By Peg Prendeville

Congratulations to Athea who scored 243 points in the Tidy Towns competition. Well done to all.

A great crowd attended the function in Ballyhahill last Thursday night to bid farewell to Fr. O’Leary. He has not actually left us yet but will soon. He thanked everybody for their generosity and support to him over the past seven years.

We are being blessed with beautiful weather this month and hopefully we are all appreciating it. None more so than the Limerick City of Culture committee who could not have asked for a nicer few days to parade the Giant Granny around the city. Many people think the whole thing was a farce, and maybe so, but it did what it set out to do and that was to capture the imaginations of young and old. Thousands, even more than they dared wish for, turned out to see the Giant Granny wander all around the city for the three days last weekend. I went into Limerick early Saturday morning, parked in Mary Immaculate College grounds and walked in from there. The first thing which struck me was the silent and traffic free streets which were pedestrianised in preparation. It was lovely to see lots of families out, pushing buggies, shouldering their toddler children and seeing everybody in good form. It was very well organised and the committee should be credited for all the hard work which was put into the event. This should show the world the good, happy smiling side of Limerick and for that alone Granny was worth her money.

I attended another lovely event connected to the City of Culture programme. This was held in the Desmond Hall in Newcastle West last Friday night when two poets, Richard Blanco from the USA and Limerick woman Vivienne McKechnie, captivated a large audience with their inspiring poetry. It was a lovely relaxing and entertaining evening.

Meanwhile down in Glin the Triathlon was well attended at the weekend. Once again the weather added to the enjoyment of the whole occasion. Up to 70 people took part in the swimming, cycling and running, The money raised will be shared between Ireland’s National Charity the Irish Heart Foundation and the Glin Triathlon Club.

Meanwhile the ice bucket challenge is still entertaining many as well as gathering funds for the Motor Neurone Association.