There will be light — councillor

From darkness, hopefully soon into light.

In an update on the street lights situation in Kilcullen, as recently highlighted on the Diary, further information has been provided by Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer, writes Brian Byrne. Basically, there will be light, hopefully soon.

The longest outstanding issue is the lighting opposite Moanbane Park, about which the councillor has been making representations since the fault was reported in July 2024. She reports that a new cable and distribution pillar have been installed, and the Council is now awaiting connection by the ESB. The Diary understands that this is a somewhat convoluted process in administration terms.

Repairs to a street light at Hillside opposite Centra, also reported in July, were held up due to a delay in sourcing materials. The councillor has been told that repairs will be carried out this week, weather permitting.

Also scheduled for this week are repairs to the seven street lights from Conroy Park to The Hideout, which are to be retrofitted with new LED lamps. Again, weather permitting.

Cllr O'Dwyer encourages the public to notify her of any other defective lights and she will follow up.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Public meeting for Twinning visit

The Kilcullen delegation and their Saint Contest hosts in 2023.

A public meeting to encourage community involvement in an upcoming visit from Kilcullen's Normandy twin, Saint Contest, will be held in Kilcullen Town Hall on Tuesday next 14 January, writes Brian Byrne. A 14-strong delegation from the French town is due here for five days beginning 13 February.

This will be the second visit from Saint Contest following the inaugural event in 2019, during the Kilcullen 700 celebration year.  The pandemic delayed a return Kilcullen trip until 2023, but didn't stop the twinning progress. 

Irish dancing during the 2019 inauguration of the twinning.

"The twinning is growing in many ways and has led to partnerships between our schools, and work and language placements," says the Kilcullen Twinning Group's Tanya Flanagan. "We are supported by the Twinning Committee in Kildare County Council and we are very keen to share the progress of the partnership to date."

Everyone is welcome to the meeting, and all offers of help and ideas for extending a full Kilcullen hospitality experience to the visitors will be appreciated.

Unveiling the twinning sign in Saint Contest in 2023.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Parish Lotto Draw results

The numbers drawn in the Kilcullen & Gormanstown Parish Lotto Draw held on 7 January 2025 were 2, 11, 13 and 22. There was no Jackpot winner and next week's main prize will again be €20,000. The value of the follow on Draw stands at €10,000.

The winners of the €50 Open Draws were Miriam McDonnell (Promoter: Self), Nan Dooner (Mag O'Connell) and Brian McTernan (Valerie McTernan).

The winners of the Promoters Draw were Berney's Chemist and Nancy Fitzpatrick, and the winner of the Draw for those in the Parish Centre on the night was Leah O'Sullivan.

The Parish thanks all for their continued support. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Weather recommendation, watch Mass online

A suggestion that parishioners might watch mass online tomorrow instead of attending in person has been made by Fr Gary Darby. His recommendation is based on the very cold national weather warning.

"I will be celebrating mass at 9.30am, and we will have salted the entrance area around the church as much as we can, but it might be safer for many to simply watch on the church online camera," he says. "For those who decide to come to the church, I would urge them to be very cautious and take great care."

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Viewpoint: Kilcullen street lights a dereliction of duty

Street lights out.

A major fault in the street lighting of Kilcullen has gone unrepaired for many weeks and people are now asking why, writes Brian Byrne. The fault, in which the main street lights on a stretch from the crossroads to Conroy Park cycle on and off in 20-second intervals, leaves pedestrians intermittently with only the lights of cars to navigate what are in parts irregular footpath surfaces, in recent nights paths made even more dangerous by heavy frosts. 

Though the fault was reported weeks ago, no indication of reason or of timeline for repair has been forthcoming to the community. The Diary has been asked a number of times recently if there is any word on either. 

Street lights on ... for 20 seconds.

This is not the only such problem. A fault that has blacked out street lights on the other end of town, opposite Moanbane Park, has been an issue for even longer than this latest one. Though an explanation was given that the Moanbane matter would require a major repair undertaking, residents of that area are now asking 'when?'. So far the silence is as deep as the darkness. 

(And while we're at that end of town, we're being asked about a rapidly expanding pothole for which there's no good reason to allow it keep growing.)

Kilcullen as a community has a reputation for doing a lot for ourselves, even stuff that arguably should be the work of the local authority. Street lighting, though, is beyond the ability or expertise of our splendid local volunteer groups. 

Like the failure over years into decades of properly dealing with potentially lethal matters such as Thompson's Cross and the lack of a simple filter light at Kilcullen's traffic lights, someone, somewhere, who has responsibility, doesn't care.  

Whomever that person or those persons are need to realise that responsibility is a duty, not just a highly-paid title in a utilities provider or local authority within which their officials can hide them behind the worn-out epitaph 'subject to resources'. 

Just do, or cause to be done, what you're paid to do. When it needs to be done. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Public meeting on New Abbey Road development

A public meeting about the proposed Oakway Homes large residential development on the New Abbey Road will take place on Thursday next, 16 January, in Kilcullen Community Centre.

All are welcome to attend the meeting, which starts at 8pm and will discuss Traffic, Parking, Access, Environment and Biodiversity, Safety, Density, School Places, Impact on Adjacent Estates, Planning Enforcement, and Amenities.

Further information available by emailing kilcullenpublicmeeting@gmail.com.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

The passing of Detta Phelan

The Diary has learned of the death of Elizabeth (Detta) Phelan, Athgarvan Road, Newbridge, and formerly of New Park, Ballysax, The Curragh. Detta passed away peacefully in the wonderful care of the staff of Milford Care Centre, Limerick with her family by her side.

Sister of the late PJ, Nancy, Arthur, Tommy and Merty, aunt of the late Joan, she is sadly missed by her loving nieces and nephews Gwen, David, Marguerite, Michael, Aileen and Maeve, together with Miriam, Patsy, Guy and Gerry, grandnieces and grandnephews Jack, Ruth, Aoife, Aisling, Anna, Tom and Caitlin, relatives, neighbours and her many friends.

She will be reposing at Glennons Funeral Home, 32 Main Street, Newbridge from 5pm on Friday with Rosary at 7pm. Removal by Glennons Funeral Directors on Saturday morning to arrive at St Brigid's Church, Suncroft for Requiem Mass at 11 o'clock. Burial afterwards in Carna Cemetery, Suncroft. Family flowers only please. Detta's funeral mass will be broadcast on 108FM and Suncroft Parish Church webcam. 

Rest in peace.

Celebrating 145 years, Berneys Saddlery on KFM

The last multi-generation family saddlery in Ireland was the focus of an interview this morning on KFM Radio, writes Brian Byrne. Thomas Berney spoke with the station's Eoin Beatty on Kildare Today about how Berney Bros in Kilcullen has passed through five generations in the town.

The business is celebrating its 145th birthday this year and is still based in the same building where it all began in 1880.

The 13-minute interview can be heard on the KFM news page here. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

GAA Lights Up and Every Step Counts postponed

The following statement was issued by Kilcullen GAA: In light of weather conditions and for health and safety reasons, the Healthy Club Committee has decided to postpone the start of the Lights Up Walk and Steps Challenge tonight.

Although we still encourage anyone who hasn’t signed up to the steps challenge it’s never too late to join! The challenge begins this Wednesday (Jan 8th). You can start getting your steps challenge this week, once paths are safer!

Stay Safe and we look forward to seeing you at Kilcullen Gaa clubhouse on Monday 13th!

Weather impacts update, Monday morning

Photo: John Nash.

A recap on the local weather impacts on schools, transport and businesses: 8.38 - Google Maps indicates no traffic issues on M7/N7, back roads in area slower. Motorists on both should be aware of frozen surfaces. 

Scoil Bhride Kilcullen and Brannockstown Community School and St Joseph's NS Halverstown and Two Mile House NS are closed. So also are CPC Kilcullen and Newbridge College. Kildare Steiner School is also closed today.

As of early this morning, Kidz Akademy Creche and Preschool will open at the later time of 9.30am. Kilcullen Community Childcare Centre will remain closed today. 

Most schools expect to reopen tomorrow, Tuesday. County list of closed schools on KFM here.

The Narraghmore office of Kildare Credit Union will remain closed today.

Brennan's Hardware is open. Nichola Kennedy Kilcullen Optician has cancelled clinic appointments.

TFI Kildare Local Link 892 to Newbridge first trip from Kilcullen Mart at 9.50, 880 between Naas and Carlow first trips in both directions at 9.15.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Cinema revival a success of Lions commitment

The cinema team being presented with a Kilcullen Community Award.

When Teresa Nurse was elected president of Kilcullen Lions Club she was asked by a club colleague what would be her 'signature' project for the year? writes Brian Byrne. She admits being caught on the hop by the question, but quickly decided it would be to bring public cinema back to Kilcullen.

In retrospect it was a no-brainer. Kilcullen had its Town Hall Theatre, fully fitted out for plays by the Kilcullen Drama Group. There was also a cinema tradition there going back to 1939, which had ended in the mid-1970s after a heyday period through the '50s and half a decade later.

"There was this beautiful space, leather seats, with a full-size screen and computer projector for illustrated talks already installed," Teresa recalls. "As a Lions club we used to hold a couple of film nights for our members during a year, but doing them for the public was difficult because of licensing requirements. We had often discussed setting up some kind of film club, and then we heard about Access Cinema, which negotiates cultural movie licensing on behalf of non-profit community groups and clubs." The organisation is funded through the Arts Council and is associated with Europa Cinemas, the international network of  cinemas for the circulation of European films, and with the International Federation of Film Societies. 

A Zoom-based information session with Access Cinema provided Teresa and fellow Lions with details of the opportunities available. After setting up a dedicated team within Kilcullen Lions, they completed the process to make Kilcullen Bridge Cinema a member of the network. "Access were really super. They tried to demystify it for us, and they couldn't have been more helpful in what was a complicated licensing and fees matter." The organisation provides seasonal lists of available films to the network membership, under broad headings of documentary, artistic, and crossover-mainstream. The service includes write-ups of the films, to help with selection and promotion. 

An initial idea to get up and running for May of 2023 proved too ambitious and the launch was pushed out until September. A commitment by Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer to provide a portion of her LPT funds allocation helped with the startup costs. “But it was more than just the money, it was the morale support it gave us that someone thought we were doing the right thing.”

Teresa recalls that it was a 'scary' time, especially during the summer holidays months, with the launch looming at the end, when it was difficult to get the cinema team members together. “I remember walking into the Town Hall on my own and wondering how things worked and not having the expertise about operating the video system, or even how to turn on the lights.” There was also the matter of choosing the films for the opening months, for an audience that they didn't know. 

“I watched a lot of movies. We needed to try and choose ones that would have a broad appeal, and we got a lot of help from Michael Ryan, film programme adviser at Access. There were a couple I picked from the lists, and he asked me if I'd actually seen them, that they could have some quite explicit scenes that might not work for the audience.”

Launching the project with The Fablemans.

The eventual choice of The Fablemans, based on the early life of Steven Spielberg, proved a successful opener to the project on 27 September 2023, bringing in a full house and an after-movie buzz that fulfilled the big prior expectation. Since then there have been screenings in a range of genres, including the first foreign-language offering, Rise (“small house but great energy”), as well as Halloween, Christmas and children's films, and a special season of five movies in February selected on themes associated with Brigid. That last was particularly well received, and is going to be repeated for February 2025. “I suppose there is more awareness of the female perspective in film now, and this last year particularly there were quite a few with female leads.” 

Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer opening the Brigid 1500 season.

Fostering inclusion and diversity is an essential component of the initiative, and a number of films have dealt with this directly or peripherally. The local relevance is evident in that some of the Kilcullen Bridge Cinema patrons have been people who were new to Kilcullen, not born in Ireland, and for whom English is not their first language. “I remember someone saying to me the day after one film, about a person they saw in the street, that they were seeing them in a different way and they hoped their settling in Ireland was OK for them. That's what film does, it allows you to see the world in somebody else's eyes. It challenges your own perspective.”

The Kilcullen Bridge Cinema team is seven strong, and Teresa says that is both fortunate and essential. “The paperwork and booking and promotion can be mostly done from the comfort of your own home, but when it comes to the days before a showing you need to have people on the ground. There is such a good group of us, to make sure everything is ready to go, the technology, the heating on the night. It all works only because we are people together.”

People together as an audience is also the attraction of cinema, Teresa says. "It is just so much more rewarding, a more fulfilling experience to watch on a big screen with other people. The auditorium is comfortable and welcoming, and nobody's a stranger there. It's also, I suppose, a non-threatening kind of environment." It can also encourage a collective participation, such as during the screening of Dream Horse during Cheltenham Week 2024. "Everyone in the cinema was cheering on the horse, it was really fun." There's interaction too in the chats afterwards, sometimes with differences of opinion. "It doesn't have to be long conversations, just a few words going out the door, that makes it a shared experience."

That experience is so much different than the individual 'solo' consumption of entertainment that the 'smartphone generation' has, and the Kilcullen Bridge Cinema team are aware of the challenges in attracting that cohort to the space. "We can't neglect the young people, we have to find ways to get them in. Our family and children's shows have always been sell-outs, so we're getting to the under-10s. As for the teen and young adults audience, we did the Stop Making Sense concert movie on Culture Night, but we didn't get that 18-30 age group. A Movie Marathon, with three films running on the same night into the early hours has been suggested and we might try that down the line."

Joe Connor and Conor Williams in the projection box.

Even after just one autumn-winter season, the positive results encouraged the team to undertake a summer-break upgrade of the projection and sound systems, which have made a very real difference to the Kilcullen Bridge Cinema experience. Lions volunteers installing the new gear were joined by cinema equipment expert Barry Gwynne from Little Stretton in Shropshire, married to Colette Flood whose family lived just a short distance from Kilcullen Town Hall. "There's now surround sound, and a laser projector, and you can really feel the improvement. It just shows just how much goodwill is out there, there are all these people who like to do something for a community that can make a difference."

Woodbine Books acts as the local ticket agent for Kilcullen Bridge Cinema, and tickets can also be bought on EventBrite. "But lots of people like to have the paper ticket, and going into Woodbine we can also chat, and sometimes get a recommendation for a good film. Which is something I've learned from all this, that you get great ideas from just listening to other people. Also, that once you have a group together, who will stick with an idea, you can do anything."

Doing this particular thing earned the Lions' cinema initiative a Kilcullen Community Award last November. Showing that their tenacity and commitment to this project is much appreciated.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy