It Says in The Bridge: February 2026
It's a dramatic headline for the first Bridge of 2026, A Murder in Kilcullen! But it hasn't happened yet. The story previews an innovation for the Kilcullen Drama Group: a murder mystery at the end of the month, in which only the writer-director knows who committed the dastardly deed. It's a one-night only presentation, and Stage Fright will deservedly be the hot ticket of February.
Drama on the Kilcullen stage is also the stuff of the main colour feature this month, the highly successful farce that was presented in early January by the Narraghmore Drama Society, Widows' Paradise. Facial expressions are key in comedy drama, and there's plenty of them to enjoy here. Colour too in A Bit of Business, highlighting the new mural at Armelle's patisserie in Kilcullen, the work of a young local woman intent on an artistic career in the mural form. There's also a note about another artist, Geraldine Losty, and the new painting of St Brigid, commissioned for Kilcullen Parish Church.
In news, there's the retirement of Julie O'Donoghue, though this issue went to press before her last day in the Library and the lovely sendoff from friends and patrons of the service she supervised for 47 years. News too of the change of name and ownership of the former Warrior Wellness studio, with an Open Day scheduled at Mountain Flow Yoga next weekend. There's a full list of the Brigid season at Kilcullen Bridge Cinema, with something for everyone. And there's a congratulations page for three birthdays and a wedding (a potential film title is in there somewhere).
From Bridge regular contributors, Noel Clare goes Out and Away to Moore Abbey in Monasterevin, where he finds a real treat in a cafe on the site, and Mary Orford brings us reflections of Kilcullen a hundred years ago. Billy Redmond muses on Winston Churchill in WW2 and the post-war meeting of the three victorious leaders at Yalta. Sean Landers revisits Gilltown through the words of Bob Waugh, while John Duffey goes back to a youth that included pitch-and-toss. Daithi de Róiste writes about several holy wells in the general Kildare area, and Eugene Brennan details the story of Voyager 1, the NASA satellite that has travelled the farthest from Earth.
Two features have different interests. There's the first of a short series of memories of Tony O'Reilly and Castlemartin, by Jim Kelly, who worked as estate manager for the Irish businessman from soon after graduating from Warrenstown Agricultural College. Orla O'Neill details the gathering traction of the Apartheid Free Zone campaign for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality.
There's the usual busy input from the childcare centre and the schools, all doing bright, cheerful, and sometimes magical things. In sport, there is pitch and putt news, updates from Kilcullen GAA, and the recent presentation of awards at the Canoe Club.
This issue also marks the completion of 55 years of The Bridge, another milestone for Ireland's longest-published community magazine. Enjoy.
