Counselling for Covid-related mental health problems

A free counselling service for people affected by Covid-related issues is being offered by MyMind until the end of March.

The service is available to people aged 18+. There are a number of eligibility criteria.

These include people presenting with Covid-related mental health concerns such as bereavement, social isolation, depression and allied matters, addiction or domestic violence.

Front-line workers in a medical setting, can access the scheme, as also can low-income employed people, unemployed by Covid-19, those over the age of 65, or anyone cocooning because of ill health.

Call 076, 6801060 or visit MyMind.org.

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Alert on house break-in

A Community Text Alert has been issued about a house break-in at Tippeenan, near Calverstown, last night.

The crime occurred between 8.30pm-9.30pm.

If anyone noticed anything suspicious, they are asked to contact the Gardai at Kilcullen, 045 481212 or 086 8582822.

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Looking Back: Destructive floods on The Liffey

Kilcullen, Saturday. Not for many years have such disastrous floods being experienced in their neighbourhoods as have followed from the deluge of rain that has fallen last night and today. The upper reaches of the Liffey are swollen to an abnormal extent.

The river has overflowed its banks, and the low-lying lands are flooded in some instances to a depth of several feet.

The water has invaded several dwellinghouses and out-offices in Kilcullen. Large quantities of driftwood have been swept down with the flood. The Kilcullen Mills, belonging to Mr. John Collins, are flooded to a depth of from 4 to 6 feet, but fortunately Mr. Collins was able to have all the corn, meal, etc., stored on the ground floors removed to the lofts before the invading floods carried destruction to his property.

The tributaries to the Liffey in this district are all flooded, and the fields adjoining ate covered with water.

It is stated that not for the past half-century have such floods been seen along the course of the Liffey in this locality. Cattle and sheep have had to be hastily driven from the flooded areas in the country districts, and all farming operations are at a standstill, owning to the sodden state of the land.

— Freemans Journal 21.02.1910.

(Credit to Dave Byrne, who has taken the time to trawl through the old newspapers for reports from Kilcullen.)

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Kilcullen GAA climbing the Every Step Counts ladder

We are delighted to report that Kilcullen GAA and community members have walked over 5,200 km in just 10 Days, writes Liam Cronin.

We are now up to 13th place in the whole of Leinster which is a phenomenal achievement for the community of Kilcullen.

But we are not stopping there, we want to climb the ranks even further and burst into the top 10!

A total of 130 people have now signed up and we have 115 active walkers and runners each day.

It’s not too late to sign up, just download the app MyLife by Irish Life.

Search for MyLife by Irish Life in the App Store or Google Play Store. Once registered, get ready to join Kilcullen GAA and get stepping!

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Weatherday: It's a mouse!

The bit of snow locally overnight has mostly disappeared, though there may be a bit more in the afternoon.

Staying mostly cloudy, highest temperature around 1deg. Dipping back below freezing in early evening with frost likely.

On this day in 1984, Steve Jobs introduced the Apple Macintosh computer.

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Podcast: In Bilbao, back in the Pub

My plan was that I'd rent a bike and take to Bilbao on wheels for the day. Instead, I ended up in a pub early that Sunday afternoon. That wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was research, of course. On how the Bilbaoians spend their Sundays. Produced by Brian Byrne.

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Dealing with springs in the Valley

With the increased traffic in the Valley due to the attraction of the Fairy Trail, and people out just walking, the sections that have been wet underfoot are being addressed by Kilcullen Community Action.

During the last few days, some of the several springs which are the culprits have been diverted and piped into the river away from the surface.

Pics from Kilcullen Community Action Facebook.

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Market Square Part 8 'ready for publication'

Some visual waypoints on the journey so far towards the Market Square Redevelopment.

The Part 8 documents for the Market Square Redevelopment project have been completed by Kildare County Council and will be published before the end of the month, writes Brian Byrne.

This is one of the items in the Management Report for January 2021 from the local authority's Chief Executive, Peter Carey.

The project is now estimated to cost €1.3m, of which €1.1m is expected to be provided out of the Council's LPT funds. According to the Council's Strategic Projects & Public Realm Team, the timeline for completion of the project is Quarter 2 2022, 'subject to funding'.

The Market Square redevelopment project got under way after a public meeting organised by Kilcullen Community Action in July 2017. A public consultation day in September of the same year garnered 217 submissions on the day and afterwards online.

A Concept Plan produced by the Paul Hogarth Company on commission from Kildare County Council was shown to the project committee in April 2018. That plan was then shown to councillors of the Naas MD in June of that year. Following an application supported by Kildare County Council, the redevelopment project was awarded an initial €200,000 from the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2018 towards the then estimated cost of €500,000.

In April 2019, in response to concerns on parking raised by businesses, KCA said it had been told by the Council that Part 8 plans and documentation had 'largely been completed' and 'planning reports' should be completed by the end of that month. The KCA statement also said its Market Square Committee was, in conjunction with the Council, 'looking at allocating parking spaces nearby'.

In May of 2019, the Council had surveys of parking spaces in the downtown Kilcullen area carried out, along with relevant traffic counts.

A full public consultation period under the Part 8 process was originally expected before Christmas 2019, but was again deferred, pending completion of the documents. The pandemic situation in 2020 resulted in further deferrals.

A similar project planned for Rathangan, costing €1.6m, is also expected to be published by the end of the month.

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Deadline for February Bridge

A reminder that the deadline for copy for the next issue of The Bridge magazine is Tuesday of next week, writes Brian Byrne. The February issue will mark the completion of 50 years since the magazine was first published.

All articles, photographs, news and other contributions welcome. If anyone has a comment on what the Bridge has meant to them over the decades, they're very welcome to email them to kilcullenbridge@gmail.com.

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Weatherday: Arthur, God be good to him

A fine dry morning. Will stay bright with long spells of sunshine. Light westerly breeze.

Highest temperature around 3deg, and there's a weather warning about sub-zero conditions after dark with possible falls of hail, sleet or snow.

On this day in 1803, Arthur Guinness, founder of the now famous brewery, died.

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Community Enhancement grant for Town Hall

A grant of €10,783 was awarded to Kilcullen Town Hall & Heritage Centre in the 2020 Community Enhancement Programme funding announced today, writes Brian Byrne.

It was among over 3,000 groups around the country which received grants ... 32 of them in County Kildare.

Chair of Kilcullen Heritage Group Nessa Dunlea said the money is for essential safety repairs to the Town Hall Theatre, in the lighting control room and at one of the emergency exits.

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Kilcullen Community 4 Climate Action holds first meeting

After a low-key start just before Christmas, the Kilcullen Community 4 Climate Action group is now ready for a busy 2021 and an expansion of membership, writes Brian Byrne.

Initiated by Cliona Kelliher, who has been involved in a variety of environmental issues both in her work with Dublin City Council and the Kildare Public Participation Network, the so far small group held its first meeting on 15 January, via Zoom.

"It was really a matter of getting to know each other better, and we had a short brainstorming session," Cliona says. "I would really like to see the group develop very much as a cooperative endeavour, similar to the flat structure of the PPN. We are, of course, open to collaboration with other community organisations, businesses etc."

The idea is that everyone can make a difference by implementing small changes in their own lives. The group has already posted a number of short videos with simple ideas.

The Kilcullen Community 4 Climate Action has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A full feature on the initiative will be published in next week's Kildare Nationalist.

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Extra Council staff for walking and cycling initiatives

Active Travel Teams are to be funded by Government in all local authorities to support the expansion of walking and cycling facilities.

These will amount to up to 248 new local authority jobs, to support the delivery of almost 1,000kms of such infrastructure by 2025. The initiative announced today will almost quadruple the number of staff working on these projects.

The walking and cycle initiatives include the new Safe Routes to School programme, aimed at ensuring children of all ages and backgrounds can travel to school safely, and in a healthy and active way.

€1.8bn will be spent on walking and cycling over the lifetime of the Government, according to the Programme for Government.

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Weatherday: 'A vital force for peace in the world'

The overnight sharp frost will have some untreated roads and footpaths icy for a time. Some wintry showers this morning will clear to sunny spells for the rest of the day.

Highest temperatures 4deg in light westerly breeze. Below freezing again from early evening.

On this day in 1972, Ireland signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community, becoming a full member on 1 January 1973 after a Referendum which showed 81pc in favour.

Headline: A comment by Taoiseach Jack Lynch in his speech at the signing of the Treaty of Accession.

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