Issuu

125: 18th October, 2024

10 YEARS OF CELEBRATING BUSINESS

Meet the finalists for IRD Duhallow’s

For the tenth year, IRD Duhallow will be celebrating the success and achievements of local businesses in the region. The evening is not only a celebration but also a prime networking opportunity and a chance to showcase the variety of top class businesses. Hosted by Reggie Blackrock, who is sure to keep everyone entertained throughout the night. Categories and the 19 finalists are as follows;

Best Community Enterprise - Sponsored by McCarthy Insurance group

Ballyhass Childcare Facility CLG; Banteer Community Childcare Service; Duhallow Commuinity Food Services

Best In Creative Industry - Sponsored by SE Systems

Dottie & Dora; Dúil; Moon Balloon

Best Emerging Business - Sponsored by AIB Buckleys Bucket List Travel; The Sewing House;

10th Business Awards

Wellness Warrior Coaching

Best Established Business - Sponsored by Kanturk Mart

Allenweld; Ashgrove Renewables; Ath Transna Medical Centre; Teach Altra Nursing Home

Best Food Business - Sponsored by Kanturk Printers

The Daily Grind; The Haggart Bar & Grill, Toons Bridge Dairy

Best Women Led Business - Sponsored by Duhallow Skillnet

Auntie Katie’s; Beginners Corner Montessori; Fine Oaks Alpacas

November 1st is sure to be a stand-out night; Book now through email duhallowskillnet@irdduhallow.com or by calling 029 60633.

IRD Duhallow’s CEO Maura Walsh with Shane Nugent and Jerry Doody of North Cork Creameries; winners of 2023s Best Overall Business Award

Advertising

Editors Note

We are delighted to bring you this special bumper edition of Discover Duhallow with the IRD Duhallow Business Awards Supplement. In this issue, you’ll find a detailed look at the finalists who have made it to this year’s awards. This edition also features the Rockchapel Fashion show, a dazzling event showcasing local creativity. We celebrate the 25th anniversary of Bruach na Carraige in Rockchapel, a milestone that marks a quarter of a century of cultural enrichment. We also feature the IRD Duhallow LEADER information evenings, where community members were informed about the opportunities available for development projects. We hope you enjoy this edition!

Want to send us something? The next issue of Discover Duhallow releases on NOVEMBER 8th!

Duhallow

Kilcorney N.S. Celebrations

Bagpipers Kristen Murphy, Marie Twomey & Gillian McCarthy with the Rural Schools Football Champions from Kilcorney National School.

A huge congrats to Jack, Daniel, Fionn and Timmy Joe who won the Brian Kelleher Memorial Tournament recently. Well done boys and all the Dromtarriffe Juvenile GAA u11 team.

Duhallow Gymnasts Shine at Disney Land Paris

Forty gymnasts from Duhallow Gymnastics Club recently made an unforgettable trip to Disney Land Paris, where they showcased their skills in the prestigious international competition Gymnastique Magique. The talented athletes performed brilliantly, with Daria Savchuk, the club’s solo competitor, earning an impressive second place in her category. Additionally, the club’s team events were a great success, with one team securing second place and another claiming third.

In total, 118 people from across Duhallow, including family and supporters, joined the gymnasts for the trip, making it a memorable experience for everyone. The event not only highlighted the club’s talent but also brought the Duhallow community together for a weekend of celebration and success.

Congratulations to Katie O’Keeffe who has claimed her eight Irish boxing title at the National Stadium, following a second round stoppage in the Senior/ Intermediate finals

Safe travels and best of luck to Linda Desmond of Rylane Boxing Club as she travels to Sofia, Bulgaria for the European Boxing Championship

Liscarroll NS Monster Autojumble Roars to Success! John Brady, event organiser, presenting a cheque for €5000 to Derval Vaughan, Principal Liscarroll NS from the proceeds of the recent Auto Jumble event.

Community News

Rockchapel Dazzles with Annual Fashion Show!

The Rockchapel Parents Association recently hosted their annual fashion show in aid of Rockchapel National School, held at Rockchapel Community Centre. Local models showcased outfits from various boutiques such as O’Shea’s, Linehans and Nóiríns Boutique. The show featured a mix of casual and formal wear, highlighting the versatility and creativity of local fashion retailers.

Ita Geaney, Mayor of Rockchapel, modelling an outfit from Linehans Fashions, Newmarket, while her son Shane Geaney and Pat Curtin showcase clothing from O’ Shea’s Fashions, Newmarket

Photos By Shiela Fitzgerald

Zowie Smith, Patricia O’ Connell and Norma Curtin ready for the Catwalk at the Rockchapel Parents Association Fashion Show in styles supplied by Linehans Fashions, Newmarket

Banteer Badminton Club Celebrates Women in Sports and Launches Badminteen Program

Banteer Badminton Club officially launchedthe Badminteen program, sponsored by Ashgrove Renewables and EPS Group. Recently celebrating 50 years of Banteer Badminton Club, the club’s commitment to nurturing young talent and promoting the sport within the community is evident.

The Badminteen program is designed to engage teenagers in badminton, providing them with the resources and support needed to develop their skills and enjoy the game. The new sponsorship will undoubtedly enhance the program, offering better training facilities, equipment, and opportunities for young players to compete at higher levels.

Banteer Badminton Club also recently hosted an inspiring “Women in Sports” (WIS) talk, celebrating the achievements and contributions of women in badminton and sports in general. Four WIS ambassadors, international Players Rachael Darragh, Sophia Noble, Moyà Ryan & Orla Flynn held two teenage girls Coaching Clinics in Banteer before they took to the stage with a doubles Exhibition match and Q&A.

Doubles

Dairy Women Ireland Gather In Lisrobin

Women from as far as Wexford came together in Lisrobin to discuss water quality, improvements, and biodiversity on the farm. This comes as part of a series of discussions for women in farming facilitated by Dairy Women Ireland.

Edel Keating and Tadhg Buckley, part of the Blue Dot and EIP Programme, hosted the event,

Despite the rain, there was a good turnout on the day

and visitors toured their farm for further education and examples of water variances.

IRD Duhallow’s Ecologist Rowan Lanning spoke about water pollution in all its forms, how to spot it, and why it happens.

Terry O’Mahoney, ASSAP advisor with Kerry Agri spoke about Farming for Waters EIP and how to get involved. Discussions were had about the new EIP and how farmers can build on the work from th Blue Dot Project.

Tea, coffee, and refreshments were enjoyed following the talks

Dairy Women Ireland strive to empower women in the farming industry, and help female farmers connect throughout the country.

They have announced their National Conference dates; Join them on November 23rd in the Charleville Park Hotel. This years theme“Innovation, Resilience, Growth” - promises a day of inspiration, learning, and networking for women in the dairy industry.

Community News

Rockchapel Celebrates 25 Years of Bruach na Carraige

On the 10th of June 1999; twentyfive years ago, President of Ireland at the time Mary McAleese came to officially open Bruach na Carraige. The weekend of the 11th of October 2024, the community of Rockchapel celebrated a quarter of a century of music, song and dance of this special building with a special performance by none other than the Kilfenora Ceili Band.

provided the inspiration for a ‘teach cheoil’ in the area which would serve not only as a concert venue to promote the wealth of music and culture in Rockchapel itself, but also as a centre of excellence for Irish traditional music in Sliabh Luachra and Ireland as a whole. It is bittersweet that Jack passed away this year ahead of such a landmark celebration. Jack championed the centre the celebration of Sliabh Luachra music and culture, with Bruach na Carraige as the vehicle to achieve this. However, his memory and what he helped implement with this amazing institution will endure for many years to come. This unique culture and heritage centre developed by the community, for the community and continues to be run by a voluntary community committee.

gather in rambling houses for a singalong. For young people, Bruach na Carraige offers a chance to disconnect from their smartphones and immerse themselves in a world where the entertainment comes from the instruments and talents of those around them.”

The capacity crowd was treated to a feast of musical talent from Ireland’s oldest Ceili band, who were fresh off The Late Late Show with Derek Ryan the previous week. Joining them were special guests local award winning musicians Caoimhe and Eimear Flannery and singer Fiona Ryan.

Proudly displayed on the wall of Bruach na Carraige is a plaque with the inscription; that sums up the ethos of this special building: “Don’t turn your back on tradition or on our histories lore, pass it on before its gone and lost forever more”. Here’s to the next 25 years of music and culture in the Teach Ceoil.

Bruach na Carraige was established in 1998 with the assistance of the EU LEADER Programme for Rural Development. It has been greatly supported by IRD Duhallow over the years with funding approved for master dance classes, summer camps, equipment, refurbishment, and sound and lighting. Originally, the extremely pro-active committee of Rockchapel Comhaltas spearheaded by renowned politician; the late Jack Roche,

Chairman Maurice O’Keeffe reflected that “Bruach na Carraige is far more than just a culture and heritage centre; it serves as a gateway to the past for people of all ages. It invites visitors to reflect on simpler times, evoking memories of childhood and moments when music, song and dance brought people together. It recalls an era when neighbours would visit each other’s homes or

All present day photos by Neily Curtin.

Louise Curtin, IRD Duhallow CEO Maura Walsh, and Sinead Guiney

Jack Roche with President Mary McAleese and her husband, Martin, at the official opening of Bruach na Carraige, June 10th, 1999.

Denis Callaghan and Tom Murphy cutting the cake to mark the 25 years

Fíona Ryan singer

Tess and Dan Rahilly

Community News

Organising Committee

Front: Denis Callaghan Sinead Guiney Eimear Guiney and Louise Curtin, Back row: Maurice O’Keeffe Triona Carroll Sarah O’Keeffe Brigid Keating and Mairead Murphy

Kilfenora Ceili Band

Liz O’Riordan, Nora Mary, and Seamus Curtin with Sean O’Riordan

Rockchapel Mayor Ita Geaney with Eimear Roche and Dr. Helena McAulifee

Gig Guide

What’s On In Duhallow

An Chultúrlann

Weekly Dated

Monday Night Music

Time: 9pm

Cost: €5 on the door

There’s an open session happening every week. Loads of local music from all your favourite stalwarts. Tea and biscuits served.

Wednesday Writers Group

Time: 7:30pm

Writers group meet every 2nd Wednesday at the Cultúrlann. New members welcome. For details, contact 087 640 6705

Thursdays Ciorcal Gaeilge

Time: 7-8 pm

Anyone interested, please email theculturlann@gmail.com to be added to the WhatsApp group.

2nd Saturday of each month

Rambling House

Time: 8pm

Music, stories and songs. All are welcome to come along, just listen or take part if you wish. Refreshments are served and a great time to relax, meet and chat with friends, old and new.

1st Thursday of each month

Newmarket Dementia Café

Time: 11am – 1pm

A welcoming place for people with dementia, their family and friends.

Newmarket Bridge Club

Time: 7.30PM

Venue: CYMS Hall, Newmarket Newmarket Bridge Club will start its 51st season.

All members and newcomers are most welcome.

October 19th 7.00pm

Book Launch – Duchas 3 Aogán Ó hIarlaithe releases a third edition full of history and heritage of Duhallow

October 24th 11am-1pm

Road Safety Workshop

Time: October 24th, 11am-1pm Light refreshments provided

October 26th

Trevor Sexton and Ger O’Donnell. Back by popular demand. Tickets available at local outlets and on Ticketstop.ie

October 30th/31st

Two Day Halloween Art Camp hosted by Bríd Moynahan 10am - 12pm: 1st to 3rd class 1pm-3pm: 4th to 6th class. Contact Mike on 087 4124741.

November 2nd 7.30pm

Tea Party

All money raised goes to Wildflowers of Newmarket Projects.

Table of 8: €100

For bookings and enquiries, contact: Teresa 0863589521 Mary 0879598362

December 1st

Christmas Fair in the Cultúrlann Tables can be booked for €30

Newmarket Knitting And Crochet Group

Venue: CYMS Hall

Time: Fridays 10.30 to 12

New members welcome, come along for craft, chat and cuppa. If you require anymore information please call Rita on 0862059745

Newmarket

Athletic Club Training

Sunday mornings 10AM. Duhallow Athletic Club training takes place in the Island Wood. All fitness levels and new members welcome

Newmarket Thursday Club

We meet every week in Castlecourt from 2.00 - 4.30pm. New members welcome.

Newmarket Breastfeeding Support Group

Time: 11.00am to 12.00pm.

Venue: First Floor, Newmarket Primary Care Centre, Newmarket.

Facilitated by Public Heath Nurses. Just drop in or phone 02961500.

Breastfeeding mums and expectant mums are welcome.

The Hiland Events

Friday October 25th‘SPOOKTACULAND’ (Secondary Student Halloween Phenomenon) Amazing terrifying scare shows with €500 for the best dressed. Tickets available on Eventbrite and at https://linktr.ee/ thehiland

Saturday 26th October –Spooktacular Malloween (18+)

Revel in Ireland's only Superclub Scareshow! €1000 prize for the best dressed. Tickets available on Eventbrite and at https://linktr.ee/ thehiland

Walking and Social Club

IRD Duhallow’s Rural Community Health Project Walking Group Meeting at the Island Wood Mon 12 -1 pm Wed 11-12pm. Contact ElMarie Young at 029 60633

Gig Guide

Banteer

Banteer Bingo

Venue:Banteer Community Centre

Time: Thursdays @ 8:30pm

Glen Theatre shows

Please note bookings for Oct events will be taken on 029 56239. All shows begin at 8pm

October

Sun 27th

Mary Culloty

November Sat 2nd

Eleanor Shanley and Mike Hanrahan In Concert

Sun 17th

Gerry Guthrie In Concert

Wellness Day Fundraiser

Venue: Banteer Community Centre

Time: 10th Nov 9.30am-1pm

Fundraiser for Banteer Camogie €10 - Cash Only

Information Event

Dromtarriffe

Dromtarriffe Social Badminton

Venue: Dromtarriffe Hall

Date: Every Wednesday 8-9pm

All welcome!

Dromtarriffe 5K

Starts at Dromtarriffe GAA Grounds

Date: 19th October

Runners €10 walkers €5

Walkers start: 3.15

Runners Start: 3.30

Registration from 2.45

Prizes on the day!

Refreshments by Dansa Coffee.

Dromtarriffe Craft Fair/ Bazaar

Venue: Dromtarriffe Hall

Date: November 17th

IRD Duhallow

Level 7 Ba In Early Childhood Care

Date: 23rd October.

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Online

This information event will discuss the part time BA in Early Childhood Education and Care (QQI L7) – which is aimed at those who are working in the sector. This training programme will commence in January 2025 and will be run online with one in person Saturday per month.

Payment plans available.

Full details will be outlined at the information evening. For further enquiries contact monica.gilmore@ irdduhallow.com

IRD Duhallow Led Walk

Date: Sun. 20th October.

Time: 3-5.30 pm.

Walking the Duhallow Way along Clara Loop to Croohigs Cross.

Meeting at the Car Park by Millstreet Museum at 2pm. This is a strenuous walk over open mountain side and forestry with uneven ground. Approx 7km.

Tea and coffee after the walk as usual.

Registration essential/ Contact Rhys on 029 60633 or 086-0849955

Dromtarriffe Halloween Disco

Venue: Dromtarriffe Hall

Date: 25th October 7-9pm

€5 per child.

Prizes on the night for the best dressed kids and parents!

Vintage and Classic Run

Dromtarriffe Vintage Club will be holding a Charity Vintage and Classic Car Run in aid of Dromagh School Parents’ Association on Sunday 20th October 2024.

Registration by Donation from 10am at Dromtarriffe G.A.A. Complex, P51 YY26, with the Run departing at 12pm.

All Vintage/Classic Cars very Welcome

Kiskeam Millstreet Social Dancing

Millstreet Tractor Run

Time: October 20th at 10:30am

Venue: registration at the Pub Carriganima, P12 D279

Entry fee €20

In aid of Carriganima Area Rural Transport (CART)

For further information, contact Danny Lane on 087 2213848

Millstreet Community Calendar 2025

Have you got that special photograph that you would like to be considered for the Millstreet Community Calendar 2025? If so, Millstreet Community Council Ltd. is inviting individuals, groups & organisations to share those photos.

Please email your photograph with your name & the title/ caption of your photograph to millstreetcommunitycouncil20@ gmail.com before Thursday October 31st, 2024. All photographs will be considered. (For printing purposes, the photographs must be of a high resolution).

The calendars will be printed & made available to purchase locally from November.

Mick Cronin Tractor and Vintage Car Run

Time: October 27th at 12:30pm

Venue: Kiskeam Community Centre.

Entry fee €20

All proceeds will go towards Araglen Desmonds Buí LGFA. A raffle will take place on the day as well as refreshments for all. Halloween theme is optional with prizes for the best dressed vehicle and best dressed driver. Please support to help raise much needed funds for our local club and keep an eye on our social media for more details.

Kiskeam Christmas Market

Venue: Kiskeam Community Centre

Date: Sunday December 8th. The Kiskeam Christmas Markets will be returning for a third year! Now taking bookings for anyone interested in having a stall The cost per stall will be €30 To book now or for more Information

Call/Text: Emma 0874586027 Or Scott 0876323397 email: kiskeamdevass@gmail.com There is limited space available so please make sure to get your booking in early to avoid disappointment.

Set Dancing Classes

Venue: The Old School House Foilogohig Ballydesmond P51PR92

Time: Thursdays @ 8pm

Everyone Welcome especially beginners. Enquiries 0876800819

Freemount Social Dancing

Venue: Freemount Community Center, P56 P893

Admission: €10

Time: Sundays 3:00pm-5:30pm October

Sunday 20th

Declan Aungier

Sunday 27th

Fran Curry and Muriel O’Connor

Aubane Set Dancing Returns!

Venue: Aubane Community Centre, P51 EP49

Mondays, 9.15pm October

21st to be confirmed 28th Edward Looney November

4th Ger Murphy 11th Gary Kelleher

Dancing with Dan

Venue: Aubane Community Centre, P51 EP49

Time: 8-10 pm

Starts Thursday 3rd October

Kanturk

Kanturk Fitness Classes

Venue: USA stores, Greenane Street, Kanturk

Mondays

9.30am: Circuits

6pm: Boxercise

Tuesday

9am: Legs, Bums, and Tums

7pm: Dance Fitness

Thursday

4.30pm: Unislim

7pm: Dance Fitness

Friday

9.30am: Circuits

Saturday

9am: Unislim

€10 pay as you go or 6 classes for €50

Private personal training also available - can accommodate individuals, groups, couples, or a buddy workout.

Message Deirdre O’Sullivan or text 087 9273672 for details/ bookings.

Traditional singing

Edel Quinn Hall, Kanturk

Monday

Wednesday*

*First Wednesday of each month

For further information, contact 087 4423544

Rockchapel

Taught by Eibhlín Broderick To register or for further information please contact 087 2530867

Rockchapel

Baby and Toddler Group

Venue: Rockchapel Community Centre

Time: Thursdays, 10am-12pm

Rockchapel Young at Heart

Venue: Rockchapel Community Centre

Time: Fridays

Contact Julie Mary on 086 3935252 or Susan on 087 174 4415

Gig Guide

Round-Up

Star Trax

Venue: Knocknagree, P51HH2Y

Date: Sun. 20th October.

Time: 3-5.30 pm. Neily O’Connor.

Meelin Hall Committee

Presents: A Night of Fashion

Venue: Meelin Hall

Time: Friday 25th October at 8pm

Cheese & Wine Reception at 7:30pm

Tickets: €15

Prize on door ticket and raffle on night.

Big Pink Breakfast

Venue: Kearneys Centra, Ballydesmond

Date: 1st November

Time: 9am-12pm.

In aid of the Irish Cancer Society

Concert for Kolkata

Venue: Cullen Community Centre, Time: 8th November 8pm

Price: €10

Featuring Annmarie O’Riordan and Anthony Holmes, Billy O’Brien and John Murphy

All Ireland Fleadh title holders in Music Song and Story Telling, and plenty of local talent.

Enquiries: 087 812 7388

Tureencahill Bridge

Venue: Tureencahill Community Centre, P51 T66349

Time: Wednesdays 1pm - 4pm

Friendly, non-competitive, enjoy a cup of tea!

For more info:

Contact 087 647 6536

All welcome!

Social Pickleball

Scoil Mhuire Kanturk

Tuesdays 8pm

Kilbrin Community Centre, Thursdays 8pm

Men and women of all levels welcome. Contact 085 2828654 or email info@duhaklowpickleball. com

Community Generosity Shines at Carriganima Fun Run : Funds Raised for Millstreet

and Macroom Hospitals

The Carriganima Fun Run is an annual event that brings the community together for a great cause. This year, the event was held on August 31st and saw enthusiastic participation from locals and visitors alike.

The funds raised were presented on Friday October 11th at The Pub in Carriganima. The night was filled with gratitude and camaraderie as community members gathered to present the funds raised from the recent Carriganima Fun Run. It was a chance for everyone involved—participants, sponsors, and organizers—to reflect on their collective achievement and the positive impact of their contributions. The event underscored the strong community spirit and the shared commitment to supporting local healthcare facilities.

Care For Older People Consultation Closes Oct 24th

The Institute of Public Health is conducting a survey to gather public input on the provision of health and social care services and supports for older people in Ireland.

This survey is to inform the work of the Commission on Care for older people, a three-year government initiative established in March. The Commission is dedicated to supporting older people to live independently for as long as possible, ensuring access to the provision of timely, highquality, person-centred, integrated care in the most appropriate setting for all older people, and promoting positive ageing. All survey answers must be submitted by October 24th 2024. This survey is open to everyone, and ALONE would like

to encourage you, your family members and/or the older people you work with to complete it. You can do so in the following ways:

• Visit https://www. surveymonkey.com/ r/3N8GQG9

• Email the Department of Health to get a paper copy of the survey on commissiononcare@ health.gov.ie

• Ring the Department of Health Directly on (01) 635 4000

• Download and print a paper copy of the survey to send by mail to this address: Commission on Care for Older People Public Consultation, c/o Older Persons’ Strategy Unit,

Department of Health, Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50–58 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, D02 XW14

More information about the survey can be found at https://www.gov. ie/en/consultation/05291-publicconsultation-on-health-and-socialcare-services-and-supports-forolder-people/

Your voice matters. The future of services and supports for older people in Ireland rely on your contribution. If you have any questions about the survey, please make contact by email: commissiononcare@health.gov.ie Note that submissions are closed on 24th October.

Lena Kelleher, Mary Fitzgerald, Jimmy Murphy, Millstreet Matron Geraldine Murphy, and Mary Kate Murphy

Helen Savage, Mary O’Sullivan, Anne O’Mahoney, Macroom Matron Bernie Buckley, Jimmy Murphy, and Mary Kate Murphy at Macroom Community Hospital

How quickly another year rolls around, and after the success of last year’s IRD Duhallow Annual Business Awards, we are looking forward to what is going to be a fantastic event, which will see the tenth business crowned as the Overall Winner of the Duhallow Business Awards. The Awards are a special event, as they allow us to feature and showcase the finest businesses in the region. You will see from the supplement on the

Welcome to our Discover Duhallow special feature supplement showcases 19 shortlisted finalists for this year’s IRD Duhallow Business Awards. I would like to sincerely thank our judging panel, Catherine Evans, Kathleen Linehan, Peter O’Donoghue, Kevin Sugrue and Fergus McAuliffe, for their care and diligence in meeting all our finalists and for concluding their deliberations to select this year’s award winners. We are fortunate to have such a high calibre panel of judges who volunteer their time.

I think it’s fair to say that the publicity that each participant receives is one of the real prizes and I want to thank our team of Caleb, Tadhg and Brendon who work on Discover Duhallow under

following pages that each of these worthy finalists is outstanding in their own field. I want to congratulate each of the 19 participants for the wonderful achievement of being short-listed thus far. There were over 270 nominations for the awards this year, proving that ten years on it is evident how popular these coveted awards are.

I want to most sincerely thank all the sponsors who came back on board again this year: AIB, Duhallow Skillnet, Kanturk Mart, Kanturk Printers, McCarthy Insurance Group, and SE Systems. Without their support nights like this would just not be possible.

Since its inception, supporting local businesses and employment has been a key priority for IRD Duhallow, and we offer a suite

the guidance of Helen O’Sullivan, for putting together this wonderful supplement. We are increasing the print run to ensure demand is met once again. I must also acknowledge the trojan work of our local photographer Sheila Fitzgerald for all the images within. Our own Monica Gilmore, Anna Cieslowska and Shane Lynes of Lyne Media have done a fantastic job of keeping the business awards at the top of everyone’s social media feed and I’m looking forward to seeing their videos, featuring each of the shortlisted finalists which, will be broadcast on the night.

The Awards Ceremony is once again a sold-out event. The team at Duhallow Community Food Services have pulled out all the stops to create a super banquet menu with as much local produce as possible.

So, if you have not already booked and secured your ticket for the 1st of November, you can keep up with the announcements of winners by tuning in online to our social media channels as there will be regular updates provided. The event itself

of soft and capital supports for local employers through our many programmes. We are particularly delighted to be delivering the LEADER 23-27 programme which is currently open and accepting applications from businesses across a wide variety of measures.

We are delighted to have internet sensation and comedian Reggie from Blackrock as our Master of Ceremonies for this year’s event, and we are looking forward to a great night’s entertainment.

Best of luck to all the participants and I look forward to another successful awards night.

presents a great opportunity to build further business connections, identify opportunities and synergies and increase business sales. I look forward to seeing who is next to take up the mantle of category winners and the overall winner Duhallow Business of 2024 this year following on from the success of North Cork Creameries in 2023.

A huge thank you to our excellent Skillnet team of Louise Bourke, Monica Gilmore and Anna Cieslowska led by Eileen Linehan for their work in supporting Businesses across the entire region with a wide range of courses to upskill their staff and drive competitiveness, innovation and growth.

All the wider IRD Duhallow team gets behind these awards to ensure that the Banquet is a top class event, great credit is due to all our staff that will work in the weeks leading up to it and on the night itself in a variety of roles to ensure it is an event that is fitting for these prestigious award finalists and that we can be proud of.

Michael Twohig, Chairperson of IRD Duhallow

Maura Walsh, CEO of IRD Duhallow

Auntie Katie’s

Best Women Led Business

Sponsored by

Auntie Katie’s childcare is a game changer for the wedding scene. She has blended her child-minding expertise with the wedding industry to create a unique service; wedding childcare! Auntie Katie and her team of 8 are well on the way to becoming a wedding staple. They work in the background to ensure the big day can be enjoyed without a worry! From 5 weeks to 11 years old, no matter what their needs, their team have it covered. The business only started in 2021, but as of September 2024, they’ve worked 150 weddings this year alone; that’s a wedding almost every second day!

All hands are on deck; Boss Katie and Manager Clodagh work at weddings while also keeping the ship running smoothly.

It’s not just keeping kids entertained; they cover all aspects

of the children’s care. Their online presence speaks volumes with endless photos of happy kids and 185+ reviews from satisfied customers.

As they grow, the team would like to see the service go international, and with the enthusiasm they bring to every wedding, they’re a dream come true in the wedding and childcare sector.

But who IS Auntie Katie?

Katie Lawlor worked in childcare and as a social worker, but it was while caring for children, she received questions surrounding wedding childcare; and the service was born!

It’s an area in which she has been excelling; she has been nominated for everything from supplier of the year to entertainer of the year in her sector, and in 2024, took home the Childcare Entertainment of the Year award from Weddings Online.

auntiekatie_weddingbabysitting

087 689 9062

auntiekatiesweddings@gmail.com

“I am absolutely delighted to be nominated for an award again this year. It is so lovely for a small business such as mine to be acknowledged and appreciated because sometimes I feel they can be overlooked in comparison to the big companies.”

Auntie Katie herself - Katie Lawlor - with their award for Children’s Entertainer of the Year

Mary O’Sullivan O’Keeffe grew up in Newmarket, and in 2007, she re-purposed her childhood home into a dual purpose; their family home and her business Beginners Corner Montessori. Here, they care for 25-30 children from 2 and a half years to school going age, as well as a free pre-school service for eligible children. The business offers both the ECCE and NCS government childcare programmes.

From the get go, Mary wanted it to be an intimate space, somewhere loving and fun, but with high quality care.

Remaining a small business has allowed Mary and her team to build very strong relationships with the families they meet.

The team ensure each and every child that passes through their care is spoken to with love and affection at all times and a sense of self worth and belonging is promoted amongst the children.

Montessori focuses on allowing choice to stimulate children’s needs. This leads to exercises that are fun but engage their understanding of shapes, nature, exploration, building, colouring, and more.

Their outdoor area is ideally suited to Irish weather as it has a covered space as well as a “Nature Hero” winning garden space. The children are encouraged to explore, plant seeds, feed birds, and engage in what the great outdoors has to offer.

Beginners Corner see the responsibility they have as

educators; positive language and reassurance are vital from childcare staff as it is key to children’s growth and well-being. A stand out during the year is their Christmas Charity event. Santa waits in the willow den in their beautifully lit garden with hot chocolate available for visitors; a truly magical addition to an already beautiful space.

Beginners Corner Proprietor Mary O' Sullivan O' Keeffe

Mikey Guiney

Proprietor Mary O’ Sullivan O’ Keeffe with Staff members Liz O’ Riordan Theresa O’ Sullivan and Anna Lynch

Best Women Led Business

Sponsored by

Whether it’s a day session for your three month old or an afterschool session for up to 14 year olds, Cairdeas Childcare is available 49 weeks of the year. In 2006, the local national school saw a need for a childcare and preschool for the area.

The voluntary board of directors have a wide range of expertise from finance, health and safety, education, and HR. From day one, social inclusion, equal opportunity, and affordable childcare have been the vision of Cairdeas Childcare. Since opening, the service has grown and improved consistently, and they are always eager to upgrade. The facility boasts an in house

chef who prepares fresh home cooked meals daily. Manager Cathy Lonergan leads her 28 staff with the primary goal of ensuring the children’s health and well-being needs are met while also supporting the professional development and training of the staff. Their rooms are impressive; together their babies, wobbler’s, toddlers, and pre-school cater for up to 64 children. Just this year, their services expanded to open an additional School Age service in Ballyhass National School, which caters for up to 24 children during the school term.

Julian, Faye and

support the growth of the school, and vice versa. This is key in retaining families in the area. This school relationship has also made it easier than ever for children to make the transition to the national school.

They understand that flexibility is vital for such a service and they aim to accommodate needs as they change for any reason. Through their relationship with Ballyhass NS, they

“We

Cairdeas Childcare Manager Cathy Lonergan and staff member Maria with Sophie, Diarmaid, Finn, Ellie, Hannah and Cian in the Toddler Room

Staff member Barbara with Avyaan, Roman, Cuan and Niamh in the Wobblers Room

Theo, Teddy,

Chloe in the Pre School Room

A home away from home; that is what Banteer Community Childcare services aim to be. The service opened in 2007, and is made up of a board of directors from a variety of backgrounds and 40 employees.

Banteer Community Childcare Services cater to families with ever changing schedules and commitments. Parents have peace of mind that their children are in a safe and happy environment where they are given the best possible start in life.

The facility is ideally located close

to the school, and can cater to 140 children at any one time.

The staff are led by manager Mary Murphy, and they are dedicated to creating an environment that is perfect for both their colleagues and the children they care for. Emphasis is placed on upskilling and training, and they are encouraged to upskill and further educate themselves.

The facility was opened with the support of €1.3million grant aid, and since then a further €500k has been invested

“We are absolutely thrilled to be nominated. It has created a great buzz here around the centre amongst the team. It’s heart-warming for the team here to know what we do here is appreciated and can be celebrated. We have a premium team of early years professionals and we love what we do, ensuring children are growing, learning and most of all happy. It’s a lovely environment to be in every day and we are very proud of our service. We are looking forward to a lovely night shared with tough competition and many other fantastic local businesses” Best Community Enterprise Sponsored by

in the facility. These include a purpose built sensory room and sensory garden, which is of huge benefit for children with additional needs.

Mary Murphy, Manager.

Children in the Fuchsia Room

Manager Mary Murphy with Lead Educators Rachel Carroll, Katie Mulvihill, Rachel Jones, Ellen Murphy, Aisling Magner and Niamh O’ Mahony at Banteer Community Childcare

Best Community Enterprise

Sponsored by

Established in 1994, Duhallow Community Food Services (DCFS) has been providing essential services including a subsidised meal service to those that are not able to cook for themselves and may be isolated because of age, illness, lack of transport or other disadvantages that result from living in a rural area.

Currently delivering upwards of 39,000 meals per year, the service is a lifeline for many with the Meals On Wheels delivery drivers doing their part in combating isolation and loneliness. DCFS can also help by referring their clients to

other services on offer at IRD Duhallow, such as the community laundry, Warmer Homes Initiative and the many other essential services on offer to those in need in the region. Clients also have the option to avail of the meal service on site at the DCFS Restaurant, located in Newmarket. This provides a social outlet and meeting place for them as well as being open for people living and working locally.

Other services on offer include a bakery, school and crèche catering services, outside and event catering services, BBQ, and more recently, primary school meals for up to 1600 children per day in the vicinity.

The team in DCFS are led by manager Linda O’Connor. With a staff of 55, they provide a warm welcome, delicious, wholesome food and service to the people of Duhallow. The enterprise is also fortunate to have staff from CE, Tús, and RSS programmes who can avail of the opportunity to develop skills and experience in areas such as baking, cooking, customer service and office administration.

duhallowcommunityfoodservices

(029) 76375

info@duhallowfoodservices.ie

duhallowfoodservices.ie

“We are really pleased to be nominated for an award, it is a wonderful boost for our team to get recognition for their hard work and contribution”

Manager Linda O’Connor

Joanne O’Connor and Aidan Creedon of the Driving Team

Ruth O’Sullivan, Marina Pavlova, and Olga Voichuk are up early to get the baked goods ready every morning

Allenweld has almost 150 years experience and it is still going strong. Founded in 1875, Allenweld started out as blacksmiths and evolved into the welding sector, providing high quality custom steel fabrication. The original client base was focused on the agricultural and equine sectors, and over time, this has expanded to include industrial fabrication services.

Innovation is at the core of their work. Their 9 employees combine extensive experience and advanced 3D modelling to produce bespoke designs to exact customer specification. Their market covers both Ireland and the

UK, and this work is anything from structural steelwork to hand rails and gates. As an ever evolving business in a dynamic market, Allenweld seek to constantly diversify and expand, but while maintaining their hard earned reputation.

Sustainability is to the forefront of their strategic plans which encompasses the purchase of new equipment and facility upgrades which implement eco friendly production methods while managing their ability to meet rising demand for larger scale projects.

With an enhanced digital presence, Allenweld aim to draw on an even wider range of customers while showcasing

their impressive work. Their personalised approach combined with their vast experience makes them a strong contender in the sector.

Their experience of working with those within the Equine and Agri sectors has given them an unmatched wealth of knowledge that expands beyond their Newmarket base. “We

Billy, Tess, Richard are just a part of the impressive Allenweld team

One of their finished stable projects

Best Established Business

Sponsored by

Since 2021, Ashgrove Renewables has grown from 16 to 80 highly trained employees with unmatched expertise in renewable energy. Their work includes carrying out full turnkey upgrades including insulation, windows, doors, solar PV, heat pumps, grant administration support, and more. This includes work as contractors for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland who provide eco-friendly upgrades.

Since they were established in 2001, they have seen massive growth, particularly in recent years. Their services expanded from being aimed at homeowners, landlords, contractors and others, and in the space of 30 months, they went from working on zero to 550 houses per year. In addition to their SEAI services, they provide design and installation services for developers and new-build homeowners.

Despite their evolution into the

renewable market, one thing has been key from day one; science and fairness. Their products and delivery are based entirely on expertise. This is paired with fairness in all dealings.

A stand-out feature for Ashgrove is their 50% female employee base; unusual in the construction and home upgrade industry. As an enterprise they take their social responsibility seriously; they support dozens of clubs and communities each year including a year long partnership with EPS and Badminton Ireland in a drive to get teenage girls playing badminton and learning how to set up and run a club.

Their recent investment in a new office and warehouse facility has allowed them to develop their plans to grow their team even further, and put in place state of the art facilities. These include show rooms, virtual meeting spaces,

“We at Ashgrove Renewables are honoured to be nominated in the Best Established Business category. This recognition is a testament to the dedication, passion, and collective effort of our team. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our clients and professional partners who have trusted us to deliver exceptional quality and care across thousands of projects throughout the last 23 years in business.”

virtual employee training, a range of initiatives and incentives aimed at retaining top talent.

They work hard to make grants more accessible, and this led to the development of their app, “whatgrant.ie”. This aims to demystify the grant process for home owners and professionals alike, and adds to their already impressive repertoire.

Tracey Davis Crowley, Cormac Murphy, Shane Murphy Tracey Breen. Back - Donal O’Sullivan, Tony McAuliffe, Sarah O'Sullivan, Rory Browne

Donal Gayer

Shane Murphy – Sales & Marketing Director, Cormac Murphy – Operations Director

Business Support Team on calls

Best Established Business

Sponsored by

In 1989, Dr Bertie Daly, and Dr Zelie Gaffney Daly saw a need for a local GP service.

Their original premises was ready in 1991, and after further sustained effort, the Newmarket primary care centre was built. This space includes a variety of healthcare facilities, and is ever expanding to provide the best care for the community needs.

They are proud of Newmarket - so much so they display the work of talented artists and photographers in their building. This love for the

area ties into the importance of retaining the population. They acknowledge the area has a large elderly population and they prioritise quality of life.

A point of pride for all 16 employees is the accompaniment of generations of families through their health journey.

It is in this they see the importance of sustaining the rural GP service and ensuring what they offer is appropriate for the area.

So far, they’ve grown consistently in tandem with the area’s requirements, and just this year opened their sensory garden, Áit Aoibheann for all in the locality. Their dedication during the peak of the COVID Pandemic was to deliver services in a way that ensured the community felt safe and supported.

Their extensive services list covers everything from

“The Primary Care Centre opened its doors during the peak of the COVID epidemic, in 2020, and has endured, and survived, a lot of challenges. There are further developments in 2024 of a Therapeutic Gym and further medical consultation facilities. Every member of our team is honoured, and humbled, to have the acknowledgement, and the recognition of our endeavours, which this nomination brings.”

consultation and blood tests to minor surgery and a mother and baby scheme, all carried out with modern equipment.

All on one campus, there are General Practice Services with HSE Mental Health Team, Public Health Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Community Services, a Private Physiotherapy Service, Audiology, Ophthalmology, and further outreach services.

Áth-Trasna-Medical-Centre

info@athtrasnamc.com

029 60636 athtrasnamc.com

Nurse Kathleen Mullane, Nurse Mairead Daly, Dr. Bertie Daly, Elaine O’ Regan, Practice Manager, Dr. Orna Daly, Dr. Zelie Gaffney Daly, Dr. Bronagh McCann and Sheila Collins, Receptionist

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In 2002, Teach Altra opened its doors, and in 2019, it became part of the Evergreen Care Group. This nursing home boasts remarkable individualised care for up to 42 residents. Common areas and private rooms are comfortable and cosy, with wall mounted televisions and en-suites, and their beautiful balcony space allows for views of Newmarket. Their Oratory features beautiful wooden furniture and stained glass, and provides a comfortable, soothing space throughout the day. Outside there is a well kept space to be enjoyed by residents, with a sensory garden with herbs, lights, and wind-chimes. Each patient is given the utmost care including specialised care for memory related conditions, chronic disease management, geriatric care, and end of life care.

evergreencare.ie/ teach-altra-nursing-home-newmarket/ hello@teachaltra.ie Best Established Business

Emotional support is offered to residents and their families, and staff have a fantastic reputation. Custom menus and nutrition plans are all supported with nutritious meals made with local ingredients, with dietary needs and preferences all taken into account. Outings are regularly arranged for residents, with families more than welcome to participate. Teach Altra understands that flexibility is important for residents and they regularly change or extend visiting hours to accommodate families. For employees, there are incredible benefits and opportunities, and a robust volunteer programme has locals offering their time to say the rosary with residents and keeping them company.

The overall quality of life of their residents is a top priority for Teach

“We here at Teach Altra Nursing Home are deeply honoured to be nominated for Best Established Business Award. Being nominated for a business award is not just an honour; it’s a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of everyone on our team. It inspires us to keep pushing boundaries and striving for excellence. This recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our residents. It inspires us to continue fostering a compassionate community where everyone feels valued, and respected.”

Altra. Social engagement, mental stimulation, and purpose are all parts of the exceptional care. The facility is constantly improving with care for the community always in mind. With constant learning and development, their 57 staff and Manager Dana Williams ensure Teach Altra remains a key player in care within the Duhallow area.

teachaltranursinghome

029 61166

Some of the residents at Teach Altra with the team of professionals who care for them

Manager Dana Williams

Best In Creative Industry

Sponsored by

The Dottie and Dora Dream has been going since long before they established in 2022. Pet goats have been a part of Siobhan’s life for 14 years now, and in 2021, she expanded to include a milking breed.

The company consists of husband and wife duo, Siobhán Ring and

Their impressive stock aims to be a skincare staple

Alan Twomey, who operate the business part time alongside their own full time jobs as researchers in the agricultural industry. Experimentation is key; in the beginning, their products included goats milk, cheese, and soap, however, in 2024, they made the decision to focus on soap. This is a more sustainable option, but also a more personal one. As a lifelong eczema sufferer, Siobhan discovered the benefits of goats milk, and this sparked a passion to research and learn in an effort to help others with similar skincare issues. From what started as a personal journey has grown in to a small business using all natural ingredients from their own micro farm. This home grown

“We’re delighted! We’re truly honoured to be recognized for our work. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that our efforts are making an impact in the community, and this nomination is a great boost for our business. We’re excited for what’s ahead and grateful for the support of everyone who has helped us on this journey. We look forward to continuing to grow in the local area! ”

approach speaks to their focus on sustainability as well as trust for their customer base that their products are natural and nourishing.

Their newest product - a lip balm, that customers claim smells good enough to eat - is the next step in their exciting path to become a household skincare name.

dottie.and.dora

089 248 1067

Dottieanddora2022@gmail.com

dottieanddora.ie

Alan and Siobhán with Dottie and Dora

Oscar

Owners Alan Twomey and Siobhán Ring

Best In Creative Industry Sponsored by

Rieleen’s inspirations come from everywhere, including her native home South Africa in her Afraic collection

Dúil is creating some blooming lovely designs! Rieleen Bn Uí Dhuinnín came to Ireland in 2011 initially as an Au Pair from South Africa, and later worked as a Yoga Instructor. Creation was always present, be it during arts and crafts with her children or as therapy for herself. She had considered selling these creations, but self doubt was too big a hurdle.

With COVID, her avenues for teaching ceased, poor internet didn’t allow for online classes, and personal reasons made her take a leap.

Her home in Clondrohid is surrounded by nature, and from here she takes huge inspiration for her pieces. She creates intriguing, colourful pieces, often in small numbers to keep her work bespoke.

She started with earrings, and over time expanded to include broaches, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Each of her collections is inspired by something around her and offer a range of designs; the GAEL collection of big, bright, and bold earrings, to the sleek elegant statement earrings of the Gráinne collection, and her Afraic collection calls back to her roots in South Africa.

There is no machinery in her process; just polymer clay, blades, and imagination.

All of her work is done with sustainability in mind; her packaging is plastic free, and everything is reused or recycled.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that my little business, Dúil, has been nominated for the IRD Duhallow Business Awards. As a small business, it is easy to sometimes get overlooked or at least feel overlooked, so it is a wonderful honour and privilege to be a finalist, no matter the outcome.

The acknowledgement this nomination brings has given me an extra bit of confidence for the busy retail season ahead and I’m looking forward to see what the next few months have in store for me.”

As the business blossoms, Rieleen looks to a future with employees and even more of a variety in her design.

Her creations expanded to include necklaces and more

Rieleen runs the show solo in her online store

Best In Creative Industry Sponsored by

When we think of parties, balloons are a staple, but Kristina Dubrovska sees them as more than that; for her, they can be a centrepiece.

High quality balloon decor is a bespoke art on its own. Since setting up Moon Balloon in Macroom in 2016, she has seen the potential to combine her love of event planning with design. This means a fresh modern approach to decorations, centering around balloons! She saw a way to elevate events themselves and balloons in particular. From birthdays and weddings to office parties and product launches, Kristina and her team deliver innovative and timeless designs for everyone. Backdrops, easel displays, thrones, chairs, lights, cake stands; there’s no limit to the party

Manager Kristina creates balloon masterpieces to suit any event

features they include; their designs go beyond expectation and are fully personalised. They aim to make the experience even better and easier for customers in the future with a stronger online services with an easy design and order process is on the way!

With a team of 4, Moon Balloon take their orders through phone and social media. They utterly transform any space they’re sent to.

With such a unique take in design

“We are incredibly honoured to be nominated for IRD Duhallow’s Business Awards. As a family-run business, this recognition holds a special meaning for us. We believe that representing ourselves as a family business resonates with our community. It’s not just about the products we sell, but the values we share—dedication, trust, and a personal touch in everything we do. Thank you for this wonderful honour”

and stand out creations, their goals of becoming leaders in event decor is close. But becoming leaders won’t change their love for community, and their love for giving back to both community and charity is a something of utmost importance for them. Their displays are more than decoration. They add magic and whimsy, they re-frame how we consider decorations, and with high quality materials, their works stay vibrant and intact through any event.

moonballoonmacroom

086 874 9345

moonballoonmacroom@gmail.com

Sponsored by

Aisling celebrated hitting 2000 Instagram followers earlier in the year

In 2023, Aisling Buckley started her home based travel agency; Buckley’s Bucket List Travel. This online service takes the stress out of booking holidays; through her myriad offers, under one price you get your flights, accommodation, and luggage, with deposit options available to secure your trip. She takes out the pouring over hotels and flights to make booking holidays as easy as picking up the phone!

Aisling was a stay at home mom, and once her kids started school, she wanted something flexible so she could still be available for them.

She started up with host company InteleTravel when they launched in Ireland; this enabled her to set

helps to create dream holidays and trains others to create them too!

up her own franchise from home while backed and supported by InteleTravel’s 30 years experience. As a travel lover, she knows what a holiday needs. And repeat customers will tell you she gets it right!

She has her own offers but also helps people in planning their dream destination.

The flexibility offered to her in working from home enabled her to extend further as a marketing rep to sell the travel franchise. Through this relationship, she helps others to set up their own travel businesses.

“I’m am honoured to be nominated for such a prestigious award in our locality along with all the other amazing businesses who have been nominated this year and in previous years. I’m totally overwhelmed and grateful for all the support I have received since it was announced. Best of luck to everyone and thank you to everyone involved.” Best Emerging Business

While her bookings are available to Irish residents, her mentoring extends to the UK and the US. She has already helped 7 families start up their travel businesses, and has booked almost €200,000 worth of travel for clients.

Aisling takes the work out of travel

and in an age of endless websites, groups, suggestions, options, and scams, she makes a scary endeavour approachable. She offers a bespoke service to clients. The goal? Creating amazing memories. By handling the finer details, Aisling helps families enjoy a stress free trip at a reasonable cost.

aisling.buckley.142

buckleysbucketlisttravel

0862049085

Buckleysbucketlisttravel@outlook.com

aislingbuckley.inteletravel.com.co

Aisling

Iwona Drawk has more than 30 years experience as a seamstress and dress maker, and saw an opportunity to bring her skills to Main Street, Kanturk. Iwona started her studies in economics, but switched to studying as a seamstress; the love was immediate. In Poland, she had worked within others stores, but in 2022, she decided to take the plunge and open her own sewing business.

The Sewing House aims to be a hub for all things sartorial; the making and altering of wedding, communion and debs dresses.. And it doesn’t stop with clothing; Iwona makes and repairs curtains and blinds, and up-cycles everything from duvets to bags. Anything made of fabric and leather is fair game!

She is a big believer in quality; instead of catering to the fast fashion industry, she aims to ensure her items last years. In time, she hopes to provide bags and purses for regular sale, as well as hoping to employ staff in the future. This will increase

“Being

short-listed as a finalist for the IRD Duhallow Business Awards has been absolutely rewarding! I’m thrilled to see that my 30+ years of experience and hard work have paid off and are getting recognised in the Duhallow region”

turn around of orders, but will also spread her knowledge of sustainable creation and repair in fabric items.

Iwona is extremely motivated and creative, visualising stunning, unique designs, catering for any size, shape, and ability, and doing so with joy that has brought customers back time and time again.

The Sewing House

0852664643

sewinghousebyiwona@gmail.com

Iwona has more than 30 years experience in her field

Emerging Business Sponsored by

Susan Murphy qualified as a personal trainer in April of 2023 and by July, was running her own fitness classes and personal training from her home as Wellness Warrior Coaching.

She is qualified as an Occupational Therapist and worked in the field for ten years before spending 6 years as a stay at home mom.

During that time, Susan felt she lost her identity but exercise was always therapeutic. She understands how overwhelming commercial gyms can be especially for beginners, but through small, intimate, and structured classes and training, she makes exercise achievable. The environment she fosters is one of support and friendship with many clients forming friendships in the classes.

For many of her clients, self esteem and body confidence are massive hurdles but with

“Receiving such heartfelt messages from both current and past clients, as well as individuals outside my regular circle, filled me with pride and emotion. This competition presents a valuable opportunity for personal and business growth, pushing me to articulate the reasons behind my business and its approach, a challenge I welcome with open arms. Win or lose I will walk away feeling proud of myself for getting to the finals and with even more drive to continue to develop my business and help each and every person that comes to me to the best of my ability.”

the space and support, each client leaves feeling great about themselves. Education is Susan’s end goal; the education to form a healthy and sustainable relationship with exercise that lasts a lifetime. This extends to learning new exercises, perhaps one clients never believed they could be capable of!

She hopes to bring even more classes to Kanturk to make them even more accessible. This includes classes for secondary school ages to understand exercise from a young age.

Wellness Warrior Susan Murphy with Class

Michelle and Abagail

Emma and Louise with Susan

The Daily Grind The Daily Grind

Best Food Business Sponsored by

The Daily Grind started out small; takeaway coffee, smoothies, sandwiches and rolls sold from a mobile coffee business.

In 2006, the addition of a coffee spot was exactly what Kanturk needed.

The shop gets dressed up for the season

For 8 years, they stuck to this spot and gathered a committed customer base in that time. When the opportunity came to open a sit down cafe just across the road from their original mobile location, they took the leap, and now years later, they’re still going strong. Their menu

has expanded over the years; on top of the “best hot chicken roll of 2006”, there is now a breakfast menu, home baked breads, quiches, and desserts, all made to order in house.

In 2023, they brought home

The Food Awards for the Munster Café of the Year, and this year, they were nominated for the Irish Restaurant Awards.

Owners Patricia and Brendan Moylan, their family, and their 8 employees are committed to the community, and they don’t shy away from the hard work that entails.

Patricia manages the day to day operations, and Brendan is there for everything from cleaning to fixing, all while he works his own full time job. Their commitment to the community is mirrored in the community’s commitment to them; a majority of their customers have been coming into them since their beginnings.

“I am honoured to have my Coffee shop nominated in this prestigious award category. Myself and my staff are looking forward to the awards night”

Proprietor Patricia Moylan with staff members

Their social media shows off some delicious dishes

HAGGART

The Haggart Bar and Grill opened in 2020 and since then, it has gone from strength to strength.

Owners Don Stokes and Catriona Sheahy bought the bar preCOVID, when the space had been closed for 6 years. Unfortunately works were delayed due to the pandemic, and when they first opened in August, they opened as only a bar. By December, they were offering food as well, and in

time, their table space doubled to 24.

Catriona and Don are focused on keeping their pricing competitive while standing out from the crowd with an impressive food and drinks menu. This menu includes an extensive list of cocktails and the unique “Steak on the Stones”. Their efforts have brought footfall to Freemount Village, and this change has been visible to businesses around them. As they grow, they keep their focus on helping the locality through local employment and good prices. Their 20 employees are a credit to the business and uphold the high standards set. Their reviews speak for themselves with recommendations and compliments to the

chefs and the staff. In particular, attention is drawn to the many options regardless of dietary choice and need, and it’s even a hit with the kids!

With their spacious seating, fantastic staff, and highly reviewed food, The Haggart will remain a force in the Duhallow Food world.

Bar & Grill

Staff members Róisín, Sarah, Caoimhe and Danielle with Proprietor Catriona Sheehy at the Haggart Bar & Restaurant

Chef Ronnie creates incredible dishes

Spacious dining at the Haggart

Sponsored by

members Dan and Danny

this exceptional quality is sure to keep growing. Best Food Business

The old creamery building in Toonsbridge has seen its share of produce from cows and goats. But before 2011, it’s doubtful it saw anything from Water Buffalo!

Toby Simmonds and Johnny lynch imported the first water buffalo into Ireland and brought new milk to the old creamery.

Toons Bridge Dairy felt like it was a good bet; there’s a great market for buffalo mozzarella and the Irish pastures and climate are perfect for high quality milk production from a thriving herd.

Toby now runs the business alone and has held tight to his identity as a small business. Part of this is focusing on selling to restaurants,

independent food shops, and market stalls. Through this, he and his 7 employees have curated a customer list of which they are very proud.

They are no stranger to experimentation and variety, as well as seasonal produce. Their products are crafted with traditional techniques and artisan processes; this is a unique selling point for them and one they won’t sacrifice.

The goal is to enter the English Market in Cork and explore sales in Northern Ireland. This unique and daring business provides local jobs in a growing industry with endless possibilities and real love of their work.

“We

Their products are already award winning; their Buffalo Mozzarella and Buffalo Ricotta have both won 2 stars in the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste awards in recent years, and

Staff

Jenny Rose Clarke, a director in the company

LEADER Applications Now Open LEADER

IRD Duhallow held two LEADER information evenings this month in Newmarket for our North Cork LEADER programme and in Macroom for our South Cork LEADER programme.

Our LEADER manager and Assistant CEO, Eileen Linehan, outlined the programme, its rules, and the budgets available as well as the requirements that each applicant will have to meet.

IRD Duhallow staff held clinics after the presentation with community and business representatives present. We are now accepting applications for LEADER. The application is available by scanning the QR code. Enquiries to 029-60633.

The table below outlines the budget available under each measure.

Community and business representatives who attended the LEADER Information Evening in Newmarket.

IRD Duhallow’s Elmarie Young and Helen O’Sullivan assisting project promoters at the LEADER Information Evening.

Ciarán Carmody assisting community and business representatives who attended the LEADER Information Evening.

Triona Dennehy, pictured with Fergal O’ Sullivan, Ballydesmond GAA.

Maggie O’Callaghan, pictured with Michael O’Reagan and Michelle Green of Freemount Community Development Association.

IRD Duhallow CEO, Maura Walsh, pictured with Sean Kelly, Bweeng.

Put Down the Phone

By ALICE O’BRIEN Alice O’Brien Counselling, Newmarket

Does your phone give you a welcoming piece of information every Monday morning? Providing information on your screen time for the week. Showing you that you have spent four or five hours every day looking at your screen. Four or five hours scrolling Instagram, answering WhatsApp messages, checking Facebook or reading the news. Four or five hours that you could have spent talking to your family, concentrating on your work, or just looking up from the screen at the world around you.

We are all a slave to our phones; when the phone became small and

portable, it also tightened its grip on us. Creating a dependency that we cannot help but fall into.

What are the mental health effects of our dependence on this device? Because, let’s face it; it has to be causing us some stress or disharmony.

• Smart phones are designed to be addictive, to keep us looking at them. This addiction leads to a loss of interest in other activities, anxiety when away from the phone and irritability and impatience in our everyday life.

• Our phones give us a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out). When we are constantly looking at what others are doing, we are disengaged from

our own life, missing out on the joy of the things around us.

• Our phone is very disruptive to our concentration, therefore lessens our productivity and attention focus.

• Believe it or not, our phone can cause us to feel depressed. The news feeds we are continuously looking at can have a huge effect on our mood.

So, the key message is that although smart phones have developed the world, and opened up many communication pathways, they are not a substitute for real life. So, put down the phone and look up- there’s a lot to see.

Duhallow

Making the Most of a Mild Autumn

By RACHEL BUDD Horticulturist, IRD Duhallow

I think I might have been living on a different planet to everyone else this year. Every conversation about the weather has made me realise that some people have had very different experiences to mine this summer. After an admittedly disastrous spring and early summer the weather has been great. Okay we haven’t had any prolonged heatwaves, and the sun is something we might just have read about in books or seen on TV, but it has been dry and mild since midsummer, the temperatures are still high for the time of year and the soil conditions have yet to really start to show the effects of the recent rain.

So we need to take advantage of this period of grace, and get as far ahead as we can in our preparations for the next growing season. Springs in recent years have been notoriously unpredictable. Either too cold and wet, with low soil temperatures and real delays to

Natural

the start of the growing season like this spring, or with unexpectedly hot temperatures early on followed by persistently cold and wet weather, like 2023.

The soil at present is perfect for harvesting vegetable crops and for tidying up for winter. Clear as many weeds and roots as you can while the conditions allow and cover the beds for the winter. Thick black plastic has always been the best cover for beds, and if looked after well and put away for the summer can last for years. Trying to reduce our dependency on plastic though leads to experimenting with other covers. Anything that excludes the light will prevent weeds from growing over the winter and will allow you, in the spring, to just pull back your cover and plant out your crops with no further work. Beware of bark mulch and wood chip; combined with cardboard these can make a great winter cover if applied heavily enough, however wood takes a long time to break down and robs nitrogen

from the soil to aid this process. This can lead to starvation of your crops in early spring when they are first planted out. Straw is a good alternative, but it would probably be easier and cheaper to get spun gold these days, or you can utilise the leaves coming down of the trees for free. Fallen leaves, collected from driveways, pavements, lawns etc, (not woodland!) make a fantastic winter cover for beds. They must be wet and applied thickly enough to suppress weed growth, and I would definitely take the opportunity of the good autumn conditions this year to dig out perennial weeds such as dandelion and dock first.

If you have a greenhouse or tunnel, another way you can get a head start on spring is to start off seedlings of cabbage, broccoli, salads, beetroot, spinach and onions etc now to plant out in the tunnel in February or outside from March. These plants will be much bigger and stronger than spring sown seedlings, and so will cope more easily with difficult conditions.

Remedies to Soothe Seasonal Coughs and Boost Immunity

By MAIREAD O’KEEFFE New Leaf Health Store

As the colder weather sets in, it’s no surprise that coughs are becoming more common. To help, I’ve rounded up some of the most popular and effective natural remedies that people swear by.

For a chesty cough with mucus, “Dr Claire’s Mucotone” is a top choice. This powerful herbal remedy may have a strong taste, but its blend of ingredients often brings quick relief when taken three times a day.

Another customer favorite is

“Comvita Manuka Honey Elixir.” This soothing blend combines the antibacterial properties of Manuka honey with peppermint oil to clear airways, and propolis, a bee product known for supporting recovery from coughs.

A Vogel’s Ivy Thyme formula, called Bronchoforce, mixes ivy, thyme, and licorice to target coughs caused by excess mucus. Customers have consistently found it effective for easing chest congestion.

If you’re dealing with a dry, sore throat, a throat spray might be the best option. “A Vogel’s Echinacea Spray” works well for viral sore throats, while “Irish Botanica’s

Throat Coat” contains a comforting blend of marshmallow root, sage leaf, and licorice to provide relief. Lastly, supporting your immune system can speed recovery. Taking beneficial bacteria can help, especially “Activated Probiotics Breathe,” which contains the airway-supporting lactobacillus salivarius. For a broader immune boost, “Natures Plus Immune Microbiome” offers a potent mix of 19 different strains to reboot your gut health.

These remedies are popular for a reason, and many people have found them to be a great support through cough season.

Balancing Act Community Childcare Providers Navigating Financial Challenges to Sustain Vital Services in North Cork

By BRIGHID-IDE WALSH Development Officer, IRD Duhallow

In recent years, government policies have taken steps to alleviate the financial burden on families using childcare services, with the most recent measure being an increase in the subsidies provided to families under the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). This initiative, spearheaded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth (DCEDIY), aims to make quality childcare more affordable and accessible for all families, particularly those in low and middle-income brackets. While the increase in childcare subsidies has been widely welcomed by parents across the country, the practical reality of this policy for community childcare providers is more complex.

Since 2019, childcare providers, particularly those operating in the community sector, have faced a freeze on their fees, leaving them struggling with the increasing costs of providing services. Now, with the DCEDIY permitting childcare services to increase fees for the first time in years, albeit by a maximum of €0.74 per hour, there is growing concern that the intended financial relief for families may not materialise as expected. By improving subsidies, the government is addressing one of the most pressing concerns of parents – affordability. For many families, particularly single-parent households or those with multiple children in full-time care, these subsidies can be the difference between staying in the workforce and having to reduce work hours or exit employment altogether. The social and economic benefits of keeping parents, particularly

women, in the workforce cannot be understated, as childcare affordability directly influences employment rates and the financial independence of families. However, while families receive an increase in subsidies, community childcare providers have faced an entirely different set of challenges. Wages for childcare professionals have increased in line with national trends and new minimum wage laws for childcare workers; this is much deserved for the qualified and trained staff working in the childcare sector, however, it is another financial strain for the childcare facility to carry along with the surge in utility costs and the cost of materials and supplies rising steadily. Community childcare facilities face unique financial constraints and often operate on slim margins, relying on a combination of government grants, fundraising, and parent

Liz Dwyer Mallow Community Childcare, Margaret Kerins Tír na nÓg Ballydesmond, Mary Murphy Banteer Community Childcare, Harriet Murray Clondrohid Community Childcare, Cathy Lonergan Ballyhass Community Childcare, Bríghid-Íde Walsh Development Officer and Newmarket Breakfast Club and Afterschools, Miriam Collins Blackwater Childcare Fermoy, Mary Guiney Freemount Community Playgroup, Elaine McCarthy and Noreen Keane Charleville Community Childcare, Mairéad O’Connor Danú Childcare Rathmore, and Elaine Buckley Boherbue Educare Centre.

fees to cover operational costs. In response to these mounting pressures, the DCEDIY is now allowing community childcare providers to increase their fees, but only to a maximum of €0.74 per hour. While this might seem like a modest concession to help providers cope with rising costs, it coincides precisely with the recent subsidy increase offered to families under the NCS. For many parents, the new subsidy could be entirely offset by this fee increase, effectively nullifying any financial relief they had hoped to gain. This creates an unfortunate situation where the government appears to be providing families with financial support, but in practice, the relief may not reach them as intended. Instead, the increase in fees could make it seem as though childcare providers are absorbing the benefits of the subsidy increase, when in reality, they are only trying to keep pace with rising costs after

years of frozen fees. For many providers, this increase in fees is not about profit; it is about survival.

The issue facing community childcare providers illustrates a broader problem in the way government childcare policies are structured. While subsidies for families are crucial, they must be accompanied by policies that also adequately support childcare providers. Freezing fees may offer short-term affordability, but without parallel support for providers, it ultimately risks undermining the sustainability of the entire sector.

Community childcare facilities are at the heart of many local communities, providing essential services to families who may otherwise have few options. These facilities should be recognised not only as businesses but as critical components of the social fabric. If the government’s aim is to improve access to affordable, quality childcare, then it must take into account the financial realities

“As Chairperson of the North Cork Childcare Managers Network, I am proud to represent the nine community childcare facilities serving families in the Duhallow region, located in Rathmore, Ballydesmond, Boherbue, Banteer, Ballyhass, Freemount, Newmarket, Donoughmore, and Clondrohid. These facilities are at the heart of our communities, providing vital education and care to children, all delivered by our highly qualified and dedicated staff. Our teams work tirelessly to ensure that each child receives the best possible start in life, fostering their development in a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment. However, like many community childcare providers across the country, we are facing increasing financial pressures that are making it difficult to maintain these high standards of care.”

- Mary Murphy, Manager Banteer Community Childcare

faced by community providers and ensure that both families and community childcare services are supported in a sustainable and equitable manner. International research demonstrates that a public, not-for-profit childcare model is the most effective way to guarantee families access to affordable, high-quality childcare while also providing fair pay and working conditions for staff.

In conclusion, while the government’s increase in childcare subsidies is a positive step, it must be paired with a more holistic approach to fee management and provider support. Community childcare facilities need the financial flexibility to maintain high-quality services without undermining the affordability of care for families. Otherwise, the intended benefits of subsidy increases may fall short for both families and the childcare sector as a whole.

The Rosary - Our World was Never in Greater Need.

By TOM DENNEHY

October is the month of the most Holy Rosary and never in our history was our world in more need of this powerful prayer. When we pray the Holy Rosary, we have Our Lady’s hand in our hand. When we pray the Holy Rosary, we have the power of God in our hands.

Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, tells us that every Hail Mary is a blow to the head of Satan and if we knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be the end of all evil and wars in our world. The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin and to the Holy Trinity and is a meditation centred on Christ. Fr. Patrick Peyton who was born in County Mayo and is known as the “Rosary Priest” tirelessly promoted the powerful prayer of the Rosary across the globe. Many of his Rosary rallies attracted hundreds of thousands, including several in the Philippines and South America that drew over a million people. At the time of his death, he had preached to more than an estimated 28 million people. It was he who proclaimed the phrase, “The family that prays together stays together” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace.” On June 15, 1941, he was ordained with his brother Tom. He was grateful to Our Lady for saving his life by healing him of tuberculosis. As a response and in thanksgiving, he dedicated himself to spreading the practice of the family rosary, which he had first learned in his own home. He was assigned to Albany as Chaplain to the Holy Cross Brothers. He

began the Family Rosary Crusade, getting volunteer students to assist him in writing letters to bishops asking them to organize a rosary campaign and travelled around the world hosting Rosary Rallies. A rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1964 and another in the Philippines 1985, both drew over two million people. His message always was to draw people into a deeper relationship with Our Lady through family prayer.

He used the power of the media and convinced celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and James Cagney to lend their fame to the promotion of the Rosary through radio, television and film. Fr. Peyton was declared venerable by Pope Francis on December 18, 2017. Let us hope that he soon will be declared a great saint. We now need someone like Fr.Peyton to promote the Holy Rosary. So let us all begin to pray the rosary every day. All it takes is fifteen minutes. We waste so much time doing things which are of no benefit to us or to our world like watching television or spending time on our mobile phones. Why not turn off the radio on your way to work and pray the rosary and you will be amazed at the power it will have on your day. You will even see miracles happening. The praying of the rosary has proved effective so many times since St. Dominic was inspired to preach it in the thirteenth century. It was particularly effective in saving the world from impending disaster. A notable example is the victory at Lepanto in 1571. Invading forces were about to overrun Europe and the outlook for Christianity looked bleak. Pope Pius V spent nights in prayer and commanded all Catholics to pray the Rosary. Churches were filled across

Western Europe with Christians praying for an unlikely victory. Their prayers were answered in what seemed a miraculous manner when the enemy was defeated and their fleets were destroyed in a sea battle which was described as one of the most important victories in history. In recognition of this extraordinary victory, Pope Pius V declared a feast day for Our Lady of Victories now celebrated as Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. Our Lady, in all her apparitions around the world, has stressed the importance and power of the rosary. In Fatima, she told the visionaries, “The Rosary has the power to stop wars.”

Let us begin by asking the Holy Spirit to help us, as we pray the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous Mysteries of the rosary and meditate on the Good News of the Gospel.

Latest Medjugorje messageSeptember 25th 2024.

“Dear children, God has sent me among you, to love you and encourage you to prayer and conversion, for peace in you and in your families and in the world. Little children, do not forget that true peace comes only through prayer and from God who is your peace.”

Communicating Europe

Exciting New Visitor Space in Dublin

By NOLLAIG MURPHY Development Officer, IRD Duhallow

In September CEO of IRD Duhallow, Maura Walsh and Development Officer Nollaig Murphy were delighted to attend an advance preview of the new Europa Experience, an immersive and unique visitor experience which is due to be opened in the heart of Dublin city.

This recently constructed project is situated in Europe House at 11 Chatham Street and houses the European Parliament Offices and European Commission representation in Ireland. The attraction is suitable for everyone including tourists, families and students and offers people an exciting opportunity to connect with both European politics and culture. Featuring an array of innovative facilities this new permanent exhibition, will reinforce the European Parliament’s efforts to bring Europe closer to citizens in Ireland in a vibrant and engaging way. The Europa Experience is situated a short walk from some of

Dublin’s most famous landmarks including Grafton Street and The Book of Kells at Trinity College and features a 360-degree cinema, interactive media stations including a photo booth, educational games, as well as other exhibits. The project will enable visitors to better understand how the EU works, its achievements and challenges, and to discover more about the functioning of the European democracy. It will also provide insights into the role of Irish MEPs and some of the important projects that they work on.

With its central location in the heart of Dublin, the new Europe Experience is cutting edge and highly visible. It is anticipated that it will be soon able to welcome walk-in visitors as well as prebooked groups. This new visitor centre will provide a state-ofthe-art resource to be used by all citizens, students, other educational groups, civil society organisations, NGO’s and public representatives in communicating the work and values of the European Union.

IRD Duhallow’s CEO Maura Walsh pictured with some of the cutting-edge multimedia stations installed at the Europa Experience. These interactive stations will help visitors understand how the EU functions and how it affects our daily lives.

This attraction will be the 13th such visitor experience throughout European cities and will open in Mid-October. Admission will be free.

The Europa Experience is situated in the heart of Dublin City and is accessible via public transport. It is equipped for those with limited mobility, has subtitled videos on display and media stations set up with portable loops.

IRD Duhallow’s Maura Walsh and Nollaig Murphy pictured on the terrace of Europe House in Chatham Street, a newly built project which commands panoramic views of Dublin city.

National Reuse Month With IRD Duhallow’s Revamp

A new lease of life for this cosy armchair

October is Ireland’s National Reuse Month which aims to inspire you and provide you with skills and tools to reuse more at home and work. Here at IRD Duhallow Furniture Revamp, we can help you do just that! To cut down on waste and greenhouse gas emissions, we ask everyone in October to go further by prioritising repair, buying second hand and up-cycled, borrowing and swapping.

Reuse is about valuing our belongings, by using and reusing it for as long and as often as possible. You may have already reused by having your shoes resoled or borrowing books from

the library. These are all good simple actions we can all take. Here at Revamp in Newmarket, we accept donations of unwanted furniture so that we can give it a second life, we repair, we repurpose and find new homes for your items, diverting a huge quantity of bulky goods from ending up as waste.

DID YOU KNOW...

Ireland’s rising affluence has led to overconsumption and growing waste, especially plastic waste generation which more than doubled in a decade.

Your part to play in circularity

A circular approach encourages a shift towards a sufficiency-based lifestyle, favouring local and circular products and supporting repair services, for example We’ve often eased our waste guilt through recycling, but it’s time to shift our mindset and prioritize actions that go beyond recycling, such as:

REDUCE: Less is more! Use less, avoid impulse buying and focus on quality and local products over quantity.

REUSE: Donate or swap, repair and maintain, re-purpose and get

DID YOU KNOW...

Ireland’s residents consume 22 tonnes of raw materials per person annually, above the EU average and nearly 3 times the “sustainable” level of consumption estimated to be 8 tonnes per capita.

*Circularity gap report

creative! So dump those Insta accounts of “shopping haul” for creative ones giving you endless hacks on how to transform and reuse what you already have. If that’s not your thing, bring your items of furniture to us and see what we can do!

Did you know that most dining chairs can be reupholstered, often costing less than 50% of the price of a new set? You get to update your dining room, with a limitless choice of colours and designs, and even saving yourself the hassle of disposing of items that can still serve their purpose.

Jessica Baron and Ann O’Connor sharing re use and repair skills

BETTER FOR YOUR POCKET, BETTER FOR THE PLANET!

Few things are as frustrating as having to dispose of surplus paints, often resulting from home improvement projects that require just a bit less than what a single can provides, leading to waste and inconvenience.

What’s more, Ireland sends thousands of tonnes of waste paint every year to be incinerated, at a

DID YOU KNOW...

Over 97% of materials in Ireland’s economy come from virgin sources, only 2.7% of the materials come from secondary sources, and 58% of Ireland’s carbon footprint is linked to imported products.

*Circularity gap report

significant cost and environmental impact. The disposal process is not only expensive but also contributes to pollution and resource wastage.

New paint can also cost you as much as €25 per litre a staggering 8 times more than what we offer with our quality remixed RELOVE paint, at only €3 per litre.

With over three years experience in paint remixing and overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers, you can trust that you are getting quality without breaking the bank. By choosing RELOVE paint, you’re not only saving money but also supporting a more sustainable approach to home improvement.

DID YOU KNOW...

Some of the services we offer:

• Reupholstery

• Wood repair and refinishing

• Basic furniture repairs

• Sofa springs and foam replacements

• Collection and delivery service

Crossword sponsored by Duhallow Community Food Services

Across

1. Large house (7)

5. Pieces of information (5)

8. Profits (5)

9. Gruesome (7)

10. Retaliated (7)

11. Form of transport (5)

12. Hostility (6)

14. Stick (6)

18. Permit (5)

20. Sincere (7)

22. Creatures (7)

23. Doctrine (5)

24. Ledge (5)

25. Sweet (7)

Down

1. Tycoon (7)

2. Dissonance (5)

3. Perceptiveness (7)

4. Wanderers (6)

5. Aspect (5)

6. Vegetable (7)

7. Austere (5)

13. Discomfort (7)

15. Mocks (7)

16. Pull out (7)

17. Stopped (6)

18. Accumulate (5)

19. Dock (5)

21. Bird of prey (5)

Solution: Issue 124, October 4th, 2024

Complete the crossword and post with your name and contact details to:

Discover Duhallow Puzzle Competition, James O’Keeffe Institute Newmarket, Co. Cork

Or simply scan completed puzzle or take a snap with your phone email to discoverduhallow@irdduhallow.com

Terms & Conditions:

Deadline for submissions is noon on Friday, NOVEMBER 1st 2024.

First correct entry drawn will win a €20 voucher, valid for three months from date of issue, to be redeemed for food at the Duhallow Community Food Services. No cash alternative. Winner will be named in subsequent issue of Discover Duhallow. One entry per person. No correspondence will be entered into. Voucher to be collected from Duhallow Community Food Services, Newmarket.

Congratulations to Kate Twomey, Rathduane, Rathmore who wins a €20 voucher for Duhallow Community Food Services!