So that was 2014, then ...

JANUARY

In their second time in the Intel Ideation Camp organised by Kilcullen Lions Club, a CPC team went forward for the national competition, with a plan for a website and mobile app to cater specifically for young people with no third level qualifications looking for work. The site — The Inside Man — was proposed by Team Phoenix, otherwise Adam Nolan, Brendan Aspell, Jennifer Gleeson, Emily Hart, Aisling Farrell, and Laura Byrne.

A happy gang getting ready to set out for their training night from the Community Centre, for the 5k Walk/Run in aid of Halverstown NS and St Anne's Special School on the Curragh. This was the brainchild of Grainne McGrath, and the event itself later was to be more successful than anyone could have envisaged, with 240 participants and more than €3,200 raised.

A full house in the Town Hall Theatre enjoyed an outstanding evening of music from local group Cathú and Paul Durney with his band Fleadh from Germany (above). It was a return to the stage for Paul, who first performed there as a child during Capers.

A new recycling facility for glass and cans was put in place at the Mart in the main car park. It was in cooperation with Leinster Marts Ltd.

Pupils from St Joseph's NS enjoyed a tour of the Britvic Ireland factory where they taste-tested some of the new summer range of soft drinks.


FEBRUARY

What started out as a simple job to replace kneelers in Kilcullen Parish Church developed into a major operation to fix a range of serious problems inside and outside.

There was widespread sadness across the community at the death of Pastor Rover Dunlop, whose faith, compassion, and fascination with local history had made him a much-loved figure in the wider Kilcullen/Brannockstown area.

A Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group was formed which was to later discover that 34 men from the Kilcullen area died in WW1, and through the rest of the year the Group ran a number of functions to commemorate them.

On the last day of the month Brigid (Granny) Aspell had her first of a series of parties to mark her 104th birthday. She's pictured here with family members (back) Terri, Nuala and Breda, and (front) Dolly and Molly, in Kilcullen Credit Union. Sadly, Brigid passed away later in the year, after a very full and happy life.


MARCH

A fantastic performance by local children resulted in an impressive haul of seven county medals, including two gold in the U8 and U14 categories of the Community Games County Art Final.

The Kilcullen Drama Group's presentation of Billy Roche's play 'Belfry' hit the stage of the Town Hall Theatre and provided a stellar performance as usual.

The sunrise coming through the Dun Ailinne Interpretive Park spear sculpture did its thing on the morning before the actual date, but only the Diary was there to record it. Ray and Fiona Kelly provided the usual sausages and brown bread for those who came out the following morning, when things weren't so spectacular.

The sculpture was created by local artist Noel Scullion, on commission from KCA which developed and maintains the park.

It was the month when the Diary provided a series of articles to try and make the Draft Kilcullen Local Area Plan understandable. Among its aspirations was to develop the tourism potential of Kilcullen, which enjoys the attraction of the River Liffey, the heritage that includes nearby Dun Ailinne as one of the four key pre-Christian settlement sites, the reputation of the town's bars, cafes and restaurants, and the amenities represented by such developments as the Camphill Community Farm cafe and shop.

Kilcullen Canoe Club had a celebration evening to mark what had been a very good 2013 for the club, including winning the Ribba De Sella trophy, awarded to the 'Club of the Year' in the National Marathon Canoe Racing Series. This was a feat last managed by the club only 17 years previously.

APRIL

The local elections campaigns got under way in earnest, and Kilcullen's particular focus was on Billy Hillis's run to regain his seat, this time in the new Naas Municipal District, while Ivan Keatley intended to retain his seat in the Athy MD. In the event later, both were returned as councillors.

Kilcullen Badminton Club achieved its first All-Ireland Championship in a very exciting weekend where Baldoyle Badminton Club hosted the All Ireland Graded Championships. Pictured with the All-Ireland trophy are Lynsey Walsh, Breda Connolly (President Badminton Ireland) and Dave Mc Clean.

Kilcullen Lions Club continued their various fundraising events through the year, and one of their new initiatives was the first ever fashion show held in Kilcullen's Town Hall Theatre. It was very well supported, and with a mix of local children and adults doing the catwalk bit, it entertaining and colourful.

The traditional Polish Holy Saturday 'Blessing of the Baskets' was celebrated in Kilcullen Parish Church by Fr Niall Mackey on behalf of parishioners from Poland. Known in their native language as Święconka, the blessing dates back to the early history of Poland, and is particularly beloved of expatriates and descendants of Polish immigrants in many countries.

Billy Redmond began a campaign to have the pulpit restored to Kilcullen Parish Church, after discovering it in a storage facility. Unfortunately, by year's end, nothing had been done about it.


MAY

Local writer Hazel Gaynor, whose novel 'The Girl Who Came Home' had previously debuted in the US to best-seller success, had her Irish launch of the book in Dubray Bookshop in Dublin. Seeing her work on shop bookshelves was a 'dream come true', she said. Hazel is currently writing her third book for HarperCollins.

Work was begun on clearing some of the trees that had grown out of control in The Valley, in line with a plan for the park which had devised in the KCA Biodiversity Study. The work opened up a vista of the river that hadn't been seen for years. There was a bit of criticism of it, though.

One of the key events of the programme by the Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group was the lecture on 'Life in the Trenches' given by Col Des Travers (Retd), in the Town Hall and later on site at the training trenches on The Curragh.

Nine of the 16 candidates who were running for election in the Naas MD came along to a Town Meeting organised by Kilcullen people, to outline their prospective policies in relation to Kilcullen. The event was generally regarded as a successful exercise in grass-roots led democratic action.

Iconic Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte came to Kilcullen to launch the new 2-year sponsorship of Nolans Butchers for Kilcullen GAA. Prior to visiting the clubhouse, where he gave a very inspiring talk to the Club members, he met with sports journalists in Nolans for an extensive interview session which covered many aspects of GAA playing and policy.

JUNE

Local veteran athlete Albert Keenan made his long awaited outdoor track debut in the Leinster track and field championships in Tullamore and added to his Leinster road title with not one, not two, but three Leinster medals. Albert won the over-65 category in 3,000 metres and 1,500 metres and was just touched off into 2nd place in the 800 metres.

In what was a wonderful day for the people who had worked tirelessly to get a proper Community Childcare facility for Kilcullen, the new premises opened its doors to the children. The new Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre was built with local community donations, Kildare Leader funding, funds from Kildare County Council, and a loan. The work was carried out by Kennycourt Developments, with project management by Martin Murphy.

After more years than he cares to remember, Bernard Berney quietly retired from the pharmacy business in which he had been medical and social counsellor for what seems forever.

The inaugural performance of the new Kilcullen Gospel Choir took place this month, after six months of getting it together and learning a programme under the direction of Cross & Passion College music teacher Phionagh Gibson. It was a resounding success, and after the summer break the expanded Choir performed many times in the town, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

A midsummer barbecue in The Stray Inn in aid of Gormanstown Church funds was just one of countless successful fundraisers during the year in the Kilcullen area, thanks to the never-ending generosity of local people.

JULY

Every year, local woman Josie Connolly and friends do a leisurely sponsored walk from the Stray Inn at Mile Mill to Kilcullen itself, to raise funds for the Alzheimer Service in St Vincent's Hospital, Athy. This year, the walk raised almost €4,500, which is to provide treats and comforts for the patients and residents.

Summer is always a nice time by the river Liffey that flows through Kilcullen, and these views from one afternoon of photography show that.

Forget Brazil, the all-weather pitch at Kilcullen's Community Centre complex was where all the real football action was. The Diary went along to watch some of the training Summer Camp organised by Kilcullen AFC for the younger members of the community. During this session there were 51 young people taking part.

The sad story in the middle of the month was the passing of Brigid (Granny) Aspell, who had lived through 104 years of life in our town. May she rest in peace.

The Great War Commemoration series of events continued, with an evening of memories and memorabilia attended by families who had ancestors who fought or died in the conflict.


AUGUST

A long-awaited and very necessary resurfacing of Main Street got under way, with much of the excellent job being carried out at night.

The lead up to the Kilcullen River Festival was a bit different this time, with the selection of the first River Festival Queen to preside over the various events of the day. She was Loren Hammond, representing Joey's Hideout.

A Musical Theatre Workshop held in the CPC attracted a full attendance. Directed by Phionagh Gibson, the group are pictured here before the show they performed for parents on the last day.

Nicholastown celebrated its 75th anniversary with a party on the green, and many former residents and members of their families came along.

Another new twist for the River Festival was the first Kilcullen Triathlon, organised by Steve Kinneavy for the evening before. It was very successful, and will now feature on the official Tri Calendar.

That same evening, the main event of the year by the Great War Commemorative Group, the 'Our Unfortunate Sons' concert, was, by everybody's agreement, a wonderful success.

The weather again, incredibly, stayed dry for the Festival. Once again too, there was a great variety of events, stalls, and meeting opportunities for local people and many more from outside the town.

Once again, Kilcullen's transplant athlete James Nolan scored medals abroad. He's pictured here with Emma and their baby Andrew James, on the return of the Irish team from Krakow and the European Transplant & Dialysis Sports Championships. The Irish team was ranked third overall in medals terms, and James contributed three medals to that performance.

Youth drama continued to take to the boards in Kilcullen, with two one-act plays — 'Family Affair' by Lisa Sherin and 'The Essay' by Ronan Carr. The pictures above are from the rehearsal of 'The Essay'.


SEPTEMBER

The Relay for Life Kildare was 24 hours of remembering, rejoicing, entertainment, and fundraising for cancer. Kilcullen provided one of the 32 teams from all over Kildare set up under the stands of the Curragh Racecourse.

And still on the cancer-fighting theme, the annual series of events run by Jimmy Aspell and friends in aid of the Irish Cancer Society culminated as usual with the Pitch & Putt Breakfast Barbecue and game.

A chapter in Kilcullen's young music history came to an end with the disbandment of Black Water, at a gig in The Spout which attracted musicians from all the many other bands in the area.

There was an absolutely full house audience for each night of the Kilcullen Drama Group's 'Night of Comedy' in three one-act plays — 'The Workhouse Ward', 'Between Mouthfuls', and 'The Barber's Tale. All good old time stuff, with not a single expletive needed through the evening to carry the comedy.

This was the month that the Conroy Park estate celebrated its 40th anniversary, and they did so in style with a Sunday afternoon of music, song, memories and many of those who had moved away coming back.


OCTOBER

Castlemartin House and Stud was formally launched on the market for sale with an asking price of €30m. The property is expected to gather strong interest from potential buyers around the world, including Asia. It comprises 750 acres of stud and woodlands, as well as a restored medieval church. It was to be bought for €28m in December by an Irish-American billionaire.

A cheque for €20,000, the amount raised by Jimmy Aspell and friends since 2011 for the Irish Cancer Society, was symbolically handed over to that organisation in The Spout. The same night, a cheque for €22,272 was also presented in The Stray Inn, the proceeds from this year's Mac & Norman Vintage Rally.

After a residents campaign through the summer, all of the non-working street lights in Cnoc na Gréine were repaired, following strong representations at Council level by local representatives, led by Cllr Rob Power.

This is Megan, James, Michael and Peter, with Jan Culley, co-cordinator of the Transitional Training Programme at the Bridge Camphill Community, and they're part of a 9-strong group who took the right to a bus shelter to Kilcullen streets. They organised a petition which they later presented to Kildare County Council.

Kilcullen AFC Over-35s beat Rathangan 3-1 in Booleigh to win the Kildare Masters Division 2 League Cup. The game in Booleigh was a playoff after both teams had finished their League contest on level points.

In the best fundraising year they have had so far for the Make A Wish Foundation, the Friends of Toddlers & Wobblers pre-school playgroup raised more than €8,000 for the charity.

Among the Community Awards presented by KCA were ones to the Kilcullen Childcare Committee, and the Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group.


NOVEMBER

With some 174 entries, 2014 was a record for interest in the Credit Union Schools Poster Competition.

A new business, J & A Shabby Chic, was officially opened at Hillcrest. Operated by Jennifer Monaghan and Antoinette Buckley, it provides materials, advice and training courses for those interested in upcycling furniture, decoupage, stencilling and related crafts.

The final event of the year by Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group was the planting of a holly tree in the grounds of Kilcullen Library to commemorate the 34 local men known to have fought and died in WW1. The tree was sourced by Liam Walker, and planted by Frank Mitchell and Michael Walker, all three of whom had relatives who participated in the conflict.

A really great night was held in Fallons to mark the retirement of Steve Kinneavey from An Garda. It was a wonderful evening of memorable anecdotes.

The official opening of the Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre was arguably the highlight event of this month, if not the year. It marked the successful conclusion to more than a decade of effort by parents and others in the community to achieve the facility. The tape-cutting was by Sr Carmel Miley, representing the Cross & Passion order which provided the community land on which the Centre is built.


DECEMBER

A special plaque to mark the contribution of ten years of the Diary to Kilcullen life was presented to your editor, and we're still overwhelmed.

Even though the weather meant that the event had to be taken indoors to the Heritage Centre, everybody who has experienced the annual switching on of the Christmas lights said it was the best ever.

Berney Bros saddlery and store had a big night to launch three new competition saddles developed by the five generations-old business.

The Kilcullen Gospel Choir finished a medley of appearance in advance of Christmas with a 'flashmob' surprise appearance to entertain the food queues in Nolans.



And finally, the traditional ringing of the bells in An Tearmann led us into the relative quiet of Christmas, from where we have made it to another year.

Let's make it another good one.