Ballymore-Eustace’s Proud Handball Record
Part 3
Like the Byrnes, two generations of Dowlings made their mark at All-Ireland level.
I never saw Michael (Mickey) Dowling, Senior, in action but according to Bobbie Grattan Mickey was the best man he ever saw to "kill" a ball off the back wall with either hand. Mickey was one of only two Ballymore players profiled by the late Tom McElligott in his comprehensive book on handball published in conjunction with the 1984 World championships - Tommy Leahy was the other player profiled. Tom McElligott endorsed Bobbie's view about Mickey’s ability to "kill" a ball and also obviously held Mickey, who he knew well, in the highest esteem as an exponent of hardball. Mickey succeeded Jack Byrne as senior hard singles champion and was the last holder of that title under IAHU rules.
Mickey formed a good partnership with Jimmy Dolan and the pair of them won the 1937 senior hard doubles title under IAHU rules. After the IAHU ceased operating in 1938 Mickey continued his successful career under IAHA rules the body supported by the GAA. Under those rules he won a junior hard singles title in 1941 and the corresponding senior title in 1943 and thereby became the only player to win senior titles under both rules. Mickey Dowling was the mainstay of the club for many years. But for the fact that Mickey was a contemporary of the great J. J. Gilmartin of Kilkenny he would surely have enjoyed greater success in the alley.
Michael Dowling, like his father before him, took All-Ireland honours when he figured in two team successes in 40 by 20. He was a nice, stylish player who won the All-Ireland junior hard singles title in 1985 and partnered Tom O'Rourke in 1990 to win the senior hard doubles title. This success earned the Dowling family the distinction of being the first and to-date only Ballymore family to supply All-Ireland senior champions from two generations. Michael distinguished himself as a great all round sportsman.
Mickey’s wife Margaret is a staunch handball supporter and attended all of her son's matches. Margaret also helped with the catering for those who took part in our annual open hardball doubles tournament from 1972 to 1980. On June 10, 1978 Mickey and Margaret attended matches in Croke Park in which Michael was playing. In the course of Michael's game Mickey took ill and died suddenly.
The late Jimmy Dolan and his late brothers Tom and Joe lived in Weaver's Row. Jimmy was for many years a postman who did his rounds on a bicycle while Tom worked with Tom Carroll. Joe, when I knew him, did not enjoy the best of health. Both Tom and Jimmy played handball at which Jimmy achieved considerably success. Jimmy was by all accounts a lovely stylish player, who as we have seen won senior hard doubles titles with both Tommy Leahy and Mickey Dowling, and he won an All-Army senior hard singles championship in 1944.
In the fifties, Tom figured in a challenge match with younger rival Willie Mahon who also worked for Tom Carroll. The contest attracted a sizeable attendance with the bulk of the support being given to Tom. The first match was followed by a return and while I cannot recall the result of either I can still recall the heartiness of Tom's laughter in the discussions before and after the match.
Eddie and Willie Grace were two top class players who played at the highest level of handball. Eddie partnered Mickey Dowling at senior level at a time when John Joe Gilmartin was in his prime and dominated the All-Ireland championships. The GAA Centenary Book contains a photo of Eddie and Mickey, which Margaret Dowling kindly made available for that purpose along with several more excellent photos. Willie Grace and Dan Murphy were our first junior hardball doubles winners and were subsequently lost to handball through immigration. Knowing my interest in hardball Mrs. Estelle Grace, who had a shop in the Square and wife of Seamus, generously gave me a hardball made by Bill Aldridge and autographed by him. This ball made a surprise appearance in a match I played against Wexford's Tom Dowd in 1963 when it was given in to me in error. Because of its age, it had lost its bounce and it was necessary for us to change it without delay for a newer ball.
© Matt Purcell (July 2008)
Ballymore Ladies G.A.A.
Hi all in Ballymore!! Well, June has not seen a very hectic timetable for us ladies. With the current break in the Junior C league games, Ballymore Ladies are preparing for the Kildare Junior D Championship. Training numbers are up and jogging and sprinting and drills and whatnot are the order of the day. Junior D ChampionshipThe championship begins for us on the 30th August when Ballymore Ladies meet Balyna (2). Not to be dismissed lightly, Balyna (2) will give the ladies a good game and the nerves will be twitching as always in the first game of the competition. On the same date, Castledermot will take on Robert Emmets. Ballymore Ladies take on Castledermot on 6th September. This will prove an exciting clash as Castledermot were the very team who robbed Ballymore of last years League title in a nailbiting final in Athgarvan. Both teams are quite evenly matched and spectators won't be disappointed. On the same date, Robert Emmets take on Balyna (2). Ballymore are in action again on 13th September when they take on Robert Emmets in the Championship. We will have to do our homework on this team as we are not familiar with their accomplishments to date. On the same date Balyna (2) will take on Castledermot. We will keep you posted on any outcomes of these games and changes of schedule etc. Spectators are most welcome. Challenge GamesBallymore met Valleymount for a challenge game on 25th June. The outcome was not a positive one for the ladies. The girls came through in the last quarter of the game and gave Valleymount a run for their money however, the drive and co-operation was not there on the day from the team. Good performances on the day for Ballymore came from Treacy Cloughessy, Louise Burke and Dawn Murray (C). A challenge match is also taking place against Kilbride on the 9th July and we will give feedback on this next month. Thanks Darren!!On behalf of the team we would like to thank Darren Reilly of the Thatch for his generous sponsoship of our t-shirts this year. Darren has been a great supporter of our team and his donation is greatly appreciated. If anyone would like to purchase a t-shirt (see picture) you can call Caroline on 087-2793024 and you can get one for the nominal fee of €15. The t-shirts look great and are available in mens sizes also.The crest on our tracksuits and t-shirts were designed by artist Fiona Barrett and the team would like to thank her greatly. Best of Luck to the men's team in their Intermediate Championship campaign. Also congratulations to all the girls who got their college results recently. We hope all the hard work and partying paid off!!!Until Next Month..................Jackie and Louise
Russborough House is delighted to announce that Kevin and Dawn Farley have
taken over the franchise of the newly relaunched Kitchen Garden Cafe.
The catering duo have unveiled a delicious new menu with an emphasis on
healthy, homemade produce sourced locally.
The proud new owners said: “Our goal is to offer our customers a selection of
freshly prepared homemade foods that will keep them coming back for more. The
marketplace is ever changing and people want healthier choices that don’t
compromise on taste.”
Visitors to Russborough House can enjoy a wide ranging all-day menu full of
wholesome and tasty treats.
“We currently provide services from 10am to 5pm each day. These include
morning coffee, lunch specials, snacks, afternoon tea, as well as a range of
group menus and a ‘Walking Tour Picnic Lunch’ for those taking a stroll
around the beautiful grounds of Russborough.
“Kitchen Garden Cafe is the perfect place to meet friends for great
conversation and even better food.”
Classic simplicity, outstanding service and ingredients of the finest quality
are why this eatery is the perfect choice for those wanting to venture to
Russborough for the first time and just a few of the many reasons regulars have
returned week after week.
“Our team are passionate about the preparation and presentation of food. We
pride ourselves on purchasing ingredients locally and building relationships
with farmers and growers. Our organic garden beds at Russborough House provide
us with vegetables, edible flowers and culinary herbs.”
It has been a huge success so far, a place where people can come and enjoy each
other’s company without the formality of a fullscale restaurant, now you can
eat out in style in this high-quality cafe.
Customers can also enjoy a take-out service for lunch, with Kitchen
Garden now offering delicious lunchtime special for customers on the run.
Dawn and Kevin also run their own catering firm, Farley Catering, and
are equally dedicated to their Catering committments ‘whether you are
planning a buffet, seated dinner, wedding, fundraiser or other special event,
our team of international chefs can offer you innovative cuisine that’s
tailored to your palate, ideal for the season and perfect for the chosen theme
of your event. We can offer you a truly tailored menu and a customised service.
Kitchen Garden is open 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm
Matt’s Memories
Kathleen
Recently as my brother James was getting water at St Mary’s Cemetery, I came across a grave in the new section of the graveyard that I did not recognise. Later on, Sean Tracey was on his way over to pay his respects to his late father Paddy. Sean stopped to talk to us. I asked him did he know the Kathleen Tracey buried in the new section of the graveyard. I was shocked to learn Kathleen was Sean’s wife who I knew through Sean. Kathleen died on March 20 and the Bugle carried a note of her passing but I did not recognise her at the time. Way back in 1953, Sean played on the same Gaelic football team as myself and many other Ballymore stalwarts in which we reached the rural county final. From time to time, I used to meet Sean in Dublin. Some of the times, Kathleen was with him.
I hang my head in shame!
I just discovered I again got Mr and Mrs Patsy Murphy’s own family, which they raised at Liffeydale, wrong. Mr and Mrs Patsy Murphy’s family consisted of five girls namely Rita Lawler, Maureen Burke, Kitty Murray, the late Frances Higgins and Teresa Flood and four boys namely John, Meahall, the late Paddy and the late Martin.
Betty
Betty Deegan is a long time left Ballymore-Eustace. Of course, Deegan is Betty’s maiden surname. Betty is a sister of Mick, Ned, Harry and Martin. The late Jimmy, John and Mary (Keogh nee Deegan) were also siblings of hers. As far as I can recall, Jimmy was 54 when he died. John died on Christmas Day 1999 and Mary died four days later. For the first time in a long time I travelled by the “65” Bus. I got on at Templeogue. Once upon a time, I was a regular (pre-1970) on the “65”. Betty got on at Tallaght and we got talking before the trip ended. When I worked at Tallaght, I occasionally met Betty doing her shopping at the Square. Each Sunday, Betty visits her brothers and gets a lift back to Tallaght by one of her nephews.
Pat’s Wife
As my brother James and myself were working on our graves recently, we met and spoke to Pat Byrne’s wife who had been paying her respects to her late husband and parents-in-law.
Ballymore-Eustace Residents Association
A meeting of the Ballymore-Eustace Residents Association (the other one) took place,
outside SuperValu in Churchtown, on May 18. Present were Patsy Feeney (nee Conway), Paddy Conway, Liz McGarry (Patsy’s friend) and Matt Purcell. The matter for discussion was Matt’s health – other important matters like Punchestown were also discussed. Having discovered Matt was all right the meeting disbanded.
Jim Again!
On Saturday May 31, 2008 I was surprised to see Jim Brown of Briencan out for a drive. His chauffeur was his son Jim.
Horses
Arkle, Best Mate and Flyingbolt – which was the best? In my mind there is no doubt. It was Arkle followed by his contemporary and stable-mate Flyingbolt. Best Mate, in my book, was next best and although a very good horse he did not compare with Tom Dreaper’s pair especially Arkle.
Dbest
Dbest won his third race in a row at Cork recently – one over hurdles and two chases. His Cork win was my first time to back him lately. Word has it that at least one of the Syndicate Owners is somebody we know. More recently, Debest was fourth on the flat at Down Royal.
Show Blessed
S. Breen’s Show Blessed was narrowly beaten on the flat at Leopardstown. Pat Smullen rode him over a mile and a furlong on Wednesday July 18.
Departed
Katherine Geoghegan of Broadleas, Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare died on May 29, 2008 R.I.P. Her parents, Tom and Kathleen, sister Caroline, brother Noel, niece Danielle, aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives and friends survive Katherine. Her remains are buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Katherine’s father was one of our top handball players winning All-Ireland titles at minor and junior levels and a couple of All-Army titles. When the All-Army championships were discontinued in 1966 Tom was the reigning champion. Tom was also to the fore when he served as chairman of the Handball Club’s Development Committee. He was also interested in politics. Speaking to Tom afterwards, he was clearly very upset by the lost of his beautiful daughter. Katherine was 37 years of age and had been ill for over twenty years.
Paddy Monaghan of Bishopland, Ballymore-Eustace, Co. Kildare died on May 31, 2008 at Naas Hospital R.I.P. His sister Rita, brother-in-law James, nieces and nephews Patrick, Kathleen, Thomas, Kevin, Brendan, Angela, Rita, Sharon, Fiona and Lorna, godchildren, grandnephews, grandnieces, relatives and friends survive Paddy. His remains are buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery. In handball terms, Paddy was a legendary figure that was both a good player and official.
At the removal of Paddy’s remains, the handball world was well represented. Faces I saw there included Michael (Duxie) Walsh (Kilkenny) and Paddy’s contemporary Bobbie Grattan. People I spoke to included Paddy’s former neighbour Jack Taaffe who came all the way from Mullingar. Paddy’s good friend Pat Hipwell (Moone) and his two companions, Vinny Farrelly and Dinny Carter, were also present. The Gaelic Football Club was well represented – John Murphy and Meahall Murphy were two football men I met. Paddy was the senior team’s masseur in 1953 when they won their only County Senior Final. I also saw Geraldine O’Rourke and Marie Murphy both of the Drama Group.
President of the Irish Handball Association, Tony Hannon (Sligo), Lorcan O’Rourke (Riarthoir) and our own Tom O’Rourke Junior attended both the removal of Paddy’s remains and the Funeral Mass. Tom O’Rourke Junior gave an oration, which appeared in the June Bugle, at the Funeral Mass.
© Matt Purcell (June 24, 2008)
.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tidy Towns Clean Up @ 40 Acres
On 30th June, as part of the BME Tidy Towns regular clean‑up sessions every Monday evening at 7pm, the TT clean-up team, with a few other helpers, scoured the “forty acre” field, along the Ardenode Road, and left two large heaps of rubbish for collection by KCC. The rubbish consisted of much debris from bonfires and large amounts of dumped material.
It is important that Ballymore Eustace looks its best, particularly now that the judging for the 2008 Tidy Towns competition is in full swing. Keeping the village free of litter and tidy is a daunting task, but everybody – residents and visitors alike – can do their bit to help. Please, do not drop litter; place it in the bin or take it home with you. Dispose of rubbish correctly – please don’t dump it. Residents of the village can be a great help, providing they are able, if they maintain the immediate area around their doorstep litter and weed free.
Don’t forget! The Ballymore Eustace Tidy Towns Group carries out a clean-up around the village every Monday evening, weather permitting, throughout the summer. We meet in the Square at 7pm. All are welcome to join us and lend a hand! Bring gloves, a trowel, and yourselves to help us pick up litter and rubbish, and to remove weeds along the walkways and paths.
What do you think of it so far? – Rubbish!
Heap No. 2
Tommy, Gary, & Michael – part of the clean‑up team – stand by the results of their efforts.
Eric Firth – Secretary, Ballymore Eustace Tidy Towns.
In or Out?
So Lisbon has left the front pages and the only mention it now gets is hidden away somewhere in the middle pages of our daily’s, or letters to the Editor, and not before time. I voted Yes for the simplest of reasons; we can’t afford not to be in the EC. There was a lot of blather leading up to voting day about loss of sovereignty, having to join a European army, and blah an blah and more blah. Some time before voting day RTE sent a roving reporter around the country to get a reading on how people felt about Lisbon. The reply from one countryman was succinct and to the point. Asked how he felt about possible loss of sovereignty he replied; “I wouldn’t give a bugger about sovereignty, so long as they keep sending the money”. I don’t know his reasons for that answer but I can give you one or two. Today with a recession upon us people keep referring back to the ‘80’s and making comparisons and saying how dreadful those times were. You can take it from me, and those of my vintage, that the 80’s were a doddle compared to the times before joining the EEC as it was then called. I was a chiseller during the Hungry Thirties when nobody had twopence to spend and clothes worn were hand me downs. Next came the war years and rationing, followed by the dismal 50’s and on into the 60’s. Eventually a bright spark in the civil service, yes they do have the odd one there, T K Whitaker got an idea or two and ran them by Sean Lemass, the Taoiseach at the time. One could say that Whitaker had the brains and Lemass the balls, and between them they made the first genuine effort to get this country up off its arse since Independence. Before that we had emigration and bureaucratic State run outfits that soaked up money and had little or no productivity. They were little more than expensive ways of paying out dole, but they did give the people who worked in them the dignity of a job. And so to 1973 when we joined up with Europe and haven’t looked back since. Money makes money we’re told and sovereignty makes nothing only trouble, unless you’re big enough to hold your own with other nations of the world. Since Independence we’ve had forty years of begrudgery and poverty, and forty years of prosperity, roughly speaking. The first forty years we were left to our own devices and made damn bad use of them, the second forty in the comfort zone of Mother Europe. You don’t believe me? Well consider this. Europe holds the purse strings, our own Central Bank having little or no say in these matters. We are left in control of Health, Education, Roads and Railroads, and other departments. People travelling miles to get treatment for cancer and other problems, more trolleys than beds it would appear, schools in some cases waiting ten years to get a promised new one, pupils in port-a-cabins and overcrowded class rooms, potholed roads and railroad neglect. Where you do see a new road improvement scheme being carried out you will see a large sign, which says, “This project is funded by European funds”!! Can anyone put their hands on their hearts and say they are satisfied with the conditions of the above mentioned departments that are in the tender loving care of our benighted politicians?
Don’t get me wrong, I recognise that membership of the EU is not perfect, no country or union is, and some of the ‘directives’ that emanate from Brussels are asinine, but very useful for any politician here who doesn’t want to, or can’t give a straight answer to, an awkward question; they can always duck behind an EU directive! We have to take the rough with the smooth in life, and that includes membership of the EU. Perhaps I’ve been a bit long winded explaining as to why I voted Yes, but I think by now, having witnessed both sides of the coin that I know which side our bread is buttered on.
And so to present times. The F—word is shelved for the moment and we now have the R—word. Our new new leader, Biffo for short, tells us he has a ‘strategy for going forward’. The other Brian tells us all is under control, -- ‘no problem’, a few cuts here and there and all will be well. Have no fear the Brian’s are here is the cry. We can only live in hope. I read some time back that in the ten years of being in office this present crowd have employed 200 agencies to help them run the show. I re-read the piece to make sure I had the figure right. God help me in my ignorance but if I employed someone (or elected them) to do a job for me I wouldn’t expect him or her to turn up next morning for work with two others at his/her side to help out; not at my expense anyways. Any chance that we the ordinary Joe Soap/ taxpayer could have a list of these ‘agencies’ and what exactly they do to earn their crust. Maybe they are necessary, but being kept in the dark as to their usefulness only creates suspicion in the minds of those who meet the wage bill. Perhaps some of these ‘agencies’ can take a hit in the ‘slash an’ burn’ policies about to be undertaken. Are our elected politicians so intellectually challenged that they can’t think for themselves? I sure hope they’re not thinking of employing another ‘agency’ or two to help them out of the hole they have been assiduously digging for themselves over the past number of years.
Some of this recession has been brought about by two much reliance on the construction industry and the banks must shoulder some of the blame. Handing out loans without proper collateral to support them was a form of madness that signified a degree of greed but nobody shouted Stop. Tax incentives to build more only added fuel to the furnace. Couldn’t some of these tax incentives been directed elsewhere, say manufacturing for starters; an industry needing a bit of a push in the competitive times we live in.
Greed is good has been the mantra for the past number of years and now we’ve been called to account. Grin an’ bear it. Yrs Jeffers.
The News:
The Duck race took place on Sun. 30th June and fortunately there was no tips 'announced' for the race, the winner came in at 100 to 1. Thanks to all who supported the race, bought ducks etc. and a special thanks to Janet, Stephen and Garry Deegan for organising and running the event (See details).
The very popular annual summer camp from the 30th June to 4th July with over 100 children attending. The weather was very mixed ranging from scorching sun on the Monday to torrential rain on Thursday and everything else in between. The week ended with glorious sunshine on Friday and everybody enjoyed themselves. Thanks to Tadhg Fennin and his team of coaches and special thanks to Áine O’Neill, Jenny Sheridan and the other parents who helped out during the week, without them we would not be able to run the camp.
Both the U10 & U12 teams have been in action in the South Board league
The U12 hurlers played in the South Board hurling finals in Eire Og
The U10 & U12 girls were out with the U12's playing a challenge game against Dunlavin and the U10's in a Go games blitz in Eadestown.
The U8's had Go Games in Two Mile House.
The West Wicklow U8 & U10 hurling Blitz to be held in Blessington was called off on two occasions due to heavy rain, next blitz is on the third Sat. in August.
Juvenile Training Shirts
Juvenile training shirts are now available for €20. Adult polo shirts (€30) and rain jackets (€35) are also available.
U10 Football League
The under 10 boys football team have played in their league and have improved with every match. To date the lads have lost to Rathangan, Monasterevin and Kilcullen while recording a well deserved win over Two-Mile-House. This is the first time that this team has played together and is getting better with every outing.
U12 Football League
The under 12 boys football team have acquitted themselves very well in the league to date and have had wins over Castledermot and Monasterevin and 2 narrow away loses to Rathangan and Ballyteague.
U10 Girls Go Games
The girls travelled over to Eadestown on Sat. 7th July where they played three very good games against Eadestown, St Laurence's and Kill. Most of the girls had played with the U12 girls and this experience showed. Keep up the good work everyone.
Steve Deegan rounding up the ducks
U8 ‘s Two Mile House
Korey Waters, Evan Keogh, Jordan Deegan, Jamie Mahon, Luke Maguire, Darragh Gilroy, Sean McNally,
Katie Gilroy, Jack Murphy, Simon Murphy, Tadhg Barrett, Ben Noone, Conor Gilroy, Malachy Salmon, Caoimhe Winder.
Summer Camp
Jordan Deegan, Killian Barrett, Stephen Davis, Mark Barrett, Tom Carter, Aaron Deegan, Tommy Marsh and Ciaran Kelleher
Shannon Doyle, Lucy Field, Hazel Stewart Byrne, Grace Kerr, Natasha Murphy, Ellen Carter, Amy Mahon
U12 Hurlers in Eire Og
Back row: Shane Barrett, James Noone (Coach) Niall O’Neill, Tom Murphy, Hugo Mc Dermott, Kevin Mc Loughlin, Declan Davis, Dylan Waters,
Joshua Burke Hayes, Martin Kelleher (Coach) Seamus Kelleher (Mascot)
Front row: Tadhg Dooley,
Tony Og Sheridan, Darragh Kelleher, Craig Byrne, Robbie Noone.
U12 Southboard hurling finals
On Saturday 28th June Ballymore U12 hurlers took part in a South board hurling tournament in Eire Og. Six teams were involved with each team playing each other in short 10 minute games. Ballymore had wins against Nurney, Castledermot and Athy. They lost against St Laurances and Eire Og. This result put Ballymore into a semi-final with St Laurances. Firstly though, every one was treated to a tasty Bar-B-Que. This was very welcome after all that hurling and shouting. The semi-final was a very exciting game with two skillful sides, the sliotar travelled at great speed from one end of the field to the other. In the end St Laurances won by a single point. The Ballymore lads were disappointed but they recovered very quickly when each of them received a sliotar to bring home. In the final Eire Og won, this was well deserved as they had hosted a very enjoyable day for everyone.
U10 Girls in Eadestown
Katie Gilroy, Ciara Fennan, Heather Sammon,
Savanagh Fisher, Abby Foster, Eve McGuire (The birthday girl), Beth Doyle
Cloe Fisher, Evie Carter, Oonagh Deegan, Korey Waters, Mayah Sammon
St Oliver Plunkett's.
The U14 team have finished up for the moment after getting to the semi final of the league. With just 15 players an under strength squad lost to St. Coca's 2-9 to 3-11, St. Coca's went on to win easily over Sarsfields in the league final.
The U18's played St.Coca's in the first round of the championship and were beaten 2-3 to 0-10. The next round will be against Confey and this is a crunch game as the first two matches are qualifiers and then knock-out from there on, best of luck to the lads.
On 30th June, as part of the BME Tidy Towns regular clean‑up sessions every Monday evening at 7pm, the TT clean-up team, with a few other helpers, scoured the “forty acre” field, along the Ardenode Road, and left two large heaps of rubbish for collection by KCC. The rubbish consisted of much debris from bonfires and large amounts of dumped material.
It is important that Ballymore Eustace looks its best, particularly now that the judging for the 2008 Tidy Towns competition is in full swing. Keeping the village free of litter and tidy is a daunting task, but everybody – residents and visitors alike – can do their bit to help. Please, do not drop litter; place it in the bin or take it home with you. Dispose of rubbish correctly – please don’t dump it. Residents of the village can be a great help, providing they are able, if they maintain the immediate area around their doorstep litter and weed free.
Don’t forget! The Ballymore Eustace Tidy Towns Group carries out a clean-up around the village every Monday evening, weather permitting, throughout the summer. We meet in the Square at 7pm. All are welcome to join us and lend a hand! Bring gloves, a trowel, and yourselves to help us pick up litter and rubbish, and to remove weeds along the walkways and paths.
What do you think of it so far? – Rubbish!
Heap No. 2
Tommy, Gary, & Michael – part of the clean‑up team – stand by the results of their efforts.
Eric Firth – Secretary, Ballymore Eustace Tidy Towns.
In or Out?
So Lisbon has left the front pages and the only mention it now gets is hidden away somewhere in the middle pages of our daily’s, or letters to the Editor, and not before time. I voted Yes for the simplest of reasons; we can’t afford not to be in the EC. There was a lot of blather leading up to voting day about loss of sovereignty, having to join a European army, and blah an blah and more blah. Some time before voting day RTE sent a roving reporter around the country to get a reading on how people felt about Lisbon. The reply from one countryman was succinct and to the point. Asked how he felt about possible loss of sovereignty he replied; “I wouldn’t give a bugger about sovereignty, so long as they keep sending the money”. I don’t know his reasons for that answer but I can give you one or two. Today with a recession upon us people keep referring back to the ‘80’s and making comparisons and saying how dreadful those times were. You can take it from me, and those of my vintage, that the 80’s were a doddle compared to the times before joining the EEC as it was then called. I was a chiseller during the Hungry Thirties when nobody had twopence to spend and clothes worn were hand me downs. Next came the war years and rationing, followed by the dismal 50’s and on into the 60’s. Eventually a bright spark in the civil service, yes they do have the odd one there, T K Whitaker got an idea or two and ran them by Sean Lemass, the Taoiseach at the time. One could say that Whitaker had the brains and Lemass the balls, and between them they made the first genuine effort to get this country up off its arse since Independence. Before that we had emigration and bureaucratic State run outfits that soaked up money and had little or no productivity. They were little more than expensive ways of paying out dole, but they did give the people who worked in them the dignity of a job. And so to 1973 when we joined up with Europe and haven’t looked back since. Money makes money we’re told and sovereignty makes nothing only trouble, unless you’re big enough to hold your own with other nations of the world. Since Independence we’ve had forty years of begrudgery and poverty, and forty years of prosperity, roughly speaking. The first forty years we were left to our own devices and made damn bad use of them, the second forty in the comfort zone of Mother Europe. You don’t believe me? Well consider this. Europe holds the purse strings, our own Central Bank having little or no say in these matters. We are left in control of Health, Education, Roads and Railroads, and other departments. People travelling miles to get treatment for cancer and other problems, more trolleys than beds it would appear, schools in some cases waiting ten years to get a promised new one, pupils in port-a-cabins and overcrowded class rooms, potholed roads and railroad neglect. Where you do see a new road improvement scheme being carried out you will see a large sign, which says, “This project is funded by European funds”!! Can anyone put their hands on their hearts and say they are satisfied with the conditions of the above mentioned departments that are in the tender loving care of our benighted politicians?
Don’t get me wrong, I recognise that membership of the EU is not perfect, no country or union is, and some of the ‘directives’ that emanate from Brussels are asinine, but very useful for any politician here who doesn’t want to, or can’t give a straight answer to, an awkward question; they can always duck behind an EU directive! We have to take the rough with the smooth in life, and that includes membership of the EU. Perhaps I’ve been a bit long winded explaining as to why I voted Yes, but I think by now, having witnessed both sides of the coin that I know which side our bread is buttered on.
And so to present times. The F—word is shelved for the moment and we now have the R—word. Our new new leader, Biffo for short, tells us he has a ‘strategy for going forward’. The other Brian tells us all is under control, -- ‘no problem’, a few cuts here and there and all will be well. Have no fear the Brian’s are here is the cry. We can only live in hope. I read some time back that in the ten years of being in office this present crowd have employed 200 agencies to help them run the show. I re-read the piece to make sure I had the figure right. God help me in my ignorance but if I employed someone (or elected them) to do a job for me I wouldn’t expect him or her to turn up next morning for work with two others at his/her side to help out; not at my expense anyways. Any chance that we the ordinary Joe Soap/ taxpayer could have a list of these ‘agencies’ and what exactly they do to earn their crust. Maybe they are necessary, but being kept in the dark as to their usefulness only creates suspicion in the minds of those who meet the wage bill. Perhaps some of these ‘agencies’ can take a hit in the ‘slash an’ burn’ policies about to be undertaken. Are our elected politicians so intellectually challenged that they can’t think for themselves? I sure hope they’re not thinking of employing another ‘agency’ or two to help them out of the hole they have been assiduously digging for themselves over the past number of years.
Some of this recession has been brought about by two much reliance on the construction industry and the banks must shoulder some of the blame. Handing out loans without proper collateral to support them was a form of madness that signified a degree of greed but nobody shouted Stop. Tax incentives to build more only added fuel to the furnace. Couldn’t some of these tax incentives been directed elsewhere, say manufacturing for starters; an industry needing a bit of a push in the competitive times we live in.
Greed is good has been the mantra for the past number of years and now we’ve been called to account. Grin an’ bear it. Yrs Jeffers.
The News:
The Duck race took place on Sun. 30th June and fortunately there was no tips 'announced' for the race, the winner came in at 100 to 1. Thanks to all who supported the race, bought ducks etc. and a special thanks to Janet, Stephen and Garry Deegan for organising and running the event (See details).
The very popular annual summer camp from the 30th June to 4th July with over 100 children attending. The weather was very mixed ranging from scorching sun on the Monday to torrential rain on Thursday and everything else in between. The week ended with glorious sunshine on Friday and everybody enjoyed themselves. Thanks to Tadhg Fennin and his team of coaches and special thanks to Áine O’Neill, Jenny Sheridan and the other parents who helped out during the week, without them we would not be able to run the camp.
Both the U10 & U12 teams have been in action in the South Board league
The U12 hurlers played in the South Board hurling finals in Eire Og
The U10 & U12 girls were out with the U12's playing a challenge game against Dunlavin and the U10's in a Go games blitz in Eadestown.
The U8's had Go Games in Two Mile House.
The West Wicklow U8 & U10 hurling Blitz to be held in Blessington was called off on two occasions due to heavy rain, next blitz is on the third Sat. in August.
Juvenile Training Shirts
Juvenile training shirts are now available for €20. Adult polo shirts (€30) and rain jackets (€35) are also available.
U10 Football League
The under 10 boys football team have played in their league and have improved with every match. To date the lads have lost to Rathangan, Monasterevin and Kilcullen while recording a well deserved win over Two-Mile-House. This is the first time that this team has played together and is getting better with every outing.
U12 Football League
The under 12 boys football team have acquitted themselves very well in the league to date and have had wins over Castledermot and Monasterevin and 2 narrow away loses to Rathangan and Ballyteague.
U10 Girls Go Games
The girls travelled over to Eadestown on Sat. 7th July where they played three very good games against Eadestown, St Laurence's and Kill. Most of the girls had played with the U12 girls and this experience showed. Keep up the good work everyone.
Steve Deegan rounding up the ducks
U8 ‘s Two Mile House
Korey Waters, Evan Keogh, Jordan Deegan, Jamie Mahon, Luke Maguire, Darragh Gilroy, Sean McNally,
Katie Gilroy, Jack Murphy, Simon Murphy, Tadhg Barrett, Ben Noone, Conor Gilroy, Malachy Salmon, Caoimhe Winder.
Summer Camp
Jordan Deegan, Killian Barrett, Stephen Davis, Mark Barrett, Tom Carter, Aaron Deegan, Tommy Marsh and Ciaran Kelleher
Shannon Doyle, Lucy Field, Hazel Stewart Byrne, Grace Kerr, Natasha Murphy, Ellen Carter, Amy Mahon
U12 Hurlers in Eire Og
Back row: Shane Barrett, James Noone (Coach) Niall O’Neill, Tom Murphy, Hugo Mc Dermott, Kevin Mc Loughlin, Declan Davis, Dylan Waters,
Joshua Burke Hayes, Martin Kelleher (Coach) Seamus Kelleher (Mascot)
Front row: Tadhg Dooley,
Tony Og Sheridan, Darragh Kelleher, Craig Byrne, Robbie Noone.
U12 Southboard hurling finals
On Saturday 28th June Ballymore U12 hurlers took part in a South board hurling tournament in Eire Og. Six teams were involved with each team playing each other in short 10 minute games. Ballymore had wins against Nurney, Castledermot and Athy. They lost against St Laurances and Eire Og. This result put Ballymore into a semi-final with St Laurances. Firstly though, every one was treated to a tasty Bar-B-Que. This was very welcome after all that hurling and shouting. The semi-final was a very exciting game with two skillful sides, the sliotar travelled at great speed from one end of the field to the other. In the end St Laurances won by a single point. The Ballymore lads were disappointed but they recovered very quickly when each of them received a sliotar to bring home. In the final Eire Og won, this was well deserved as they had hosted a very enjoyable day for everyone.
U10 Girls in Eadestown
Katie Gilroy, Ciara Fennan, Heather Sammon,
Savanagh Fisher, Abby Foster, Eve McGuire (The birthday girl), Beth Doyle
Cloe Fisher, Evie Carter, Oonagh Deegan, Korey Waters, Mayah Sammon
St Oliver Plunkett's.
The U14 team have finished up for the moment after getting to the semi final of the league. With just 15 players an under strength squad lost to St. Coca's 2-9 to 3-11, St. Coca's went on to win easily over Sarsfields in the league final.
The U18's played St.Coca's in the first round of the championship and were beaten 2-3 to 0-10. The next round will be against Confey and this is a crunch game as the first two matches are qualifiers and then knock-out from there on, best of luck to the lads.
New Council Boundary Commission
According to the Statistics Office, the population of Co Kildare grew by 38% between 1996 and 2006, that’s more than double the National average growth of 16.9%! As a result, the electoral boundaries have been reviewed and, with the huge growth of towns like Naas, Celbridge and Clane, Ballymore Eustace is one of the smaller communities to be moved to a new jurisdiction – that of Athy County Council.
Let me think – ‘Athy’ – what do I know about Athy? Mary Browne from Boleybeg hails from Athy! You didn’t know that? Our own Helen Dreelan is Matron of St Vincent’s Nursing Home and looks after our senior citizens the finest; Shaws Almost Nationwide are located in Athy; there’s a castle on the banks of the river and I’m nearly positive Athy is a recognised heritage town. There’s the Athy County Show and the Bluegrass Festival. And that completes my knowledge of Athy.
I shop in Naas, went to secondary school in Naas, socialise to a certain degree in Naas; my children learned to swim in Naas, attended CBS and St Marys College, Naas; my daughters live in Naas, I worked in Naas for years………….etc etc
My point being that ‘yanking’ Ballymore out of the Naas Electoral area and adding us to the Athy area is well, ludicrous! We have far more in common with our neighbours in Naas, Eadestown, Rathmore and Kilteel than we have with our fellow Lillies in the south. When is the last time you visited Athy?
Newbridge, Blessington and Tallaght I would drive to for meal/cinema night out or a few hours shopping but Athy?? Most of Kilcullen has also been assigned to the scope of Athy Council which is odd because the National Spatial Strategy earmarks Newbridge, Naas and Kilcullen as a collective growth triangle and previous oral hearings hosted by An Bord Pleanala cited this strategy repeatedly.
In latter years, we have built relations with the community of Kilcullen, particularly with the large number of students attending Cross and Passion College. Kilcullen provides excellent sporting facilities and their dramatic society is well, renowned! Brennans of Kilcullen and The Mart were busy spots with Nolans Butchers, Peacocke Shoe Repair and Berneys Pharmacy providing popular services.
Athy Electoral Area will be increased from a three-seater to four council seats in the next election.
Who are the current councillors representing Athy Council at the moment? You don’t know? Martin Miley, Mark Dalton or Rainsford Hendy ring a bell?
No? Apart from Athy, Harristown, Gilltown and Kilcullen, we will now be in an electoral area with Ballaghmoon, Ballybracken, Ballyshannon, Belan, Bert, Burtown, Carrigeen, Castledermot, Churchtown, Dunmanoge, Fontstown, Graney, Grangemellon, Inchaquire, Johnstown?, Kilberry, Kilkea, Kilrush, Moone, Narraghmore, Nurney, Skerries and Usk. Thanks to their campaign against a super dump, I’ve heard of Usk and I know Narraghmore and Ballitore ‘cos if I’ve missed the turn to St Lawrence’s GAA, I will pass through them……And we’ve all attended a wedding or golfed at Kilkea Castle.
Go on, how many of you have heard of half those townslands? It will be great crack at Athy Council next year……… Imagine a question being raised at committee level: “Mr Chairman, I want to draw your attention to the state of the roads in Coughlanstown East or Boleybeg”.
I suggest the Council design special ‘Sat Navs’ – rural satellite navigational equipment and large, very large laminated maps for chamber meetings because if we haven’t heard of these townslands before, I’m pretty damned sure Athy councillors haven’t heard of ours! Sadly – well, maybe not considering – I will not be contesting the next election; half my first preference votes were in Naas-Kill-Rathmore-Eadestown-Kilteel area so readers, I’d have as much chance of pulling votes in ‘Inchaquire’ as Dustin had in the Eurovision.
(I sometimes regret not running for election about 10 years ago when I had energy to burn and enjoyed working, attending meetings and staying on the computer till all hours. Now I enjoy burnin’ a scented candle and get excited at a good night’s sleep). Is that a mid-life crisis, do you think – more like mid-like paralysis……..
The new electoral guidelines increase Council seats to the following:
Athy – 4; Celbidge and Leixlip merge to form a 6 seater whilst Kildare remains at a 6 seater, Clane remains at 4 and Naas at 5.
Everytime the Electoral Commission looks at changing local or national elections, Ballymore gets moved around like a pawn in a game of chess. North Kildare, South Kildare, North, South, North, South….. Turn around twice and you won’t recognise the faces on the ballot papers……….
Fun and games next year, Readers. Do remember, this means we won’t have an option to vote for the councillors who currently serve us – Mary Glennon, Billy Hillis, Willie Callaghan, JJ Power and Paddy MacNamara……
I feel a Spanish trip coming on me……..I probably know more people in Torrevieja than I do in Athy……….
Rose B O Donoghue
ADULT BADMINTON
Every Thursday at the bandhall.
Continues through July and August from 8pm
All beginners welcome, men/women/dads/mams/grannies and granddads!
It’s all fun
Contact Julie 0877557332
JUVENILE BADMINTON
Has now finished for this year at the club, with so many *regular members having made so much progress we can very much look forward to the next year.
In the past 4 years we have held 3 seasons per year with the opportunity for new members to join any season. In the best interest of all at the club as from September 2008 our club will run on an annual basis only – IE: (Sept ’08 to July ’09) Beginners and new members are welcome to try out badminton during September but please note * From October 2nd only fee paid members will be insured to play *(see times and fees as detailed below)
Well done to all members for their participation in all events and fundraisers to date. Congratulations again to our ‘Player of the year’ “JOANNAN BURKE HAYES”
1 Member @€100 2 Members @ €150 3 Members @€200 4/5 Members €220
From September 2008:
3-4pm Beginners – Under 10’s only
4 – 5pm Under 13’s
5 – 6pm Under 13’s
6 – 7pm Under 13’s
7 – 8pm Over 13’s
8.30 Close
Adults
Adults may come any Thursday (from 8.30pm in September)
As non- members and pay just €4 for hours of fun!!
Thanks to: Alan and Sandra Priestly (for our wonderful parade work and continued support of our club)
Hilda Garrett (Carthy) Ryston 2008 was a special one and we appreciate all your help
Tommy Dwyer and all involved in the upkeep of our weekly venue The Bandhall.
All Parents for fees funding it all!
Supervisors
(Under 13’s) Jude O’Keefe, Liz Darby, Julie Molloy, Linda Murphy, Fiona Slevin, Holly Breay, and Laura Barrett
(Over 13’s) And Super progress is all thanks to Mary Campbell.
We look forward to matches with local clubs this year and invite all to call in at any time (posters will be displayed in the village)
Enquiries Phone: 0878218566
The Street Signage survey results are in!!!
In order to get a democratic opinion on what colours the street signage of Ballymore Eustace should be, 100 local people (including all members of the CDA and Tidy Towns committees) were asked to vote on three sample colour schemes.
100 people were surveyed as it was felt that this was a sizeable portion of the population of Ballymore Eustace and there had to be a cut off line because it would take forever and a day to survey every single person.
We presented voters with three colour schemes: ‘Cream print on Black background’, ‘Gold print on Black background’ and ‘Cream print on Green background’.
People were asked to rate the three colour schemes.
‘1’ was assigned to the colour each person liked most, ‘2’ was assigned to the colour they liked second best and ‘3’ was assigned to the colour they least liked.
By this method, when all one hundred numbers assigned to each colour are added, the colour scheme with the lowest number is the colour scheme which is the most popular. The colour scheme with the next highest number is the one which is second most popular. The colour scheme with the highest number is the one which is least popular.
The results of the street signage survey were as follows:
‘Cream print on Black background’ performs best with the lowest score of 186.
‘Gold print on Black background’ performs next best with a score of 205.
‘Cream print on Green background’ performs least best with the highest score of 209.
The results indicate that the ‘Cream print on black background’ colour scheme fared best and is the colour scheme we will proceed with for the street signage of Ballymore Eustace. It is also probably the best compromised situation between those surveyed that chose either of the other two colours as their first preference.
The CDA hope to progress the street signage project throughout the summer and hopefully by the end of summer 2008 Ballymore Eustace will have street signs!
Thanks to all who participated in our survey and thus had an input to this process.
Fiona Breslin
(Chairperson Ballymore Eustace CDA)
A BIG THANK YOU!
Water flowing free and fair in the Millennium Garden.
Thanks to the generous and unstinting efforts of several people in Ballymore Eustace, the Water Feature in the Millennium Garden in the village square is flowing again, after a long period of non‑operation.
· To MARTIN DEEGAN – a tireless worker for the good of Ballymore Eustace – who carried out the repairs and fixed the problem.
· To KEVIN KEENAN – who generously provided all the materials required.
· To GARY & TOMMY DEEGAN who waded in to drain and clean the system, so that the repair work could begin.
In addition – Martin deserves our appreciation, gratitude, and praise for the tremendous work he does around the village, purely out of the goodness of his heart. Thanks to him for - amongst many other things - the planting and placing of the many hanging baskets, window boxes, the boat by the bridge, and flowerbeds, which so enhance the beauty of the village.
Eric Firth – Secretary, Ballymore Eustace Tidy Towns.
According to the Statistics Office, the population of Co Kildare grew by 38% between 1996 and 2006, that’s more than double the National average growth of 16.9%! As a result, the electoral boundaries have been reviewed and, with the huge growth of towns like Naas, Celbridge and Clane, Ballymore Eustace is one of the smaller communities to be moved to a new jurisdiction – that of Athy County Council.
Let me think – ‘Athy’ – what do I know about Athy? Mary Browne from Boleybeg hails from Athy! You didn’t know that? Our own Helen Dreelan is Matron of St Vincent’s Nursing Home and looks after our senior citizens the finest; Shaws Almost Nationwide are located in Athy; there’s a castle on the banks of the river and I’m nearly positive Athy is a recognised heritage town. There’s the Athy County Show and the Bluegrass Festival. And that completes my knowledge of Athy.
I shop in Naas, went to secondary school in Naas, socialise to a certain degree in Naas; my children learned to swim in Naas, attended CBS and St Marys College, Naas; my daughters live in Naas, I worked in Naas for years………….etc etc
My point being that ‘yanking’ Ballymore out of the Naas Electoral area and adding us to the Athy area is well, ludicrous! We have far more in common with our neighbours in Naas, Eadestown, Rathmore and Kilteel than we have with our fellow Lillies in the south. When is the last time you visited Athy?
Newbridge, Blessington and Tallaght I would drive to for meal/cinema night out or a few hours shopping but Athy?? Most of Kilcullen has also been assigned to the scope of Athy Council which is odd because the National Spatial Strategy earmarks Newbridge, Naas and Kilcullen as a collective growth triangle and previous oral hearings hosted by An Bord Pleanala cited this strategy repeatedly.
In latter years, we have built relations with the community of Kilcullen, particularly with the large number of students attending Cross and Passion College. Kilcullen provides excellent sporting facilities and their dramatic society is well, renowned! Brennans of Kilcullen and The Mart were busy spots with Nolans Butchers, Peacocke Shoe Repair and Berneys Pharmacy providing popular services.
Athy Electoral Area will be increased from a three-seater to four council seats in the next election.
Who are the current councillors representing Athy Council at the moment? You don’t know? Martin Miley, Mark Dalton or Rainsford Hendy ring a bell?
No? Apart from Athy, Harristown, Gilltown and Kilcullen, we will now be in an electoral area with Ballaghmoon, Ballybracken, Ballyshannon, Belan, Bert, Burtown, Carrigeen, Castledermot, Churchtown, Dunmanoge, Fontstown, Graney, Grangemellon, Inchaquire, Johnstown?, Kilberry, Kilkea, Kilrush, Moone, Narraghmore, Nurney, Skerries and Usk. Thanks to their campaign against a super dump, I’ve heard of Usk and I know Narraghmore and Ballitore ‘cos if I’ve missed the turn to St Lawrence’s GAA, I will pass through them……And we’ve all attended a wedding or golfed at Kilkea Castle.
Go on, how many of you have heard of half those townslands? It will be great crack at Athy Council next year……… Imagine a question being raised at committee level: “Mr Chairman, I want to draw your attention to the state of the roads in Coughlanstown East or Boleybeg”.
I suggest the Council design special ‘Sat Navs’ – rural satellite navigational equipment and large, very large laminated maps for chamber meetings because if we haven’t heard of these townslands before, I’m pretty damned sure Athy councillors haven’t heard of ours! Sadly – well, maybe not considering – I will not be contesting the next election; half my first preference votes were in Naas-Kill-Rathmore-Eadestown-Kilteel area so readers, I’d have as much chance of pulling votes in ‘Inchaquire’ as Dustin had in the Eurovision.
(I sometimes regret not running for election about 10 years ago when I had energy to burn and enjoyed working, attending meetings and staying on the computer till all hours. Now I enjoy burnin’ a scented candle and get excited at a good night’s sleep). Is that a mid-life crisis, do you think – more like mid-like paralysis……..
The new electoral guidelines increase Council seats to the following:
Athy – 4; Celbidge and Leixlip merge to form a 6 seater whilst Kildare remains at a 6 seater, Clane remains at 4 and Naas at 5.
Everytime the Electoral Commission looks at changing local or national elections, Ballymore gets moved around like a pawn in a game of chess. North Kildare, South Kildare, North, South, North, South….. Turn around twice and you won’t recognise the faces on the ballot papers……….
Fun and games next year, Readers. Do remember, this means we won’t have an option to vote for the councillors who currently serve us – Mary Glennon, Billy Hillis, Willie Callaghan, JJ Power and Paddy MacNamara……
I feel a Spanish trip coming on me……..I probably know more people in Torrevieja than I do in Athy……….
Rose B O Donoghue
ADULT BADMINTON
Every Thursday at the bandhall.
Continues through July and August from 8pm
All beginners welcome, men/women/dads/mams/grannies and granddads!
It’s all fun
Contact Julie 0877557332
JUVENILE BADMINTON
Has now finished for this year at the club, with so many *regular members having made so much progress we can very much look forward to the next year.
In the past 4 years we have held 3 seasons per year with the opportunity for new members to join any season. In the best interest of all at the club as from September 2008 our club will run on an annual basis only – IE: (Sept ’08 to July ’09) Beginners and new members are welcome to try out badminton during September but please note * From October 2nd only fee paid members will be insured to play *(see times and fees as detailed below)
Well done to all members for their participation in all events and fundraisers to date. Congratulations again to our ‘Player of the year’ “JOANNAN BURKE HAYES”
1 Member @€100 2 Members @ €150 3 Members @€200 4/5 Members €220
From September 2008:
3-4pm Beginners – Under 10’s only
4 – 5pm Under 13’s
5 – 6pm Under 13’s
6 – 7pm Under 13’s
7 – 8pm Over 13’s
8.30 Close
Adults
Adults may come any Thursday (from 8.30pm in September)
As non- members and pay just €4 for hours of fun!!
Thanks to: Alan and Sandra Priestly (for our wonderful parade work and continued support of our club)
Hilda Garrett (Carthy) Ryston 2008 was a special one and we appreciate all your help
Tommy Dwyer and all involved in the upkeep of our weekly venue The Bandhall.
All Parents for fees funding it all!
Supervisors
(Under 13’s) Jude O’Keefe, Liz Darby, Julie Molloy, Linda Murphy, Fiona Slevin, Holly Breay, and Laura Barrett
(Over 13’s) And Super progress is all thanks to Mary Campbell.
We look forward to matches with local clubs this year and invite all to call in at any time (posters will be displayed in the village)
Enquiries Phone: 0878218566
The Street Signage survey results are in!!!
In order to get a democratic opinion on what colours the street signage of Ballymore Eustace should be, 100 local people (including all members of the CDA and Tidy Towns committees) were asked to vote on three sample colour schemes.
100 people were surveyed as it was felt that this was a sizeable portion of the population of Ballymore Eustace and there had to be a cut off line because it would take forever and a day to survey every single person.
We presented voters with three colour schemes: ‘Cream print on Black background’, ‘Gold print on Black background’ and ‘Cream print on Green background’.
People were asked to rate the three colour schemes.
‘1’ was assigned to the colour each person liked most, ‘2’ was assigned to the colour they liked second best and ‘3’ was assigned to the colour they least liked.
By this method, when all one hundred numbers assigned to each colour are added, the colour scheme with the lowest number is the colour scheme which is the most popular. The colour scheme with the next highest number is the one which is second most popular. The colour scheme with the highest number is the one which is least popular.
The results of the street signage survey were as follows:
‘Cream print on Black background’ performs best with the lowest score of 186.
‘Gold print on Black background’ performs next best with a score of 205.
‘Cream print on Green background’ performs least best with the highest score of 209.
The results indicate that the ‘Cream print on black background’ colour scheme fared best and is the colour scheme we will proceed with for the street signage of Ballymore Eustace. It is also probably the best compromised situation between those surveyed that chose either of the other two colours as their first preference.
The CDA hope to progress the street signage project throughout the summer and hopefully by the end of summer 2008 Ballymore Eustace will have street signs!
Thanks to all who participated in our survey and thus had an input to this process.
Fiona Breslin
(Chairperson Ballymore Eustace CDA)
A BIG THANK YOU!
Water flowing free and fair in the Millennium Garden.
Thanks to the generous and unstinting efforts of several people in Ballymore Eustace, the Water Feature in the Millennium Garden in the village square is flowing again, after a long period of non‑operation.
· To MARTIN DEEGAN – a tireless worker for the good of Ballymore Eustace – who carried out the repairs and fixed the problem.
· To KEVIN KEENAN – who generously provided all the materials required.
· To GARY & TOMMY DEEGAN who waded in to drain and clean the system, so that the repair work could begin.
In addition – Martin deserves our appreciation, gratitude, and praise for the tremendous work he does around the village, purely out of the goodness of his heart. Thanks to him for - amongst many other things - the planting and placing of the many hanging baskets, window boxes, the boat by the bridge, and flowerbeds, which so enhance the beauty of the village.
Eric Firth – Secretary, Ballymore Eustace Tidy Towns.
Two Horses in Love
There are two horses presently in residence in the paddock behind Paddy Murphy’s pub here in Ballymore Eustace. They seem an unlikely duo, one of them, a male piebald, patched with dark brown and white markings, reminiscent of Tonto’s horse in the famous cowboy films of decades ago, the other, a female white horse similar to one ridden by Roy Rogers, and who was called Trigger. Really, they are Houyhnhnms, a special breed, known to only a few.
For the sake of brevity, and without recourse to their genealogy or records of any horse breeders association, it is convenient to call them Tonto and Trigger. Over the period of a few weeks or so, Tonto appeared to be assuming an aggressive posture towards Trigger and enquiries to a local horse psychologist were made to confirm the prognoses that (a) these two nags were head over heel in love with one another and, (b) Trigger was an ex grandee from the Coolmore stables who was simply refusing the advances of Tonto on the grounds of questionable birthright of the multi-coloured interloper from some far off country.
Forgiving of innocence on the conduct of horses, he explained the birds and the bees of horse-play. Strangely though, from what he said it appeared he was more of a horse psychiatrist than a horse psychologist, being disdainful of Tonto and more partial towards Trigger.
Tonto, he said, (knowing that Trigger’s summer is near at hand) is highly excited, hugely motivated, desperately frustrated and totally impatient, whereas Trigger is being coy and genteel – self-respecting if you wish – a blue stocking of the equine school!
How is it then, that Trigger lashed out fiercely at Tonto the other day with her two hind legs, landing an uppercut straight on the jaw. You can hardly call that a lady-like gesture of everlasting love can you, especially from one supposedly born at Coolmore Castle, what?
Well, the psychiatrist responded, Trigger was wary of any rash advances by Tonto, and if she suspected a particularly unruly attempt on her honour, as when he quietly sneaked up behind her one time, she quite properly defended her modesty.
Listen here, look, just look at the poor thing, wounded as he is, he’s still after her. Has she no conscience at all? I have no answer, except to say that some species are far worse than that, he replied!
Let it be said that the prevailing opinion of many, if not most of the resident horse psychologists in these parts is that this was a love story of biblical proportions, epistolary, – deep and profound, of loyalty and of persistence. Two days ago, young Eddie saw a little girl taking Tonto on a sightseeing tour of Ballymore, while back at the paddock, Trigger pined her heart out, neighing to the west wind for her missing partner. Tears came to the young man’s eyes, so deep was his sympathy for Trigger, and then beset by as much sadness as Trigger herself, he was heart-broken as he re-told the tale of terrible woe. When someone mentioned something about Hollywood (USA), he brightened up a bit!
Other incidences of the relationship were passed around to such an extent that the story was becoming a part of local folklore. One such story maintained that the happy couple grew wings at night and could be seen riding across the sky, reflected in the bright glow of the full moon!
The results of the various discussions and debates - especially since it was noticed the next day that the two horses had resolved their differences and were now actually kissing each other, on the lips of all places - made it unnecessary to consult the only reliable reference book available on the subject of the nature of equine compatibility in the world of human species. It was written by Jonathan Swift and first published c. 1726.
It requires no updating or revision, for matters have not changed one iota. Swift was right. In fact he was spot on; here before our very eyes, people were enjoying the delightful courtship of two beautiful Houyhnhnms, which name means Perfection of Nature, who are serene in deportment and graceful in action, who communicate by their own idiom, and having been driven from their own native land, now live in the land of he Yahoos, once their menial servants!
It is said of the Yahoos that centuries ago they actually destroyed a nation of Asses, which later the Houyhnhnms tried to re-establish, for in economic logic, an Ass was fit for work at age 5, while a Yahoo was not, until age 12!
Perhaps there will yet be a marriage in Paddys paddock between Tonto and Trigger, where oats and bran mash will be the celebration meal. In the meantime, we wish them well in their courtship. Michael Ward.
Ballymore Eustace Bowls Club
First Annual Draw
1st Prize: Foreign City Break to the value of 1000 euro ( Kindly sponsored by The Thatch)
2nd Prize: Three months Gym membership at Naas Health and Fitness.
3rd Prize: 100 euro
4th Prize 50 euro
Oh to be young, thirty years younger and three stone lighter………and I would be off to join the gang at Oxygen in designer wellies and portable tents, oblivious to weather conditions…….
As the music festival begins, streams of young people walk the roads, all in good humour, up for the crack and more crack.
It made me full old today, old but cheerful to see the celebration of youth gathering at the gates of Punches town. By the time this edition of the Bugle appears, the festival will be over and there will no doubt be reportings of drink and drugs problems, minor fracas etc
But, for the most part, with the huge numbers who attend the Oxygen festival, it’s a well organised weekend of youth enjoying good music. Rock on, Young People – do it now ‘cos when the years and pounds pile on, it ain’t so appealing!
- Rose
Puppy Love
Four pups, Shee-bull-aboxers all and finally, I found homes for them all. The last one was the image of mother, golden with white markings and sad eyes. I took a photo of mother and daughter one morning as they laid side by side in the basket, an endearing picture………..so cute, so peaceful, so lovable.
10 minutes later, I saw a room awash with white fluff – not unlike the view from an airplane window – one whole duvet dessimated, mother dog’s mattress completely shredded and now Puppy was working on the leather covering. The little b…….. if I’d had a garden spade, I’d have planted her on the spot. Before Precious Puppy was claimed, she managed to chew cushions, shoes, sofa edges, mat corners, William’s insoles and she was particularly partial to the mop which at least was inexpensive to replace.
Maybe that’s why Donny Osmond found Puppy Love so painful, painful on the wallet.
Rose
Ballymore Eustace/Hollywood Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2008.
Organized by Mrs. Agnes Curry.
The annual Trip to Lourdes this year was a great success. The group collected some funds for a candle to be lit at the Grotto and had a 96 euro surplus. It was decided to forward this to the Hospice Society and Martine Rigney kindly looked after this for us. She is awaiting a receipt and when it is received I will publish it in the Bugle.
Margaret Pearse.
Draw takes place in The Thatch Friday August 15th at 10 pm.
The New Bowls season will commence on Tuesday August 19th at 8.30 pm., in the Band hall. New members especially welcome.
There are two horses presently in residence in the paddock behind Paddy Murphy’s pub here in Ballymore Eustace. They seem an unlikely duo, one of them, a male piebald, patched with dark brown and white markings, reminiscent of Tonto’s horse in the famous cowboy films of decades ago, the other, a female white horse similar to one ridden by Roy Rogers, and who was called Trigger. Really, they are Houyhnhnms, a special breed, known to only a few.
For the sake of brevity, and without recourse to their genealogy or records of any horse breeders association, it is convenient to call them Tonto and Trigger. Over the period of a few weeks or so, Tonto appeared to be assuming an aggressive posture towards Trigger and enquiries to a local horse psychologist were made to confirm the prognoses that (a) these two nags were head over heel in love with one another and, (b) Trigger was an ex grandee from the Coolmore stables who was simply refusing the advances of Tonto on the grounds of questionable birthright of the multi-coloured interloper from some far off country.
Forgiving of innocence on the conduct of horses, he explained the birds and the bees of horse-play. Strangely though, from what he said it appeared he was more of a horse psychiatrist than a horse psychologist, being disdainful of Tonto and more partial towards Trigger.
Tonto, he said, (knowing that Trigger’s summer is near at hand) is highly excited, hugely motivated, desperately frustrated and totally impatient, whereas Trigger is being coy and genteel – self-respecting if you wish – a blue stocking of the equine school!
How is it then, that Trigger lashed out fiercely at Tonto the other day with her two hind legs, landing an uppercut straight on the jaw. You can hardly call that a lady-like gesture of everlasting love can you, especially from one supposedly born at Coolmore Castle, what?
Well, the psychiatrist responded, Trigger was wary of any rash advances by Tonto, and if she suspected a particularly unruly attempt on her honour, as when he quietly sneaked up behind her one time, she quite properly defended her modesty.
Listen here, look, just look at the poor thing, wounded as he is, he’s still after her. Has she no conscience at all? I have no answer, except to say that some species are far worse than that, he replied!
Let it be said that the prevailing opinion of many, if not most of the resident horse psychologists in these parts is that this was a love story of biblical proportions, epistolary, – deep and profound, of loyalty and of persistence. Two days ago, young Eddie saw a little girl taking Tonto on a sightseeing tour of Ballymore, while back at the paddock, Trigger pined her heart out, neighing to the west wind for her missing partner. Tears came to the young man’s eyes, so deep was his sympathy for Trigger, and then beset by as much sadness as Trigger herself, he was heart-broken as he re-told the tale of terrible woe. When someone mentioned something about Hollywood (USA), he brightened up a bit!
Other incidences of the relationship were passed around to such an extent that the story was becoming a part of local folklore. One such story maintained that the happy couple grew wings at night and could be seen riding across the sky, reflected in the bright glow of the full moon!
The results of the various discussions and debates - especially since it was noticed the next day that the two horses had resolved their differences and were now actually kissing each other, on the lips of all places - made it unnecessary to consult the only reliable reference book available on the subject of the nature of equine compatibility in the world of human species. It was written by Jonathan Swift and first published c. 1726.
It requires no updating or revision, for matters have not changed one iota. Swift was right. In fact he was spot on; here before our very eyes, people were enjoying the delightful courtship of two beautiful Houyhnhnms, which name means Perfection of Nature, who are serene in deportment and graceful in action, who communicate by their own idiom, and having been driven from their own native land, now live in the land of he Yahoos, once their menial servants!
It is said of the Yahoos that centuries ago they actually destroyed a nation of Asses, which later the Houyhnhnms tried to re-establish, for in economic logic, an Ass was fit for work at age 5, while a Yahoo was not, until age 12!
Perhaps there will yet be a marriage in Paddys paddock between Tonto and Trigger, where oats and bran mash will be the celebration meal. In the meantime, we wish them well in their courtship. Michael Ward.
Ballymore Eustace Bowls Club
First Annual Draw
1st Prize: Foreign City Break to the value of 1000 euro ( Kindly sponsored by The Thatch)
2nd Prize: Three months Gym membership at Naas Health and Fitness.
3rd Prize: 100 euro
4th Prize 50 euro
Oh to be young, thirty years younger and three stone lighter………and I would be off to join the gang at Oxygen in designer wellies and portable tents, oblivious to weather conditions…….
As the music festival begins, streams of young people walk the roads, all in good humour, up for the crack and more crack.
It made me full old today, old but cheerful to see the celebration of youth gathering at the gates of Punches town. By the time this edition of the Bugle appears, the festival will be over and there will no doubt be reportings of drink and drugs problems, minor fracas etc
But, for the most part, with the huge numbers who attend the Oxygen festival, it’s a well organised weekend of youth enjoying good music. Rock on, Young People – do it now ‘cos when the years and pounds pile on, it ain’t so appealing!
- Rose
Puppy Love
Four pups, Shee-bull-aboxers all and finally, I found homes for them all. The last one was the image of mother, golden with white markings and sad eyes. I took a photo of mother and daughter one morning as they laid side by side in the basket, an endearing picture………..so cute, so peaceful, so lovable.
10 minutes later, I saw a room awash with white fluff – not unlike the view from an airplane window – one whole duvet dessimated, mother dog’s mattress completely shredded and now Puppy was working on the leather covering. The little b…….. if I’d had a garden spade, I’d have planted her on the spot. Before Precious Puppy was claimed, she managed to chew cushions, shoes, sofa edges, mat corners, William’s insoles and she was particularly partial to the mop which at least was inexpensive to replace.
Maybe that’s why Donny Osmond found Puppy Love so painful, painful on the wallet.
Rose
Ballymore Eustace/Hollywood Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2008.
Organized by Mrs. Agnes Curry.
The annual Trip to Lourdes this year was a great success. The group collected some funds for a candle to be lit at the Grotto and had a 96 euro surplus. It was decided to forward this to the Hospice Society and Martine Rigney kindly looked after this for us. She is awaiting a receipt and when it is received I will publish it in the Bugle.
Margaret Pearse.
Draw takes place in The Thatch Friday August 15th at 10 pm.
The New Bowls season will commence on Tuesday August 19th at 8.30 pm., in the Band hall. New members especially welcome.
SUMMER TIME - A HAVEN FOR BURGLAR
Summer time, absolutely Heaven for burglars; families gone away on holidays, tell-tale sign of unoccupied houses an open invitation to enter and pillage. A recent spate of incidents in the Mullaboden-Wellfield area prompted concerned residents to meet and tackle the potential danger of further intrusions. We met primarily to discuss a recent robbery and ‘suspicious’ characters spotted outside another residence but, on realisation that we are now within the umbrella of Naas Garda Station, we decided to consult with the Gardai in Naas, by introducing ourselves and establishing a relationship between the community and the Gardai of Naas.
I know it might seem obvious and there may be other groups who have covered this before but perhaps the following tips could raise awareness of the danger to local readers and make Ballymore Eustace a less attractive place for intruders to invade.
Be Aware! If you see something suspicious, a strange car other suspicious activity out of the ordinary, then please, take the car registration and contact the Gardai in Naas
When contacting the Gardai, ask for the Garda’s name to whom you are speaking and give your own name and address
Use your own judgement when making a complaint to the Gardai – don’t cry wolf………
Analyze your own security needs; check your property is secure – that all locks are secure and that there are no faulty doors or windows latches easy to force. If you have an alarm, make sure it is serviced and in proper working order.
Did you know there is a FREE Security Service offered by Naas Garda Station, a member of the force will come out and assess your property, assess the weaknesses and strengths
Consider installing a monitored alarm if you don’t already have one; don’t skimp here – it is your property you are protecting and well worth the money
If in doubt, don’t delay – if you are unsure as to whether you should call the Garda, it is literally, ‘better to be safe than sorry’…..
Garda Conor Sheehan is the current staff member designated to liaise with the community during this introductory period
Superintendant Pat Mangan is the appropriate party in charge of Naas Garda Station dealing with the area
The advantages of Naas Garda Station now protecting the Ballymore Eustace area are obvious – more personnel, considerable number of marked and unmarked vehicles including monitoring equipment and specialised vans etc
Contact Naas Garda Station at 045 884300, 24 hour service
We are hoping to access a detailed ordinance survey map with all landmarks and townslands listed in the Ballymore area, make at least 3 copies, laminate it and present it to Naas Garda Station so that they are familiar with the names and layout of the area.
I also believe that the community should consider erecting small but visible road signs – not directional signs, but listing the townsland name – and strategically place them at each end of various roads so that visiting Gardai would be able to identify the locality easily, both when on routine patrol or when answering a distress call.
The only way to combat burglaries is to make life more difficult for potential intruders; ‘easy in, easier out’ is the house burglars motto but, by increasing your own home security and slowing down a forced entry/ quick escape with proper serviced alarms, security lighting and generally increasing awareness in the neighbourhood, you are deterring intruders from the area. A heightened degree of communication too will make the area a less attractive patch to plunder.
So please, all residents of Ballymore – be aware, be alert and be vigilant; its your home, your property and your belongings that’s at stake. The sleepier we are, the more we can be compromised.
- Concerned Neighbours of Ballymore Eustace
The Editors would like to note that Blessington Garda Station has previously enjoyed very good communications with the community here in Ballymore Eustace and that we are very grateful to Gardai there for their support in the past. We applaud the attitude of residents in Mullaboden area and trust that Readers will take the points on board and make note of the telephone number of Naas Garda Station for future reference
on passing by- again
Well I hope you are all well satisfied with yourselves now. It’s not as if you were not given enough warnings. Tireless and meaningful efforts by Junior Minister Dick Roche and others of that ilk and all you could do was ignore them. Vote No to Lisbon and the sky will fall in. You have no one to blame except yourselves.
So what are we going to do now?.
Well that nice Mr Sarkozy is of the opinion that we have absolutely no alternative but another referendum. As the Lisbon Treaty is supposedly to enable a more democratic European Union isn’t it peculiar that the democratic wishes of the Irish electorate are now seemingly to be ignored. Apparently the No vote was the wrong kind of democratic response and we are going to have to do it again so that we can see the error of our ways and respond with the correct kind of democracy. Knowing how bloody minded the electorate can be when they think they are being forced into something I can see an even larger turnout in another referendum and an even larger No vote. More of the wrong kind of democracy.
And yet there has been hardly a mention of Lisbon for the last few weeks. The Government and the other supporting parties express themselves a bit shocked by our response and unable to understand how we could ignore all their advice. Maybe if they had bothered to explain the whole thing properly we could have had a different result. Instead of setting the agenda they spent the last few weeks of the campaign reacting to the No camp. Instead of explaining why some of the No camps assertions were dubious or even untrue they blustered about misinformation and engaged in character assassination and expected the ordinary Joe Soap not to notice. As the saying goes “ if you’re explaining, you’re losing”.
The Yes camp’s posters were basically a dry run for next years elections, with large photographs of your local T.D. telling you to accept that they knew best so you should vote Yes, and that appeared to be the full extent of the information they were willing to impart.
I suppose their reticence to discuss it may be because they are still too shell shocked to talk much about it but it is probable that Lisbon is beginning to pale in comparison to everything else that seems to be heading for the fan. Despite all the years of plenty it now appears that the cupboard is bare. In fact we may end up being lucky just to hang on to the cupboard itself.
And why is this all happening now?.
One reason has to be the almost limitless spending over the last decade which was based on nothing but political expediency. Whenever a problem arose the Government refused to stand up to vested interests and just threw money at them. Hundreds of millions wasted on Health Service and Garda computers. Millions and millions given to consultants to solve problems, some of which were originally caused by the same consultants. Government Ministers with large teams of highly paid advisors so that there will always be someone lower down to blame for something.
A health service, which despite billions of euro being spent on it, is still unable to provide enough front line staff to deal safely and adequately with patients, and which seems to spend a huge amount of its time and resources lurching from one crisis to another without ever learning any lessons.
A supposed benchmarking process for public servants, the deliberations of which the government refuses to make public and which awarded average increases of almost nine per cent, this increase in addition to the increases they were receiving under the national wage agreements. And don’t forget that the cost of eleven hundred million euro was not a one off cost but a base cost added onto the public pay bill ad infinitum
Mr Cowen’s solution to current financial woes is to announce cutbacks, or rather, a realignment of resources. The HSE announces five hundred million of cutbacks. Decentralisation is to be slowed down until finances permit a resumption of the full plan. The recent pay rises for T.D.s, Ministers and top public servants is to be postponed.
I am sorry but this all looks a little to late and a lot like window dressing. There seems to be a total lack of joined up thinking, despite all the advisors. Postponing the rises is basically a publicity stunt because the amounts that will be saved are ultimately miniscule. Slowing down decentralisation is a sham if the OPW are to be allowed to go ahead with one hundred and fifty million euro worth of contracts because the contracts are already signed, rather than renegotiating them. The message is not getting to other departments if the Department of Agriculture intends to spend two hundred and eighty thousand euro to update its website because they need “ a redevelopment of the Departments website and intranet including the implementation of a content management solution”.
I find it peculiar in the extreme that when the Celtic Tiger was in full roar we were constantly told that all of our good fortune was the result of the sagacity and wisdom of our Government, even though we could all see the huge amount of waste that was being ignored. Now that things are on the downward slope it is all the fault of other people and nothing to do with the very same politicians. Our current perilous state is because of global events yet when the same global events were aiding us there was no mention of them. If ever a saying was appropriate surely its “ success has a hundred fathers but failure is an orphan”.
While the price of oil and gas continue their inexorable rise I am at a loss to understand the rise in the price of coal. Apparently coal has risen by almost one hundred per cent in the last two years and yet I can see no real reason for this other than profiteering. I can accept that input costs for coal producers have risen but their labour costs have remained almost static . Is it a case of the producers deciding to get on the band wagon and make hay while the sun shines?. This kind of rise can only act to force more people to use environmentally friendly ways of heating their homes and this is no bad thing. It must also be the reason that in its infinite wisdom the Department of the Environment has decided to reduce further the grants available for solar heating appliances. Bloody Typical!
All for now. Mike Edmonds.
Summer time, absolutely Heaven for burglars; families gone away on holidays, tell-tale sign of unoccupied houses an open invitation to enter and pillage. A recent spate of incidents in the Mullaboden-Wellfield area prompted concerned residents to meet and tackle the potential danger of further intrusions. We met primarily to discuss a recent robbery and ‘suspicious’ characters spotted outside another residence but, on realisation that we are now within the umbrella of Naas Garda Station, we decided to consult with the Gardai in Naas, by introducing ourselves and establishing a relationship between the community and the Gardai of Naas.
I know it might seem obvious and there may be other groups who have covered this before but perhaps the following tips could raise awareness of the danger to local readers and make Ballymore Eustace a less attractive place for intruders to invade.
Be Aware! If you see something suspicious, a strange car other suspicious activity out of the ordinary, then please, take the car registration and contact the Gardai in Naas
When contacting the Gardai, ask for the Garda’s name to whom you are speaking and give your own name and address
Use your own judgement when making a complaint to the Gardai – don’t cry wolf………
Analyze your own security needs; check your property is secure – that all locks are secure and that there are no faulty doors or windows latches easy to force. If you have an alarm, make sure it is serviced and in proper working order.
Did you know there is a FREE Security Service offered by Naas Garda Station, a member of the force will come out and assess your property, assess the weaknesses and strengths
Consider installing a monitored alarm if you don’t already have one; don’t skimp here – it is your property you are protecting and well worth the money
If in doubt, don’t delay – if you are unsure as to whether you should call the Garda, it is literally, ‘better to be safe than sorry’…..
Garda Conor Sheehan is the current staff member designated to liaise with the community during this introductory period
Superintendant Pat Mangan is the appropriate party in charge of Naas Garda Station dealing with the area
The advantages of Naas Garda Station now protecting the Ballymore Eustace area are obvious – more personnel, considerable number of marked and unmarked vehicles including monitoring equipment and specialised vans etc
Contact Naas Garda Station at 045 884300, 24 hour service
We are hoping to access a detailed ordinance survey map with all landmarks and townslands listed in the Ballymore area, make at least 3 copies, laminate it and present it to Naas Garda Station so that they are familiar with the names and layout of the area.
I also believe that the community should consider erecting small but visible road signs – not directional signs, but listing the townsland name – and strategically place them at each end of various roads so that visiting Gardai would be able to identify the locality easily, both when on routine patrol or when answering a distress call.
The only way to combat burglaries is to make life more difficult for potential intruders; ‘easy in, easier out’ is the house burglars motto but, by increasing your own home security and slowing down a forced entry/ quick escape with proper serviced alarms, security lighting and generally increasing awareness in the neighbourhood, you are deterring intruders from the area. A heightened degree of communication too will make the area a less attractive patch to plunder.
So please, all residents of Ballymore – be aware, be alert and be vigilant; its your home, your property and your belongings that’s at stake. The sleepier we are, the more we can be compromised.
- Concerned Neighbours of Ballymore Eustace
The Editors would like to note that Blessington Garda Station has previously enjoyed very good communications with the community here in Ballymore Eustace and that we are very grateful to Gardai there for their support in the past. We applaud the attitude of residents in Mullaboden area and trust that Readers will take the points on board and make note of the telephone number of Naas Garda Station for future reference
on passing by- again
Well I hope you are all well satisfied with yourselves now. It’s not as if you were not given enough warnings. Tireless and meaningful efforts by Junior Minister Dick Roche and others of that ilk and all you could do was ignore them. Vote No to Lisbon and the sky will fall in. You have no one to blame except yourselves.
So what are we going to do now?.
Well that nice Mr Sarkozy is of the opinion that we have absolutely no alternative but another referendum. As the Lisbon Treaty is supposedly to enable a more democratic European Union isn’t it peculiar that the democratic wishes of the Irish electorate are now seemingly to be ignored. Apparently the No vote was the wrong kind of democratic response and we are going to have to do it again so that we can see the error of our ways and respond with the correct kind of democracy. Knowing how bloody minded the electorate can be when they think they are being forced into something I can see an even larger turnout in another referendum and an even larger No vote. More of the wrong kind of democracy.
And yet there has been hardly a mention of Lisbon for the last few weeks. The Government and the other supporting parties express themselves a bit shocked by our response and unable to understand how we could ignore all their advice. Maybe if they had bothered to explain the whole thing properly we could have had a different result. Instead of setting the agenda they spent the last few weeks of the campaign reacting to the No camp. Instead of explaining why some of the No camps assertions were dubious or even untrue they blustered about misinformation and engaged in character assassination and expected the ordinary Joe Soap not to notice. As the saying goes “ if you’re explaining, you’re losing”.
The Yes camp’s posters were basically a dry run for next years elections, with large photographs of your local T.D. telling you to accept that they knew best so you should vote Yes, and that appeared to be the full extent of the information they were willing to impart.
I suppose their reticence to discuss it may be because they are still too shell shocked to talk much about it but it is probable that Lisbon is beginning to pale in comparison to everything else that seems to be heading for the fan. Despite all the years of plenty it now appears that the cupboard is bare. In fact we may end up being lucky just to hang on to the cupboard itself.
And why is this all happening now?.
One reason has to be the almost limitless spending over the last decade which was based on nothing but political expediency. Whenever a problem arose the Government refused to stand up to vested interests and just threw money at them. Hundreds of millions wasted on Health Service and Garda computers. Millions and millions given to consultants to solve problems, some of which were originally caused by the same consultants. Government Ministers with large teams of highly paid advisors so that there will always be someone lower down to blame for something.
A health service, which despite billions of euro being spent on it, is still unable to provide enough front line staff to deal safely and adequately with patients, and which seems to spend a huge amount of its time and resources lurching from one crisis to another without ever learning any lessons.
A supposed benchmarking process for public servants, the deliberations of which the government refuses to make public and which awarded average increases of almost nine per cent, this increase in addition to the increases they were receiving under the national wage agreements. And don’t forget that the cost of eleven hundred million euro was not a one off cost but a base cost added onto the public pay bill ad infinitum
Mr Cowen’s solution to current financial woes is to announce cutbacks, or rather, a realignment of resources. The HSE announces five hundred million of cutbacks. Decentralisation is to be slowed down until finances permit a resumption of the full plan. The recent pay rises for T.D.s, Ministers and top public servants is to be postponed.
I am sorry but this all looks a little to late and a lot like window dressing. There seems to be a total lack of joined up thinking, despite all the advisors. Postponing the rises is basically a publicity stunt because the amounts that will be saved are ultimately miniscule. Slowing down decentralisation is a sham if the OPW are to be allowed to go ahead with one hundred and fifty million euro worth of contracts because the contracts are already signed, rather than renegotiating them. The message is not getting to other departments if the Department of Agriculture intends to spend two hundred and eighty thousand euro to update its website because they need “ a redevelopment of the Departments website and intranet including the implementation of a content management solution”.
I find it peculiar in the extreme that when the Celtic Tiger was in full roar we were constantly told that all of our good fortune was the result of the sagacity and wisdom of our Government, even though we could all see the huge amount of waste that was being ignored. Now that things are on the downward slope it is all the fault of other people and nothing to do with the very same politicians. Our current perilous state is because of global events yet when the same global events were aiding us there was no mention of them. If ever a saying was appropriate surely its “ success has a hundred fathers but failure is an orphan”.
While the price of oil and gas continue their inexorable rise I am at a loss to understand the rise in the price of coal. Apparently coal has risen by almost one hundred per cent in the last two years and yet I can see no real reason for this other than profiteering. I can accept that input costs for coal producers have risen but their labour costs have remained almost static . Is it a case of the producers deciding to get on the band wagon and make hay while the sun shines?. This kind of rise can only act to force more people to use environmentally friendly ways of heating their homes and this is no bad thing. It must also be the reason that in its infinite wisdom the Department of the Environment has decided to reduce further the grants available for solar heating appliances. Bloody Typical!
All for now. Mike Edmonds.
Birthday wishes to Margaret Gorman who recently celebrated her 21st birthday along with Mum Daphne who also celebrated a milestone birthday!
To M. H. who would knee cap me for mentioning a very ‘big birthday’ recently; however, I can wish her twin sister Angela a happy birthday and send greetings in turn, to Angela’s twin sister………
To T. G. who celebrates the big 40 this month; she’s a ‘lamb’ compared to M.H. but just in case, I better not give her name in full either………. Editor’s note – there are a shockin’ lot of women out there very sensitive about their age …..
Get well wishes to Gerry Cronin, Vincent Kavanagh, Ivan Grace and Sharon O’Donoghue
Well done to children from Little Scholars Playschool took part in the 'The Big Toddle' in aid of Barbados on the 17th May in the GAA grounds and raised €970.
Wedding bells
Congats and a long and happy life to Susan Darby and Geoffrey Elliot.
Your Local CDA – in a reverse header please – Frances, this can be moved elsewhere if necessary!!
The Ballymore Eustace Community Development Association Ltd (CDA) represents the residents of the village. The CDA is the umbrella organisation for Tidy Towns, Meals on Wheels, Punchestown Festival Committee, Friendship Club, Community Alert, Bingo, Ballymore Bugle and Hall Committee. It is the owner of the River Walk and Resource Centre. Bookings for the Resource Centre can be made by contacting Monica at 045-863363. An answering machine is in operation if the phone is not manned and all messages will be responded to. The CDA works to ensure the village grows in a sustainable and attractive manner; we have made submissions on the County Development Plan and will take a primary role in the Local Area Plan.
Any suggestions or comments welcome. Contact Fiona Breslin (Chairperson CDA), Honeysuckle House, Bishopsland, Ballymore Eustace
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Childminder Required from September to look after a 3 year old girl. Monday to Friday 9.30 - 5.30
___________________________________________________________________________--
Table Quiz in aid of NIALL MELLON TOWNSHIP TRUST. Local girls Denise Kelly and Janet Deegan will join the group next March to assist in building permanent homes in poverty stricken areas in South Africa, also rife with Aids. The girls are hosting a Table Quiz in The Thatch on Friday 25th July at 9pm sharp, tables €20 each and a raffle will be held also. All support welcome – if you didn’t make the quiz, please feel free to make a donation to Janet or Denise directly.
In Reverse print, please:
Rita, James and family of the late Patrick Monaghan wish to convey grateful appreciation for your support in their bereavement. Your kindness and sympathy will be remembered with affection and gratitude.
Ballymore-Eustace Community Games 2008
For the first time in a number of years Ballymore – Eustace entered a number of teams in the Kildare Community games Finals. It started at the beginning of the year with our young artists in the finals in Newbridge. Although we didn’t win any medals all of our artists were commended on the work. Under the guidance the excellent GAA coaches we also entered boys football and hurling teams both teams performed admirably and the competition was welcomed by the mentors.
Next on the agenda were the Swimming finals which were held in the county swimming pool in Athy. This was a historic occasion for Ballymore as we had never before sent a swim team to the finals. This was the first time that any of our young competitors had being involved in a swim Gala so by the end of the day for us to come home with one gold medal was a wonderful achievement. It was a proud day for the community to see Sean McClintock receive his Gold medal for the boys under 14 breaststroke and we wish him the best of luck in Monsey at the end of August this will also be an historic occasion as it will be the final time that the All-Ireland finals will be held in Mosney as it will be moving to its new home in Athlone next year. We had some very good swimmers on the day and every one of them did themselves proud and with a bit work next year might even be better.
The Ballymore team consisted of Katie Gilroy, Onnagh Deegan, Eve Maguire, Margret Hayden, Arron Deegan, Ciaran Kelleher, Daragh Kelleher, Niall O’Neill, Patrick Murphy, Niall O’Neill, Callum McClintock and Sean McClintock.
We then rolled onto the Athletics finals held in the Newbridge Athletics Ground on the 6th and 7th of June. The first night proved to be a great success. In our field events Maria Clarke came 2nd in the Girls U-14 long jump on just loosing out on a Gold medal. Ellen Carter competing in the U-12 Ball throw then came third. On the track although we didn’t win any medals all of our athletes competed brilliantly. The following athletes qualified for the county final of their respective events, Luke Maguire U-8 60m, Shane Barrett U-12 100m, Joanne Burke- Hayes and Holly Maguire in the girls U-14 800m. Probably our best result was having three of the nine finalists in the boys U-14 800m final Conor Davis, Robbie Boland and Tom Murphy, although none of them won medals it was a great achievement. It must also be noted that one hour before competing Shane Barrett played in the Football final for Ballymore and then went out and ran three very hard races in a very short time. Well done Shane. Amy Horan U-10 100m, Katie Gilroy U-8 60m and Mark Barrett U-10 200m also qualified for their respective semi-finals.
It was a great 2 days and I would like to congratulate all the boys and girls who didn’t qualify from their heats but all ran excellent races and with a bit more coaching next year we may boost our numbers in the finals.
This brought to an end the county finals for this year and we hope to compete in many more competitions next year. I would like to thank all people who helped us throughout the year and especially Scoil Mhuire and Ballymore GAA who let us use their facilities.
We will be holding our AGM shortly and hope to have a big attendance in order to further enhance our standing within the county. We will announce the date of the AGM in next month’s edition.
J Gilroy, July 2008
The Duck Race held on 29 June was a great success. The ducks preformed admirably with a Hudson Bros sponsored Mallard followed closely by a Teal owned by Owen Clarke getting the top prizes. Some notable non-duck entries that passed the finish line – wet and weary - were Paschal Thompson and Caolin Halpin Graham (fully clothed of course) and not forgetting the black “duck-catcher” dog. Thanks a million to Janet Deegan and Daybreak for organising the event and providing the 1400 ducks. Thanks to all the sellers and buyers for the great support. Thanks to Aaron, Oonagh and Gary Deegan for the Kayaks (it wasn’t easy chasing 1,400 duck back out of the water) and the other helpers on the day. Over €2300 was raised for the Juvenile GAA and Community Games. Winners were Hudson Bros – Bicycle, Owen Clarke -Newbridge Silverware, Judith Kelleher and Imelda McCormack – Vouchers and Christine Tobin, Mary Lannery, Kiera Eva Mooney and Aibhe H Graham – Wine.
Janet and staff formally christened the new Daybreak shop on 27/06/08. The party atmosphere was great with freebies galore for kids and adults alike and a visit from Mr. Tayto. Unfortunately he didn’t find love in Ballymore but a did get groped a few time as customers thought Steve was undercover!!! Spot prizes were given away with a fantastic Bike each going to John Cooke & Bernie Keogh.
“We have put significant investment into the shop again. Our prices wont be beaten now that we have the buying power of Musgraves - it wont take long for people to see we are the cheapest for groceries, and we also have quality take-out coffee, lottery tickets and quality deli products. We would like to thank all our customers for their continued support and would encourage people to shop local to ensure local services remain strong and local community endeavours can be supported”
Maire Drohan, outgoing chairperson of the Village Green Garden Club in Ballymore Eustace got a standing ovation on the return journey from this years outing to two very special gardens in Wexford. Maire did the research into gardens open to the public in Wexford and picked the Bay Garden at Camolin in Wexford and the Ballymore School house just a few miles beyond Camolin. And the unanimous verdict of everyone on the annual expedition was that she had picked two winners.
It would be difficult to imagine two such different gardens. Frances Macdonald is an internationally acclaimed plants woman who leads gardening tours all over the world and she and her husband Iain have created a wonderland at their roadside garden at Camolin. The garden is divided into a series of interlocking rooms, each reflecting different moods and colours and the visitor is led on a magical mystery tour of plants and trees in a wonderful fusion of idea and inspiration.
The magic of this garden is that the visitor is sent home feeling they could achieve a similar effect on a smaller scale as it is so unpretentious. Being greeted with homemade biscuits and cofrfee anhd tea started the day off in great style. A wonderful welcome awaits at he visitor to the Bay Trees where advice, information and plant names are handed out generously by the gracious owners.
Next stop was the Ballymore School House which is a completely different type of garden. This garden is the result of twenty years of intensive labour and planning to produce a Japanese Zen style garden with lots of imagination and style. Sylvia Mulcahy who is an interior designer by trade has created a wonderful retreat just off the N 11 with huge influence from the Japanese style of landscaping and planting..You couldn't get two gardens more different and it led to a very interesting and exciting day out..
To M. H. who would knee cap me for mentioning a very ‘big birthday’ recently; however, I can wish her twin sister Angela a happy birthday and send greetings in turn, to Angela’s twin sister………
To T. G. who celebrates the big 40 this month; she’s a ‘lamb’ compared to M.H. but just in case, I better not give her name in full either………. Editor’s note – there are a shockin’ lot of women out there very sensitive about their age …..
Get well wishes to Gerry Cronin, Vincent Kavanagh, Ivan Grace and Sharon O’Donoghue
Well done to children from Little Scholars Playschool took part in the 'The Big Toddle' in aid of Barbados on the 17th May in the GAA grounds and raised €970.
Wedding bells
Congats and a long and happy life to Susan Darby and Geoffrey Elliot.
Your Local CDA – in a reverse header please – Frances, this can be moved elsewhere if necessary!!
The Ballymore Eustace Community Development Association Ltd (CDA) represents the residents of the village. The CDA is the umbrella organisation for Tidy Towns, Meals on Wheels, Punchestown Festival Committee, Friendship Club, Community Alert, Bingo, Ballymore Bugle and Hall Committee. It is the owner of the River Walk and Resource Centre. Bookings for the Resource Centre can be made by contacting Monica at 045-863363. An answering machine is in operation if the phone is not manned and all messages will be responded to. The CDA works to ensure the village grows in a sustainable and attractive manner; we have made submissions on the County Development Plan and will take a primary role in the Local Area Plan.
Any suggestions or comments welcome. Contact Fiona Breslin (Chairperson CDA), Honeysuckle House, Bishopsland, Ballymore Eustace
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Small box ad:
Childminder Required from September to look after a 3 year old girl. Monday to Friday 9.30 - 5.30
___________________________________________________________________________--
Table Quiz in aid of NIALL MELLON TOWNSHIP TRUST. Local girls Denise Kelly and Janet Deegan will join the group next March to assist in building permanent homes in poverty stricken areas in South Africa, also rife with Aids. The girls are hosting a Table Quiz in The Thatch on Friday 25th July at 9pm sharp, tables €20 each and a raffle will be held also. All support welcome – if you didn’t make the quiz, please feel free to make a donation to Janet or Denise directly.
In Reverse print, please:
Rita, James and family of the late Patrick Monaghan wish to convey grateful appreciation for your support in their bereavement. Your kindness and sympathy will be remembered with affection and gratitude.
Ballymore-Eustace Community Games 2008
For the first time in a number of years Ballymore – Eustace entered a number of teams in the Kildare Community games Finals. It started at the beginning of the year with our young artists in the finals in Newbridge. Although we didn’t win any medals all of our artists were commended on the work. Under the guidance the excellent GAA coaches we also entered boys football and hurling teams both teams performed admirably and the competition was welcomed by the mentors.
Next on the agenda were the Swimming finals which were held in the county swimming pool in Athy. This was a historic occasion for Ballymore as we had never before sent a swim team to the finals. This was the first time that any of our young competitors had being involved in a swim Gala so by the end of the day for us to come home with one gold medal was a wonderful achievement. It was a proud day for the community to see Sean McClintock receive his Gold medal for the boys under 14 breaststroke and we wish him the best of luck in Monsey at the end of August this will also be an historic occasion as it will be the final time that the All-Ireland finals will be held in Mosney as it will be moving to its new home in Athlone next year. We had some very good swimmers on the day and every one of them did themselves proud and with a bit work next year might even be better.
The Ballymore team consisted of Katie Gilroy, Onnagh Deegan, Eve Maguire, Margret Hayden, Arron Deegan, Ciaran Kelleher, Daragh Kelleher, Niall O’Neill, Patrick Murphy, Niall O’Neill, Callum McClintock and Sean McClintock.
We then rolled onto the Athletics finals held in the Newbridge Athletics Ground on the 6th and 7th of June. The first night proved to be a great success. In our field events Maria Clarke came 2nd in the Girls U-14 long jump on just loosing out on a Gold medal. Ellen Carter competing in the U-12 Ball throw then came third. On the track although we didn’t win any medals all of our athletes competed brilliantly. The following athletes qualified for the county final of their respective events, Luke Maguire U-8 60m, Shane Barrett U-12 100m, Joanne Burke- Hayes and Holly Maguire in the girls U-14 800m. Probably our best result was having three of the nine finalists in the boys U-14 800m final Conor Davis, Robbie Boland and Tom Murphy, although none of them won medals it was a great achievement. It must also be noted that one hour before competing Shane Barrett played in the Football final for Ballymore and then went out and ran three very hard races in a very short time. Well done Shane. Amy Horan U-10 100m, Katie Gilroy U-8 60m and Mark Barrett U-10 200m also qualified for their respective semi-finals.
It was a great 2 days and I would like to congratulate all the boys and girls who didn’t qualify from their heats but all ran excellent races and with a bit more coaching next year we may boost our numbers in the finals.
This brought to an end the county finals for this year and we hope to compete in many more competitions next year. I would like to thank all people who helped us throughout the year and especially Scoil Mhuire and Ballymore GAA who let us use their facilities.
We will be holding our AGM shortly and hope to have a big attendance in order to further enhance our standing within the county. We will announce the date of the AGM in next month’s edition.
J Gilroy, July 2008
The Duck Race held on 29 June was a great success. The ducks preformed admirably with a Hudson Bros sponsored Mallard followed closely by a Teal owned by Owen Clarke getting the top prizes. Some notable non-duck entries that passed the finish line – wet and weary - were Paschal Thompson and Caolin Halpin Graham (fully clothed of course) and not forgetting the black “duck-catcher” dog. Thanks a million to Janet Deegan and Daybreak for organising the event and providing the 1400 ducks. Thanks to all the sellers and buyers for the great support. Thanks to Aaron, Oonagh and Gary Deegan for the Kayaks (it wasn’t easy chasing 1,400 duck back out of the water) and the other helpers on the day. Over €2300 was raised for the Juvenile GAA and Community Games. Winners were Hudson Bros – Bicycle, Owen Clarke -Newbridge Silverware, Judith Kelleher and Imelda McCormack – Vouchers and Christine Tobin, Mary Lannery, Kiera Eva Mooney and Aibhe H Graham – Wine.
Janet and staff formally christened the new Daybreak shop on 27/06/08. The party atmosphere was great with freebies galore for kids and adults alike and a visit from Mr. Tayto. Unfortunately he didn’t find love in Ballymore but a did get groped a few time as customers thought Steve was undercover!!! Spot prizes were given away with a fantastic Bike each going to John Cooke & Bernie Keogh.
“We have put significant investment into the shop again. Our prices wont be beaten now that we have the buying power of Musgraves - it wont take long for people to see we are the cheapest for groceries, and we also have quality take-out coffee, lottery tickets and quality deli products. We would like to thank all our customers for their continued support and would encourage people to shop local to ensure local services remain strong and local community endeavours can be supported”
Maire Drohan, outgoing chairperson of the Village Green Garden Club in Ballymore Eustace got a standing ovation on the return journey from this years outing to two very special gardens in Wexford. Maire did the research into gardens open to the public in Wexford and picked the Bay Garden at Camolin in Wexford and the Ballymore School house just a few miles beyond Camolin. And the unanimous verdict of everyone on the annual expedition was that she had picked two winners.
It would be difficult to imagine two such different gardens. Frances Macdonald is an internationally acclaimed plants woman who leads gardening tours all over the world and she and her husband Iain have created a wonderland at their roadside garden at Camolin. The garden is divided into a series of interlocking rooms, each reflecting different moods and colours and the visitor is led on a magical mystery tour of plants and trees in a wonderful fusion of idea and inspiration.
The magic of this garden is that the visitor is sent home feeling they could achieve a similar effect on a smaller scale as it is so unpretentious. Being greeted with homemade biscuits and cofrfee anhd tea started the day off in great style. A wonderful welcome awaits at he visitor to the Bay Trees where advice, information and plant names are handed out generously by the gracious owners.
Next stop was the Ballymore School House which is a completely different type of garden. This garden is the result of twenty years of intensive labour and planning to produce a Japanese Zen style garden with lots of imagination and style. Sylvia Mulcahy who is an interior designer by trade has created a wonderful retreat just off the N 11 with huge influence from the Japanese style of landscaping and planting..You couldn't get two gardens more different and it led to a very interesting and exciting day out..
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tim’s Diary
Brought to you this month by Mary Lou McDonald. Hello Mary Lou Goodbye Lisbon.
So the motion is lost. We are all in trouble. Elsewhere you will read others take on the Lisbon adventure. I have a slightly different take on it. I think part of the No vote was against arrogance. The arrogance of the current Taoiseach. Over the last number of weeks he has proved just how arrogant power can make a person, Last month threatening members of his own party who would dare to oppose the motion with expulsion, today telling us that he must respect the wishes of the democratic majority. Democracy, my arse, a wise old solicitor friend of mine once told me “democracy, it is all right as long as you don’t let it get in on you.” The arrogance of Mr. Kenny, Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Gormley (how quickly he has forgotten his background) there was no arrogance form Ms.Harney, not because she is not arrogant, just that she didn’t open her mouth during the (so- called) campaign. How much do we mirror our near neighbours at the moment? The fate of Mr. Cowen may well match Mr. Brown., man that sounds like Reservoir Dogs. The poster campaign of the “Yes” side was pathetic lovely airbrushed images of the local councillor, T.D. or whoever, exhorting us, while the “No” side got the message across in one-liners.
Fr. Breen has commenced on the mammoth task of visiting each house in the parish. He made a start in Tipperkevin and tells me that he got a great welcome everywhere he went. And sure why wouldn’t he?
Ona a recent visit the O’Byrne siblings struggled to keep up with Mam & Dad, Brigid and Des, on hike through Glendalough recently. B & D were on a world tour, of Ireland, starting with a gathering of the mighty O’Byrne clan in Churchtown, a visit to the West, which included the Burren. They were accommodated by Anne Tutty in Hollwood for their eastern sojourn and are moving with amazing speed for a couple of old fogies…..
On a (very) personal note my nephew Leonard, the very apple of his Daddy’s eye, got a kidney transplant at thee end of last month and is making as they say in work, a bleedin rapid recovery. I know that he will enjoy the following yarn, told to me by Mr.Joe O’Callaghan. A fiend of Joes went on “Stars in their Eyes” a few years ago. You remember the programme hosted by Matthew Kelly where the victims pretend to be the star of their choice. The man, Simon, was asked by Matthew about his life. He told him that he had been in an industrial accident and had his lower body, from just above his arse removed. Luckily, his uncle was gravely ill and donated his lower half to him. In a ground breaking operation they were able to put this man back together again. When asked who he was going to be he said, “Tonight Matthew, I am going to be Simon & Halfuncle.
We celebrate another big family occasion when nephew Tim in London, celebrates his fortieth birthday. Now that does make me feel old.
Tim Grace asks me to remind you all that the Annual Summer outing for the Senior Citizens takes place on Saturday 28th of June, leaving the Square, for Galway at 9 a.m. sharp. Names to the Post Office or any member of the committee.
Mary Campbell would also like to remind you that the annual Cemetery Mass and blessing of graves will take place in St. Mary’s on Monday 21st July at 8 p.m. You may want to attend to your family plot.
It was ten years ago this month…..
The U-10’s winning Division 4 Final mead front page news in June 1998. Looking at the team photo showing the small boys who are now fine young men shows just how quickly time passes. The Tidy Towns were organizing a competition within the village for the bet maintained areas. For the carnivores amongst you Londis had chicken nuggets at 25 for £1.79 and four ¼ lb. burgers for £0.99. A young fella had a poem in for the first time about a Ballymore Childhood. Rose’s profile of Dick McKnight at seventy years of age. A photo shows the lineup of Ballymore Boxing club under the tutelage of ever youthful Mick Douglas.Eira Gorman wrote a mini-marathon diary, whilst we read abbot Oisin Daly & Graham Byrne having a toy sale which raised £12.19 for the local SVP. A full page ad in the Bugle would have set you back £20.
Brought to you this month by Mary Lou McDonald. Hello Mary Lou Goodbye Lisbon.
So the motion is lost. We are all in trouble. Elsewhere you will read others take on the Lisbon adventure. I have a slightly different take on it. I think part of the No vote was against arrogance. The arrogance of the current Taoiseach. Over the last number of weeks he has proved just how arrogant power can make a person, Last month threatening members of his own party who would dare to oppose the motion with expulsion, today telling us that he must respect the wishes of the democratic majority. Democracy, my arse, a wise old solicitor friend of mine once told me “democracy, it is all right as long as you don’t let it get in on you.” The arrogance of Mr. Kenny, Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Gormley (how quickly he has forgotten his background) there was no arrogance form Ms.Harney, not because she is not arrogant, just that she didn’t open her mouth during the (so- called) campaign. How much do we mirror our near neighbours at the moment? The fate of Mr. Cowen may well match Mr. Brown., man that sounds like Reservoir Dogs. The poster campaign of the “Yes” side was pathetic lovely airbrushed images of the local councillor, T.D. or whoever, exhorting us, while the “No” side got the message across in one-liners.
Fr. Breen has commenced on the mammoth task of visiting each house in the parish. He made a start in Tipperkevin and tells me that he got a great welcome everywhere he went. And sure why wouldn’t he?
Ona a recent visit the O’Byrne siblings struggled to keep up with Mam & Dad, Brigid and Des, on hike through Glendalough recently. B & D were on a world tour, of Ireland, starting with a gathering of the mighty O’Byrne clan in Churchtown, a visit to the West, which included the Burren. They were accommodated by Anne Tutty in Hollwood for their eastern sojourn and are moving with amazing speed for a couple of old fogies…..
On a (very) personal note my nephew Leonard, the very apple of his Daddy’s eye, got a kidney transplant at thee end of last month and is making as they say in work, a bleedin rapid recovery. I know that he will enjoy the following yarn, told to me by Mr.Joe O’Callaghan. A fiend of Joes went on “Stars in their Eyes” a few years ago. You remember the programme hosted by Matthew Kelly where the victims pretend to be the star of their choice. The man, Simon, was asked by Matthew about his life. He told him that he had been in an industrial accident and had his lower body, from just above his arse removed. Luckily, his uncle was gravely ill and donated his lower half to him. In a ground breaking operation they were able to put this man back together again. When asked who he was going to be he said, “Tonight Matthew, I am going to be Simon & Halfuncle.
We celebrate another big family occasion when nephew Tim in London, celebrates his fortieth birthday. Now that does make me feel old.
Tim Grace asks me to remind you all that the Annual Summer outing for the Senior Citizens takes place on Saturday 28th of June, leaving the Square, for Galway at 9 a.m. sharp. Names to the Post Office or any member of the committee.
Mary Campbell would also like to remind you that the annual Cemetery Mass and blessing of graves will take place in St. Mary’s on Monday 21st July at 8 p.m. You may want to attend to your family plot.
It was ten years ago this month…..
The U-10’s winning Division 4 Final mead front page news in June 1998. Looking at the team photo showing the small boys who are now fine young men shows just how quickly time passes. The Tidy Towns were organizing a competition within the village for the bet maintained areas. For the carnivores amongst you Londis had chicken nuggets at 25 for £1.79 and four ¼ lb. burgers for £0.99. A young fella had a poem in for the first time about a Ballymore Childhood. Rose’s profile of Dick McKnight at seventy years of age. A photo shows the lineup of Ballymore Boxing club under the tutelage of ever youthful Mick Douglas.Eira Gorman wrote a mini-marathon diary, whilst we read abbot Oisin Daly & Graham Byrne having a toy sale which raised £12.19 for the local SVP. A full page ad in the Bugle would have set you back £20.
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