Lanesboro Ballyleague notes Monday 20th November 2017

      Lanesboro Ballyleague

 

 

Great week

Last week was one of those weeks that you would wish would not end. There was the Bank of Ireland Enterprise Town National Merit award, the Ballyleague Renewal winning a National Environment award, the wonderful feel good factor from the Mass for deceased members of the Green and the subsequent refreshments afterwards in the hall where many people renewed acquaintances and the week finished with the many local people that attended the inaugural Longford Lunch in Croke Park. Many times in previous notes I have lauded the quality of our people and the week past just shows that indeed we have a tremendous people and community. Let’s hope that the past week will be replicated many times and indeed surpassed as I know it can be.

Community College Open Day

Lanesboro Community College will host its Open Day for 5th and 6th classes on Thursday 23rd November 10.30 am to 1.30 pm.  Open evening for prospective parents, students and the local community on Thursday 23rd November 2017 from 7.00 to 9.00.  The Principals address will take place at 7pm and afterwards there will be an opportunity to visit classrooms and our new building.  All are welcome to visit our school and meet teachers and students.

Lanesboro Community College covers 15 exam courses at Junior cycle and 6 non-exam courses at this level. It covers 19 exam courses for Leaving Certificate and 4 non-exam courses. The College has always had a strong record of awards at the Young Scientists and it is highly active in Science week, Scifest, Maths week and Debating. They also have extensive extra-curricular activities.

Black Friday at the Credit Union

Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union Black Friday Special Loan Rate. For one week only, all loan rates are 5%, don’t delay call in today. Terms & Conditions apply. Offer ends Friday 1st December, 7pm.

Christmas Day Run/Walk

As we look forward to Christmas not only do we think of Santa Claus but we also think of the sponsored run/walk from Newtowncashel to Lanesboro. For all you non-walkers and runners and those that only do this event every year now is the time to start your training. With only 8 weeks remaining until Christmas and to make the journey an enjoyable one it is very important that training starts as soon as possible.

This event is the main sponsorship for Longford MS, your generosity each year knows no boundaries despite it being a hard time on money. The organisers would like that you would continue you great sponsorship of all the participants and the committee would like to have a record number of participants this year.

Sponsorship cards are available from any of the committee or from O’Brien’s shop.

The Green – Mass

On Thursday last a Mass for deceased residents of the Green took place in St. Mary’s church where there was a very large attendance.

Following Mass, a good number of the attendance went down to the Hall where some tea and biscuits were served. This afforded people to meet up again and chat about old times in the Green, Lanesboro and Bord na Mona. It was great to see many enjoying themselves as they caught up with one another. The committee would like to thank everyone that attended the Mass and refreshment s in the hall. A special word of thanks to those that came back to Lanesboro. The committee would like to thanks Joe and Martina O’Brien, for sponsoring all the refreshments. The committee would also like to thank Mike Greene and Caroline Gray for making and serving the refreshments.

BOI Enterprising Town Award

On Saturday 7th September in the midst of the Taste of the Lakelands Festival the communities of Lanesboro and Ballyleague for the very first time – in my memory- came together to make a presentation the judges that were adjudicating the Bank of Ireland Enterprising Communities. There was a great amount of effort and input from both communities and also from both county councils. It was felt that it was a job well done and thanks was extended to everyone that played a vital part in developing such a strong presentation.

Wednesday night last 15th November in the Tullamore Court Hotel entrants from villages, towns and cities throughout the 26 counties were all gathered together for the presentation night. When we realised that there were towns from every corner of Ireland in attendance the expectation of a victory started to dampen a little. The runner up prizes were announced but we did not feature in the list. The next awards were merit awards and the name of Lanesboro and Ballyleague was named much to the excitement of the local contingent. The merit award was made to the Lanesboro and Ballyleague Tidy Towns and both received €1,000.

It was a tremendous feeling for all there to be names amongst the 29 winners from throughout the country. We were right up there with the best and our hope that from this small acorn we can grow into something huge.

Congratulations to everyone that played their part in the presentation of Lanesboro and Ballyleague to the judges. Many sections of our community played huge roles and you all know who you are and you can take a bow on the important role you played in this historic award.

Sympathy

We would like to extend our sincere sympathy to Mary and Oliver Curran, Rathcline, on the death of Matt Fogarty, Newtown, Nenagh, Tipperary brother of Mary Curran.

The Cavan Curse on Friday

Seamus O’Rourke once again teams up with Cavan writer John McManus (The Quare Land & Danger Money) and Cavan actress Fiona Fitzpatrick in his latest production ‘The Cavan Curse’

Cavan have reached the All-Ireland final against Kerry… they haven’t won since 1952… The blacksmith from Templeport is the last surviving member of the 52 team and knows only too well that Cavan had a curse put on them by the same woman who cursed Mayo… Cavan can’t win until all players are dead. The blacksmith has asked his grandson’s wife to help him do away with himself during the match… but Cavan start to win and he gets cold feet… there are many twists and turns until it all comes down to the last kick… Anyway, that’s just to give you a feel of the silliness of the whole thing… in other words it’s a comedy.

Tickets and bookings are available from O’Brien’s phone 3321107 or phone Martina at 086-3858934

Next Blood Donation Clinic

The next local blood donation clinic will take place in The Longford Arms Hotel on Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th December from 4.30pm to 8pm.

As we get closer to the great event that is Christmas there would be no better gift than to go to the Blood Donation Clinic and give blood. You never know but it could be a lifesaving donation but there is one thing for sure it will go to a person that needs an infusion.

Go along and let you blood donation be your first Christmas gift.

Want to try Badminton

Lanesboro/Ballyleague Badminton Club are looking for people who would love to try badminton or rekindle their love of it. The club is holding open nights every Tuesday night at 9:30pm in St Mary Hall in Lanesboro for the next two weeks. Rackets will be provided so just come along and have a go and see what it’s all about.

All Bakers

Rathcline GAA club is holding a festive fund-raising Bake Sale and Cake Demonstration event on Sunday 10th December in the parish hall.

The club is looking to the many fabulous bakers within the parish and outside for your support. Create your ideas, prepare for baking and remember the date 10th December. You can bake anything you want be it buns cupcakes, rock buns, brownies, scones, brioche, doughnuts, biscuits, chip cookies, cakes, puddings, loaves, cheesecakes, muffins and breads or anything else you wish to bake.

There event will also host a superb draw that will include 1st prize of a Kenwood Kmix worth €500,2nd prize, a €200 health and beauty hamper from Cloud 9 Lanesboro and third prize Neven Maguires perfect Irish Christmas cookbook.

This promises to be a fun filled afternoon for everyone and it is an event to be baked for and not to be missed.

Lough Ree 2000 Bridge Club

The results of the competition held on Monday 6th November: N/S: Gross: 1st Kathleen Kelly and Patricia McGann, 2nd Kathleen Hanley and Mary Fallon, 3rd Mae Casey and Margaret Gillen. Nett: 1st Kathleen Hanley and Mary Fallon, 2nd Kathleen Kelly and Patricia McGann, 3rd Mae Casey and Margaret Gillen

E/W: Gross: 1st Mary Jameson and Goretti Kenny, 2nd Tom Feeney and Phil Chalmers, 3rd Maureen Hynes and Mairead Gill

E/W Nett: 1st Mary Jameson and Goretti Kenny, 2nd Tom Feeney and Phil Chalmers, 3rd Martha Byrne and Elizabeth Crean.

The results of the competition on Monday November 13th are: N/S: Gross and Nett: 1st Una Clarke and Maureen Hynes, 2nd Mai Casey and Margaret Gillen, 3rd Joan Donlon and Fergal McGuinness. E/W: Gross: 1st Eileen Kelly and Tom Feeney, 2nd tie J.J. Donlon and Kathleen Kelly and Mike Flynn and Bernadette Gillen, 3rd Mary Jameson and Goretti Kenny. E/W Nett: 1st Eileen Kelly and Tom Feeney, 2nd Bernadette Gillen and Mike Flynn, 3rd J.J. Donlon and Kathleen Kelly.

Christmas Post Dates

The last dates for Christmas postings are as possible USA – letters 12th December, parcels 7th December; GB letters and parcels 18th December; Europe letters 18th and parcels 13th; Northern Ireland letter and parcels 19th; Ireland 20th and the rest of the world 7th December.

50/50

Monday night last 13th November the 50/50 pool stood at €335 and the winning drawn in the Yacht Bar was Paddy Stapleton, Killashee. Your support is greatly appreciated for the weekly draw. Tickets are on sale locally at €2 each. Alternatively, you can by the pink ticket for the year for just €100 and have 2 free weeks

Your local Library this week

Library Opening Hours

Monday 2-8pm, Tuesday 2-6pm, Wednesday 10am-1pm and 5-8pm, Thursday closed, Friday 10am-1pm and 2-5pm, Saturday 10am-1pm.

The Knitting and Crochet Group meet in the library on Mondays, 2-4pm. All welcome.

‘Babble and Books’ Baby Book club, a free weekly baby book club for parents/carers and children aged 0-2 years is held on Wednesdays at 10.15am. Sessions include songs, stories and rhymes followed by a cuppa and a chat, so come along to meet other families and build a lifelong love of reading.

Preschool Drop In and Sing-along is held every Wednesday at 12.30pm. Pop in to the library on your way home from preschool to join the group sing-along and choose a book with your friends.

Lanesboro Library Book Club will meet on Friday 24th November, 11am-1pm. The book being read this month is “Plainsong” by Kent Haruf.

Poetry and Music Hour, for people interested in poetry, song and music, continues at Lanesboro Library on Monday 27th November 4.15pm – 5.30pm.  Come along to enjoy poetry and music or to share a favourite poem with the group.

Rathcline Ladies

Friday week 1st December is the date for the AGM of Rathcline Ladies club. This year Madaleine Murray and Mike Greene will be stepping down after a number of years on the committee.

The club should now be preparing for the change and parents and past players should be considering the idea of taking over the reins and developing the club into the future.

There are many excellent ladies footballers in the club and it is important that they are progressed to bring titles back to the club along with the fun and excitement they all get when playing and socialising together.

Leinster Title winner

Many congratulation to Mark Fallon, son of James and Maureen Fallon, Lismacmanus, who played his part in Multyfarnham’s wonderful victory in the Leinster Junior Club Final on Saturday last.

Longford Lunch

On Friday last Longford GAA travelled to Croke Park for the inaugural Longford Lunch. The idea was to raise funds towards the redevelopment of the stand in Pearse Park and funding for the training of county teams. It was great to see the parish of Rathcline so well represented amongst the attendance of 500. It is great to see the county supported so well by our own people and I am sure there were plenty more locals unable to attend because of it being a working day. Once again, our parish can hold its head high whether it is supporting local or county events.

Tourism Co-Op Draw

The numbers drawn in the Lanesboro Tidy Towns lotto on Tuesday 14th November were 4, 5, 8, and 18. There was no winner of the jackpot of €9,400.  The winner of the €50 prize was Bernie Hanley c/o Mags and the three €20 winners were Martina c/o Mags, Bernie Mc Kenna, Barnacor and Bernie c/o Mags.

Ballyleague Lights

No less than nineteen residents of the Ballyleague-Lanesborough area came out on Saturday to put up the Christmas lights in Ballyleague village. Chairman Noel Moran led by example – secretary Margaret Thompson provided the refreshments – and well done to Len & June, Tom, Lee, Jimmy, Denis, Tim, Mike, Seamus, Tom, Gerry, Michael, John Francis, Noel, Michael (and his super machine), Ciaran & John. Superb work was done by the group throughout the day and 90 per cent of lights are now up. Just a few hours work left next week on Saturday so thank you to everyone who came along and helped. More hands make
lighter work – and on this occasion, we got fantastic support from throughout the community so thanks to all. If you are an electrician and can help with some of the connection work next weekend email Noel please at keepballyleaguetidy@gmail.com  The Christmas lights in
Ballyleague will be switched on by one of our most loyal volunteers Mr Dennis Dunne on Friday December 8th after mass. The committee met with our colleagues in the Lanesborough lights committee on Sunday night and agreed to take part in some additional lights work on the bridge and even in the river Shannon – so keep an eye out for the lights in
the coming week.

Lanesboro Christmas Cards

Christmas Cards with images of Lanesborough are available locally from Joe & Martina O’Brien’s Corner Shop, Terry McLoughlin’s Butchers and Mags Hair Salon; all proceeds from the sale of these cards will go towards the Christmas Lighting in the town.  Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Digital Hub Training

As you may know we have been awarded the honour of becoming Ireland’s First Digital Hub town.

To help support people to move online and enjoy all that the internet offers, a free training programme will be held in Lanesboro Community College. This will be funded by the Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment. The Digital Skills training is intended to empower people to connect with the world digitally.

The programme is designed for anyone who has not actively engaged with the internet and do not have the skills required to complete tasks digitally.

It is expected that people will following this course be comfortable and confident to use the internet as part of their everyday lives.

Businesses and groups can also avail of the free training for their members or employees in preparation for the Lanesboro Ballyleague app.

To make the first step you should contact Debbie 33 21734 or 086 2230 97. If there is no answer please leave your name and number and Debbie will return your call.

Table Quiz

A Table Quiz in aid of Ballyleague National School will take place in Rosie’s Bar Ballyleague on Friday night next 24th November at 9.30pm. Tables of 4 will cost €40. There will be a raffle and lots of spot prizes on the night.

Rathcline GAA

Come to the hall on Friday: Seamus O’Rourke once again teams up with Cavan writer John McManus (The Quare Land & Danger Money) and Cavan actress Fiona Fitzpatrick in his latest production ‘The Cavan Curse’

Cavan have reached the All-Ireland final against Kerry… they haven’t won since 1952… The blacksmith from Templeport is the last surviving member of the 52 team and knows only too well that Cavan had a curse put on them by the same woman who cursed Mayo… Cavan can’t win until all players are dead. The blacksmith has asked his grandson’s wife to help him do away with himself during the match… but Cavan start to win and he gets cold feet… there are many twists and turns until it all comes down to the last kick… Anyway, that’s just to give you a feel of the silliness of the whole thing… in other words it’s a comedy.

Tickets and bookings are available from O’Brien’s phone 3321107 or phone Martina at 086-3858934

Patsy Reilly Final: The final of the Patsy Reilly Cup took place on Wednesday night last in Killoe. After another titanic struggle this time we came out on the wrong side of the result losing by just one point. Thus, ended the season for the Intermediate team for 2017 and it was a great one having bagged the Intermediate Championship and the right to play senior championship in 2018. Well done to all concerned on a great year.

Christmas Draw: We are looking forward to the local community and club people far and wide to buy tickets for the annual Christmas draw. This draw is so vital to the early stages of the club year as there are insurance and affiliation fees to be paid to allow entry into competitions.

Tickets are priced €20 each and it will make a great Christmas gift. The prize structure is 1st €3000, 2nd €1000, 3rd €500, 4th €250, 5th €250. 6th €200 and 7th €200.

U21: The U21 team had a comprehensive victory on Sunday last when they beat a very strong Granard Ballymore in Granard on a scoreline 4-10 to 1-10. This was a fabulous result going to the home pitch of Granard Ballymore, starting slowly, being down 5 points and then fighting back for this comprehensive victory. Well done to all concerned on this great win.

The final is scheduled for Sunday 3rd December where they will play St. Columba’s Mullinalaghta or Abbeylara. We look forward to a huge crowd going to Pearse Park to support the team.

Leinster winner: Congratulations to our former player Mark Fallon on winning his Leinster Final on Saturday with Multyfarnham in the Leinster Junior competition.

County Convention: Nominations have now closed for this year’s county convention to be held in Ballymahon on Thursday 14th December. Albert Cooney has once again been nominated to continue his role as Treasurer. Brendan Gilmore has been nominated as Leinster Council delegate. We wish both men the very best of luck and look forward to both being elected to office for 2018.

50/50: Monday night last 13th November the 50/50 pool stood at €335 and the winning drawn in the Yacht Bar was Paddy Stapleton, Killashee. Your support is greatly appreciated for the weekly draw. Tickets are on sale locally at €2 each. Alternatively, you can by the pink ticket for the year for just €100 and have 2 free weeks

Your Baking Skills: are you ready for the club’s festive fund-raising Bake Cake and Cake Demonstration event on Sunday 10th December in the parish hall.

We know there are many fabulous bakers within the parish and outside and the club is looking for your support. Create your ideas, prepare for baking and remember the date 10th December. You can bake anything you want be it buns cupcakes, rock buns, brownies, scones, brioche, doughnuts, biscuits, chip cookies, cakes, puddings, loaves, cheesecakes, muffins and breads or anything else you wish to bake.

This promises to be a fun filled afternoon for everyone and it is an event to be baked for and not to be missed. Further details will be published next week

You should consider refereeing?

Have you ever thought of taking up refereeing? Refereeing is open to men and women from the age of 18 upwards. It is something that brings great satisfaction and allows referees to progress up the ranks to whatever level their dedication takes them.

The image of referring being a solitary occupation does not bear anything close to reality. You are a member of a team of referees in the county where there is great comradery. You also will have your own umpires that leaves you part of another team and a leader of that team.

Now, there are wonderful opportunities for young referees to climb the ranks within Longford and indeed in the Leinster ranks also. Now is the time to be giving it serious consideration.

Longford has a proud record of supplying referees to Leinster and the National Refereeing panel for many years and this opportunity is waiting for you with the right application.

Refereeing is fun and it builds great friendship. If you decide to explore the idea feel free to contact Joe O’Brien joea@iol.ie or phone 086 2460 840.

Minor Club

Parish League: All players in the club aged 7, 8, 9, and eligible to play U10 are asked to the Parish League that will take place in Clonbonny on Saturday 25th November starting at 10am.

The Minor club are hosting Seamus O Rourke’s hilarious play “The Cavan Curse” on Friday 24th November in St Mary’s Hall at 8pm, tickets available in O’Brien’s.

 

 

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