Bits ‘n Bobs with Rose

A Hard Life….
“Hello” to Thomas and Darren, currently ‘down under’ in Melbourne, having to cope with the heat and warm weather…. Thomas is earning a few bob along with Fionn from Kill as extras on a film set – a far cry from the hard labour the Irish immigrants and deportees had to endure years ago. Lads, enjoy every minute of it, its freezing here!

Bowl Away
Come join the fun at the Bandhall on Tuesdays for weekly bowling – all welcome, 8.30pm start. Craic guaranteed and Tommy Dwyer says you don’t have to be an athlete to compete, all ages welcome (and he should know)!

SCOIL MHUIRE ABU!
Having spoken to Mairead O Flynn before the local awards night, I learned that Scoil Mhuire children are regular little fundraisers.

“So far this school year the pupils through various committees have also raised almost €4,000 for Multiple Sclerosis through the MS Readathon organised with Ms. Brown through the school library and a further €631 for Barretstown through their Christmas Choir concert and Talent show (organised by pupils themselves). We recorded 2 original carols for the concert, one being the Barretstown Carol and these were entered in Lyric FM competition.

The five girls nominated for this year’s annual awards are members of the school choir; we have another new song for the Church Concert on Feb. 29th. Some of the girls are members of the Green school committee who will start into their great work in the Spring. I have no doubt but that these pupils will be active members of community committees in Ballymore in the near future or wherever their lives bring them!”

Hear, hear, Mairead – the future looks good for Ballymore Eustace and well done to all the pupils involved, you are an example to us all.


New Locum
Welcome to Dr Andrina O’Brien who has recently been appointed General Practitioner at the Medical Centre here in Ballymore Eustace. Dr Andrina is a daughter of Dr Brendan O’Brien and has practiced at her father’s busy clinic in Blessington for the past number of years. As a patient of hers, I welcome her wholeheartedly to our local clinic – she is an extremely professional, caring doctor and will be an asset to our community although I am disappointed to note that there are only three morning clinics and one afternoon clinic as yet designated for the local centre.

Dr Andrina will see patients at the health centre from 9.30am-12.30 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and on Wednesday from 2.30pm-5pm by appointment. Contact 045 863008/864145 and is available at Blessington Medical Centre for appointments also.

Panto Thanks
The organizers of the recent annual pantomime “Jack & the Beanstalk” wish to thank all who helped stage this year’s production – to all the backstage crew in lighting, sound, design, props etc; to the cast and backing troupe, to the director Aoibheann Waldron; to costume and make-up and finally, to all who attended and supported the Bandhall Players for yet another hilarious production.

WOLFE TONE CUMANN
AGM to be held on Monday 25th February at 9pm in the Ballymore Inn, all welcome.

These two at the bottom of the page, in reverse, please

Sudden death
The community was saddened to hear of the death of Ray “Rasher” Daniels last month; almost 29, he was a talented sportsman, having played both soccer and GAA and formerly played with Wicklow County Gaelic team as goalkeeper. The deceased grew up in Blessington with his mother Theresa, brothers Shane and Jonathan and is survived by his fiancée, Linda Carroll and infant son Ben, aged two.

Mr Daniels was held in high regard and affection within his home town and was thought to have made a full recovery after a recent illness, even having returned to his sporting activities. He is survived also by his father, Brendan and extended family in Blessington, Ballymore Eustace and Dunlavin. May he rest in peace, amen.

The Late Dorrie Talbot
Sad news last month to learn of the passing of Dorrie Talbot, nee Kaine. Formerly of Blessington and Ballymore Eustace, Dorrie (86) had resided at Willowbroook Nursing Home for the past four years until her recent illness. An active member of St John’s Community, Dorrie and her late sister, Nellie were involved in several joint fundraising ventures between St John’s and The Church of the The Immaculate Conception – the annual sale of work and field day stall amongst them.
She had a sharp memory and great recall and will be missed by her many friends and indeed, our own Grainne who was a regular visitor to Dorrie, whom Grainne considered “a Granny figure” to the Glancy family. Dorrie is survived by her brother Jack, niece Elizabeth and nephew James, extended family and friends. We offer our sincerest condolences, may she rest in peace, amen.

Dear All,

About eighteen months ago Denise wrote an open letter to the Bugle asking why Ballymore Eustace had no Youth Club? This prompted a group of thirteen interested people from the local community to undergo a 6-week course with Kildare Youth Services (KYS), to train as Youth Leaders. The group then went on to fundraise and apply to KYS and Kildare County Council for grants to establish the Club. We have now been up and running for over a year and held our fist AGM in January. We are lucky enough to have premises supplied by the Handball Club and four more Leaders trained up in December of last year. We had a visit from KYS in November and they were impressed with the range of our equipment and membership numbers. As you will have seen from various updates in the Bugle, we have had a series of discos and other activities which have been well supported in the main, up to recently.

Since last November however we have noticed a drop off in attendance at the Club and on Friday 25th January, only two members came down, (out of over 50 on the enrolment list) so we had to close the Club early.

We have recently purchased new music and a great three in one games table as well as planning a series of events for this year. These included a sponsored walk to raise funds, a trip to the Ice Rink in Dundalk (which the kids themselves had requested) and possibly a trip away in the summer.

No doubt you can appreciate the huge amount of voluntary time and effort that goes into all the above – notwithstanding the organisation of the regular weekly club nights. There would seem to be little point continuing with this unless the members are really interested in the Club and attend regularly. If the general view is that there is no longer a need for a Youth Club in Ballymore, or that what we are able to provide within our current resources is not appropriate, then we need to be clear about this and we would welcome feedback from both members and their parents.

Clearly we do not want to see the extensive energy and effort that has gone into the club so far go to waste, but continued poor attendance will mean that we will seriously review whether the Club will continue to operate after Easter.

We look forward to seeing the Youth Club continue to develop in future and welcome your comments or feedback.


THE YOUTH CLUB COMMITTEE

Denise Kelly 087 6893403
Angie Thompson 086 4005211
Jimmy Pearse 087 2341965
Claire McShane 086 6067811