THE FOLLY FESTIVAL 2024: The Folly Festival 2024 will take place on July 5th and 6th in the beautifully intimate venue, known as Nancy’s Yard, beneath the towering ruins of historic Cullohill Castle. Anticipation is already growing, following on from the huge success of the sellout Folly Festival in 2023, where acts such as Lyra, Lea Heart, Robert Grace and Chasing Abbey, along with the best up and coming talents on the Irish music scene, wowed the crowds over two glorious nights.
Early Bird weekend tickets are now on sale at https://thefolly.ie/tickets/. For a limited time, these tickets are available with a massive 25% off.
All proceeds from the Folly Festival are used by the organisers Cullohill Community Council for Village renewal projects along with donations to local Schools, Clubs and Societies.
The concerts will be punctuated by Saturday’s Daytime Events, with the Family Trad Event in Nancys Castle. Led by the fantastic Dooley Brothers who take to the Castle Stage at 2pm along with a packed schedule of children’s entertainment, Artisan Food & Craft Fayre, vintage cars, a dog show, an art exhibition and so much more. Festival tickets are not required to take part in the daytime events, and everyone is welcome to attend!
VILLAGE TICKET OFFICE: A village ticket office will open between 11am and 1pm on Sunday 28th April at Cullohill Community Centre to purchase Early Bird Weekend Tickets at €60 and save the online booking charge. The Early Bird Offer will soon end so please ensure you get your tickets early!
LINE-UP FOR 2024: Headlining the Folly Festival on Friday night is Darren Kiely, the Irish singer-songwriter who has accumulated three million global streams and has sold-out headline shows at Rockwood Music Hall and Mercury Lounge in NYC, while The Scratch – currently one the most talked about bands in the country signed to Sony Music and garnering a huge fan base as they tour the US and Canada – will headline Saturday.
Róisín O a firm favourite on the festival circuit, has most recently toured Ireland, the UK and Australia in the wake of her chart-topping album Courageous, and Dea Matrona, an all-female trio from Belfast who have amassed over 5.7 million views on You Tube and secured a number one on both the UK and Ireland iTunes chart will also join the lineup of Oscar Blue, Jessica Doolan, Saibh Skelly, Paddy Keys, Dooley Brothers, Cullohill Comhaltas, Garda Band and many, many more over the festival weekend.
VENDORS: The Folly Festival at Cullohill would like to open for expressions of interest for vendors at the Saturday Artisan Foods and Craft Market on the Rocks at The Folly Festival on July 6th. Please send details along with confirmation of insurance to thefollyfest@gmail.com and we will send details by return mail.
RUAILE BUAILE IN CONCERT: Popular upbeat Irish band will play at The Castle Arms Hotel on Friday, May 3rd (This May Bank Holiday Weekend). Doors open at 9.30pm and gig commences at 10pm. For tickets, please visit: www.durrowscarecrowfestival.com/community-shop/ online. This is a fundraising event for The Durrow Community Hub.
DURROW SCARECROW FESTIVAL 2024: We’ve the last few trading spaces available for this year’s Durrow Scarecrow Festival. You will need your own insurance, gazebo and indemnity to us. Thanks to everyone who has booked so far, we’re updating to advise that we are now fully booked out for Sweets, Toys, Hot food, Jewellery, Candles, Soaps and Art. If you’ve craft or something different and would like to showcase what you have, then Durrow is the place to do so with a nationwide and international audience. You’re welcome to trade with us in Durrow! Please send us with photos of products you’d like to trade on scarecrow@durrow.ie by email.
CULLOHILL FORÓIGE CLUB: The local Foroige club are holding a 5km walk on Sunday, April 28th. Registration begins at 10.30am at Cullohill Church Car Park with the walk then commencing at 11am. €5 entry for children, €10 for adults and €20 for family. All funds go towards the Foróige club who have recently reformed and are increasingly more active. We would love to see everyone there!
CULLOHILL COMMUNITY CENTRE NEWS: CRECHE – the local creche is to close soon with outline plans currently being discussed to provide childcare services through the community centre. Further developments expected over the coming weeks.
CIRCUIT CLASSES – running in The Centre every Tuesday and Thursday at 8.00pm with instructor Richie Saunders. Further details from any committee member.
DURROW TIDY TOWNS: Adopt an Area – is there an area in Durrow you’d like to adopt? After our Bronze Win in 2023 and our biggest ever points jump, we need help over the coming months as we aim for a Silver Medal for Durrow in the 2024 National Tidy Towns Competition. If the volunteer days don’t suit you, would you like to adopt an area to weed, sweep, water, clean and keep tidy this year? Let us know on 087 9626350 or message our facebook page. If you would like to be added to our volunteer WhatsApp group, please text Add me to TT volunteers on 086 3657833 – many thanks!
APPLE TREE PLANTING: Espalier Apple Trees have been planted in a new project supporting Nature & Biodiversity in our community and Creating Space for Nature. A future edible wall! Growing an apple tree using Espalier is amazingly productive and rewarding. Apples love to be trained along a trellis and though they do take work and patience the results are very rewarding. Espaliering will help keep our fruit trees in check while still providing us with a bountiful harvest. We look forward to seeing the results in Autumn!
STOP FOOD WASTE: Bananas are a big culprit but so many ways to save them. Freeze to use in smoothies (remove skin) or use to make
Fresh Smoothies, Banana Muffins, Pancakes, Flapjacks and a Favourite, Banana Bread. Great snacks for lunch boxes too! See recipe attached and enjoy!
GRASS CUTTING ON THE GREENS: Why are the greens not cut? Because they are early feeding for or pollinators! No pollinators = no food. A Community survey was taken last year between May and September online and in post office and local shops, unfortunately despite our previous information campaigns, the majority of people didn’t know what was going on and in particular on the green areas, even though they are like this for the past number of years. This year a decision was made to cut a strip on the edge of the green to visually show that yes, it’s intentional! The greens are left to grow to facilitate pollinators from February to April. We also planted over 2,000 crocuses in the green areas in November 2023 to further save our pollinators.
ADULT ART CLASSES: Evening Art Classes for all levels resume on Wednesday 24th April or Thursday 25th April in Durrow. Beginners welcome too. Materials provided. For enquiries, please contact Marie on (086) 3136028.
CULLOHILL COMMUNITY CENTRE – PROGRESSIVE 25 CARD GAME: Progressive 25 Card Game continues every Sunday night in Cullohill Community Centre at 8pm and all are most welcome. Winners on Sunday 14th April 2024 were: First – Margaret and Anthony Phelan; Joint Second: Tommy Whyte and Liam Dunphy, Dick Brennan and Michael Kells, Vera Brennan and Willie Gorman. The Raffle Winners on the night were: Ollie Clooney and John Mooney.
BALLYOUSKILL 25s CARDS GAME – Ballyouskill 25s Cards continues in Ballyouskill Community Hall on the last Friday of the month at 8pm. Our next game is the Annual Charity game for the Missions on Friday 26th April at 8pm. Look forward to seeing you all.
WHIST DRIVE: The Killermogh Whist Drive is held in the Parochial Hall, Cork Road, Durrow. The Next Whist drive is on Thursday the 25th of April 2024 at 8pm. All are most welcome.
DURROW BRIDGE CLUB: Club meetings continue on Wednesdays at 7.30pm in the Castle Arms Hotel. All are most welcome.
NATIONAL LOTTERY GOOD CAUSES AWARDS: The National Lottery Good Causes Awards is now open for applications. The competition will culminate with a National Final awards ceremony which will take place on the 12th of October 2024 in Killashee House Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare. For more information and to enter, please go to https://www.lottery.ie/good-causes-awards online.
SET DANCING CLASSES: Set Dancing continues in The Wheel Inn Ballyouskill on Thursdays at 9pm – all are most welcome to join. Contact Paddy at (085) 8607256 or Francis at (085) 7157694 for more details. An enjoyable way to socialise while helping to keep fit.
DURROW AND DISTRICT PIPE BAND: We’re always looking for new members, so why not come along to a practice? Get in touch with our Facebook page if you’re interested in learning the pipes or drums, all levels catered for. See https://www.facebook.com/DurrowPipeBand or search Facebook for “Durrow & District Pipe Band” to find us online.
LAOIS SPCA: Cat neutering scheme extended for April! Please neuter your cats, kittens can get pregnant from four months and males will start wandering now it’s mating season, meaning they are more likely to get lost, hit by a car or injured by another male. You have to microchip to avail of the scheme, it saves us so much work if a lost cat is microchipped. We have to find a foster space and put up posts on all the lost cat pages and then respond to all the queries, if your cat is microchipped your details are available once the vet scans the cat. Microchip! Cats are notorious for getting lost/travelling in vans/car engines and hanging out at your neighbours. Contact Erkina Vets on (050) 546449 today.
DOG WALKERS! A reminder to clean up after your dog. We have Mutt Mitt dispensers and instructions on how to clean up after your dog, throughout Durrow. Dog fouling is a serious health risk and children can easily not see it and bring indoors on bikes, shoes, buggies and it’s a particular hazard to wheelchair users. If you’d like to become a green dog walker we have information in the Post Office and Library regarding the initiative. Please be responsible and clean up after your pet!
DURROW LIBRARY NEWS: All our Laois Library branches are open to the public for browsing, PC usage, printing, photocopying and studying, in addition to all the free events taking place throughout the month – see details below. You can browse the Laois Libraries online catalogue here: https://laois.spydus.ie and if needed, borrowers can reset their library PIN in order to access the catalogue – contact your local library or email library@laoiscoco.ie for assistance with this.
ONLINE BOOK CLUB – Laois Libraries Online Book Club reads one book a month chosen from the BorrowBox collection. Join us on the last Wednesday of each month when questions are posed for discussion on our Book Club Facebook page. You can join the group on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/315513126404037 online. New members are always welcome.
OPEN HOURS – Durrow Library Opening hours are Tuesdays from 1.30pm to 7.30pm (closed for lunch from 5.30pm until 6pm) and Wednesdays from 10am to 5.30pm (closed for lunch from 1.30pm to 2pm). Phone: (057) 8736090 Email: durrowlibrary@laoiscoco.ie for further information.
ADULT ART GROUP – An adult art group meets weekly every Tuesday at 2:30pm. Call or email the library for more details.
IRISH CIRCLE — The Irish Circle group meets in the library on Tuesdays at 6pm. Beidh fáilte róimh cupán tae agus cúpla focail Gaeilge a labhairt no a canadh.
LEGO FREE PLAY – Lego Free Play will be held in the library every Wednesday afternoon in March from 2pm to 4pm. Children are welcome with parent/guardian supervision.
ADULT BOOK CLUB – The next meeting will be held on Tuesday the 30th of April at 6.10pm. New members welcome – call or email the library for more details.
DURROW COMMUNITY SATURDAY MARKET: Durrow Community Market continues on Saturdays from 9am to 12 noon on the Kilkenny Road beside the Church.
LIVE LOCAL WEATHER: Visit www.laoisweather.com for live local weather data from Durrow.
DURROW FIRE AND RESCUE: Do you need a smoke alarm? Or do you know of someone who does, in the Durrow, Cullohill or Ballacolla area? Every home should have a minimum of two of the life saving devices! Durrow Fire & Rescue will provide and install smoke alarms for anyone that needs them, and there is no charge for this service. Simply email info@durrow.ie if you are interested, or if you know of a friend or neighbour that needs to have the devices installed. Please leave a contact number too.
DURROW FIRE AND RESCUE: Members of Durrow Fire Brigade are available to give fire safety talk to any interested adult groups or organisations, in the Durrow, Cullohill and Ballacolla areas. If interested please contact Station Officer David Donohue.
HEDGE-CUTTING BAN: Under the Wildlife Act, it is against the law to cut, burn or otherwise destroy vegetation including hedges between 1st March and 31st August, with few exemptions. The reason for the hedge-cutting ban is to stop disturbance and destruction of nesting sites
of many wild bird species. Learn more at www.birdwatchireland.ie/hedgecutting online.
WANTED: Childminder needed from late August for 9 month old. Cullahill/Durrow/Johnstown area. Some flexibility possible week to week. Contact Marie 0879316594.
DURROW POST OFFICE: We here at Durrow Post Office do both AIB and Bank of Ireland Lodgements and withdrawals. We provide a quick and professional service for all your personal and business banking. We are here to help you and make banking easier.
AIB CUSTOMERS – You can do * Cash lodgements with bank debit card or lodgement slips; * Cash withdrawals with bank debit card; * Cheque lodgements with a personalised lodgement slip.
BANK OF IRELAND CUSTOMERS – You can do * Cash lodgements with bank debit card or lodgement slips; * Cash withdrawals with bank debit card; * Cheque lodgements with a personalised lodgement slip.
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CHURCH NEWS: Parish Office – Regular opening hours have now resumed and are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10.00am to 2.00pm. We have signed Mass cards, Baptismal candles, Communion gifts and more available to purchase. All Mass intentions, baptisms and weddings must be booked through the office on (085) 2625033, by email at durrow@ossory.ie or in person. No Private advertising in the weekly Mass Newsletter.
Mass Hours – Saturday Evening – 6pm Vigil Mass in Rathdowney; 7.30pm Vigil Mass in Cullohill and 7.30pm Vigil Mass in Durrow (This Mass in Durrow only celebrated when Canon O’Doherty is available to celebrate it); Sunday Morning – 10am Mass in Errill; 11.15am Mass in Durrow.
Baptisms in Rathdowney and Durrow – Following the changes to our Mass schedule, baptisms can be booked for Saturdays at 4.30pm in either Parish and Sundays at 12 Noon in Durrow and Cullohill or 12.15 in Rathdowney and Errill.
Adoration – There will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Cullohill Church every Thursday morning from 9am until 9.30am and in Durrow directly after 8.50am Mass (finishes at 11.30 am) on Mondays, also on Fridays from 7pm until 8pm.
Pastoral Council Members – The members of the Pastoral Council are: Martin Lawlor; Mary Lawlor; James Walsh; Carmel Ruane; Mary Ryan; Vicky Murphy; Margaret Murphy; Seamus Clancy; Sr. Anita O’Leary and Fr. Martin Delaney.
Grásta – Preparing for Marriage? Weekend residential courses available from April 26th to 28th and September 20th to 22nd 2024. For more details visit www.grasta.org or contact info@grasta.org by email.
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NUMBER FOR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL – LAST UPDATED JULY 2023: Please note that our confidential contact helpline number for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Durrow, is (083) 4056021.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED: For conversational English! No experience necessary. All are welcome. Location & Times: Rathdowney on Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays (TBD) from 10am till 12pm. Contact Olena on (087) 9131236 for more information.
THE HARPS GAA CLUB NEWS – SPLIT THE BUCKET – Participate in the exciting weekly chance to win instant cash with ‘Split the Bucket.’ You can join in two ways: contact Richie (087) 9294742, Tom (087) 6159226 or Shane (087) 2034035 to establish a monthly standing order. Investing €8 monthly grants one entry per week, while €20 monthly provides three entries weekly, saving you €72 annually. Alternatively, play for €2 a ticket, at local businesses hosting our buckets. Best of luck to all participants, and thank you for your continued support to the Harps GAA Club!
JUVENILE CLUB: The Harps Juvenile Draw – This year marks the 40th anniversary of our club. To mark the occasion the Juvenile club will be having their draw on the May Bank Holiday Weekend instead of our normal Easter Draw. As always some great prizes are on offer in the raffle. Any juvenile member who sells a card will get a free retro jersey which is based on our first jersey when the club was formed. We appeal to everyone to support the juveniles and best of luck in the draw.
UNDER 7s TRAINING: Harps Under 7s training continues on Fridays from 6pm to 7pm at the Ball Wall in the Durrow Grounds. This training is open to all Junior and Senior Infants boys.
THE HARPS CAMOGIE CLUB: Our Adult Junior and Intermediate teams are back training and looking to build on the success of last year. All players young, old and new are more than welcome to join us. We are training on Wednesdays at 7:30pm in Cullohill pitch. If you want more details about joining contact The Harps Camogie Club’s Facebook page.
HEALTHY CLUBS: The Launch of The Harps (GAA and Camogie) Healthy Clubs Programme with focus on Healthy Eating Guidelines. Healthy Club Officer and Performance Nutritionist Laura Mahony will hold an information evening on what the Healthy Clubs Programme is and a Healthy Eating Talk. This information evening is open to all members of the Community. When? 8pm Monday 29th April 2024; Where? Cullohill Community Centre Meeting Room. See you there!
JUVENILE TRAINING: U6, U8 and U10 training is back on Thursdays at the Juvenile Pitch in Durrow at 6:30pm – all are most welcome.
TRAINING: U12 and U14 training continues on Thursdays at 6:30pm at the ball wall in Durrow. All new members are welcome to come along and give it a go.
INTERMEDIATE RESULT: Well done to our Intermediates who got their league off to a winning start last Saturday night (April 13th) beating St. Brigids on a scoreline of 3-09 to 0-13.
CULLOHILL HANDBALL CLUB: Hard luck to Conor and Padraic Walsh who were narrowly beaten in their Men’s Junior C Leinster 40×20 Doubles semi-final last Tuesday evening. In the semi-final the Cullohill pairing were defeated by Offaly’s John Murphy and Jack Jones (Crinkle Handball Club) on a 21-8, 21-18 scoreline. Hard luck to Conor and Paudric. On the evidence of their performance – they will be contenders for this title in twelve months time.
GET IN TOUCH! You can contact the club on cullohillhandballclub@yahoo.ie by email.
THE LIONS AFC CLUB: FOR HIRE – Astro Pitch Hire, suitable for 7-a-side soccer social groups, casual bookings and team activities. For all enquiries or to make a booking please contact lionsafc@gmail.com or call (085) 7088511.
RESULT: Lions U12s Whites 2 V 3 Clover United. Hard luck to the lads who battled back from 2-0 down in Rathdowney to level up at 2-2 with five minutes to go. They were unfortunate to conceed a free in the final minutes which Clover United converted excellently. Best of luck to Clover United as they progress to the next round of the cup.
DURROW AND CULLOHILL DISTRICT ANGLERS: JOIN US – The club is always looking for more Juvenile and Senior members to join up. Why not consider it – a great way to get outside to a new hobby! All fishing membership cards can be bought in The Gala Shop Durrow, Lawlors Flower Shop Durrow, and in Fran’s Fishing Shop Mountrath. All day tickets and full membership cards are available. There are court appointed water keepers overseeing the club’s waters and you could be asked for membership. Please ensure all membership and tickets are valid and please adhere to club rules listed on the membership cards. Happy Fishing!
NOTICE: Granstown Lake is closed to fishing due to the ongoing bad weather. Sorry for any inconvenience. It will be closed until further notice. We update everyone when it’s open again after inspection.
LAOIS KAYAK AND CANOE CLUB: You can contact us on info@laoiskayak.com by email.