Local Notes: New loop walk opens in Kilmovee

Swimming Pool AGM

The annual general meeting of Ballaghaderreen Swimming Pool will take place at the Community Park Clubhouse on Monday, November 13, 2023, at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Remembrance Service

A Remembrance Service will take place in St. Nathy’s Cathedral in Ballaghaderreen on Sunday, November 19, at 7pm for all who have died since November 2022.

If you wish to include the names of deceased family members or friends at this service who died during the year in other parishes, contact The Presbytery at 094-9860011 or email cathedral@achonrydiocese.org.

GAA Notes

The annual general meeting of Ballaghaderreen GAA Club will take place in The Clubhouse on Sunday, November 26, at 3pm.

Mass for deceased members of the club will be celebrated in The Clubhouse on Thursday, November 9, at 8pm.

GAA Club’s 50/50 draw

The Ballaghaderreen GAA club 50/50 draw took place on Monday, October 30, in Mollys. The jackpot of €586 was won by Fergus Frain.

Tickets can be purchased at various outlets in the town. An annual 50/50 ticket for €90 gives entry into every draw in the year and is available from committee members. Tickets are also available to purchase online at www.klubfunder.com.

Echoes of Ballaghaderreen

The editorial committee of ‘Echoes of Ballaghaderreen’ has commenced work on this year’s paper and welcomes articles, notices, reports, poetry, photographs and advertisements for inclusion. Contact the committee by email or phone at 087-6765508.

Material for the paper may also be handed into The Presbytery or to Towey’s, Main Street. Email: echoesballaghaderreen@gmail.com.

Let Love Shine A Light

Remember a loved one living or deceased this Christmas by sponsoring a light on the tree at Knock Shrine. Shine a Light cards are available in local chemists or from Kathleen Rushe on 087-4156033 at a cost of €5 each. Christmas card packs are also available for €6 for a pack of 12 cards.

Soccer Club 50/50 draw

The Soccer Club 50/50 weekly draw took place on Tuesday, October 31, at the Community Park Clubhouse. The jackpot of €225 was won by Michael Doohan and the seller was Davey’s Bar. The next draw takes place on Tuesday, November 7, at Community Park Clubhouse.

Ballaghaderreen FC wishes to thank all who support our weekly draw, as well as all the premises and outlets that sell the tickets for the weekly draw. Tickets are available at the usual outlets around the town or at www.clubforce.com.

Why not purchase an annual ticket for €90 which you are supporting Ballaghaderreen FC and give someone 52 chances to win in the weekly 50/50 draw?

One Act Drama Festival

Kiltimagh One Act Drama Festival will be held this year from Friday to Sunday, November 10 to 12, at the Town Hall Theatre. Admission is €10 and a special weekend ticket costs €20. Tickets are available at Langan’s Off-license or at the door. Curtain up each evening at 8pm except on Sunday when the shows start at 5pm.

Basilica Concert

A fundraising concert for Victim Assistance, a charity that supports the victims of crime and trauma in Ireland, will be held in the Basilica, Knock Shrine on Friday, December 1. Tickets are available from Mary McNicholas, Victim Assistance Head Office, Aiden St, Kiltimagh, on 094-9000251 or 086-3938871. The cost of tickets is €30.

Gurteen Bingo

Bingo is held in Gurteen Hall every Friday night at 8pm. The jackpot stands at €1,800 in 45 calls or less. Lotto raffle jackpot of €650, plus 50/50 split. All support is appreciated.

Christmas Craft Fair

The Carracastle Christmas Craft Fair is back again this year and will be held at Carracastle Community Centre on Sunday, November 26, from 10am to 2pm, featuring a wide range of handmade presents, baked goods and local crafters.

If you would like to have a table on the day, please contact Trevor at 089-4463487 to book your place.

Gospel Concert

Patrick Feeney and his band will perform a Gospel Concert in St Patrick’s Church, Gurteen, Co Sligo on November 26 at 8pm. Tickets are priced at €25 and are available from the Coleman Music Centre at www.colemanirishmusic.com or by contacting 071-9182599.

Banada

The cashless society

Where is all the cash gone? Gone! Gone!

Well, there is no need to fret about it. It is safe and sound for the time being in the vaults of banks, out of the way of criminals who would come plundering into homes in the dead of night.

Once upon a time, it was considered safe in the mattress until thieves found out about that favourite hiding place. After that, people entered into a long period of fear. Men coming from the fair after selling a few cattle went through sleepless nights listening for the footfall of the intruder, the same as the housewife did after selling the turkeys at Christmas.

Now your cash cannot be in safer hands and unless you have a few Rembrandts hanging on the wall you won’t have undesirable callers. Banks hold all the money. Having done so, as to make doubly sure, they closed all the local banks. This move went too far for it left ordinary country folk at the mercy of the internet, passwords. and lack of ways to communicate.

You have a little plastic card now in lieu of cash that gives you access to your money. This bit of plastic has built-in benefits. The fact is you cannot draw out what is not already there, therefore you cannot go in debt, or if you lose it your money is not gone forever. This certainly helps you avoid unnecessary worry.

All seems well. But can there be any downside?

Consider how safe are the banks or can the past be repeated? What if in the morning the news comes through that a certain establishment is bankrupt? Their investments have gone wrong and there is no money in the vaults. Remember it was your money that they used without consent and now you have nothing. How would that be for a deal? It would trigger a rush which would be fruitless.

The cashless society has its pitfalls. Lodging and paying online may maybe okay for multinationals that deal in millions but the new system has left many elderly in limbo and open to difficulties never imagined. So, for some, cash is still king.

The late Nathy Mullarkey

Last week Nathy Mullarkey of Dereens, Clooncool, died peacefully in his home in Dereens surrounded by his loving family. He had been ill for some time.

Nathy was predeceased by his father Richard, mother Nan, sister Rosemary and daughter Edel. He is survived by his loving wife Frances, sons Fergal, Gabriel, and Gerome, daughters-in-law Rachel and Triona and grandchildren.

In life, Nathy was what every man would wish to be. He was a farmer who loved his native place, the flocks on the hills, the mountain streams, the furze in bloom and all nature around him. He had great respect for the environment, the land, trees, flora and fauna and all that his hands ever touched. He collected seeds of native trees and propagated and sowed the saplings. He was always in touch with nature noting the coming and changing of the seasons.

He had a good word for everyone and kindness for all and will be remembered for his life’s work.

His remains reposed at Brennan’s Funeral Home in Tubbercurry on Wednesday and Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Michael’s Church on Thursday. Funeral followed afterwards to Cloonacool Cemetery where he was laid to rest.

We offer our sincere sympathy to his family, neighbours and friends.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé.

Wash Day

I write of the times when there was no running water as that on tap in the homes and of a time when every drop had to be brought in buckets from the well, river or stream. This was a laborious and time-consuming task.

In those far-off days, hygiene was not treated as important as it is today, yet a weekly wash was done and considered essential. Clothes had to be washed regularly and to do so our great-grandmothers had to do the washing by hand.

There was a timber wash tub employed. It was shaped round and made by the local cooper. Water was brought from the source and heated on the black metal pot placed on the turf fire, When the proper temperature was reached water was transferred to the tub. The scrub board was then put in, the soiled clothes produced and scrubbing began. This was done by hand. A hard card of carbolic soap was used to help dislodge the dirt from the clothing.

Scrubbing was hard strenuous work which took up time and energy. When the wash was considered done, fresh water was introduced to rinse the clothes. They were rung dry by hand. Then they were put out to dry on the hawthorn hedge, as at that time clotheslines were unheard of.

Bedclothes - heavy woollen blankets and quilts - were taken to the nearest river where there was a ford or quick running water. This was generally done in the month of May and all the women of the village went there carrying the wash in wicker baskets. It was a leisurely kind of event. They first put the clothes soaking in the running water and placed stones on them so that they could not be carried away with the current. Then they sat back on the bank, chatted and had some food which they had brought along.

After an hour or so, work began. The blankets were first trampled on by bare feet and later scrubbed on a bare rock stuck in the river bed.

Drying the wash was always a problem and the excess water was squeezed out by many hands. The operation took hours and eventide the weary workers made their way homewards. If the evening was fine they put the wash to dry on an adjacent hedge, otherwise they were hung up on a rope in a barn where a breeze might blow through.

Those were the days before washing machines were invented. Times have changed for the better. Housekeepers no longer draw water or go for a day’s washing to the river,