CAHIR NOTES SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY WISHES Matty and Jo O’Donovan are celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday 1st April.  All their eleven children and partners and 19 grand-children send their love and very best wishes. CAHIR MACRA AIDS LIONS The members of Rathkeevin Macra are putting on a great night of music, song and drama, performed by the Club members, in New Inn Hall on Friday 20th March at 8pm. Admission is _10 for adults, with children in free, and all the proceeds will go to the Cahir Lions Club. MAKING A SCHOOL MUSEUM Our Lady of Mercy Girls’ National School, Cahir, is helping the pupils to understand and appreciate their past through local history stories and photographs. They now want to go a step further and develop a Museum of artefacts used long ago in schools, shops, homes, farms and businesses in the area. Parents and benefactors are asked to donate, on loan, any items that might be of interest to the children.  These can be given to parents of children attending the school, or sent in directly. Please specify if the item is on short term loan and it will be returned after a very short time. The Staff wishes to thank those who have already donated some very interesting artefacts. EASTER ART CLASS FOR KIDS The Craft Granary is organising another of their every-popular Art Classes for children.  This one is for Easter, and will take place on Tuesday 3rd April from 10:30am to 12 noon. Telephone 052 43873 to book a place. EASTER EGG GIVEAWAY! Nearly 50 Easter Eggs will be given away over the next two weeks at Bingo. With every solo check for a line, the two people on either side of the line winner will get an Easter Egg.  Next Tuesday is the first Tuesday of the month, so don’t forget the Easter Raffle.  Bingo starts at 8:30 sharp.  It’s fun and provides plenty of chances to win. Everyone is welcome, so go along early to the Castle Court Hotel every Tuesday. FANTASY FOOTBALL Tickets are now on sale at the Enterprise Centre, Duneske Leisure Centre, Cahir Park AFC and a number of pubs around the town. For as little as _20 you can enjoy the fun of predicting the scores in what remains of this season’s Soccer matches – Premiership, FA Cup and Champions’ League – and if you are good enough you can win the first prize of _500, second prize of _300 or third - _200.  The first of the matches is next Saturday 31st March and your entries have to be returned to the Enterprise Centre by Friday afternoon at 4pm. In addition to being good fun, all the profits from this competition will go to Cahir’s Christmas Lights Appeal. CAHIR CHILD CARE CENTRE This coming Friday, the Child Care Centre at Duneske will be taking part in the National Children’s Nurseries Association’s National Pyjama Day, which is a fundraiser for the wonderful Make A Wish Foundation. The children and staff will wear their pyjamas all day in their bid to help raise _200,000 for the Foundation, which grants wishes to children living with life-threatening illnesses.  A wish is only limited by a child’s imagination. RONNIE BEARDMORE 1924 – 2007 Ronnie Beardmore, retired Station Master who died recently, was a well-k known resident of Cahir town. Ronnie was born in 1924 and spent most of his life in Cahir. He truly belonged here and had a great affection for the town, its surrounding countryside and its people. He was the local Station Master from 1965 up to the time he retired in 1984. Ronnie was a great conversationalist and enjoyed nothing better than relating stories to his broad circle of friends. He was very much involved in the local community, particularly the Scouts and Cahir Credit Union. Over the last twenty years he played a key role in organising the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Knock. Ronnie led a very full and active life until he became ill about a year ago. He bore his illness with the same optimism, hope and strong faith that characterised his whole life. CAHIR COUNTRY MARKET With the arrival of Spring, now is the time to visit Cahir Country Market on Fridays from 9:30am to experience the fresh rhubarb, beautiful floral arrangements, the fresh confectionery, jams, marmalades and pure local honey. For that special occasion, a card to mark the event can be purchased or even more special, can be ordered and personalised. The Market in Holy Week will take place on Holy Saturday at 9:30pm in Cahir Community Hall.  Happy Easter to all the Country Market’s customers, old and new. THANKS A very satisfactory _614 was raised at the recent Church Gate Collection held by the Cahir Youth Club.  The money will go towards new equipment and the Summer Trip.  The Committee has asked that everyone be thanked for their generous donations, and the helpers for giving their time. CAHIR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LOTTO The Jackpot is still going up, and has now reached _3,700.  In last week’s Draw the numbers that came up were 9, 14, 18 and 24, witnessed by Tom Burke. The five Lucky Dips, for _30 each, were won by:  Ber & Elaine, c/o Moloney’s, Poulmucka;  Tommy Keating, Bengurrah;  Margaret Quirke, Butler Court; Tom & Breda Beary, Garrymore;  and Paul & Imelda Mulli ns, Fr Sheehy Terrace, Clogheen. Tickets for the Community Lotto can be purchased up to the last minute – noon on Wednesday – from the Business & Training Centre.  All the profits go to the Duneske Leisure Complex. CLASS SIZE CAMPAIGN The national debate on class sizes has now been ongoing for the lasg 5/6 weeks, with hundreds of people turning up for public meetings all over the country, from Donegal, Mayo, Cork and Dublin.  So what is the fuss??? In 2002, after the last general election, the present government, in their Programme for Government, committed themselves to bringing actual class sizes for children under 9 down to 20 pupils and for older children to 25 pupils, in line with international best practice.  However, in the interim years the actual numbers of pupils in each class has actually risen. In Our Lady of Mercy NS there are 10 mainstream classes with 288 pupils.  Three of those classes have over 30 pupils, with the largest being 34 pupils.  This means the teacher in that class is endeavouring to give each individual child equal time throughout each school day. The staffing schedule has meant that the school has lost and regained teachers over the last five years, creating an instability in class sizes outside the control of the Board of Management. In Cahir Boys’ NS, there are 170 pupils in six mainstream classrooms. Space is a difficulty in both schools, but is accentuated with two classes over 30 in room that measure 36 sq. metres.  Next year the prospect, based on school populations, mean that there will be a class of 36 / 37 pupils. So the question has to be asked – what happened to the promises of 2002? Politicians use the phrase “Pupil Teacher Ratio”. What it actually means is that all teachers, including those in Special Education who do not work with whole class groups, are included when comparing teachers and pupils. So in Cahir Boys’ NS, eight teachers (2 Sp.Ed.) would be used to show that there is a ration of one teacher to 21 pupils.  This is not an accurate figure, as there are only six classes, so the boys’ school average3 is 170 pupils in six classes;  28 pupils to one teacher and next year, this is due to worsen.  In Our Lady of Mercy, similar statistics create a false picture of “Pupil Teacher Ratio”. Both schools have applied for extra staffing and are awaiting responses from the Department of Education & Science. But the support of parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and all who have children in these situations, to improve the educational opportunities for every pupil. A Public Meeting on the issue is being held in The Clonmel Park Hotel on Thursday 29th March at 8pm.  Everyone is invited and it is hoped that parents will express their views. Education is an opportunity for all pupils. It should not be undermined by large class sizes and insufficient resources. Parents have received notices from the schools and reminders in the End of Term Newsletters. Please support this important educational issue. TUESDAY NIGHT BRIDGE RESULTS 1st, Mary English / Phil Kehelly;  2nd, Bride Kennedy / Dan Condon;  3rd, Patty Gavin / Nancy Downey. The Club sends get will wishes to their member Moira Carroll, who is in hospital at the moment, and I would like to join with them, as would all Moira’s friends in Cahir. WHAT’S ON AT DUNESKE? There is such pressure on the space available for the Cahir Notes that I have arranged with Bridget, at the Duneske Leisure Centre, to let me have a monthly write-up and the other weeks there will simply be Reminders of dates and events to come.  Anyway, here goes with a long one! The next session of Salsa Classes has been put off, to allow the Centre to run a Starter Class before going into Improvers.  The Starters Class will be on 12th and 19th April, with the Improver’s Level starting on 26th April at 7pm. The start of Hip Hop has been put off until Monday 2nd April at 8pm, so be warned, there are only a few places left, so as with many of the dance classes, get your name in now. The official start date for Salsarobics is Wednesday 4th April at 9[pm and Thursday 5th April at 9pm. _6 per class with just a few places remaining. Remember, the Easter Bunny will be at Duneske on Easter Saturday.  The kids just have to be there to help search for all the hides goodies. _2 per child. Rugby Camp will run again in the Easter holds on Tuesday, Wednesday a nd Thursday 10th – 12th April from 11am to 2pm. It is fantastic fun and well worth a go. _30 for three days and reductions will bne given to those with two or more children attending. Rugby Training has been changed to Wednesdays and Fridays at 3>:30pm. A session is also being added on Sunday mornings aat noon, starting on 8th April. The staff at Duneske would like tomention their truly amazing Cahir Rugby Team, who togged out on Saturday and were only beaten by Clanwilliam by one try.  The team did them proud and it was nauil-biting stuff right to the final whistle. To truly understand the concept of sportsmanship and what the game is really about, go and watch these boys and girls play.  Remember, anyone can join up – just go along for training. Soccer League is still taking registration, but you need to get your name or your team’s name in now! Friday, Saturday and Sunday 13th – 15th April.  U10s, U12s, and U14s is 6-a-side with a maximum of four subs per team. The cost is _40 per team or _4 per individual player.  Sign up now. The Boxing Club started on Tuesday 27th March.  The cost is _4 and fun and fitness is guaranteed to all involved.  Barry is looking for names now, so drop your details in and they will get the lessons started. Not forgetting the adults – on Good Friday an Adult Soccer Blitz will be held in Duneske – 6-a-side with up to 4 subs.  The blitz will run from 2 to 6pm on Friday 6th April l and it will cost _50 per team. Application forms are now available from Duneske. There are a few hours available on the All Weather Pitches:  Monday and Tuesday evenings at 7 and 8 pm on both pitches.  These times will not be free for long, so give them a ring if you are interested. For details of any of the above contact the Duneske Leisure Centre on 052 45517. ATTENTION FAMILIES IN BALLYDREHID Ballydrehid NS is currently enrolling children who wish to commence school in September 2007. Please contact the School on 052 42581 for details. CAHIR ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION The results of the Progressive 25 Card Game held on 23rd March are as follows: 1st, wish 12 games – Peg Reidy, Kitty Slattery;  2nd with 9 games – Ciss O’Neill, Tom Burke. The Lucky Table winners were Harry Tobin; Michael Ahearne, Kieran O’Brien, Red Burke and the Raffle was won by Timmy Fitzgerald, Kitty Slattery. The next game will be this Friday, 30th March at 8:45pm sharp and all are very welcome. ENTERPRISE CENTRE A unit in the Enterprise Centre has become available, as farewells are said to one of the long-term tenants – Garrabridge.  Frank Fitzgerald and his team have been in the Centre for about nine years now, and everyone is delighted that the business has grown to such an extent that they have become too large for the office he has been occupying. If you have a new, or young, business venture and are looking for a business location, you won’t go far wrong if you rent this 22’ x 22’ office. With a Secretarial and Reception Service downstairs, you can be assured of the maximum support to help your new business. Contact 052 42616 for details. SWIMMING POOL MEETING One last reminder that the Public Meeting to discuss the merits of a swimming pool for Cahir is on in Cahir House Hotel next Monday, 2nd April, at 8pm.  A really good turnout will give the best chance of achieving this.  Especially in an Election Year! COLAISTE DUN IASCAIGH Bill Cullen Flies in to the Colaiste. Bill Cullen, entrepreneur, businessman, author and record breaker flew in to Cahir in his private Helicopter to Colaiste Dun Iascaigh recently to deliver a talk to the Senior Students of the Colaiste. Cullen, touched down on the school playing fields to be met by an expectant guard of honour made up of 5th and 6th year students. He made an immediate impression by taking the time to speak to each of the students individually. He was introduced to the rest of the Senior students by Principal, Mary Finnegan-Burke. He immediately shocked his audience by declaring his age. He told them that at the age of sixty five, he still trains regularly with his friend Michael Flatley. He then outlined his career, explaining how he had begun by selling Penny Apples on the streets of Dublin , graduating to selling Newspapers before beginning work in a garage in Dublin. He went on to manage the garage by the age of twenty two. Every time that he made a reference to his own life, he followed it up with a motivation towards the students that this life was possible for anybody who had the “liathroidi” to take a chance. He told the students that luck was a myth and quoted golfer, Gary Player who said “The more I practice, The Luckier I get.” He regularly told his completely captivated audience that people create their own luck by seizing opportunities and taking the initiative. He told the audience of how he had met famous people such as Bill Clinton and Mohammed Ali. He described his encounter with Ali in great detail explaining how he had researched and devised a plan where he could meet him. He told the audience how Ali was one of his all time idols and a unique role model for any young person. He also spoke of his role as chairman of the Irish Youth Council. Bill Cullen speaks with enthusiasm and energy. If he brings the same energy to everything he does, it is little wonder that he has been so successful. His speech was entertaining yet practical and full of genuine and heartfelt advice. Finally Councillor Liam Ahearne, Chairman of the school’s Board of Management, thanked Bill before he invited four lucky students to join him on board his helicopter for a spin around the area. The students were selected by being brave enough to volunteer to answer a question. The students who were selected were Bernard Lonergan, Niamh McConigley, Francis Doherty and Robert Sweeney.   Irish Cancer Society presentation Colaiste Dun Iascaigh students, Alan Hally, Patrick Conlon, Grainne O’ Donnell recently presented Donal Burke of The Irish Cancer Society with a cheque for €600. The students raised the money as part of their L.C.V.P projects. They decided to hold a fundraiser and donate all the proceeds to the Irish Cancer Society. On Market Day in the Colaiste,they handed out sponsorship forms for the Sponsored Heritage Trail which was held in Cahir on the 19th December 2006. It involved walking from Cahir Castle to Swiss Cottage and return again. 15 people turned up on the day as bad weather was expected but overall they made €555.The students would like to thank everyone for their generosity. Donal Burke praised the ingenuity and generosity of the students concerned and said that they reflected a very positive image of Colaiste Dun Iascaigh and the young people of Cahir and the surrounding areas. Well done to all.   TY Update Market Day was held in the College on Tuesday, 12th Dec., 2006 for Transition Year and LCVP students.  This is where students have an opportunity to sell their products and may also be chosen to represent the college in the Young Entrepreneur County finals run by the Clonmel Enterprise Board.  4 teams were chosen to go ahead.  On 8th March, these teams represented the college very well in the County Enterprise finals held in Cahir House Hotel. “Charming”, consisting of Aoife Lalor, Paul McGrath, Emer Flynn and Sean Taylor won second prize in the Best Stand Category of the competition.  Well done to them. On Tuesday 13th March, TY students visited Mountjoy Jail.  On the day they were able to visit both the men’s prison and the women’s prison and had an opportunity to speak with one of the women prisoners.  They were also shown the Hang House which was last used in 1954.   Students were complimented on their good behaviour by Mr. Powell, prisoner officer who gave the tour of the prison. TY students completed 2 weeks work experience from 26th February to 9th March.  Some students stayed in the same placement for the 2 weeks and other changed in week 2. Edith Carroll and Leanne Barrett attended a Schoolworks@Tippinst Programme in the Clonmel campus especially designed for TY students to experience Multimedia & Website design. We would like to thank all employers for their support in allowing students the opportunity to work with them.   The Youth Leadership Awards Evening was held in the college on Wednesday, 21st March.  The students were prepared by Sergeant Peter Butler for this event.  He visited and worked with the students on seven different occasions.  Students ran their own meeting chaired by Stephen Maher.  There were a number of speakers with very interesting speeches.  The meeting was run efficiently and the students received 2 certificates.  Certificates were presented in Youth Leadership by Mr. Alan O’Flynn, Clonmel Toastmasters and in Care of the Elderly by Superintendent Tom Duggan, Cahir Gardai.   Senior Soccer Colaiste Dun Iascaigh 2 St Francis’s Rochestown 1 The much-anticipated quarter final of the Munster youths cup against Rochestown of Cork was played last Thursday. The match had been due to be played 2 weeks earlier but due to weather conditions had to be postponed. The match was played in Rochestown and the journey seemed to have an affect on our team as it took us over 20 minutes to get into the game. Rochestown had the better of the opening exchanges with a header narrowly going wide. When they were on target Eddie Kendrick in goal was behind them. Our cause wasn’t helped by the losing of influential defender Ger Halley. Not long after, Rochestown broke down the left wing and scored. The goal seemed to put our team into motion and 10 minutes later Andy Fitzpatrick left a defender for dead and floated a delightful ball to find Craig Mcguire who dinked the ball over the goalie to find the back of the net. We started the stronger team in the second half with Paddy Moss and Jason Coffee interchanging well with one another on the right. Philip Maunsell had a fierce shot zip past the post and another shot hit straight at the keeper. At this stage our centre midfield of Edmund Burke and Michael Hickey were well on top and Craig McGuire came close with another lob that hit the cross bar. With 10 minutes to go it looked like the match would go to extra time. When Andy Fitzpatrick got the ball about 30 yards out there looked to be no danger.  However he made space for himself and hit a stunning shot which hit the top corner of the net. Rochestown came at us after the goal but never really threatened the solid centre pair of Kevin Murray and Niall Carey aided by Niall Halley at left back. Man of the match was Andrew Fitzpatrick.   Under 14 Soccer Our u14 Soccer team had a great victory on Tuesday lasting defeating Schull Community College 2-1 to reach the final of the Munster Minor Trophy. After several postponements, the game finally took place in perfect conditions in Skibereen. We took the lead through Cormac Crowe after some good individual work. Shortly afterwards, Schull equalised from the penalty spot. Both teams had chances but half time ended even. After the break Cahir went 2-1 ahead with a second goal from Cormac Crowe. After that it was backs to the wall with Schull mounting attack after attack. With Dean Lonergan outstanding and Tommy Sweeney not far behind, the defence held firm during the tension filled final minutes. We had several chances to put the game beyond reach but Cormac Crowe was unlucky on two occasions. Overall, this was a great team performance with Evan O’ Dwyer, Cormac Crowe and Oisin O’ Flynn particularly good. We now meet passage west in our first Munster Final. READERS’ NEWS & VIEWS … are always welcome at 10 Market Yard / 086 840 5020 and at the e-mail address above.  Please note that Small Ads and In Memoria should be sent to the paper direct and not to me.