Local Notes: All the latest news from Foxford
Fun on the streets of Foxford for this year's St Patrick's Day Parade, which was a huge success. Picture: John O'Grady
Volunteers are sought to assist the Foxford Enhancement Group in their big Spring clean-up of Foxford town and the surrounding areas. The event is going to take place on Easter Monday, April 21 and the group would gladly welcome anyone who has two hours to spare, from 11am to 1pm.
The meeting point is at the pharmacy carpark and gloves and high viz vests will be provided along with pickers – but if you have your own, please do bring it with you.
This is a great community event and a way of getting to meet people also. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.
It may still be more than five months away but planning has already begun for Riverfest 2025, with the organising committee holding their first meeting of the year last week. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 14 and anyone who would like to become involved (there can never be enough enthusiastic doers and helpers!), feel free to get in touch with the group via their Riverfest Facebook page.
The festival will take place from Friday to Sunday, August 22-24.
Fundraising is to take place via the iDonate platform beginning in early April, and there will be a pub quiz and bucket collections nearer the time of the festival.
Lots of details are still to be confirmed, however, there will be the usual Candles to the Sea ceremony on Friday, and crafts, food and fishing activities all day Saturday, with almost all the bands already booked to provide a day and night of continuous music on the street. There is also a new parade through the town planned for the evening while fishing and casting competitions will be held on the Sunday.
The Admiral Brown Society was delighted to welcome a group of Argentine visitors to Foxford for St Patrick's Weekend 2025, where they were treated to great celebrations throughout the town which culminated in the parade itself. There were people and diaspora from all over the world in Foxford for the weekend and the visit of the Argentine contingent in particular was a resounding success. It coincided with the visit to Argentina of Minister Jack Chambers (himself of Mayo parentage) to Buenos Aires, where he laid a wreath at Admiral Brown’s grave in Recoletta Cemetery on behalf of the Irish government and its people.
In Foxford, representatives of #clubargentinoirlandes, a group of Argentinians who are living and working in Ireland, were afforded a wonderful welcome and meal in The Moy Hotel with some attending The Rambling House in the Admiral Brown Suite, hosted by Admiral Brown CCÉ, where they had an opportunity to sing, dance and enjoy the rich culture of this talented group.
The Admiral Brown Society is already looking forward to commemorating the 248th anniversary of Admiral Brown’s birth on Saturday, June 21, 2025 and welcoming their Argentinian friends to Foxford again.
The funeral took place in Foxford on Saturday last, March 29, of Mary Thornton (née) Boyle, from Belass. Mary, who was predeceased by her parents Kate and James and her brother Tony, passed at Mayo University Hospital after a short illness.
She will be dearly missed by her husband Sean, daughter Sharon, son Brian, grandson Aaron, sister Nora, son in-law David and daughter in-law Katie, relatives, dear neighbours and many friends.
Mary lay in repose at Clarke’s Funeral Home, Foxford last Friday evening with her funeral Mass celebrated at St Michael’s Church on Saturday. Burial afterwards was in Craggagh Cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
Congratulations to Niamh Doherty, Currinara and Pierce Keadin, from Aghamore, both members of Admiral Brown CCÉ, who were part of the traditional music group Seoda who won the Siansa Gael Linn Final at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on Sunday, March 23. The group’s director and composer was Foxford’s own Stephen Doherty who worked with the group on the arrangements and who also composed a number of the tunes for their performance.
After last year’s hugely successful event, Moy Davitts GAA Club has confirmed it will hold another golf classic in 2025. It will again take place in Ballina Golf Club on Saturday, August 9. Save the date!
St Joseph’s Secondary School was brilliantly represented at the SIAB Cross Country International in Falkirk, Scotland where Rory Gruddy competed on the Irish junior boys team that won silver, finishing second to England. Rory excelled individually also by finishing ninth overall.
St Joseph’s also had teacher Mrs Aileen McNamara involved as part of the Irish management team for the trip.
Meanwhile, another St Joseph’s student has also excelled on the athletics front, with 5th Year Darragh Reynolds finishing second in the National Junior Duathlon Championships in Limerick. Requiring a 4k run, 19k cycle and finishing with another 4k run, Darragh crossed the line in a very respectable time of 56.41, which also placed him eleventh overall in the senior adult competition.
Moy Davitts has been selected to participate in the next phase of the GAA Green Clubs Programme. The programme was established to support Gaelic Games clubs in taking simple and effective sustainability action in their grounds and activities. It is structured around the themes of Energy, Water, Waste, Biodiversity and Travel and Transport and is designed to promote sustainability awareness and action in GAA clubs and communities.
If any club member would like to be part of the Moy Davitts Green Clubs working group, let secretary Bernie Ryder know at secretary.moydavitts.mayo@gaa.ie.
Two baptisms were held in St Michael’s Church, Foxford recently. Congratulations is extended to Jackson Tony Foody, son of Aoife and Tony, Rooskey, and to Jack Joseph Langan, son of Richenda and Michael.
Don’t forget the St Joseph's Secondary School lotto which was launched earlier this year. Entry is €2.50 per line or €5 for three lines. They can be purchased online at www.ourfundraiser.ie/org/stjosephsfoxford. All support gratefully accepted. Contact 094-92-56145 for more details.
S&F United’s James Duffy has had some deserved recognition with his selection up front on the Mayo Schoolboys League U17 Division 3 Team of the Year.
Congratulations to Emma Galligan of Moy Davitts LGFA who in her capacity as manager and teacher at Mount St Michael in Claremorris, guided the secondary school to the All-Ireland Post Primary senior ‘B’ football championship title last Thursday. They defeated Eureka SS, Kells in the final at Kiltoom, Co Roscommon.
Moy Davitts are Centenary Cup champions for 2025. They won the final of the East Mayo senior football tournament when beating Aghamore by 3-16 to 1-9 at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence.
A hattrick of goals in the first-half put Moy Davitts well on their way to victory, although the first 20 minutes of the match had been a nip and tuck affair, with both sides raising green flags for their opening scores. Brian Reape palmed into the net for Moy Davitts inside 30 seconds before Aghamore responded seconds later, reacting quickest to a point attempt that came back off the post.
Moy Davitts netted their second major on 17 minutes through Cathal Clarke and, with Brian Heneghan and Liam Byrne heavily involved, a third goal was finished off by Brian Reape for his second goal of the evening to put the Moysiders 3-7 to 1-4 up at half-time.
The sole two-pointer of the game was then sent over by Reape on 41 minutes, a booming effort from the right on the turn to make it 3-13 to 1-7 going into the final quarter. There was no Moy Davitts let up in the final fifteen minutes, with Ronan Clarke splitting the posts for his fifth point of the evening.
Moy Davitts: Chris McGlynn; Ryan Binley, Jack Dunleavy, Kevin Moylett; Stephen Clarke, Oisin McHugh, Jamie Clarke (0-0-1); Cathal Clarke (1-0-1), Ryan Kenny; Conor Ryder, Ronan Clarke (0-0-5, 2f), Sean Kelly; Liam Byrne (0-0-2, 1f), Brian Reape (2-1-3), Brian Heneghan (0-0-2). Subs: Ajay McGrath (for Ryder 30), Sean Reid (for Heneghan 40), Dylan Dunleavy (for Kenny 47), Adam Conlon and Mathew Gril (for Binley and Byrne 58).
The opening game of the season for Moy Davitts GAA’s under-16 footballers was a Division 4 clash with Kilmeena last week which they lost 7-13 to 2-8. The team is wished the very best of luck for the season ahead.
Last week’s Moy Davitts GAA 50-50 draw was won by John Ward who collected a jackpot of €340.
