Date set for Community Awards 2016

The date for this year’s Kilcullen Community Awards presentations has been set for Thursday 3 November, writes Brian Byrne.

In a discussion at last night’s meeting of Kilcullen Community Action, which organises the Awards, it was agreed to move it from Friday to Thursday night, to facilitate attendance by more members of the public.

This year the nominations for the Awards will be managed by an independent panel drawn from the community. Nominations can be emailed to kilcullencommunityaction@gmail.com, or handed to any member of Kilcullen Community Action.

Ray Kelly suggested that more emphasis should be placed on the fact that it is a public event, to encourage more people to come.

In addition to the Awards celebration and appreciation of individuals and groups which add to the quality of community life in Kilcullen, it is also the occasion for the presentation of local Tidy Towns awards.

Local estates are being circulated in the coming week with forms to note improvements they may have made to their areas during the past year, to assist in the judging of this aspect.

Parish Lotto Draw

The numbers drawn in the Kilcullen & Gormanstown Parish Lotto Draw held on Tuesday 30th August 2016 were 18, 27, 28 and 30. There was no Jackpot winner and next week's main prize will be €7,400.

The winners of the €50 Open Draws were Jack Melia (Promoter Miriam McDonnell), Mary Foley (Kathy Flynn), and Karolina Swedura (Mick Dunne).

The winners of the Promoters Draw were Wednesday Bridge Club and Mick Dunne, and the winner of the Draw for those in the Parish Centre on the night was Anne Brennan.

The Parish thanks all who support the Lotto.

Broadband from Old Kilcullen

The rollout by the Imagine broadband company of its service from a transmitter at Old Kilcullen will benefit 400 households there and in Calverstown, Narraghmore and Suncroft, according to a local TD.

The investment has been welcomed by Deputy Martin Heydon of Fine Gael, but he says more still needs to be done to meet the broadband needs in rural parts of south Kildare.

"I will continue to push Imagine and other providers to convince them that there is a demand to meet increased investment in broadband provision, as the substantial take up on this present rollout is proving," he says.

Deputy Heydon added that the state's National Broadband Plan is still in progress as well, but it will take more time before that brings services on the ground. "So I want to work in tandem with that to get more service options to local Kildare residents."

Marketing 'The Quare Land'

When Vivian Clarke and Bernard Berney aren’t going over their lines for the reprise of ‘The Quare Land’, they’re either pub-crawling or going to Mass, writes Brian Byrne.

Which is not quite like it sounds, because they're actually on a mission. Not from God, like the Blues Brothers, but from Kilcullen Drama Group.

Or, more simply, marketing their performance. In between their rehearsals, both eminent Kilcullen Drama Group actors have been soliciting an audience.

“Especially in places like Dunlavin, Hollywood and Ballymore,” says Vivian Clarke, the younger of the duo in years (though there would be conflict if any imputation was made about a differentiation in ability). “We tour the pubs, and tell the people in them what we’re doing.”

In that part of the hinterland of Kilcullen, they don’t need to explain themselves much. “People will come up to us and ask ‘what are ye doing now?’,” Vivian says. It even works when they arrive to shill their gig at Mass in such communities. But the timing has to be right. “They’ll stop and talk to us about the show before they go in to Mass,” says Bernard. “They’ll even let themselves be late. But on the way out, they’re just interested in getting away.”

That’s all a reflection of the heritage of Kilcullen Drama Group, which has always been an organisation to which the outlying villages would provide support, regardless of the play.

The two-hander production stars Vivian and Bernard playing a land developer and land owner respectively, with Bernard spending his whole time on stage in a bath. The original four-night run in April of this year was extended by another four nights, and due to popular demand it will be on stage again on the nights of 7/8/9 September.

The proceeds of the first night are being given to the Teach na nDaoine project.

GAA Ladies Seniors in final on Saturday

Kilcullen Senior Ladies Gaelic football team are in a championship final this Saturday, 3 September, when they face Celbridge at 2.30pm in Hawkfield, writes Aidan Gleeson.

Kilcullen have never won a Ladies title at senior level, so it would be a historic occasion for the club should they win. The girls have put in a brilliant effort all year, starting back in February running up and down hills on the Curragh, and they have put in some outstanding performances en route to this final. Hopefully, there will be a big support from Kilcullen there on Saturday to support the girls. Cill Chuillin Abú!

Kilcullen Panel: Lorraine Schwer (Captain), Katie Willis (Vice-Captain), Aoife Molyneaux, Emily Vaughan, Karen Bell, Amy Moran, Dáire Smyth, Bróna Dooley, Lisa Aspell, Clare Kelly, Jayne Peacocke, Sinéad Maher, Sarah Doherty, Nanci Murphy, Ciara Pembroke, Rachel Hovendan-Keane, Laura McMahon, Amy Barker, Kate Timmons, Ellie O’Toole, Avril Glendon, Sinéad Jones, Annie O’Toole, and Lydia O’Toole.

Selectors: Niall Timmons, Dan Bell, John Glendon, Aidan Gleeson. Team sponsor: The Spout.

Paul's 'Flying B' headed for Santa Pod

When Paul Graham gets to the Santa Pod Raceway in England this coming weekend, he'll be pitting his skills and his car against some of the best of his fellow dragsters, writes Brian Byrne.

The young Kilcullen man, who works as a mechanic in Dunlea Kia, will be hitting supercar acceleration in his modified VW Beetle as he punches it down the quarter-mile strip. When he reaches the end of the course, in around 13 seconds, his 'Flying B' bug will be doing around 100mph, its driver fuelled on adrenalin.

The car is an original 1975 Beetle, which Paul and his father Herbie acquired after visiting a drag race weekend in Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland two years ago. "Before we got home we had sourced the car in Letterkenny," says Paul, who has just finished serving his time at Dunleas, and is the fourth generation of his family to be a mechanic.

It was almost foreordained that his car would be a VW, as Herbie worked for years in a Volkswagen garage in Naas, and is a complete VW fan.

Which was also a big plus when it came to making the required modifications, in particular re-building the 1200cc VW air-cooled motor to 2110cc. In dragster trim, which means the fan-belt removed for the sprints, it outputs some 140hp.

Most of the car is otherwise standard, apart from the rear tyres which plant a lot more rubber on the track than the front ones, to provide the necessary grip on launch. "That's where the driver has to be really good," Paul says. "The race can be lost or won in the first 60 yards."

While the races are in pairs, each car may not be in the same class, so it's the individual car's time that is important, not which is first to the end. "Though if the other car is in a more powerful class, it kind of pushes you to go faster," says Paul, who has already raced the car many times in Bishopscourt, the only proper drag strip on the island of Ireland, and at Abbeyshrule airport.

The weekend at Santa Pod will be his first excursion to England, to a track that is acknowledged to be the best in Europe. It also has a special 'sticky' surface which he'll be interested to see how it affects his performance.

The event is specifically for VW cars, labelled VW Action, and has over the last several years delivered some of the best drag racing action at any VW show, including cars from the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club, the most successful single make drag racing club in Europe.

The ‘Flying B’ name of the car is in memory of Paul’s late Gran, Beatrice. The ‘B’ is actually scanned from a sample of her own handwriting and incorporated into the graphic by a friend.

“The baby blue colour was also her favourite colour,” Paul says. “And as it happened, the original colour of the car was baby blue too.”

Serendipity rules, even on the dragster track.

Street collection for flowers next weekend

The street collection for the Kilcullen Tidy Towns Summer Flowers display will be held on Saturday next, 3 September, writes Brian Byrne.

With the flowers in full bloom now, everyone in town is very much appreciating the work that goes into the display, which adds substantially to the summer buzz on Main Street.

The flowers are paid for by donations from individuals and businesses, but there's still a shortfall which it is hoped will be helped by the street collection.

The costs, an estimated €5,300, include the provision of the flowers themselves, extra plants, and maintenance of the water systems.

Another Diary milestone

The Diary recently achieved another milestone, reaching and going beyond 72,000 page views in a month, writes Brian Byrne.

In the global scheme of things internet, that might not seem a figure to write home about. Big publishers fight for, and many achieve PVs in the millions, some of them on a daily basis. But for a number of reasons, I feel our little local achievement is worth a mention.

I regularly hear the comment that the Diary is 'great for Kilcullen people who have emigrated'. I get that. But what most viewers might not know is that only 10-12pc of the blog's readership is from our wild geese. Every one of the others are local to Kilcullen. Because there's nothing on the Diary of any interest unless you have a connection to Kilcullen.

So first, in a 'thank you' to all of our readers, and to contributors. You have not just stayed with us since we started this very local web publishing experiment almost a dozen years ago, you have become part of a daily endeavour to chronicle Kilcullen and its people and its doings in a traditional way but with modern technology.

I never expected that we'd get this far. I started the Diary, as I have said before, to find a way back to my local journalism roots of some four decades ago. A time when I used to send my typewritten copy, and the accompanying photographs I had printed in a makeshift darkroom, by bus to editors in Carlow, Naas, and Dublin. From then I moved from freelancing in a variety of publications to staff as a broadcast journalist at RTE News and then back to being self-employed as a contract publisher with national and international clients. From that latter time I began to develop a niche involvement as a motoring and travel journalist into what is now my main work.

In 1999, with colleague Trish Whelan, we established what was then a new way of providing local news of important county issues, KildareNet News, located on the Kildare County Council website. It was surprisingly successful. We were even profiled in a segment on RTE TV’s 'Nationwide'. KNN didn't make any money though, and after just over five years we eventually decided to suspend it because it was taking too much time from the necessary business of making a living.

That was when I decided to go on a personal basis with what I learned, many years later, was 'hyperlocal' news, a service for an absolutely local audience. The Kilcullen Diary. That's what you read to the tune of up to 72,000 page views a month. That's what you are part of, as readers and also in many instances as the subjects of the Diary's content either individually or from being involved in different elements of the community. It has been for me a roller-coaster ride that is still pulling the Diary to places I hadn't really envisaged.

And now to the other 'thank you'. To the local businesses who advertise on the Diary. It was never intended to be a commercial operation. I never sought that kind of support. But over the years a number of local enterprises asked if they could advertise. So I added that to the mix of information which is in many ways as important as the news from the locality.

Finally, a figurative raising of a glass to all involved, as producers, advertisers, and readers, as we reach this latest milestone. Thank you, all. And 'slainte is saol' to all of us.

Onwards …

The passing of Olivia Keaveny-James

The Diary has learned with sadness of the death of Olivia Keaveney-James, Brannockstown, and formerly of Lakeview, Co Sligo, following a long illness bravely borne.

Predeceased by her husband George, she will be deeply missed by her brother Tom, sisters Maureen and Gemma, sister-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and her many friends.

Olivia is reposing at her residence until removal this evening to the Church of The Sacred Heart and St Brigid, arriving for 7:30pm. House strictly private, please.

Requiem Mass will be celebrated tomorrow, Monday, at 2pm and will be followed afterwards by burial in Gormanstown Cemetery.

May a very gracious and warm-hearted lady rest in peace.

Castlemartin Lodge Family Fun Day

Just a note that the Castlemartin Lodge Family Fun Day takes place today between 1pm-4pm. All welcome.

Boxing Club season starting

Our 2016/17 season is nearly upon us, our first night’s training back from the summer break will take place on Tuesday 6 September, writes David O’Brien.

Ages range from nine onwards and the times for training are 9/10 year-olds 7.30-8.30, all the rest 8.45-9, depending on the sparring sessions.

For all newcomers and current boxers interested, the annual fee of €20 per year covers insurance for the boxer, and subs of €1.50 per night or €3 per week. Any boxer aged 11 years of age in 2016 will be eligible for competition this season.

Boxing is a discipline and a contact sport, gum shields and hand wraps are required — we provide gloves and headgear.

Parents are reminded that sparring is essential and compulsory, and we operate a drop-off and collect system. It's a distraction for the boxer to have parents or guardians in the hall.

Any enquiry to myself David O’Brien, PM for my phone number.

Josie and Friends collection today

A reminder that the Josie Connolly and Friends annual collection and walk in aid of Alzheimer Services at St Vincent's Hospital takes place this weekend, writes Helen Dreelan, Director of Nursing at the Hospital.

The bucket collection is taking place in Kilcullen today Saturday 27 August and the walk is tomorrow, Sunday 28 August.

The proceeds from last year’s exercise have contributed hugely to the further development of the Dementia Specific Unit in St Vincent’s Hospital. The money raised this year will help with the creation of a kitchen specifically geared to patients living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Please support.

Get involved to welcome Big Blue Box

Kilcullen cycling enthusiasts are being asked to turn out to welcome the Big Blue Box to the town on 13 September, in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation, writes Brian Byrne.

The fundraiser is organised by Bank of Ireland and involves two groups of cyclists starting out in Dundalk and Wexford on 2 September, both finishing up in Kilkenny on the 16th.

A core group of volunteers including Bank of Ireland staff and other cyclists will bring the Big Blue Box through 29 towns on routes associated with Failte Ireland’s Ireland’s Ancient East area.

The Box will be brought to Kilcullen from Naas, arriving at 12 noon on the 13th, leaving the following day at 11am for Athy. Local fundraising events will include a ’10-second Cycling Challenge’ between teams from local pubs and businesses, on a stationary bicycle provisionally to be located in the Heritage Centre.

Bank of Ireland will match all funds raised by the event. A similar one on the Wild Atlantic Way earlier this year raised €80,000 for the St Vincent de Paul Society, including a matching €40,000 from BofI.

Cyclists are invited to join in on portions of the route between Naas and Athy for the arrival and departure of the Box. Donations will be at the discretion of the participants, but registration will be required on forms available from Bank of Ireland or downloadable from here.

Further information later. Pictured are the Kilcullen committee organising the local events — Liam Walker; Tom Shaw, Bank of Ireland Kilcullen; Noel Clare; Cathy O’Neill, Bank of Ireland Kilcullen; Jo McMahon, Branch Manager, Bank of Ireland Kilcullen; Steve Kinneavy; and Nessa Dunlea.

Local TD reflects on US Democratic Convention

Martin Heydon with Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald and Fine Gael's leader in the Seanad Senator Jerry Buttimer.

A month ago, Deputy Martin Heydon attended the Democratic Party Convention in Philadelphia. The Fine Gael TD for Kildare South and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Party was representing the Party as a guest of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) at their International Leaders Forum which was part of the overall convention. Here are his thoughts in reflection on the event.

I was one of 400 international guests invited to the forum by the NDI, who describe themselves as a nonprofit, non partisan organisation working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in Government.

The forum had organised seminars each day, we would then make our way to the Wells Fargo Sporting Arena each evening from 5pm for the convention speeches. Tuesday saw the roll call vote where each state had a delegate address the 20,000 strong crowd and announce where their delegate votes were going. It wasn't a surprise when Hillary Clinton reached the magic number of 2,382 to secure the nomination and finally beat Bernie Sanders.

A lot of the focus on the first couple of days was to try to heal the significant division in the party between Sanders supporters and Clinton, the former who made a number of attempts to interrupt proceedings during the week in protest at a process that they felt favoured Clinton. On the first day, the Chair of the Democratic Party, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was forced to resign due to leaked emails that show she had favoured Clinton.

Sanders, a self described democratic socialist, ran on a platform of reversing economic inequality. His surprisingly strong showing has forced Clinton to move more left with pledges of debt-free third level education and attacks on Wall Street. ‘Tax the wealthy’ was a common call with the inference that Trump would be in the pocket of big business and millionaires. While they succeeded in quelling a lot of the vocal Sanders opposition, Clinton will have a very delicate balance to strike in middle America where a pro-business and pro-jobs approach will be rewarded more than an idealistic socialist approach.

Monday night saw speeches from Sanders endorsing Clinton (unlike Trump's opposition Ted Cruz, the previous week which gained him the tag of being a sore loser). Senator Cory Booker gave, for me, one of the best speeches of the week. The first Africian-American to represent New Jersey, he's one to watch for the future. Michelle Obama also provided a well delivered speech, even at this early point the common theme was obvious, to soften the image of Hillary, and show her feminine maternal side.

The Keynote speech on Tuesday night was delivered by Bill Clinton. It was a much more personalised speech focusing on the social issues Hilary worked on as his own political career progressed.

Wednesday night was the hugely popular Vice President Joe Biden (many feel he may have beaten Hillary if he'd challenged her for convention) and President Obama, who's speech was a mix between looking at his own legacy, the continuation of Democratic Party ideals under Hillary and raising fear as to what the future under Trump would look like.

Thursday night saw Chelsea Clinton introduce her mother on stage, in a speech that you'd never see in Irish politics. Hillary's speech, which went on for well over an hour, pulled together all of the different strands of messaging that we'd heard throughout the week.

I was impressed at how the party organisers had managed to positively link Hillary to opposite sides of divisive issues throughout the week. While we heard from 'Mothers of the Movement', whose black sons had been shot by police, endorse Hillary, we also were addressed by a Dallas Sheriff whose colleagues had been gunned down as race tensions overflowed.

We also saw a large amount of normal, everyday citizens with illnesses, disabilities, or sad stories involving gun crime or the fallout from 9/11, address the 20,000 delegates each day, endorsing Hillary. The use of the general public to endorse Hillary on the biggest stage is not something we would be used to here in Irish politics but it worked well for them.

The Irish Embassy organised a number of events on the fringe of the convention, which I attended and where I met with different organisations that work closely with Irish immigrants on a day to day basis.

Overall it was a very interesting experience to attend the Democratic Convention and to meet up with many other public representatives from Europe and across the globe. The themes of the week, which are the issues of the election, point to some of the challenges in American society. In particular gun crime, inequality, unemployment, health care, and foreign policy.

The mix of asking Americans to trust Hillary, and the generation of fear over what Trump might do as President will probably be enough to keep the Democrats in the White House. But, just like the week of their convention, the question of what Trump will say or do next will loom large between now and polling day in November.

Mound being levelled beside walkway

Three community groups have come together to remove the unsightly mound of subsoil located along the pathway at the rear of Scoil Bhride and CPC, writes Martin Murphy.

The ground is being levelled and will be seeded to leave an area that will be easy on the eye and could be a possible location for a future outside gym or similar facility.

The work is being carried out by Michael Murphy Digger Hire, Brannockstown, and costs are being covered equally between Scoil Bhride, CPC and the Kilcullen Community Centre.

Big C Choir helps hospice, Crumlin and Naas hospitals

The Kildare Big C choir has this week given €2,000 to St John’s ward in Crumlin Children’s Hospital to help make things that bit better both for children and parents. writes Sabina Reddy.

This is for a chill out area and therapy room. Also we have presented in the last few months €5,000 to St Brigid's Hospice and we will shortly be giving Friends of Naas Hospital €2,000 for their Oncology Unit.

That’s the full disbursement of the €9,000 raised at our concert at the Curragh Camp Church last May.

Pictures are from the concert in the Curragh, with Choir Director Christina O'Connor.

Big Blue Box coming to Kilcullen

An Ireland's Ancient East cycling challenge to raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation will be in Kilcullen on 13 September, and local people are being asked to get involved, writes Brian Byrne.

The Big Blue Box Volunteer Challenge is organised by Bank of Ireland. Two groups, starting in Dundalk and Wexford respectively, will tour parts of Ireland’s Ancient East from 2-16 September. Bank of Ireland staff and members of local communities will travel by bike along the route, through 29 towns. There will be local fund-raising events in each town.

All funds raised will be matched by Bank of Ireland and will go directly to support the Irish Heart Foundation’s new Mobile Health Units.

Earlier this year the Big Blue Box was carried along the Wild Atlantic Way, raising €40,000 for the Society of St Vincent de Paul. This figure was matched by the Bank to total €80,000 given to the SVP.

Inside the Big Blue Box will be placed a symbolic item that each local community wants to share with their neighbouring town, representing local community interests or businesses. This gives each town the opportunity to raise the profile of their community with neighbouring towns.

The cycle starts on Friday 2 September, and will arrive in Kilcullen from Naas at 12pm Tuesday 13 September. The participants will leave Kilcullen at 11am Wednesday 14 September for Athy. The event will finish in Nowlan Park in Kilkenny at 12.30pm on Friday 16 September.

Local people are being asked to get involved in the fundraising and the Challenge is also looking for people to cycle local route segments. The Kilcullen committee helping out includes Liam Walker, Noel Clare, Nessa Dunlea and Steve Kinneavy.

More details of local initiatives will be posted over the coming weeks.

World Peace Runner in Kilcullen overnight

My amazing Japanese guest of last night, Takashige Katsuhiko, is running around the world, writes Hilary Jones Pallister.

A former Senior Secondary School Teacher, he visits schools and explains the devastation following the tsunami.

He started his adventure on May 25, 2011 and hopes to run 40,000km around the world on five continents.

He finished the first stage of Running Across the USA in 2011 from LA to NYC 5,285 km in 138 days.

He ran across Australia and New Zealand in 2013. Arriving in Ireland last Tuesday, from Glasgow after a run around the UK, he came to Kilcullen last night, on the 33rd day of his current run.

You can follow him on Facebook Peace Run Running Around the World.  His blog Lonesome Road is here.

A true gentleman.

(ED NOTE: Hilary provides Kilcullen Homestay accommodation at 2500 Conroy Park.)

Free Parenting Skills talks

The annual series of free Parenting Talks organised by the Kildare Library Service gets under way again, writes Brian Byrne, with talks on a wide range of subjects scheduled for September through November.

The talks are in libraries county-wide, but here we’ll just note those in this locality — Naas, Newbridge, Kildare and Athy. A full brochure is available from your local Library.

The series includes Mental Wellbeing and Self Care Strategies: 'You Cannot Get Water from a Dry Well”, presented by Finola Colgan from Mental Health Ireland, at Naas Library (Thursday 10 November 7pm), and Athy Library (Tuesday 15 November 7pm).

Improving your child’s social skills will be given by Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist, in Newbridge Library (Tuesday 13 September 7pm).

Anger Management and Strategies for Managing and Preventing Aggressive Behaviour will be presented by Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist, at Kildare Library (Thursday 22 September).

It’s Too loud, Too Bright, Too Tight and the Seams on my Socks Hurt! Helping Children with Sensory Processing Disorder concentrate and learn in an overwhelming world will be presented by Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist, in Athy Library (Thursday 27 September 7pm).

“Coming Out” – a talk for LGBT People and their supporters, will be presented by Michael Ryan, Author and Counsellor, at Newbridge Library (Tuesday 27 September 7pm).

Parenting: The Challenges and Rewards, will be given by John Lonergan and Caroline Crotty, at Naas Library (Tuesday 4 October 7pm).

Behavioural Therapy: Challenging Behaviour will be presented by Audrey Cully, Behavioural Consultant, in Athy Library (Tuesday 4 October 7pm).

Parenting Tips and Strategies will be presented by Dr Julie Connolly, HSE Primary Care Clinical Psychology Service, in Athy Library on Wednesdays (October 5, 12, 19 & 26 10.15am–11.45am), and by Dr Gary Collins, HSE Primary Care Clinical Psychology Service, in Newbridge Library on Wednesdays (November 9, 16, 23 & 30 10am–11.30am).

Social Networking & Cyberbullying Training will be presented by Fiona Ashe from Flashefoward Communications in Newbridge Library (Tuesday 11 October 7pm).

Yuck I’m NOT eating that! Toddler and Childhood Nutritional Challenges, will be presented by Paula Mee, Dietician, in Naas Library (Thursday 13 October 7pm).

Helping Children to be Resilient and Develop Skills to Cope with the Challenges of Life will be presented by Dr Gary Collins, HSE Primary Care Clinical Psychology Service, in Newbridge Library (Tuesday 18 October 7pm).

Parenting When Separated is presented by Martina Newe from HelpMe2Parent, in Athy Library (Tuesday 25 October 7pm).

Speakeasy — Talking to Your Children about Growing Up, will be discussed by Anita Ghafoor-Butt, Training and Development Manager, Irish Family Planning Association, in Naas Library (Thursday 27 October 7pm).

Study Skills for older children and teenagers with Dyslexia will be discussed by Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist, in Athy Library (Tuesday 18 October 7pm).

The Building Blocks of Language will be presented by Catherine Sheahan, Speech and Language Therapist, in Naas Library (Thursday 20 October 7pm).

Helping Children with Down Syndrome develop their handwriting skills will be given by Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist, in Newbridge Library (Tuesday 25 October 7pm).

Helping my child who struggles with maths (Dyscalculia), by Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist, in Naas Library (Tuesday 15 November 7pm).

Self-harming Behaviours in Young People will be presented by Marguerite Kiely, Clinical Director, Pieta House, in Naas Library (Thursday 24 November 7pm).

Continuous Professional Development Certificates of Attendance for all TTT and Let’s Talk about Parenting events in 2016 will only be given in person on the evening/day of the event. So please remember to ask for your cert before you leave as we will not be able to provide them at a later date.

For up to date details of future talks and events relating to the TTT Project please email to join our mailing list at leixliplib@kildarecoco.ie

Attendance at all of the events is free of charge and open to everyone but advance booking is required. Please contact the library where the talk is happening to book your place.

Athy Library 059 8631144; athylib@kildarecoco.ie

Kildare Town Library 045 520235; kildarelib@kildarecoco.ie

Naas Library 045 879111; naaslib@kildarecoco.ie

Newbridge Library 045 448353; newbridgelib@kildarecoco.ie

Shackleton, man of Antarctica ... and south Kildare

"I deem the night a success — we ran out of chairs."

Librarian Julie O'Donoghue put it in a practical numbers context, writes Brian Byrne, but Mario Corrigan's illustrated talk last night on the life of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was also super successful both for its content and for Mario's delivery, which blended heritage and history with his own inimitable salsa of wry humour.

Some 40 people attended the National Heritage Week event in Kilcullen Community Library. An occasion which provided a picture of a man who became obsessed with the South Pole, but who also never let his obsession take over his belief that life, especially the lives of those who travelled with him, was the most important thing.

The Ernest Shackleton connection with Kildare is direct, if short-lived because his father gave up farming in Ballitore when Ernest was six and went to study to be a doctor in Trinity College Dublin. After he qualified, the family moved to London.

"There's a lot of commentary at the moment that Ernest was an Englishman," Mario noted. "But he was born in Kildare, and that makes him Irish." He showed a slide of the England Census of 1901, when Ernest was living in the household of his future father in law. "He was registered there as being from 'Ireland, Kildare', so even then it was recognised."

With deft addendums to his illustrations, Mario brought to life what might have been in another environment mere dry facts of the various Shackleton voyages — the first being part of the Robert Falcon Scott 'Discovery' expedition in 1901. It was on that trip that Ernest met Kerry man Tom Crean, who was to be an important compatriot in Shackleton's own later expeditions. "Crean was a man who had shown that he could get things done, and perhaps when you know that you're going into a tough place, you like to have your own around you."

We also heard that the explorer was no great businessman, and most of his attempts to build an income on his explorations failed. Yet he was able to persuade backers to underwrite further expeditions. Probably using the same charisma by which he led men on extremely dangerous endeavours, and maintained their spirits in what were otherwise impossible to survive situations.

This is not a place to reprise in detail Shackleton's life, exploits, and eventual death on South Georgia in the early part of his last attempt to conquer Antarctica — after which his wife Emily sent a message that he should be interred there. Rather that we should appreciate that he is an intrinsic part of the heritage of south Kildare as much as an explorer hero of Britain and the Royal Geographic Society.

The Athy Heritage Centre-Museum is building a strong section on the explorer, with the model of the 'Endeavour' that was used in a film about the man. And the currently being refurbished actual cabin where Shackleton lived and died on his last voyage is also destined for the venue. A statue of Sir Ernest is being unveiled in Athy next Tuesday by the Mayor of Kildare, Cllr Ivan Keatley, in the presence of descendants of the Shackleton family.

But in Kilcullen last night, it was the words of Mario Corrigan, along with surviving photographs and film clips of the travails of the 'Endurance' expedition, in which both Shackleton and Tom Crean played heroic parts in enabling the rescue of their stranded shipmates, which brought home an appreciation of a special man whom we can indeed call a local.