CAHIR NOTES Wednesday 17th January SUPPORT FOR MC GRATH BEING DEMONSTRATED The Jim Hennessy Fianna Fál Cumman, Cahir, invites you to show your support for Cllr Mattie McGrath, Dail Candidate, at a Public Meeting to be held this week in Cahir. The venue is the Castle Court Hotel, and the meeting will take place this Friday 19th January at 9pm.  As they say, all are welcome and your support will be greatly appreciated.  For more information contact Tom Meehan at 087 052 2803. I have also had an e-mail from the Poulmucka Fianna Fáil Cumman in the same vein. Obviously the only topics for discussion will be the recent media speculation and the proposed changes made at Convention.  RUMOUR MACHINE ACTIVE IN CAHIR Recently, the town has been rife with rumours about the possible sale of the historic Cahir House Hotel, and one or two local business people seem to have picked up the story and run with it without doing anything to check on its veracity.  This behaviour has included verbal harassment of Carol O’Brien..  Needless to say, she has found this very upsetting, particularly in view of the fact that the Hotel was dear to the heart of her late father Maurice and not only has it not been sold, it is not and will not be for sale in the foreseeable future.  Indeed, as long ago as last August, Carol sought the advice of a Consultancy on how to raise the image of Cahir House.  I had a very interesting conversation with a representative of the company concerned last week, and am looking forward to hearing about their suggested plans. In the meantime, it is hoped that the anxiety of the general public will now be allayed and support will be shown for the O’Briens and for all the staff at Cahir House Hotel. CAHIR - CELEBRITY MAGNET? On Saturday, the Lazy Bean and Chapter One were visited by yet another mega-star - Michael Flatley, who was with his wife.  I understand that they were charming, and sat in the window enjoying their refreshments and the view of the Square, before shopping in Chapter One.  Michael Flatley was very complimentary to Karen O’Donovan about her business and said that he would definitely be back. While on the subject of Chapter One, regulars will have noticed that they have consolidated their stock into the shop at the rear of Commercial House - while retaining one of the front windows, of course.  This makes great economic sense and provides browsers with a lot to look at, all in one place.  I have a feeling that shoppers probably only went into the front shop if they were looking for gifts and things of that nature, whereas now there is always the possibility that something desirable will catch their eye while buying something else entirely.  It’s already happened to me! CITIZENS’ INFORMATION RETURNS TO CAHIR A Citizens’ Information Centre (CIC) will re-open in Cahir on Wednesday 24th January in a new office.  The service will be offered by staff from Clonmel CIC in the new County Council offices at Erasmus Smith House on the Cashel Road (next to St Paul’s Church) every Wednesday morning from 10:30am to 12:30pm. This is a free, independent and confidential service where you can find out about what the changes in the Budget mean for you;  how to make sure you are registered to vote;  how to claim tax for your bin charges;  how to get information on the new minimum wage and much, much more. NEW RESTAURANT OPENING The Castle Court Hotel is to be the home of a new Italian Restaurant, which opens on Friday 19th January at 5pm (closing time 11pm).  As a special Opening Night treat, a sample of every dish on the Menu and a bottle of their finest wine will be available at just €40 - a meal that would normally cost €80.  The proprietor aims to provide authentic Italian food of the highest quality and I know my appetite has already been whetted by a description of what is in store. Best of luck to all concerned. CAHIR LADIES’ GAELIC FOOTBALL CLUB Training resumes this Friday night for U-16 Minors plus Intermediates, meeting at Duneske at 7:30pm sharp. The Junior C team will be training there at 9pm on Friday. On Saturday 27th January in Cahir House Hotel at 7pm sharp the presentation of medals to the victorious U-16 and Minor team that won County Finals in 2006 will take place.  The medals will be presented by Ladies’ Football International star Mairead Morrissey.  Also in attendance will be the new County Chairman, Enda McDonald.  Tickets are on sale from Club members at €15 for adults and €6 for children. A Teenage Disco will take place from 9pm to midnight, strictly supervised. A meeting of the Club is scheduled for Monday 22nd January at 8pm in the GAA Club Rooms. BILL PARFREY VISITS CAHIR It was such a pleasure to meet Bill Parfrey in Chapter One last week, when he was present to sign his book “Healing - My Own Story” - and to meet old friends.  He was just as warm and entertaining as his writing, and now I have another purveyor of excellent jokes via e-mail, for which many thanks, Bill. I do indeed hope that we will keep in touch.       CAHIR CHILDCARE CENTRE Another new facet of the care provided at the Centre is about to start, and bookings can now be made for places in their After School Club.  It will operate from 2pm to 5:30pm each day and collection from school can be arranged.  What a service! Also, their Baby Room for 6 - 12 month-old children and their Junior Toddler Room for the next age group - 12 months to 2 years - is also now in operation. So contact 052 43385 and book in. Congratulations to Diane Whybrow, the charismatic Childcare Manager and her staff - I hope you have a great year. CAHIR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LOTTO Another week has gone by without a Jackpot winner, and the total going on to this week is €2,200.  The numbers drawn on 10th January, witnessed by Kathleen Shealy,  were 3, 10 11 and 22. The five Lucky Dip winners, each of whom received €30 were:  Maria Barrett, Beechpark;  Pat Cashman, Clonmore South;  Loretta Shanahan, Ramcats Lane;  John McLoughlin, Woodview;  Bridget McGrath, Woodview.  (Can anyone tell me how Ramcats Lane got its name?) The next draw takes place this Wednesday - publication day - and tickets can be bought up to the last minute (noon) from the Business & Training Centre.  All the profits from the Community Lottery go to the Duneske Leisure Complex. CAHIR ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION The results of the Progressive 25 Card Game held on Friday 12th January are as follows:  1st, with 12 Games - Kitty Slattery, Peg Reidy, Red Burke, Kieran O’Brien. The Lucky Table winners were Betty Collins, Greta Fitzgerald, Bridie Devereaux and Myra Carroll and the Raffle was won by Ciss O’Niell and Joe Ahern. The next game will be on Friday 19th January at 8pm and all are very welcome.  Many thanks to all who support this enjoyable social event. “Everyone desires to live long, but no one wants to grow old!” COLÁISTE CAR PARK Cllr Seannie Lonergan has put down a motion to South Tipperary County Council that the grassed area across from the entrance to an Coláiste be converted to a car park and that the provision of a footpath around the school roundabout be provided in the interest of safety.  Cllr Lonergan has informed me that he has met with a favourable response from the powers that be. CAHIR & DISTRICT LADIES’ CLUB The next meeting of the Club will take place at 9pm on Monday 22nd January.  All members who are interested on going on the Summer Trip to Ladies’ Day at the Curragh Races in June, are asked to take their €25 deposit with them, as it will be collected on the night.  The balance will not be needed until 7 - 8 weeks before they go. [Doesn’t that sound great? There are some wonderful community groups in Cahir]. FRIENDSHIP BRACELET DAY About ten years ago, the Irish Section of Amnesty International held a Friendship Bracelet Day on 14th February and it was such a success that it was decided to make it an annual event.  However, the local Branch, which is based in Cashel, is already distributing their boxes of Bracelets, as there are so many other national fundraisers around that date. This year, they are hoping to raise over €100,000 and this money will be used to fund their various campaigns, such as that to protect the Rights of the Mentally Ill here in Ireland, and to Stop Violence Against Women.  These campaigns are necessary to create awareness of what is going on in our world today. Fundraising is essential because, in order to remain completely impartial at all times, Amnesty cannot accept Government funding. Boxes of Bracelets are being placed in shops and businesses throughout the area, for the next few weeks.  The Bracelets are very colourful and are selling for €2 each (I particularly like to beaded ones).  They can be worn by males and females, young and old alike and the public is asked to support Amnesty International generously. [I actually had two replies to my request for a lift to the local area meeting last week in Cashel, and thoroughly enjoyed myself - there were ten people present from various party of the County and it was a useful and congenial evening in a very nice pub - Mikey Ryan‘s]. STRAY DOG FOUND A very friendly dog strayed into a house at Kilcommon, Cahir, recently.  He is obviously someone’s pet and is being looked after well while we try to find his owners.  He is medium-sized, black with white around his neck, white paws with black spots on his legs and a white tip to his tail.  Please contact 086 371 22071 if he is yours.  And didn’t he pick the right place to wander into? RURAL TRANSPORT SERVICES TO BE EXTENDED Cllr Mattie McGrath, Chairman of the Tipperary Rural Transport Working Group, has warmly welcomed the announcement by Minister Eamon O’Cuiv TD that the Government is seriously considering extending the Rural Transport Service (Ring-a-Link) in the county.  This is in an effort to provide an alternative means of transport to the car for people living in rural areas who wish to socialise in their homes, in the local public house, or indeed at any other function in their communities. Cllr McGrath is delighted that the Minister for Rural Affairs has listened to the calls from both himself and the Tipperary Rural Transport Group and the Board of Ring-a-Link in relation to this very serious issue.  He wishes to thank the members of the Working Group, who have laboured on this issue over the last nine months. The Councillor would also like to thank the Management and Staff of Ring-a-Link and especially the very helpful Bus Drivers and indeed to wish a Happy New Year and safe travelling to all their passengers for 2007. HAPPY BIRTHDAY  It is Chichi Caplice’s Birthday on publication day and I would like to take this opportunity to wish her a very happy birthday and many happy returns from her family and friends. CAHIR CAMOGIE CLUB NOTES We're back  at Colaiste Dun Iascaigh after our Christmas break for Indoor Camogie. Wednesday night , January 17th,  sees the start of the tournament for the "C" Group ,which should begin at 7.30pm. The "A" and "B" Groups will play at their usual time of 7pm, with the older girls in the "D" Group coming on the floor as soon as the "C" tournament is over.   The teams and captains for the C tournament are as follows:    Harris's Hero's  - Emer Harris(Capt) Ashling Moloney, Rachel O Dwyer, Laura Casey, Siobhan Lonergan, Niamh Murphy. Their team manager is Martin Halpin.  Roisin's Rockets - Roisin Costigan (Capt), Aoife Corcoran, Caoimhe Hickey, Ciara Quinlan, Kirsty Arbuckle, Dervla Buckley and looking after this team will be Jane O Gorman. Joyes Genies - Joye Arbuckle(Capt)  Roisin Howard, Roisin O Donnell, Alina Neumerzhitskaya, Aoife Collins, Niamh O Brien with Aoife Casey giving plenty of guidance and advice from the side line. O' Gormans Girls -Eadaoin O Gorman (Capt), Caral Casey, Keeley Halpin, Amy Rowe, Megan Ward, Katie Farrell with team manager Mary Howard.       The teams will consist of 5 players and one sub. Each player can only score two goals. Players are asked to be in the Colaiste before 7.30pm, with parents and supporters more than welcome. We will be holding tournaments for the other groups in the coming weeks.