Six CPC former students recognised at UCD

Six CPC students have been given UCD Entrance Scholars Awards at the university, marking their Leaving Certificate achievement of gaining 560 points or more in the exam, writes Brian Byrne. They are Eoin Clarke, Lorcan Murphy, Hannah Crowley, Jill O'Toole, Hannah Breen and Halo Domican.

All are in their first year at UCD and the awards are part of a range of UCD initiatives put in place to recognise exceptional students when they join. 

CPC Principal Joe Leonard says having six such students was 'fantastic' as most schools represented at the awards ceremony had just one. "This is a fantastic tribute to our students and our staff who worked so hard over the years together to achieve such success. It is also a tremendously proud achievement for the parents and families of the recipients."

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Scoil Bhríde pupils clean up their town

Photo: Scoil Bhríde.

The Scoil Bhríde Green Schools Committee undertook a litter pick around Kilcullen on Wednesday morning, bagging a significant amount of rubbish tossed by more thoughtless members of the community.

The youngsters carried out the work in association with members of Kilcullen Tidy Towns group.

The pupils are planning a number of similar actions between now and the summer.

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CMT Transport a partner to 'Field of Dreams'

Groundworks operation at new GAA site.

CMT Transport Ltd has joined in the Kilcullen GAA ‘Field of Dreams‘ as a project partner, writes Brian Byrne.

The company has made a generous donation towards the estimated almost €1 million cost of the expansion of playing and training facilities at the club's grounds. Kilsaran Concrete is also partner to the project.

In a post announcing the latest partner, the club says a 'massive thank you' to the Browne family, owners of CMT Transport, for their support 'in moving us another step closer to realising a club dream'.

The Naas-based company operates a fleet of 30 trucks and 50 refrigerated trailers, and is also the sponsor for the Ladies Team at Kilcullen GAA.

Clearance and ground works have already begun for the project.

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Twinning visit to St Contest firmed up for October

Dancers performing in Kilcullen for the 2019 twinning charter signing.

The delayed reciprocal signing of Kilcullen's Twinning Charter with the French town of St Contest in Normandy will take place at the end of October, writes Brian Byrne.

The event will complete an arrangement entered into in March of 2019 when a delegation from St Contest visited Kilcullen and signed the twinning charter in the Heritage Centre during the Kilcullen 700 celebrations. 

A planned return visit to France was postponed by the pandemic, and a proposed trip in April or May of this year was put back due to scheduling issues. Now the twinning committees of both towns have agreed that a Kilcullen delegation will visit St Contest from 28-31 October.

The Kilcullen group will include staff members from CPC and Scoil Bhride, and discussions are under way about bringing musicians and dancers for the weekend, which will include an official reception hosted by St Contest Mayor Stefan Guillot as well as visits to places of interest in the St Contest area.

"The links that we can forge between schools in the two communities are very important to the twinning," says Kilcullen committee member Tanya Flanagan. "They are in fact the future of the whole process."

Any individuals or groups who would like to participate in the trip should contact Nessa Dunlea or Noel Clare.

The twinning came after an exploratory trip by a small Kilcullen group in 2018 to St Contest, resulting in the first signing of the charter during the St Patrick's weekend festivities in the following year.

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Open Day for Tai Chi at end of April

Outdoor Tai Chi at Moyleabbey.

A free Open Day for World Tai Chi Day 2023 will take place at Moyleabbey Organic Farm near Ballitore on Saturday 29 April, writes Brian Byrne.

All are welcome to the morning event, beginning at 10am. It is being organised by Yuki Kobayashi, who runs Tai Chi classes in several locations in the mid and south Kildare area. 

The day is a worldwide initiative to spread the benefits of Tai Chi. Contact Yuki on 086 3412006 for information and reservations. 

 

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Pitch & Putt Juvenile Club reopens this evening

A reminder that the Juvenile Club at St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club is restarting activities tonight,  Friday 31 March. Sessions will be 6pm-7pm and the club caters for children between 6-16.

Juvenile membership for the year is just €40 and can be paid online at the St Bridget's website. Further information  email Mark at markphelan.gpm@gmail.com or text on 087 7781635.

The club is also looking for parent and adult members to help out on Friday nights as a minimum of six adults on the course are needed, covering all the age groups. One hour of your time will be much appreciated.

(First posted on 13 March 2023.)

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Pitch and Putt raffle tickets

Image: Boris Manev via Pexels.

Tickets are on sale for an Easter Hamper Raffle in aid of St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club, ahead of their Cake Sale to be held on Easter Saturday.

The tickets are €2 a strip or €5 for four strips and can be bought at the club's office in the Community Centre.

The raffle will be held at 12 noon on the day.

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Old Kilcullen litter pick on Saturday

A Litter Pick will take place at Old Kilcullen on Saturday next, 1 April.

Organised by the Old Kilcullen Area Community Association, those interested in helping are asked to meet at the graveyard at 11am.

Roads to be covered will be allocated to groups of pickers at that time. 

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Appleton Property Market Update: Laurel Wood & Hillcrest

As the traditional property season unfolds, Austin Egan at Appleton Property is examining market activity in some of our local areas in Kilcullen and beyond. This week we are looking at Laurel Wood & Hillcrest in Kilcullen. Previous articles were on Castlemartin and on Cnoc na Greine, with more to follow in the coming weeks. 

Laurel Wood is an extremely popular development on the Naas Road in Kilcullen. Built by GaryAron homes c. 2003 the properties have a BER rating in the C range, with upgraded homes now coming to market with a B rating. The development has one row of houses facing Naas Road with the remainder positioned around a large green area. The site is elevated and backs onto Castlemartin Stud Farm with many of these homes having lovely mountain views. It is not possible to drive straight through the development, all traffic entering must turn and exit on the same road. This is a good feature for traffic management, safety of children and security of the residents. Hillcrest, which is adjacent Laurel Wood is also a smaller development with a mix of house types, two storey and dormer. It was built in the same timeframe as Laurel Wood and is very conveniently located near the shops on Hillside, Kilcullen.

Since October 2022 there have been four homes brought to market in Laurel Wood. Appleton Property listed and sold three of these four homes. Of these three, we listed number 54 first. It was a B rated three-bedroomed home with external insulation wrap and new boiler with a quintessential Irish bar in the block built shed to the rear. This property had a B energy rating and set a new bar in the development with a price of €339,000. We then sold number 42 Laurel Wood in a three week timeframe coinciding with the severe low temperatures at that time. Number 42 was a former rental property and sold for €330,000 which was equal to one of our previous sales, the highest price achieved at that time. In the new year we listed number 36 Laurel Wood, an exceptional home with many quality fixtures and fittings, with new windows, boiler and a B energy rating. This property was agreed very swiftly and again outperformed previous sales in the area.

Meanwhile, in Hillcrest which bounds Laurel Wood we brought another beautiful three bedroomed semi-detached home to market. This property also has a B energy rating with new boiler, new windows etc. This property achieved a new price for Hillcrest at €340,000, the highest price to date in the Hillcrest development for this house type. 

Also of relevance here, new homes at Cairnhill Meadows are all but sold out, with one three bed semi detached remaining and one dormer home remaining. The show house is now also sale agreed. 

Of note here is the property conditions. All the above four properties performed exceptionally well with a very short lead time to agreement. All these properties were on the market less than 4 weeks. All of the above properties were in turnkey condition with little or no additional investment required. The market responds very well to properties that are ready for immediate occupation. The trend in Kilcullen in the first quarter of this year continues upwards given the high demand and very low supply. Kilcullen is an extremely popular location with a very limited housing stock. We always have people listed with us seeking property of various types in the town and surrounding areas. Properties when listed with Appleton Property sell quickly. We are always looking for new property listings. 

Property valuations for sales purposes are free of charge and without obligation. We would be happy to visit your home and advise on the value of the property, the sales process and make recommendations regarding the presentation of the property for sales purposes. Call us on 045 482759,  087 1311133 anytime to arrange a flexible appointment.

Austin Egan MIPAV, Appleton Property. (Austin is a long standing member of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers in Ireland, (IPAV), and is a Recognised European Valuer (REV) as per The EU, Mortgage Credit Directive.)

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Highly Commended for window displays at Kilcullen Opticians

Images: Kilcullen Opticians Facebook.

Nichola Kennedy's Kilcullen Opticians was given a Highly Commended award in the Kildare Pride of Premises 2023 organised by Kildare County Council's Local Enterprise Office, writes Brian Byrne.

The event was part of the Kildare County Enterprise Awards held in the Merits Hub in Naas and the award was for the window displays that are a feature of the business. The Kildare Brewing Company headed by Barry Flanagan is the winner of the overall Kildare County Enterprise Award for 2023 and will go on to represent County Kildare at the prestigious National Enterprise Awards later this year.

"Well done to Aoife and Aisling for maintaining our window displays," Nichola said afterwards, also complimenting the music by the Sallins-based music school Ceola. "Well done to all the other amazing business and we will be watching Barry Flanagan in the Nationals."

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May picnic opening planned for Library Garden

 

A family picnic afternoon is being planned for an official opening of the Kilcullen Library Garden project, writes Brian Byrne.

The event will be on Saturday 20 May, and all interested are invited to bring their own picnic and enjoy the environment of the project developed by Kilcullen Community Action in association with the Kildare Library Service.

The afternoon picnic was decided on at the recent March meeting of KCA, to be part of Kilcullen's participation in National Biodiversity Week which runs from 19-28 May.

Derek Hoey, co-leader of the Library Garden project with Martin Sheridan, noted the large amount of work which had been carried out since KCA moved in to the former Boys School play field. He suggested that a photographic timeline of the progress of the garden could be displayed on easels during the afternoon. Other possible events for the afternoon were  discussed, including a suggestion that picnic-goers could help build a bug hotel on the day.

First mooted in 2018, work began in February 2020 on the project. The garden now features a wildflower meadow, trees and raised vegetable planters, and a walkway and reflection area, with benches beside plantings of lavender, ferns, and roses as well as a picnic bench.

Our video above shows the garden as a work-in-progress in 2021, and pictures below show the site at the beginning of the project.

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Easter Camp Kilcullen - a few places left

A reminder that Camp Kilcullen at Scoil Bhride is returning for Easter, operating from next Monday 3 April 2023 through to the 6th. There are a few places left.

Sessions will run from 10am-2pm, with registration at 9.30am on the Monday beginning the camp week.

The initiative is designed to cater for both girls and boys of primary school age, with emphasis on fun and participation in a safe and familiar environment.

Activities include Parachute Games, Dodgeball, Soccer, Basketball, Novelty Races, Volleyball, Football, Unihoc, Tug Of War, Belt Tag, Rounders, Quizzes, Yoga and more. There will also be Workshops in Music, Dance and Drama as well as fun lessons in Crafts, Painting and Drawing. Baking classes will also be on the schedule of options, along with a Golden Ticket Chase and Easter Egg Hunt.

The event is being organised by teachers Odhran Lloyd, Róisin McNairney, Shelly O'Brien, and Muiris O'Raoghaill. Further information and booking at 087 2141180

A Summer Camp is also planned for 30 June-7 July.

(First posted 26 January 2023.)

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Social Media Bootcamp this evening

An online Social Media Bootcamp will be held by the Kildare Public Participation Network this evening by Zoom for member groups.

Running from 7pm, the session is classed Intermediate and is aimed at people who are delivering social media day to day for their community group or non-profit organisation, who have a sound understanding of social media and want to know how to promote their work effectively on social media.

Topics covered include:

• The social media landscape in Ireland.

• The power of social media.

• Tools and tactics for different platforms.

• Content Planning.

• Growing your followers, and keeping them engaged.

• The importance of monitoring impact and measuring results.

Registration is free, here. 

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CPC parents fundraiser

A Bag2School fundraising clothes collection is being organised by the CPC Parents Association for Saturday 15 April and Saturday 27 May.

Proceeds of the events will go to CPC and the LauraLynn Foundation.

Clothing, paired shoes, clean soft toys and handbags will be gratefully accepted between 10am and 4pm on the days, at the back steps of CPC.

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