CAHIR NOTES PACK & WRAP FOR CHERNOBYL Cahir Outreach Group for the Chernobyl Children’s Project International is holdinga Pack & Wrap by kind permission of John and Carmel Dolan, SuperValu this Friday and Saturday26th and 27th October.  All monies raised will help to defray the cost of hosting children from Belarus next Summer, 2008. Please support this very worthy cause. HALLOWE’EN MARKET This is it, folks! Your (and the Marketeers) opportunity to shine on TV.  The RTE film crew with Clodagh McKenna will be at the Market this Saturday, 27th October, from early in the morning, so make a point of getting there early. While filming is going on, there will be lots to entertain you – live music, face painting and free cookie decorating!  This is also the Hallowe’en Market and so is bound to be special.  There are lots of fresh products on offer weekly, and this weekend is no different:  fresh fish and vegetables,; potatoes and pate; apples and juices; cookies; cakes; breads; olives; cheeses and flowers.  Also, thre are pork and bacon products (as already featured on TV); organic meat and chicken. This is a very exciting time for the Market, so your support is much appreciated, as it has always been. Spread the word, as they are all looking forward to seeing you – and the end result, whenever it is on the box. INNOVATIVE PROJECT A unique project to help with the health and social needs of elderly people living alone in rural Ireland will be launched soon. Good Morning South Tipperary will link older people with volunteers, who will either telephone or accept a telephone call from older and vulnerable people to check on their health and wellbeing. This scheme is a first for South Tipperary. It is hoped that the service would operate initially in South Tipperary, but could also expand to other areas in Ireland. There are similar service in Northern Ireland and Scotland, but these have been established in urban areas. Deputy Mattie McGrath, one of those involved in setting up the new project, said that the social isolation among elderly people living alone can lead to health and other problems. According to Deputy McGrath, Older and Vulnerable people are among the most defenceless in their communities, but projects such as this one can make them less open to the problems caused by social isolation. Deputy McGrath wishes to pay tribute to the Community Alert Organisation locally and  nationally for their tremendous support. He would also like to compliment especially the local volunteers who have come forward, offering their time freely, and who have undergone specialised training, enabling “Good Morning Tipperary” to commence operation this Monday, 22nd October at 9:30am. In conclusion, the Deputy wishes this new initiative well and would encourage all the Community Alert Groups in South Tipperary to get involved. PARTY NIGHT John and Helen Orme and their friends are having a Hallowe’en Party Night at the Abbey Tavern, in Abbey Street on Friday night 26th October in aid of Cottage Animal Rescue.  These great people do fantastic work for abused and unwanted animals. It will be a fun night with great party games et and a super duper Raffle, so put on your witch’s outfit and help a really good cause, whilst having a really good night out. I have Cottage Rescue’s first Newsletter in front of my as a I write.  It is well presented and all too graphic, but they have achieved great things.  The text is interesting and informal, and as long as you focus on the “after” photographs, it is not too distressing.  There is a Standing Order Form on the back, as they are always in need of funds.  For more information you can find them on www.cottagerescue.ie or cottagerescue@eircom.net. And you can contact them direct on 087 970 1919 although you may have to leave a message if they are out working on a case, but they will get back to you. While on the subject of Hallowe’en, please don’t forget to ensure that your pets are somewhere safe – and escape-proof – over the weekend.  One of my dogs has to be mildly sedated as she gets in a terrible state, but the greyhound is oblivious to it all. Perhaps next year’s Fun Dog Show should be in aid of Cottage Rescue? CAHIR FLOWER & GARDEN CLUB The Club is holding its monthly meeting in the Catherine McAuley Room on Wednesday 31st October. Amanda Fitzgerald is giving a talk on Health & Fitness at 8pm sharp. It is also a Work Night, so if anyone wants to do an arrangement, bring along some flowers. MATTIE’S CLINIC I got the times wrong on my last try, so here is the definitive information:  Mattie will be in Cahir for his Clinic every Friday from 10am to 1pm in the Enterprise Centre, just off the Square.  For personal appointments with Mattie contact 052 29155 or 086 818 4307. MISSING TEDDY A little girl’s precious Teddy Bear was lost around Cahir House Hotel / SuperMacs on Wednesday 17th October. It is a pale creamy colour and of great sentimental value. If found, please ring 086 894 4767. DISMAY AT TANAISTE’S REPLY At the request of Cllr Seanie Lonergan, Labour Party TD Jan O’Sullivan raised the issue of the ongoing  closure of the Swiss Cottage in Dail Eireann.  Deputy O’Sullivan asked the Tanaiste, Brian Cowen TD ‘the reason the historic Swiss Cottage in Cahir, County Tipperary, remains closed;  when it will reopen;  the costs of recent works carried out in the Cottage and the adjacent bridge;  the estimated loss of revenue to the area while the Cottage remains closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter’. In his reply, the Tanaiste stated that so far €295,450 has been spent on the bridge. In the meantime, the Cottage will remain closed until next March. Cllr Lonergan has strongly criticised the Tanaiste’s reply. The Councillor states that “it is incredible that almost €300,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent on the repairs so far, and yet the project is not completed. It is time that this Government put structures in place to ensure the prompt completion of public projects. The current situation is totally unacceptable” [I would just point out that “Swiss” is normally closed from October to March anyway. MC] MORNING YOGA Yoga has now started every Wednesday at 11am in the Community Hall. All ages are welcome, and more information can be obtained from Mary on 086 359 3024. CAHIR ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION The AGM of the Association will take place in the Catherine McAuley Room at 2:30pm on Wednesday 7th November. All members and those interested are welcome. Go for Life.  On Tuesday16th October, the ‘Go for Life, Physical Activity Leaders, PAL Workshop’ continued in Cahir House Hotel.  The course is well attended by members of various groups from County Tipperary. Feel Great. Keep Strong. Go for Life! The results of the cards for Friday  19th October are as follows (and my apologies for leaving a couple of weeks out while I was catching up):  1st, with 12 games – Red Burke, Kieran O’Brien;  2nd with 11 games – Peg Reidy, Kitty Slattery.  Lucky Table (19) Sadie Caplice, Chi Chi Caplice;  (20) Tom Maher, Tom McGrath. Raffle – John O’Connor and Josie Quinlan. The next game takes place this Friday 26th October at 8pm.  All are welcome to enjoy this friendly gathering, and there will be tea and nibbles, as usual. COLAISTE DUN IASCAIGH FIRST YEAR HURLING  The First Year hurlers played the first game of the season against Comeragh College, Carrick-on-Suir. Despite a slow start, the Colaiste lads soon warmed to their task and led at half time with a score of 3-3 to 2 points. The Carrick team battled strongly in the second half and added 2-1 to their tally, but the Colaiste team held out to win with a score of 4-6 to 2-3. This victory gave the team a great start to the season, but more effort is needed if they are to progress in this competition. Team:  Shane Lowry, Liam Howard, Sean Tobin, Peter O’Driscoll, James Fitzpatrick, Brian Hyland, James Tobin, Brian Hyland, Conor Casey, Keelan Hickey, Mike Burke, Stephen Lambert, Brian Littleton, Daryl Murphy, Darragh O’Brien, Adam Littleton and Patrick Doocey. ROAD SAFETY – TRANSITION YEAR The Road Safety signs designed by last year’s Transition Year (TY) and LCA Students are b4ecoming more and more prominent on the roads of South Tipperary. Hopefully, they are drawing attention to the dangers of speeding. This year’s TY students are hoping to come up with an equally successful design highlighting the dangers of driver fatigue. LEAVING CERTIFICATE TECHNOLOGY  TY students will be introduced to all aspects of the new Leaving Certificate Technology Course. This Course has many interesting applications in the area of technology, solid work, design, geometry, electronics and computer control in industry.  This programme will be launched in the coming year. SPANISH CONVERSATION CLASSES. Fifth and Sixth Year students are enjoying Spanish conversation classes with teach Mr Gerald Kelleher. Classes are held every week and give students the opportunity to converse in Spanish and develop a love of the language through conversation, music and film. NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL Cahir House Hotel, in conjunction with CARE (Cancer Aftercare, Relaxation & Energy) is holding a Black Tie Ball on 31st December.  There will be a full night’s entertainment and Dinner, with music from Golden Sounds of Cashel, as well as a Disco with a DJ.  What a great chance for we ladies to glamour up a bit – and at least the fellows will be wearing ties – and perhaps even more! I believe the new Management at the Hotel is really looking forward to an opportunity to strut their stuff, and in such a good cause. CARE is organised by the South Tipperary Cancer Support Centre in Clonmel and is an invaluable help to families affected by Cancer as well as to sufferers.  You only have to ask Alice Ward, who is such an inspiration to everyone. GERMAN MUSICAL COMES TO CLONMEL Next Friday morning, at 11am, Martina Halbritter’s latest production can be seen at the White’s Memorial Theatre in Clonmel. Over the last few years, Martina, who teaches music and drama at a girls’ school in Northern Germany, has brought their annual production to Clonmel. This year’s offering is called “Elisabeth” and tells the extraordinary story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Although she and the Emperor were really in love, their relationship was sorely tried by her strict mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, and  by the rigid guidelines at the Vienna Court.  The freedom-loving woman fights with all her might for her independence and influence on the upbringing of her children. From this all-too-brief synopsis, you may understand why the students chose this  musical, written partly as a crime story. This music generated an extraordinary success in Japan. Admission is €4 per person, and everyone is welcome, and can be assured of an entertaining morning. I heard the girls sing a couple of years ago and was very impressed. Presumably, this is a new bunch. For further enquiries, you can contact Josef Finke, Ballybrado House – 052 45500 (day) and 666206 (evenings or e-mail josef.finke@ballybrado.com. CAHIR CAMOGIE NOTES Winning a game does not automatically mean that a team played a great game, as in losing a match does not necessarily mean that a team did not put its heart and soul in to the effort. And this was never so truly seen as in last Saturdays county U16 B  semi-final between Cahir and Silvermines played at the Drom and Inch grounds. Our girls were nothing short of crucified in the first half with Silvermines dominating in all areas of the pitch. This domination had allowed them to score 2- 5 in the first half to Cahir's single point from an excentely taken 45 by Leanne Hickey. But the true grit in this Cahir team kept their spirit alive and their heads up. With the introduction of Leanne Barrett just before the half time whistle and fine clearances by the Cahir backs, we were starting to see a sharper edge to the girls work on the pitch.   After getting their breath back during the half-time break the girls were on the field and in their positions,  even before the referee,  forewarning of the effort they intended to make in  the second half. From the whistle Cahir were in possession and fired up with belief as Freda and AnnMarie worked like trojans and sent the ball into the forwards. One of which was collected by Leanne Barret who  didn't hesitate as she let fly and we saw the sliothar soar into the sky and make its way over the bar for a smashing point. Two more super points from Leanne were followed by a smashing passage of play where we saw Molly Walsh off load the sliothar to Clarie O Dwyer who took a fine point on the run from the left hand corner of the pitch. During all this time Silvermines were unable to answer any of our scores and mentors on the side line were wishing Cahir to score a goal and get us nearer to the Mines lead. No sooner said than done when a magnificent pass into Leanne Hickey saw her bring all our hopes alive as she confidently and calmly shortened the grip on her hurley and sent the sliothar roaring past the Silvermines goalie. Marie Clarie McCarthy was playing some brilliant camogie and was unlucky not to put her name on the score board on a few occasions. Aoife O Gorman played  a mighty role in her charge of goal keeping while her full back line of Nicky, Shauna and Ashling cleared ball after ball out of their territory. Bronagh Higgins along with Aofie Casey and Jane O Donnell were under constant pressure from the Silvermines half forward line but true to form they never left their guard down at any stage.  Molly Walsh and Ger O Donnell were feeding the sliothar consistently in towards the goal and indeed a fine hand pass from Molly to Leanne Barret saw Cahir put another goal on the score board. Unfortunately for the girls and despite all their gallant work, It was not to be enough to catch up with the Silvermines lead who managed to score another goal and point towards the end of the game.  The final whistle saw a score line of Silvermines 3-7 to Cahir's 2-5. Marie Casey and her assistants of Jo Burke and Jane O Gorman can be so proud of this team that they have coached over the season and no doubt we will hear from them in the not to distant future. We must also acknowledge the contribution made by Maries right hand man Jim for his valuable words of wisdom and advice to all. Again thank you to the manager, coaches and this team for providing such great games over this years championship. The team was as follows: Aoife O Gorman, Shauna Walsh, Nicola Armitage, Ashling O Connor, Bronagh Higgins, Aoife Casey, Jane O Donnell, Freda Casey, AnnMarie O Gorman, Leanne Hickey, Molly Walsh, Claire O Dwyer, Aoife Burke, Marie Claire McCarthy, Ger O Donnell. Subs: Leanne Barrett ( for Aoife Burke) Niamh Breedy, Marion O Donnell, Donna Casey. We would like to send our best wishes to one of our younger players Niamh Costello who has not been to well lately and we wish her a speedy recovery and hope she will be back playing with us soon. CAHIR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LOTTO Another week has passed without a Jackpot winner, so the total going on to this week’s Draw is €3,3850.  Last week’s Draw was witnessed by Catherine Coveney and numbers 4, 8, 10 and 14 came up. The five Luck Dip Winners, each of whom won €30, were:  Ann O’Donnel, Clonmore; Pat & Anne Corbet, Lisakyle;  May O’Brien, Tipperary Road, Karen Moloney, c/o AbbeyTavern, all in Cahir;  ;and Jack & Andrea c/o Moloney’s in Poulmucka. Tickets for this week’s Draw can be purchased up to the last minute (noon) on Wednesday from the Business & Training Centre, and prior to that from all the Cahir shops and some businesses. All the profits from the Community Lotto go to the Association’s Duneske Leisure Complex. READERS’ NEWS & VIEWS Keep them coming, and don’t worry about the barking, if you come to the house, as Lacey gave up eating the post some time ago. She is literally my watchdog, as she keeps a good lookout from one or other of the front windows. The serious stuff, should anyone be silly enough to try to get in, would come from my large but silent  lurcher. He takes minding me very seriously indeed and I have already had cause to be grateful to him. So, call to 10 Market Yard / 086 840 5020 or e-mail me at the above address.  As I said last week, please increase the size of your print if you are e-mailing, as I can hardly see some of what comes in.