St. Nicholas’s Choir.
Our parish choir enhance our weekend masses and their beautiful Christmas concert in aid of the church renovation fund was something we will all remember for a long time. The choir practice every Wednesday night in the church from 8pm to 9pm and would love to welcome some new members. This is a perfect time to join and so all men and women are encouraged to take that next step. The choir love to learn some new hymns and will introduce many of those pieces in January. If you would like any further information, please contact Eamonn on 086 8592014 and he will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Community Alert
Our community alert group are a very important group in our area, and the text alert scheme is invaluable and has helped on numerous occasions to apprehend those involved in a crime. It alerts people of crime in other areas so that we are aware of suspicious vehicles or activities. Please spread the word about this text alert scheme to your friends and neighbours as together we are stronger. The €10 text alert fee is now due. To renew your subscription, please contact any of the following Jay Dowdall, Chris Pragnell or MJ Healy.
The group will hold their AGM on February 4th at 8pm in Ballyduff Community Centre and you are asked to put this date in your diary and spread the word to your friends and neighbours. We are very lucky to have a low level of crime in our area and this is due to having a brilliant community alert scheme which highlights any possible problems in our area. It is important that we attend our community alert meetings and give our full support to them. A drop in attendance or payment of text alert fees would be very damaging to the group. The meetings are a wonderful way to come together to discuss any worries or concerns we may have. The local Gardaí are always in attendance and there is always an interesting speaker on the night.
Church News.
Renovations are making great progress on our church but there is still a lot of work to be done. All donations are very welcome and can be made online or to any committee member or can be dropped into the weekly collection basket in an envelope marked Church Fund.
You are asked to keep Fr. Francis in your thoughts and prayers. He became ill while visiting his family in India and cannot travel back for a while. We all wish him a speedy recovery. We are blessed to have some wonderful priests helping but not all masses can be covered so for the moment our masses at the weekends are as follows Saturday at 6pm in Portlaw Church and Sunday at 10am in Ballyduff Church.
Ballyduff AFC
The club would like to thank Friends of the Earth Skip Hire and Fuels Ltd for their very generous sponsorship of 18 new jerseys for the U12 Girls Team. The club feel very lucky to receive such sponsorship from local businesses and they know that the girls will wear their jerseys with great pride as they represent their club and community.
As the club looks forward to the new junior season, they are looking for some new players to join the Division 3 squad. This a young team with a lot of potential who would benefit from experienced players. If you are interested please fill out the form on the club’s Facebook page or contact 087 2764883.
The club are really looking forward to 2026 as there are many exciting plans in place with plans for the clubhouse extension firmly in place. The extension plans include a gym, community meeting rooms, Female changing and shower rooms, disabled toilets and a balcony. The club also plan an energy efficient upgrade to the existing clubhouse and a full size, floodlit all weather pitch for their Football for All group.
One of the main fundraisers for this project is their monthly draw and they are inviting everyone to join the draw and support your local club. To join the draw just log on and follow the details https://hub.klubfunder.com/BallyduffAFC/payit/ticketsales
Kilmeaden Litter Lifters
The Kilmeaden Litter Lifters are a fabulous group of people who meet once a month and make their way around the nearby roads picking up litter that has been thrown out of passing vehicles or dropped in our area. It is absolutely thoughtless of people to just drop their litter when it is so easy to just bring the rubbish home with you. The group collected 37 bags around the roads in one weekend. A huge thank you to this wonderful group of volunteers and to the many other people who clean around their own area every week.
Recent Death
Our community was plunged into sadness on hearing of the recent death of Michael Junior Power, Ballyduff Village. A man of great loyalty, respect and devotion, Michael made a lasting impression on everyone he met. His tremendous love for his family was evident to all and his wife Bridget, daughters Stephanie, Caroline and Miriam and son Kieran were the centre of his world. He thought them all the importance of hard work, sincerity, pride in your community and kindness to others. He was a quiet unassuming character who carried out his daily life and helped whoever he could along the way.
A talented footballer and cyclist, Michael was a very proud member of our local church choir and would have been very proud of the beautiful hymns they performed at his funeral mass. Michael will be sadly missed by all his family but also by a community that mourn his great loss. He will always be fondly remembered, and his legacy will live on through his children and grandchildren. May his sweet, gentle soul now rest in peace and may he enjoy comfort and peace in Heaven with the Lord.
Ballyduff GAA
The first draw of the club’s lotto for 2026 will take place on January 18th, 2026. Tickets are just €2 each or three for €5 and can be purchased from all committee members, online or from one of the volunteer sellers who will be at Centra, Kilmeaden on Saturday January 17th.
Congratulations to the Portlaw/Ballyduff U20 Footballers who were crowned County Champions as they defeated An Ghaeltacht 4-8 to 0-8 at Colligan GAA pitch. The lads put in a great effort and kept up the pace throughout the game. They played some great football and played together brilliantly. Congratulations also to their management team of Paul Shankey, Jack O Donnell, John Squelchy Walsh, Eoin Cummins, Harry Murphy and DJ Foran.
Kilmeaden Community Network.
The Kilmeaden Community Network Group hosted a Warmer Homes Workshop in Ballyduff Community Centre on Tuesday January 6th at 7pm. This workshop was delivered by Teresa Phelan SEC Mentor and was supported by SEAI and the Southeast Energy Agency. The group were delighted to see such a great attendance and thank all who took part.
Thought for the New Year.
We all get the same 365 days.
The only difference is what we do with them.
Notes.
If you would like me to include any items in these notes for you please contact
me Linda Spillane on 087 9838392 or spillanelinda2017@gmail.com It is a
wonderful way to keep in touch with what is going on in the local community
and to inform people about things happening within your club or organisation.