Homemaker post at Bridge Camphill

The Bridge Camphill Community is currently seeking a highly motivated person as a Homemaker/Special Needs Job Coach in one if the residential homes.

It's a part-time position, the successful applicant will provide residential, job coaching and lifestyle supports to adults with special needs, in the community.

The position is part of a team of co-workers, volunteers and employees creating a positive living experience, and an environment and atmosphere within the home in which the needs of people can be met.

Key requirements include excellent communication, people management and problem solving skills, with empathy and sensitivity to others.

An ability to work collaboratively and motivate a team to enthusiastically support individuals is essential.

Energy and enthusiasm, high motivation and a flexible approach to working hours are desired, along with good planning and time management skills.

Applicants need an openness to the Camphill Ethos and alternative models of Social Care, as well as an understanding of HIQA Standards, Regulations, Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults and Duty of Care.

Work experience in a related area such as personal assistant/carer, community development, or social care will be helpful, as will experience in supporting people that display challenging behaviour.

A full clean Driving Licence is necessary and this post is subject to Garda vetting.

The post offers 15 hours per week Monday to Friday 9.30am -12.30pm, with a pay rate of €12.50 per hour. Extra hours will be required at times of transition of coworkers/volunteers, to cover the holidays of other team members, or for example to attend reviews or meetings by request of Management.

Call in and talk to Ben Gamble at An Tearmann, The Bridge Camphill Community, Main Street, Kilcullen. Phone 045 481597 or 085 1311608 or e-mail thebridge@camphill.ie.

Closing date for applications is Sunday 9 September 2018. Those shortlisted for interview will be contacted by 11 September 2018 for interviews being held between the dates 17 September to 21 September 2018.

Camphill is an equal opportunity employer.

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Speed vans on M7 next week

Speed vans are being deployed along the M7 road works from Monday, according to An Garda, write Brian Byrne.

They will monitor and enforce the speed limit of 60km/h between Junctions 8-11.

In a text alert, An Garda has warned people to heed their speed 'and arrive alive'.

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Remember, bring memorabilia to Heritage Centre tomorrow

Andrew Nolan GAA memorabilia photographs and medals, kindly loaned to the Heritage Centre by his daughter, Marie Maxwell.

The idea of the two Meitheal of Memories sessions, Wednesday morning and Thursday evening, in the Heritage Centre is to give Kilcullen residents an opportunity to record their photographs and documents and memorabilia, writes organiser Mary Orford.

A lot of people have a precious photograph or document with which they would be reluctant to part. By bringing it to the Heritage Centre and having it scanned, they can take home their much treasured items but a copy of it will be captured and stored for future generations of Kilcullen residents.

If anyone has a medal, photograph, letter, bill of sale, invitation, envelope with a name and address of someone from Kilcullen, play programme, or any thing else that might be of interest to the heritage of the town of Kilcullen, please bring them along.

There will be a warm welcome for everyone, a cuppa and plenty of time to chat and share stories.

Heritage Centre on either Wednesday 22nd between 11am and 1pm or Thursday 23rd between 7pm and 9pm!

PS If you bring a USB (ask any passing six year old what a USB is), you can take away a digital copy as well as the original).

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Heritage events in Kilcullen this week

Do you know the stories behind these pictures, from the Kilcullen Gathering Heritage Collection. 

A reminder that there will be two 'Meitheal of Memories' events in Kilcullen Heritage Centre — tomorrow Wednesday 22 August (11am-1pm) and on Thursday 23 August (7pm-9pm) — for people to bring photos relating to Kilcullen and tell the stories behind them, writes Brian Byrne.

And tomorrow evening, 22 August, Kilcullen Community Library will host historian James Durney talking about the 'End of Days' ending of of WW1 a hundred years ago. It starts at 7.30pm. Admission is free. It is not suitable for children under 12.

Also the importance of recording local history will be the theme of a conversation event in Ballitore Community Library on Thursday afternoon.

Organised by the Librarian, Pauline Fagan, it will feature a talk with the County Kildare Executive Librarian, Mario Corrigan.

The session will be 2.30pm-3.30pm, and admission is free. There is full wheelchair access, and ample parking, but the event is not suitable for children under 12.

Further information is available by phone at 059 8623344, or email ballitorelib@kildarecoco.ie.

All of these are part of the County Kildare contribution to National Heritage Week.

(And have you had a look at Billy Redmond's collection of memorabilia, which is the Woodbine Books contribution?) 

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Kilcullen mass for World Meeting of Families

Fr Gavin Landers and a group coming from England for the World Meeting of Families Ceremonies will celebrate mass at 7.30pm on Thursday 23 August in Kilcullen Church.

The mass will be followed by tea and coffee afterwards in the Parish Centre.

All parishioners are welcome to attend the Mass and the social gathering afterwards.


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Successful tennis summer camp

Photo by icon0.com/Pexels.

Kilcullen Tennis Club hosted a very successful camp on Friday 17 August, writes Mary Butler.

The Juniors had an excellent time both on and off the courts. Many thanks to the helpers who gave up their day on Friday to help out with the event.

The club is growing significantly since it reopened a year ago and hopefully the camp can run for a longer duration next year .

If you are interested in joining or helping out in any way please phone Mary at 086 8209740.


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Photographers will meet at Russborough

Kilcullen Photography Club is having its next meet-up in Russborough House in Blessington.

The event on Saturday 25 August begins at 11am. The format is very informal, with members taking some pictures and getting together for coffee and chat.

All photographers welcome. Kilcullen Photography Club is for anyone with an interest in photography.

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All weather pitch closed for laying of new one

The all weather pitch at Kilcullen Community Centre is closed from today, from Monday 20 August, until Monday 17 September.

This is due to a completely new pitch being laid.

All enquires can be made to Claire on 087 9681040.

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Courses at Crookstown FETC

The Enrolment Day for courses at Crookstown Further Education and Training Centre has been scheduled for Thursday 6 September, writes Brian Byrne.

There will be two sessions, 9.15am-12 noon, and 7pm-8pm.

The courses are under both Adult Basic Education (ABE) and the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI).

In the former they include Computers for Beginners, Computers for Improvers, Payroll for Beginners, Basic Horticulture, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Hairdressing Level 3, and Word Processing at both Levels 3 and 4.

The BTEI courses include Horticulture, Community Care, Childcare, and Business Administration.

Further information is available from crookstownfetc@kwetb.ie of phone 087 3527407.

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Pat Nolan back for holiday

Pat Nolan from Logstown, who has lived in America for a long time, is home to Kilcullen on holidays with her partner Greg Mackay, writes Brian Byrne.

Pat left Ireland in her early 20s and lived in Belgium for five years before heading across the Atlantic.

For many years she was based in New York and Connecticut, then moved to Seattle where she now lives.

Turns out she's another Diary reader from afar.

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Naas women's rugby team officially launched

The Naas women’s rugby team was officially launched in Forenaughts recently, writes Kevin Greene of Naas Rugby Club. This means that Naas is now one of just four clubs in Ireland to have sides at under-10, U12, U14, U16, U18 and Senior level and it is something the club is immensely proud of.

Jenny Murphy.

The team came together for the first time as 26 girls undertook an open training session with the club set for an exciting new chapter in its history. The newly developed side certainly won’t be lacking in experience on the sideline as former Leinster and Ireland star Jenny Murphy is leading the way, alongside Adam Coyle who has played for Ireland at under 20 level and will be part of the Naas Senior squad for the coming season.

The team has been established on the back of some excellent success at underage level in recent years and with women’s sport in Ireland at arguably its highest point, it’s the perfect time for this plan to come together. Naas will compete in the senior leagues and while they will begin in the bottom division, this will give the players a chance to get to know each other better and get a plan together, as it’s a very youthful squad with players coming together from different parts of Kildare. The team will train every Wednesday night at 7.30 and any interested parties are invited to attend as they look ahead to the season.

Youth rugby for girls between the ages of 12 and 18 will recommence on Monday 20 August at 7pm. Fielding sides at U14, U16 and U18, the club will provide opportunities for all. Building on last year's success, winning the U18 2nd division title, the club is looking forward to an exciting season. At mini level the club will field sides at U10 and U12.

Club registration day for new and existing players will be on 1 September.


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Another great spectacle from Mac & Norman Vintage Rally

We don't have any numbers yet, but at the trucks end I'd be very surprised if Peter Sully hasn't achieved the 100 or more that this year's Mac and Norman Vintage Rally brought through Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

As Mark Phelan notes from his drone footage, it took the whole caboodle an hour to pass through Kilcullen on its way to Walls of Kilgowan where the Auction is due to take place about at the time of writing.

As usual, the cavalcade was led by the motorbike men and women, with the vintage cars following on. Then the trucks, making serious noise through town to everyone's enjoyment.

And afterwards the tractors. New and old and older, the Diary's pictorial chronicle of the convoy has concentrated mainly on the older.

In the 16th year of this extraordinary fundraising work for the Irish Cancer Society, the Diary salutes all involved in the Rally's organisation and participation.

All the Diary's pictures are here.





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New Brannoxtown principal 'very much at home' in small schools

Dr Sarah Fitzpatrick, Principal of Brannoxtown CNS.

Her own experience as a pupil in a two-teacher school, and a subsequent career path which involved regular interaction with small schools, underpins the enthusiasm of Dr Sarah Fitzpatrick for her new role as Principal of Brannoxtown Community National School, writes Brian Byrne.

"In my heart, this is very much a homecoming for me," she told the Diary during yesterday's Family Open Day. "I'm very much at home in this environment ... and delighted to be part of a new chapter in the school."

Sarah has worked for the last three years as a teacher in Naas CNS, and reflects on how this latest move 'happened very quickly'. "I was on holidays when the position came up, and I applied for it while I was away. Then I met with Dr Rory O'Toole the day after I came home from Canada ..." And now she is in the middle of what is undoubtedly a challenge to get Brannoxtown CNS up and running in a very short time frame. "But it's also a great opportunity, with the new patron."

Prior to going back to teaching, Sarah worked with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), finishing as Deputy Chief Executive. During that time she was directly involved in developing the Patron's Programme for Community National Schools.

"We worked with hundreds of small schools, really got a sense of what they are. Though every school is different — each one has its own peculiarities and conditions that makes each a very special case."

When she decided to return to teaching, Sarah says she was inspired to work with Community National Schools from her experience with them during the development of their Patron's Programme. "Particularly from working with teachers in the CNS system."

Though not from the area, Sarah has followed the recent story of Brannoxtown NS 'from afar', and is very much up to date with what the school means to the people of Brannockstown. "There are clearly fantastic ties with the community ... it's almost overwhelming to see such a generosity of spirit from a community for the school."

Brian and Sean Murphy, past pupils, entertained through the afternoon.

Bouncy castles and ice-cream on a sunny Saturday.

A touch of paint added colour.

Yesterday's Open Day was sunny, colourful and musical, with a number of past pupils coming along to revisit their earlier classrooms. They also contributed with football displays and some expert fiddle playing.

But bouncy castles and face-painting and an ice-cream van are not what will make the revived Brannoxtown national school work. It will need a mix of patience, enthusiasm, and professional expertise, to attract families back to a school with an extraordinary heritage.

That mix is there. If a sunny Saturday afternoon is a sign for a positive future, the laughter of happy pupils in a small school will return to Brannoxtown.

Past pupils Leah Mallon, Emily Carter and Amy Nolan revisited memories.

Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin, Conor O'Toole, and Anthony Carter.

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