St Brigid's Day Mass in Kilcullen

Image: John P Delaney Architects Ltd.

Please note there will be a 9.30 Mass on Saturday morning to mark St Brigid's Day.

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CPC went to the Cabaret last night

The Cabaret Cafe.

More than 70 CPC students took part in organising and running the now annual popup restaurant in the college last evening, showing off the skills learned in their TY Hospitality Module, writes Brian Byrne. The Assembly Hall was converted into a recreation of a 1920s cabaret restaurant, complete with jazz band and a curated selection of appropriate entertainment.

The event was supervised by Georga Dowling and Conor Wafer of Newbridge-based Food School, who manage the Hospitality Module for the college. Up to 80 invited guests included parents of students as well as a small number of college staff.

The 5-course menu included choices from three starters, soup, four main dishes and three desserts, ending with coffee and petits fours, all prepared by a Kitchen Crew group and served by a large cohort of waiting staff. Other students operated as managers and greeters, welcoming the guests.

The event debuted in 2020, and was run in 2023 and 2024 following postponements due to the pandemic.

Kitchen Crew Emma Maher, Robyn Foster, Tara McCormack, Amber Lawlor and Daniel Lynch.

Kitchen Crew Quin Keatley, Scott  McGuire, Rhys Fitzsimons, Chris Hulin, Oisin Monks and Myles McNamara.

Dining Room Crew Lochlann Wafer, Cadhla O'Brien, Alanna Stone and Amy Egan.

Holly Lawlor, Emily Singleton and Tanisha Murape.

Ciara O'Riordan and Lochlann Wafer.

Welcoming the guests were Alannah Stone, Niamh Flynn, Aoife Hannon and Jamie Browne.

All that jazz.

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Power outage update

A power outage reported at 8.42pm yesterday is this morning still affecting 563 customers in the Hacklow-Moortown area.

That represents an improvement on the 1,452 customers without supply initially.

The outage affected premises in Kilgowan, Calverstown, Tippeenan, Old Kilcullen, Halverstown and Colbinstown.

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Brigid's cross workshop this evening

There's a free St Brigid's Cross workshop in Kilcullen Community Library this evening, from 6.30pm, writes Julie O'Donoghue.

The event will be facilitated by visual artist Sheena Malone, who is based in Allenwood and Berlin. 

All are welcome, especially our new neighbours who might want to explore the culture and lore around our wonderful St Brigid.

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Kildare Motor Club honours founder member

John Dowling, Liam Murphy, Oliver McCrossan and John Delaney.

A presentation yesterday to one of the founder members of the County Kildare Motor Club honoured Liam Murphy for his contribution to the 57-year-old club and to Irish motorsport in general, writes Brian Byrne. It was made at a lunch in The Hideout by John Dowling, one of those who were at the original meeting in January 1968 when it was decided to form the club. Among the 30 people at the lunch was photographer Oliver McCrossan, who had also been at that meeting. 

John Dowling said the idea to make the presentation 'sooner rather than later' had come when he and Oliver had driven together to attend the funeral of George Freyne. "We were acutely aware of our mortality seeing as we had parted with one of our most popular members in George," he said. He expressed his appreciation on behalf of the club to George's wife Breeda for being present at the lunch.

He noted that Liam Murphy had spent at least 60 of his 81 years involved in motorsport in 'an active and enthusiastic way'. "Not as an observer, not from a distance, but right there in the middle of it. He has to be getting his hands dirty and not just with spanners but in creating, organising and supporting." In particular he recalled Liam's great forte was in raising sponsorship for the club and the races they organised in Mondello Park. "For one meeting we had so many trophies that we took the whole window in Kerrigans shop in Naas to show them."

Oliver McCrossan provided an account of the club's early history. He told how, at the inaugural official meeting, the proposed activities of treasure hunts, night navigation rallies, film shows and an annual dance were 'favourably received'. "But eyebrows were raised when we said CKMC also planned to run a full scale race meeting when Mondello Park was up and running." Despite some pushback from the RIAC when they were forming the club, they persisted and eventually became regarded as one of the best motor clubs in the county. "And today's happy gathering is proof of that." 

He recalled the opening race meeting at Mondello Park in May 1968 where Liam Murphy in his Sprite had a podium finish and Dick O'Reilly in his Mini Chick put in some very fast laps. There was also the excitement of subsequently seeing other local drivers race at Mondello — among those he name-checked David Hall, Eddie Reagan, Des Donnelly, Sean Connaughton, Michael Roe, Seamus O'Connor, Brendan Conlon, John Burke and Jay O'Malley.

Altogether, yesterday's event was a happy buzz of reminisce and recollection, with echoes of gatherings in the same location through the 1970s and 1980s when the pub was where members met to plan and debrief club activities. 

Myles O'Reilly, Peter Lynch, Ann Fitzsimons, Tom Callinan.

Des Bruton, Padraic Farrell, Eddie Rootes, Ed Colton, Rory Dooley.

Sean O'Gorman, Eddie Kinironn, Tony Phillips.

John Dowling, David Towey, Breda Freyne, Reece Dowling.

Anne Dowling, Bob Webster,  Betty McCrossan.

Oliver McCrossan, Liam Murphy, Eddie Fitzgerald.

John Delaney, Syd Quille, Robert Moody, Sean Connaughton, Mairead Connaughton, Gaye Brabazon, Pat O'Connor.

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The passing of John Bardon

The Diary has learned with a personal sadness of the death of John Bardon, Castlewood Close, Castlewood Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin and formerly of Kilcullen, Co Kildare, and late of Aer Lingus, on 28th January 2025 in the tender care of the staff at Ashley Lodge nursing home.

Predeceased by his wife Ann, sadly missed by his sister Mary, brothers Tommy and Peter, sisters-in-law Siobhan and Rosaleen, nieces, nephews extended family and friends.

John's funeral is arriving at the Church of the Sacred Heart and St Brigid, Kilcullen (eircode R56 R271) on Saturday morning 1st February for 10.45am funeral mass which may be viewed on this link. This will be followed by a cremation service at Newlands Cross Crematorium at 1pm which may be viewed on this link. 

Rest in peace.

Looking Back: Memories on the water

There are some real memories in this set of clippings, courtesy of Joe Murray, longtime friend and contributor to the Diary. Joe spends a lot of time browsing Ireland's newspaper archives, and this morning sent us this story from June 10th 1964, in the Evening Herald.

The short feature on Kilcullen Canoe Club, for a sport described then as being 'in its infancy' in Ireland, highlights founder and canoe-designer Paddy Maloney as well as early members who would have then been in their teens or early 20s, whose names are still familiar locally today.

For them, this post is Memory Lane on the Water. Thanks, Joe.

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Mrs Robinson opens Brigid Film Season

A reminder that Kilcullen Bridge Cinema's 2025 St Brigid's film season begins this evening, Wednesday 29 January, with a screening of the documentary Mrs Robinson.

Now in its second year the Brigid Film Season runs for the month of February and includes a series of award winning Irish and international titles chosen for their themes of female leadership, equality, peace and social justice. 

Mrs Robinson tells the story of how young Mary Bourke from Mayo became Irelands first female President in 1990. She is celebrated for fearlessly challenging perpetrators of human rights abuses internationally.

To open the film season there will be a drinks reception at 7.30pm.

The other films in the season are The Outrun on Tuesday 4 February, Wolfwalkers (family cinema) on Sunday 16th, Crossing on Tuesday 18th, and Ama Gloria on Tuesday 25th.

Tickets on sale in Woodbine Books Kilcullen and on Eventbrite.

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Brat Bhríde available on Friday

Mary and Julie distributed Brats in previous years.

Brat Bhríde pieces of cloth will be distributed on main street on Friday from 10am, to facilitate a long-standing St Brigid's tradition, writes Mary Orford.

The Brat Bhríde is a symbol of Brigid's Cloak. A legend says that  her cloak stretched all over the Curragh with one edge reaching the western edges of Kilcullen.

On the eve of Brigid's feast day, the brat is left outside all night, a sign of a petition to Brigid to bless the house. Taken into the house for the rest of the year, the piece of fabric blessed by Brigid is kept in a safe place until the following year.

Myself and Julie O'Donoghue will be outside Nolan's and Eurospar on Friday 31 January from 10am distributing cloths while stocks last.

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Blood Transfusion Clinic in February

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service will hold a clinic in Kilcullen on Thursday 6 February.

The venue is Scoil Bhride National School Kilcullen  R56 RK83.

This is an appointment-based clinic. Please contact 1800 222111 to schedule an appointment.

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