Community Alert.

The last of the community alert meetings before the Summer break will take place on Tuesday April 23rd at 8pm. The guest speaker at the meeting will be Mr. Julian Walton. Julian as you are all aware is a wonderful speaker and historian and will give us an insight into the history of our area.

Attending your community alert meetings is of great importance and keeping our vibrant group going is a great asset to the community. Although there will be no further meetings until September the group will remain active throughout the Summer and our very successful text alert scheme will be ready to inform you of any suspicious activity reported in our area and surroundings. If you do see something we ask that you report it to Gardai.

Please come along to your meeting and bring a neighbour or a friend along with you.

 

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Deepest Sympathy.

We extend our deepest sympathy to all the Bagge and O Donnell families on the tragic death of Pa Bagge which occured recently. Funeral mass was offered for Pa in the All Saints church, Newtown with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. We pray that he now rests in peace and we offer our comfort and support to his heartbroken family and friends.

We also offer our sympathy to Noel O Sullivan, Matthews Cross on the death of his aunt Kitty Murray (nee O Sullivan). Kitty was a former resident of Portlaw but in recent years lived with family in Dundalk. Her funeral mass took place in the Church of the Holy Family, Muirhevnamor followed by cremation. May her gentle soul now rest in peace.

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GAA News.

The clubs U8 hurlers had a great day at their recent blitz experiencing all the emotions that go along with both winning and losing. They all gave 100% and played their hearts out and most importantly really enjoyed the occasion. A special mention must be given to the supporters for their vocal support.

The U10 hurlers had their first outing in the league and got off to a slow start in very blustery conditions. However the team fought hard in the 2nd half and were very unlucky not to clinch this one going down 3-4 to 3-1 to Stradbally

Our Intermediate hurlers got off the mark recently against De La Salle on a very stormy evening and there were some very positive performances on display. The game finished Ballyduff 2-12 De La Salle 1-15.

 

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Ballyduff AFC

Please note that there is a change of date for the FAI Summer camp which will now take place from July 22nd to 26th while the clubs own Summer camp will run from July 1st to 5th.

The clubs annual bag pack will take place in Tesco Ardkeen on Saturday June 1st. Volunteers are needed so please put your name forward to give a hand for an hour or two.

Soccer Line Up.

Sponsorship cards are now on the go for Ballyduff AFC’s soccerathon which will take place on Good Friday. All the different age groups will keep the ball moving throughout the day and I’m sure there will be plenty of fun along the way.

The club Summercamp dates have been released and will take place from July 1st to July 5th. The FAI camp runs from July 15th to 19th. Times and costs will be available soon so keep an eye out in these notes or on the very informative Ballyduff AFC facebook page.

The annual bag pack will take place on Saturday June 1st in Tesco Ardkeen. Volunteers are needed so please let some of the coaches or committee members know.

The free soccer sisters Easter camp for girls aged 7 to 14 takes place on April 24th and 25th. Further information can be found on https://soccersisters.ie/waterford/

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Easter Sunday.

There will be a short service following Easter Sunday mass at our 1916 commemoration plaque outside the church. The service will incude the reading of the proclamation, raising of the flag and the singing of the National Anthem. All are welcome to come along.

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Community Alert
The next meeting of our local community alert group will take place on Tuesday April 23rd at 8pm in Ballyduff Community Centre. This will be our last mmeting before the Summer break so we urge you all to attend and support the groups efforts to keep our area and its residents safe.

We are delighted to welcome Julian Walton as our guest speaker on the night and we hope that you will all come along and make him welcome.

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Tidy Towns

Our Tidy Towns committee have asked me to sincerely thank all who supported their recent fundraising raffle and also all the businesses and individuals who donated items for the hampers. The lucky winners on the day were Mary Walsh, Lisahane, Eleanor O Brien, Ballyduff Village and John O Shea, Ballyduff Hill.

I congratulate the Tidy Towns committee on the fantastic job they do in keeping our area loking so beautiful. Do you have a few hours to lend a hand, cutting a bit of grass, planting flowers etc? Please contact Tony O Leary if you feel you could offer a little time to the group.

 

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GAA Lotto

The numbers drawn in the latest lotto draw were 2, 14, 15 and 23and there was no jackpot winner. The three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Sharon Flynn, Michael Murray and Nina Walsh. The next draw will take place on April 21st and will have a fabulous jackpot of €12,500 up for grabs. Tickets cost just €2 or 3 for €5 and they will be on sale at Centra on Saturday 20th so get down and choose those four numbers carefully.

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Birthday Girl
We send warmest birthday wishes to Pattie White, High Road on the occasion of her 80th birthday which she will celebrate on Easter Sunday. I’m sure the Easter Bunny will be extra kind to her this year. Celebrations are planned with her family and friends and I know they will make sure that she has a wonderful day. I know that Pattie is a fantastic lady to help and care for those around her so I hope she sits back for her birthday and allows herself to be spoilt. We hope you have a wonderful day Pattie.

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GAA News

It’s wonderful to see such a large number of girls attending the LGFA training. A big thank you to new coaches John Laffan, John O Donnell and supported by Rory Phelan from the academy. I hear great reports back about these sessions so keep up the good work.

The U5,6,7,9 and 11’s were all in action last wekend both at home and in Kilmacow. There were some fantastic games with Ballyduff coming out on top a lot. The most encouraging thing to see is how their skills are developing and the great character building which is happening and this will hold to them in the future.

Well done to club player and academy coach Cathal O Dalaigh who was involved with the county minor football team against Tipperary in the Munster Championship. Congratulations also to Rory Dobbyn, Sean Fitzgerald and Jack O Donnell who have it onto the U15 county hurling panel and Billy Cuddihy who made the U14 panel. What a great achievement from these guys and their club and parish are very proud.

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Holy Week Ceremonies

As we get ready to celebrate the beautiful season of Easter we prepare by walking the path of the Lord during Holy Week. On Holy Thursday mass of the last supper will be celebrated at 7.30pm. On Good Friday veneration of the cross, reading of the passion and holy communion will be celebrated at 3pm while the stations of the cross will be at 7.30pm. Holy Saturday is probably the most joyful and colourful ceremonies of the church’s year and will be at 9pm while Easter Sundays mass is at 10am. Fr. Mick and Fr. Richard would like to wish everyone a very happy and holy Easter.

Happy Retirement

I was speaking to some members of our farming community and they have asked me to wish Pat Coady a very happy retirement. Pat has been Quality Milk Manager for the South Kilkenny and East Waterford Glanbia Division. All his friends and clients would like to sincerely thank Pat for his many years of service and they wish him the very best of luck and happiness in his retirement. I’m sure Pat will enjoy following his beloved Kilkenny through the hurling season.

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Easter Sunday

Following the 10am Easter Sunday morning mass there will be a short ceremony outside the church at our 1916 commemorative plaque. The ceremony will consist of the reading of the proclamation, raising of the flag and the singing of our National Anthem. All are welcome to come along for this short ceremony.

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Dancing Queen.

Over the past few weeks I have been telling you about our local lady Ciara Larkin taking part in the The Solas Centre Dance for Life competetion. Ciara and her dance partner Laura took to the stage dancing the Charlestown and wowed the judges with their talent. They made such an impression that they emerged the popular winners on the night. Ciara was delighted to give her time and energy to this fantastic charity. She believes that the work done by the Solas Centre support centre is phenominal and she has seen first hand what great help and support they give to patients and their families. Huge congratulations to Ciara and Laura on such a wonderful achievement, we are all delighted for them both and I have no doubt that a very proud auntie beams from heaven saying: comhghairdeas le mo chailin alainn ata deanta agam dom a bheith broduil as.

 

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Team Success

Congratulations to all the guys from her local area who were part of the U15 St. Declans, Kilmacthomas soccer team who captured the U15 Munster B Cup. Travelling to Clonmel they took on Charleville and defeated them with a 3-2 defeat. Well done to all the team, coaches and mentors.

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Ballyduff AFC

Our local soccer club have many important dates coming up in their very busy diary. The soccerthon on Good Friday is now a much looked forward to event every year. There will be sponsorship cards doing the rounds soon so please be as generous as you possibly can.

The clubs popular Summer camp will run from July 1st to July 5th while the FAI camp runs from July 15th to July 19th. Details about times and costs will be made available soon so keep an eye out.

Volunteers are also wanted for the annual bag pack which this year takes place in Tesco Ardkeen on Saturday June 1st. If you can spare an hour or two to volunteer the club would really appreciate your help.

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Raise Your Hat.

Our parish is most definetly the poorer this week following the death of Johnny Whelan, Knockaderry. Johnny was small in stature but a giant amongst gentleman. A man of great faith he demonstrated this through his kindness, helpfulness and devotion. Johnny worked for the council for many years and made sure that every job was done to perfection and on time. He was a wonderful gardener and took great pride in his garden. Above all these things Johnny was a devoted family man and his main priority was taking care of those around him.

Johnny was most certainly a true gentleman, his signature hat would be raised to greet a lady which I always thought was so nice. Johnny was a devout christian, a hard worker, a devoted brother, kind uncle, terrific storyteller and a giant among men. Raise your hat to a gent and we pray that his gentle soul now rests in peace.

Lotto Results.

The numbers drawn in the latest local GAA lotto draw were 11, 18, 20 and 21. There was no winner of the jackpot but the three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Alice Kelly, Michael Murray and Helen Power. The next draw will take place on April 7th and will have an amazing jackpot of €12,500. Tickets are just €2 each or three for €5. They are available from all committee members and will be on sale at Centra on Saturday April 6th. Choose your four lucky numbers carefully and hopefully you could be the lucky winner.

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Peoples Council

Waterford County and City Council are working at setting up an older peoples council. This is aimed at those over 50 to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect and access to essential services. It is very important that they have access to supports and opportunities to lead fun and fulfilling lives. You are all invited to an open meeting to discuss the formation of this council. Please come along to The Rainbow Hall in Kilmacthomas on Wednesday April 3rd from 12 noon to 1.30pm. Light refreshments will be served.

 

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Coffee Morning.
You may remember me telling you last week about the very successful coffee morning held in The Sweep recently in aid of the Waterford and South Kilkenny branch of Down Syndrome Ireland. This was a wonderful morning which is always expertly run by Seamus and Michelle Dunphy. I was speaking to Michelle during the week and she asked me to say a huge thank you to all who attended and all who donated to the cause. They were also delighted to receive many generous raffle prizes from individuals and businesses and appreciate the wonderful support they received from everyone for a cause that is very close to their hearts. The amount raised on the day was a fantastic €4,060. The kids benefit so much from contributions like this and they are the people that matter.

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Easter Reconciliation.

As we approach the Easter season we may have some Spring cleaning and tidying up to do but we also feel like we want to turn over a new leaf in our spiritual lives and prepare for the glorious season of Easter. A service of reconciliation will take place in Ballyduff and Portlaw churches during all the weekend masses this weekend April 6th and 7th. All are welcome.

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Easter Commemoration.

Following the Easter Sunday 10am mass in Ballyduff there will be a short ceremony outside the church at the 1916 Commemoration plaque. The ceremony will include the reading of the proclamation, raising of the flag and the singing of the National Anthem. All are welcome to come along to this short ceremony and join together as a community with pride.

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Readers Wanted

As some of you know I look after the readers rota for reading at our weekend masses. Most weeks the family of whoevers anniversary mass is booked in look after the readings and prayers of the faithful but there may be weeks where the mass is not booked or the family do not wish to read and that is I when I go to my list of readers who are so reliable. If you feel that you would like to read at mass I would love to hear from you. Remember it is something that you would only have to do if it suited you. We are also coming up to a very busy time in the church calendar and Holy Week requires a lot of readers so I would welcome any help at all. Please let me know if you may be interested.

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Spring Has Sprung

It is so lovely to see so many beautiful signs of Spring all around us. It is heartwarming to see all the animals out in the fields and little calves are appearing everyday. Flowers and blossoms are adorning many gardens with the good old reliable daffodil popping its head up everywhere. I always enjoyed Spring with its promise of new life and hope. With the long bright evenings give yourself a little treat and get out and enjoy the beauty of nature all around and be thankful that you are able to enjoy it.