SCARTAGLEN

GENEROUS DONATION

Mary Mahony of Gortgloss recently celebrated her 40th Birthday with a very enjoyable and well attended party in the River Island Hotel Castleisland. Mary came up with an excellent idea when it came to giving gifts -- she told all and sundry who would be attending her party that it was their presence that was required and not presents, so instead of presents Mary asked those attending to make a donations to a good cause and that was to Our Lady Children’s Hospital in Crumlin. Thanks to Mary’s foresight and initiative. A sum of €2,820 in all was collected from generous donations made by local people who attended the party and from people who were not present on the night but still wished to be associated with the collection.

On Wednesday, October 26th Mary presented a cheque for €2,820 to Rachel Daly, Community Fundraising Manager in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin Dublin. Also present on the day were Mary’s husband Eddie and their children Sarah and Pat. Well done to Mary for her thoughtfulness and caring attitude towards the sick children in that hospital and she would like to thank very sincerely one and all for their generous and very kind donations.

DRAMA

That very talented bunch of local actors -- The Sliabh Luachra Drama Group have re-convened over the past few weeks and they have chosena play which they will rehearse and present in late January or early February 2017. This season the local group have chosen ‘Sharons’s Grave’ by John B. Keane and from now on they will be busy learning and rehearsing this well known play by the late and great Listowel man. No doubt, the Sliabh Luachra Group will do full justice to this production and we wish them good luck with their preparation between now and presentation date.

FUNDRAISING DANCES

Children from Chernobyl in Russia come to Kerry each July for a much needed holiday and rest. In order to raise funds to enable these children to come to our county each year, dances are held each Wednesday night in the Grand Hotel in Tralee. Those providing music for these dances in the weeks to come are as follows: November 23rd -- Mike Condon, November 30th -- Best of Friends, December 7th -- Peter Burke, December 14th -- Declan Auyngier, December 21st -- Dermot Lyons. These dances are very enjoyable social affairs where you can meet new friends and pass away the winter months. They are all for a very worthy and noble cause and great value for €8. Dancing is from 9p.mto 11.30p.m.

WINTER SAFETY

As we head into the depths of winter The Kerry Joint Policing Committee (JPC) is advising all road users in Kerry to ‘Be safe and be seen’ and householders to ‘lock up and light up’. Both are very good pieces of advice. Pedestrians and cyclists are encouraged to wear high visibility clothing and drivers of motorcycles and vehicles in general are asked to ensure that their lights are fully functional as driving with defective lights is both unacceptable and highly dangerous. The longer hours of darkness in Winter afford thieves and criminals more opportunities to commit crime and burglaries so homeowners should ensure to lock up and light up their homes in the hope of deterring would-be burglars.

LIAM LAWTON CONCERT

Singing priest Liam Lawton will be a big attraction at a concert (‘Oh Holy Night’) to be held in Castleisland Parish Church on Monday, December 5th with special guests being Castleisland Parish Choir and Brosna Musicians. This concert is being staged as a fundraiser for Brosna Parish Church Renovation Fund. Tickets cost €20 and are available from Castleisland Parish Office, local shops, St. John’s Parish Centre Tralee and Cathedral Parish Office Killarney. Further details and information are available from Castleisland Parish Office at (066) 7141241 or Email: castleisland@dioceseofkerry.ie

DON STIFFE CONCERT

One of Irelands finest Ballad and Folk singers is Don Stiffe and he will perform in a concert at The Heritage Centre Scartaglen on Sunday night December 4th at 8pm. Tickets cost E15 which includes a cup of coffee on the night.