It Says in The Bridge: November 05

The front of Bridge this month highlights Kilcullen celebrating, showing the two presentations made by sports personality Dessie Scahill at the Community Awards Night, and also the new flag for Scoil Bhride which was raised on the occasion of the school's 25th anniversary.

Both events are strongly featured inside the magazine in pictures and words, as is the Cross and Passion Debutantes Ball 2005. A presentation by the Kilcullen Community Games team of the trophy for Best Turned Out Team to sponsors Kilcullen Credit Union is also recorded.

Calverstown's Tidy Towns results are detailed in full, illustrated by a picture of the village's new name stone placed on the green. There are also the usual news pages from Brannoxtown National school, which is introducing a morning 'fruit break' next term, and from St Joseph's in Halverstown which is planning theatre trips for Christmas.

The Kilcullen Gardai Notes highlight the dangers of fireworks, claiming that such activity was down this year (but our cat Whiskers doesn't believe it!). The gardai also warn about an increase of burglaries in the Kildare and Suncroft areas.

Jenny Landers reports on travels by her Dance Group, to Poland, France and Cornwall, and takes the opportunity to thank all the group's sponsors and fundraising.

Thomas Kelly takes some space to consider sympathetically the position of Fr Alec Reid, agreeing with criticism of the priest's unfortunate comments recently where he likened the Loyalists to Nazis, but asking for consideration of Fr Reid's work in furthering the peace process.

At a more local level, Roy Thompson previews the 'Miscellany Sunday' organised by Phena Bermingham at her home next Sunday in aid of the Michael Garry Hostel for the Homeless in Newbridge. Still on charity, there's also detail of the 'Operation Maintain Hope' project in Kenya in which a number of Kilcullen people are involved.

Features include profiles of Community Award winners Laura Cogan and the Kilcullen members of the Pitch & Putt Ladies Inter County Team. Pat Behan reports on a proposed Wildlife Reserve for the area, noting in the process that the promoters had to close down a similar facility in Cornwall after a serious incident.

Sean Landers, home at the time of writing his 'Letter', presents it from John F Kennedy Avenue instead of Taiwan, and muses on changes in Kilcullen since his last visit here. His historical essay continues the 'Clare Connection' and the O'Brien family.

(And could the Editor ever so gently suggest that Sean's pieces might be easier read if they were paragraphed?)

Paul Aspell's 'Over the Bridge' column discusses how Kilcullen could do with some sort of true representative body, such as a Town Council. He takes a swipe at KCA in the process, and elsewhere also gives the back of his hand to the players on the Ireland team that was recently knocked out of the World Cup.

Finally, everybody should read Sabina Reddy's Letter to the Editor on rubbish dumping at Old Kilcullen. Not just to commiserate with local residents over the nefarious activities of the Players Navy Cut smoker with asthma and a Meteor pay as you go phone who reads the Daily Mirror and sprays himself with Lynx, but also for her advice on how to reduce the rubbish load in our own homes.

'Till next month...

Brian Byrne.