Forms for joining the Kilcullen Garda District Text Alert scheme are available from The Grocery in Calverstown, Kilcullen Garda Station, Kilcullen Credit Union, and scheme committee members. Please encourage neighbours and friends to join.
It was a big night in Kildare County Council when Mayor Mark Wall presented sports awards to county achievers, writes Brian Byrne.
They included Kilcullen's World Pitch & Putt Women's Strokeplay Champion Chrissie Byrne, pictured above with the Mayor and Christy Sweeney, chairman of St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club, and the Kilcullen AFC Ladies team who recently won the Umbro Junior Championship.
Full report later.
I've been listening to comment and reading about the Seanad and the referendum by which we will vote to abolish it or keep it, writes Brian Byrne. And my view that we should keep it remains solid. Even if, as it seems from the opinion polls of this weekend, my view is in the minority.
This is a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater for a politically-driven ideology. And it is essentially driven by one man, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Which makes it all the more sad that he declined to take part in a TV debate on the matter. If he is so convinced that we don't need the second tier of the Oireachtas, he should at least be prepared to go before the public in debate outside the comfort of the Dail chamber.
Look, I make no case for the worth of the Seanad as it stands. It is quite toothless in terms of dealing with legislation as presented to it by the Dail. And how members are elected to it is a deeply flawed process. But it has shown a value on a number of occasions as a place where issues can be debated in a far less partisan manner than in the Dail. And in raising issues that don't always make it through the Dail.
That the current Government wants the Seanad 'taken out' isn't a surprise, of course. My sense is that its members want to close up the whole political 'club' so that it is only for professional career politicians. And their numbers are decreasing too. As are the third tier of governmental administration, the county councillors.
There was a time when the Dail was essentially a place for part-timers, business owners, farmers and others who for one reason or another were voted into being 'messengers to the Parliament'. There's an argument to say that it's better now that most TDs are professional pols. But there's an equally viable discussion that the Dail has lost a significant expertise which those previous businesspeople and farmers, and other professionals were able to bring to the forming of legislation.
The Seanad in its ideal did at least provide access to those non-political skills and knowledge, and could build public discussion on them which suggested practical amendments to legislative instruments that had been mostly formed by civil servants and a core of those professional TDs who were fortunate enough to reach Cabinet ministerial status.
If I vote to abolish the Seanad, I am helping to delete once and for all the possibility that we can provide a reformed upper house which could do even more to represent the views of the minority groups, the businesses, the children, the emigrated, and other elements of our society which need to have their voices heard.
This thought can be underlined by the fact that the current and previous Governments became past masters at the use of the guillotine in the Dail in order to stifle and stop debate, on a number of occasions and issues. If we don't have a Seanad, reformed, upgraded, and more representative of course, we're leaving ourselves even more open to legislation by big boys' dictat.
I don't subscribe to what is essentially a bullying tactic, and probably a 'stroke', to eliminate the further development of an alternative voice for all those outside the direct political process. So I'm voting 'No'.
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| Appleton directors Austin and Gillian Egan, with (seated) office manager Deirdre Egan. |
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| Avid listeners during the recent Writers Open Mic night. |
Public libraries provide a wide range of services both physical and virtual, including print and digital lending material, reader development advice, internet access and support, information and reference resources and guidance, learning and e-learning activities, literacy support, cultural promotion and community development.
There are 16.3 million visits made to public libraries each year.
There are 19.3 million books, audio books, CDs and DVDs borrowed from public libraries annually.
Some 41% of the books borrowed by adults are non-fiction books.
There are 1.9 million Internet sessions provided on 2,100 Internet access PCs and via free Wi-Fi.
There are 344 branch libraries and 32 mobile libraries.
Local Authorities spent €131.6 million on library services in 2011.
Local Authorities spent €9 million on stock in 2011, an average of €1.97 per capita.
Public libraries in Ireland are run by 32 separate library authorities.
Saturday morning Crochet classes recently began at An Tearmann, under the banner of the 'Happy Hookers'.
The classes, held upstairs in the popular cafe, are being organised by 'Beverley', who tags the endeavour as being 'Sheeper than Therapy'.
Participants can pay as they go, and information on the classes can be had by phoning 086 2392292.
The reports of higher prices for housing in Dublin could bring a return of the move of Dublin people to the neighbouring counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, according to local property agent John J Dowling.
He was commenting on reports from the Central Statistics Office about prices in the capital rising by up to €3,000 a month.
"This is very good news for anyone who bought in the height of the market and has been carrying extensive negative equity," he notes. "We are also finding that prices in the Kildare area are on the increase, granted not at the same level."
For those Dubs who are considering moving out, he strongly encourages them to choose Kildare. "But please make sure that you bring some good footballers with you," he adds, not altogether in jest!
The total amount of the recent fundraisers by Jimmy Aspell and The Spout for the Irish Cancer Society came to €4,200.
That brings to a grand total of the three years of the fundraisers to €14,441.
This year there was the usual Jimmy Aspell & Friends musical night in The Spout, and also last weekend's Barbecue Breakfast Pitch & Putt event.
All involved extend a big thank you to all who helped and supported the events.
Kilcullen's Shane McGrath, best known for his music activities, is expanding further into the scary world of film-making, writes Brian Byrne.
Shane is looking for cast for a feature length music based love story drama he has written and will be directing the shooting of in February and March 2014.
He emphasises that it is a 'tiny budget' enterprise.
The roles he needs to cast are 11 men in the 26-40 age group, three men in their 50s, five women 25-40, and two women aged 55 or over.
"If anyone can sing, be sure to let me know," Shane says. "If they play an instrument, it's a bonus." He adds that he doesn't care whether the actors are professional or not, as long as they will be serious about the project, will take it professionally, and can act.
Auditions will be screened and work-shopped on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 12/13/14 November 2013 in Dublin.
Please don't apply if you can't film extensively in February and March 2014 in Dublin. Shane can be contacted at shane@limelightgroup.ie.
In 2011 Shane produced, directed and starred in the first ever film based on Gerald Manely Hopkins’s epic poem, ‘The Wreck of the Deutschland’. The film has been very well received from scholars and literary critics throughout Europe.
Whatever about the high-pitched hype against Arthur's Day this year, in most cases it is celebrated in a simple minor key, writes Brian Byrne, as it was earlier this evening in McTernans and other pubs around Kilcullen.
Our picture shows Mary Masterson and friends raising a glass of the black stuff to the man who developed Guinness.
Not to the man who invented alcohol, because that was done thousands of years before, and the Diary rather feels Arthur shouldn't particularly be getting all the blame about it.
I mean, what about all the monasteries which have for hundreds of years, and still do, produce well-considered beers and spirits all across Europe? And in other parts of the world and of other religions too. Are they also do be done down by some very dogmatic elements of our society of today?
All right, I know the publicity beef is with Diageo. For simply coming up with what has been a very successful marketing campaign for their Guinness product. Let's keep it in perspective. Diageo, or Guinness Ireland, don't hold us down and force the stuff down our throats. We who drink it make a choice. Mostly for a bit of simple enjoyment.
So, for the day that's in it, here's a toast to all of us, and to those others too, a simple 'slainte'.
This is a public service announcement. It you're driving in fog, PLEASE put your dipped headlights and foglights on.
Also, PLEASE slow down.
And, PLEASE give yourself more distance from the vehicle in front.
Then we can all feel a bit safer. And we might all get safely to where we're going.
PLEASE?
No Jackpot winnerThe numbers drawn in the Kilcullen & Gormanstown Parish Lotto on Tuesday 24 September 2013 were 6, 13, 20, and 27. There was no Jackpot winner and next week's main prize will be €2,200.
The winners of the €50 Open Draws were Peter Murphy (Promoter Vivian Clarke), Kay Tyrrell (Bella Ryan) and Ann Dempsey (John Archbold).
The winners of the €50 Promoters Draw were Friday Bridge Club and Miriam McDonnell. The winner of the Draw for those in the Parish Centre on the night was Gavin Murphy.
When the Council declined a second time yesterday to do the work, this time because they said it would only open onto a 'gravel path' and subsequently to a 'busy' former N9 road, Cllr Keatley said their answer was 'pathetic'.
"I'm not letting this one off the hook," he told the Diary last evening. "Our discussion this morning at the Athy Area Meeting reflected my view, and I have even offered to do the work myself if they can't."
Cllr Keatley says his offer 'remains on the table' and he is awaiting a response. "It should be interesting," he added.
In eyesight terms, this is National AMD week, an awareness week for macular degeneration, writes Brian Byrne. It's a blinding condition affecting one in ten people over the age of 50, and risk factors include smoking, diet lacking in fresh fruit and vegetables, high exposure to UV light—which can particularly affect construction workers and farmers.
A family history of AMD should also be kept in mind, as should high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which can also be triggers for AMD. The effects of the disease are gradual, although in some cases there can be a sudden loss of central vision—essential to our ability to see in fine details.
Kilcullen optometrist Nichola Kennedy FAOI is offering free AMD screening to anyone who wishes to avail of it. Just call or pop in to arrange an appropriate time. It is a quick and painless test and involves looking at an Amsler grid, a brief vision check and look at the macula at the back of the eye with a specialised torch.
Sight is possibly our most important sense. Don't lose out on this free offer to help protect it. Phone 045 484643
Here's an update on the Sunday performances of Kilcullen AFC Senior sides, writes Ray Kelly.
Men's 2nd team - played out a 1-1 draw with Monasterevin and that result leaves Kilcullen in second place. Some dubious refereeing decisions saw the lads put in a tough graft to get the draw. A good season overall - well done.
Men's 1st team - what a game ... 3-0 down after 20 minutes it looked as if it was all over versus Birr Town in the Leinster Junior Cup Round 2. But this never say die Kilculen side pulled up their socks to go on and win the game 4-3, getting the winner 15 mins from time and holding out superbly. Super result.
Finally, the FAI Junior Cup-winning Ladies team, defended their League title superbly in a tight game that ended 1-1 which left Kilcullen and yesterday's opponents Bridge United tied at the top of the league. To decide the league winners a playoff will now be needed. Another day out for the ladies to complete a fantastic season.
Many thanks for the great support over the three games and to the players for three great spectator games.
Great cause, a great night promisedAn evening of cheering song and rousing music guaranteed to send people home in good form is promised for Friday, 18 October.
The Naas Gospel Choir and Anam Youth Choir will sing at a fundraising concert in the Town Hall Theatre, while Billy Redmond and friends will get feet tapping in trad style.
The music and song are not the only good part of the event. The concert is in aid of Kilcullen's Vincent de Paul Society. The local community has always been generous to the Society, but there is an increasing need for services to disadvantaged people. The concert is an opportunity to support a good cause and have an enjoyable time in the process.
Tickets at €20 are available from any member of the Society or from Berneys Chemist; grab one before they're all gone.
There's a great buzz this morning at St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club for the fundraiser event in aid of St Brigid's Hospice, writes Brian Byrne.
The Barbecue Breakfast, with champagne, was well attended and music from Jimmy Aspell and Kevin Swayne got people into form for swinging clubs a little later on.
Prizes will be presented by Tommy Dignam in The Spout at lunchtime.
A wet Sunday didn't deter some Kildare people from supporting organ donation by taking part in the recent Irish Kidney Association's Run for a Life, writes Gwen O'Donoghue. The Fun Run, sponsored by Astellas Pharma, took place at Park West, Dublin 12 on Sunday 15 September.
Among them were Kilcullen kidney transplant man and butcher James Nolan, with his living kidney donor sister Catherine. Their mother Ann and other members of the Nolan family also took part in the run.
Pictured at the recent Cross & Passion debs night were Jeremy Burke and Sally Hughes, and Trina Dugan. Pics PJ Lydon.
It's a massive day on Sunday for Kilcullen AFC Senior sides, who are all playing at home, writes Ray Kelly.
At 11am the Men's 2nd team play Monasterevin where a win guarantees them second spot, and if League leaders Walshestown slip up, the team could take the Division 3 title.
At 2pm the Men's 1st team are playing Birr Town in the Leinster Junior Cup Round 2. It's a great test for us against one of the big boys from Offaly in the combined counties League.
Finally, at 4.30pm we have our FAI Junior Cup-winning Ladies team, defending their League title in a 'winner takes all' match against their biggest rivals in Bridge United. Both teams are level on points, with this being the last game of the League.
So please come out to cheer them all on, the support as always is greatly appreciated! (The club would like to thank all who came along last Saturday to support the Ladies in their fantastic Cup win.)
C'mon Kilcullen!!
It was a most entertaining time in the Library for last evening's Culture Night contribution of readings by local writers in an Open Mic event, writes Brian Byrne.
Moderated by the ever-urbane Gerry O'Donoghue, who was credited also, whether accurately or not, with making the sandwiches, it was the variety of the readings no less than their quality that provided a heady mix of laughter, surprise, reminiscence and food for thought.
Sophie Rose Williamson opened preceedings with an extract from her book, 'Here Come the Girls', an account about how post-Celtic Tiger wife Amber's life needed fixing, and friends from her past came along to help. The extract placed Amber just before her wedding, where the seeds of future turbulence were already sprouting.
Emer Byrden's piece about the relationship between a grandfather and grandson cemented by a shared love of cigarettes was a poignant vignette in a railway station as they took a break with each other before heading off to the next stations in their respective lives.
An account of a fictional interaction between legendary bare-knuckle fighter Dan Donnelly and healing priest Fr John Moore was the basis for Ilona Blunden's reading of a long-standing work in progress to which she had recently returned. It was an intriguing and crafted piece that opened wider the lore around the fighter ... and who's to say it never happened?
Poet Pauline Fagan provided two pieces in her inimitably haunting and lyrical style, one a loving description of unknown to many details of The Curragh — "I though grass was grass/I was wrong/So many names" — and then a work in progress, 'At Hunting Brook', about an excursion by two girls to celebrate their birthdays, from a picnic on the dining room floor through imaginations to grass meadows and forests and the myriad life within them. It would take several hearings to go through the layers of her work, but each one would be worth it more than before.
Your editor contributed a piece of memoir, about shoe boxes and how they helped to bring us as children to places far further than even the Voyager spacecraft launched 36 years ago has so far managed to get to.
Then it was Mary Barber's turn, who entertained us with a quite wonderful account of 'doing' the Lough Derg penitiential, mixing with both hilarity and dashes of pathos her memory, notes made on the days and nights, and dollops of Wikipaedia in such a fun way that even this writer would be (almost) tempted to try what his mother did many times. Almost, only.
For Annmarie Miles, the occasion offered the opportunity to showcase two short pieces from an upcoming book. 'Remembering' is Arthur looking back on his life with his wife, at a time when he has to sometimes 'rock back and forth to smoothen out the creases in his brain'. In the short short genre, every one of us caught our breath at the conclusion. 'The Matchmaker' is another one of those pieces that every mother of sons will understand.
For Frank Morrow, the doings of Brannockstown are the normal stuff of his writing in rhyme. His 'The Referee' travels a little more generally but resonated with everyone who had an interest in football. He also gave a rendition of the song he wrote a while back, performed as 'The Grand River Liffey that flows through Kildare' at the recent River Festival by John Kelly.
Bernadette Melia's 'The Sewing Basket' was shortlisted for the Listowel Writers Week short story competition, and pins together the three generations of women of which she is in the middle. Memories made, making and to be made in the threads, needles, buttons, and pin-cushion in the basket of the title. Evocative and close to every mother's heart.
The finale came from John Martin, who provided from life an account of how interaction with the Revenue over the Local Property Tax could be surprisingly hilarious. He brought it together with his ability as an actor with the Kilcullen Drama Group to give us a suitably upbeat end to an evening for which Librarian Julie O'Donoghue and the County Kildare Library Service must, once again, be offered a heartfelt appreciation.
Roll on next year, but not too fast, because we have a lot of new stuff to write.
(All the pictures are here.)
The SUAS Knitting Group will be resuming for the autumn next Tuesday.
All are welcome to the regular Tuesday morning get-togethers in the Parish Centre between 10.30am-12.30pm.
Just a reminder that tonight is Culture Night, and courtesy of Kilcullen Library there's a local writers Open Mic from 6.30pm, with a wide range of readings from local writing talent.
In addition, and later, there's the Gathering Music Festival upstairs in O'Connells Bar from 9pm, with songs, music, storytelling and more.
All in all, something a little different for a Friday night. Make the effort, you'll enjoy.
The organisers of the 'Music Under The Mountains' festival in Hollywood, Co Wicklow, have asked if I might help to spread the word that this super festival of traditional music/song/dance, with international performers, and workshops for developing players, is upon us, and kicks off this evening, writes Roy Thompson of the Ballymore Acoustic Gigs.
This is always a great weekend of music, and craic, and this year promises to be no different; check out the attachment for all the details.
Happy to have spread the word! Now, its up to you; so, get along to Hollywood - the 'real' one!
Many thanks to Matt Hughes for sending in this picture, taken at the Dun Ailinne archaeological excavations in the late 60s.
Matt can only name three, from the bottom right — Joe Aspell, Bertie Hall, and himself leaning against the tower inside the man with the cap.
Any others recognised?
