Donnelly's Arm on BBC tonight

BBC Northern Ireland will screen a programme tonight at 11.10 on the 'Fighting Irishmen' exhibition in New York, where Dan Donnelly's Arm is one of the key exhibits.

Santa Claus windows

A double take on window Santas: the top one is from Bernard Berney's Chemist Shop and the lower from Adrian Dunne's Pharmacy.





Brian Byrne.

Bloom and friends for Beslan

Luka Bloom (below)and a host of friends will take part in a fundraising gig in the Riverbank Centre on Thursday night, to help the children of Beslan in Russia.

The Beslan massacre happened when 1,200 people -- schoolchildren, their parents and teachers -- were taken hostage by terrorists in September 2004, and then many were killed when a crossfire broke out between the terrorists and police

In all, 344 civilians were killed, 186 of them children, and hundreds more wounded.

Irishman Colin Goggins has set up a fund for Beslan. Colin arranges counselling for the survivors and families of the kids. And he brings some of the kids to Ireland. He has a website called www.beslanfund.ie/ [ED NOTE: Some of the photographs on the site are quite distressing.]

Among those performing on the night, presented by Luka Bloom, are Ronan Hally; Jason Donoghue; Eithne Ni Chatháin; Sabrina Dinan; Pat Timmony; Emily Whelan; Conor Byrne; and Aoife Kelly.

Home staff win big prize

The winning ticket in the Kilcullen & Gormanstown Parish Draw was held by the staff at Curragh Lawns Nursing Home.

They won 12,000 euros in the draw, which was held last night at the Parish Centre.

Nan Miley of Grangebeg won 1,500 euros, while Tommy O'Connor of Castlefish took third prize of 500 euros.

Prizes of 100 euros each were won by Alfie and Phyllis Haslam, Gormanstown; Dermot Fitzgerald, Brannockstown; John Martin, Moanbane Park; Petra Conroy, Moanbane Park; and Annie and Alex Charlton, Carnalway.

Email re Carnalway

Hi Brian,

In regard to the Carnalway issue, we are pleased to see that the KCC are doing the right thing, and well done to all, that fought to have the fence removed.

That stretch of the river is one of the nicest, in its whole length and a great place to walk. "People Power" when used for good like this , is good to see. Well done the community.

Regards,

Matthew & Una Hughes,
Sydney, Australia.

Dick Jeffers book launch

A new book by Dick Jeffers will be launched in the Heritage Centre on December 14.

'Harvest of Memories' is a compendium of Dick's recollections from his life in this community.

The event begins at pm and all are welcome.

The book would make an ideal Christmas present.

Speech & Drama show

Pupils of Evelyn O'Sullivan's Speech & Drama classes gave their parents a sample of what they had been learning during a Christmas presentation in Kilcullen Parish Centre yesterday afternoon.



Forty-eight children aged between five and 13 were involved, and there was a full house for the event, which comprised three Nativity shows and a Panto-style piece.

Most of the participants only began with Evelyn in April. And if anyone was worried about the future of drama in Kilcullen, there's plenty of new talent on the way.

A slide presentation of the afternoon can be seen here.

Brian Byrne.

Hideout Christmas programme

The Hideout Christmas Dinner menu is a full four-courser with all the trimmings for 28 euros a head. And mine host Martin Myles is organising special nights on December 18, 23, 24 and New Year's Eve. That last is a 40 euros a head gala that includes a mulled wine start and champagne to toast in 2007.

By then, of course, 15 lucky customers will have collected their winnings in the annual Christmas Draw, which this year has a top prize of 2006 euros. Other key prizes include a traditional hamper, a giant teddy bear with a hundred euros to spend clutched in its little fist, healthy living hamper, and lots of wine and other stuff.

Get along there and get your ticket bought quick.

Carnalway enforcement notice

The Planning Department of Kildare County Council has issued an Enforcement Notice to the owner of the land at Carnalway who blocked off access to a traditional riverside path and amenity area.

The notice is dated 1st December, under Section 154 & 155 Planning & Development Act, 2000 TO 2002, and says 'whereas the land has been developed without the required permission and whereas the Planning Authority have received a complaint regarding the enclosure and obstruction of access to the River Liffey and whereas the Planning Authority have investigated the matter and found it not to be frivolous or vexatious, Kildare County Council has decided that it is expedient to serve an Enforcement Notice'.

This means that within two weeks from 1st December 2006, Mr Langan (the owner) is required to remove all barriers which have been erected for the purposes of limiting access along this stretch of the River Liffey and to further provide a pedestrian access to the area, to the satisfaction of the Planning Authority.

If these steps are not carried out, the planning authority may enter on the land and take such steps, including the removal, demolition or alteration of any structure and may recover any expenses reasonably incurred by them in this situation.

"As this situation has been ongoing for quite some time now, locals are delighted with this progress," says local man Tom Horan, "and with the effective determination with which Kildare County Council are dealing with this situation."

The Diary understands that representatives of local people who have taken a legal action on the matter recently attended 'proximity talks' in Naas Court with Mr Langan's representatives, offering to monitor the area for litter etc, to the best of their ability, but no agreement was reached at the meeting.

[NOTE: That last paragraph is a clarification of a previous version of the story, where it was suggested that some form of agreement may have been achieved. 'Proximity talks' are talks where the participants don't actually meet, but 'talk' via their representatives from different rooms.]

Brian Byrne.

Kilcullen scouts runners up

Representing Kilcullen's 9th Kildare Scout Unit, four young scouts from 'Badger' patrol achieved runner-up in the South Kildare Scout Quiz for 2006-07.



Shown here with their trophies are Jessica Murphy, Caoimhe McConnell, Karen Champ and Rachel Dunphy. The scouts now hope to go on to represent South Kildare in the National Scout quiz after Christmas.

Roy Champ.

SVP Annual Appeal 2006

The SVP Annual Appeal takes place during SVP Week from 3rd to 10th December. Please give generously to your local SVP.

A collection will be taken at all masses in Kilcullen this coming weekend. It will replace the SHARE Collection.

A lo-call phone number is also available to take donations.

If you are in the Republic of Ireland use 1890 25 12 06.

Brian Byrne.

Credit Union poster prizes

Nineteen pupils from schools in the Kilcullen area received their prizes this week from Kilcullen Credit Union, for their entries in the annual Poster Competition organised by the Irish League of Credit Unions.



Overall winner was once again Adeline Poufong, whose entry in the 18 Years and Over category went forward to the Chapter level, which meant that she wasn't present to receive her Kilcullen prize.

Adeline's entry last year was a second in the 2005 national finals, and features in the 2007 Credit Union Calendar.

Presenting the prizes for this year, Kilcullen CU chairman Pat Stafford said they were 'very proud' of Adeline's success.

But for the latest Kilcullen presentation night, those present were also 'stars', he said.

In the Special Category, the winner was Kim Molloy, followed by Ben O'Dwyer and Martin Pearse. Commended in the category were Karl Kelly, Michaela Pearse and Kate Kelly. All attend Scoil Bhride.

The 7 Years and Under category was won by Ann Marie Farrell of Halverstown NS, followed by Con Creedon and Fiachra Healy from Scoil Bhride. Sarah Holohan from Brannockstown NS and Julie Arseniuk from Halverstown NS were Commended for their entries.

In the 8-10 Years category, Cliodhna Tutty Bardon took the honours for Scoil Bhride, followed by Cara Boyce from the same school and Aoife Stafford from Brannockstown NS.

Scoil Bhride pupils also won all podium places in the 11-13 Years category, with Zarah Reynolds, Ben Foran and Emily Comerford. Katie O'Brien from Brannockstown NS was Commended in this category.

"We were delighted to see, once again, the response, commitment, effort, imagination and creativity of our young artists," Pat Stafford said.

Brian Byrne.

CCTV fund grows

The fundraising for the CCTV system for Scoil Bhride has reached 8,600 euros, from donations, a draw and the proceeds of the weekend Christmas Fair in the Parish Centre.

School Principal Maurice O'Mahoney is very pleased with the progress of the effort, and says the school is now in a position to look at the various options.

"We did price a system some years ago, but there's much more available now," he told the Diary. "We have to put in the best system possible."

As the Diary noted in the report on the Christmas Fair, the need to install such a system is one of the downsides of life in Kilcullen, and similar villages and towns across Ireland, today.

Scoil Bhride has been targeted several times by vandals and thieves over recent years.

Brian Byrne.

The curtain call man

Ray Donohue is the quintessential curtain call man. In life as well as on the boards.

It is only those of us 'old' Kilcullen people who might remember how much he was part of the town, from the time he played leading roles in Kilcullen Drama Group productions through the fifties and sixties.

"My debut in Kilcullen was in 'The White Headed Boy', in 1957," he recalls. "I remember a night, standing in the wings and rehearsing my lines. The cardinal sin then was to make a late entrance, so I made sure that I opened the door on time and got onto the stage ... except that my script was still in my hand."

Ray participated in all of the John B Keane productions for which Kilcullen Drama Group made its name across the country in those days. He played Danger Mullaly in 'Many Young Men of Twenty', Teddy Heelan in 'Big Maggie', and both Packie and Petey in 'The Man from Clare', at different times.

"In 'The Field' I played the three main parts -- Tadhg, the 'Bird', and 'The Bull' McCabe. And I did two parts together in 'The Playboy of the Western World', one of them Pegeen Mike's father."

Drama was strong in Kilcullen in those days, no more than it is again today, but it was different, Ray feels.

"It was a different era. All the old characters were around, like Bill Malone, Julia Morris, and Harry Clarke. Dick Dunphy was the same as myself, only a young fella. Drama was a very important thing to the town though, it was like any of the sports clubs, it was always there."

Of course it was also the era when Paddy Melia came to the fore as a director, taking time from his favourite work of managing the Town Hall Cinema as well as his then day job in Newbridge Cutlery.

"In the cinema we had Jimmy Kearns and Matt Dunlea, selling and taking the tickets respectively. There were other people who were also a key part of the town's fabric then, like Simmy Doyle, Paddy McGarr, Christy Connelly ... they all did their party pieces before the films in the days when you didn't have to charge tax if you had live performers as well."

During that time Ray worked in Berneys pub for 'old' Pat Berney, and he can still recall the regular customers like 'Kings' Neill and Arthur Taplis. It was a rings pub, with the rings board located on the back of the door leading to the Berney family's sitting room.

"The rings would make an awful crack, and old Pat used to get annoyed when he'd want to listen to the radio in the sitting room."

It's 48 years ago since Ray worked in Berneys, but he remembers well his first week there, when he was given an unexpected extra duty. "Young Tom Berney had a few sheep out on the farm, and I had to go out there and help shear them."

Ray left Kilcullen in 1970 to go and live in Newbridge, where he'd been working in Irish Ropes since 1961. That job was to last him 40 years, directly and indirectly. "In 1984 I took early retirement, but they brought me back after three months to retail and wholesale carpets for them ... that was the days when Tintawn was what everybody was using."

It was really terrible stuff, pure sisal twine and very rough to the touch. "But it was like a Ford car, you couldn't wear it out. And it was reversible, so you could get two wears out of it."

After 11 years of this he retired again. But in yet another 'curtain call', he came back to work as manager for seven years in the Irish Ropes Social Club.

Ray subsequently worked for ten years in the Red House, and for over 11 years he worked in Kerdiffstown House, the Vincent de Paul holiday facility for old people at Johnstown. He finished there just three weeks ago.

And now his latest 'curtain call' has brought him back to where he started, behind the bar in Fallons ... the pub until recently known as Berneys. It is a different place to when he started out with old Pat.

"I'm also now six kids and eight grandchildren later," he adds with a grin, reminding the Diary that he is in his 68th year. And he looks a long way yet from the Final Curtain.

It must be all this repetitive retiring.

Brian Byrne.

Steiner Craft Fair

The Kildare Steiner School is holding a Craft Fair in The Town Hall, Naas, on Sunday next, December 10.

Also, we are performing a Shepherd's Play in Gormanstown Church on Wednesday December 20, at 8pm. All are welcome.

Helen O'Connor Nolan.

Nolans reopens

When Andy Nolan opened the doors of his family's refurbished shop this morning, the first person across the threshold was his daughter Catherine.



A large crowd waited for the opening, to shop and wish the new venture well.











James Nolan said he was really 'chuffed' to see the shop job finished. The work was carried out by Kilcullen Homes Limited, and took less than six months. Pictured above are Damian Hughes, architect; with Sean Gannon and Alan O'Connell of Kilcullen Homes Ltd; and Brendan O'Connell.

An 'official' opening ceremony is planned for next March.

Brian Byrne.

Call from choir

The Kilcullen Adult Choir is looking for new members. All welcome, especially before Christmas.

Contact Norah Breslin (483042) or Phil O'Donnell (485515) or Gertrude Coffey (481338).

Anna working for Thai deprived

An event held in Fallons at the weekend had a dual purpose: to raise both funds for, and awareness of deprivation among, specific groups of people in Thailand.



It was organised by Anna McCarthy (pictured on right above with her friend Linda Gray), daughter of local schoolteacher Annette, and the project she's coordinating is Cultural Canvas Thailand, based in Chang Mai.

"With another Irish girl and an American girl, we have partnered with a number of small non-governmental groups in Thailand who are working with the hill tribes, Burmese refugees and sex workers," Anna told the Diary. "The aim is to educate them, and help them get jobs and build better lives."

Her two friends, Sarah Latchaw from Florida and Zoe Lambe from Ireland, had been developing this idea for some time when Anna first met them about a year ago.

"We've now acquired a Volunteer House and compound where we can put up people who come out to help us, and we're using a new website to get such volunteers. Our artistic outreach programme will take people being helped by our partner groups and teach basics of arts and crafts. Our first project is a ceramics workshop, which is designed to give them a therapeutic way out of the hardship they live in."

The three girls are friends with a number of Thai artists, and that was the impetus for the initial arts-based project. "It was a case of utilising first the resources that we had. But we're not limiting ourselves to this. For instance, we have an Australian volunteer coming over next March who will provide courses in sexual health for the sex workers in our area."

CCT isn't looking for any specific skills from its volunteers. "We just want people willing to give their time in whatever way they can do best, teaching English, for instance. The people we're trying to help really need attention more than anything, because that's not available in their lives. We're also open to ideas from volunteers themselves, who can come up with projects that would suit the people we're dealing with."

Cultural Canvas Thailand has been nine months in the making, and doesn't so far receive any official funding. Anna has been teaching English part-time to cover her own costs in Thailand.

Her initial contact with the situation came simply from sitting in cafes and bars in normal social settings. "You'd see these kids coming in, selling flowers, for instance. The tourists think they're simply filling a tourist need, but they don't know the actual situations. When we looked into it, we realised the problems they face, including HIV/AIDs. So it branched out from seeing the kids on the street, and their parents, and talking to them about their lives. It just took off from there."

Anna and her friends are simply doing what they can to help local groups which are more or less overwhelmed by the problems they're trying to help solve.

"For instance, there's a man we know, a Burmese refugee; he got a scholarship to study in Britain, and now he's back in Chang Mai, helping other refugees by teaching them computer skills and other things. He works seven days a week, teaching all the time. We're just trying to help."

Further information is available from Anna or from the website set up by the project. Anna returns to Thailand in January.





Brian Byrne.

Email re traffic lights

Dear Brian,

Relating to your piece on the filter at the traffic lights:

While KCC have put in a filter light to turn left when coming into town from the Curragh Road, they have not yet changed the road marking too.

The result is that if you want to go straight on towards Dunlavin, the road marking tells you to keep in the left lane and meanwhile the left arrow comes on, on its own. I have already seen two near accidents as a result of the confusion arising from this, and also witnessed people rather inappropriately becoming angry with those in the left lane who just want to go straight on but obviously can't.

It is a complete mess at the moment.

Noel Clare.

Scoil Bhride Fair fun

There was excellent support for the Scoil Bhride NS Christmas Fair, held yesterday in the Parish Centre.



Members of the school choir sang carols and seasonal hymns, and the attraction of Santa Claus was reflected in queues to see him that stretched all the way from his tall chair to the entrance hall.



Every one of his small visitors got a picture of themselves with Santa, courtesy of Pat Mooney from the Scoil Bhride Parents Association.

As well as stuff for their parents to buy for Christmas, there was also face-painting and drawing for the younger visitors.





The funds raised are going towards the installation of a CCTV system for the school.

Which is a rather unhappy sign of these times, the only downside to what was all in all, a highly successful day.

Brian Byrne.