Local Notes: Claremorris students shine in sciences
Alicia Ward, a student from Mount St Michael Secondary School, Claremorris, showcasing her app 'Sign Tales' at the Irish charity Teen-Turn's final showcase event held in IBM Ireland in partnership with SciFest. Picture: Robbie Reynolds
Mount St Michael students were high achievers at this year's SciFest@TeenTurn. Teen-Turn aims to provide teen girls with the opportunity to gain hands-on STEM experience so that they can visualise themselves in those kinds of careers and therefore make third-level course choices accordingly.
Through afterschool activities, work placements, mentoring, and alumnae networking and career development programming, Teen Turn supports over 1,500 girls from 'Junior Cert to Job'.
Third Year students Simona, Ema, and Huria were the overall winners for their outstanding app Evolve Era. Their prize was three MacBooks.
Mary Lillibeth claimed First Place in Senior Science and first runner-up overall with her remarkable project. Second Year students Mary Josephine, Alicia, and Aoibhinn’s innovative app, Sign Tales, took second place.
The school community raised €700 for Mayo Roscommon Hospice in memory of former teacher, Frances Lyons. Students and staff rallied to support those in need, helping the local Red Cross, filling a van with food and toiletries and raised €140 for them.
Vincent Gill, formerly of Murneen, who died peacefully on December 22nd, was a member of The Royal Blues, one of the most successful showbands to come out of the West of Ireland.
The band was founded in the early 1960s in Claremorris by Andy Creighton, who went on to become a very influential figure in the showband scene. The band also included Vincent’s brother Frank, and two vocalists, Martin ‘Doc’ Carroll and Shay O’Hara, amongst others. The band was formed when four members of Pete Brown's Band of Renown from Kiltimagh left to strike out on their own.
The Blues catapulted to fame in 1966 with the release of ‘Old Man Trouble’, a song written by Jerry Smith and originally recorded by Fats Domino two years previously. The song reached number one in the Irish charts and was their biggest hit.
The Blues played at the opening of Claremorris Town Hall in the summer of 1969, and many times thereafter during the heyday of dancehall scene. They were back again 25 years later at an anniversary dance and Vincent made an appearance in the Hall in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of its opening.
Vincent, who also spent a while in band management, was from a very musical family. Along with his brother Frank, who was in the band with him, another brother, John, now deceased, played locally. His nephew Seamus Sammon, from Knock, who is also deceased, fronted a local band Rolled Gold in the 1980s.
Vincent passed on December 22nd surrounded by his family and in the exceptional care of the staff at Blackrock Hospice. He was the dearly beloved husband and best friend of Joan, much loved and devoted father of Ronan and Paul, and loving granddad to the late Oisín. Vincent will be sadly missed by his loving wife, sons, daughter-in-law Gráinne, three grandchildren, his sister Teresa, brother-in-law Thomas, sisters-in-law Mary, Ann and Pam (England), nephews, nieces, relatives, friends and neighbours.
Vincent was laid to rest on Friday, December 27th, in Kilternan Cemetery Park, Ballycorus Road, Kilternan after Requiem Mass in the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Churchview Road, Killiney.
May he rest in peace.
Irishtown deservedly captured the Michael Mooney Junior Memorial Cup after an entertaining St Stephen’s Day clash against Ballindine in Davitt Park. The final score was 0-13 to 2-6 – a victory by a single point.
The large attendance was also treated to a most enjoyable running commentary by an enthusiastic and emotional Liam Griffin, the former manager of the Irishtown team. Well done to all involved, especially JP Kirrane who does Trojan work organising this annual event.
The game, played over three 15-minute periods, was surprisingly slow to take off, with both sets of defenders on top in the opening third. Gerald Griffin, Colm Roche and William Freeley scored for Irishtown, with Ballindine replying via Pat Coyne and Keith Glynn, as Irishtown led by 0-3 to 0-2 at the first break.
The second third saw Irishtown add points from Fearghal McGrath, Michael Waldron, Seamus Roche (2), Johnno Clarke and Gerald Griffin (2) to take their tally to 0-10 with Ballindine adding just two points, from the lively Richie Kilkenny, to double their score to 0-4.
Ballindine started the final third most impressively with an Andrew Peters point and an opportunistic goal flicked home by Richie O'Connor in the first three minutes. Points from John Huane and Fearghal McGrath in the 35th and 36th minutes steadied things for Irishtown. Ballindine were getting on top now though and an Andrew Peters goal in the 41st minute and an equalising point from Richie Kilkenny set up a grandstand finish. It was the Irishtown lads that got the winning point in the 45th minute of the game through Fearghal McGrath. Referee Garryowen McMahon blew the final whistle shortly afterwards and Michael Mooney presented the cup to his son Kieran, the joint captain of the Irishtown team.
Irishtown squad: David Mitchell, Padraig Moran, John Huane (0-1), Michael Waldron (0-1), Johnno Clarke (0-1), Pat McGee, Matthew Nicholson, Tommy Mitchell, Alan Canny, Chris McTigue, Gerald Griffin (0-3), Michael Ronayne, Mark Ronayne, Dylan Keadin, Colm Roche (0-1), Cathal Moran, Derek Mooney, Kevin Cullina, Seamus Roche (0-2), William Freeley (0-1), Kevin Daly, Kieran Mooney (joint capt), Glendan Roche, Alan Roche, Tommy Nolan, Ger McWalter, Fearghal McGrath (0-3). Manager: Jimmy Roche.
Ballindine squad: Mark Diskin, Adrian McNamara, James Cummins, Andrew Peters (1-1), Anthony Gallagher, John Costello, John Heneghan, JP Kirrane, Keith Glynn (0-1), Lawrence Daly, Matthew Trench, Pat Coyne (0-1), Richie O Connor (1-0), Ryan McLoughlin, Richie Kilkenny (0-3), David McDonagh, James Joyce, Kevin Burke, Martin Sheridan, Paul Carey, Tom Murphy. Manager: Pat Kearns.
Well done to all who supported this year’s event. The proceeds will be used to support the former Davitts footballer, Martin Cosgrove, who now resides in County Armagh. Martin suffers from Primary Lateral Sclerosis, a rare neurological disease, and is now confined to a wheelchair.
Michelle Grant, of Roundfort and formerly of Brookhill, was the winner of Claremorris GAA Club's Christmas 50/50. Michelle won €2,140 with a ticket bought in SuperValu.
Mary Murray won a hamper sponsored by Corrib Oil in the same draw, as did John O’Connell whose hamper was sponsored by Claremorris LGFA. Colette Regan also won a hamper sponsored by SuperValu.
The club thanks all who have supported the draw in 2024 and extends good wishes to all in the community for 2025.
The death has occurred of Mary Kilgallon (nee Togher), of Knockadorraghy, Mayo Abbey, and formerly of New Line and Riverdale Court, Castlebar.
Mary passed peacefully, following a short illness in the wonderful care of Mayo Hospice, surrounded by her loving family.
Mary was predeceased by her parents John and Mary Togher and is deeply regretted by her husband and soulmate Liam, her beloved sons Padraig and Shane, daughters-in-law Denise and Aoife, adored grandchildren Sarah, Max and Niamh, brothers Mattie, Joe and Micheal, sisters-in-law Mary, Eileen and Geraldine, Marion, Geraldine and Josephine, nieces, nephews, friends and neighbours.
Mary was laid to rest in Mayo Abbey Cemetery after Requiem Mass on Friday in the local Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace and St Gerald.
May she rest in peace.
Mary Murphy won the Claremorris AFC 50/50 jackpot last week. Mary won €680 with her ticket which was purchased in PJ Byrne’s.
Mayo Gaels are the latest club to take advantage of the Re-Turn recycling initiative, with the installation of four Re-Turn bins for the parish.
The bins are specifically designed to collect any empty bottles or cans with the Re-Turn logo, so that people from the locality can help the environment by recycling, and also help the club financially, in the process. Every bottle or can donated will be recycled and the proceeds will go towards the development of the Gales’ astropitch.
The bins are located at Mayo Abbey School, Facefield School, Mayo Gaels Club House and Mayo Abbey Resource Centre. All support will be greatly appreciated by the club.
One of the most popular country singers in Ireland, Mick Mulhern, from Ballyvary, has announced a concert in the McWilliam Park Hotel on Saturday, January 25th. Joining Mick on the night will be Tony Allen of Foster and Allen fame, Gerry Guthrie, PJ Murrihy and Eunice Moran. The Ryan Turner Band will provide the music.
Mick has a great rapport with audiences, with his yarns and jokes, adding humour to the enjoyment of the night. Mick has two successful albums to his credit, and his songs are amongst the most requested on commercial radio stations throughout the country.
Tickets for Mick’s show can be purchased from the McWilliam Park Hotel or by telephoning 083-8163158. More ticket information is available from the website, www.mickmulhern.com.
The death has occurred of Brendan Clery of Slieve Bloom Manor, Muckross Road, Killarney, and formerly of Hollymount.
Brendan, who passed away peacefully surrounded by his family, was the beloved husband of Teresa and loving father of Jamie and Jonathan. He will also be sadly missed by his daughters-in-law Christina and Alexandra, grandchildren Sariya, Finn and Leyla, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and many friends.
Brendan was laid to rest in Aghadoe Lawn Cemetery after Requiem Mass in St Mary's Cathedral, Killarney.
Infinity Photo Group is running three photography-related courses, commencing in January.
Introduction to Photography is a 12-week course that aims to give participants a better understanding of the basic operation of their camera and to take better pictures as a result. The course is a mixture of theory and practice, which will be held in a fun environment.
At the end of the course, attendees will have learned about composition of images, what all the buttons on the camera are for and how they impact the final image, and much more.
The course will be held in the Infinity Photo Studio, Claremorris, on Monday nights from 8 to 10pm.
Photography for Improvers is a course aimed at people who have a basic knowledge of camera operation, and who want to improve their images. This course will be partly held on location and partly in the classroom. At the end of the course, participants should have built an impressive body of work. The duration of the course is 12 weeks. The course will be held in the Infinity Photo Studio and at several other outdoor locations around Claremorris.
Introduction to Adobe Photoshop for Photographers is aimed to help people to edit their photographs using the legendary Adobe Photoshop. At the end of the course, students will understand the basics of Adobe Photoshop and be able to edit their pictures. The 12-week course is a mixture of theory and practice. Each week there will be an assignment based on what was covered in the class.
Participants will need to have a computer that they can bring to class, which has a fully functional and up-to-date version of Adobe Photoshop installed. The course will be held in the Infinity Photo Studio, Claremorris.
The fee for the photography courses is €120 and the Photoshop course is €135, which is payable in advance. The contact number is 087-2908676 for further information and booking.
Huge congratulations to Mount St Michael first-year art student, Rowan Conneely-Woergoetter, who won third place in RTÉ's This Is Art! competition for her creative costume design, The Black Wolf.
A special mention goes to Kiana Donnellan, Rebecca Kelly, Sophie McGahon, and Anna Rattigan, whose artwork, Sweet Illusions, was highly commended. Leaving Certificate art students Hurrain Ghaffar and Fatima Sadiq were also highly commended for their marionette puppet, Nurse Nettie.
Well done to all involved. This is a fantastic achievement, especially with so many entries from across the country.
The Colts junior team were defeated recently by OLBC of Galway on a scoreline of 24 to 12.
The Colts squad was Cathal Heaney, Adrian Conway, Jack Colleran, Dwayne Campbell, Liam Heaney, Oisin OConnor, Daniel Noone, Luke Colleran, Micheál Hett, Shane Meehan, Liam Murphy, Joe Prendergast, Conor Prendergast, Jason Kelly, Matthew Macken, Adrian Maye, Paul Maloney, Hope Omorodion, Cathal McHugh, Keith Jennings, Sean Colgan, Luke Burke and Matthew Kelly.
Plans are well underway for a 50th-anniversary reunion celebration of the St Colman's College 1970-75 group, which will be held on Bank Holiday Saturday, August 2nd.
While the reunion applies to those who enrolled in 1970, the core of which became the Leaving Certificate class of 1975, it also is open to all those who were part of that "journey" for any period. The school records show that 67 first-year students were enrolled into two classes in September 1970 with 15 additional students joining later through repeating a year or transferring from another school. Sadly, six pupils have passed away over the intervening years and will be fondly remembered on the evening.
The organising committee includes Michael Clarke, Michael McGrath, Alec Morley, Gay McManus, Owen Treston and Pius Forde, and they are determined that this will be the largest and best-supported 50th-anniversary reunion in the college’s history. Every effort will be made to make contact with each past pupil from the period. They are also asking readers to spread the word to family members or friends in Ireland or abroad who were part of the classes.
The committee is also working closely with Roy Hession, Principal of St Colman's College, who is hugely supportive of the gathering. Updates and further developments on the reunion will be available on the school's social media platforms and in the in the coming months. A visit to the college on the evening of the reunion will also be facilitated.
As happened with previous reunions, school bus drivers and teachers from the era will also be invited. Full details of the reunion are still to be finalised and more information can be obtained by contacting committee members Michael Clarke at 086-8162559 or Michael McGrath by email at mmcgrath1981@gmail.com. These contacts can be used by past pupils who wish to confirm their intention to attend the reunion.
The death occurred on December 25th of Catherine (Kitty) Gleeson, of Clontarf, Dublin and Ballindine.
Kitty died peacefully in St Gabriel's Nursing Home, Edenmore, Raheny. She was the beloved sister of Joan and Gabriel, and will be very sadly missed by her family, her nephew Brian and his wife Lorelei, niece Sarah and her husband Jason, and their two children, Lucie and Ollie, and her sisters-in-law Joan and Helen.
Kitty was predeceased by her parents Patrick and Sarah, sister Pauline and brother Jackie.
Kitty was laid to rest yesterday (Monday) in Ballindine Cemetery. Her Requiem Mass was held in St Gabriel's Church, Clontarf, on Saturday morning last.
May she rest in peace.
Mayo County Council and the St Colman’s Cemetery Committee have asked for the co-operation of the community regarding an unusual practice that has been going on in the graveyard recently. The initial timber grave marking posts are being reset along the right-side border of the graveyard and there are a number of trees and shrubs planted along with the crosses in memory of loved ones.
The council and committee have kindly asked that these practices stop and they are asking for the removal of the markers and trees by the end of January. After that date, any remaining materials will be carefully removed and stored off-site for a short period for collection.
A series of enhancement works are planned for the cemetery and funding is being sought for these works. The council and the committee appreciates the public’s support and acknowledges that all aspire to have a tidy and clean graveyard in Claremorris.
Claremorris Musical Society extends a huge thank you to everyone who purchased tickets for their Classic Christmas Raffle. The support helps bring their production of to life.
The Breakfast Hamper was won by Frank Murray, with the Nokia 8" Tablet going to Anne French. The other winners were: SuperValu Hamper - Anna Raftery; Food Store Hamper - Jason Coyne; CMS Festive Hamper -David Cawley; €100 Smyth's Voucher - Brendan Walsh; €80 Alisan Voucher - Martha Gaughan; €60 Leisure Centre Voucher - Ciaran Kiely.
Pat Hayes and Lauryn Dempsey both won €50 One 4 All Vouchers, with a €50 Tesco voucher going to Josephine Finn. The €50 Sanzio Boutique voucher was won by Dolores Bergin, with the JVC Earphones going to Dearbhla Taylor. Méave Nyland won two tickets to , while John Farragher won two tickets to . Amy Clifford won two tickets to All-Ireland Drama Finals.
The society presents from January 29th to February 1st in the Town Hall.
The Christmas Community Dinner at Mayo Abbey Centre was held on Thursday, December 12th. Over 60 local people enjoyed a three- course lunch followed by surprise entertainment by the local schoolchildren.
The general feeling from all was that this had been a great opportunity for many to have an overdue catch-up and social get-together.
Fr Fergus welcomed everyone on the day and encouraged those in the community to avail of the wonderful services at the centre. These include the Tuesday lunch which provides a great social opportunity for people and the coffee morning every Thursday at the centre where you can enjoy a cappuccino and scone. He also spoke about the fantastic bus service covering Mayo Abbey, Facefield and Ballyglass.
Ger Maguire thanked Fr Fergus for his ongoing support to the centre and also thanked all those involved in the event. It was lovely to see everybody working so well together, he said, including all CE and RSS staff, supervisors, management and LTI tutors.
He also thanked chairperson Derek Vahey and all the voluntary management committee, who have overall responsibility for the centre. Mr Maguire remarked on the growth of the project since 1993 when four volunteers from the community came together to apply for a FAS Community Employment Scheme.
“The main focus of the project in those early years,” Mr Maguire said, “was cleaning the graveyard and the village which led onto the development of a village enhancement project and also supporting Mayo Gaels with developing their facilities.
"There was no office or computer but through a lot of hard work and determination by a large group of people supported by the community and agencies we have achieved so much which can be seen here and around the community today.”
You’d be mistaken if you thought all the tractor runs were over until the silage season starts. On Saturday next, January 4th, Irishtown Tractor and Truck Run will take place at 6pm, with registration from 4pm. The event is in aid of the Sensory Room at Irishtown National School and the entry fee is €20. The run will go through Ballindine, Claremorris, Brickens and back to Irishtown.
There will be a Kids Tractor Run, starting at 5.30pm at Happy Tots and progressing through the town. There will be a Kiddies Disco in Burke’s while the tractor run is in progress, and there will be jiving lessons for children at 7.30pm in Burke’s.
The death has occurred of Seán O'Boyle of Castlerock, Tulla Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and Clare, Claremorris.
Seán passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at University Hospital Limerick. He is deeply regretted by his loving wife Mary (née McAuliffe), daughter Martina (McMahon), son-in-law Colin and four grandchildren. He will also be fondly remembered by his brothers Tom and Martin, sisters-in-law, niece Leanne and nephews Jonathon and Darren, extended family, friends and neighbours.
Seán was laid to rest at Mount Temple Cemetery, Kilmaley, Co Clare, after Requiem Mass in St Joseph's Church, Ennis.
May he rest in peace.
Congratulations to all the winners in Claremorris Golf Club’s recent Winter Team League. The winning team was Michael Lohan, (Captain,) Padraic Moran, Eamon Gormley, Ray Woolley, Keith Prendergast, Pat McGuinness, John O Gibbons, Sean Golden, Gerry Kilkenny, Yvonne Oldham and Catherine Brennan.
The runners-up were Damien Connolly, (Captain), Danny Roche, Liam Feeley, Luke Gibbons, Peter Collins, Martin Murphy, Tom Griffin, Sean Feerick, Tom Coleman, Vincent Glynn, June Elliot, Eva Brogan and Michael Connolly.
New Year’s greetings are extended to all our readers and to all the people who submitted items for publication. Please note that the next issue of the will be in the shops on Tuesday, January 7th.
