By Peg Prendeville

The Drama group will meet on this Thursday night at 8pm in the Parish Hall.  It is great to see such interest and enthusiasm with new faces each night. ‘Sive’ is the play which Eleanor McSweeney hopes to produce before the end of the year. Watch this space!

The local ICA members will meet on this Wednesday at 8.10 pm in the Hall. This will be a poignant meeting as the guild is closing down this year and not renewing its membership due to lack of numbers. Perhaps, in time, the younger generation will consider starting up again. It has been a great experience over the years since 1980 when the guild was set up. It has provided opportunities for making friends and partaking in all kinds of competitions and events locally and nationwide. I find that wherever I go in the country I meet women who are ICA members and immediately there is a bond of friendship. Members are like family sharing in the fun and and the heartache and being there when needed. I am grateful for being a member for more than half my life to date and have learned loads from being involved.

This relentless wet weather has made life very stressful for everybody but especially farmers who are trying to feed their animals inside for much longer than they expected. Let’s hope it dries up soon to give them a break.

Éigse Michael Hartnett 2018, which takes place in Newcastlewest this Thursday April 12th to Saturday April 14^th has a rich and varied schedule of events. Lots of well known names like John Boyne, Mike McCormack, Declan Kiberd, Emma Langford, Robyn Roland, will be featuring throughout the weekend which is eagerly looked forward to by all poetry lovers. National Poetry Month takes place during April so it is an appropriate time for Éigse Michael Hartnett.