Happy birthday, Helena!

This is Helena Gannon from Galtee Lodge in Gilltown. And today's her birthday.



Happy birthday, Helena, from everyone who knows you in Kilcullen, but especially from your family, Phil and Anne and Peter.

Helena and her boyfriend Graham Hamill have been travelling through South East Asia since March, taking in Hong Kong, China and Cambodia. Now they're working in Sydney, Australia, and plan to do so untile Christmas.

And guess how they keep in touch with what's happening at home? Yep, the Diary is perused at least weekly.

"Sometimes she can tell me things going on here more than I know," says her mother Anne, who set this birthday greeting up to surprise her daughter. "She rings us at home every week, no matter where they are."

Helena got the travel bug early, when she joined the Geraldine Clifford Irish dancing troupe, making her first trip to Italy with the group.

"She worked with Ryanair for a while after college, and then she went to different places. She's been saving up for quite a while for this trip."



So once again, many happy returns, Helena.

Brian Byrne.