Halverstown Cricket Club needs a new home

Happier times: At a schools cricket inaugural in 2024, Minister for Sport Catherine Martin pictured with Stuart Conroy, Halverstown, Anne O’ Meara, Cricket Leinster, Jim Hodgson, Halverstown, Syl Merrins, Kildare Sports Partnership, Senator Vincent Martin and Naomi Scott-Hayward, Cricket Leinster.

Halverstown Cricket Club, Ireland's oldest club outside Dublin, is facing closure if it can't find a new home by the end of the 2027 season, writes Brian Byrne. The lease on its current grounds at Harristown Estate runs out next year, and, despite two years’ searching, the 140-year-old club has not been able to find a new space. 

Chairman Des Drumm says Halverstown CC is very grateful for the extraordinary generosity of the Beaumont family, which has provided the beautiful setting for the club over the last 30 years. "But we have outgrown the facility and have been searching for a new ground. Concentrated attempts have been unsuccessful to date.”

The club was asked over two years ago by Cricket Leinster to be the tenant of a cricket pitch in the planned new park in Sallins. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, Kildare County Council was unable to accommodate cricket facilities in either the near or longer term. Following this, Halverstown engaged in extensive discussions regarding a ground share with another Kildare sporting club, but unfortunately, this too has been unsuccessful.

Club Secretary Stuart Conroy says the closure of the cricket club would be a very sad day for Kildare, particularly given the strides it has made in recent years. The club has developed youth cricket from scratch, now with over 100 members, five teams, and a women’s team. They also have two teams in the Cricket Leinster league and a thriving social team. The club coaches 16 primary schools annually, bringing cricket to over 800 youngsters since 2023. They’ve also coached at Piper’s Hill College, which reached two Leinster Schools’ Finals. The club ground has been used by local schools, and without a new home, schools’ cricket in Kildare will end. "It would be a bitter blow to lose all this," says Stuart Conroy. "Unfortunately, it is a very real prospect."

Despite a cricket boom, several clubs have been lost since the 1990s, including Athy in Kildare. Land availability is crucial for cricket, as it needs at least five acres of relatively flat, well-drained land. The club is willing to buy or rent and wants to stay in mid- or south Kildare, where they’ve been for 140 years. However, land pressure is high. "Nevertheless, we will continue to look," says Des Drumm. "You cannot walk away from all that history, and we have certainly never been stronger from a membership perspective. We just need a ground for them!"

The club welcomes suggestions and can be contacted via their website or by emailing info@halverstowncc.net, or call 086 2241761. 

Halverstown CC in the late 1930s. Pic courtesy Simon Fletcher, whose great great grandfather, Charlie Curran, is in the photograph.

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Camphill Grangebeg Open Day today

Camphill Grangebeg in Dunlavin, is hosting an Open Day today, Saturday, 22 August, from 12pm to 4pm. 

The event offers a family-friendly atmosphere with a BBQ, €5 meal deals, music, craft stalls, sports, games, and a raffle. 

Entry is free, with all proceeds supporting Camphill Grangebeg, part of Camphill Communities of Ireland, which aids adults with intellectual disabilities. 

The community is located at Grangebeg Camphill Community, Park Lane, Dunlavin, W91 WN96.

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The passing of Lynda Nolan

The death has occurred of Lynda Nolan, formerly of The Hermitage, Kilcullen, on 19 August, after a brief illness  peacefully in the care of the staff at the Mater Hospital.

Predeceased by her father Ray, Lynda is sadly missed by her heartbroken mother Margaret, brothers Ray, Nigel and Peter, Peter’s wife Ellen, niece Emily and nephew Raymond. Lynda is missed by her long term partner Damien.

She will be reposing at her mother’s residence, The Hermitage, Kilcullen, on Saturday afternoon (August 22nd) from 2pm to 4pm, subsequently reposing at Cunningham’s Funeral Home, Clonsilla on Sunday evening (August 23rd) from 4pm to 6pm.

Removal on Monday morning, August 24th, to the Church of St Philip the Apostle, Mountview, arriving for Funeral Mass at 11.30 am followed by burial in Esker Lawn Cemetery, Lucan.

Lynda’s Funeral Mass may be viewed online (live only) by following this link. 

Family flowers only, please. Donations if desired to the Irish Cancer Society.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

Trees felled on convent grounds

Kilcullen's streetscape was changed a little yesterday with the felling of several trees on the former convent grounds. One on the corner was left, though substantially trimmed.

The work was deemed necessary both for safety and because of ill-health of some of the trees.

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Mattress Amnesty Day

Kildare County Council, in collaboration with AES Recycling and the Circular Economy Fund, is hosting a Free Mattress Amnesty Day on Sunday, 6 September. The event will take place at AES Recycling, Silliot Hill, Kilcullen, from 8:30am to 3:00pm. 

Residents can bring up to six double, single, or triple mattresses for free disposal. The event is exclusive to household customers and does not accept commercial or charity entities, nor does it accept other waste or bulky items like divans, pillows, or couches. 

For more details, contact the Environment Department at 045 980588 or environ@kildarecoco.ie.

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Inaugural Bruce Springsteen Festival in Rathangan

The inaugural Féile Springsteen will be held in Rathangan tomorrow, Saturday, 22 August. The festival will celebrate Bruce Springsteen’s connections to the town with music, talks, tours, art, films, and competitions. 

The main event is an outdoor concert by The Human Touch, Ireland’s first Bruce Springsteen tribute band, at The Village Pump at 8pm, supported by Hot Cross Dunnes. Tickets are €15.

The day starts at 11am with a talk by Mario Corrigan at Rathangan Library on Springsteen’s Irish roots, focusing on his great-great grandmother Ann Garrity’s journey to New Jersey. At 4pm, historian Larry Fullam will lead a guided tour, “Ann Garrity’s Rathangan,” visiting historical sites. Other activities include a Springsteen look-alike contest, reflections on his 2023 visit, at The Burrow at 7pm, and an all-day art exhibition by the An Scríobhláil Collective and the Freehold Art Group at Ma’s Kitchen. 

A Springsteen-themed film will be shown at the RYARC Centre at 2pm. 

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South Kildare Shamrocks U6-U8 Academy

The South Kildare Shamrocks Hurling Academy for U6-U8 age groups is back. Training sessions will be held every Wednesday from 6pm to 7pm at the Two-Mile House GAA Astro Pitch. 

The academy welcomes children aged 5 to 8, with helmets and hurleys available for beginners. 

Shamrocks is an amalgamation for Hurling of three clubs — Athgarvan GAA, Kilcullen GAA and Two-Mile House GAA. New players are encouraged to join. For updates and information on older age groups, follow their social media.

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Pond workshop drew fascinated audience

Small actions by individuals, when multiplied in neighbourhoods, towns, and beyond, can have a huge impact on the environment and biodiversity, people at a Kilcullen workshop about making ponds were told, writes Brian Byrne. The well-attended event in the Town Hall was facilitated by wildlife consultant Rob Gandola, who said ponds can be provided in balconies, gardens, and public spaces.

The workshop was sponsored by the River Basin Management Service, formerly the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO). A fascinated audience absorbed the three basics of setting up a pond, which are that it be functional, "It has to be able to hold water", that it has an amenity value, "or looks great", and that it has a 'wildlife value'. "If you've designed it right, the wildlife is going to come in anyway."

The core message of the evening was to keep things simple, at a time when a resurgence of interest in ponds means that people are being overloaded with information. "A pond is something that's going to go into the ground or be raised, and is going to hold water for about eight months of the year and offer a clean habitat." 

The water source is the most important consideration, he said, with rainwater being the 'gold standard'. The heatwaves of this summer have highlighted the advantages of a water butt system to harvest rainwater and have it available. "This is going to be so important in the future for people who invest in these aquatic habitats. You don't want river water in your pond because the wildlife from the river doesn't like still water, and if somebody does something extreme upstream it can be dangerous. Canal water is a big no-no, because if there's something in that, it can destroy your pond over a few years."

Justin Ivory, Rob Gandola, and Ruth Gaj McKeever.

Construction of ponds has been enjoying something of a revival in Ireland, after a hiatus since the 1970s. Renewed interest is coming through various sources, including schools and community groups. Gandola suggests interest was sparked during Covid, as people developed a greater appreciation for their environment and realised the need to address air quality, habitats, and the current direction in their protection. "It's all now about habitat provision. It's diversity of habitats, irrespective of whether it's a community space or your own garden or something far bigger. Aquatic habitats have a greater concentration of species and species diversity compared to rivers, lakes, and other aquatic habitats. It's incredible what they do."

Ponds become home to invertebrates like aquatic beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, water scorpions, water stick insects, freshwater snails, and aquatic lice. They host a variety of mayflies which are more tolerant of nutrient influx than their river cousins. Amphibians such as frogs and newts, and the native Irish lizard, are commonly found near water bodies. "They'll move in quickly."

The presenter emphasised that once installed, the pond owner shouldn't have to do anything for years except enjoy it. A pond should be low-maintenance, without need for pumps or aerators. "Our native aquatic plants are perfectly good at doing all that for free."

Generational memory in Kilcullen will recall several local ponds and wetland spaces that have disappeared over short decades, in many cases through development. Gandola believes there's a regulatory shortfall here. "In the UK they have biodiversity net gain. They've got more protected species, like great crested newts, where they say: we acknowledge that you have to remove these ponds to build housing. But you have to replace them with a similar habitat, elsewhere on-site or at another location that we deem to be appropriate. We don't have that here."

The situation is better in relation to farmland, where several nature enhancement schemes encourage Irish landowners to reinstall ponds that may have been removed through intensive farming. "They may have a bit of neglected land, and they have funding streams available for, like, doing a mini orchard, making a biodiversity plan for the site, with money then to install a pond."

But for individuals at home, as the meeting heard, it can all begin for the simple cost of the price of a bucket.

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Magick book launch at Woodbine

Woodbine Books is hosting the launch of Practical Magick by author, witch, and magical practitioner Hazel Cahill, on Thursday, 10 September, starting at 7pm. The writer is the proprietor of the Pure & Simple New Age Store in Newbridge.

Practical Magick serves as a gentle and accessible introduction to paganism and magical practices. Readers can explore divination practices such as tarot, pendulums, and runes, the healing and spiritual properties of crystals, and the use of herbs in everyday magic.

The book encourages active reader participation, offering space to jot down thoughts, experiences, and results of any practices. It delves into the connection between pagan practices and the natural world, teaching how rituals, spells, and traditions honour the cycles of nature, the elements, and the earth’s energies. 

Pre-order your copy of Practical Magick from the Woodbine Books website at this link. 

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Kilcullen Garda District Community Alert meeting

Some details from the Cairde app.

Residents of Kilcullen and surrounding areas are invited to attend an upcoming Community Alert Meeting, focusing on community safety, crime prevention, communication, and support for vulnerable residents.

The meeting will be held in Kilcullen GAA Hall on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, starting at 7.30pm.

The agenda includes the implementation of the new Cairde App by Muintir na Tíre, which has replaced the old Kilcullen text alert phone. There will also be discussions on crime prevention topics and local issues with local Gardaí and elected representatives.

Anyone who wants to propose additional local issues for discussion can email Communitytextalertscheme@gmail.com or contact Elaine at 086 0751401.

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Kilcullen Drama Group AGM

The AGM of Kilcullen Drama Group will be on Monday, 14 September, at 7:30pm in Kilcullen Town hall. 

All Welcome.

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200 year Celebration of St Paul's Church, Ballysax

A celebration of 200 years of St Paul's Church, Ballysax, will be held on 13 September, from 1pm to 5pm, writes Mary Howe Doyle. This is a wonderful opportunity to explore our beloved heritage centre and view the church’s stunning interior. 

You will meet the dedicated team who maintain this historical gem, and learn about its diverse uses beyond just a place of worship. 

The event is free, and refreshments will be provided. 

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