Muskerry news may 2018

muskerry news

FREE

incorporating northcitynews

Vol 16, Issue 6

May 2018

www.muskerrynews.biz

INSIDE THIS ISSUE at a

Glance ... page 10

honours Ballincollig

Tom Butler

DRIVERS WANTED ... page 12

ey

al Journ kes a Music ta a rr a B il o Sc

... page 14

inning!

r is award w

Eoin’s bante

... page 18

lk

wa bered with Liam remem HF for S

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Muskerry News

muskerrynews

FREE

incorporating northcitynews

Vol 16, Issue 4

March 2018

www.muskerrynews.biz

incorporating North City News Church View, Blarney, Co. Cork. t: 087 2330398 / 087 2513126

e: muskerrynews@eircom.net

www.muskerrynews.biz

The June edition of The Muskerry News, incorporating The North City News, will be published on Thursday June 14th and closing date for submissions is Thursday June 7th.

Jo O’Donovan Anam Cara, Imelda Power Ballincollig, Valerie O’Riordan Anam Cara, and Majella Crowley pictured at The Anam Cara Cork Lunch as they commemorate 10 years of supporting bereaved parents in Cork. pic Gerard McCarthy

Miriam Murphy, Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál Blarney, pictured at the CIT SciFest 2018. pic Darragh Kane

Ciara Jane O’Sullivan, Blarney, pictured with Sean Abbott, Chief Executive Cope Foundation at the launch of Flowers of Hope fundraising campaign. pic Darragh Kane

Vera Twomey, pictured as she received a People of the Year Award at the 43rd Rehab People of the Year Awards. pic Robbie Reynolds

MAY

Muskerry News

US tourist says big thank you to Blarney!!

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The US tourist who was airlifted from the top of Blarney Castle after going into cardiac arrest issued an emotional thank you to the people who saved his life, wrote Eoin English in the Irish Examiner. David Motte, 59, from North Carolina, said he has forged a special bond with the Irish people, and said he and his wife, Joy, will never be able to thank everyone enough.

“I probably shouldn’t be here right now, but the fact that I am is testimony to the great work those people did on Friday,” he said.

“The fact that everyone was so prepared ... I am ever so grateful. I owe my life to them.”

Speaking from his hospital bed in Cork University Hospital (CUH) he said, “I, we, have been trying to thank everyone. But I don’t think we will ever be able to thank them enough. “I cannot tell you how caring and gracious the people have been. The people we have met are just so wonderful.

“We were in dire circumstances, and we have just been so touched by the outpouring of support, and by the love and concern people have shown. “We have fallen in love with Ireland. I have formed a special bond with the people of Ireland.”

The couple arrived in Ireland on their first visit here, to explore Joy’s Irish heritage, and were a few steps from the top of Blarney Castle when David collapsed. Castle staff, who are trained in first aid, gave immediate assistance before Jeremy Downey, a volunteer with Blarney Community First Responders who was working nearby, arrived on scene, followed soon afterwards

by National Ambulance Service paramedics.

They administered CPR and used a defibrillator and revived him.

However, given the location and David’s critical condition, an airlift was called.

The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, winched David from the top of the castle and transferred him to a waiting ambulance, which rushed him to CUH. David was released from CUH in time to enjoy the last few days of his holiday before returning home, vowing to return and kiss the Blarney stone!”

It’s a wonderful day when a man become seriously ill, yet leaves the village alive thanks to the excellent response from staff at Blarney Castle, those on the scene who started CPR with immediate effect, and our hard working first responders, paramedics, coastguard and fire brigade.

Siobhan Hogan, centre, pictured above with Blarney Community First Responders, was instrumental in the dramatic save of David Motte recently at Blarney Castle. Her speed in getting the AED to David, and confidence of use, was pivotal in his outcome.

Like all Castle staff, several more of whom attended on the day, she is fully proficient in CPR, AED use and advanced first aid techniques.

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Muskerry News

The Schools and Health Foundation

a charity founded by the Mitchell Family from Blarney, were the recipients of a donation of €530 from a fitness group called ‘Fat Boy, Slims’ led by Paul Sheridan, of which Dr. Brian Wiseman is a member.

Brian’s daughter Niamh is one of the students from Scoil Mhuire Cork who is travelling to Sierra Leone this month to help build schools.

You can find out more on www.schoolsandhealthfoundation.com

Talented local girl Ciara Crowley who was one of those who celebrated American College Dublin’s 25th anniversary with a superb showcase of the works of Broadway’s legendary song writing partnerships at The National Concert Hall.

The college is also proud to have topped the Irish iTune charts recently raising much needed funds for Down Syndrome Cork Field of Dreams project on Mary Keohane, Deborah Maguire and Sue Pamment, all from Blarney, enjoying the County Mayor’s community awards ceremony International Down Syndrome Day, March 21st. for 2018 at Cork County Hall. pic David Keane

Anna O’Connor, Scoil Mhuire Gan Small Blarney, who is developing a solar power device to aid education in developing countries, pictured at the CIT SciFest 2018. pic Darragh Kane

Interested in being part of a ‘ghost tour’ acting group in Blarney?

Calling all actors, drama queens and kings, and story tellers!

A meeting will be held at The Castle Hotel, Blarney, on Wednesday May 16th at 7.30pm to discuss the opportunity of entertaining our summer visitors with a fee paying ghost tour around the village that is based on our heritage trail and map. Tours to start and finish in our local pubs. Plenty of material and props available.

Would suit a group of interested persons, so that a flexible rota of two paid actors minimum per tour could operate throughout the summer months. All welcome, and all suggestions up for debate!

Contact Brand Blarney on 087 1961454 / info@brandblarney.com for more details.

Sisters Laura and Leona Downey, Ballincollig, pictured at the Smarter Egg Red Chair double bill at The White Horse. pic Donagh Glavin

Blarney & District Garden and Flower Club present

An evening in Ravenscourt Garden Centre with Anna Bailey Thursday 24th May 2018 at 7.30pm Members only please

Muskerry News

Orlaith Kenny from Blarney.

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Victor O’Sullivan, Bluebell Falls, Máire Ní Mhurchú, festival chairperson, Breda O’Sullivan, Bluebell Falls, Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin, Hegarty Cheese, Lenka Forrest, festival secretary, Cllr.

Kevin Conway, deputising for the Mayor of the County of Cork, Joe McNamee, food writer, Zwena McCullagh of Hydro Allotments, Martina Cronin of the Square Table Restaurant, Blarney and Patrick Mulcahy of Ballinwinnin House, Mitchelstown, at the Old Butter Roads festival opening.

Community Garda Sean O’Dwyer chatting with Martina Cronin of the Square Table Restaurant, Joe McNamee, food writer, Paddy O’Brien from Glasheen Road, during the Old Blarney with Lenka Forrest, festival secretary, speaking at the official opening of Butter Roads festival opening at the Church of the and Maire Ni Mhurchu, chairperson. the Old Butter Roads festival.

Resurrection in Blarney.

Neringa and Cian McCarthy.

All smiles from David and Freya Wiseman, Rathpeacon.

Enjelvin of Hegarty Patrick Mulcahy of Ballinwinnin House, Tim McCarthy of McCarthy Butchers, Jean-Baptiste Mitchelstown and Victor O’Sullivan of Bluebell Falls. Kanturk and Celeste Buckley of Cheese and Zwena McCullagh of Hydro Allotments.

Aubane

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Muskerry News

No-one else has to die here - that’s the blunt message from two Americans with a tragic connection who have backed calls to close a lethal turn on a stretch of the N20 Cork to Limerick road, reports Eoin English in the Irish Examiner “Last September, Diana Baker’s father Jim, 62, was killed alongside Peggy Adams, 59, both from Indiana, in a crash at the Waterloo junction while following satnav directions for Blarney.

Judy Dinehart from Stillwater, Minnesota, escaped with minor injuries following a crash at the same junction just two weeks ago in which her partner, Daniel Pilarski, was seriously injured.

They too were following satnav directions for Blarney when their hire car was struck by a van while making a right turn at the Waterloo junction. The safer left turn to the tourist village is just two miles further south. The two women, who met in Blarney, have now backed an online petition, organised by Damian Boylan, to close off the right turn for southbound motorists. “I want to give purpose to my father’s death, for his death not to be in vain,” said Diana.

Speaking after laying flowers at the spot where he died, she said: “If I don’t do something, every single accident that happens here after this is on me, their blood is on my hands. I have the opportunity to make a change. He died but nobody else has to. We all need to step up and get this right-hand turn closed.”

She told the Irish Examiner that as she visited the crash site, debris from the most recent crash was still visible at the junction.

The scene of the September 2017 accident, near the N20 Waterloo junction, in which Jim Baker was killed.

Judy, who is maintaining a daily vigil at Daniel’s bedside in Cork University Hospital, said she remembers Daniel indicating right, stopping, and waiting for a break in the oncoming traffic.

“It just happened so fast. We both saw the quick approach and screamed, ‘oh no, no’,” she said.

“Someone in Ireland’s transportation system or councils needs to be brave enough to step up to the task and make this area safe for everyone involved.”

Both women said that, in the short-term, warning signs should be erected advising against the satnav’s right turn directions to Blarney through Waterloo.

Diana Baker and Judy Dinehart, pictured with Damain Boylan who is petitoning to save lives at the busy and lethal junction.

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Muskerry News

Minding your money with Anthony Forde - Blarney Credit Union

Ensure your 2018 Wedding is (financially) Stress-Free

December continues to be the most popular month of the year for engagements, with 24% of couples typically embarking on planning their weddings in the New Year. Considering, the average couple spend €66 per guest, (a quarter will even spend €80), and will invite 159 of their nearest and dearest, going over-budget is definitely something couples want to avoid when looking at their nuptial financial planning.

However, a huge 50% of couples admit to doing just this. 15% said they went over-budget by as much as €5,000. On average, couples are now spending over €24,000 on their wedding and honeymoon an 8% increase year on year. And with the cost of wedding venues, bands and photographers all on the rise, it’s likely that many couples will need some guidance along the way to keep their spending in check.

Jane Deely, Dell EMC, Edel O’Flynn, Ballincollig, Colman O’Flynn, Dell EMC and Sinead O’Keeffe, Enable Ireland pictured at the Smarter Egg Red Chair double-bill at the White Horse. pic Donagh Glavin Kate Lehane, Blarney, who won silver at the Foroige Youth Citizenship Awards for her project ‘Battles of the Mind’ which uses virtual audio illusions to raise awareness for Mental Health.

Kate had the opportunity to present her project to Minister David Stanton and Mary Lou McDonald.

It’s expected that around 17% of couples will have to borrow to cover the costs. If you do need to borrow, why not do it with your Credit Union, we would encourage members, including those who have not used our services in a while, to drop in for a chat when planning their special day.

It goes without saying, but do your research. Shop around and compare prices, even if you have seen your dream dress or chosen your honeymoon accommodation, take a look at what competitors are offering before you sign the dotted line. Be up front with your wedding vendors. Let them know you are working to a budget and be honest with them about how much you are willing to spend and if it’s not a good fit, move on. Ensure that you read all contracts thoroughly before signing. Be aware of deposits, and when you have to pay the total amount, which is often in advance of the wedding. Pay attention to any additional fees or charges. If you are uncomfortable with any fee or clause in the contract, question it before you sign.

It’s understandable, there will always be couples that may want to borrow in order to make their dream day a reality. At your Credit Union, they will only propose wedding loans with realistic terms, which can be paid back in a way that works best for each couple.

They don’t have any hidden transaction fees or charges. Should any couple wish to pay back their loan early, they can easily do so without any penalty or additional fees.

They also offer Foreign Exchange for that all important honeymoon.

In short, your Credit Union will do everything they can to ensure that you have your dream day without any financial stress.

Donie Howard, Kilcorney and Evelyn Tarrant, Coachford, attending the County Mayor’s community awards ceremony for 2018 hosted

by Cork County Council, at Cork County Hall. pic David Keane

It’s wonderful​ that there are now so many women, of all ages, taking giant steps and taking charge of their own lives by starting new businesses. This was celebrated at Majella’s Beauty Salon, Kerry Pike, with Jill Ward Kelliher and the fabulous Stella and Dot collection, the gorgeous Chris from Pebble lyrics, and not forgetting the delectable delights from Nicole of Momma’s kitchen.

Muskerry News

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10 Muskerry News The latest winner of the Talbot Collection Cork (incorporating Oriel House Hotel and the Midleton Park Hotel) Community, Business and Sports Awards is Tom Butler, Chairman of Ballincollig Tidy Towns.

Tom was born in Carlow but grew up in Bishopstown and Inniscarra, and went to School in Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown, and Presentation Brothers College where the sense of ‘giving back’ was instilled in him by Brother Jerome, the founder of Share. A similar sense of community was also instilled through scouting which Tom joined at the age of 7 and in which he is still involved today.

Tom originally worked with Esso Ireland and in 1992 joined Apex Fire where he is now Regional Manager for Munster, managing a team of 20. Tom has been married to Ann Marie since 1987 and they have two grown up children, David and Kara. On moving to Ballincollig Tom immediately got involved in such organisations as the Parents Association and Board of Management of Scoil Barra, the Residents Association, the Board of Ballincollig Credit Union, Ballincollig Business Association, Ballincollig St Patrick’s Day Parade, and is also on the organising committee of the extremely successful Darkness into Light Walk. Tom is also the PRO of the Oriel Golf Society.

Some twenty years ago a special meeting was held as Ballincollig Tidy Towns was in a bit of turmoil. At the end of the meeting Tom was asked to ‘babysit’ the group until another meeting was held, and at that meeting he was elected Chairman, a position he still holds.

During that time, Ballincollig has seen several extremely positive changes, and is now one of Cork’s most sought after places to live.

Ballincollig has received a number of awards including a Silver Medal in the Entente Florale Competition and being named as Ireland’s Best Kept Large Urban Centre. In 2017 Ballincollig retained its Gold Medal for the sixth year in the national Tidy Towns Competition, and was only 5 points behind the overall Tidy Town winner for 2017. Ballincollig is now in the top 20 in Ireland out of an entry of 870!

With the imminent changes of Ballincollig moving into the City Boundary, Tom and his team are even more driven to do their utmost for the betterment of their community. Their hope is that the City Fathers will provide the same support, encouragement and more importantly, belief, in the work that the Ballincollig Tidy Towns Committee does 52 weeks of the year. pics Ger Bonus

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Scoil Barra, Ballincollig, take you on a Musical Journey pics Mike English

Muskerry News

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Blarney & District Person of The Year Awards 2018

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Sponsored by The Muskerry News and Blarney & District Chamber of Commerce

The April Blarney & District Person of the Month is Eoin Murphy As one of his (many) nominees told us, “I would like to nominate Eoin Murphy from EMF Fitness. Eoin is the owner / operator of EMF Fitness gym located at the back of Blarney GAA. He has been up and running now just about 3 years and his business has grown both in clients and in popularity. His gym has no treadmills which for an awful lot of people is a God send, his business ethos is that of lifting and laughing you gotta have a bit of banter!

Eoin has helped so many people over the last three years, physically and mentally. If you visit his Facebook page you will see testimonies from an awful lot of people. He runs personal training programmes and also circuit training classes which are always packed to capacity along with a specialised 10 week weight loss program and online coaching.

On a personal level and from my own point of view I walk into EMF and I am always met with a smile and genuine hello. Eoin is ALWAYS up for a bit of banter. He is full of devilment and given half the chance he would be pranking everyone in the gym.

Eoin has really helped me enjoy life and start to look after myself again after a very tough few years.

He gives so much back to the community from donating the proceeds of certain classes to the Blarney First Responders and Dogs for the

Sean Underwood January

Jo Ann O’Connor February

Donal Ring

March

Eoin Murphy April

Disabled, to holding competitions in the gym and donating the proceeds to charity. He is trying to organise two relay teams for the city marathon this year not just to show off the gym but to ensure each team has a partner to run with and get encouragement from.

He recently participated in the first Blarney Wellfest where he spoke about how important exercise is in lifting your mood.

In his own words this is the reason behind his setting up of EMF “I started EMF to change the face of training

and exercise in Cork. What motivated me most was I had been let go from my job and was on the dole, and by God if that doesn’t motivate you to get cracking I don’t know what will.

Since then though it’s been a hell of a journey.

With many ups and downs, in and outs.

Learning daily and being luckier than I ever thought possible.

The fact that I can help people build habits, provide them with some motivation and slowly grow a passion in them for their own well being is really the icing on the cake I love what I do but I still doubt myself every day, and that’s ok.

Because each time someone asks for help, reaches out and enquires about starting their own journey. I can be there for them, fear and all.”

Do you know someone who deserves

a Blarney & District Person of The Month award?

The awards aim is to recognise achievement, leadership and altruism so that others may be inspired to follow. You can nominate anyone whose contribution has singled them out as deserving of recognition, be it in community, sport, business, arts, family or indeed from any sector or activity in our community.

Send your nomination with the name of your nominee and the reason you wish to nominate them to Blarney & District Person of The Month Awards, The Muskerry News, Church View, Blarney, County Cork or by email to muskerrynews@eircom.net

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‘Nuacht na míosa ó Ghaelscoil Mhuscraí’ Gaelscoil Mhuscraí had a busy end to the Spring term. Bhíomar an-ghnóthach ar fad!

All classes completed science and maths experiments for our Discover Primary Science and Maths school project this year. Magnetic cars, homemade slime, foam rockets and bird feeders were just some of our scientific creations!

Our Senior classes visited UCC and entered the Port of Cork competition with a beautiful piece of art.

Rang a hAon visited Lifetime Labs and our school gymnasts excelled in a local gymnastics exhibition.

We were delighted to receive the news that we were awarded our fifth Brat Glas this week, also. Mol an Óige is tiocfaidh sí!

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There was a great turn out for the Blarney Active Retirement coffee morning in aid of Special Olympics at Blarney GAA, including a very special lady celebrating her very special birthday.

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18 Muskerry News This year the Church of Ireland in Blarney are running a holiday club for all primary school aged children in Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, Blarney. There is expected to be high demand so please register early!

Team Builders is Blarney Church of Ireland’s great new holiday club programme for 2018 and each day, the children will look at a Bible story, and discover how it relates to their life today.

With sports, games, songs, drama, bible stories, crafts, quizzes and lots and lots of fun the club runs from Tuesday 24th July to Saturday 28th July.

Camp is on Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 12.30pm, and Saturday 10.30am to 1pm, and this is a day when all the family are welcome to come and join in the Holiday Club, see what the children have been doing and to join together for a BBQ lunch. Team Builders takes place at Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, Blarney, and is open to anyone in Primary school, including those beginning in September.

The club costs just €15 per child, with a maximum fee of €30 per family (payable at time of booking).

For more information and booking forms check out www.cupcork.ie/holidayclub / email office@cupcork.ie or phone Carrigrohane Parish Office on 0214516620

The Manley family wish to thank all that supported Liam’s Walk last month, whether by walking, or by making a contribution to the Schools and Health Foundation.“Many people travelled some distance to join the walk and this is deeply appreciated. Not only is it our way as a family to keep Liam’s memory alive, but also to continue with the work in Africa that he supported when he was with us. For you all to walk with us means the world.

We hate to single any group out but it’s important to acknowledge special support, so thanks to Blarney GAA, Ian, Una and the staff at The Castle Hotel that hosted the refreshments, SuperValu Tower that supplied the water, Blarney Gardaí, especially Garda Seanie O’Dwyer, who marshalled the enthusiastic walkers, and Phil Cone of Academy Crests who supplied the T-Shirts at no cost. And finally to our family and friends that supplied the food and helped in so many ways.”

Isn’t this magnificent? The beautiful blossom on the magnificent cherry tree which sits just inside the gate of Blarney Castle, try and catch it before it falls!

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20 Muskerry News

Blarney National School

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‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ The chance would be a fine thing in Blarney this Spring as Winter slowly loosens her grip over our village. But April Showers bring forth May flowers. The summer term in primary school is a lovely place to be. The long evenings and extra sunshine put a real spring in our step.

Incontrovertibly, First Holy Communion is the biggest event on the school calender. Ms. Fitzgerald, Ms. Crowley and Mrs. O’Byrne have their ‘Communion Classes’ well prepared to mark this milestone in life. The event will be held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception May 12th and will be a wonderful day for the Community.

Fourth Class have been engaged in the most creative of projects this term. Mrs. Corkery’s children have built ‘puppet theatres’ using recycled pizza boxes kindly supplied by Blarney’s own EATin’It pizzeria. Mrs. Corkery’s charges have also been doing Yoga, making jewellery in the sun and building fairy forts.

Ms. Fitzgerald’s class have been doing plenty science experiments and enjoyed an egg hunt in Blarney Castle. Mr. O’Leary and Mrs. O’Connell returned to their respective G.A.A. teams after Easter with gusto. The schedule has been very tight due to the number of pitches that remain weather-closed at the moment and they are doing trojan efforts to complete the programme. Ms. O’Connell’s camogie panel have been quite successful thus far.

Our sixth class went on a tour of Shandon and St. Finbarr’s Cathedral.

Indeed one of the wise old heads was heard to remark ‘Why would anyone from Blarney need to travel abroad when we have so much to see and do right here in Cork!’. 6th Class have also finished their entrance exams and are bursting to move up to secondary school.

We must single out Des and Deirdre in our local Blarney Credit Union for helping our school set up a savings programme for our senior classes. This is all part of the ‘Learning for Life’ philosophy employed by our school. But we couldn’t do it without our partners in the Community.

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Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, Blarney, was delighted to welcome Pieta House and the Darkness into Light Blarney team to the school recently to talk with the students.

Guidance teacher Katherina McCarthy and the Amber Flag team welcomed the visitors, and Rachel O’Mahony Noonan, Transition Year, presented Pieta House with the proceeds of a recent fundraiser.

ifix Blarney were delighted to welcome over 40 of the the Junior and senior infants from Gaelscoil Mhuscrai to the shop recently. Every child received a free Fidget Spinner and left with big smiles on their faces!

Muskerry News

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Big Shournagh Childcare welcome for Hugo and Jasmine It was hard to tell if the children, the staff or the dogs themselves were more excited when Hugo and Jasmine, four legged ambassadors for Dogs for the Disabled, paid a visit to Shournagh Childcare.

The children hosted a fund raising coffee morning for the local charity, at the end of a week where they learnt about the role of assistance dogs and how they help children in their daily lives.

If you would like Jasmine, Hugo or some of their four legged friends to visit your school or pre-school please email elizabeth@ dogsfordisabled.ie or call Kate on 087 2330398.

24 Muskerry News

Once again, this year’s Ballincollig St. Patrick’s Day parade was a resounding success with over 40 entries taking part.

Close to 10,000 people lined the streets of Ballincollig to experience the colour and creativity of this year’s parade and no one left disappointed.

The theme for the parade was ‘The Four Elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water’ and each group went to huge effort to create fabulous floats and performances that entertained young and old. The parade also welcomed plenty of little superheroes and their parents, which really added a sense of fun to the festivities. Emer Cassidy, Chairperson of Ballincollig Business Association said. “We were thrilled with how the parade went, especially when so many people came out in the cold weather. I would like to thank all of our entries this year who made such an effort, our sponsors Dell EMC, Kevin O’Regan in Cork County Council, Oriel House Hotel, and Ballincollig Picture Framing and Druid Craft who support is so gratefully received and without which we wouldn’t be able to put on our parade, our volunteers and, in particular, the organising committee, who once again put on an amazing spectacle.”

Winners included Ballincollig’s Men’s Shed, S.O.S Recovery and Vintage Cars, Gaelscoil an Chaislean, Bible Baptist Church and Ghostbusters, Pyke Theatre, Ballincollig Scouts and Ballincollig Parish and Pedals Past.

Best retail premises winners were Finbarr O’Neill’s Sand & Gravel, closely followed by Quishes SuperValu, Main Street, and Tudor Rose Flower Shop.

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Blarney community comes together to celebrate Wellness!

Well what a day it was! On a rainy Sunday in April, there was only one place to be, and that was Scoil Mhuire gan Smal Blarney for a celebration of wellness in our community.

The brainchild of Bethan and Pat of Blarney Welless Centre, this day of positivity saw hundreds of people from across the community come together for laughter, love and support.

The school was buzzing with people doing all sorts of activities to support their wellbeing; yoga, Zumba, baking, reflexology, acupuncture and even eyebrow threading!

The ladies were delighted with the turn out, which really showed that Blarney is interested in wellbeing and supporting each other.

Main sponsors SuperValu Tower who provided sandwiches and fruit for the whole day and who also covered the insurance.

Thanks were also paid to Kevin Condon Financial Services who sponsored the children’s area, and of course to the volunteers who kept the teas and coffees flowing, and the therapists who offered treatments and workshops all day.

So who are Pat and Bethan from the Blarney Wellness Centre and what inspired them to plan this wonderful day?

groups and parenting support. “I wanted to create an event where the community came together and recognised that hey, we all need a bit of help from time to time. People are in so much emotional distress, and we can all be at times in our life. What’s important is that people know they have somewhere to go when this happens.”

The success of the day represents the need for more than just ‘hoping things will get better’, it represents the need to make things better for everyone. Making the smallest changes to our lives can utterly transform our physical and mental health, we just need guidance.

Thank you to all who made the day such a success.

Pat is a complimentary therapist and yoga teacher at Blarney Wellness Centre and she has vast experience working with people of all ages, most who present with stress symptoms such as sleep problems, chronic pain and much more.

Bethan is a counsellor and psychotherapist at the Centre, and she also facilitates parenting

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26 Muskerry News

News from Times Past

with Brian Gabriel, Blarney & District Historical Society

How the Emer Cinema and Ballroom came to be Emer; The fairest and most accomplished maiden in Ireland, was the wife of the hero Cuchulainn in Irish Legend. She had six gifts; beauty, song, pleasant speech, needlework, chastity and wisdom and was also a central figure in many of the legends.

In the austere days during and after the Second World War, travel was not easy and entertainment was at a premium. Due to the petrol scarcity and rationing, travelling to just about any of the major towns was extremely curtailed with the result that local communities had to rely heavily on travelling shows and fit-ups to arrive in town and provide them with a film show or concert for a little bit of entertainment. In 1946, a group of eight, energetic young men, began an enterprise which resulted in the Emer Cinema and Ballroom being built and operated successfully for a number of years. John Cashman, from near Kilbrin in North Cork, was the founder of this Group and was an avid film maker during the 1940’s and 50’s. He used a Swiss made Bolex Paillard cine camera and 16mm black and white film initially until the mid-1950’s, gradually changing to colour film as it became available. At this time 16mm film was very expensive to buy, costing £2/10s (€3.17) for about two minutes running time. Therefore, a twenty-minute film would be quite costly. He made a black and white film of the 1947 All Ireland final between Cork and Kilkenny which was shown to the G.A.A. hierarchy when they were doing a tribute to the late great Christy Ring. In the mid-1950s, an all-Ireland film on afforestation was made by John. At the time, an organisation called “Trees for Ireland”, established in 1950, was advocating the nationwide planting of forests on a large scale both for a supply of home grown timber and as an amenity. It was largely made up of organisations such as the G.A.A., I.C.M.S.A, I.C.A, I.N.T.O and Macra. The objective was to create an informed public opinion on the importance of trees. They published many booklets, pamphlets and some films promoting the cause of afforestation. John Cashman’s much acclaimed promotional film ran for about 30 minutes and was seen and highly praised by Sean McBride, ex Minister for External Affairs and Clann na Poblachta T.D. This particular film went on to win a Film Institute of Ireland award. Many, now defunct, old time farming methods were also filmed. Several highly successful, prize-winning films made for the Regional Game Council followed. Next to come was a series on Field Sports followed by a promotional film for Cork Polio, which was used on a fund-raising tour of the country. He went on to make several films of the local An Tóstal celebrations and the annual Sports meetings in Blarney during the 1950’s. John was one of a number of individuals making films around the country trying to capture life and the old ways before the emerging modern world overwhelmed the Ireland they knew.

Initially the Group bought some second-hand 16mm film projectors and portable screens in Dublin. An old van, which incidentally cost them quite a lot in constant repairs, was then bought and they toured around the county to places such as, Courtmacsherry, Timoleague, Enniskeane in West Cork, Glanworth, Kildorrery and Kanturk in North Cork, Whitgate, Castlemartyr and Killeagh in East Cork, showing films to the local communities in the small local village halls. Even though the crowds were not always great, they had made enough money by 1949 to replace their old projectors, which by now were showing signs of wear and tear, with new ones and to also update the van.

In 1949, they became aware of a remarkable documentary film titled King of Spades, which had been made by Ken Fitzgerald-Smith in the late 1930’s, depicting the life and times of the Monard Shovel Mills and its community. This contained much footage of local people working and enjoying themselves. The Group decided that this particular film, having much local content, would be of interest to the people of Blarney and they decided to show it here. The Kelleher girls, Nora and Maura, from Rathpeacon who were shown step-dancing in the film, were good friends with the Group and were also involved with several local organisations, volunteered to approach the Trustees of the Total Abstinence Hall in Blarney, on the Group’s behalf, for permission to show the film. At the time the T.A. Hall committee had a ban in force on film shows unless they were of an educational or cultural interest, but, after consultation with the Parish Priest, Canon Patrick Sheehan,

who eventually gave permission for the film to be shown, the Group was granted the use of the Hall. The Canon also made it absolutely clear that it would be only for this one time and no other films were to be shown with it on the night. On the day before the film was to be shown, permission was revoked without an explanation, and the showing of King of Spades was cancelled. On hearing this, the Group’s spokesman, John Cashman, declared: “Look, if it’s the last thing we will do, we will go and build our own hall in Blarney!”

So, the idea was born and they approached a number of local land-owners around the village looking for a site to build their new hall on. Heaphys builders, and Fitzpatricks Kanturk, both had possible sites where the Blarney Park Hotel and Joe O’Reilly’s Travel Shop respectively were once built, but for various reasons they were unable to sell to them at the time.

Blarney Castle Estate was then approached and after much indecision, a site located at the junction of the Tower Road and High Road, where the British Legion Hall was once located, was offered on condition that only films would be shown there but no dancing. This was unacceptable to the Group as they felt for the amount of money involved in setting up the venture, a dancing restriction would prevent a better return. There was also a possibility of an accident occurring as parking there was very limited. An advertisement was put in the Cork Examiner looking for land and this is turn produced three replies. One was from Killeens, another was from Waterloo and the third was from Blarney. They went for the Blarney offer from a Mr. Tom O’Sullivan, who lived in the last house on the Waterloo Road, right next to where the hall was eventually built. It was for a small parcel of land and after an engineer’s report was accepted, they eventually bought it for the sum of £175 (€222.20), which they reckoned was quite a lot for the time, in March 1950.

They got their engineer friend to draw up plans for the building and once permission was obtained, they then set about levelling the hilly site by hand using only picks and shovels. They had no machinery of any description and literally dug out a great many tons of earth, removing the roadside ditch and levelling the building area. A friend of theirs, who owned a lorry, drew the soil away to a site further up the Waterloo Road and also to a site on the Station Road. They approached another friend of theirs, this time a bank manager, who gave them a loan of £500 (€634.87) which they thought would be sufficient to complete the building.

However, when this money was all spent, they found they still did not have it finished and had to make another approach to their bank manager friend, this time for a further £300 (€380.92). He was very reticent to part with any more money for their scheme until they disclosed that they knew he had just bought a new car and was very worried about leaving it parked on the side of the street every night. They just happened to own a double garage on the same street and offered him the use of half of it, rent free, if he could see his way to extend their loan. He put his car in and they got their money!!!! However, this still was not enough and they had to spend a further £200 (€253.95), earned from the travelling film shows, to complete it.

All of the Group were themselves working full time and came out to Blarney to work on the construction site late into each evening, but, also had to rely quite a lot on direct labour or favours from friends to complete the actual building of the hall.

When the building was completed and prior to opening, a name had to be found for the hall. They all agreed that they would like to keep an Irish flavour to it and not to go with any modern or fancy names. After much discussion, they settled on the name – “Emer”.

After six months of solid work from the time they purchased the site they eventually had their opening night on Saturday 30th September 1950. This was not open to the general public but rather a special “thank you” night for all the friends who had helped them during the building.

They showed the John Ford 1941, Oscar winning film “How Green was my Valley”, a Welsh mining village melodrama, starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara as the very first film and were delighted with the response from their invited guests.

The Emer opened to the general public on the following night, Sunday 1st October, with a “Grand Dance” from 8 to 11 p.m. The music was by “Des Mularky and his Band” and the admission was 2/6 (10c) including tax.

The above excerpt was taken from a much larger article titled ‘The Emer Cinema and Ballroom” by Brian Gabriel, which appeared in Issue 7 of the ‘Old Blarney’ Journal. A limited number of ‘Old Blarney’ back issues are still available by contacting 087 2153216, bg1@eircom.net or www. blarneyhistory.ie Blarney and District Historical Society announces the postponement of the proposed Field Trip on 17th May 2018. To take its place the latest edition of ‘Old Blarney’ Journal, Issue 11 will be launched on Wednesday 23rd May 2018 in the Blarney Castle Hotel at 8pm All Welcome. Please note day and date change.

Muskerry News

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28 Muskerry News

Green fingers and green flags at Berrings National School The green fingered children of Junior Infants had the opportunity to visit their local Garden Centre as part of the Aistear programme. Griffins Garden Centre opened up their doors to Junior Infants and their teachers who were greeted by Margaret and her amazing helpers Miriam and Aoife. The children got to plant an onion seed and learned about the best way to take care of it. We got a tour of the garden centre and even saw their fairy garden. We can’t thank Margaret and her team enough for such an enjoyable day.

A massive congratulations to our Green Schools Committee who have just been awarded with their fourth Green Flag!

The committee led by Mrs. Maryellen O’Driscoll have worked hard the past two years to earn the flag for travel.

A special mention has to be given to the Desmond family, each member earning a first place in their respective categories in the Feis Maitiú. We are all very proud of you all here in Berrings N.S. Every Friday morning the children and staff are taking part in ‘Wake Up and Shake Up’. The whole school led by 2nd class participate in a Zumba routine that sets us all up for the day!

The Junior Infants seen here admiring fish caught in the local stream.

On Tuesday 24th of April the pupils of 5th and 6th class went electrofishing in the local Sheep River. The pupils identified and measured salmon parr, trout and eels. The children were under the supervision of two professional fishermen who remarked at how clean our local river was. Thank you to all the Berrings community for keeping our river clean.

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Muskerry News

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Vicarstown National School

We had a lovely school book fair again here at Vicarstown NS. This year we had the fair in the very appropriate setting of the school library. Many old favourites were rolled out, including Enid Blyton and the Mr. Men series. There were books about rocks, reptiles and roses, something for everyone. The fair raised a fantastic €627 worth of books which will be invested in the school library and literacy support in the class rooms.

The staff and pupils are following a number of programmes for the pupils in the areas of social, personal, health, hygiene and wellbeing awareness. We have a very active Health Promoting School Committee and the Food Dudes, a two week fruit and vegetable tasting and promoting scheme, was a great success, so much so that we were awarded an additional four days further training in June. Around one third of our pupils avail of the school milk scheme and we can see the benefits of the scheme as pupils are continuing to drink milk every day right up to and including 6th class. We are undertaking the Stay Safe programme in all classes.

The aim of the programme is to teach children personal safety skills so they can look after themselves in situation which could be upsetting or dangerous. Additionally, 3rd/4th classes are doing the ‘Stop, Think, Do’ programme while 5th and 6th class are participating in the Friends for Life Programme. The entire school community, students and parents, attended an Internet Safety presentation on May 3rd.

Green Flag - The Green Schools Award ceremony took place recently. The school was represented by Rebecca Murphy from 6th class, Ericka O’Sullivan from 4th class, and was delighted to be awarded a Green Flag for water and will continue our work to raise awareness and protect the environment.

The first ever debating team from 5th and 6th class have now reached the county final in the Concern Debating Challenge. They will face a team from Glounthaune NS in the county final on May 23rd where they will be proposing the topic ‘World hunger can be ended by 2030’. The team of Miriam Hegarty, Tom O’Callaghan, Hannah Lucey, Rebecca Murphy, Saoirse Hennessy and Tadhg O’Sullivan, along with their teacher Mrs. Áine O’Shaughnessy, have put so much work, preparation and practice into this endeavour. A special word of thanks to Molly Lenehan who gave a tremendous amount of help while team members were absent or ill.

www.vicarstownns.com

Thank you all for your support during my time as Blarney Post Mistress. I will miss you all!

Marguerite

30 Muskerry News

Busy time ahead for

Dripsey Tidy Towns

Dripsey Tidy Towns have plenty of projects and plans ahead for this year, and would like to thank our main sponsors Fins Garden Center, The Weigh Inn Bar and Finbarr O’Neill’s for coming on board again this year. After their recent AGM, the committee to lead them into their 4th year is; Chairperson /PRO Conor Corkery Secretary Geraldine Fitzgibbon Treasurer Eadaoin Fitzgibbon.

Assistant Chairperson Fin Hayes Development Officer David Reilly Environmental/Grants Officer Bryan McDonnell Other Committee members include Hugh O’Shea, Veronica O’Sullivan, Ann Murphy, Eddie J. Murphy, Ann Ryan, Lorraine O’Halloran, Olivia Moynihan and our newest recruit Rory O’Sullivan.

Plans for 2018 include; The erection of five new ‘Fáilte go Dripsey’ signs The design and put in place three History Information Boards. (CCC grant 2018) Participation in An Taisce National Spring Clean, Cork County Councils Litter challenge, National Tidy Towns Competition and Pride in our Community.

Planting up 49 baskets and 13 planters with summer bedding Replacing the boats at Dripsey Cross with a stone feature Creating a new HQ and book swap room adjacent to the Weigh Inn Bar. Distributing ‘No Junk Mail’ stickers to each household for their letter box Dripsey Tidy Towns also look forward to working with our local representatives and the council on the 2018 Dripsey road resurfacing this Summer on the following roads; Dripsey Cross outside Pub (R618), Dripsey Cross to Model Village Cross, Dripsey Cross to Doctors Cross, Dripsey Ambush to Coachford Village (R618), Dripsey Ambush junction to Nadrid, Fergus area of Dripsey and Fergus/ Cronody.

Dripsey Tidy Towns meet at Dripsey Cross every Thursday at 6.30pm, and everyone to welcome to join them in their aim to help make the village a better place to live, work and visit. You can contact them on dripseytidytowns@gmail.com or follow them on Facebook.

Martina and Stewart McCarthy, Ballincollig, enjoying a night out at Curraheen Park. pic Mike English.

Congratulations to Caoimhe and Conor O’Sullivan on having the right answer to the question of number of animals in the Easter Garden in Blarney Church. Thanks to Susan and Mary for creating the garden and presenting the prize of a family ticket for the Monkey Maze in Glanmire, and to all the children who entered the competition, with almost 90 entrants. pics Mike English

Conor Morey, Dara McMahon, Eoghan Carew and Rory O’Flynn at Curraheen Park for the Ballincollig Basketball Club’s fundraiser.

Some members, players and coaches, at Curraheen Park.

The Ryan family supporting the fundraiser.

Muskerry News It’s that time of year again and the

Belle of Ballincollig 2018 selection night will take place on Saturday June 9th.

If you are a business that would like to put a girl forward to represent your business, or if you are a girl aged over 18 who would be interested in taking part, then please contact 087 9757216 for more details.

pics Victor Horgan

Olivia Coleman Iceland

Megan Wills Dennehy’s Health & Fitness

Kim Cronin Sam’s Bar

Emma Flanagan Gala Store, Ovens

Siobhan Coughlan Ballincollig Tyres

Róisín Macmananon Harrington’s Pharmacy

Kate Shaughnessy Platinum Professional Hair Team

Laoise O’Sullivan The Paint Store

Sarah Reck Tradehouse Central

Aimee Shine Bitesize

Niamh O’Callaghan Oriel House Hotel

Shaunagh McCarthy Ballincollig Ladies Football

Coffee Morning in aid of Fr. Martin Walsh

Thursday May 24th, 10.30am - 12 noon.

Blarney Castle Hotel. ALL WELCOME.

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32 Muskerry News

Behind the Castle Walls

Happy birthday to one of Blarney’s finest, Ed Healy, who celebrated his surprise 60th recently at The Muskerry Arms with family and some of his many friends. Many happy returns Ed! The Gab is a storytelling community based in Blarney which hosts a monthly night of story, song and poetry called The Gab Mixtape. They were delighted to take part in the recent launch of The Old Butter Roads Summer Féile at the Church of the Resurrection in Blarney. Pictured is Rose Corbett at the April Mixtape ably assisted by Suzanne O’Mahony telling us her story ‘Reared on fox’s milk’ and surrounded by happy gabbers. If you love telling stories and listening to stories then The Gab is for you. Check out TheGabStorytelling on Facebook, twitter and Instagram or email thegabstorytelling@gmail.com.

with Adam

April has been a real stop start month in the gardens, and the poor plants have been totally confused by our crazy weather. I think things are finally starting to right themselves now though.

A little sunshine helps everything! I’m expecting to see a lot of movement in the coming weeks as plants try to catch up, but so will the weeds! The rhododendrons and azaleas throughout the gardens are coming into flower and there are vivid splashes of colour around every bend. The azalea beds that run from the Mansion to the Castle will be a sea of colour for the next few weeks. They are definitely worth a visit! We call this area the Belgian Beds as the original stock plants came from Belgium.

We finally moved out all of our tender tropical plants last week, and it’s very satisfying to see the borders filling back up. Our Jungle area is going into its second year and I hope to see good growth on some of the schefflera and more unusual specimens that we’ve put in. There are plans to further extend this garden down towards the river to include a South African terrace.

Our Vietnamese woodland is also taking shape and visitors will see a new arrival in the area soon. We are constructing a Cardamom farmers hut to highlight the impact that this is having in the native Vietnamese forests. This whole area is part of an exsitu conservation project that we are running in partnership with an institute in Vietnam. A lot of the wild collected plants that we are introducing here are endangered in their native habitat.

Happy birthday to one of Blarney’s finest, Ed Healy, who celebrated his surprise 60th recently at The Muskerry Arms with family and some of his many friends. Many happy returns Ed!

As the ground dries out we have a lot of clean up to do from recent renovation works around the grounds and gardens. We have 3 areas around the castle to lay new turf and many muddy verges to tidy and reseed. The long wet winter and passing construction vehicles really took its toll on the grass and it will take a while to get things back up to standard.

Jobs for the next few weeks: Plant indoor tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers if you haven’t already, start to tie in and pinch out growth on the grape vine, thin indoor peaches to ensure a good quality crop, sow herbs in six packs and then plant out when they reach a manageable size, this also works well for lettuce. Watch out for slug damage and check for greenfly both indoors and out. A good tip for dealing with greenfly is mix some washing up liquid and water in a jug to make a lot of foam, then apply this foam directly to the infested areas to completely cover the aphids. It is very effective! Now is the time to start thinking about staking herbaceous plants before they become too established.

Dahlias can be planted out in the beds now and we will shortly be planting out our bedding plants. There is still a risk of frost though so be on standby with horticultural fleece.

I look forward to seeing you in the gardens. Adam..

Adam

The Gab is a storytelling community based in Blarney which hosts a monthly night of story, song and poetry called The Gab Mixtape.

They were delighted to take part in the recent launch of The Old Butter Roads Summer Féile at the Church of the Resurrection in Blarney. Pictured is Rose Corbett at the April Mixtape ably assisted

by Suzanne O’Mahony telling us her story ‘Reared on fox’s milk’ and surrounded by happy gabbers.

If you love telling stories and listening to stories then The Gab is for you. Check out TheGabStorytelling on Facebook, twitter and Instagram or email thegabstorytelling@gmail.com.

Muskerry News

John Wiseman, Jean Shanahan, Kevin Condon, Kate Kearney and Iris Wilkins McCarthy have the ‘Gift of the Gab’ when it comes to selling your property.

Ballincrokig, Dublin Pike €325,000 DNG Murphy Condon proudly presents this beautifully finished, turnkey, 3 bedroom detached property. This superbly located home is meticulously maintained both inside and outside.

BER: D1 BER No.101297760

‘Ellen’ Killydonoghue, Glanmire €295,000 Impressive four bed detached bungalow residence set on c.1/2 acre mature site with attractive established gardens. The well maintained property is tastefully decorated and located within a most convenient setting while enjoying a rural setting.

BER: D2 BER No.109777078

3 The Orchard, Woodville, Dunkettle €245,000 Three bedroom townhouse for sale in excellent condition, in a safe and secure cul-de-sac location.

BER: B3 BER No.100175934

85 Lus na Meala, Banduff €207,500 This 3 bedroom semi-detached property is in good condition, in a safe and secure cul-de-sac location.

BER: C2 BER No.110593852

35 Pynes Valley, Ballyvolane €280,000 This spacious 4/5 bedroom semidetached property is located within the popular estate of Pynes Valley, overlooking the green to the front, with ample parking, and natural woodland to the back.

BER: C2 BER No.100532423

12 Barnavarra Hill, Glanmire €310,000 Extremely spacious five bedroomed semi-detached residence set within a mature private development of homes.

This fine family home has benefitted from a double storey extension to incorporate a games room or home office with separate entrance.

Extended to over 2,000sq.ft it is well maintained throughout.

BER: D1 BER No.109636928 Apartments 1 & 2 Seascape, Cobh €125,000 DNG Kevin Condon in joint agency with DNG Spillane are proud to present this superb investment opportunity. This is a beautifully located, south facing, multi unit property which has been fully renovated recently at substantial costs, and is divided into 2 Number, Two bedroom apartments, for sale by private treaty.

BER: E2 BER No.110822533 12 Thorndale Estate, Dublin Hill €185,000 Three bedroom end of terrace property with enclosed front garden and walled in back yard/ patio area. This property is in good condition, and has been well maintained by the landlord and current tenants. Ideal starter home with current rental income €900 per month set in Feb 2016.

BER: E1 BER No.109852632

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34 Muskerry News

Martin O’Doherty, Mitchelstown, Ian Wharton, Buttevant, Fintan McSweeney, Donoughmore and Peter Twomey, Lombardstown, pictured at the Dairygold Coop AGM.

Pictured above are Marian Doody, Kim Daly and Shona O’Callaghan, Donoughmore Family Resource Centre, enjoying their staff night out at Curraheen Park.

Also at Curraheen Park were Dylan, Niall, Emmet, Noreen O’Leary, Blarney and Danielle Burke, Cobh. pics Mike English.

Blarney Walking Group

Despite the country encountering all the elements that climate change can throw at it, the hardy members of Blarney Walking Group continued walking throughout the non event that was Spring of 2018.

However, hurricane Emma and the snows of early March certainly had their effect as government warnings and health and safety notices had to be obeyed.

While ground conditions remain challenging, we hope that as Summer dawns, the rain God will turn off the tap and gift all those who enjoy the great outdoors and those who make their living from the land a welcome ray of sunshine!

Scottish Highlands. This year saw another successful trip to Scotland organised by John McLaughlin.

The group scaled the dizzy heights of Stob Ban on the Mamores and celebrated La Le Padraig, Scottish style, over the bank holiday week end.

Congratulations to John and all concerned.

Dingle. We made a return visit to the Dingle walking festival in February for a most enjoyable weekend.

All levels of walks were catered for and the weather held up for Saturdays walk.

Summer evening walks. Over the past few Summers these fortnightly, Wednesday evening walks have proved very popular. Once again a programme of interesting, local walks has been planned commencing on Wednesday, May 9th. All walks start at 7.30pm Darkness into Light. This wonderful event takes place on Saturday, May 12th. Blarney Walking Group have traditionally joined with members of the local and wider community to walk in solidarity with this cause. No doubt the early hours of May 12th will see them rise and shine once again to lend their support.

Walks schedule. The summer schedule of walks is now available on the website.

Happy walking to all.

Paddy Sexton, Bweeng and Tim McSweeney, Blarney, also pictured at the AGM. pics John Sheehan.

Muskerry News

For further information contact Dan on 021 4932 666 / 087 232 6745

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36 Muskerry News

Scoil Mhuire gan Smál students are in the fast lane!!

Six second year students from Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney, will travel to Dublin next week to compete in the F1 in Schools technology competition. This is a project the group has been working on since last September and will culminate in them racing their scale 1:20 F1 car on the national stage. They have faced many challenges along the way whilst completing different parts of the project.

Team Proton Racing marketing and media team members Jamie Falvey and Chris Murphy explained, “We are really looking forward to the F1 competition day in Dublin as we will get to show off all our hard work throughout the year.

“At the beginning six of us got together and we had to decide our roles. Our team manager Cormac Vaughan was very good at getting us organised and making sure we met our deadlines, and we would arrange to meet up at lunchtime once a week to monitor our progress and set new deadlines and goals.

“An essential task for our team was obviously the research and design of our car

shape to ensure maximum speed. Our two design engineers Megan Flynn and Nessa Crowley have been excellent at this as they are both skilled at using the Solidworks drawing program. At the beginning they had to research the aerodynamics the car will need when travelling along the 20m long track in less than two seconds.

With this information they then set about designing the curvature and size of the car. A few tweaks and improvements were added along the way before testing showed the girls the car would perform as they wish.

“Working very closely with the design team is Harris Ridzuan. Harris is very creative and his ability to sketch out the girls ideas brought the whole car together. He also worked on the identity of the team from the colour scheme to designing the team logo.

“The marketing and media side of the project was our main duty throughout the project. We firstly had to plan out a budget needed to get our team together. Chris then put together a leaflet and package that all team members helped give to possible

Courtbrack can for iCan! Courtbrack Vintage Society are delighted to announce that we will be teaming up with the children’s charity, iCAN, the Irish Children’s Arthritis Network, for our upcoming Annual Road Run on 20th May. ICAN is a 100% volunteer based, parent-lead, grass roots charity which aims to make things better for kids in Ireland with Arthritis. Currently, there are over 1,000 children under the age of 16 in Ireland with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), which occurs when the immune system starts attacking the body’s own joints. Because children are continuously growing, any extended period of inflammation can effect their joint formation, therefore early and aggressive treatment of this type of Arthritis results in the best outcomes for children.

We are delighted to be able to support this very worthwhile charity and do our piece to raise money for children who suffer from JIA, both on a national and local level.

To raise as much funds as possible, this year’s Road Run is open to tractors of all ages, vintage cars and motorbikes, so please spread the word, and join us on Sunday, 20th May at Courtbrack Community Centre for a great day, and great food. Registration from 10.30am.

For further information, keep an eye on our facebook page, or contact John on (087) 7838513 or Tim on (086) 8045467.

sponsors. At the same time Jamie worked on setting up social media pages for Team Proton Racing and, as a team, we published our own website a month ago. These online platforms allowed us to interact with others as well as giving our sponsors exposure.

“We would like to offer a huge thanks to our three main sponsors; Kinematik, Danone and also Costcutter Grenagh.

“Without the help of these companies, and also different suppliers we have used, it would have been impossible for us to compete.”

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37

Save the Date!

This year’s Ballincollig Business Association (BBA) Golf Classic takes place on Friday, 22nd June and promises to be bigger and better including the addition of an evening BBQ social event; all taking place at the beautiful Lee Valley Golf and Country Club.

As well as a great day’s golf, there will be the chance to win a brand new Mercedes Vito Van for anyone who manages to get a hole in one for a designated Par 3 hole on the day, courtesy of Mallow Road Motors.

There will also be a Putting Masterclass for anyone looking to sharpen their green skills as well as a Beat the Pro competition.

An evening social event will follow the day on the greens, with BBQ, drinks, entertainment and the chance to win plenty of prizes. Free bus transfers will run from Ballincollig from 7pm with returning transfers from Lee Valley Golf Club after the event.

Cost of entry for a team of three is €200 for the golf classic and €230 for both the golf and BBQ. And the cost of the BBQ is just €20 per person.

All proceeds raised go towards funding various projects in Ballincollig.

There are still places left for teams to enter and anyone interested should contact event organisers Kieran O’Connor at info@shankagencies.ie or 087 389 5154, Daniel Daly at daniel.daly@mail.ebs.ie or 087 0926570, Martin O’Brien at mobrien@oconnorpyne.com or 087 2155798 or the BBA at admin@ballincollig.ie or alternatively, entry forms and tickets for the evening barbeque are available at Nosh & Coffee, Castle West Shopping Centre, EBS, 24 Main St and Westward Cleaners, 12 Westpoint Trade Centre.

Big month ahead for Blarney Cycling Club It’s been a very busy year for Blarney CC. In February another successful edition of the Donal Crowley memorial leisure cycling sportive was held with 200 riders from near and far taking part. In March our racing squad had two teams of 5 riders competing in the 4 day Rás Mumhan race in Kerry over the Easter weekend. Challenging stages over hilly terrain in cold and wet weather conditions made for a hard weekends racing. However the Blarney men were strong throughout with Eoin O’Connell prominent.

In April, Blarney CC had the great honour of hosting the 2nd round of the National League series for elite Women and Men races.

Over 150 of Irelands top racers descended on Blarney for a tough days racing on a hilly circuit in very wet conditions. The womens race was won by international rider Eve McCrystal. In the mens race, Sean Lacey was a very worthy winner of the Donal Crowley perpetual cup. Club secretary Kevin Walsh and race organiser Michael Crowley put in Trojan work in the build up to the race and it really showed on the day. A big thanks to Marie Crowley and all the Crowley family for supporting and allowing Blarney CC to run these races in memory of the late, great, Donal Crowley.

Thanks also to all the volunteers who gave up their time on the day. And finally on behalf of Blarney CC thanks to the residents in the local community and surrounding areas for supporting our events and for their full co-operation with Gardai and marshals on the roads during the events.

There is great excitement within the club for the month ahead. We have strong teams competing in the Corkman, Kanturk 3-day and Tour of Ulster 3-day races. However, the big racing target for Blarney CC this year has been to field a team in the Rás beginning on May 20th. With months of hard training, planning and preparation the big event is almost upon us.

The Rás Tailteann is Irelands premier cycling stage race event. Held every year in the month of May over 8 consecutive days it attracts Irelands best amateur riders and some professional international teams also.

The 2018 edition is indeed a special one as it’s the first time in over 25 years a team from Blarney will be taking part. A few stages of the race will be passing through Munster with two stage finishes in Cork.

Stage 4 finishes in Glengarriff and stage 5 finishes in Mitchelstown. Blarney CC is very grateful for the generous sponsorship it has received from local businesses in helping fund our Rás 2018 team. We look forward to giving a race report next month.

Until then, we wish the team and support crew the very best of luck.

Pictured with one of our sponsors ‘Bons Secours Sports Medicine’ at Thomand Park recently are Blarney CC riders Eoin O’Connell and Kieran Crean.

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Blarney GAA news

www.blarneygaa.ie

What a wonderful collaboration between Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, Scoil Chroí Íosa, the GAA County Board and of course the hosts Blarney GAA! The children are really enjoying the high quality sessions provided by 4th year trainee coaches.

Great fun for all involved!

WHITECHURCH MACRA 5K WALK/RUN SUNDAY JUNE 10th

REGISTRATION IN WHITECHURCH COMMUNITY HALL @ 12.15 - 12.45pm Family (2 adults + 2 children) €25

Adult - €10 Child - €5

Congratulations to the Blarney GAA players who played in the U15 Hurling Munster Inter Regional Tournament in Mallow recently; Eoin O’Neill, Denis McSweeney, Eoghan Kirby and Cian Barrett.

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Thanks to Eoin Murphy, and all at EMF, who held a fundraising class Congratulations to SMGS Blarney winning the Munster Junior Camogie final in Lismore, Waterford, against a strong Blackwater Community School for Blarney Community First Responders recently. with a final score of 6-6 to 3-4. Grenagh Camogie & Ladies Football club are delighted to have had 9 girls on the panel; Claire Ahern, Saoirse Kiely, Aislinn Buckley, Chloe Walsh, Anna Barry Murphy, Denise Buckley, Orla Cronin, Andrea O’Connell and Aiobhin Kiely.

Congratulations to Whitechurch U16 hurlers who progressed to the André, Ellemerie and Davina Hillgrove, Ballincollig, pictured at Premier 2A championship semi final recently, beating Cobh with the scoreline of 6-12 to 5-8.

Curraheen Park. pic Mike English.

Have we ever seen an athlete as talented as Hannah Falvey? Young local athlete Hannah Falvey who, on day one of the Cork County Championship at CIT, took Gold in the shot put, with a personal best of 10.12m, she also took Silver in the 600m and joint 3rd in the High Jump with a personal best jump of 1.35m. Hannah runs with Belgooly AC, and thanks her coaches for their support.

One to watch for the future without a doubt!

Shauna McSweeney, Macroom, and Lorraine O’Sullivan, Berrings, photographed at a night at the dogs at Curraheen Park. pic Mike English.

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Muskerry RFC officially open their new pitch Over the years the second pitch of Muskerry RFC was becoming waterlogged each winter. In 2015 the club applied for lottery funds to construct a new sand based pitch that would be playable in all weathers and, with these funds in place and the help of extensive fund raising, work commenced in the summer of 2016. The ground was levelled, drains were put in, and a 1,400 ton / 75mm carpet of fine sand was laid. Then the topsoil was laid over the sand, and the grass seed planted. This was left to mature until the summer of 2017 when the surrounding works were completed: paths, railings, dugouts, and the all-important goal posts! The first games were played this season, and the quality of the playing surface, regardless of the harsh weather of winter 2017/2018, allied to excellent viewing facilities, has attracted rave reviews from visiting teams.

On Saturday April 28th a pre-match reception was attended by many local dignitaries, club sponsors, and former club presidents and chairmen. The pitch was jointly blessed by William Crean, Bishop of Cloyne, along with Fr Donal Coakley P.P., Inniscarra parish, and Canon Ian Jonas, Carrigrohane Union of Parishes. Former Ireland and Munster legend Peter Stringer then cut the tape to officially open the pitch. Adding to the occasion were bouncing castles, hot food stalls, refreshments, and music, to entertain the large crowd.

The pitch opening was followed by a Junior interprovincial game between Munster and Ulster which unfortunately Munster lost. pics courtesy Fergal O’Callaghan

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As the opening of the new pitch was celebrated those who sowed the grass roots of the club 40 years ago were remembered, especially those who are no longer with us to enjoy the fruits of their labour. This photograph was taken in Musgrave Park 40 years ago following the J3 Cup Final and includes: back row, Owen Moriarty, Mick Harrington, Mick O’Sullivan, Victor Rothwell, Breandan Hegarty, John Arnott, Liam Crowley, Brendan Hyde, Eoin Teehan, Herbie Mitchell, front row, Pat O’Sullivan, Terry McCarthy, Martin Mitchell, Bill Crowley (Captain), Liam Carroll, Teddy Madden, Brian Moss and Tim Joe O’Regan.

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CIT Staff and Students taking part in ‘A Mile For Jack’, an event in solidarity and support of Jack O’Driscoll and his family. CIT BEng Environmental Engineering student Jack fractured vertebrate in his neck during Storm Emma. Over one hundred students and staff took part in the event organised by the Student Affairs Division in conjunction with the Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering and the Students’ Union. pic Darragh Kane

Caylin and Paul Hegarty and twins Callum and Nathan Coffey from Blarney Taekwondo club who competed at Bishopstown Taekwondo Tournament recently.

Former Irish Olympian Deval O’Rourke with Together For Yes campaigners Tracey Ryan, Dylan O’Connell, Orla O’Connor, Emma Barry and Sam Boland at the launch of the Together For Yes 5k beach run on Sandymount Strand to raise money for the national campaign to remove the 8th amendment from the constitution. pic Darragh Kane

Congratulations to young Blarney athlete Hannah Falvey who won Gold at Templemore in the Girls U13 Outdoor Munster Juvenile Combined Events at the weekend. Hannah runs for Belgooly Athletic Club and is so grateful to her coaches for their commitment to her.

Muskerry News Job Opportunities

Rathduff Community Playschool Company Limited by Guarantee We are currently recruiting for an

experienced, qualified, enthusiastic childcare professional

to join our team.

Role: Childcare Assistant For more information please contact Siobhan on 087/9902289

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Job Opportunities

Blarney Tidy Towns Association

Environmental Workers required for Blarney Tidy Towns Association

Required for Days Monday to Friday -19.5 hours (Flexible) Must be eligible for D.S.P. Community Employment Scheme.

For further details and to find out if you are eligible contact Carmel Blarney C.E. Scheme on

021 4384444

Services Available Painter and Decorator Registered professional Free quotations Contact Denis on 087 2986 951 /021 4874868 Dermot Casey Tree Care All tree problems solved without delay.

Free quotations & fully insured.

Call the experts on 022-55000 www.dermotcaseytreecare.ie All Doggie Hair Doo’s 086 8478762 Don’t forget your Best Friend!

Full grooming service and wash only available. Puppies & large breeds welcome. Late evening appts on request. Gift Vouchers available. Why not drop your doggie for grooming whilst you shop at Blackpool Shopping Centre? 086 8478762 A Sikh temple is now open on the Carrigrohane Road in the former John A. Woods premises for morning and evening worship.

O’Connell Window Cleaning Blarney. Contact Donal 087 6592697 or 4383407 (after 6pm).

Guitar Tuition Beginners and Improvers All ages. Music Theory Piano.

Phone 087 2419936.

Funky Forrest Old School Disco - 087 764 1088 Specialising in 70’s/80’s Available for parties, weddings, special occasions, corporate events. Book early to ensure availability. www.martinforrest.com

Services Available Tired of being alone?

Two Hearts Meet are Munster’s leading professional dating agency. Call or text today and we will help you find your special someone! twoheartsdating.com 085 7742444 Dog Minding at Home Leave your dog with us while you are away on holiday or overnight. Your pet will be a guest in our home and treated as part of the family.

Countryside location just outside of Blarney. No kennels.

Competitive rates.

Give Joanne a call for a chat or a visit on 089 9671402.

O’Connell Chimney Cleaning Blarney. Stoves and Open Fires Contact Darren at 087 653 3480 Driving Lessons Beginner/Pre test ADI approved instructor. Very patient. Test routes covered.

Car available for test.

Gift vouchers available.

Blarney School of Motoring. blarneyschoolofmotoring.com 087 2796008 It’s time to clean your carpets!

Blarney & District Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Service.

No job too small.

087 6384396.

Downey Floor Sanding Floor Sanding & Sealing.

Old and new floors sanded and varnished. Floor fitting service.

Contact Jeremy at 4516901/ 087 2372213 www.downeyfloorsanding.com

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Sean Warren, Kilmurry GAA, winner of the Muskerry GAA/Auld Triangle Sports Award for March photographed with some of his under 21 team mates at the presentation dinner at the Auld Triangle. pic Mike English

Blarney United FC players make Cork schoolboys team ...

Congratulation to Aaron Healy and Oscar Ahern who was part of the Cork Schoolboys team which won the Munster Final against Limerick District.

Club Secretary Gerard Sheehan presenting David Comber with his winners prize following their recent ‘Last Man Standing’ fundraising competition.

Pictured above the 2009’s prior to their away game against Carrigaline.

Congratulation to Ronan O’Keeffe who was part of the Cork Schoolboys team which won the Munster Final against Waterford.

Blarney United AGM is on Thursday May 24th at 8pm in the clubhouse.

All members welcome.

LAKEWOOD BADMINTON Members of Lakewood Badminton Club, photographed with trophies won during the year, at the Cork County Board’s Awards Night, included are Brian O’Mahony, Zain Ali and Tom Ahern, who were recognised for winning the Inter Provincial Final with Munster. pic Mike English

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South West Roofing All Home Renovations www.southwestroofs.com

Aidan O’Driscoll Qualified Carpenter & Experienced in Lawn Management

General DIY; Carpentry, Home Improvements, Dry Lining & Insulations, Roofing Repairs, Storm Damage Repair, Attic Conversion, Stair Insulation, Skirting, Architraves, Flat Pack Assembly, Power Washing, Painting.

Lawn Maintenance; Scarifying, Moss Removal, Mowing, Strimming, Weed Control, Hedge Cutting, Fence Panels Repaired and Painted.

087 6418 300

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