GAA Lotto.
The numbers drawn in the latest lotto draw were 3, 21, 25 and 28. The three lucky dip winners of €50 each were Carmel Ryan, Claire Trihy and E. Fitzmaurice. The next draw will take place on October 22nd and there will be a fantastic jackpot of €8,600 on offer. Tickets are €2 each or 3 for €5 and are available from committee members and will be on sale at Centra on Saturday October 21st.
Station Masses.
The Autumn station masses continue this week and the mass for Ballyduff Village, Ballyduff Hill, Ballyduff West, Newtown, Cullinagh, Gortaclode, Amberhill and Raheen will take place on Tuesday October 17th at 7.30pm in Ballyduff Church. On Friday October 20th the mass for Blacknock, Powersknock, Carrigadustra and Fan Glas will take place in Ballyduff Church at 7.30pm and the final station mass will be for the areas of Knockaderry, Carrigphilip and Carriganure Upper in the home of Marie and John Murphy at 8pm on Friday October 27th.
Bridge News.
The results of the bridge game played by Ballyduff/ Portlaw bridge club on Monday October 9th are as follows:
1st: John Hartery and Peggy Murphy.
2nd: John Fitzpatrick and Patsy Roche.
3rd: Celia Nugent and Mary O Brien.
4th: Theresa Phelan and Ann Marie Brown.
Date For The Diary
The annual Michael Power Christmas Day swim will this year donate its proceeds to The Touching Hearts charity who are working to provide much needed new premises and facilities for the Sacred Heart Centre who provide a vital service for children with disabilities. To kick off the fundraising there will be a coffee morning in The Sweep bar and restaurant on Friday November 10th from 10am to 12 noon. Don’t worry I will be reminding you of this event in the coming weeks but mark that date in your diary for now.
Kickboxing Champ.
We send our congratulations to Zara White, Ballyduff who took home the Junior title from the IKF Kickboxing Irish Championship in Athlone recently. This is the 4th Irish title for Zara who is a member of the Billy O Sullivan kickboxing club. Zara who is also a two time world champion will travel to Italy on October 25th as part of the Irish team taking part in the Unified World Championships. We wish Zara the very best of luck and safe travels.
Happy Retirement.
We wish good health and happiness to Karl Casey, Ballyduff on his recent retirement from the hairdressing business. I am certain that Karl will not be spending his retirement relaxing too much as he will be kept busy keeping up with all his other interests and I am sure his children and grandchildren will have plenty of plans for him. We hope he enjoys his retirement having given so many years of service to the industry.
Local Hero.
A huge well done to local man Kelvin Kearns, Tigroe who recently saved the life of a 75 year old gentleman who lost control of his car and left the road, crashing down a ravine and landing upside down in a deep stream. Kelvin who came on the accident quickly went to the mans rescue while another passer by rang the emergency services. Kelvin climbed down the bank and entered the stream, pulling the man out of the car and due to the positioning of the vehicle on the bank, he had to hold the man out of the water until the emergency services arrived. The family of the man involved issued a plea for Kelvin to come forward so they could thank him but Kelvin being the unassuming man he is had to be persuaded by his mother and girlfriend to come forward but he has since spoken to the family of the man who is continuing to recover in hospital.
Of course all of us who know Kelvin understand why he was reluctant to come forward. He is the type of character who would not wish for any attention or praise but I am delighted that people now know about his heroic and selfless act of kindness. Of course he didn’t lick these traits off the ground, his parents Albert and Belinda have always instilled in their 3 children the importance of helping people any time you can. Having being their neighbour for many years I have first hand experience and they are definetly the kind of neighbours everyone should have.
Junk Koture
Ever looked at all your recycable rubbish at home and wondered is there anything I could do with that, well all around the parish as we speak young girls from our local girls football club are gathering recycable items and inventing and designing outfits and accessories which they will create themselves and present to you at their fundraising fashion show extraodinaire “Junk Koture”. This show will take place on Friday November 3rd in Ballyduff Community Centre and promises to be a great night of fun with judges flown in at great expense for the night. Tickets are just €5 and all proceeds will go to the girls football team who are making great strides in the football world. Tickets are available from all coaches or by contacting Fiona on 083-1803294.
Gentle Paddy
We were all saddened to hear of the death of our eldest parishioner Paddy Walsh, The Bakery, Knockaderry. Paddy could only be described as a true gentleman. He always had a smile and a chat for everyone he met. He had a great love for Gods creatures especially his cattle in earlier days and of course his great love of flowers and nature was evident to all who passed by his house. His snowdrops and crocuses showed us those first signs of Spring and his daffodils lined the road for all to enjoy. Easter lillies adorned his greenhouse and the entire garden was full of glorious colour.
Paddy was predeceased by his beloved wife Nellie whom he loved and adored and his care and love for her shone out for all to see. Their home welcomed all who called and their faith and dedication to our local church was exemplary.
We take comfort knowing that Paddy and Nellie are now back together the way they always wanted to be. As you enjoy the colours and scents of nature around us think of them both and smile in their memory. Ar Dheis De Go Raibh Siad.