'A Life' from Drama group

The recent death of playwright Hugh Leonard adds a special element to rehearsals currently under way in Kilcullen Drama Group.

The group is well in production with Leonard's 'A Life', with Bernard Berney playing the part of the protagonist, Desmond Drumm.

Drumm is on the point of retiring from a lifetime of work in the Civil Service, and the play traces that life from his hopes as a young man to the bitterness and disappointment he feels at the end of his career.

The play will open on 14 April.

Pitch & Putt news

A number of members of St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club have been elected as officers of the Kildare Pitch & Putt County Board.

They are Bernie Dunne, re-elected as Vice Chair; Christy Sweeney as Competitions Secretary; and Liam Sherry as PRO & Development Officer.

Membership of the Kilcullen club is due at the end of February, and has been retained at the same level as last year in view of the economic situation in the country.

At the recent Captain's Night, Dan Byrne presented the President's Prize to Dave Hanlon; Dympna Reddy presented the Manzi Reddy Trophy for 'Club Player of the Year' to Chrissie Byrne; and Pat Smith was given a special presentation to mark his retirement as Caretaker.

The poor weather has been responsible for the club having its worst playing time in its history during January. Weather permitting, Sunday morning competitions will continue during February.

The big event on the club's calendar, the National Scramble co-hosted with Ryston of Newbridge, will be held at the Kilcullen course on the weekend of 9/10 May.

Soccer Camp planned

Kilcullen Soccer Club has set provisional dates for the Easter Soccer Camp as 14-17 April.

This follows the success of last year's Easter Camp. More details later.

Is that bag really for charity?

Kilcullen Community Action has issued a warning about the 'charity' doorstep collections of old clothes.

In a comment on what seems to be an increased number of these collections, Kilcullen's tidy towns and environment organisation says there are many 'real charities', such as Enable Ireland and Oxfam, who are losing out because of the activities of these collectors.

"Specific details on the flyers from these collections are minimal, and they should really be ignored," a spokesman said. "Although they include a contact number and permit numbers, in most cases they are invalid."

KCA says the best advice, to make sure old clothes donations are benefiting a real charity, is to take them to the nearest charity shop or official clothes bank.

Barry checks home energy

Barry Goulding, son of Pat and Betty, has set up a new business assessing homes for their building energy rating (BER) certificates.

From his parents' hardware business in Naas, and his own experience as a carpenter, building foreman and site manager with some of the country's largest building firms, Barry has a strong knowledge of construction. It was a firm foundation for his energy consultancy, located in Tougher's Business Park at Newhall.

The BER requirement became mandatory for all new homes with planning permission granted from January 1 2007. From this year, all older properties which are for rent or sale must also have a certificate.

Barry has completed the Fetac Level 6 course which permits him to provide certification.

He will also assess homes even if they do not currently require BER certificates and advise owners on how they can improve the heating and insulation of their properties, with a view to saving on fuel consumption and cutting the house's CO2 'footprint'.

He can be contacted at 086 2249659, 045 409450, barry@energyconsultants.ie, and further information is available on his website at www.energyconsultants.ie

Brian Byrne.

Heart collection Sunday

Kilcullen First Responders will be carrying out a church gate collection on behalf of the Irish Heart Foundation at masses in the Kilcullen area on Saturday and Sunday next.

The money raised will be used to train children in CPR skills.

The collection points will be outside church gates in Ballymore, Narraghmore, Crookstown, Kilcullen and Moone, and the Irish Heart Foundation has expressed its thanks to the KFR for their cooperation in Kilcullen.

The collections have full Garda permits.

AFC in last 16 of Goodson Cup.

Kilcullen AFC under 14 Premier team plays this Saturday for a place in the quarterfinals of the Schoolboys Association of Ireland Goodson Cup.

Getting to this stage of the competition is a fantastic achievement for the players and indeed their managers Neil O’Brien and Robert Byrne. This is a national cup, which originally had over 330 teams involved.

Kilcullen Results so far –

Round 1 – Kilcullen 8 - 0 Broadford Rovers B (Dublin)

Round 2 – Kilcullen 9 – 0 Killavilla (Tipperary)

Round 3 – Kilcullen 5 – 0 Sallins Celtic (Kildare)

Round 4 – Arklow Town A (Wicklow) 0 – 3 Kilcullen

Last 32 - Kilcullen 1 – 0 Clontarf (Dublin)

Team panel as follows –

Andy Howard, Gary Kenny, Conor Byrne, Sean O’Brien (c), David Howe, Adam Phelan, DJ Flynn, Colm Byrne, Ciaran Sheedy, Ronan Dempsey, Ben Merrins, David Neill, Dylan Mulhall

Kilcullen play hosts to Clonmel on Saturday next 28th February and are confident of a win. Kick off is at 2 pm at the Community Centre so come along and give the lads loads of support.

Ray Kelly.

A Genie in the office

Even in a recession, or maybe because of it, the personal touch is an important key to running a small business.

That’s just what Anita Whyte has done with her ‘Office Genie’ office supplies business. Based in Kilcullen, since she set up last August business has been growing so well that Anita has just launched a website -- officegenie.ie -- so that she can deal with customers more efficiently.

Originally from Athy, Anita always had a yen to work for herself. After a stint in Australia when she left school, she came home and worked in construction for years, mainly in the purchasing and accounts areas.

“I became a bit disillusioned with that and decided to try something on my own. A franchise business that involved going into schools and helping children build up their self-esteem didn’t really work out for me, so I decided to go another route.”

During this franchise period, Anita had become conscious of the amount of office supplies which schools were buying, and she thought she saw another opportunity there. She did some further research, and decided to set up ‘Office Genie’. The name, she adds, was provided by her boyfriend.

“I’ve always believed in the value of networking, and got going just by letting people I knew know what I could offer. From these came referrals, and almost all of my business since I set up has come that way.”

The schools contacts were important, but the years when she had dealt with other companies while working in the construction office also gave her a wide range of places where she needed little introduction. Using contacts means that when Anita calls up to offer her services, she can go direct to the person in charge rather than just getting through to the switch.

“They also know me, and having a face they know at the other end of the phone instead of somebody anonymous at a call centre makes a big difference. They feel that they are getting a personal service, and I back that up with next day deliveries and good value.”

Anita has a catalogue of upwards of 20,000 items available. Her own success has also meant that she has been able to give some extra employment locally.

“For instance, I have a local carpenter who assembles office furniture on site for my customers, and I’ve had to employ somebody to do the accounts because I’m now too busy to do them myself. So there’s a little bit in it for everybody, which is brilliant.”

In recessions, there are sometimes better opportunities for local enterprise. “For a start, I can advise customers on how they can save money on their office supplies, without any drop in quality. Generally, if they show me their current supplies invoices, I can point out where savings can be made, sometimes small ones, but they all mount up.”

There’s also a tendency in times like these for companies to consider ‘going local’ instead of dealing with large multinationals.

“My take on it is to offer a friendly, personal service that is competitive. My overheads are lower, and I know from my long purchasing background how to source things, so I am competitive.”

Anita has been living in Kilcullen for seven years. Though based here, her customer base has already extended through Kildare, Carlow, Dublin, Meath and Westmeath. “And I got my first customer in Cork last week, so it’s moving even further.”

It may be small, but Anita’s story is a refreshingly positive one in the current doom and gloom.

Baking to bond with the kids

Remember those childhood days in the kitchen with your mum busy baking and you’d ‘help’ her just so that you could lick the spoon? And later the wonderful smell of cakes and scones wafting through the house from the oven?



Well, a mother of two young children in Kilcullen believes that a generation of kids have missed out on such treats, with parents too busy trying to hang on to the Celtic Tiger’s tail, and finding it difficult to get the time for such activities. Hazel Gaynor, pictured above with her children Max and Sam, wants to bring it all back to home baking basics.

“It all seems to have got pushed aside, lost in the madness,” she suggests. “I was reared in the kitchen with my own mother’s baking, and it is something I really enjoy doing whenever I can.”

Originally a Yorkshire lass, she well remembers those smells and tastes of her own childhood, and is determined that her own children will experience them too.

Hazel is at the beginnings stage of a book based around baking with your children, and is looking for like-minded people in the area to get involved through sharing recipes. She is also open to the idea of setting up some kind of mums and kids ‘baking circle’, which could meet in each others’ kitchens on a regular basis.

“In the current economic situation, mothers are looking for simple, low-cost things to do with their children,” she says. “What I’m trying to do is show that this doesn’t cost much money, and is really enjoyable for everybody involved.”

Hazel already has a store of recipes from her own mother’s days, handed down through the family. “And there are others that came from members of the extended family, so there’s plenty to be getting on with.

“I know there are lots of books out there by celebrity cooks and chefs, and they are wonderful, but I think people can be put off by something that takes a lot of preparation. My thing is that you can do this in half an hour on a Saturday morning. If it’s raining outside it gives the kids something to do.”

And it’s also an opportunity to improve nutrition, because home baking isn’t necessarily all about sugary stuff. “It gives the children a chance to experience and get to know some healthy alternatives for their snacks.”

Hazel works part time in a law firm in Dublin, and her children are currently aged three and fifteen months, so she is well aware at first hand of the difficulties of fitting in home life activities and a job.

“Any time you can spend actually engaging with your children is so important now. There’s so little time for many parents, and for the children who are being rushed around, packed off to a play centre. This is an activity that everyone can take part in, it’s great fun. They make a mess, they get their hands dirty, which kids love, and they get something to eat at the end. So it’s a perfect activity.”

Hazel also feels that it is important to show children where food comes from, that it doesn’t just come out of a packet from Tesco. “They love watching the cake rise in the oven and the other simple aspects of cooking from scratch. These are the things that get lost in the ethos of a supermarket store bakery.”

So, as she rolls out the pastry in her own home at Castlemartin, Hazel is hoping to tap in to a network of people in Kilcullen with like minds and a wish to get back to some of the simple pleasures.

“I guess it’s something of a passion of mine, it is something I was reared on, and I want to pass it on to my kids and to anyone else who’s interested.”

Brian Byrne.

Charlie is new GAA sponsor

The new sponsor of Kilcullen GAA, Charlie Dowling of O'Connells Bar, presented a new set of jerseys to the club at a recent function in the pub.



Charlie is pictured here with team captain Ronan Aspell.

The passing of Paddy Downey

The Diary has been informed of the death of Paddy Downey Snr, in Dundalk, Co Louth.

Paddy worked in New Abbey Stud, Kilcullen, until his retirement 17 years ago, when he returned to his wife's home area of Dundalk.

His son's Anthony and Paddy are home from Australia, as are his daughters Mary from London and Gabrielle from Holland.

We extend our condolences to them all in their loss.

Paddy is reposing at his home in Mountbagnal, Riverstown, Dundalk. Removal on this Monday evening at 5.45pm to St Mary’s Church, Lordship, arriving at 6.30pm. Funeral on Tuesday, after 11am Mass, to Lordship Cemetery.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Local crafts wanted

This is the Silver Jubilee year of County Kildare twinning with Lexington. There will be a special celebration in July this year when 40-50 visitors will come from Lexington to the County to celebrate the occasion.

The County Twinning Committee want to give each of these visitors a little gift to mark the occasion. However with stringent economic factors reducing budgets all over the place, they are seeking suggestions from Kildare Crafts People to come up with suggestions and proposals. Since twinning was started back 25 years ago they have tried to use locally made products whenever possible and to promote local design and local manufacture.

Now is the chance for a person who makes gifts locally to promote the new Spirit of Enterprise all are talking about but few are seeing in action.

Intentionally it is a wide ranging brief and no budget is specified. This is to get you to come up with a practical gift for our visitors that will reflect Kildare, 25 Years of twinning and will fit the current stringent state of the economy and our creativity in dealing with the problem.

Back in the early eighties when twinning started, Harry Lyons -- then County Secretary -- scoured the county for suitable gifts to bring the message of Kildare as a modern productive and creative county to America. Surely it is an opportunity to rekindle that spirit again.

For more information contact Ann Kavanagh, Secretary, Twinning Committee at Aras Chill Dara. 045 980538.

Sean Cleary
PRO County Kildare Twinning Committee
087 9090044

Dog dirt appeal

On a beautiful Sunday morning, recently, I walked from the Hideout to Moanbane. I was surprised and disgusted by the amount of dog excrement on the pavement. Dog owners are caring people. Could they extend this care, by cleaning up after their pets?

Kilcullen is a beautiful place and local volunteers work hard to preserve this beauty, for our pleasure. Is it fair to expect them to clean up after your pet?

Vomit of human orign was also plain to be seen. What can we do about that?

(Name and Address with Editor.)

Still time to press button 'A'

There’s still time for anyone in Kilcullen to make their feelings known on the imminent removal of the two public phone boxes in the town.

As previously reported, they are due to be taken away on March 16, leaving the nearest public Telecom box available in Newbridge.

The removal is part of a programme in which the phone company is taking out 40 percent of its phone boxes around the country.

For any one with an opinion on the matter, they can call S Colbert, Regional Payphone Manager, Eircom HQ, Tycor, Waterford City, 051 873266 or email scolbert@eircom.ie

'Fix the wall' call

Kildare County Council might as well 'fix the wall' on the New Abbey Road over the Valley Park, Niall McDonnell told a recent meeting of Kilcullen Community Action.

"In the times that are in it, they're not going to spend the €100,000 or so it will cost to build a new footpath in the area,, as was suggested," he said.

The first contact with the Council over the wall was made in November 2007. Since then, although a proposal that the Council take up an offer from the Valley trustees to build a footpath behind the wall was discussed by councillors, the stonework has further deteriorated.

RAS festival in planning

A three-day festival is being planned to mark the 2009 FBD Rás cycle race, which this year will actually start in Kilcullen for the first time. The race itself kicks off on Sunday 17 May.

The festival is being organised by longtime local cycling enthusiast Liam Walker, who wants clubs, pubs and individuals who would like to take part to contact him.

Anybody who might have clippings, films and photographs of previous Rás connections with the town -- as the Rás Tailteann it had a stage finish here in 1965 and a stage start in 1966 -- should also get in touch with Liam, at 087 6441565.

Paddy Flanagan, who worked on the building of the Link Business Park and Kilcullen Town Hall, won the race three times, and there are many other Kilcullen people with cycle racing connections, including Liam Baxter.

Riders in the week-long race will cover 1,289 kilometres and will travel through 15 counties to finish up in Skerries, Co Dublin.

Athletics Table Quiz

Crookstown Millview Athletic Club are holding their annual Table Quiz in St Laurence’s GAA Clubhouse in Narraghmore on Saturday March 7.

Table of four fees for the event, which begins at 8.30pm, are €40. Contact Mary at 087 9946526.

ELMS has moved

The Elms Childcare centre has moved to a new purpose-built premises at the Community Centre.

The operation is fully insured, fully qualified teachers, Montessori certified and IPPA member.

Information is available from Christine at 045 482867 or 087 6343037.

Geri wants local network

‘The way of the world is meeting people through other people.’

That’s a quote from one Robert Kerrigan, and is probably the most user-friendly description of ‘networking’ in a sea of jargon around the idea, of which ‘developing an interconnected web of mutually beneficial relationships’ is just one example.



And it is that kind of user-friendly networking that Kilcullen businesswoman Geri Dineen wants to get going in Kildare and Carlow. One that isn’t high-falutin’ and high expense.

Geri runs a company formations business which she set up herself a couple of years ago, and she firmly believes that -- particularly in times like now -- the whole idea of networking with the people involved in other local enterprises is the best way to beat the dreaded ‘R’ word.

She is herself a natural networker, and through her own business has an ever-growing circle of acquaintances in enterprise in the county and further afield. She is also involved with other established networking groups, including national and regional ones. But she feels there’s opportunity out there to facilitate small business and traders meeting their more local counterparts, and in the process provide business opportunities for each other.

“For instance, I used to use an IT provider based in Dublin, for the special services that I needed,” she says. “But I recently found one based in Carlow that could give me exactly the same level of service.

“I think we need to do more to get local businesses using each other, and that way we can help each other get over the current economic difficulties.”

To get the idea kicked off, she sent an email a couple of weeks ago to a group of local businesses, outlining the notion, and was frankly astounded with the results.

“I got hundreds of replies. I hadn’t realised there was that level of interest out there. So I’m trying to organise a time and a venue where we can all get together and see how we can take it further.”

Geri has no problem with there being women-only networking groups, and is involved herself in a number of them. “But I feel that cuts in half the marketing opportunities for everyone involved, and there’s a need for something more general.”

Her aim is to set up a group around Kildare and Carlow, rather than just one in a single county, as this opens more opportunities while at the same time being a manageable size.

Conscious of the fact that many national networking groups can involve what she terms as ‘huge’ fees, the local group she wants to set up will be low-cost and simple.

“It’s a case of just having enough money to pay for the room where we would meet. At the moment I’m brainstorming with a number of local businesspeople about an agenda, and expect to be coming up with some definite date and location soon for the first get-together.”

It’s one of those ‘watch this space’ situations at the moment, but going by Geri’s infectious enthusiasm, the space won’t be vacant for very long.

Brian Byrne.

Speech Tuition

Speech Tuition classes are available at The Studio in Harristown, under the guidance of Rani Grennell.

Sessions are available after school, in maximum groups of ten, and include poetry, story telling, prose, drama, reading skills, mime, voice production.

Times are Mondays-Thursday 6-7pm, Fridays 4-5pm, 5-6pm and 6-7pm. All ages are catered for as long as they are attending school in the locality.

Further information from 087 7923139. Call after 7pm.

Spout robbed

The till float was taken during a break-in at The Spout pub in the pre-dawn of Monday morning.

In what was clearly a carefully-planned burglary, the thieves first took down the external alarm box at around 6am, just before first light. Then they broke through a side door with what are believed to be heavy hammers before accessing the kitchen and other areas in the popular pub.

The whole operation was carried out very quickly, as gardai were on the scene shortly after notification from the alarm company that something might be amiss.

"I was called by the alarm monitoring company, and when I rang the pub in case it was a staff member coming in early, a garda answered the phone," said Billy Dowling, who operates the business. "They were very quick off the mark."

No stock was taken in the raid. Gardai are continuing with their investigations. The alarm system has been reinstated.

Fault on parish website

As there is a fault relating to the parish website at www.kilcullenparish.com, all current information, notices and news, on parish matters is currently available on kilcullenparish.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, the links to the various information pages on the main site are not currently accessible either. We'll keep you informed of progress.

Computer lessons

Anyone who feels currently left out of the whole internet communications thing, or want to be able to keep up with their kids, can avail of computer lessons locally.

For tuition in the basics, such as sending emails, writing CVs, call Shane on 085 1151433. If your computer is acting under par, he also offers to ‘clean it out and speed it up’.

Play next week

Droichid Nua Players are to present ‘Lonesome West’, a play by Martin McDonagh, in Kilcullen Town Hall Theatre on Thursday/Friday 19/20 February.

The production is presented by Paddy Melia, that very experienced local impresario who cut his producer’s teeth, so to speak, with presentations of John B Keane standards in Kilcullen through the 60s and 70s.

Tickets for ‘Lonesome’ are available from Bernard Berney Chemists, Main Street, 045 481497.

FG candidate in town tomorrow

The new Fine Gael candidate in the Athy District for the forthcoming local elections, Martin Heydon, will be meeting and greeting people tomorrow (Saturday) morning outside Nolans.

Martin will be there between 10am-1pm and will be happy to talk over any local issues that you might have.

Say hello to him, anyhow.

GAA Disco tonight

The monthly GAA Disco will be held in the clubhouse tonight, Friday.

Entry is by tickets only, which are available from any club member at €8.

Ruby Shoes online

Michelle Kirwan of Ruby Shoes in Kilcullen has set up an online shoe store in parallel with her shop on the square in the village.

The site at www.rubyshoes.ie allows potential buyers to view the store's wide selection of upmarket shoes, bags and accessories and order them for direct delivery.

In the shoes department there are Italian, Spanish and American brands, and there are up to 60 styles of wedding shoes.

Book swap for sick children

The Copper Kettle restaurant is operating a Book Swap on behalf of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.

A fee of €5 per book is charged on behalf of the Foundation, set up in 1996 by Jonathan Irwin and his wife Sally Anne O’Brien, to offer support to families with children suffering from neurological disorders.

The Foundation provides home respite for children up to four years of age who suffer from severe developmental delay and associated problems. The Foundation provides direct funding to parents enabling them to purchase care.

CU Schools Table Quiz winners

The winners of the recent Credit Union sponsored Table Quiz were as follows:

The winners of the A group were Mattie Kelly, Sean Corrigan, Cormac Stokes and Michaela Kelly Walsh.

Runners up in the A group were Robert Talbot, Jessica Clifford and Hannah Egan.

The winning table in the B category were Kevin Murray, James Pitman, Josh Greene, and Jack Kelly.

Runners up in the B category were Sarah Doherty, Graham Lavin, Orla Dixon and Barry Talt.

A postcard from the Beatty

For some reason it has taken me this far in my life before getting to visit the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.

An art museum and library, it is now located in Dublin Castle, with a set of state of art modern display rooms grafted on to one of the old buildings of the complex.

Sir Alfred was a lifelong collector of books, prints and art, with special interests in pieces from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The core exhibitions are Arts of the Book and Sacred Traditions, and both offer fascinating insights into the histories and cultures of many ancient and relatively modern countries.

There are also special exhibitions held in the CBL, with a current one being about modern printmaking. Free tours are available on Wednesdays and Sundays, and entry to the museum is also free.

For details of opening times and current happenings are available at www.cbl.ie

Brian Byrne.

Getting the massage message

We kind of came late, but Irish people have finally got the message that massage is something for everyday life, and not just kept for treating the injuries suffered by athletes.

That’s the belief of Kilcullen-born massage therapist Maeve O’Reilly, who has worked in the area of holistic and deep tissue massage for many years.

“When I started first, people in Ireland were very sceptical about the benefits of massage in dealing with issues in their daily life,” she says. “And it is people of all different ages are interested now ... in my early days, the older generations particularly wouldn’t have been open to it, but they are now.”

The fact that there are now many different techniques of massage now available in Ireland has helped open up the interest, she feels.

Holistic massage can be best categorised as being a ‘healing’ kind, which is very relaxing and works by taking the person to what Maeve describes as a ‘deep place’ where the body can heal itself.

“It generally involves a whole body massage, and it’s good for a lot of things,” she says. “Muscle tension of any kind, stress or anxiety or anything like that, and it is also good for people who are suffering from things like high blood pressure.”

The underlying principle is that holistic massage relaxes the nervous system and the body ‘takes time out’. “Quite often these days we’re all too busy in our heads, thinking too much about daily difficulties. We can build up a lot of stress and tensions, and we’re not really listening to what our bodies are trying to tell us.”

Going to that ‘deep place’ effectively gets us listening again, Maeve feels, and we can see where tensions have built up, and deal with them. “The massage itself helps, because it stretches the muscles that are wound up from the stresses, eases them.”

Maeve is also trained in Indian Head Massage, which is good for any kind of migraines, or sinus problems.

Her other speciality is Deep Tissue Massage, which is designed to deal with physical muscular tensions, as opposted to those brought on by mental stress.

It takes a fair bit of preparation, including warming up the area to be treated. “You’re working really deeply into the muscles, where you might be dealing with internal scar tissues on damaged ligaments, for instance, breaking them down.

It’s useful also for people with chronic muscular pain, such as sciatica, through stretching and relaxing the relevant muscles. It doesn’t necessarily work immediately, though, and several sessions can be needed to alleviate some problems. “The deep tissue work can be a little uncomfortable at the time, but the benefits are felt later.”

DTM will help with things like Repatitive Strain Injury, which can occur with any repetitive action. People who work at computers often get this due to bad posture and the repetitive action of typing.

“The deep massage work helps to increase mobility in the joints, by working on circulation and helping to drain away any waste and lactic acid in the muscles. This leaves the person feeling more loose and allows an ease of movement.”

Though a trained massage therapist for almost a decade, Maeve took time out for the last few years since her daughter was born, and concentrated on infant massage. But now she’s in a position to go back to the more general work.

She can be contacted at 087 9713979.

Junior Choir call

Safer Internet Day

Today is Safer Internet Day, during which a wide array of activities will take place across Europe and the world, ranging from press-conferences and workshops for children to rock concerts and seminars for educators and parents.

More information here.

Talent Competition results

The results of the recent Community Games Talent Competition were:

Group Dancing - Irish: 1. Rachel O'Sullivan & Jennifer Carroll.

Group Dancing - Modern Disco: 1. Aoife Buckley & Rachel Hovenden Keane; 2. Rachel O'Sullivan & Aoibhin Tutty Bardon; 3. Alanna Ansbro & Katie Brierton.

Solo Recitation: 1. Katie Quigley.

Solo Music: 1. Leah O'Sullivan: 2. Padraig Shaw: 3. Rachel Hovenden Keane.

Group Singing: 1. Afiqah Ruslan, Aoibhin Tutty Bardon, Erica Sherlock, Jennifer Gleeson & Vita Bond: 2. Emily Carter & Padraig Shaw: 3. Aoife Buckley & Rachel Hovenden Keane: 3. Chloe Dowling & Nadia Fattore.

Solo Singing: 1. Laurence Bath: 2. Cheree Byrne: 3. Laura Byrne: 3. April Lawlor: 3. Daniella Traynor.

Public speaking help

Worried sick when you have to speak in public, whether at family gatherings, meetings, or other equivalent occasions? Well, there's plenty of help out there.

One is the Kildare Communicators, who operate a 10-step speaker's programme. They meet in the Silken Thomas pub in Kildare town on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Meetings begin at 8pm and everybody is welcome.

It Says in The Bridge

The current issue of The Bridge has a seasonal picture by Pat Foley of Gareth and Jim Corrigan tending new born lambs at Old Kilcullen during the recent snow. The other main items are both sporting in nature, the fact that the FBD Rás 2009 will start in Kilcullen in May, and a picture of GAA legend Mick O'Dwyer with some of the local club's U16 team who won the County B Championships. Both preview fuller coverage inside the magazine.

The Editorial this month is related to the 'R' word, Recession. But in a positive way, or as much positiveness as can be summoned up at the moment. The writer (the Editorial is by policy anonymous) suggests that innovation and inspiration always flourish in recessionary times and we'll do best to take the 'Big R' by the horns and deal with it. In the meantime, it might also be a good opportunity to get back to doing all those simple and mainly cost-free things we used to do, but didn't have time in the flurry of the recent Celtic Tiger years. So, writing letters, anyone? Or fly a kite in the park? Or drop into a neighbour for a chat?

Lots of possibilities, really. Meantime through the Bridge there's lots of good news too, such as the report on the success of Tom & Phena Bermingham's 'Miscellany on Sunday 2008' for the homeless, which raised over €4,000 for the cause. And the welcome for new Brannockstown Baptist pastor Mark Hamblen and his wife. And the congrats due to Andrew O'Neill of Avondale Drive, who recently graduated as a qualified Air Mechanic in the Irish Air Corps; and Ger Markey, who got a surprise 50th birthday party, which the Diary somehow missed.

The Kilcullen Community Games gets a double spread of smiles from the Talent Competition, the first time the town has entered this part of the competition. And Cormac & Anto's Soccer Page has good news from the First Team topping the League and becoming part of history when Rathangan, Liffey Celtic and Town House United decided to get the same number of points, necessitating a four-way play off.

In Environment News there's a feature on recycling practice, a warning about 'bogus' charity clothing collections, and a Business Bridge report on local man Barry Goulding setting up in business as a Building Energy Rating Assessor.

The detail story on the Rás has a picture of the current cycling enthusiasts in Kilcullen along with one from 1962. The garb is quite different, and it seemed that few of the contenders back in those early days wore helmets ...

There's an interesting report about the use of the Canoe Club facility and the Liffey by a company training Kildare's firefighters how to deal with situations in water. The ELMS Montessori school has moved to a new purpose built premises, and there's a piece about their ethos and practice. And local FG election candidate Martin Heydon's concerns about the recent axing of capital sports funding is the stuff another news piece.

The usual suspects provide feature material. Billy Redmond's Off the Cuff works on the abilities and payments of RTE presenters, with one Pat Kenny getting the brunt of Billy's musings. Because he hasn't yet gone back to Taiwan, Sean Landers is even more prolific than usual, with his 'Letter from Taiwan' set in Kilcullen, his two-page profile of Tom McCarton an interesting exercise in living local history, and another 'What it Said in the Papers' collection of old news items about Kilcullen.

Bernard Berney gives some further consideration to Life, God, and the Catholic Church, in what he terms himself a 'confusing and often incomprehensible' manner ... but that is merely his own opinion.

An enlightening follow up to last month's piece about writer Maeve Brennan's experiences in Cross & Passion before WW2 comes from Colette O'Neill, who recalls in much more detail and of local interest her own days there in or around the same time. Another case of living history that is very important to have on the record.

A non-Kilcullen feature marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of evolutionary Charles Darwin, celebrated on February 12. For those who may only know of the man through the recent writings of Pope Benedict that the scientist's Theory of Evolution 'cannot be finally proven', it is a worthwhile read of the life on a man whose ideas have played a significant part in how we think today about life on this little planet.

Finally, in an issue when Pat Foley was also very busy on the recent Confirmations by Bishop Eamon Walsh at Gormanstown and Kilcullen, a quote from one of the young reporters at Halverstown NS is apt.

"Once you have made your Confirmation, you can become a Godparent," she notes.

Unlike Bernard's view above of his own thoughts on matters of religion, here is an absolute clarity of understanding ...

Brian Byrne.

Runner volunteers wanted

Kilcullen Community Playgroup Committee are looking for volunteers to run in the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park on April 5th as part of a fund raising idea.

Secretary Audrey Melinn has convinced some parents to run the race and is confident of getting more people to take part.

Details and sponsorship cards are available from Audrey on 0872299229.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Call for Community Games volunteers

With the Community Games season now well under way, the local organisers have put out a call for volunteers to help with getting Kilcullen’s representation bigger than ever.

“There are many activities which Kilcullen could participate in if we had interested persons to organise & train children,” says Anne Fitzgerald, PRO of the Kilcullen group. “These include Basketball, Gaelic Football, Soccer, Rounders, Pitch & Putt, Judo, Camogie, Badminton, Volleyball, Hockey, Hurling, Rugby, Cycling.”

Kilcullen has not entered these competitions before, and it would be a big boost to the current contenders in Athletics, Art, Chess and other categories to have more colleagues from Kilcullen in the County and National events.

Please contact Anne Quigley on 087 7733576 if you could give some of your spare time and experience to take on one of the above activities.

Community Games art

Kilcullen Community Games Art Competition is being held tonight, Friday February 6, in the Parish Centre.

Categories are under 8, u/10, u/12, u/14 and u/16. Bring your own pencils.

Looking to next mini marathon

With the first signs of climbing out of winter, the local Flora Womens Mini Marathon stalwarts are beginning to gear up for this year’s effort.

The group, which has been participating in the event for several years to raise money for the Punchestown Kidney Research Fund, achieved a grand total of €20,000 in the 2008 marathon.

“As the days get longer, our thoughts turn to getting fit,” says Phena Bermingham, one of the organisers.”Can we do it again in aid of The Punchestown Kidney Research Fund? As President Obama would say, 'Yes we can. Of course we can and we will.”

The organisers want to hear from anyone who’d like to participate in 2009, especially people new to the area. “Its a great way to meet people,” Phena says. “We also look forward to meeting up with friends from previous years and those who will join us for the first time this year.

More details late, so watch this space. Meantime, information is available from
Lorraine on 045 481062 or 085 7604806; or Phena on 045 485232 or 087 9767531.

Cartoon calendar from FG

Fine Gael in Kildare South has launched a 2009 colour calendar for distribution amongst members and supporters around the constituency. The glossy production includes 12 caricature illustrations by well-known artist Niall O’Loughlin.

“The concepts for each month were inspired by Fine Gael members in the constituency and when we briefed Niall he loved the idea,” explained Des Swan, Director of Organisation for Kildare South.

He says the objective with the calendar is very simple. It is to visually provoke people into realising that blindly voting for Fianna Fáil has led to a complacency that has ultimately left Ireland and Kildare South ill-equipped to deal with the challenges of today.

"At the same time we have demonstrated Fine Gael’s credentials in always putting the interests of the country first, from Enda Kenny being the first leader to call for the re-capitalisation of the banks to the Tallaght strategy adopted by Alan Dukes.

Ultimately, the people express their opinion at the ballot box and the next opportunity is the local and European elections in June.

Snow trouble

The snow last evening caused some early problems for traffic going through the town.



This car transporter lost its grip outside Bardons and the rear trailer had a confrontation with a car coming the other way. Nobody hurt, but there were long delays for travel through.

Some more scenes from last night below.

GAA night to remember

It was one of those nights which many young Kilcullen football players will remember into their older decades. An inspirational speech by the legendary GAA figure Mick O’Dwyer preceded the recent presentation of medals and the trophy to members of Kilcullen GAA Club’s U16 team who won the County B Championships.



Micko opened by saying that he had been in Kilcullen many times before, but it was great to see young players in the club doing so well.

“That’s where all success comes from,” he noted. “It comes from the bottom, and it is also good that the College players here are also doing well at the present time, because all the great players who came through in the county where I come from, Kerry, every single one of them came through College and National School football and competition.”

He added that the reason Kerry is so successful is because they keep those players together and work with them. “So the thing I would say to those people working with this team is to stay with them, bring them through to Senior football.”

He said that anyone who wanted to be a really good footballer, the important thing was all about discipline. “Instead of coming to fifty years’ time and asking yourself why you hadn’t given it a real shot, give it five or six years of your life, and give it that real shot, try and make it to the top. I can tell you now, in my seventies, that if I had to live my life over, I would do as much, and I would do more. I would put everything I had into the game, because there is nothing better than being involved in sport, at any level, be it football or soccer or rugby, or whatever games you pick.”

On practical footballing tips, Micko told them it was important that they could all kick with both feet, and that they keep their eyes wide open when going to catch a ball.

“If you dont keep your eyes open when you’re playing, in any game, you’re not going to achieve anything,” he warned. “The moment you blink when you’re going for a ball, you’ve lost your connection with the ball, so it’s most important that you train your eyes.”

The former trainer of the Kildare team said that he had got the most enjoyment out of working with that team than he had with any other team before or since.

“The goodwill for the game in this county is unbelievable,” he told the Kilcullen youngsters, “and it’s well worth while putting your work into the game. You have come from the low rungs, now you’ve come to underage. The next thing now will be to win a Minor title and then go on from there to the Senior.

“It was mentioned here tonight that six or seven of you will play Senior. Every single one of you should play Senior. It is all about practice, practice, practice. This game is about working at it. You must work at the skills every evening you go to the field. It’s all about working with the ball every chance you get.

“Keep at it,” he concluded. “Kilcullen needs you, Kildare needs you. There was a good side here when I was in Kilcullen a few years ago, and I have no doubt that you will put the club back to its rightful position, and you will eventually win a Senior County Championship for your Club.”