Askamore

MEITHEAL EASCA MÓR

Meitheal Easca Mór – Askamore Working Together – a new way of community development for all the community.

The word meitheal describes the old Irish tradition where people in rural communities gathered together on a neighbour’s farm to help save the hay or some other crop. Each person would help their neighbour who would in turn reciprocate. They acted as a team and everybody benefited in some way. This built up strong friendships and respect among those involved in the meitheal.

Askamore Community Council needs your support to maintain services to the Askamore community. The council has set up a new community-based plan to invite you and everyone in the community to help maintain and develop community activities and events.

This project will be called Meitheal Easca Mór (Askamore Working Together). You and everyone in the community are being asked to volunteer four hours IN THE YEAR to your local community. No meetings, no long-term commitments being sought, other than a commitment to give a small amount of your time and energy to keep your local community going in a coherent, vibrant, new way.

Members of Askamore Community Council and Community Centre groups will be asking you, their friends and neighbours, to choose an area of work in which you would be comfortable giving some voluntary hours.

The main areas requiring volunteers on a regular basis are the community centre, Le Chéile Park and Tidy Towns. A detailed list of works needed will be available to volunteers.

When you volunteer for your particular area or areas of interest, your name will be included on a rota. You will receive a call seeking your help as the need arises. If you are not available at that time, you will be asked to volunteer at a more convenient time for you.

Meitheal Easca Mór is an attempt to have a simple system to continue the outstanding voluntary work of the past 40 years. The future sustainability of community within the Askamore half-parish area is now dependent on your help.

If you would like to volunteer or would like more details, please call or text Geraldine in the Community Council office (Monday to Thursday mornings, 9.30 p.m. to 1 p.m.) on 087 11 666 34. Alternatively a member of one of the local community groups will be in touch in the near future.

Askamore Community Council is registered as a Charitable status company under the name Askamore Muintir na Tíre Community Project Ltd. The following are the 18 voluntary members.

Paddy Byrne, Brian Buttle, Helen Kearney, Davy Donohoe, Margaret Nolan, Pádraic O’Connor, Larry Butler, Ann Butler, Mairéad Kinsella, Stacy Gilbert, Jackie Christian, Paula Mulroe, Seán Byrne, Alyson Bayne, Noeleen Deegan, Peter Cooper, Ann Potignano, Ger Blackbyrne.

FITNESS FOR OVER-55S

As part of a drive to encourage fitness in the older members of our community a grant has been sourced from Sports Ireland which will subsidise a new weekly session for the next number of weeks with Finch’s Fitness.

Starting Wednesday, March 7, class will be taking place on a Wednesday morning from 11.30 to 12.30, the initial sessions will be €5 a head.

Please call or text Geraldine on 087 11 666 34 to book your place, or just turn up on Wednesday morning to the Activity Centre (in behind the childcare playground).

SENIOR ALERT SCHEME

Senior Alert Scheme application forms are available for Askamore community residents. The purpose of this scheme is to enable persons of limited means to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind by providing them with a free personal monitored alarm. Contact 087 7795922 for more information.

COMMUNITY GAMES

Draughts continues every Monday night in Askamore Community Centre from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Proposed date for art and Handwriting competition, March 10.

FINCHES FITNESS

Pilates classes in Askamore at 8.45 a.m. every Wednesday followed by fitness classes at 10 a.m.

We hope to run an over-55s physical exercise class soon. This class will be structured for people who may have a physical issue which would prevent them from undertaking strenuous exercise and Declan is happy to work out individual exercise plans for participants. Anyone inetrested should contact us soon as places still available. These classes are funded through WLD and are free to all over 55 years for more info. contact Declan at 086 84688165 or Geraldine 087 7795922.

ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

The St Patrick’s Day parade committee would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported the 2017 St Patrick’s Day parade so generously, both financially and by giving of their time.

The quality of the parade is very much based on the effort put in to creating floats and so we ask for as many floats as possible to take part in our 2018 Parade – the more colourful and imaginative the better.

This year’s Parade takes place on Saturday, March 17, at 1 p.m. If anyone is interested in joining the committee or volunteering for an hour or two on the day, please contact us at Carnew TDC at 053 9426555.

Entry Forms available from: Victor’s, Candy’s, Kinsella Estates, Scoil Aodán Naofa, South East Security and safety, and Carnew TDC Drama Finals.

The all-Ireland Confined Drama Finals Launch will take place in the Corner House, Carnew on Friday, March 16, next at 8 p.m. The South Wicklow Drama Festival committee are delighted to announce that Anne Doyle, Irish Journalist and former RTÉ Newsreader will be in attendance and will launch the festival.