By Tom Aherne
The death has taken place of Eileen Moran, nee O’Keefe, Cullinagh, Newcastle West, and formally Bishop Street, peacefully at UHL on Saturday, July 3. Wife of the late Paddy, Carrigkerry. A private family Mass was held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Newcastle West on Monday, July 5, at 11.30am followed by burial in Churchtown Cemetery, Newcastle West. We extend sympathy to her brother Dan, cousin Nora Roche, relatives and friends. May she rest in Peace.
Readers may have noticed that the cost of living has increased greatly this past few months. The carbon tax which came in on the first of May which saw fuel prices increase, plus the rise in container costs to ship in the goods to Ireland are two of the reasons given. We are near the top dearest countries in Europe for electricity, gas and broadband prices, all essential to the majority of households. Fuel prices at the pumps have increased greatly in recent weeks, which is worrying for all consumers. It is now that the effects of Covid -19 are starting to impact on us all, and the outlook for the future looks grim, with Brexit, the national debt and the Budget to be addressed in the coming months.
Darragh Treacy (midfield) from the club was a member of the Limerick team that lost to Cork 1-16 to 0-11 in the Munster Senior Football Championship at the Gaelic Grounds Limerick on Saturday last, July 10. John Hayes (centre forward) was a member of the Limerick team that lost to Tipperary by 0-16 to 1-10 in the first round of the Munster U-20 Football Championship at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Thursday, July 8. Dylan Moloney was a member of the extended panel.
Limerick GAA are holding a fundraising draw at present for a 212 Ford Kuga Titanium Hybrid Automatic car. The tickets are being sold online at winakuga.ie at €20 each. The single winner will be announced on Saturday, September 25. The proceeds from the draw will be reinvested in the Limerick teams from minor up to senior in both hurling and football.
Limited access to the Desmond Castle, Newcastle West is open at present. Self guiding access to the ground floor of the castle, with limited access to the castle banqueting hall.
Johnny Quaid from Athea presents the Exchange programme on West Limerick 102 each Tuesday from 11am to 1pm. He is a new presenter of the programme and from 12 noon each week he is joined by Mike Barrett and Con Warren to review the past weekend of GAA action. The duo were regular contributors along with Noreen Callaghan up to the arrival of Covid -19. Johnny learned his craft in Kerry Radio, and he presents other shows as well each week.
This is the 70th anniversary of one of Ireland’s most significant cultural events Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. It all began in Mullingar in 1951, and was due to be held there again this year but was cancelled due to Covid. A series of programmes to mark the occasion are being shown on TG4 since last Sunday night. Dáithí Ó Sé and Doireann Ní Ghlacáin are the presenters and music song and dance from the four provinces will be featured. The time slot is from 9-30pm to 10-30pm, and is some consolation for people who have missed out on the event over the past two years.
The Ardagh Development Association and Saint Kieran’s GAA joint weekly lottery draw took place on Monday, July 5. The numbers drawn were 6, 9, 11 and 19 and there was no winner of the €3,400 Jackpot. Congratulations to the five lucky dip winners who received €40 each: J.J. Cronin, (Online), Sean Moriarty, c/o Denis Greaney, Mary Nash, Lisbane, Shanagolden, Nora J Dineen, Ardagh and Sean Moriarty, c/o Denis Greaney. Next Monday night’s jackpot will be €3,500. People can play online using club force on the club’s Facebook page, with 6pm on Monday evening the deadline. The tickets are also on sale at the usual outlets, and all support will be appreciated.
Creeves Celtic held their split the pot draw on Monday, July 5. Congratulations to Garrett and Meta McArdle. who won €102. The weekly entry fee is €2, with €1 going to the club and the other €1 to be paid out in prize money each week. The envelopes to place your two euro in plus details, are available at Hanley’s Food Store Creeves, and from committee members. People can also sign up by standing order for €9 per month. The draws will be held on Monday nights, and all support will be appreciated.
Congratulations to Mary O’Sullivan, Castleview, Newcastle West, who won €515, in the West Limerick 102fm 50/50 draw, held on Friday, July 9. The tickets cost €2 and they are available from volunteers, in local shops, (including Moloney’s Carrigkerry, and Denis Greaney’s Shop Ardagh) or from the radio station. All support will be appreciated as finances are tight due to lack of fundraising. The radio station is off limits to members of the public at present, with only volunteers allowed access. When restrictions are lifted all will be very welcome to visit and get involved in programming. A number of exciting new programmes are in the pipeline for later in the year. The station can be contacted at 069-66200 if people have news of interest to the West Limerick area.
The following piece is taken from the parish notes from July 1983. In the early hours of Friday morning last July 15, Ardagh Post Office was broken into and a safe containing over £5,000 worth of stamps, money orders and TV licences was removed in a very skilful operation. The robbers also broke into Ardagh Creamery nearby. They forced their way past three extra strong doors into the store. It is obvious they were looking for money as no goods were taken. However, no money was found in the store. The Gardai are working on the theory that it was the work of a Cork based gang who are active throughout Munster at present.
Changes in the postal district is causing confusion at present. The authorities have divided the parish in two. Three Townlands have been transferred to the Athea postal district, namely Carrigkerry, Glensharrold, and Knockfinisk. At one time there was five postmen in the parish. Now there is only one, and it could be any hour at night before some people get their mail.
On Wednesday, July 27, Ardagh Post Office went automatic. John Donnellan Minister for State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs announced that automatic telephone service would be provided. The dialling code for Ardagh will be 069. Customers will be able to dial local and trunk calls to all automatic areas in Ireland and England. Calls which cannot be dialled direct can be obtained by dialling the operator on 10.