednesdays, the general class starting at 10am, and a Gentle Tai Chi for people with arthritis or other disabilities from 11.30am.

And our own Evelyn O'Sullivan is taking part in the Likely Story production of Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit', playing in the Moat Theatre on 24/25 May and 7/8/9 June. Booking at 045 883030.

So, lots to keep you all occupied …

Padraig wins cycle gold

Kilcullen's Padraig Moloney represented Ireland at the German National Sports Championships in Leipzig on Friday and Saturday, writes James Nolan.

He won the gold medal in his category of the 20K cycle road race on the Sunday.

The German National Sports Championships are for both Dialysis and Transplant patients and are a wonderful celebration of Life through Sport.

Padraig flew over from Kilcullen on Thursday and started at 5.30 on Friday morning with a trip to a Leipzig Hospital for five hours on dialysis. He then went straight to the Leipzig Golf and Country Club to compete in the Golf event.

On Saturday he took part in the 20K cycle road race and won his category. This really was a wonderful achievement for Padraig as he was trying to juggle his demanding and essential dialysis around competing in his selected sports.

Despite extremely hot weather conditions of 27 degrees, Padraig was limited to the amount of fluid he could drink as he has to closely monitor the fluids he drinks as he has a fluid restriction as part of the daily demands of his dialysis. This makes his participation even more amazing — so well done, Padraig.