Forms for joining the Kilcullen Garda District Text Alert scheme are available from The Grocery in Calverstown, Kilcullen Garda Station, Kilcullen Credit Union, and scheme committee members. Please encourage neighbours and friends to join.
Where do bats live? Are they blind? What food do they eat? What are the myths about bats? How can bats help humans? What is echolocation? Do bats really suck blood?
Find the answer to all these questions and more bat related information at Newbridge Library on Wed 17 September at 7.30pm. Newbridge Tidy Towns will host a talk by Dr Tina Aughney from Bat Conservation Ireland. Then come for a walk along the Liffey to see if you can spot some bats.
A Coffee Morning in aid of St Brigid's Hospice on the Curragh will be held in the Heritage Centre on Thursday.
The event will operate from 10am-1pm, and in addition to raising funds for a really worthwhile cause, it offers an opportunity for those taking part to take a look at the wide range of memorabilia of Kilcullen's far and recent past.
All are welcome.
If you're wondering how the new Dun Ailinne Interpretive Park is looking so consistently well, local man Billy Redmond is the man to thank.
Soon after it was dedicated in July, Billy volunteered to keep the grass in the park, which is a miniature replica of the Dun Ailinne ancient royal site south-west of the town, trimmed for the remainder of the growth season.
His efforts were unanimously commended at the recent meeting of Kilcullen Community Action.
Billy, who does an international charity walk each year on behalf of the Irish Wheelchair Association, also maintains the grass areas around Kilcullen's Parish Church.
Meanwhile, there was an exercised discussion at the KCA meeting on how best to deal with the horsetail fern which is also growing wild at the Interpretive Park.
The fern, which is considered a weed and which can over-run a grassy area is left unchecked, can be dealt with by a herbicide such as Roundup.
Suggestions of applying the liquid most effectively included putting wallpaper paste in the spray, so that the pesticide would cling more effectively to the weed.
During the discussion, KCA chairman Kieran Forde brought in a sample of the fern from one of the flower tubs on the street outside.
Noel Clare, who taught Botany for many years at Cross & Passion College, noted that the plant, also known as 'Mare's Tail' and 'Foxtail', is 'very ancient' and evolved long before the modern fern.
Brian Byrne.
A new season of Kilcullen Flower & Garden Club gets under way this week with a starting demonstration by Helen Lucas on Tuesday night at 8pm.
The meetings are once again in Kilcullen Parish Centre.
Membership is €30 per annum, and light refreshments are served at each meeting.
New members are always welcome.
The Diary has learned of the death of Lazerian Kelly, Yellow Bog, and late of Pairc Mhuire, Newbridge.
Lazerian is reposing at his residence from Tuesday, until removal at 6.30pm on Wednesday to Kilcullen Parish Church, arriving at 7 o'clock.
The funeral mass will be celebrated on Thursday morning at 11am and burial will take place immediately afterwards in St Brigid's Cemetery, Kilcullen.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
The Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes is under way at present.
Led by Fr Michael Murphy, the 25-strong group are fortunate to be at the shrine on the same weekend as Pope Benedict is there.
They will return on Wednesday.
The Diary has learned of the death of Andy O'Connor, Castlefish.
Andy is reposing at his residence from 6 o'clock this evening and removal will take place on Tuesday morning at 10.30 to St Joseph's Church, Gormanstown.
Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 11 o'clock and interment will take place afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.
We express our condolences to his family and friends.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Changes to the speed bump ramps on the road outside Scoil Bhride have been welcomed in Kilcullen.
The ramps were first installed three years ago, but were only on the roads, and didn't continue across parking bays into the footpath.
The result was that many motorists 'bypassed' the ramps by zig-zagging in through the parking bays at speeds which would not have been possible over the ramps (inset in picture above).
When a Senior Engineer from Kildare County Council was recently inspecting the nearby access to the planned new playground, his attention was drawn to the too-short traffic calming devices. A Council crew subsequently came along and extended the ramps.
Brian Byrne.
The Diary has learned of the death of Bob Hutton Snr, of Ballyshannon.
Predeceased by his wife Rachel and his daughter Anne, Bob will be sadly missed by his son Robert, his daughter-in-law Beth, his grandchildren Rebecca, Barry and Audrey, his sister-in-law Frances, his nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and neighbours.
Bob was buried in Ballyshannon Churchyard yesterday.
Abide with me.
The posters placed prominently around Kilcullen during the town's campaign to get Kildare County Council to play its part in keeping litter at bay are in the process of being replaced.
The original posters highlighted the fact that Kildare County Council was not providing an adequate street cleaning service in the town. The protest campaign culminated last summer in the presentation of a bag of litter to officials and members of Kildare County Council at the Council's headquarters in Arus Cill Dara.
Since then, the Council has undertaken a pilot programme of street cleaning in Kilcullen and a number of other towns in the area, sharing a dedicated cleaning crew. The results have been quite marked.
Now the organisers of the original protest, Kilcullen Community Action, have commissioned a new set of posters. These will use the original very effective graphics but with slogans noting that Kildare County Council IS helping to clean Kilcullen's streets, and asking for the support of the people by taking their litter home.
At KCA's most recent meeting, it was also decided to organise another 'litter event' at the Council's HQ, but this time to thank the Council for its street-cleaning initiative.
"We were quick enough to criticise them, now we should be proactive about complimenting them too," J J Warren said at the meeting. (As a result, members and officials of Kildare County Council were presented with an empty litter bag last Monday.)
In a further discussion about the street-cleaning, compliments were also paid to how quickly the Council crew removed the clippings during a recent cutting of hedges on the road opposite Brigid's Avenue.
Brian Byrne.
Several businesses and many individuals have already given in their donations towards the flowers which have brightened up Kilcullen in an otherwise miserable summer.
Almost €8,000 has been given so far towards the estimated €10,000 cost of the floral displays, including the window-boxes which lined the first floors of most Main Street premises, the hanging baskets, and the various tubs on the footpaths.
"There were very few gaps in the street this year," KCA chairman Kieran Forde noted at the recent meeting of the organisation, the first of the autumn/winter season.
"They looked very well," Esther Kiely added, a sentiment that was echoed around the table.
There are still quite a number of Main Street premises occupiers who have yet to respond to the appeal for donations, but Kieran Forde said he was confident that the total cost would be achieved with the help of these people.
Brian Byrne.
Kilcullen Community Action presented an empty litter bag to officials and members of Kildare County Council yesterday, to mark the community's appreciation for the work the Council has done in helping keep the town tidy this year.
Pictured are Ray Kelly, KCA; John Fallon, in charge of the street cleaning operations; Orla O'Neill, KCA, with her daughter Siofra; JJ Warren, KCA; Cllr Billy Hillis, KCC; Cllr Willie Callaghan, KCC; Joe Boland, Director of Services, KCC; and Kieran Forde, chairman KCA.
Brian Byrne.
Kilcullen's annual Community Awards will be presented on Friday October 10.
Nominations close on Friday 24 November. Anyone who thinks a person or organisation in Kilcullen is deserving of special recognition, for any reason, can nominate them to Kilcullen Community Action, which is organising the awards.
Meantime, judging is currently taking place for the local tidy town awards, which will be presented on the same evening.
The master copy of a DVD about the recent Dun Ailinne weekend has been delivered to Kilcullen Community Action by Michelle Ryan Videography. It will be available for sale soon in limited numbers.
The DVD, which is about two hours in length, details the parade from the Square, the dedication of the Dun Ailinne Interpretive Park and its centerpiece sculpture, the subsequent presentations by Professor Wailes and others who took part in the excavations, and the premiere performance by traditional musician Liam O'Flynn of the music specially commissioned from him to mark the occasion.
Further details of the DVD's availability and distribution will be given when known.
He marked his gold medal triumph by telephoning the woman who gave him the gift of life -- his sister Catherine.
“Twenty-one years ago, Catherine donated one of her kidneys to me. It gave me a new lease of life,” said James, who plays off a 23 handicap, and is a member of Rathsallagh Golf Club in Co. Kildare.
“It was a forgiving course for a handicap golfer like me, and I was very happy with how I played.”
The ladies tournament was won by Marie O’Connor, the 12-handicapper from Lahinch, Co. Clare, who earlier this year won the ladies Captain’s Prize in her own club.
Liam Horan
The 'summer' weather we've been suffering through has dampened spirits fairly thoroughly, but there's a silver lining to every cloud ... isn't there?
Well for Michelle Kirwan, who runs Ruby Shoes in Kilcullen, the confluence of a fashion trendiness in wellingtons and the wet, wet, wet results of the stream of low pressure systems over the country has been a bright spot in business.
"There's been a great run on wellingtons, which are now very colourful," she says. "I got them in for Oxygen, though a little late and I kind of missed the boat there. But then came the scouts Jamboree, and I sold a lot for that. The youngsters came in, and so did their parents."
The rain coincided with wellingtons becoming a fashion item in their own right in recent times. "At the international shoe trade shows, everyone has them," says Michelle, who set up Ruby Shoes in April of last year. "They come with all sorts of colours and patterns, even for men."
There was a short-term downside when the scores of pairs of wellies arrived. "The smell of rubber was unreal for a while," Michelle remembers.
Setting up a shop in Kilcullen just for fashion shoes and handbags was a risk for Michelle. But one which has paid off, in no small measure because there are also an increasing number of other specialist fashion shops in the village, which complement each other.
"Kilcullen has become a place to find all kinds of fashion, with Michelle Graham's Irish Bridal Boutique on Hillside, and Mini Me's childrens boutique, for instance. Overall, Kilcullen has a reputation for quality, and not just in clothing ... I have customers who come specifically to the town to shop for their meat in Nolans, and then come down to me to browse the shoes and handbags."
Well aware of the competition from Newbridge's Whitewater, Michelle makes a point of stocking items which don't feature in the more mainstream shops. "You have to give them a reason to come out here for something different."
Meantime, though, when it's raining in Kilcullen, it is pouring. Pouring wellies business for Ruby Shoes.
Brian Byrne.
Miah Phelan-Sweeney's performance this afternoon on 'The Den' Star Search item received the height of praise from the guest judges, Emma O'Driscoll and Mickey Harte.
Emma, formerly a pop singer herself, noted that in performing her own composition, 'Ain't no Way', as well as singing and playing the piano, Miah had given herself a 'huge' amount of work to cope with, but she had done 'an amazing job'.
You're a Star winner singer/song writer Mickey Harte was equally fulsome in his praise, saying that Miah being a singer-songwriter herself 'was right up my street'.
"Your song was a lot like Kate Nash's stuff, and that's good," he said. "With a bit of work and some production it could easily get into the charts."
Emma added that both the song and its performance were 'very believable', and very much telling a story. Mickey said 'keep writing'.
Moving to the next level depends on text voting, which concludes on Friday at 4.40pm. To vote for Miah, text ACT C to 51101.
Brian Byrne.
Three responses have been received following letters sent to area auctioneers about property sale signs found dumped in Pinkeen Stream.
The letters, sent last March, asked for donations towards the cost of cleaning up the stream. As well as many dumped auctioneers' signs, Pinkeen was also clogged with other rubbish, including 700kg of leaves, litter, supermarket trollies and builders’ rubbish -- left there since nearby estates were built.
But even these three responses required follow-up phone calls from local Tidy Towns activist Ray Kelly, to the letters.
And only one, from Jordan Estates in Newbridge, contained a cheque. The company rebutted direct responsibility for the signs, which were contracted out, but 'understood' the Kilcullen community's feelings.
"The other letter was negative, and I got a phone call from a third saying they had come looking for their sign after the sale, and couldn't find it," Ray Kelly told last night's meeting of Kilcullen Community action, within which the Tidy Towns operation in Kilcullen is managed. "But all they had to do was look over the fence into the stream."
He said he had subsequently contacted Kildare County Council's Litter Warden, Noel Geoghegan, who confirmed that any estate agent sign erected in a public place IS the responsibility of the agent.
"Technically, all such signs are supposed to be erected only on the private property concerned, and otherwise could require planning permission," Ray Kelly said, adding that while KCA was just looking for a donation of €50, if the Litter Warden had picked it up, it would have meant a prosecution and a €150 fine.
Brian Byrne.
(Ed Note: Just to clarify the above, as far as we know there were no Kilcullen-based agents involved in this story. In particular, we've had a note from Dowling Fitzsimons DNG asking us to mention they didn't have signs in the stream, and consequently didn't get any donation request.)
The world's values as found in popular magazines are 'unreliable' as guidelines to spiritual growth and decent human living, Fr Paddy Ryan said yesterday.
He also said that the pressure to go along with fashion and fads is 'enormous'. "Peer pressure doesn't stop at childhood," he cautioned. "Even as adults we often feel the urge to go along with the crowd."
Noting that some of the values we are offered are 'basically selfish', he said that those, such as Christians, who spend their lives for others 'will gain lives'. "We don't set out to look for happiness, we set out to serve, and because we do, happiness comes as a natural result."
He asked those present to take some time in the coming days to look at their own lives, and see whether they evaluate their successes in terms of the Gospel, or in the consumer society's 'offerings of fads and fashions'?
Brian Byrne.
Following on from their success in the South Kildare Shield in May, The Kilcullen Badger Patrol teamed up with a 4-scout Mountain Skills team from Naas Scouts to represent South Kildare in the National Phoenix Challenge in Larch Hill from 21-24t August.
The combined patrol set a very high standard throughout the challenge weekend and was awarded the Silver Standard, entitling each member of the patrol to wear the Silver Standard Award on the uniform.
Meanwhile, registrations for 2008/09 are this week at the Den between 7-8 pm.
The troop's own pictures are available in a slide show here.
Beavers - Mon 1st Sept
Cubs - Tues 2nd Sept
Scouts - Thurs 4th Sept
Roy Champ.
