GAA Lotto
The numbers drawn in the latest lotto draw were 5, 8, 19 and 24 and there was no winner of the jackpot. The three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Mairead Gooney, Frank Heffernan and Mairead Cremin. The next draw will take place on May 5th and will have a fantastic jackpot of €12,500 on offer.
Tickets cost just €2 each or 3 for €5 and are on sale from all committee members and will be on sale at Centra on Saturday May 4th. Choose your lucky four numbers carefully and you could be the lucky winner.
Lourdes Fundraiser
Each year our parish sends two people to Lourdes as part of the invalid section of the Waterford/Lismore Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. This is a wonderful opportunity for people to visit Lourdes and hopefully give them some comfort in their recovery. A fundraising night will take place on May 11th in O Donnachas. Dick Quinn will provide the music and the committee invite all singers and entertainers to come along and compete for the Jimmy Fox Memorial Cup. This is a always a great night of entertainment so come along and enjoy a night of music and song while supporting a great cause.
Easter Thanks
Fr. Mick has asked me to say a huge thank you to all who helped during Holy Week and the Easter ceremonies. The ceremonies were all very nice and it was lovely to see all the community coming together and everyone helping out. On my own behalf I would like to say a big thank you to all the readers who helped me out with all the readings and prayers during Holy Week, I really appreciated all their help.
I must give a very special mention to our wonderful sacristan Ann Nolan who always does such a fabulous job in our church and all this work is done with a smile and friendly chat for everyone. We are indeed very lucky to have her.
Tea Morning
My good friend Niamh Larkin has been in touch to remind me that it is once again that time of year for the annual Alzheimers Tea Day. We have our chance here in our area to support this wonderful cause by attending a coffee/tea morning in Ballyduff Community Centre on Thursday May 2nd from 9.30am to 12 noon. This is always a lovely morning with great company and delicious treats. Niamh also runs a raffle on the day with some great prizes on offer. Please come out and support this very worthy cause. Unfortunately we all know people and families affected by Alzheimers every day and we can do our little bit to help by ensuring the proper facilities and support is there for them. All money raised on the day goes to the Waterford branch. I hope to see you all there whether for 10 minutes or an hour or two. Your support will be greatly appreciated.
Community Alert.
Our community alert group take alittle break from meetings from the Summer months but that does not mean that the group stop working. The text alert scheme will run throughout the Summer months and those of you who joined up will be kept aware of any suspicious behaviour in ours or surrounding areas. We also ask that you play your part by informing the guards of any suspicious individuals or vehicles that you may see. This text alert scheme has proven itself several times to be highly successful and has led to the arrest of several people wanted for crimes. Of course all this can only happen if we remain vigilant and report anything that seems unusual or just doesn’t feel right to us.
Our chairman Albert Kerans has asked me to say a big thank you to the committee, myself Linda Spillane as Secretary, MJ Healy our Treasurer, Pro Niamh Kearns and Jay Dowdall and of course the most important woman of all Belinda Kearns who looks after the very important cuppa and refreshments. On behalf of the rest of the committee I wish to thank our chairman Albert who shows such great committment and dedication to the group. We owe an awful lot to Garda Alan Kissane who has supported us from the very start and has been a driving force behind community alert groups. He now moves on to pastures new and we hope to share the same kind of relationship with his successor. The group wish Alan the very best and he has promised that he will be dropping in on us. If you would like to get in touch with the community alert please contact any of the committee or you can email highroadcommunityalert@yahoo.com
GAA News
The club as always is a hive of activity with lots of action from all the different age groups. The U11 hurlers came from behind to claim a great victory over Carrigeen. This group have really improved and deserved this victory having worked their socks off right up to the final whistle. Of course a special mention must go to the group of “motivational speakers” on the sideline who give the team such great support.
The U9 hurlers were in bad luck as they went down 5-0 to 3-3 to Tramore. They can however hold their heads high as they fought every step of the way and showed great dedication.
There was a super comeback from the Ballyduff/Portlaw U15 footballers as they came back from being 9 points down to beat Tramore on a 5-8 to 5-5 scoreline. The never say die attitude from this bunch was great to see.
Free CPR.
Ballyduff GAA club are endeavoring to organise free CPR training for both the club and the community. The provisional date set is June 7th in Ballyduff Community Centre. Classes would run at 5pm, 6.30pm and 8pm. If you are interested in taking part then it is vital that you give your name immediately to Brian on 087-2486423. This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone and a great idea from our local club. Register your interest ASAP.
Ballyduff AFC
It was great to see such big numbers take part in the FAI/AVIVA Soccer Sisters camplast week . A big well done to all the girls who took part and to Gary Power, Tommy Griffin and Hannah Doyle for running it. Ballyduff AFC were highly praised for doing such a fantastic job promoting girls football in Waterford.