CAHIR NOTES WILL YOU SWIM WITH THE TIDE? At a meeting to discuss fundraising for the next Phases at the Duneske Leisure Centre, various potential developments were considered.  Highest on everyone’s agenda, that night, was, as usual, a swimming pool. The Committee announced that they have commissioned a Feasibility Study by Irish Leisure Consultants and although only the first part of the study is back, a swimming pool for Cahir appears to be more and more likely.  The capital cost looks as if it can be met, but what about the running costs? The next part of the Feasibility Study will assist us to answer this question. However. the Committee would like to be sure that these indicators are realistic and to this end, they are calling a Public Meeting in Cahir House Hotel on Monday 2nd April at 8pm to enable them better to gauge the likely usage of the pool. Full attendance will be a necessity, mirroring the 600 who attended the first Public Meeting in July 2001 that launched the original Phase of the development.  If there is not that level of interest, the possible plans for the pool will be put aside. So, if you want a swimming pool for yourself and your children, please make a note of the date and time and go along on the night.  A large attendance will also help to convince the Government of the level of support for the project and  with potential funding of 80% available from the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism, this is essential. WHAT FUN! The Cheltenham Festival Fun, organised by Cahir Development’s Helen Quirke as a fundraiser for the Christmas Lights in the town, caused a great buzz and overall the reception it received augers well for next year.  Given enough support, this bit of entertainment could pay the annual costs of erecting, dismantling and running the lights. Apart from the bookies, Cheltenham Central in Cahir was the Lazy Bean, where there was great craic while punters jockeyed for position on the points board.  The real work was done in the Business & Training Centre - where, of course, there had to be a television so that the results could be calculated quickly and easily. The atmosphere was electric, and the overall winners were not decided until the last televised race on Friday, with just 20 points separating first and second. The Daily Prize of  €150 was won outright only on the first day, by Ted Lenihan.  On Wednesday it was shared by John Quirke, Pat & Karen O’Donovan and the Caplice family and on Thursday by Teresa Anglim, Liam O’Keefe and Ann O’Reilly.  Michelle Maher and Donal Lenihan were Friday’s joint top points winners. The Overall Prize for the Festival was €1,000, won by the Caplice Family.  The Second Prize of €300 was won by Michelle Maher and the Third Place Prize of €200 went to Ted Lenihan.  These latter prizes were for the amount of points scored over the four days. The cheques were presented on  Friday night at the Duneske Leisure Centre, where a lovely table of goodies was laid for the winners.  Everyone is now looking forward to next year and more Festival Fun. FANTASY FOOTBALL Following on the popularity of the above, there is now something for Football Pundits. Soo how well you can predict the results (and scores) in the remaining fixtures of the Premiership (top four sides), the FA Cup, the Champions’ League and the upcoming Internationals, and you can win a top prize of €500. Prizes:  Winner -  €500;  Second - €300;  Third - €200. The entry fee is €20 and the profits will, again, go to the Christmas Lights Fund. Entry Forms are available from most local pubs and from the Enterprise Centre, and you need to have your scores returned by Friday 30th March at 4pm at the very latest. LOCAL RUGBY PLAYER MEETS HERO Recently Hayden Murphy had an opportunity to meet Gordon D’arcy at the Prize Day for the MS Readathon in Dublin, so the day was a double success for him.  Congratulations, Hayden, on getting to the Readathon.  Not all photographs that are sent in come out well in newsprint, but they can be viewed on the Community Website, where they look fine:  www.cahirnews.cahirda.com. Hayden discovered his passion for Rugby through the events organised at Duneske, so congratulations to them, too, for encouraging young people who may well one day replace their heroes. CAHIR FLOWER & GARDEN CLUB The Club is holding its monthly meeting in Cahir House Hotel on Wednesday 28th March at 8pm. The Club Competition is as follows:  Beginners - Bunch of Flowers for Kitchen Table;  Intermediate - Easter Basket;  Advanced - ‘Springtime’, 80cm (30”). All old and new members are most welcome. TUESDAY NIGHT BRIDGE RESULTS North/South - 1st, Pat Shanahan & Valerie Walsh;  2nd, Eileen O’Dwyer & Eamonn Murphy. East/West - 1st, Teresa Curran & Brid Roycroft;  2nd, Mary Jo Condon & Bernie Moore. FUNDING FOR SOCIAL & COMMUNITY FACILITIES Cllr Mattie McGrath warmly welcomes the announcement by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, Mr Dick Roche TD, that he is making an additional €5.1m available in capital funding. under the Social and Community Facilities Capital Scheme, in 2007. This will consolidate the scheme that was launched by the Minister in 2006, for which three projects from throughout the county were submitted for Grant Aid.  Fortunately, the Cahir Youth Resource Centre came up trumps and received a very valuable cash injection that helped in a huge was towards the project. Cllr McGrath is delighted that this scheme is being continued and he hopes that the funding will be increased.  It provides funding through local authorities for suitable projects at local level and is designed to enhance communities and improve social cohesion locally. Mattie stated that:  “This scheme responds in a direct way to identified needs of communities in every corner of the county and will support the physical reality of improved facilities for the benefit of these communities”. The €5.1m of extra funding will be used to provide a fixed grant of 150,000 in respect of each county, to fund social capital work in respect of the entire county. Cllr McGrath is encouraging local Community groups and organisations to contact the Community & Enterprise Section of South Tipperary County Council and the respective local Town Councils where they will find positive and friendly support in compiling and completing an application to the Department of the Environment. FELTWORK EXHIBITION ‘Fish Tales and Fair Stories’ is Emma Allott’s second solo exhibition of feltworks.  She has expanded her range of fantasy 3D pictures, moving from land to sea to explore and reflect the mysteries of the underwater world. Emma’s work is, as always, full of colour and texture. She will also be showcasing a new range of “art you can wear” - scarves, bags, hats and waistcoats all hand-crafted from 100% pure wool. Fish Tales and Fairy Stories will be opening in the Gallery at the Craft Granary, in Church Street, on Friday 30th March at 8pm and will run until Wednesday 25th April. I can recommend everyone to see this exhibition - Emma produces the most amazing pieces with apparent ease - I only found out how un-easy it was when I attended one of her workshops.  However, this is something I would like to pursue, as I had great fun, and hopefully there will be another ...? CAHIR LADIES’ GAELIC FOOTBALL CLUB The Captains have been selected as follows for 2007:  Ailish Meehan - Intermediate Captain,  Aisling O/Donnell - Vice Captain;  Edith Carroll - Minor Captain, Catriona Nagle - Vice Captain;  Freda Casey - Under 16 Captain, Ann Marie O’Gorman - Vice Captain. Congratulations to Liam Shinnick on his election to the National Fixtures Ladies’ Board. The Junior team is training under Eileen McCarthy on Friday nights at 8:30pm at Duneske. Please support the County Lotto, as it provides good revenue for the Club. Edith Carroll made her Inter-County Intermediate debut against Longford recently. Nice to see Joe Murphy giving his expertise in training the underage girls. The Under 14s and Under 12s deserve great credit for turning up in such Artic weather conditions last Sunday.  They deserve great credit. Here’s wishing Cliona Higgins a speedy recovery from her injury. It is great to see all of the girls participating at Intermediate, Minor, Under 16s and Under 14s for the premier County teams.  The Management of the County Minor, Unde4 16s and Under 14s have the following Cahir members involved:  Shane Roynane, Derek Higgins and John Cummins. CAHIR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LOTTO The Jackpot total has now reached €3,550, the numbers drawn last week being 11, 16, 19 and 20.  The Draw was witnessed by Tom Burke.  The five Lucky Dip winners, each of whom received €30, were Liam Roche, The Square; Ann O’Donnell, Clonmore;  Jenny Kiely, Ballingeary;  Jackie Fitzgerald, Lisava and Kathleen Lynch, Clonmel Road, all in Cahir, for once. The next draw takes place this Wednesday, and tickets can be bought up to noon on that day from the Business & Training Centre. All the profits from the Community Lotto go to the Duneske Leisure Complex. LAST CHANCE... The phenomenally successful Exhibition of photographs by Dick Doyle ends this week, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you still have a few days to do so. the Exhibition closes on Wednesday 28th March. Dick’s eye for a picture and the way he captures colours has to be seen to be believed. Many of his photographs are of local scenes and they will open your eyes to the beauty in your own back yard. ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING I was so pleased to receive the following from Sandra English, regarding their Golden Labrador that went missing recently. “We would like to thank everyone who helped us find our family pet.  We were amazed and kind of stunned at the response and helpfulness of people.  Just to let everyone know that he returned unscathed and we would like to convey our gratitude”. COMMUNITIES FACE ISOLATION Cllr Mattie McGrath has expressed grave concern that a small rural community may become totally isolated or abandoned by the building of the new N8 Motorway from Cashel to Mitchelstown. He is referring to Clogheenafishogue Ballylooby. Cllr McGrath, as well as the general community along the motorway route, is in awe of the extent of the development and progress of the project so far.  Everyone has facilitated and has been extremely patient, under what are frequently very adverse conditions. The residents along the route have accepted considerable inconvenience and disruption in their everyday lives during the construction work.  They are, however, quite clearly not prepared to allow a permanent artificial barrier - i.e. a new motorway, to sever their community for ever. Cllr McGrath is a passionate believer in people and communities and of the need to marry the needs of the local community with construction projects in a meaningful way .  The Councillor is appealing to senior officials in the Roads Section at South Tipperary County Council, along with NRA officials, to construct a new slip road beside the N8 motorway for a distance of 500 metres.  This is to allow the residents and landowners of this rural community to continue their daily lives with some form of normality into the future.   READERS’ NEWS & VIEWS ...are always welcome at 10 Market Yard / 086 840 5020 and at the e-mail address above, but please try to contact me as early as possible.