CAHIR NOTES THE YEAR OF ‘77! Calling all First Year Students who attended Cahir Vocational School in 1977.  A get-together is being organised that will take place upstairs in The Galtee Inn on Friday 23rd March at 8pm. If you have any queries, you can contact Noeleen Ryan - 085 769 7896 or Ann Marie O’Connell - 087 763 0917   They are looking forward to seeing you all again. NEW EVENING FOR BINGO I am happy to be able to report that Bingo will be continuing at the Castle Court Hotel, but it will now be on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm.  There will be a Raffle on the first Tuesday of every month. Good luck in the Mocks to Maurice, Patrick, Clare and Kate from all the Bingo crew.  Also best wishes to Shauna on her way to Kenmare with Gaisce for her walk. DEEPEST SYMPATHY Sincere sympathy is extended to the Cantwell family on the recent death of Mairéad Cantwell.  Mairéad was a loyal member of the Tuesday Night Bridge Club and will be sadly missed by all the members.  May her gentle soul Rest in Peace. [I have no doubt that this sentiment is felt by all who had ever met Mairéad]. Jim Harden died in Clonmel Hospital on 29th January after a brief illness.  There was a big funeral in St Paul’s Church after which he was buried in Kilcommon Cemetery with his parents. NEW SERVICE PROVIDED BY CAHIR DEVELOPMENT A new, low-cost Telephone Centre is now provided at the Business & Training Centre.  Private telephone booths have been built and calls can be made wordwide in privacy and comfort - and at very low prices. Examples of costs include:  Calls to Poland, Australia and Brazil for only 8c a minute - that’s €4.80 an hour!  Also the USA, UK and Ireland for 5c a minute, and that’s only €3 an hour! The rates are calculated per minute or part thereof to normal landlines, although calls to mobiles may vary.  Obviously, there are many more great rates to many more destinations and there is no connection charge, no operator, no surcharge, no buying of prepaid cards.  Just a simple and convenient service. The Business & Training Centre, which is just through the Arch on the Square, is open from Monday to Saturday:  Monday to ~Friday from 10am to 6pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. Enquiries can be made in person or to 052 43224 or 42616. CAHIR PARK LADIES’ SOCCER On Sunday 11th February, an experimental Cahir Park team, playing their first game in 2007, drew with Rock Rovers (Carrick).  They travelled to this pre-season Friendly and played on an energy-sapping surface. Cahir adapted well in the first half and created some scoring chances. However, some wayward shooting and good defensive work by the Rovers resulted in the first half ending scoreless. Cahir Park introduced four 2nd half substitutes to give the newcomers match practice.  Midway through the half, a deflected shot ended up in the Park net.  Cahir went in search of the equaliser and Stephanie Elliot and Clara Fahy were just off-target with long range shots.  With three minutes to go, a breakthrough from mid-field saw Clara Fahy out-sprint two defenders and skilfully power a low shot to the corner of the net for a deserved equaliser. Cahir Park Squad:- Linda Conway, Nicola Armitage, Sinead Tobin, Aoife Casey, Louise Carroll, Julie McMahon (Captain), Ann-Marie Noonan, Catriona Nagle, Stephanie Elliott, Margaret O‘Brien, Dominique Hallinan, Clara Fahy, Natalie Pinto, Anne O’Brien, and Freda Casey. Player of the Match Trophy: Stephanie Elliott.  Thanks are expressed to the Club’s loyal supporters.  Any form of sponsorship for this go-ahead Club is welcome at any time. I have been able to include the names of the Squad this week, but may not always be able to do so if the space is not available. RUMOURS FLYING AROUND  I was very pleased to hear from Kay Hickey that her long-established and very popular shop on The Square, “Little People” is definitely not closing.  Indeed she hopes to be in business for many years to come.  CAHIR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LOTTO Another week has passed with a Jackpot winner being drawn.  The numbers that came up, witnessed by Peter Fahy, were:  1, 2, 13 and 26. The five Lucky Dip winners were: Jim Buckley, Pearse Street; Mary Quinlan, Clonmel Road; Linda Conway, Knockagh; Eleanor Morrissey, St Mary’s Road;  Margaret McLaughlin, Barnora Crescent - all in Cahir. The Jackpot total for this week is €2,800 and tickets can be bought up to the last minute - noon on Wednesday - from the Business & Training Centre.  All the profits from the Community Lotto go to the Duneske Leisure Centre. CAHIR CAMOGIE CLUB NOTES Membership for 2007 is now due and the subscription of €10 should be handed in as soon as possible to Club Treasurer Jo Burke. Club Skirts are being ordered in the near future for the U-16 and U-14 girls and those wishing to avail themselves of this offer should contact Jo Burke with their name and size as soon as possible. The cost is €15 each and Jo can be contacted on 086 336 7263.  She is also taking names for Club Training Tops, so if you are interested please give in your name as soon as possible. The U-14 panel are back in training next Sunday at the all-weather pitch at Duneske, from 11am to 12 noon.  Everyone is requested to attend and new players would be welcome to join.  For further information on the U-14 panel please contact Billy Coffey on 087 251 4399. POULMUCKA & DISTRICT PLOUGHING ASSOCIATION The Association celebrated its 25th Anniversary recently at their Annual Dinner Dance at the Clonmel Park Hotel.  It was a most enjoyable evening, and the occasion was marked when Carrie Acheson, a Founder Member of the Association, cut the special cake. In his address, the Chairman ,Mark Hally, congratulated  the Club on its 25 successful years and wished all the members many years of success in the future.  He had a special word of thanks for the landowners who supplied ploughing sites over the years, and also the many members of the Club who travel to adjoining counties, taking part in ploughing competitions.  And of course, the competitors who represent South Tipperary at the National Ploughing Championships every year, and achieve good results must not be forgotten. Many thanks were expressed to a hard-working committees that, over the past 25 years, by their dedication, have helped to make Poulmucka Ploughing Association the vibrant Club that it is today. The Chairman also wished to extend a special word of thanks to John and Bridget Moloney for the use of their premises for meetings; also the sponsors, whose support is gratefully appreciated;  Ballingeary ICA, for providing refreshments at their local events. FRIENDS OF CAHIR PARK AFC Do oyou fancy a 1 in 34 chancre of winning a substantial cash prize every month, and at the same time help the fundraising effort of Cahir Park AFC Schoolboys?  Well. tickets are now available for a monthly draw confined to 100 of its members. For just €15 a month, paid by Standing Order, (or €180 annually), members enter the draw for each of three monthly prizes:  €350; €250 and €150.  The first Draw will take place on St Patrick’s night and every four weeks thereafter.  Updates on the Draw will be available from any member of the Committee and from the Club website, www.cahirparkafc.com. The Park needs your support to enable it to continue the good work at Ardfinnan Road. CLOGHEEN / BURNCOURT PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) of Burncourt / Clogheen, as directed in the Pastoral Plan for the Parishes of Waterford & Lismore 2007 - 2011, has begun the establishment of a Welcome & Hospitality Group. All Clubs, Societies and Organisations that wish to be listed are invited to contact the PPC with their details by Sunday 18th February.  Submissions may be delivered to the PPC boxes located in both Churches, the Post Office and Spar shop in Clogheen and Maureen Creed’s shop in Burncourt. Alternatively, submissions may be made directly by phone or e-mail to the PPC Secretary, Kevin Clarke, kevinkevin444@hotmail.com, or Assistant Secretary Rose Clearly, 052 67465 / 087 278 8684, rclearly@archaeology.ucc.ie. Anyone interested in volunteering as a member of the Welcome & Hospitality Group can do so by contacting the above, or any member of the PPC. HEDGEROWS - A NETWORK FOR NATURE This is the title of the afternoon of demonstrations, exhibitions and talks that is being organised on Sunday 18th February at Ballingarrane Estate, Clonmel - probably better known to many, until recently, as the Watson family’s estate Although the title seems to indicate a fairly restricted interest, when one looks at the list of exhibitors it will be anything but. These include ENFO, providing on Irish Wildlife including Networks for Nature - a hedgerow exhibition and Garden Bird Detectives Exhibition;  I the Irish Seed Saver Association which will have traditional Apple Tree varieties on exhibition and for sale;  Bird Watch Ireland which, as well as exhibitions on bird life and hedgerows will have a bird ringing demonstration;  South Tipperary Bee Keepers’ Association;  South Tipperary Farm Relief Services and very many more. There will be craft demonstrations by Philip Quinn on Dry Stone Wall building;  Greenmantle on willow craft;  Marie Creen doing rush work and Emma Allott demonstrating felt making.  All this plus a Nature Walk of Ballingarrane Estate Gardens with the Ecologist Mieke Muyllaert. The Estate opens at 12 noon and the event will close at 4pm. COLÁISTE STUDENTS IN ROAD SAFETY INITIATIVE Coláiste students have taken a step towards highlighting the dangers of speed on our roads, by designing a sign which has been erected on the approach roads to Cahir.  The initiative came as a result of a car maintenance / road safety module given by Mr Seamus Lahart to Transition Year students. The students undertook projects aimed at influencing young adults about the dangers of speed on our roads.  One of the ideas that came up was the design of a sign that would appeal to young adults and possible affect their attitude to speed. Students in the College chose the sign they decided would make the necessary impact.  The County Council Road Safety Section reacted very positively and the sign was professionally made.  The talents of the Leaving Certificate Applied students were used to good effect. Sergeant Seamus Maher of the Cahir Traffic Corps visited the College and gave a very interesting and informative presentation to students on the dangers of speed and drink driving.  It is hoped that a heightened awareness among students of the dangers and consequences of speeding will result from this presentation. The sign “Speed Kills .....Speed Kills” was launched on Wednesday 31st January by Ms Carol Creighton of the Road Safety Section of the County Council.  Carol was instrumental in the erection of the sign and it is hoped that it will be used all over Tipperary. The Management and Staff of Coláiste Dún Iascaigh are very proud of the students’ initiative in trying to save lives, particularly as they remember the number of past students who lost their lives on our roads. Special credit must go to the following students:  Garrett Browne; Brian O’Dwyer; Jason O’Neill, Christopher Coffey;  Gavin Simpson; Stephen Maher; Alex Hayes and Michael Romayne, as well as co-ordinator Teacher Mr Seamus Lehart. CAHIR ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION An enthusiastic meeting of members took place in the Catherine McAuley Room on Wednesday 7th February.  The first item on the Agenda was to praise and thank the Cahir Gardai for the enjoyable Christmas Party held in Cahir House Hotel as well as the many members of the community, young and old, who helped to make this such a successful event. A lively discussion ensued on the Spring holiday, a number of different destinations being suggested. The final choice of venue will be disclosed at the March meeting. Art classes will begin on Tuesday mornings at 10:30am for eight weeks.  A date for Yoga classes will be announced shortly. Members stood and prayed for the soul of Richard O’Donnell, the husband of Nora O’Donnel, a long-time member of the Association. The new website launched by Active Retirement Ireland was announced and the site can be viewed on www.activeirl.ie. Bridget Ryan, the Manager of the Duneske Leisure Centre, gave a very interesting talk on the benefits of keeping fit. Members are invited to view the facilities on Wednesday 14th (publication day) at 10:30am. Once more, the emphasis on keeping Active was brought to the attention of all the listeners. After tea and biscuits there was fun and laughter with Stefan Grace as he entertained members with his music and lively sense of humour.  Thank you Stefan, you are magic. A very warm welcome is expressed to the new members from Bansha - may they enjoy all the benefits of Active Retirement. A meeting takes places on the first Wednesday of each month in the Catherine McAuley Room, Cahir. Prospective members are very welcome. READERS’ NEWS & VIEWS ... are always welcome at 10 Market Yard / 086 840 5020 and at the e-mail address above. It may not always be possible to include everything that is received, owing to lack of space, but do keep it coming - what doesn’t go in one week may well be included later