CAHIR NOTES CAHIR HAS THE !WOW! FACTOR What a pleasure it was to go out on Friday morning and find the town resplendent with planters full of flowers, everywhere I looked. Of course the one I like the best is outside the Enterprise Centre - that is magnificent, complimenting the lovely new paving to perfection and setting off this little square as never before. If only people would stop throwing cigarette butts everywhere. (There has to be a fly in the ointment, doesn’t there?) Many congratulations and thanks to the Area Engineer and his staff, all of whom have done a terrific job. As far as I am aware, the Council has supplied the planters and Grangemore has done the planting. The Council’s watering is going ahead and is very thorough - having a tank of water on a truck beats carting watering cans about any day. There is yet one more surprise to come, and readers will just have to wait to see what it is. The wooden tubs on the Square and at the Tourist Office are looking for new homes - the Council is removing them to their depot on the Tipperary Road, and anyone who wants one (or two) is welcome to them. They are not as old as they look, and just need a touch of wood preservative, or varnish, or whatever, to look positively pristine. They might be useful to Residents’ Associations. The Next Tidy Towns Meeting, says Cllr Andy Moloney, will be held in the Shamrock Lounge on Wednesday 11th June at 7:30pm. By this time the first round of judging should be in full swing. Cllr Moloney is urging residents, businesses and traders to be aware of the adjudicators in the area, and if everyone can make an effort to look after their own patch, then we should achieve a decent mark in the first year of the Landscaping Plan. There has been a great awareness of Tidy Towns this year and many people are putting in a great effort, but it will have to be maintained. Many new faces have got involved since the Tidy Towns Group has started meeting and although there is no official committee, but rather a discussion group, Cllr Moloney is welcoming anyone interested in keeping Cahir Tidy to come along and be involved. Your presence will show that you are proud of your town and want to develop it as one of the better places to live, shop and visit, and that everyone is needed on board to do that. So why not come along on 11th June – it won’t take long and the benefits are huge.   Maria Taylor from Cahir met Hal Ketchum at his recent concert in Clonmel SENIOR CITIZENS’ HOLIDAY Cahir & District Lions Club once again organised the annual summer holiday in Carne for Cahir area senior citizens, last month. The week-long holiday was organised in conjunction with the Cashel Lions Club and over 50 senior citizens, 21 from the Cahir area including Ardfinnan, Ballyporeen, and Ballylooby went along. For many, this was also a reunion, as the annual holiday has been running for over 20 years. The Cahir group left from the Railway Station in bright sunshine, and despite a mixed bag of weather, they enjoyed a great week of organised events and excursions around Wexford. Cahir & District Lions Club wishes to thank The Cashel Lions Club for their dedication and in ensuring the success of the annual event. ROSEMOUNT RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION Their Mini Clean-up on Wednesday 28th May was, once again, well supported. But the same people seem to be doing all the work. A special ‘thank you’ to Andy Moloney, who turned up with a weed killer spray. His hands-on approach is much appreciated. The local Council has started its weed-spraying programme and the Association is hoping to keep the pressure on regarding grass cutting. The Committee is meeting with local Councillors in the County Council Office on 24th June to discuss the on-going up-keep of the area. CRAFT GRANARY NEWS We’re (Not) Here to Hurt You. This is the attention-catching title of a new Art Exhibition that will open in the Craft Granary on 6th June. Dan Leonard is the artist concerned, who was locally educated and is now based is Dublin. Having studied animation originally, he now works mainly with spray paint, creating dynamic, colourful canvasses and wall pieces. As you may gather from the title, his inspiration comes from the cartoons of the early 90s. A Children’s Arts & Crafts Summer Camp is planned for Monday 28th July - Thursday 31st.  This is for children aged 5 to 10 years old, and will start each day at 11am, finished at 1:30pm. The cost is €50 per child and the venue, of course, is the Craft Granary. As places are limited, it is a good idea to register now, on 052 43873.   Tina Looby with the children of Barnora Community House, Cahir who received their Art certificates recently and then presented Tina their teacher with a plaque PROBLEMS IN KILEMLY & CAHIR At a recent Council Meeting, a Notice of Motion was submitted by Cllr Andy Moloney to have filter lanes and acceleration lanes installed at Kilemly, where the new junction was installed on the old Cashel Road leading into the town. He also claimed that the turn-off was too tight when approaching from the Clogherbreeda direction, and large agricultural machinery and artics have to move into the mainstream traffic to access the new road. In a reply to his Motion, the Design Team said that it was in accordance with the NRA’s Design Manual for Roads & Bridges. In addition, the junctions have been inspected and audited by an independent Road Safety Auditor and are deemed to be in compliance with the design standards. [What happened to ‘if it doesn’t work, fix it’? MC] Cllr Moloney also questioned the necessity of the Plaza in the middle of the Junction and said that he was only waiting to see the coffee tables in the middle of it, as it would complement the centre of any town square. The authorities said that it should be noted that when the Motorway opens in early Autumn, 2008 there will be less traffic manoeuvring at these junctions. Cllr Moloney finished by saying that, at the moment, there are alternative routes around the town and that anyone wanting to get into Cahir Town will still have to use these junctions and that includes the 80,000 visitors to the Castle and the 25,000 going to see the Swiss Cottage. He wanted it recorded that the NRA has been alerted to this potential hazard. CAHIR ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION The results of the Twenty Five Card Game played on Friday 30th May are as follows: Winners, with 12 games - Ciss O’Neil and Willie O’Donnell; Runners-up, with 11 games - Dave White and Willie O’Neil. The Lucky Table was won by Tom Burke, Paddy Halloran and Bob Condon, and the Raffle by Mary English and Maurice Condon. The next game will take place this Friday, 6th June at 8pm in the Catherine McAuley Room. Light refreshments will be served as usual and all are welcome to enjoy a pleasant evening out. Cahir & Cashel Lions Senior Citizens group boarding  their bus for the annual summer holiday in Carne; included in photo are Dan & Una Dillon (Cashel Lions) and Gerry Duffy (Cahir Lions)    CAHIR CAMOGIE CLUB After another fine performance from the u-12 girls, they are now through to the County Semi-Final of the A Championship. The qualifying game was played on Tuesday 27th May when they travelled to Drum to take on the home side. Although Drum has some fine players, the Cahir team stood out, with great performances from the likes of Keeley Halpin in goal, to Roisin Howard, Emma Buckley and a Player-of-the-Match type of Performance from Aoife Corcoran. They are now awaiting the fixture and team for their Semi-Final. The u-14 team did not have as much luck in their endeavours in the Championship, and bowed out of the competition in Ballycahill last Wednesday night, to a much stronger Holy Cross side. Great credit is due to Sally, Michael and Anthony, who have been working with the team over the last few months, and hopefully next year they will have a stronger side. Best wishes to the School’s Camogie team who will take on Nenagh on 5th June, with the senior time also meeting Nenagh on 6th June. Once again, many thanks are expressed to all who supported their recent Church Gate Collection. CASHEL AMNESTY GROUP Members will meet next Monday night, 9th June, in Mikey Ryan’s pub in Cashel at 8:30. This will be the last meeting before the summer break-up. All are welcome to attend. [I am afraid I will not be able to attend this or any other meeting that week, as my son will be in Cahir for a few days, and I’d rather meet with him! MC] CAHIR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LOTTO With the Jackpot standing at €4,300 for this week’s draw, don’t miss out! Tickets are on sale up to noon on Wednesdays from the Business & Training Centre. The numbers drawn last week, witnessed by Peter Fahy, were 19, 20, 24 and 26. The five Lucky Dip winners, each of whom received €30, were Karen O’Donovan, The Square; Dermot O’Connor, Cahir Abbey Upper; Teresa Kelly, Birchdale; Tony Vincent, Clonmore; and Frank Dowling, Castle grace - all in Cahir. All the profits from the Community Lotto go to the Duneske Leisure Centre. READERS’ NEWS & VIEWS As always, your information is always welcome at 10 Market Yard / 086 850 4020 or at the e-mail address above. Please send off your news as early as possible as, now that the paper is in the various outlets on Tuesday evening, my copy really has to go in on Monday morning.