Monthly Archives: June 2018

Golden Couple, Lourdes Fundraiser and Waterford No. 5

Golden Couple.

Congratulations to local Amberhill couple Paddy and Annie Kirk who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. This lovely popular couple celebrated with their family and friends and an enjoyable time was had by all. We wish Paddy and Annie many more happy years of wedded bliss.

Bridge News

The Ballyduff/Portlaw bridge club met on Monday June 18th for their weekly game of bridge and the winners were as follows:

1st: Peggy Murphy and Elizabeth Mooney.

2nd: Theresa Phelan and Ann Marie Brown.

3rd: Mary Kennedy and Kathleen Collins.

4th: Mary Prendergast and Nano Fitzgerald.

GAA Lotto

The numbers drawn in the latest lotto draw were 1, 2, 14 and 26. There was no winner of the jackpot but the three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Linda Connery, Alice O Brien and Ann Murphy. The next draw will take place on July 2nd and will have a fabulous jackpot of €10,850 on offer. Tickets are just €2 or three tickets for €5 and are available from all committee members and will be on sale outside Centra on Saturday June 30th.

Lourdes Fundraiser

Our local Lourdes fundraising committee would like to say a big thank you to all who recently supported their raffle and talent show.The following is a list of prize winners in the raffle:

Hamper: MJ Healy

Cosmetics: Nicola Tierney

Car Service Voucher: Theresa Barry.

Other Prizes: Brian Spillane, Christine Tubbritt, Rebecca Healy, Bid O Brien, Billy Tubbritt and Eugene Power.
The popular winner of the talent show was Angela Ryan so huge congratulations to Angela who won over the judges will her beautiful voice.

Church News.

We send birthday wishes to our Parish Priest Fr. Mick who celebrated his birthday last week.

Our annual graveyard mass will take place on Wednesday July 4th at 7.30pm so please spread the word to people in other areas who have relatives and friends buried in Ballyduff. A reminder to any of you who are visiting your loved ones graves to please bring home any old wreaths or flowers with you as there is strictly no dumping in the graveyard. Following the graveyard mass there will be some light refreshments served in the community centre. This is a lovely opportunity for people to have a chat and a cuppa.

Next weekend will see the annual sacristans collection taken up at both masses. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated and hardworking sacristan. Ann excels in her role with a friendly smile and a chat for all.

Make Up Awards

Congratulations to local lady Laura Dempsey who has been nominated for the Blogger/Vlogger of the year award in the Irish Make Up Awards 2018. Laura excels in the beauty industry and we wish her the very best in her nomination.

Waterford No.5

Congratulations to Callum Lyons, Ballyduff who lined out in the No.5 jersey for the Waterford U21 hurling team. Unfortunately things didn’t go their way on the night but Callum’s family and club are very proud of his achievement. Callum is very dedicated to his sport and practices for many hours.

GAA News.

The nursery and academy groups of Ballyduff Lower club will host their sponsored 5k walk and talk on Saturday July 14th. The walk will leave from Haughtons at 11am and head along our beautiful greenway. What a perfect way to spend a little time, taking in some beautiful scenery, breathing in some fresh air and chatting to old friends and new. A big thank you to Gerry and Margaret O Connell who will provide some lovely refreshments. Come along and join in and enjoy all things positive.

There are many matches being played at present across all ages in the club and some great results coming back. To keep up to date with all the fixtures, results and photos tune into the club facebook page.

 

Deepest Sympathy

We offer our sincere sympathies to Una Counihan, Lacka Road on the recent death of her beloved father. Mr. Sean Diamond lived in Strabane, Co. Tyrone and his funeral mass and burial took place in St. Marys church, Melmount. We send our condolences to all the Diamond and Counihan families and we pray that Sean will rest in gentle peace.

Tractor Date.

Sunday July 22nd is a date to definetely mark into your diary. The Kilmeaden Vintage Tractor club will host their annual tractor run in aid of The Solas Cancer Support Centre. Leaving from Haughtons at 1pm this is always a wonderful event with a big following. If you would like some more information please contact 087 2216589.

Ballyduff AFC

The U14 team notched up a 4 nil victory in Tramore last week to become league champions. Huge credit most go to all the team and the management of Gavin and Jimmy who worked so hard all year. They were hit by some injury worries during the league but they regrouped and showed their strength of character and deservedly came out as champions. Scorers on the night were Sean Fitzgerald, Jack O Donnell and Alex Reade.

The clubs annual Summer Camp will take place from July 2nd to July 6th and all are welcome to come along . To book your spot please contact Paddy Kirk. The cost of the camp is €45 per child, €35 for the 2nd child and free for a 3rd child.

 

Dr. Martin Centre

The Dr. Martin Centre in Portlaw offer many different services to the community. You do not have to be from Portlaw to avail of these services all are welcome to check out what is on offer.

On the first Thursday of each month a clinic is held from 11am to 12.30 which helps any older members with any issues or problems they may have filling up medical card forms or any other types of forms.

Dinner with dessert for just €6 can be delivered or collected any day once your order is in before 11.30am. To order call 051 387111 or 087 4611309

The chiropodist visits the centre every second Wednesday and you need to book an appointment in advance. The complimentary therapist visits every second Tuesday and you also need to book in advance for this. Eyes on the road mobile opticians also visit the centre and need to be booked.

There is music in the centre every Wednesday afternoon by local musicians Tuller, Sean O Brien, Gerry Walsh and Bim Connors. There is meditation on Thursday mornings and bingo on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

The centre opens from 10am to 4pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and invites you all to drop in. If lack of transport is preventing you getting to the centre please contact them and they will make arrangements for you.

The centre is of course indebted to the volunteers who pop in to help for an hour or two. They simply call in and have a chat with members, play a game or quiz, sing a song or maybe share a hobby or craft skill they may have. If you would like to volunteer please contact Alice Kiersey on 051 387111.

Anniversary Masses

The booking of weekend anniversary masses for the months of July, August and September have now been taken but if you happened to miss them please contact Linda Spillane on 087 9838392 and she will book one for you.

Toddle Total, Annie Treat and Fun Day Out

Bridge News.

The Ballyduff/Portlaw Bridge club played their latest game on Monday June 11th and the results were as follows:

1st: Mary Prendergast and Catherine Power.

2nd: Sean Hennessy and Nano Fitzgerald.

3rd: Monica Sullivan and Breda Murphy.

4th: Geraldine McMahon and Peggy Murphy.

Hall AGM

The directors of Ballyduff Community Centre Development Co. Ltd will hold the AGM of the company in the Community Centre on Wednesday June 20th at 8pm. All are invited to attend.

Graveyard Mass

Our annual graveyard mass in Ballyduff cemetery will take place on Wednesday July 4th at 7.30pm. This is always a well attended occasion and so I ask you to spread the word to people living outside the area who have relatives and friends buried in our graveyard. Directly after the mass refreshments will be served in the community centre. This is a lovely chance for people to sit and have a chat. As usual I will be relying on the generousity of all you lovely people to do a little homebaking please. I will tell you all more through these notes in the coming weeks.

Our graveyard is a place we all treasure and are lucky to have a very well kept place to visit our loved ones. On your most recent visit you may have noticed the beautiful new footpaths in the newest part of our graveyard and the clearing of rubble from the area. Unfortunately people had begun dumping soil, old wreaths and flowers in a corner of the graveyard. There is absolutely no dumping allowed in the graveyard and we would ask you out of respect and courtesy to your loved ones and those visiting them please bring home any old flowers and plants when you are cleaning up your graves.

Ballyduff AFC.

Our local soccer club are going from strength to strength and have wonderful facilities on offer. Have you been considering getting involved with the club? The club will hold their AGM on Thursday June 21st in Ballyduff Community Centre at 7pm. The club are always eager to welcome some new faces and would be delighted if you decide to come along.

Toddle Total
A big well done to all the staff, parents and boys and girls from Jelly Tots playschool in Ballyduff Community Centre who recently got their walking shoes on and walked and chatted all in aid of Barnardos. This charity work with vulnerable children and their families and do tremendous work. All at Jelly Tots raised a fantastic €450 for the charity so a big congratulations to them all.

County Success

A huge well done to local lads Ross Coffey O Shea and Jack Harrington who have been placed on the U20 Waterford County Football Panel. This is a fabulous achievement and I know their families and club are very proud. Of course these two lads have grown up beside each other as next door neighbours so all those balls kicked over and back the ditch really paid off.

Annie Treat.

The students from Star Struck Theatre school which runs in our community centre gave us 3 great nights of music and song as they put on their performance of Annie. It is very heartwarming to see them all on stage beaming and enjoying themselves. They all treated us to fantastic individual and group performances and of course a special mention must go to Tadgh Kavanagh, our four legged, furry friend who put in a “wuff-derful” performance each night.

 

Newcastle Mass.

Every year a mass of remembrance is celebrated in the graveyard and old church ruins at Newcastle cemetery. This mass is offered for all those buried in the graveyard and all our ancestors who travelled to mass there over the years. This years mass will take place on Tuesday July 24th at 7.30pm which is the Feast of St. Declan with the usual faith walk leaving from Ballyduff Church at 6.30pm. This is to honour all our ancestors who walked to mass every week. The walkers on the faith walk will carry with them a 300 year old chalice which will be used during the mass.

 

Date For Your Diary

A date to mark in your diary is Sunday July 22nd when the Kilmeaden Vintage Tractor Club will host their annual tractor run in aid of The Solas Centre. This club have raised a lot of money for the centre over the past 10 or so years. This event is always very much looked forward to and a most enjoyable day. I will have more information for you over the coming weeks so stayed tuned.

Fun Day Out

As we celebrate the World Meeting of Families this year you are invited along to the Waterford and Lismore Diocesan Fun Day in Mount Mellary Abbey on Sunday June 24th from 2pm to 6pm. You are invited along to this free event with activities for all ages including kite making, candle ritual, tours of the abbey, bouncy castle and music. You are welcome to bring along a picnic or food, tea and coffee will be available.

Parish Website
A reminder to you all and all your families living in other counties or countries that you can read these notes amongst other things on our beautifully designed website www.ballyduffparish.com I have met many people who have told me that people who are from our area but now live abroad or elsewhere love to log in and read about what is going on in the parish. The website also features a fantastic virtual tour of our church which was designed by the very talented James Tubbritt. James’s wife Christine uploads these notes each week and takes care of the website. I mention this because I firstly want to remind you of our website and also because Christine celebrated her 50th birthday this week and I want to wish her very happy birthday wishes and I know James and Faye and Lana made sure she was spoiled rotten which she thoroughly deserved. Every happiness to one of the most glamorous 50 year olds I know.

Brilliant Blitz
Last Saturday morning four clubs and 120 young lady footballers took part in an U8 and U10 blitz in Kildermody. This was a very enjoyable event with great football skills on show. The future of Waterford LGFA is certainly bright. This event was kindly sponsored by Centra, Kilmeaden so a big thank you to Eilish and Donal for their generous sponsorship.

Booking of Masses

The booking of anniversary masses for the months of July, August and September will take place after both of the weekend masses this weekend. If you have a First anniversary or Months Mind during these months please contact Linda Spillane on 087 9838392 before the weekend as you will have first preference over the dates.

Cheque Presentation, Lourdes Night and Home to Rome

Cheque Presentation

On Bank Holiday Monday the 25 cyclists from the Portlaw Village Wheelers who completed the 500km Munster Airport Challenge cycle back in April presented their cheque to their chosen charity Touching Hearts. The guys were delighted and proud to present a cheque for the fantastic amount of €36,826.00. This unbelievable amount was raised through the generosity and kindness of all you wonderful people. A huge thank you to all who supported this event and helped to raise this fabulous amount. You have helped to bring the dream of a new Sacred Heart Centre a bit closer and the children who depend on these services deserve the very best. A big well done to all the cyclists who took part and put such heart and commitment into the challenge. They should all be very proud of themselves.

GAA Lotto

The numbers drawn in the latest lotto draw were 9, 10, 19 and 21. There was no jackpot winner but the three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Niall Clifford, Brendan Madders and Davy and Annie Gahan. The next draw will take place on June 17th and will have a fantastic jackpot of €10,700. Tickets cost just €2 each or 3 for €5 and are available from all committee members and will be on sale outside Centra on Saturday June 16th. Get your tickets early and choose those 4 numbers very carefully.

Hall AGM

The directors of Ballyduff Community Centre Development Co. Ltd will hold their AGM of the company in the community centre on Wednesday June 20th at 8pm. All are very welcome to attend this meeting and please spread the word.

Lourdes Night.

Each year our parish raises money to send people from the area on the Waterford /Lismore Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. To raise funds the annual singing contest for the honour of winning the Jimmy Fox Memorial Cup will take place on Saturday June 16th in O Donnachas. Music on the night will be by Dick Quinn and all singers are welcome to come along and join in the fun.

A Word of Thanks.

Our local Tidy Towns group have asked me to say a big thank you to the individual who donated tins of paint for the painting of the kerbs etc. This person does not want to be mentioned but we hope you know how grateful everyone is. A big thank you also to the group of men I saw out the other night doing the painting. All this painting, cutting grass, setting flowers, picking up litter go on without any fanfair announcing them. People working away quietly not wanting any recognition, that’s how a community works so a massive thank you to all those little magic fairies.

Post Office Meeting

There was a very low turnout at a recent meeting to update the community on the current situation regarding the proposed closure of Kilmeaden PO. The current Postmaster has been offered a retirement package and must make his decision by July 31st but after hearing from speakers we were all left in no doubt that he would be very foolish not to accept as there is no investment or funding being offered to the office so it could next year be forced to close with no retirement package on offer then. Understandably the people attending were frustrated and angered by the actions of An Post and the government in yet another dig at rural areas. It is very disappointing that we look set to loose a vital service for many people in our area and many surrounding areas.

Home To Rome

Father and son duo Arthur and Jordan Curry have set themselves a very ambitious goal by planning to cycle their way from Ballyduff to Rome and all to help raise funds for Waterford Hospice. This charity holds a very special place in their hearts as their kindness and compassion were a God send to them while Arthurs mam Cait Curry fought her illness with great bravery and dignity. Before his mam died Arthur learned that one of her regrets was that she had never been to Rome and so he promised that somehow he would bring her spirit to Rome and allow her to see it through his eyes.

We’ll keep you updated with all the plans for this event due to take place in August and hope that you will consider supporting this event.

Birthday Celebrations, GAA News and Confirmation Time

Birthday Celebrations

A little bird told me that Ballygarron man Sean Guiry recently celebrated his 80th birthday but he wasn’t the only family member celebrating a birthday last week. His son John and daughter Helen also got to blow out birthday candles. We wish them all very warm birthday wishes and I am sure they have had their fill of birthday cake for another year.

Gaa Lotto.

The numbers drawn in the latest lotto draw were 4, 7, 10 and 21. There was no winner of the jackpot but the three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Martin Murray, Andrew Rockett and Donnacha O Fuarthain. The next draw will take place on June 4th and will have a fantastic jackpot of €10,550 on offer. Tickets cost just €2 each or three tickets for €5. Tickets will be on sale outside Centra on Saturday June 2nd.

Gaa News.
The Nursery/Academy section of the club welcomed a very important visitor along to their training section last week. Derek McGrath popped in to say hello and give the group some good advice. It was a real treat for the boys and girls and some of the adults too. The children were awestruck by his presence and humility. The coaches and parents would like to say a big thank you to Derek for being so generous with his time and they wish him and all the Waterford team the very best of luck in their championship campaign.

The club would like to remind you all that tickets for the Deise draw are now on sale and can be purchased from John Stephenson or any committee member.

Confirmation Time.

The boys and girls from 5th and 6th classes in Ballyduff N.S arrived in sunshine at St. Nicholas’ church on Thursday, May 24th to receive the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation. These young men and women were extremely prepared and recited readings, prayers of the faithful and reflections perfectly. Their friends and schoolmates formed a beautiful choir and really enhanced the ceremony. Some of the candidates sang the verses of the psalm with each one singing beautifully. Gifts were carried reverently to the altar and they didn’t forget to welcome everyone at the beginning and thank all who had helped them on their journey to Confirmation.

Bishop Cullinan was joined by Fr. Mick and Fr. Richard aswell as Fr.John Harris a native of Amberhill whose nephew Conor and niece Ashling were receiving their Confirmation. The ceremony was very memorable and was organised so well. A big thank you to all the teachers and staff of Ballyduff N.S who put such a huge effort into these occasions. A special thank you to our wonderful sacristan Ann who always makes sure our church is looking fantastic.

A big thank you to the ladies and gentlemen who gave their time to serve a lovely cuppa and delicious cake in the school hall after the mass. This is a lovely tradition and a great chance for everyone to relax and have a chat. My own son Adam was one of the children who received his Confirmation this year and I must say we were given some beautiful memories to cherish from the ceremony. A big well done to all and to anyone who helped in any way at all.