Working towards reopening

A vew of some of the feverish last minute work going on this morning in advance of the imminent reopening of Nolans Victuallers in their refurbished shop.

More danger on red

In July of this year, the Diary contacted Kildare County Council about concerns expressed by motorists trying to turn right into the Chapel Road at the Hideout traffic lights.

The situation was clearly shown in a story about the problem.

The Council's spokesman promised to 'ask our roads people to advise on this' and that the Editor would be notified of the answer.

Needless to say, no answer was ever forthcoming, presumably because the 'roads people' did not 'advise'. Instead, this week, the Council has erected a new filter light. But one which doesn't in any way deal with the original problem. The new one is placed to give traffic coming from the Curragh Road an extra chance to turn left into the Main Street.

And which merely eliminates yet another chance for frustrated pedestrians, waiting while several cycles of the lights run until one favouring those on foot appears, of slipping across while there's a little gridlock happening.

We can't help feeling that there's a lack of joined up thinking here? Or a lack of joined up communication between officials, engineers and spokesperson ... let alone with community, motorists and pedestrians in Kilcullen.

"Oh petty internal Council kingdoms, please; talk to each other, at least, and give us all some ease."

Brian Byrne.

Disability issues meeting

The Kildare Active Citizenship Disability Group is holding a meeting on Monday December 4, highlighting disability issues.

The venue is Keadeen Hotel, between 11am-1pm.

Further information from 430922.

A visitor to 'Covered'

A particularly appreciative member of the audience at 'Kindly Keep it Covered' was one Brian Quinlan, who had many times played the same part as Kilcullen's own Vivian Clarke in the play, in Britain.



"He was the fellow who originally sent the play over to me," Vivian told the Diary. "He's from Cheltenham, and has been a semi-professional entertainer and actor for many years. He also did a tour as a stand-up comedian."

Brian stayed in Kilcullen last week and Vivian brought him on a tour of the Town Hall Theatre and Heritage Centre.

"I didn't let him see the set, of course, or the programme, until he came to the play on Monday night. But he said that everybody he met was so nice and so good to him. He gave us great, great praise. He took away copies of all the posters and the programme, and everything that had been written about the production so far."

Brian Quinlan also directed many productions in his day, including musicals, drama and farce similar to 'Kindly Keep it Covered'.

"He was very taken with the Town Hall Theatre, and I told him the story of Pat Dunlea and how the place came about. He told me that in his home place, the local drama group has to rent an old Council Hall for their productions, and pay for both rehearsal and production nights."

Vivian also talked his visitor through the various displays and photographs in the Heritage Centre, retelling the local stories and history.

"I showed him the old cinema seat that has been put back into the theatre, beside all the Volvo leather seats, to remind people of what used to be here. He also saw the piece of the old cinema screen, and the projector. He was really fascinated by it all."

Brian Byrne.

[NOTE: The Diary heard this story too late to take a picture of Brian Quinlan. We'll see if we can get one.]

Christmas windows: 2

Well, as we get really stuck into the Christmas run-up, here are few more festive windows from Kilcullen.

The first is John Joe and Noreen Dowling's gifts and flowers shop.



Then below we have Ger Wixted's fruit and vegetable store.



And finally for the moment, a look at the Coffee Shop display.



Everyone's really getting into the spirit, it seems.

James praises 'Covered'

Viewers of the Diary might like to read James Healy's report on 'Kindly Keep it Covered' in the Leinster Leader this week.



It can be viewed on the Leader's website in the Kilcullen Local Notes.



Brian Byrne.

A Mouthful of Recipes

One of the most professional school fundraising publishing ventures the Diary has seen is the cookbook produced by a committee of parents of Scoil Bhride, Athgarvan.

'A Mouthful of Recipes' is now on sale throughout the locality for 14.50 euros.

Published by the school itself, under the direction of the the Cook Book Committee of Hazel Doyle, Sharon Dore, Anne Loughlin, Connie Hempenstall, Orla Bergin and Beth Breslin, it is a mouthwatering book in every way.

Recipes range from 'The Veggie Healthy Soup' to 'Aunt Sophie's Poppyseed Cookies' and much more in between.

A very excellent publication, it was designed by clickcreative.com and printed by Bairds of Northern Ireland. It was not a cheap endeavour.

Commending the venture in a foreword, school Principal Gerry O'Donoghue says 'it is difficult to imagine a tastier or more enjoyable way of raising the funds which hard-pressed schools constantly need'.

Brian Byrne.

Christmas windows: 1

Well, the Christmas run-in is well and truly on, and as we have done in the past, we'll be showing you some of the festive window decorations in town.



These two are from Nichola Kennedy's optometrist business at the traffic lights.



Brian Byrne.

Homeless fund still growing

The funds raised by the recent 'Miscellany on Sunday' organised by the Kilcullen Homeless Awareness Group have now exceeded 3,600 euros and are expected to go even higher.

The event was held in the home of Phena and Tom Bermingham at Mooretown, and all proceeds go to the Michael Garry House hostel for the homeless in Newbridge.

Someday, someone should tot up the value of all the community fundraising events organised in Kilcullen for various causes.

Or maybe not. It might be such a great sum total that the Government could be tempted to tax it. Tax it again, of course, because all donations already come from income which has been taxed at least once, and often more times.

Which reminds us of the perennial question about such things: why, in a so-called 'Celtic Tiger' economy where the state coffers have been enjoying a real embarrassment of revenue riches for so many years, is it still necessary for private citizens to fundraise for so many causes which are really the responsibility of those we elect to govern?

Ah, sure ...

Brian Byrne.

CU interest rebate revived

Kilcullen Credit Union had an income of more than 455,000 euros in 2006, the organisation's 36th AGM heard last night.

With total expenditure of some 386,000 euros, the amount available for distribution was 155,272 euros.

The Board of the CU proposed a dividend of 1.5 percent on Shares, 1 percent on SSIAs, 0.5 percent on Deposits, and an Interest Rebate of 5 percent.



"This is the first rebate we have given since starting on our building project," chairman Pat Stafford said in his Report to the meeting. "Though quite small, it is a reward to our borrowers and, hopefully, will grow from now on."

Shares and Deposits grew by 17 percent in the year and Loans by 13.5 percent. During 2006 some 2.1 million euros in new loans were taken out by members. Nearly three-quarters of these related in equal measure to loans for home improvements and cars. Holidays accounted for 7 percent of money borrowed, while a similar amount was identified as for dealing with Debts and Bills.

Shares and Deposits now stand at 5.6 million euros, a growth of 59 percent in five years. Over the same period the Loans account grew by 66 percent to 4.1 million euros.

Membership increased by 14 percent this year and now stands at 2,286, of whom 478 are Juveniles. There are 23 Clubs and Associations with membership, and 625 members have loan balances.

Bad Debt provision is shown in the Accounts as substantially higher than last year's 6,601 euros, at 88,957 euros. Though 11 such accounts were written off as required in regulations, they are being vigorously pursued. According to the Credit Committee's Report, one has been cleared in full and eight are making payments.

KCU organised the annual Schools Quiz and Poster competitions, with 19 teams participating in the Quiz. Two of these went forward to the Chapter Level Quiz.

Adeline Poufong, who won the 14-17 age group in the Poster Competition, was a runner-up at National level and her poster appears in the 2007 Credit Union Calendar.

The CU sponsorship activities for the year included Fr Dan Noud's TOIL, Kilcullen Christmas Lights, the League of the Blind, Ballyshannon and Halverstown national schools, the Ladies GAA Team and the Parish Golf Classic.

At the AGM, Vincent O'Halloran was given a 'big thank you' for his tireless work on the finalisation of the Building project. The problems raised in the final snag list were dealt with last month.

Kilcullen hosted two training sessions during the year -- on Health & Safety and Lending -- which were attended by representatives from other Credit Unions in the area.

A project relating to Brannockstown NS involved joining up the pupils of the school as members.

Brian Byrne.

Minding the mannequin

Roy Thompson and Ger Kelly on 'guard duty', minding a key member of the cast of 'Kindly Keep it Covered', currently running at The Town Hall Theatre.



Just one question; well, maybe not ...

'Don't pay litter fines' as protest

A number of owners of business premises in Kilcullen have been issued with fines by the Litter Warden, but a leading member of Kilcullen Tidy Towns is urging them not to pay.

Warden Noel Geoghegan has also warned other businesses over the 'appalling' litter on the streets, in the hope that improvements can be brought about.

Under the litter laws, property owners are obliged to clear litter from outside their premises.

But Noel Clare of Kilcullen Tidy Towns Committee says those issued with fines should not pay them, on the grounds that Kildare County Council itself has not fulfilled its obligations to Kilcullen under the Litter Pollution Act 1997.

"With the exception of the (mostly) weekly visit by the street sweeper, Kildare County Council continue to do nothing to help remove litter from the streets," he told the Diary. "I would strongly suggest that those who have been issued fines refuse to pay them. Instead they, and indeed any other concerned Kilcullenite, should write to complain about the situation to Mr Joe Boland, Director of Services at KCC in Naas, and also to any or indeed all of our local public representatives."

Noel Clare adds that the litter management situation seems to be bad throughout the county, although he doubts that any other town of a similar size is treated as badly as Kilcullen.

"Just over a week ago, over 40 people from 11 towns and villages throughout the county came together in Celbridge at the invitation of the local Tidy Towns group there. As a result of that meeting delegates are requesting a separate and dedicated section of the Local Authority, to focus solely on the resolution of problems caused by litter and despoiling of the environment."

The next meeting of this group will take place in Aras Cill Dara on Dec 11 at 8 pm, where it is hoped to discuss the issues with public representative and Local Authority managers and officials.

Brian Byrne.

Seniors at 'Covered'

As always, it was good to see many senior Kilcullen people at the preview of 'Kindly Keep it Covered', presented by Kilcullen Drama Group last week and continuing throughout this week to packed houses.

(As usual, click on picture for caption.)

'Vital' Parish Draw date gets closer

There's only a short time left for parishioners to buy a ticket in the annual Kilcullen/Gormanstown Parish Draw.

First prize in the Draw -- which Fr Andrew O'Sullivan describes as 'vital' to the parish finances -- is 12,000 euros. Second and Third prizes are 1,500 euros and 500 euros respectively, and there are five further prizes of 100 euros each.

Tickets cost 100 euros, and are ideal for syndication among a group or a family to share the cost and the prize. They might also be of interest to Kilcullen 'Wild Geese' living abroad who wish to help out their former Parish.

The Parish debt, which includes repayments for the building of the Parish Centre and also the maintenance of the church, costs 80,000 euros annually, of which half is paid by the Diocese.

"This annual draw is absolutely vital to our finances," says Fr Andrew, adding that the provision of the Parish Centre has already paid real dividends to the Parish in many practical as well as pastoral ways.

The Draw will be held on 11 December in the Parish Centre.

Brian Byrne.

A simple reminder of heritage

A 1939 school calendar now on display in the Heritage Centre was found during the renovations of the old Girls School when it was being converted into the Parish Centre.



"We found it in a vent, where it had been put to stop the draught," Ger Kelly told the Diary when he pointed it out to us this week.

"It was in perfect condition, and we figured that the right place for it was here."

It reminds us that many of the 'original' families of Kilcullen probably have a lot of similar stuff lying around.

If so, don't forget the Heritage Centre.

Brian Byrne.

What's the point?

OK, so the street flower boxes don't look so great at this time of the year, and this poor plant was a little on the weedy side. But are they any good reasons to pull the poor thing out of the earth?

Brian Byrne.

Register of patrons for theatre

Nessa Dunlea is compiling a Patrons Register of people who come to events in the Heritage Centre and the Theatre, so that they can be regularly updated on what's happening in the venues. Anyone who would like to be included should send their emails and/or mobile phone numbers to her.

Meanwhile, there was a full turnout for last night's Gala Opening of 'Kindly Keep it Covered', presented by Kilcullen Drama Group in theTown Hall Theatre.

Brian Byrne.

Christmas Fair date

The Scoil Bhride Christmas Fair will be held in the Parish Centre on Sunday 3 December.

It will run from 12-2.30pm. All are welcome.

'Covered' uncovered

Well, we gave you a taste of the preparations and our initial thoughts on 'Kindly Keep it Covered', which has its gala opening this evening in the Town Hall Theatre.

Now we uncover things a bit more, with a few of the Diary's pictures of the show last night.




Brian Byrne.

The Boston Bradys

The Diary had a note from Noel Brady in Boston. Noel and his brother James are sons of John and Anna Mae Brady of Brannockstown.



He sent us this picture of himself and James, with Noel's son Patrick, and Wayne and Mark Aspell from Kilcullen who visited Boston in September.

Brian Byrne.