Happy New Year!

This one's personal, writes Brian Byrne. Just to say a very happy transition into 2014 to everybody in and connected to Kilcullen, to my family and friends and to everybody else who have been so good to me in this past year. A special thought for all those from here who are there, wherever there might be. And for the new year, I wish everything you would wish for yourselves and your loved ones, most especially good health to all.

The ending of any year brings both sad and happy memories for all of us. But it also reminds us of the wonderful gift that living is, into tomorrows that become another year of todays with the extraordinary promise of the unknown, and of the possible.

Happy New Year, all.

Where animals come first

Operations Manager Trish Cowman with Serina Thompson, Head Nurse & Practice Manager.

If you've been hearing a Queensland lilt around the Animals First veterinary hospital lately, that's Trish Cowman, whose operations management company has been looking after the business side of the practice since June, writes Brian Byrne.

Trish came to Ireland 11 years ago after qualifying as a veterinary nurse, with a view to taking a year away from home. "Instead of going the traditional route to London, where I'd be mixing with other Australians, I came to Dublin where everything was at, as far as I was concerned." She got a job in UCD in the Large Animal Surgery Department, moved up to Head Nurse in Equine Surgery, and the years rolled by. "I was getting great experience, including lecturing, and generally having a lot of fun. I really loved Dublin."

Then she moved to Cork, met her husband, and took on a job that combined animal nursing and management of a number of practices in the area. The arrival of the recession meant her job, and salary, was trimmed back to just the nursing role. But instead of seeing that as a downer, Trish took it as an opportunity.

"Most vet nurses actually do a bit of practice management as well, and I had been doing it since I was 17. So I set up my own company to handle the business side of veterinary practices for their owners. Like any small business, they normally had to deal with the paperwork and administration side of their operations at home after finishing work. I provide a management service which allows them to concentrate on the clinical aspects of their business."

Conor McMahon.

Her company now manages three practices in Cork, with a fourth coming on stream shortly, as well as one in Meath, another in Naas, and, since the summer, Animals First. Set up originally in 2005 in Kilcullen's Link Park by vets Rachael Gordon and Conor McMahon, it is now owned by Cornelie Kennedy and Edward Gillick of the MOSS practice in Naas.

No less than any business, Animals First has had to navigate through the doldrums and fickle winds of the recessions. Since Trish's company took over the operations management a number of initiatives have been developed. These include lower services costs to the consumer, and, from January next, a budgeted health scheme for pets under the banner Best Care Health Plan. "This is a fixed cost for the year, payable on a monthly basis, which provides for the routine care of pets. Three visits, all vaccinations, normal checkups which will include blood tests for older animals. There's also an insurance plan that we can recommend, which takes care of anything else that might arise."

A Community Sports Programme launched in November provides for five percent of whatever a member of a sports club spends being given directly to the relevant club. It's not a discount for owners, but a way of giving financial support to the club, and there can be a two-way benefit because if it encourages a pet owner into sports, both they and their pets are likely to have a healthier lifestyle. "That means we do more preventative medicine rather than just dealing with illnesses."

School visits are another popular way of interacting with the community, and are carried out mostly to junior classes level. "It's letting the little ones know early about being aware of what their pets need, and looking after their safety — especially with dogs — in public places. We also support regular community fundraising, and we pick a charity for ourselves for the year, for which we will fundraise." This year, that charity is Autism Assistance Dogs, and there's currently a Coffee & Mince Pies promotion in the reception area of the hospital for it.

A new Dog Training service is being established, with local trainer Phil Wilson, who formerly trained police dogs. "He lives in Kilcullen, and he's very mild and gentle in his techniques and dogs really respond to him."

During the year, Animals First will also offer free nurse clinics where pet owners can come in for advice on matters such as nutrition and behaviour. Just like people, animals can have lifestyle issues in the areas of eating and weight management. Especially dogs, who tend to eat anything put in front of them. "One problem is giving them human food as a treat — a single Hob Nob for a dog is the same as a full packet for a human." The onset of arthritis can also mean a dog not getting proper exercise, and at the hospital there's a treadmill where this can be done under a carefully supervised regime so there's no damage because of the arthritis.

For any veterinary practice, the bottom line is trust. "Just like going to a doctor for themselves, pet owners want to know that entrusting their pet to a vet will mean it will get similar treatment to at home, that it is going to be minded, talked to, patted and generally have a stay that is as comfortable and stress-free as possible."

Like, Animals First.

(This article was first published on the Kilcullen page of the Kildare Nationalist.)

That was the 2013 that was

Trawling through the Diary posts of the last 12 months made me realise just how much goes on in Kilcullen every year — and I don't expect to have reported on even half of what happens, writes Brian Byrne. But just to remind us of some of the highlights, here's a selection from 2013, the year that was. And in itself, it's only a taster ...

The year opened well for local residents opposed to the granting of planning permission for a metal recycling plant at Knockbounce Business Park — an appeal to An Bord Pleanala came down on their side. It showed that people power can still succeed against officialdom and the deep pockets of big business.

Mary O'Halloran receiving her IASE Award from Cllr Dermot Lacey.

Word came through too of another success story, with the presentation to local woman Mary O'Halloran of a national award for best practice in supported employment. The award was made by Dublin Lord Mayor Cllr Dermot Lacey to Mary, who is manager of STEP Supported Employment in Dublin, a service of the St John of God organisation.

Kilcullen Community Action kicked off its new year with a suggestion that the cleaning and refurbishment of pathways around the soccer and all-weather pitches should be taken on as a project. That was later picked up by the GAA and Soccer clubs, as well as individuals and residents groups in the area, and a veritable mountain of rubbish was cleared.

An initiative to help people locally get fit in tandem with RTE's Operation Transformation was organised by Terri Finglas-Reade, and more than 60 people turned out for the inaugural walk. However long the initiative ran for, it probably helped deal with post-Christmas blues very well for some of the participants.

With The Gathering in focus, a number of initiatives were kicked off for Kilcullen involvement, and the 9th Kilcullen Scout Troop got things under way to organise the town's first St Patrick's Day Parade. The event was the brainchild of CPC student Emma Birchall, a member of the Troop.

Meanwhile, CPC itself was getting ready to party on the 125th anniversary of the founding of the original school by the Cross & Passion sisters. The celebrations were the first key event in February, the day beginning with a special walk to Old Kilcullen, the monastic beginnings of today's modern town. The evening Open Night for past pupils, teachers, and the local community was a great success.

Still with the College, as another contribution to The Gathering, a number of Transition Year students began work on a video about Living in Kilcullen. It would eventually be entered for a national competition related to the Gathering.

A year after their little son Ollie had needed post-birth cardiac surgery in Crumlin Children's Hospital, Noel and Katrina O'Connell's 'Ollie's Little Hearts Appeal' had now raised more than €50,000 towards a new Cardiac Unit. The Appeal had captured the imagination of everyone in the community, with small and larger events being held constantly, including a mammoth cycling event organised by Kilcullen Cycling Club.

An evening at Kilcullen Parish Centre to honour the volunteer Parish workers proved a surprise to many who hadn't realised the extent of the activities carried out by volunteer parishioners. They were described as 'the heart of the community'.

A bit of local history in a dangerous state began a necessary refurbishment. The old Boys School, part of the property owned by Joe Fraser of The Hideout, was partially demolished as a prelude to safely rebuilding it to be used as a function room. Although no longer the main school after the new Boys School was built in 1925, it was used as an overflow classroom right up into the 1970s.

A modern piece of sculpture related back to Neolithic Dun Ailinne should be listed for preservation, Kilcullen Community Action decided. The discussion was about Noel Scullion's 'spear' monument, the centrepiece of the Dun Ailinne Interpretive Park developed at Nicholastown. It was described as 'iconic', and a suggestion was also made that the path of the rising sun to the east should also be preserved from any development that might interfere the aspects of the sculpture related to the Solstice.

 

On February 24, Granny 'Bridgie' Aspell celebrated her 103rd birthday with family and friends in the White Horse Inn. Later in the year she would feature as one of the profiles in the final edition of the 'Vanishing Ireland' series of books produced by Turtle Bunbury.

The following day, Transition Year students in CPC took part in the first Intel Ideation workshop to be held in the school. Organised across Ireland by the Lions Clubs, they competed in teams over the two days to come up with innovative ideas. The national prize was a trip to Silicon Valley in California, and the CPC team who won the local event for a smartphone diabetes monitor also won through to get to Silicon Valley in October.

The annual Feis run by the Landers family in aid of parish funds raised a record €6,070. The event has been run by the dancing family for over 45 years and brought in some 400 entries for the day long gig.

A meeting to progress the idea of a text-based Community Alert scheme for the Kilcullen area took place in the middle of March. It was followed by a number of other meetings over succeeding weeks, and later in the year the official Kilcullen Community Text Alert Scheme was inaugurated.

The St Patrick's Day Parade organised by Emma Birchall and her fellow Scouts and Leaders turned out to be a massive success, with great floats, a bumper turnout of spectators, music, colour and craic.

In the meantime, the preparatory work to progress the building of the new Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre was under way.

Although there had been a number of local consultancy meetings organised by EirGrid since the latter part of 2012, it was only now that any kind of attendance was seen as those events were continued in a number of locations around Kilcullen. Eventually towards the end of 2013, they would be eclipsed by a massive swell of opposition when proposed routes were revealed.



The CPC Transition Year musical for 2013 was 'Bohemian Rock', and showed once again that there is tremendous arts ability and enthusiasm amongst Kilcullen's young people. The three nights were sold out well in advance.

Maurice O'Mahony retired as Principal of Scoil Bhride, after a career of 40 years in the school. There was a great turnout of well-wishers and colleagues at an event in the school to mark the occasion. In the meantime, he was busy in rehearsal for the upcoming presentation by Kilcullen Drama Group of Brian Friel's 'Lovers'.

Brannoxtown NS held the official opening of its new school building, which included the planting of a tree in the grounds by Brid Mackey, one of the surviving pupils from the very early days of the school.

Back in the music theme, Kilcullen band Fenton Blue were selected to represent Kildare in the 2013 Irish Youth Music Awards, scheduled for the end of April in Dublin's Liberty Hall. The talented group—formed in 2009 by school pals Stephen Clare, Sean E Ryan, Peter O’Sullivan and Tiernan Cady—competed with five other bands in The Moat Theatre to win the gig.

Kilcullen's elderly weren't being forgotten either, and Josie Connolly and friends organised the annual Easter Party for the elderly residents of St Vincent's in Athy, who include a number of Kilcullen people. Though Josie herself wasn't able to attend on the day, she was ably represented by Josie Ivory, Ann Moloney, Ann Fitzpatrick, Laura Bathe, Margaret Talbot, Margaret Smith, Kathleen King, Mary Orford, Anne Corrigan, and Morty Shea.

During April, more than 50 Drama Dynamics students doing Speech & Drama exams with the Royal Irish Academy of Music all scored honours and above.

Just when it seemed to be rolling along nicely, a couple of wheels fell off the Community Childcare Centre wagon when the project was hit by 'Hogan's Halt', a directive from the Environment Minister that agreed Leader funding should be frozen pending a review. Through much of the summer this was the source a major campaign by parents and local representatives, eventually managing to reverse the freeze and let the funding come. But it was touch and go for a while.

Kilcullen's GAA Juvenile division organised a talk on how drugs and sport just aren't cool together. With medical and Garda input, the event was aimed at raising health and legal awareness of the dangers.

April was also the month of the Boston Marathon bombing, and local emigrant Noel Brady wrote his own account of watching the event from his Boston suburban home and wondering just how safe was it now to attend public events?

Former staff of Renley Engineering, which had been set up in 1970 and was for a long time a mainstay employer of men in Kilcullen, began preparations for a reunion to be held in June. With a lot of work and contacting former employees, it was to prove to be a great success.

Singer Frances Black gave a talk in Kilcullen on her RISE Foundation which helps the families of those affected by addiction. That event later underpinned a number of local initiatives to fundraise, including taking part in a walk of part of the Camino in northern Spain. Our own local singer, Philomena Breslin, was one of those who took part.



The late Hugh Peacocke was remembered by the establishment of a perpetual trophy Bridge Competition, and the inaugural event was held in Ryston Bridge Club in Newbridge.

On May Day, a special meeting to look at the future of the Bridge Magazine after 42 years in existence came up with some new contributors and a few ideas to bring the publication through the next number of years. The group discussed the difficulties of being 'newsy' in the internet age, when much information about local events is available immediately by local news and social media sites. But it was agreed that there is still a position for a printed publication, especially as a way of bringing information about the various communities in the town to each other.

The second 'Strictly Come Dancing' event held jointly by Kilcullen Lions and Kilcullen GAA was a great fundraising and community night out success. The winning couple this year were Eleanor Higgins and Joe Dooley.

Kilcullen entertainer Jimmy Aspell appeared on a bill with Daniel O'Donnell in the Leinster Entertainment Awards 2013, held in Kilashee Hotel. He was presented with the Most Popular Local Artist award at the event, which raises funds for Rehab and MS Ireland.



A fundraiser held in Joey's Hideout in aid of the Make A Wish Foundation netted over €1,600 for that organisation. It was arranged by The Friends of Toddlers & Wobblers in Kilcullen, who have over two years raised several thousand euro for Make A Wish.

A significant birthday party for popular McTernan's Bar publican Mary Masterson turned out to be one of the best such events in recent years.

A Cyclethon organised by local business Murphy Surveys raised €12,000 for Crumlin Children's Hospital. Some 60 riders from the company and Kilcullen Cycling Club, and their friends, took part.

An appeal for old photographs of Kilcullen and Kilcullen people made earlier in the year as part of the town's Gathering activities began to show fruit. By the end of 2013, some 114 such pictures had been provided, and are available on a special web collection.

The national electoral boundaries report revealed that population and political changes meant Kilcullen would revert into the Naas Area for the local elections next year. The move, described as 'good for Kilcullen' by Cllr Ivan Keatley, reconnects both parts of Kilcullen politically, and also with Gilltown.

A feature in The Bridge Magazine highlighted how there's a second Brennan's Pub apart from the one in Old Kilcullen — in Landau in der Pfalz in Germany. It's run by Louise Brennan, daughter of Denis and Margaret Brennan, and niece of Eugene Brennan who runs the original in the shadow of the round tower at Old Kilcullen.



A surprise partly for longtime Kilcullen emigrant Donal 'The Saint' St Leger was held in McTernans, at which he was made the first 'Freeman of Kilcullen'. Donal left for New York in 1958, and though he comes home very regularly now that he is retired from his career in a bakery, his friends decided to give him a party to celebrate his recovery from a serious illness.

A 'Bloomsday at Castlemartin' concert in St Mary's Church on Castlemartin Estate raised much needed funds for the 'Maintain Hope' charity that looks after the Shelter Home for orphans outside Nairobi in Kenya. It featured the songs made famous by John McCormack, sung on the afternoon by tenor Philip Scott.

An information office for the Grid-Link project planned by EirGrid was opened in Market Square in Kilcullen. It is open to the public every Monday afternoon. As yet the big protests about pylons hadn't started, but neither had the proposed routes been released.

The campaign to reverse Minister Phil Hogan's stance on the Childcare Centre was now in full swing, including a public meeting in Kilcullen Town Hall, and, later, a sit-in at local TD Martin Heydon's constituency office in Newbridge.

The big Gathering event of June was the Kilcullen GAA's one, where they held a special day for the San Francisco U/14 team touring Ireland. Guest of honour was JJ Whelan, who emigrated from Kilcullen to the US in the early 1950s, and is the 'patriarch' of Irish activities in San Francisco. Two of his grandsons were playing on the SF U/14s team, which won the inaugural Gathering Cup on the day.

The residents of Castlemartin Lodge housing estate held their inaugural Fun Day and raised through the event €2,500 towards the medical needs of a 3-year-old boy resident there, Ethan Byrne, undergoing treatment for leukaemia.

Pat Goulding retired from the Board of Kilcullen Credit Union after giving 29 years of voluntary service to the organisation at local and national level.

Local author and freelance writer Hazel Gaynor kicked off July in successful style by landing a two-book deal with US-based publishers William Morrow. Hazel had previously self-published her 'The Girl Who Came Home' on Amazon. It was picked up by a New York agent who read it on her Kindle and wanted to take Hazel on. 'The Girl Who Came Home' is a novel reflecting Hazel's lifelong fascination with the Titanic.

A concert in the Town Hall in aid of the RISE Foundation was very successful, with artists including David Agnew and Niamh Murray bringing in full support for the cause.

There were great celebrations in The Spout pub when local pitch & putt World Womens Strokeplay Champion Chrissie Byrne retained her title at the Championships in northern Spain. Chrissie was sponsored for the event by Spout publican Tom Dignam.

After a long wait to get electricity and gas connected, Noel and Katrina O'Connell finally got their new River Cafe opened, providing downtown Kilcullen with a new option for eating out in daytime. The wonderful summer weather caused them some glitches too, with air-conditioning required to keep the place reasonably comfortable.

The Kilcullen Community Text Alert Scheme went live with an event in Walls of Kilgowan, marking an important link between the community and local Garda.

Kilcullen was once again blooming in the sunshine with the Flowers Project organised by KCA in full swing (from the windowboxes on Main Street and the baskets on the bridge).

Meantime, Nessa Dunlea and Mary Orford were also in full tilt organising a Memories of Main Street event for National Heritage Week in August. At this point a call was made for pictures, memorabilia, and contacts with former Main Street families.



Despite having to deal with illness, Billy Redmond operated his annual Bazaar, this time in The Heritage Centre. It went great, he said. The proceeds were to be shared between the Irish Wheelchair Association — for which Billy has fundraised over many years — and the Jack & Jill Foundation.

The Kilcullen Art Group got a new outlet for members' work, upstairs in An Tearmann. It was supposed to be for a limited time, but by the end of year they were still there, in a regularly changed showing.

Kilcullen was represented in the Guinness record to make the biggest Riverdance line, in Dublin's Docklands. Ray and Fiona Kelly's daughter Siofra won a special place in the line of 1,693 dancers on the day, who also included Orla O'Neill and family.

Work got under way on the extension to the Canoe Club, which involved putting a second storey over the Boat Store, to be used as a gymnasium.

Josie Connolly's annual street collection and walk for St Vincent's in Athy raised €5,200, which was earmarked to help furnish a new 10-bed unit in the hospital, for patients with dementia.

In the last week of July, the Community Childcare & Education Centre finally got the green light from the Department of the Environment, allowing the Committee to revive the delayed schedule for building the facility.

Local transplant athlete James Nolan added more medals to his collection, this time from the Transplant & Dialysis Games 2013, held in South Africa.

For Kilcullen GAA, August started as a wicked month when vandals broke into the clubhouse, throwing paint around and doing thousands of euro worth of damage. There were also break-ins to local residences and the Cross & Passion College.

But for the Bridge Camphill Community, which started off in Nugent's Field on the Liffey, the month was one of celebration of its 21 years in Kilcullen. In the Community's own Gathering event, former co-workers came back to help with the week-long party, which included music, drama, workshops, and involvement in upgrading some of the facilities.

The 11th Mac & Norman's Vintage Rally in aid of the Irish Cancer Society took place in the middle of the month, raising further funds to top up the more than €300,000 raised over the past decade.



A real family gathering was enjoyed by the Mitchell family with a party in Fallons. Up to 40 family members were there for the event, organised by Anne from England with help from Dermot at the Kilcullen end.



And on August 18, very many families turned up to the 'Memories of Main Street' organised by Nuala Egan, Nessa Dunlea and Mary Orford. It brought more than 100 people to view photographs, albums, memorabilia, and hear personal memories from a range of people whose families lived on Main Street.

In Athlone, two local girls took home gold medals from the All Ireland Community Games Final — Lisa Aspell took gold in the Girls U/14 Hurdles and Grace O'Toole won hers in the Girls U/12 600m.

A Biodiversity Study which was commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action last year was launched with a walk along some of the river banks included in the study. The shape of modern Kilcullen was dictated by the post-Ice Age River Liffey, and the Survey Report deals with life in the river and its associated wetlands, habitats and plants, birds, and bats. There's also a set of Guidelines for maintaining the good environmental health of the area, especially the River Valley Park.

Meanwhile, concerns that Kilcullen's oldest resident — a 200-plus years old oak tree on the boundary of the Cattle Mart field — might be damaged by Water Services works was averted when Kildare County Council rerouted pipe-laying to make sure the tree and its root system wouldn't be affected by the work.



After nine years as Kilcullen's parish priest, Fr Michael Murphy left to spend some time studying in France. A mass and farewell event in the Parish Centre gave many of those whom the unassuming, compassionate and quietly humorous pastor had worked with over his term a chance to show their appreciation.

The big marker for Kilcullen's end of summer once again defied averages, as the River Festival was enjoyed in good weather for the fourth time. The proven formula of food and river-based activities was continued, with the addition this year of a number of extra attractions, including a Chowder Competition.

Kilcullen's popular entertainer Jimmy Aspell and his friends in the business teamed up once again for his annual fundraiser in aid of cancer care. The event was as usual held in The Spout pub.



After a season that was often up and down, Kilcullen Ladies AFC became the FAI Umbro National Junior Champions after beating Corrib Rangers 3-2 in a tough game at Newbridge Town grounds. The game was gained in extra time, and there were subsequently a number of well-deserved celebratory evenings in every hostelry in town.

Just a little short of a year since it was inaugurated, the Kilcullen & Gormanstown Parish Lotto Jackpot was won. Kay Tyrrell was the fortunate ticket holder, and the main prize value had reached €14,600.

By now the proposed routes of the Grid-Link 400kV line from Cork to Dunstown near KIllarney had been published, and local opposition was forming. The first local public meeting was planned for the end of the month.

One of the main local events for National Culture Night was again held in the Library, and included readings and song from a number of local writers. A music evening was organised by Billy Redmond in O'Connell's Bar.

Meantime, The Spout Bar was again in the fundraising business, this time for St Brigid's Hospice on The Curragh. It comprised a Barbecue Breakfast with champagne at St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club, with music by Jimmy Aspell and Kevin Swayne, followed by a game on the course and a prize-giving conclusion on the Saturday's lunchtime.

Kilcullen's AFC ladies and pitch & putt world champion Chrissie Byrne were given recognition by the Mayor of Kildare at a special Sports Achievements evening in the Chamber of Kildare County Council.

A nasty bit of vandalism took a little from the wonderful difference the Flowers Project had once again made to the town when one of the lamp standards was pulled from the bridge, toppling one of the baskets which feature there during the summer.



In a very special event at the KARE McMahon Centre, bronze and silver awards were presented to recipients of KARE services, under the President's Gaisce scheme for achievement by young people.

Other local winners were making their own impacts on the other side of America, with the winning team from the Intel Ideation competition — CPC's Team Aware — attending the Intel Global Challenge hosted by the University of California at Berkley.

And in a totally different context, father and son Albert and David Keenan were winning gold medals in the County Masters & Novices races — Albert taking the Over 60 category and David winning the race outright — in the Men's 3,000 Metres.

Kilcullen got a good report in the Tidy Towns 2013 competition, gaining an extra nine points over the previous year, a testament to the dedication of the Tidy Towns stalwarts and their volunteers for this year.

St Joseph's NS in Halverstown held its annual charity walk and breakfast, but with a difference this year as the school was also presented with its two Green Flags, the Active one for interaction with sports and other groups in the area, and the other for looking after the environment.

Popular local florist Dave Clancy threw his strong sense of self-preservation out the door of an airplane and then jumped out after it, in a first parachute jump, to raise funds for a Kerry-based animal charity, AHAR Ireland. With Annie Morris of the Leinster Leader, and his pal Slawek Kowalczyk they raised over €3,000 for the charity.

Cross & Passion College held a small ceremony to mark the contributions of all who had helped with the development of the Sacred Space, and also the new autism classroom. The Sacred Space was completed in November 2011 and provides a place for reflection and spiritual reinvigoration.

On a very wet October 19, the rain almost miraculously stopped for the official turning of the sod for the new Community Childcare & Education Centre. A long road that now has its end in sight.

The annual Community & Tidy Towns Awards were presented on October 25, with the key recipients including a number of people who have already featured strongly in this Review of 2013.

Kilcullen Badminton Club has enjoyed a good year of activity, and a highlight was the visit by National Badminton Coach Dan Magee. He gave the members many good tips during his time in Kilcullen.

The Gridlink Action group set up after a meeting in St Laurence's GAA Club in September held its first meeting in Kilcullen, appealing for volunteers and funding for their campaign against the use of pylons to carry the 40kV line.

A Movie & Social Night was held in Kilcullen Town Hall Theatre in mid-November for Kilcullen Lions Club and their friends. The showing, which was the first film to be shown in the former cinema for decades, was Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris'. The event was made possible by the recent installation of a computer system with large screen in the theatre.

The presentation of a copy of a painting of Kilcullen bridge to the Heritage Centre raised interest in the time English impressionist painter Claude Bendall spent in mid-Kildare. The print was given by Pat Reidy, whose grandfather befriended the artist when he was posted here with the British Army.

A Wake-A-Thon organised by CPC students raised €7,400 for Crumlin Children's Hospital. The fundraiser was supported by local company Murphy Surveys, who donated an iPad for a raffle associated with the night.



Another heritage highlight of the year was the local celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Irish Folklore Commission's Schools Project. Organised by Mary Orford, it displayed the work of pupils from Kilcullen Girls NS and Brannoxtown NS contributed to the project, which involved 5,000 schools from around the country. The event was held in Kilcullen Library.

For obvious and traditional reasons, December was all about preparations and events devoted to Christmas and the final roundup of the year. Without going into detail we'll just mark some of them: the KARE Arts & Crafts Sale, with performance by the Newbridge Gospel Choir; the Miscellany on Sunday at Berminghams of Mooretown; the Carols by Candlelight in Kilcullen Parish Church; the Scoil Bhride Christmas Fair; the switching on of the KCA Christmas Tree and Lights.

In addition there were a couple of books published by local authors Annmarie Miles and Sophie Rose Williamson.

And our old friend 'The Saint' got surprised again when he received a special 'Freeman' escort to Michael Lambe's traditional Christmas morning get-together.

A lot to look back on. But let us not forget absent friends at this time. Those whom we recorded on the Diary as passed on included Brigid Sexton, Pat 'Purty' Lawlor, Don Charlton, Lil Delaney, Gill Becker (Byrne), Nicky Myers, John Meehan, Mark Tyrrell, Anne Lambe, George Mitchell, Jane Mitchell, Patricia Enright, Esther 'Queenie' Whelan, Danny O'Connell, Bridget Dixon, Paddy Humphreys, Kathleen Carroll (ffrench), Michael Kelly, Paddy Maloney, Angela Handy (O'Connor), Buddy Halloran, Richard Enright, Mary Archbold, James Aspell, Mary Dunne, Olive Chamney, Jimmy Murphy, Brid Mackey, Kathleen Dempsey, and Pauline Connors. May their spirits always remain in our memories.

Remembering the 'factory'

We Byrne kids knew it as the 'factory', writes Brian Byrne.

It was in the building at the back of the yard in the family pub, over which was the 'loft' where coffins were stored, and the Boxing Club had space for training and a ring to spar in. At the far end of the loft was the book-keeper Miss Dowling's office. A lonely kind of a location, but she seemed reasonably happy there. Later the position was taken by Miss Young, who had worked similarly over in the hardware office for Grandad, for decades it seemed. She was eventually moved to a more observational spot in the street corner room of the family home, Moyola, where had originally been the forge around which the house was built.

But to us the 'factory' was the most curious and interesting place when it was in action. That was sporadic, but when the machinery was running it became a different environment to being merely a store and a sorting space for crates and bottles.

Read more here

Dave is leaving Main Street

After eight years on Main Street, Dave Clancy will be closing his flower shop next week, leaving more than just an empty premises in Kilcullen's retail list, writes Brian Byrne.

Dave is a very popular member of the town's business community, but he is also a personality who knits together a broad church of retail colleagues, customers, friends and acquaintances with his own unique mix of charm, humour, wit and turns of phrase that can come way out of left field to calm, amuse, comfort and enrich.

He is one of those people who will happily converse across a street, or, if the traffic is too much, will come across himself to exchange a few phrases on whatever is the topic of the moment. And his knowledge of things that you'd not expect him to be expert in is always a pleasant surprise.

Most of all, even if Dave himself is not in particularly good form, a pause for conversation in his doorway will generally leave him and his visitor measurably happier when the chat concludes.

Dave opened his first shop in Kilcullen in October 2005 on Hillcrest, at a time when his corporate flowers business was in full chase with the Celtic Tiger. No less than many other enterprises, that suffered when the cat succumbed to financial distemper, so he diversified his local operation to offer balloons and other party requirements. At the height of that business, you only had to call to the shop to find out who was having what kind of significant party in and around Kilcullen.

After briefly considering an offer at the end of 2010 to work full time with an international high-end hotels chain, he decided to stick with Kilcullen and moved business to the current shop on Main Street, where the main retail footfall happens to be, in April 2011. Arguably this is where he has made the most significant personal impact too.

Always up for helping out in business and fundraising events, he has been involved with the Kilcullen River Festival and many other occasions in the Kilcullen annual calendar. He also recently defied his own sense of self-preservation and jumped from an airplane to raise money for animal welfare.

We're going to miss him and his warm presence on Main Street when he changes gears again for 2014 and beyond. But he's not leaving town, we're all glad to know, as he intends to continue living here. The Diary — on behalf of everyone in Kilcullen whose lives he has brightened since he came — wishes him well in his endeavours in the new year.

For his part, he has asked us to convey his deep appreciation for the support and friendship he has enjoyed from Kilcullen people over those years.

Now that that's done...

After his exertions around the world on Christmas Eve, Santa took a break in Michael Lambe's home on Christmas morning to enjoy a well-earned mulled wine before heading back to the North Pole until next year.

A Kilcullen Christmas in Perth

Christmas in Perth today was somewhat different to the Kilcullen one with Donal St Leger, writes Alan Clarke from Perth, Australia.

Here's a pic of myself, Ross Clarke and and Francis Shortt. Our Christmas day was somewhat different too, with the weather being 30degC, so it was a BBQ and beers on the beach for us!
Have a great Christmas, everybody back home!

Mayor Lambe welcomes Freeman St Leger

For many Christmas Days over the last nine years, the Diary has gone to Michael Lambe's famous Christmas morning bash to make a photographic 'Happy Christmas' to Kilcullen wild goose Donal 'The Saint' St Leger in the USA, writes Brian Byrne.

This year, because he is home for Christmas for what is believed to be the first time since he emigrated more than half a century ago, he was given a special welcome to that gig today by members of Kilcullen GAA, for whom he played before he left Ireland. He didn't know it was coming, but they gave him a guard of honour when Vivian Clarke dropped him off.



Michael Lambe, as the first Mayor of Kilcullen, put on his robes to give The Saint, Kilcullen's first Freeman, a welcome to his home. Pictured below are the Freeman and the Mayor, with GAA President Pat Lynch and Kilcullen's Santa Arthur.



Happy Christmas, Saint. (More pictures here.)

Convivial morning in An Tearmann

A full house again for the traditional Christmas Eve bell-ringing and carols in An Tearmann. If you weren't there you also missed the mulled wine and mince pies.

Wild Geese incoming

The Diary ran into Sean Landers yesterday, home from Taiwan for Christmas. We also know that Donal 'The Saint' St Leger is in town for possibly his first Christmas here since he emigrated to the US back a long way when. To those and all other Kilcullen Wild Geese coasting in on the current storms, welcome.

Crime Alert: car trailer stolen

An 8x4-foot car trailer was stolen in Ballysax tonight, according to Kilcullen Community Text Alert, writes Brian Byrne.

The trailer is described as high-sided, and though we don't have further details, it's understood that the perpetrators rammed through an electric gate to take the vehicle.

If anyone has any information please contact An Garda.

AFC Christmas Raffle winners

The winners of the Kilcullen AFC Christmas Raffle were 1st prize, Tom Moloney – Hamper; 2nd prize, June & Ger Halford – Helly Hansen Jacket; 3rd Prize, B Burke – Bottle Brandy; and 4th Prize, Sean Farrell – Clubwear voucher.

Louise Kelly took 5th prize – Clubwear voucher; 6th Prize, Colin Farrell — Bottle of Whiskey; 7th Prize, Suzanne Quinn – Bottle of wine; and 8th Prize, Melody Furlong – Bottle of wine.

Noel Burke won 9th Prize – Box of chocolates; 10th Prize, Stephen Rooney – Box of biscuits; 11th Prize, Laura Gibson – Box of chocolates; and 12th Prize, Ciara Condon – Box of Biscuits.

The Club thanks all who supported the draw and wishes everybody a Happy Christmas.

Santa tours town from Bridge Camphill

Well, despite the major traffic problems caused by the broken down bus this late afternoon, Santa and his Sleigh made their annual tour up and down the town from Bridge Camphill, writes Brian Byrne. All went well, though at a refuelling stop at Frazers Filling Station, one of the 'reindeers' was heard to say that 'Rudolph' was going too fast.



And don't forget the annual bell-ringing in An Tearmann tomorrow at 10am.

Bus causing traffic problems

If you're wondering why traffic in Kilcullen is a little fraught at the moment, it's because there's a Kavanagh bus broken down on the bridge.

It has been there for quite some time now, but Steve is keeping things on the move. Still, don't get too het up if you have to wait to get up or down the hill.

KCCEC says 'thanks' for support

One of the happiest community stories of this past year was the success of the Community Childcare & Education Centre getting its building project off the ground, writes Brian Byrne.

With the walls now up to roof level, thanks to great project management and a good run of weather, the project committee can look forward to a grand opening in 2014.

They extend a Christmas 'thank you' to all who supported the project through thick and thin. "We" are absolutely delighted with the successes we have achieved this year, and with the progress being made," says Iseult O'Donoghue.

Winding down for Christmas

The last roundup before Christmas Day is on, and after the tour of Santa and his sleigh from Bridge Camphill this afternoon, and the traditional bell-ringing in An Tearmann tomorrow morning, it'll be the signal for most people to relax for a few days, writes Brian Byrne.

The Diary also winds down about now and we'll only be posting quite sporadically between now and New Year's Day, so your editor is taking this opportunity to say 'thank you' to all contributors, advertisers, those who invited us to their events, and most of all to you readers out there without whom there'd be no need for this little endeavour.

To all of you, we wish a very peaceful Christmas and a happy crossover into 2014, which for the Diary will begin our tenth year in existence, a milestone in itself. A special seasonal greeting for Kilcullen's Wild Geese, who are more in numbers than they used to be, and a 'welcome home' for those among them who are fortunate enough to be coming back to Kilcullen for Christmas.

Nollaig shona agus bliain nua faoi mhaise dhaoibh go leir.

Students recall Silicon Valley visit

With the second Intel Ideation Camp coming up in Cross & Passion College on January 9/10, the thoughts of the 2013 team which won the National Finals of the inaugural event and won a trip to Silicon Valley might just help motivate the new batch of participants, writes Brian Byrne.

The group, Team Adapt, devised the idea of a cover for a smartphone which could be used for diagnosing low blood sugar and notifying parents or doctor as well as holding an emergency treatment supply. Aimed at young people with diabetes, they called their device Bete-It.

For Robyn Kenny, the experience of being in the famous innovation hotbed universities of Stanford and Berkley last October stood out particularly. "The overall experience was great, in addition to all the workshops we attended, even if all of us don't necessarily have an interest in entrepreneurship."

Caoimhe O Fearghaill's outstanding lesson from the trip was that it doesn't matter what age you are, or what degree you have behind you, it's passion that counts for success. "You've got to have passion and desire about the product or service you provide, and if you have that you will achieve."

With Bevan Murray it was meeting up directly with some of the really big guns in the tech world that made the big impression. "We knew we were going to speak to some important people, but when we got there we found that most of the speakers were self-made millionaires who all owned a few companies each. They told us what they had done to succeed and that helped us a lot, I think."

"That networking is the most important thing you can do is what I learned," Aaron McLoughlin Sutherland told the Diary. "It's not really about who you know, but who your contacts know. Meeting the entrepreneurs you don't get to see every day will impact hugely on the rest of my life, and learning that they're just ordinary people who you wouldn't expect to be millionaires."

Wayne Donoghue described the information that he learned during the few days in Stanford and Berkley as 'breathtaking' and is likely to shape his future. "It was an experience that can go on anyone's CV, and a big step for us."

The young people were talking to the Diary at a recent reception for them in the College. Godwyn Jalanga was unavoidably absent. They are pictured above with Noel Clare, deputy principal CPC; Glenda Groome, TY coordinator CPC; Joe O'Connor, Kilcullen Lions; Darragh Fitzgerald (back centre), president Kilcullen Lions; Terri O'Sullivan, Sixth Year head, CPC; and Clodagh Kavanagh, Kilcullen Lions.

"You went out and met the rock stars of Silicon Valley, and came back as the science rock stars of Ireland," the current president of Kilcullen Lions, Darragh Fitzgerald, told them at the reception. "We never dreamed that our team would get to the final, and then win and get to California. You did great for Kilcullen, and great for the country."

Glenda Groome, the TY coordinator at CPC who accompanied the group to California along with deputy principal Noel Clare and Lise Harlow of Intel, said they had met people 'who were on the top of their game'. "Our students were there just to observe, but they were called on to speak and they made a massive impact," she added.

The students showed a video presentation with highlights of their trip, and Manev Subodh, Global Manager - Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Corporate Affairs at Intel Corporation, spoke at the reception via a recorded interview.

The Intel Ideation Camps are organised in Ireland's second level schools by the Lions Clubs in each participant area.

Thanks expressed for Maintain Hope support

Legato from CPC performing at 'Christmas at Castlemartin'

"We couldn't do it without you," Gerry O'Donoghue told those who attended the 'Christmas at Castlemartin' fundraiser for Maintain Hope during the week in St Mary's Church on the Castlemartin Estate, writes Brian Byrne.

Noting that it is the ninth year that the charity has been going to Shelter Home in Ngong in Kenya, he said the 196 children there need a dry bed and full bellies when they go to bed at night, and it takes €28,000 a year to achieve that. "And we need another €8,000 for the children we are supporting through High School and we also have two senior children who are in third level college."

He revealed that some of the children they knew first as young teenagers have done well for themselves as a result of being able to gain an education. "We have one who is a lawyer, another is an investigator with a security company, and one is a marketing manager. So thanks to the support we get from people like yourselves, we are able to make that difference to those children."

Typically every summer Maintain Hope spends between €20,000-€40,000 on capital projects in the building programme. Gerry thanked the 264 volunteers who have gone to Kenya over the years on the summer building programme. "We couldn't do it if we didn't get the support from communities like Kilcullen."

He emphasised that all administration costs of the charity are borne personally by the directors, or by sponsorship from some schools. "All Maintain Hope owns is a secondhand laptop. Nobody gets paid except our co-workers in Shelter and the local builders and security people. So every single penny that is raised goes to the children."

He concluded by saying that all the children in Shelter want those here in Ireland who have supported the effort to know that they really appreciate the difference it has made in their lives.

You can hear Gerry's talk by clicking below.