ST PATRICK’S FESTIVAL AND PARADE 2020: The Durrow St. Patrick’s Festival and Parade, organised by Durrow Development Forum will take place on Tuesday 17th March. Parade participants will meet at 1pm at Erkindale Drive and the parade will take place at 1.30pm. There will be a Food and Craft Fair on the green from 11am with some of our dedicated traders from the Scarecrow Festival, entertainment including bouncy castles, mini-Gaelic Games, Lions AFC Face-Painting, Candy Stall, Mouse Racing, Dunk Tank – we are shivering already at the though of this one, music, fun and games on the green after the parade. As our parade only takes place every two years now, we would ask all businesses, clubs and organisations to get involved in same, the parade itself only takes a short route and it’s important that every business and organisation takes part in same. We are delighted that Durrow and District Pipe band will take part in this years parade. Please contact Irene on (086) 8412683 regarding taking part in the parade and Emer on (087) 9626350 regarding the Food and Craft Fair. We would hope that everyone will get involved and make the day extra special for family, visitors and friends.

DURROW WALKING GROUP: Durrow Walking Group continues each Monday, Wednesday and Friday meeting at 7.30pm at Castle Durrow gates. Get some headspace and me time in the coming weeks. Suitable for both men and women. €2 charge per night which will go to the fundraiser for the Redevelopment of The Lions AFC Pitch. No commitment needed. Come out and join in when you can. For information please contact Ann on (085) 8870532, evenings only.

CONGRATULATIONS to The Baikal Project who celebrated success in Severobaykalsk, Russia having trekked 830km and in doing so setting two Guinness World Records! To find out more about their great feat search for “The Baikal Project” on Facebook or visit www.thebaikalproject.com online. Local men from Abbeyleix – Gary O’Keeffe and John Quinn were involved in this project.

ADULT ART CLASSES: Adult Art Classes with Durrow Art Club in Durrow Library on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm – 9pm. We welcome new members including beginners. All materials provided. Enquires to Marie on (086) 313 6028.

PEDAL VINTAGE – Durrow Community Bike Hire Scheme: We are teaming up with Ross, at Core Health & Fitness, to bring you – “Pedal for Health” an 8-week leisure cycling programme, designed to improve your general health, fitness and well-being. This programme will include, two leisure cycles each week, in addition to a one-to-one, body composition assessment, introduction to wellness support and talks on a healthy eating plan by a qualified nutritionist. Participants will avail of our brand-new leisure bicycles, which will be supplied for the duration of this exciting wellness programme. All-inclusive fee, for this sixteen-session programme is €60. To date, we have received 15 bookings, from our limit of 20 available places, therefore, early booking is advisable for the remaining available places. Active retirement groups are very welcome to participate. An information night is planned for the end of March, a programme launch in early April, with an expected commencement of our programme in early/mid-April (dates to be confirmed) For further particulars please call Hugh (086) 8694691 or Ross (087) 9302152 or to durrow.doings@gmail.com by email. Please include your preference for morning or evening cycling sessions.

LAOIS TASTE PROVENANCE SCHEME 2020: Laois Taste Provenance Scheme Aims to encourage local provenance and create opportunities for new food businesses, support existing food businesses while also promoting the Laois Food Industry to a wider audience. Visit: www.localenterprise.ie/Laois/News/Latest-News/Laois-Taste-Provenance-Scheme.html for further information on all aspects of this new scheme.

PILATES HAVE RESUMED IN CULLOHILL: Pilates Classes have resumed in Cullohill Community Centre and continue each Tuesday from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. Class teacher is Julie McGuire and all welcome to join. For more details on these classes, please telephone (057) 8737145. Just come along and enjoy a hour of healthy exercise every week.

LIVE LOCAL WEATHER: Visit www.laoisweather.com for live local weather data from Durrow.

LAOIS PPN: Community Well being Vision being developed in the county. Laois PPN are delighted to be rolling out a new National Initiative on Community wellbeing. The PPN is bringing together social inclusion, environment and community development voices in our communities to develop a Wellbeing Vision Statement that sets out their shared vision for County Laois. Feed into this important vision for your area by starting a conversation and attending a public meeting on Wednesday, 11th March in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise at 7pm. For further information or to register you interest in attending please contact Laois PPN on ppn@laoiscoco.ie or call (057) 8665661.

SENIOR ALERT SCHEME: The Woodenbridge Community Alert are the local authorised Personal Alarm (Senior Alert Scheme) suppliers for the Durrow, Cullohill, Ballacolla and Rathdowney areas. The new programme states that (1) eligible persons (65 years and over) no longer have to be living alone; and (2) there will be free monitoring of alarm service for one year for all new participants after November 1st 2017. For more information contact Michael G Phelan (087) 2395357.

SOCIAL DANCE CLASSES: There will be Social Dance Classes for Waltz, Quickstep, and Foxtrot, etc… held in the Ballyragget Community Hall every Saturday night from 7.30pm to 9.00pm. This is a Healthy, relaxing and very sociable evening. All are most welcome and for more information please contact Yvonne on (087) 2448535.

NO JUNK MAIL STICKERS: Fed up of Junk Mail and want to do your bit for the environment – there are now free stickers in Lawlor’s Gala and Ryan’s Daybreak. Pick up yours today and stick them to your letter box! For more updates, click like on the Durrow Tidy Towns Facebook Page.

SET DANCING CLASSES: Set Dancing Classes in The Castle Arms Hotel, Durrow continue on Mondays from 8.30pm until 10.30pm. Beginners are most welcome. Contact Declan on (087) 2168680 for more information.

DURROW CHOIR: Vocem Darú Choir (Durrow’s Community Choir) is back! Rehearsals continue on Tuesdays and we are always looking for new members. We sing a wide range of Music – popular, classical, international – with the focus on fun and friendship. For more details phone Ann on (086) 6045409

NEXT NEWSLETTER: The next newsletter will be on sale the weekend of March 15th and 16th 2020 – weather permitting. All adverts must be booked with Angela Drennan (087) 1928522 or (057) 8736419. Advertisements cost €2 per issue of Durrow Parish Newsletter and must be paid for in advance.