OUR LADYS MEADOW PRIMARY SCHOOL: We the parents council are looking for photos and funny stories from the public over the last 40 years to celebrate this anniversary, we are hoping to make a calendar or booklet for the 40th anniversary. If anyone has any of the above could they please contact olm40years@gmail.com by email.
JOB ALERT: Comfort Homecare are Recruiting – Community Carers for the Elderly in Cullohill, Durrow & Rathdowney. IMMEDIATE START. Call (089) 244 7499 or email
supervisorlaois@comforthomecare.ie
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.
SEAN KEANE TOUR 2023 IN AID OF DEBRA IRELAND – Legendary musician Sean Keane will play concert in aid of Debra Ireland at The Wheel Inn, Ballyouskill on Friday May 5th 2023. Tickets costing €30 available by contacting (085) 7157694.
WANTED: A 3/4 Bedroomed house required in the Durrow or surrounding areas. References available. Phone (087) 3486976.
DURROW TIDY TOWNS: Durrow Tidy Towns weekly clean ups continue on Wednesdays at 7.00pm. We have limited tools so if you have your own, please bring same. We are aiming on tidying and weeding in specific areas each week for an hour and the more help we have the easier it will be for everyone to help keep Durrow beautiful for the coming season. If you wish to be added to our Tidy Towns Team to get notifications on when we are meeting for different projects, please text – add me to ‘tidy towns team’ on (086) 3657833.
CULLOHILL COMHOLTAS: We are delighted to announce that there will be a Cullohill Comhaltas group starting in September 2023. This will be open and available to all members of our community (adults and children).
DURROW COMMUNITY SERVICES: Durrow Community Services have vacancies for Environmental Workers, Office Administrator, Catering Assistant and Groundskeeper; location of positions in Durrow and Cullohill. Please contact Astrid Andersson on andersson@durrowcs.com or call: 057 8736870.
DURROW BRIDGE CLUB NEWS: Durrow Bridge Club continue their Bridge nights in the Castle Arms Hotel every Wednesday night at 7.30pm. All are most welcome.
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.
DEFIBRILLATORS IN DURROW: We are lucky to have defibrillators in Durrow – one at the Gala Grocery Store and one at The Community Playground. It is vitally important that if you or anyone you know is unfortunate enough to need to use one, you must inform Susan in the Gala Grocery Store as soon as possible afterwards, as the pads need to be replaced – NOTE: They are single use! The defibrillator needs to be ready for the next person who may need to use it – that person could be you or a loved one! Thanks for your cooperation.
DARKNESS INTO LIGHT 2023: Darkness into Light will take place in Durrow on this Saturday May 6th 2023. Please support. For this years walk in Durrow, we will be meeting and starting from the Lions Soccer field on the Cork Road (Eircode R32 PD16). The route will take us down through Durrow, out the Abbeyleix road and around the New Line coming back in by the Swan Road. A huge shout out and thank you to Durrow Fire Brigade, local Garda and Lions AFC for helping us put this all together.
BOOK: A book titled ‘The Poorest of the Poor’ by Durrow author Seosamh O Cuinneagain is now available. All the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated towards the education and general welfare of the street children of Kolkata. Price €20. Please phone 0868263368 for more details.
BALLYOUSKILL CARDS: Ballyouskill Progressive 25s continues on a monthly basis. The next game will be held on Friday 28th April.
WHIST DRIVE: The Killermogh Whist Drive is held in the Parochial Hall, Cork Road, Durrow at 8pm on the ***fourth*** Thursday of every month during 2023. Please come and enjoy a lovely friendly night. The Next Whist drive is on Thursday 27th April at 8pm.
CULLOHILL COMMUNITY CENTRE – PROGRESSIVE 25 CARD GAME – NEW EARLIER START TIME OF 8PM: Progressive 25 Card Game continues every Sunday night in Cullohill Community Centre at 8pm and all are most welcome. Winners on Sunday 23rd April 2023 were: Joint First – John Dollard and Pa Maher, William Carroll and Liam Dunphy; Second – Tommy Whyte and Patrick O’Loughlin. The Raffle Winners on the night were: John Dollard and Canice Sweeney.
ZUMBA CLASSES: Zumba classes are held in The Parochial Hall in Rathdowney each Wednesday night from 8pm to 9pm. The weekly Fee is just €7. Keep fit the fun way while dancing to great music. No dancing experience necessary at all. Good fun guaranteed!
SET DANCING CLASSES: Set dancing classes are held every Thursday night in The Wheel Inn, Ballyouskill from 9pm. All are most Welcome.
DURROW ART CLUB: Art Classes are held in the ICA Hall, Patrick Street, Durrow. Beginners are most welcome to join. More details from Marie on (086) 3136028.
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 11am to 7.30pm 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 – A self-led 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 6.10pm. Beidh fåilte röimh cupån tae a 61 agus cüpla focail Gaeilge a labhairt no a canadh.
CROCHET WORKSHOP – Ukrainian workshops taking place on Wednesday 19th and 26th April at 11am. Call or email the library for more details.
ADULT BOOK CLUB — The club will next meet on Tuesday 25th April at 6.10pm to discuss The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard. 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.
BIRDWATCH IRELAND: BirdWatch Ireland wishes to remind the public that, under the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended, it is prohibited to cut, burn or otherwise destroy vegetation not then cultivated between Sunday 1st March to August 31st, except in the case of any of the derogations permitted under the Wildlife Act. This means that the cutting of hedgerows and the burning or gorse and other vegetation are prohibited during this period.
The restrictions on the destruction of vegetation are in place in order to allow birds to undertake their breeding cycle, a time when they are most vulnerable. All wild birds are protected under national and EU law, especially during the period when they are breeding. This period starts when birds seek out and establish territories, find a mate, begin nest-building and then lay eggs and rear their chicks.
JOHNSTOWN KILKENNY: Johnstown Family Festival is back again for 2023 – save the date: 25th June 2023 in the Johnstown Sports Field. Live Music; The Dog Show; Hurling and Soccer Tournaments; Family Fun Games; Demonstrations; Mega Raffle; Craft Stalls and Food Market plus loads more fun! Hanging Tough is back! And this year we will be looking for “Johnstown’s Fittest Family”. Keep an eye out on the Facebook Page: Johnstown Kilkenny Community Town Team for further details – but you might want to start training for it now!
CHURCH NEWS: Parish Office – The Parish Office at the Presentation Centre beside the Church is open from 9.30am to 2pm on Weekdays. The booking of Masses, Christenings of babies, sale of Mass Cards, Booking of weddings and funeral arrangements will go through this office. All matters relating to Church business in the Parish must also go through this office. You can also call the Parish Office on (085) 2625033.
REVISED MASS HOURS: Effective from 9th September 2023 – Durrow and Rathdowney Parish Mass Times will be revised as follows: 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.
ADORATION: There will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Cullohill Church every Thursday morning from 8.50am until 9.50am.
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.
NUMBER FOR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL – LAST UPDATED JULY 2021: Our new contact phone number for confidential assistance is (087) 6974792.
DURROW-CULLOHILL PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL: Durrow-Cullohill Pastoral Council are looking for people who will assist with: (1) Cleaning the Church; (2) assisting with the collection during Mass, and (3) Readers for weekend Masses and Eucharistic ministers. Please give your name to Martin Lawlor, Seamus Clancy, or any member of the Pastoral Council. Your help would be gratefully appreciated. This is for The Holy Family Church, Durrow.
THE LATE KIERAN O’SULLIVAN: The local community has been shocked and saddened by the death of Kieran O Sullivan, The Showgrounds, Rathdowney. Kieran was an absolute gentleman and was an undertaker and had touched the lives of so many families in the area. Kieran died on 15th April at his home in Rathdowney. He is deeply regretted by his wife, Mary, and daughters Sarah and Louise. He is also regretted by his sisters Margaret Delaney (Geataban) , Kay O Connell (Loughmore), Ann Koch (Germany) , Ellen Delaney (Cullohill) , Rose Barrett (Ballyouskiill) , his mother in law Tessie Bell, uncle, brothers – in – law , nephews ,nieces , relatives and friends .His funeral Mass took place on April 19th in the Church of Holy Trinity, Rathdowney, followed by burial in Bealady Cemetery. May Kieran ‘s gentle soul Rest In Peace.
THE HARPS GAA CLUB NEWS: SPLIT THE BUCKET – A standing order of €8 a month gives one entry a week, €16 a month gives two entries a week and €20 a month gives three entries a week. If you would like to set up a monthly standing order please contact Tom Ryan on (087) 6159226 or Shane Brophy on (087) 2034035. Thanks to everyone who supports our weekly Split the Bucket draw.
THE HARPS GAA: The Harps GAA Awards Night and Medal Presentation Night 2023 will take place in The Castle Arms Hotel on Saturday 6th May at 9.30pm. Presentations on the night will be made to the 2022 Laois U20 Hurling Winners; the 2022 JHC C Winners; the 2022 Laois ACHL Division 4 Winners and the 2022 Laois U17 Football C Championship Winners. All are welcome.
ATHLETICS: Huge congratulations to Avril Deegan who completed in the All Ireland University track and field held in Dundrum, Dublin on Saturday last, April 22nd. Avril took part in the 3,000m winning gold representing DCU in a time of 9.43mins. This was Avril’s first track event in over 2 years. Great to see Avril back to her winning ways having overcome a series of challenging injuries.
THE HARPS CAMOGIE CLUB NEWS: Congratulations to Joan Dollard from all at The Harps Camogie Club as she got married to Andrew Collier on Friday last, April 28th.
FIELE: Well done to our great bunch of U15 Féile girls who battled their way to the Laois Féile A Final in two very tough final round matches on Sunday April 23rd against Naomh Eamann and St Lazarians. Unfortunately the final did not go our way and we congratulate Naomh Éamann Camogie Club on their win. Thank you to Laois Camogie, all the parents, supporters, organisers & officials for making it a memorable Féile weekend and we look forward to another great day participating in the Regional Féile Day in June.
CULLOHILL HANDBALL CLUB: You can contact the club on cullohillhandballclub@yahoo.ie by email.
WELL DONE – Well done to MJ Muldowney, Ollie delaney, Eoin Delaney, Ethan Lafferty, Jimmy Whyte, Aoife Holland, Mia Fogarty, Aoife Kelly, Ellie Lafferty and Éadaoin Whyte who all took part in the Leinster B competition. Well done in particular to Éadaoin Whyte who won the U17 Leinster final. Congratulations also to Aoife Kelly who was U15 Leinster runner up.
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.
SUMMER CAMP 2023 – The club will be hosting an FAI soccer camp this summer. If any club members or players are interested in being a coach at the camp, contact Brian on 085 7088511.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Due to a flooding incident in the Ballroom of the The Castle Arms Hotel we have had to reschedule the Abbaesque Night from Saturday April 29th to Friday June 30th. All Tickets Purchased for April 29th are valid for June 30th. Tickets are still in High Demand so don’t leave it till last minute to purchase your tickets. If you wish to purchase tickets you can do so at the same link www.eventbrite.ie/e/abbaesque-tickets-539292687947 online.
U14 SKETCHER’S CUP: It was with great disappointment that the Under 14’s run in the Skechers National Cup came to an end last Saturday, April 22nd in Midleton FC. We always knew that we had a huge mountain to climb in the Semi Final against a very strong Midleton team, and it was not entirely unexpected that it was not to be.
However, last Saturday was just one (albeit the last) match in what was an unbelievable run for these incredible boys. The competition started last autumn with a match against Kilmacow. After this win, the boys proceeded to be victorious against De La Salle (Waterford), Bansha Celtic (Tipperary), Lifford (Clare), Crosshaven (Cork) and Arklow United (Wicklow).
These boys are the history makers within our Club. Never before has a Lions team made it this far in National Competition. To be in the last four of the country, is something that couldn’t even have been imagined six months ago. We are so incredibly proud of these boys, who have worked so hard and didn’t give up… even when the game got away from them on Saturday.
The support which was shown to the boys in Midleton on Saturday was overwhelming. We were blown away by the amount of people, (some of whom had no direct connection to the team) who travelled to Cork to cheer from the sidelines. It was very much appreciated, and is testament to the spirit of our amazing club and local communities.
We would like to thank Midleton FC for their hospitality. We were made to feel welcome all throughout the day, and the refreshments were very much appreciated. They are an incredible team and much deserving of their place in the Cup Final, and we hope that they will be victorious!
Finally, we would like to thank Emma for her incredible work with these boys, and to Robbie and Ray for always being on hand to assist her and of course for their sponsorship of the Lions gear for all the players. Also a special thank you to Oliver Stanley for his kind donation towards the boys food on Saturday. The future is bright for these boys who will deservedly be promoted to Division 1 in the League next season and are still in with a chance of winning the Division 1A League this season.
DURROW AND CULLOHILL DISTRICT ANGLERS: The club are 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!
TRIDENT FITNESS CLUB – KETTLEBELL SPORTS AND FITNESS CLASSES: Learn to use kettlebells safely and effectively from one of Ireland’s top ranked and most experienced professional kettlebell sports and fitness instructors with over 10 years of experience in kettlebell sport and fitness. Included in the classes are bodyweight exercises as well as posture correction and strengthening techniques. Together with proper kettlebell instruction you can learn to prevent and remedy a wide range of joint and mobility issues and injuries. Class schedule: Tuesday 6.30pm; Thursday 6.30pm; Saturday 11am. Venue: Durrow Community Hall CYMS. Call David or email for further information. Also available for personal training. Tel: (087) 3833258 or email: tridentfitnessclub@yahoo.ie or borukettlebellclub@yahoo.com for more information.