Dowling Property of the Week - The View, Cnoc Na Greine, Kilcullen

Dowling Property is delighted to present to the market one of the finest homes to be offered for sale in this popular estate in recent times. This stunning 3-bedroom detached home is presented in excellent condition throughout and is ready for its new owners to "walk in and hang up their hat"! 

This fantastic energy efficient home extends to c.103 sq.mt and has been constantly upgraded by its home-proud owners throughout the years. These upgrades include brand new windows and doors, upgraded stylish and modern bathroom and recently installed extensive fitted kitchen, complete with centre island. 

The master bedroom is very spacious and benefits from a large en-suite and a walk-in wardrobe. Downstairs a guest WC and a well-proportioned dual aspect sitting room with French door overlooking the private gardens. This handsome doubled-fronted home boasts mature, landscaped and private gardens and also benefits from having gated off-street parking for three cars in the drive and one at the front. 

Cnoc Na Gréine is just a short walk to Kilcullen town centre and just a stone's throw from all schools and childcare facilities. A 5-minute drive away will find your at the M9/M7 making for excellent access to the city. We must now invite you to book an early viewing, as we are predicting strong interest in this stunning home. A Real Gem!

A.M.V-€335,000. www.dowlingproperty.ie. Call 045 482189.

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Get your applications in for CU Art Competition 2023

The Credit Union Art Competition 2023 is now open for entries. The theme is My Community & Me.

Application forms can acquired at any of Kildare Credit Union offices in Kilcullen, Narraghmore and Kildare, or can be emailed out on a phone application to 045 521928.

The closing date for receipt of artwork is Friday 13 October 2023 at 4pm.

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Riverbank play about Irish transgender soldier in US Civil War

A thought-provoking play which explores issues of transgender in the 19th century that are equally relevant today will have a one-night performance in the Riverbank Arts Centre on Saturday 14 October, writes Brian Byrne.

The Curious Case of Albert Cashier: Lincoln’s ‘Lady’ Soldier looks at the life story of Albert DJ Cashier, born in Co Louth Ireland as Jennie Hodgers, who later enlisted as a man in the Union Army in the American Civil War and became a decorated hero in the conflict.

Keeping a male identity until death, Albert's secret remained so until his very late years when it was revealed by an indiscreet doctor, an action which for a time threatened the continuing payment of his Civil War pension. Cashier was one of at least 250 soldiers who were assigned female at birth and enlisted as men to fight in the war.

The play is an original devised by the Quintessence Theatre company, and is currently on a national tour. It is directed by Anna Simpson, a Creative Associate of the Pleasance Theatre, London, and Practitioner with Shakespeare’s Globe.

Tickets are priced €18/€16 and can be booked through the Box Office, either in person or by telephone on 045 448327 Monday to Friday 9.30am-5pm (closed for lunch 2-2.30) and Saturday 10am-1pm. Tickets can also be booked 24/7 on www.riverbank.ie – Online tickets subject to €1 booking fee per ticket.

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Fine Gael councillors selected to run again next year

Sitting Fine Gael councillors in the Kildare-Newbridge MD Peggy O'Dwyer, Newbridge, and Tracey O'Dwyer, Kilcullen, have been nominated by their party to contest the Newbridge Local Area Elections being held in June of next year.

The nominations took place last Monday at the Kildare South Fine Gael Selection Convention.

They are pictured here with Minister Martin Heydon, who has commended both for the work they have done in the Newbridge LEA as members of the current Kildare County Council.

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Irish Writers Handbook 2024 open for pre-order

For all writers and budding writers out there, the upcoming publication of The Irish Writers Handbook 2024 is worth pre-ordering now, writes Brian Byrne.

Compiled and edited by Ruth McKee of Books Ireland, the Handbook features advice from 50 contributors, including Donal Ryan, Jan Carson, Kevin Power, Kit de Waal, Madeleine Keane, Nuala O’Connor, Patrick O’Donoghue, Una Mannion, Vanessa O’Loughlin, Brian Langan, David Butler, Deirdre Nolan, and many more.

It's an invaluable resource for writers of all kinds, fiction and non-fiction, and for illustrators, with practical advice and information including contact lists for the Irish publishing industry.

Pre-order at your local bookshop.

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Unusual photo portrait exhibition in Riverbank

An exhibition in the Riverbank Arts Centre beginning next week will be the result of an unusual child-adult series of portraits being taken over the next three days at the Centre, writes Brian Byrne.

I See You Like This is by Australian participation artist Jessica Wilson, and preparation for the showing involves children and a parent having their portrait taken by appointment today and tomorrow, with photographer Kelly Hamilton. During the session, the child is encouraged to answer questions about how they see their adult, which will direct the final portrait. The portraits will be printed and exhibited from Thursday 5 October to Monday 6 November.

A drop-in session will be held on Sunday between 11am-3pm, and portraits taken at that will be part of a digital element of I See You Like This.

Tickets are priced €5 (one child and one adult per appointment) and can be booked through the Box Office, either in person or by telephone on 045 448327 Monday to Friday 9.30am-5pm (closed for lunch 2-2.30) and Saturday 10am-1pm. Tickets can also be booked 24/7 on www.riverbank.ie – Online tickets subject to €1 booking fee per ticket. 

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Zero waste event was 'fun and informative'

Alex on right with organisers and some participants.

In what the organisers agreed was a 'fun and informative' event last evening, ecologist and climate activist Alex Konieczka provided information and hints on how to work towards producing zero waste in everyday life, writes Brian Byrne.

The workshop in Kilcullen Library had an appreciative participation for the mix of slides and hands-on activities through the evening. It was hosted by Kilcullen Community for Climate Action, supported by funding from Kildare County Council.

Beginning with an environmental education explainer on biodiversity and its importance, Alex then took those present through a story-telling session where people told of their interactions with biodiversity in their own lives. "That always generates emotion, because biodiversity is an emotional subject," she told the Diary. "Everybody is connected to biodiversity in so many ways, and this is a way of sharing and connecting."

Image: Kilcullen Community for Climate Action.

Alex had brought along examples of how she reused waste materials and products to make artworks and recycle them for useful purposes, including the provision of habitats for pollinators and other animals. The evening ended with participants working with some of what she had brought to make useful things for themselves.

In her own ecological work, Alex has just completed a report for a  youth festival on how to make such events more sustainable, and is also finishing a bat study in the Bray-Greystones area, which is ending on a high. "I completed my last survey the other night and discovered a specimen of the whiskered bat, which I hadn't found in the area before. I was very excited to find it on the last day of the project, especially now when there's a chill in the air and the bats are beginning to hibernate."

Born in Poland, Alex came with her parents to Ireland when she was ten. She graduated in 2017 from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in Natural Science, specialising in the environment, and subsequently worked in research in TCD. After some years managing a sustainability project in a large global company, she set up her own consultancy, Understory, to manage and lead community initiatives in environment and sustainability. She also works with the Dublin-based Eco-Unesco environmental education programme as a youth programmes coordinator.

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CPC Sports Day cancelled

The Sports Day planned for tomorrow by Cross and Passion College has been cancelled due to the effects of the recent bad weather, writes Brian Byrne.

With the considerable amounts of rain in recent days and with more tonight, an inspection of the pitches and courts shows them to be 'sub-optimal' for hosting the large scale event.

Saying that they are 'erring on the side of caution' for reasons of safety, the College said it was a difficult decision and thanks the school community for their understanding and support.

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Full house audience ends 47 years of Kilcullen cinema 'darkness'

If any proof is needed that there's an appetite for cinema in Kilcullen, the full house at last night's inaugural Kilcullen Bridge Cinema was it, writes Brian Byrne. A project led by members of Kilcullen Lions, the buzz of anticipation was mighty in the unique Heritage Centre foyer of the Town Hall in advance of the screening of The Fabelmanns, the semi-autobiographical movie by Steven Spielberg based on his own adolescence and early interest in film-making.

Those attending were welcomed by Teresa Nurse (above) on behalf of the organisers, who said the aim is to invest all proceeds into making Kilcullen Bridge Cinema a continually improving experience for the community's movie fans. She thanked particularly Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer who had provided funding on behalf of Kildare County Council to help update the digital projection systems in the Town Hall.

For many there, it was their first experience of cinema in Kilcullen, but for others it was an occasion to share memories of when Kilcullen Town Hall Cinema was the best known of its kind in Leinster through the 1950s and 1960s. Teresa Nurse noted that the beginnings of film showing in the space went back as far as the 1930s. A leaflet with the history of cinema in Kilcullen, compiled by Noel Clare, was available for those attending last night.

The occasion ended a cinematic 'darkness' in Kilcullen that had lasted for some 47 years, and was very much a reminder of how much more satisfying is the experience of watching films in cinema with a large audience compared to doing so at home on TV.

The next screening by Kilcullen Bridge Cinema is Rise on 11 October, with tickets available on Eventbrite and at Woodbine Books, price €7.

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Zero Waste workshop this evening

Alex Konieczka and some projects.

A reminder that a workshop on how to achieve zero waste and help biodiversity will take place in Kilcullen Library this evening, on 28 September 2023, writes Brian Byrne. Led by ecologist and zero-waste artist Alex Konieczka, the 6pm-7.30pm event is being hosted by Kilcullen Community For Climate Action.

Alex Konieczka is the Environmental Youth Programmes Coordinator at the Eco-Unesco environmental education organisation. The Dublin-based charity works with young people to help conserve the environment.

Alex Konieczka's background in Environmental Science facilitated her work as an Innovation Analyst and Researcher with Irish-American professional services company Accenture, where she created and managed an award winning 12-month sustainability programme. She has also founded her own company, Understory, to  lead community sustainability initiatives in disadvantaged areas in particular, as well as developing sustainable and zero-waste products made from waste. She also is a tutor with Kildare Wicklow ETB.

The Kilcullen Library event is free, and funding for their zero-waste initiatives has been provided to Kilcullen Community For Climate Action by Kildare County Council.

LISTEN: Understory, making Environmental Activism 

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Water main burst in Gilltown-Yellow Bog

A burst water main is being repaired in the Gilltown-Yellow Bog area.

It's hoped to have the work finished by 9pm.

There may be some discolouration in the water locally afterwards.

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Tracking Agnes

Image: Earth.nullschool.net

Mean local wind speed expected to peak at 54km/h around 7pm, with possible gusts in excess of 80km/h (Windfinder).

4.15: Road partially blocked by tree past New Abbey as you approach Mile Mill Cross (Tracey O'Dwyer).

3.15pm: Tree reported to be down on Logstown to Carnalway road, near stud (Joe Finnegan).

3pm: Tree blocking Dunlavin to Brannockstown road (Dunlavin Community Diary). UPDATE: Now clear.

2.45pm: Kilcullen to Naas road reported blocked by tree down at Silliott Hill (Kildare Weather).

2pm: A tree has come down on the Calverstown to Narraghmore Road at the top of Jimmy Jackson's Hill (Kilcullen Text Alert). It is blocking the road but is expected to be moved shortly.

Drive with care. Expect lots of debris on the roads.

Earlier Above: a look at storm Agnes approaching Ireland, at 9am. At the most powerful point the wind speeds are in excess of 100km/h. Here in Kildare at 9am, they are touching on 19km/h.

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