Category: Regional Report

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Millstreet featured largely on last week’s Irelands Own. It’s dated Oct.11.2024. The  back cover is devoted entirely to Millstreet.  Singing it’s praises and lauding the work of it’s people. Written by a man called Denis J Hickey, it highlights all our best assets and features such as our Holy Tubrid Well, source of our water supply our medieval forts and castles and our many entrepreneurs and lots more.  Giving us all good reason to be proud of our own place. Further to that I had the honour of having a letter published on the letters page of the  same weekly. It was a first for me, in the shape of a comment that I made on an article in a previous issue about the renowned Dr.Aidan McCarthy from Castletownbere, whom I’ve just discovered was a close relation to our own Fr. Paddy and the O’Byrne Family. His book A Doctor’s War is well worth a read. During the Japanese invasion of Malaysia etc, the Beara Medic found himself totally emersed in the conflict, he was taken prisoner and endured years in concentration camps and extreme cruelty. But at the end when the enemy was defeated and the Japanese general at their mercy his men wanted to kill him right away for all that he had done to them. But the Dr. Aidan said no, two wrongs never made a right. The man was so delighted and grateful that his life was spared that he presented his mighty sword to him. The sword was the symbol of all that  this man stood for, his country, his pride his everything, and this was his way of showing his gratitude. That sword  is now at the home of Dr. Aidan at the McCarthy public house  in Castletownbere. On a visit to Beara one time,   I’m very proud to have been photographed with that historic weapon in my hand by kind permission of his daughter and how wonderful it was for me to present a copy of it to Kevin O’Byrne who is a staunch historian but only ever heard the story of the sword. Never dreamt that he would see a picture of it or know where it is kept today. The truth is stranger than fiction.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 8th October”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

We are into the last week of the month of September, and looking around it has all the signs of it. The lawn no longer needs its weekly trim and the last roses of summer will be gone, but for the boost that they got from the few lovely warm days which we got during the week. It was lovely to see them  waking up again, even though it was not very seasonal. But as some take their own  annual break others are coming into their own. The lovely Virginian Creeper is already making it’s annual appearance. Having remained in the background while others flaunted their multi-coloured blossoms they are now coming into their own as they drape themselves around every hedge and wall and even along the ground, if they can’t find a platform to cling to.  If we are wise we will take a little of our time to admire them before we have to call on the man with the mighty machine that will make short work of the months of growth on our hedges and walls.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 24th September”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

It would pay you to drive through the country a see the Rowan Trees. The Mountain Ash.  They are weighed down with bright red berries. The Rowan tree grows in the wild so you can happen on them anywhere and in these fine sunny days they light up your way as you travel along, especially byroads and hilly areas. I had an occasion to go on such a trek today and believe me all along the way from the top of Bealac to the top of Sliabh Luachra they lit up my way. A beautiful gift from Mother Nature and still with the gifts of Mother Nature, I’m feasting on succulent damsons from Noreen’s Garden at the moment and the birds are feeding off the wild raspberries along the roadsides. To name but a few.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 17th September”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

September is moving along beautifully, giving us lots of sunshine and  some of the loveliest hours of tranquil pleasant moments if you were lucky enough to capture them. The fruits of the Earth continue to mature and ripen.  Every day there are offers of juicy plums, damsons, and wild crabs . Soft fruits which have to be nipped at the right time before they over ripen and fall of the branch.  The same goes for the hazel nuts. How we loved to climb the precarious limbs to retrieve them. When we had teeth of our own, it was no bother for us to crack the hard shells  with our teeth to get out the little treasure within. Rose hips are ablaze of colour just now as their greenish yellow fruits are fast turning to a rosy red. We have often heard of Rose Hip syrup but never made any.  There was really no need to venture into the world of such high class preserves when our world was full of blackberries and strawberries, rhubarb  and a whole range of  items  which gave us enough of jars of   jam  to see us right through the winter.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 10th September”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Welcome to the month of September. When our climate was fairly predictable, September was the month when we reaped the fruits of our labour. By the end of this month the hay would be long stored into the haybarns and the last of the grain crops, the wheat and the oats and the barley would have reached the stage of full maturity.  September was a busy month, but then as the farmer lived hand in hand with the weather, every month was a busy month. Cold weather in winter, when Mother Nature sent frost and snow to turn everything off and let the land rest in preparation for the planting and growing seasons ahead. There was no forward predicting of the weather like there is now and I can often remember seeing my Dad with a worried look in his face as he tried to find the best was forward and saying in a low toned voice, ‘May God direct me’ and He did because we survived. By September the turf which was won from the  bog in Caherdowney, five miles away, was drawn home by animal power. The horse and crib, by the grown men or the old reliable humble donkey by my growing brothers. The potatoes which were dug and stored in shallow pits in the field were  temporarily covered with a light covering of earth and straw. Very often children got days off from school for this important work and even with breaking backs we still looked on it as being better than going to school.  With the corn threshed and the all important grain, stored in the loft it was time to go back to the  potato field and sort the spuds. Needless to say on the day that they were dug, we emptied our buckets into the pit big ones and small ones all together. Hence the task of separating the big from the small later on. One of the coldest places on earth is when you go on your knees around the pit in an open plain with where was no escaping the icy breeze. There you knelt hour after hour sorting the big from the small. The call for the dinner giving a welcome respite before returning again.  The small potatoes or the waste as they were called were dumped in a shed where they were fed to the pigs and the geese and the fowl.  How we loved watching the ducks as the swallowed the small ones whole  and we could see them moving down along  inside their long necks until the ‘lump’ went into the crop and waited for the next one. The right-sized spuds were carefully loaded on to the horse and butt and transported into the yard and carefully stored, either indoors or in an outdoor pit but well protected from the winter frosts and the marauding rats. The supply had to see the family and the animals fed, well into  the next year. Like the wheat and the oats, hay, straw (for bedding the animals)and the turnips and the mangolds . Every month was important but September was special because it was a culmination of all that was done in the previous months. In many places Harvest Thanksgivings or Harvest dances were held when as they used to say, the cares of the year was over.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 3rd September”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Nice things are happening all the time. In a world that is so full of negativity it can be hard to find one sometimes but they do come and little things mean a lot. You know by now the love that I have for wild mushrooms and can you imagine the joy I felt during the week when I found a little bag of them hanging from the handle of my door.  To double the joy it happened again two days later. I hope that the kind person who left them has some idea of the pleasure that I got from her gift. First of all the very thought of it and then the lovely breakfast that I enjoyed. Money cannot buy wild mushrooms, they either grow or they don’t and even though we can get mushrooms in any quantity in the shops they lack the taste and the mysteriousness of the ones that you happen to find in your field. I melted a little real butter in a saucepan and tossed them in before adding some milk and loads of fresh ground pepper and a dash of salt. Oh the taste when I dipped my buttered brown bread in the liquid and eat the solids, savouring every  morsel. Recalling the days of old and the homemade coarse brown bread made from our own home grown wheat. The seven of us around the plain wooden kitchen table and Pete doing his best to see to us smaller ones, while the others fended for themselves. Things didn’t always go well when someone would shout out Ah Pete, you put too much bread soda in the cake or God forbid if an actual lump of the stuff happed to go into somebodies mouth. He’d spit it out and say “I can’t ate it” His reply came fast and determined “you can ate or turn your ass to it”, or “if you don’t ate it, that will leave more for the next fellow”, and the meal would continue. There were no fancy gadgets back then to make life easier. Because there was no sieve, the bread soda had to be crushed in the palm of the hand to take out the lumps and of course now a then it didn’t turn out perfect. Too much made the bread a yellowy, foxy colour which was a dead giveaway anyway. I never saw it to happen when our Dad did the baking.  Another one of Pete’s faults was on Fridays which were fast days  and no meat allowed. We didn’t always have fish. But he would make a pot of white sauce. I can still see the pot or warmer as we called it, aluminium, bent and broken with age, no handle. We loved the white sauce with the onions with our spuds on a Friday evening. But the trouble was that it nearly always burned and how we hated that burnt taste. Coming in the boreen from school it aroma would be out to meet us and on arriving our first words were Ah Pete you burned the sauce again today and his reply was always the same and we’d eat it. But the gentle Pete had many finer qualities which made little of his draw-backs at the end of the day.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 27th August”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

106 and counting, that is the attitude of the lovely Tessie Kelleher, the lady who is making headlines at the moment because of her advanced years and her spritely disposition.  To use an age old cliché, Tessie and I go back a long way. Where do I begin. Tessie worked in a little haberdashery shop in the Main St. when I was a child. It was about next door to Jimmy Hickey’s Bicycle shop on the upper side. Further down you had Murphy’s, Liam was an All Ireland Fiddle player and below that a place called Mrs. Potts. The lady who Tessie worked for was called Han Corkery, a single lady a relation of ours. As you know by now our Mother died when we were very young, I was just over three. She was an only child so we had no uncles or aunties and because our Dad was not very  well favoured by her people in the area, we were never told anything about her relations in the locality. It’s amazing how the mind of a child can retain items of things of the past. Han Corkery seemed to have been the only one of my mother’s relations to befriend the Da and as she sold children’s clothes he would go there to get ours. Being the only two girls we needed the “unmentionables ” and small and all as I was, about 4 or 5 I can remember how embarrassed he was at trying  ask for our “smalls” Perhaps it was his first time after the demise of our Mom. Tessie worked there and she was always very friendly and smiling and as the years went on and our step-mother came, the trips to Han Corkery’s continued. In time  she passed away and her little place closed and life took over.  Maybe it was because we were living in an all-male home that the friendly face of Tessie remained solid in my mind. She lived in Cullen which was a world apart back then. I’d get a chance sight of her in the very seldom now and then. But my childhood memories of her never faded.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report 20th August”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Oh the Olympics, will we ever be the same again. The high that we have been on for the past two weeks and more will take a long time to die down. Not that we were glued to it all the but it was always on, just in case you’d miss something. No other station was turned but the ones that carried the story and details of what was happening in Paris and what a show the city and indeed the whole country put on from the  spectacular opening  down the Seine to the earth moving finale on Sunday evening. Was it a little ironic that we had thunder and lightening here at that very time, almost like we were joining in on the spectacular event with fireworks of our own.  I’ve lost count of how many winners we have, but for a small country we must be leading on average. Marty Morrissey is having a tough time on the telly just now as he tries  to interview them all. In  the past we were glad to have the O’Donovans and a few more but this time there is a whole crowd of medal-holders so it’s not easy. My poor feeble mind would have no hope of storing up details of the who’s who but the one thing that stood out for me was the dedication, the determination it takes to become a winner. These people are a people apart not everybody has the gumption, the drive that they have to devote their young lives to sport and give themselves and their country a reason to be proud, to stand out among the nations of the world better than the best.  You could not but notice regardless of race, creed or colour the way that so many contestants prayed earnestly to their God to help them achieve their goal and give Thanks after again.

  At the end of the day the great thing was the safety at which it all went. Big crowds are pretty daunting things these days, with threats overshadowing them from many quarters so at the end of the day I think that full marks should go to the organisers who succeeded in sending everybody home safe.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 13th August”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Oh where tell me where have my golden finches gone. I never had so many little birds coming to feed on my peanut feeder but not a trace of the beautiful golden finches. I have the green ones and the blue ones and the brown ones and the yellow ones, but no trace of the affor mentioned. Their multi-coloured bodies topped off with a bright red splash on the head always stood out among the others. As I said another time I did see one in the garden but not at the feeder where I could enjoy it’s beauty.

I’m fortunate to have a very novel stand this year for feeding the birds. It’s a high rise wire stand on wheels which was rescued from the recycling unit. In perfect condition painted green, like something discarded from a shop. The various stages up along forms the perfect waiting areas for those who are awaiting their turn and while they wait not ten feet from my window it’s the perfect opportunity for me to study each one at close range. The ones that can’t cling on are kept busy picking up the bits that the others let fall. I notice that the young robins are beginning to get their red breasts. And the mothers feeding their young who are as big as themselves is comical to watch. While the poor old crows look on without a hope. But then they get the household waste.

The Green Glens was a blaze of light and colour for the three day equestrian event which started  on Friday.  Entries came from at home and abroad and numbers were high as usual. Competitions went on in various arenas ending with the Grand Final which was held in the Main Arena, late on Sunday  evening.  The venue was a picture of colour and brightly coloured plants and flowers and a monster TV screen which conveyed the details to all parts. It all came to an exciting end the Grand Final with prize money of  €30.000 which  was won by an American lady who is here learning the business as an  equestrian student with Cian O’Connor. The organisers thanked  the Duggan Family for accommodating them for this prestigious event and were full of praise for it all.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 6th August”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

The Holiday season is on and the weather is promising, so get out into the great out of doors because the countryside never looked so inviting. I covered a few extra miles since last we met and I want everybody to see and enjoy what I saw. Time and place don’t matter because the show goes on everywhere. All along the way the scene just keeps on repeating itself. The carefully tended gardens, and the wild open countryside compliment each other. The cattle or sheep gently grazing on the level and on the mountainside and the pastures green following the night rain. The corn fields, the potato fields showing great promise even in the wake of a long wet Spring. Buiochas le Dia.  I love our winding roads because there is a different view around every bend. Picnic places are dotted in scenic areas if you’d like to bring your own food and drink in the view while you eat. Of course there are many cafes and restaurants also, but with the way things are these days you can never be sure.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 30th July”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

I don’t watch matches, but I would ask the result when it would be over. Well when I put the vital question on Sunday evening, I got a very sharp retort, “Don’t Go there”, so I won’t.  Our weather still plays games with us. Bright sunshine to look out at but windy and cold when you venture. But at least the drop of rain is keeping things green and fresh and good to look out at.

And that, coupled with the sight of all the little fledglings feeding on the peanuts a few feet from my window is enough to brighten up any sagging spirits. Little mothers coming with their droves of youngsters that they hatched into the world against a backdrop of dwindling places to call home and a wet Spring. The young robins are hard to identify because their distinctive red breasts haven’t still developed and won’t for another couple of months, but you can still spot them. For one thing they don’t feed from the food basket, but do a great job in picking up the bits that others let drop. I’m rather disappointed this season at the non-appearance on the  lovely red-headed Gold Finches at the feeding place. I spotted one in the garden a few days ago but none at the peanuts. I can’t explain why.  Their pickings in the wild get more abundant all the time ,with many of the weeds such as nettles and docks growing ripe and bursting out with the seeds that our feathered friends love.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 23rd July”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

I’m writing this on July 15^th  St. Swithins Day and it’s raining. What did I tell you last week as if you didn’t know already that if it rains on the fifteenth of July, it will rain for the next 40 days. I’ve seen it happen many times over the years but have no memory of ever being washed away because of it. We don’t all agree about the weather. I needn’t tell you we’d all love to get up every morning to brilliant sunshine and carefree warm days but alas without the precious rain we can have nothing. Even as recent as  last week a farmer told me that they were feeding this year’s silage to the cattle because the pastures were picked clean, for want of rain and what a blessing not having to water the flowers every day. So be grateful.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 16th July”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

The morning fog turned our day into a fairyland of mystique and wonder  until the sun came out and starting with the lowlands, the riverbanks and the marches it continued to climb until it’s veil was melted all away slowly off the high trees and hills till all is clear again.  It gives me an air of peace and calm even the sound of morning thunder of the passing traffic seems to be lowered by it, as the sun comes shining through.  Alright for me perhaps to glory in it but it can’t be easy for those who have to tolerate the limited view as they make their way to work. Still it’s worth passing comment on it, the weather be it good or bad is always interesting. But even more so this week as we approach St. Swithin’s Day July 15. It was a date that was feared in olden times when man and horse-power was the only means of saving the crops. Because if it rained on that day it would continue to rain for the next forty days.  People prayed earnestly that the curse of St. Swithin wouldn’t strike. The story goes that away back in history the said Saint asked not to be buried within the grounds of the church/Cathedral like all those who went before him. He asked to be interred outside the walls with the ordinary people but with the passage of time his followers thought that because of his great fame that he should be in with the elite, so they exhumed his remains with the intention is bringing them inside but the day and days rained and rained making it impossible for them to continue. The task was repeated again many years later but to the same effect. I got this nice story on this week’s Ireland’s own and thought some would like to know the story of St. Swithin. Not may I add that the power of modern machinery can ensure the saving of our harvests today, we still need the help of God to grow our crops just like we always have. Already the first fruits are ready to be picked. I saw a huge bowl of lush red gooseberries from one bush this week. If you don’t want the birds to steal all you currents and gooseberries, be sure and cover them well with some netting.  There is nothing as sweet as the first jar of the new seasons gooseberry jam and judging by the blossoms on the briers, this will be a bumper year for blackberries. So start gathering those jars from now.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 9th July”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Welcome to the lovely month of July. It came in breezy and damp but still visitors from other climes think we have the best weather of them all. So let us be grateful for what we have.

The Willie Neenan  5mile  road race is a very special event every year and even though he is gone a few years now, he is remembered annually and his love of running is passed on the our young people for them to pass it on again. Walkers, wheelchair people, runners are all invited to take part with prizes given to  for each category. That one day gives an unbelievable lift to our own Fr. Paddy O’Byrne. When they were all young he and Willie and lots more young fellows took part in athletics all over the south of Ireland. Means of travel were not as easy as they are now and there was little help from any club or group to plan their itinary. A lad lucky enough to have a bike took another one on the bar. Tyres and tubes left a lot to be desired so a repair kit was a must on every bike. People were expert at fixing punctures,  they had to be or they would miss out. It must have been a heartrending decision for young Paddy O Byrne to leave  his family home at the West End where he was surrounded by young friends who were as keen on sport as he was to  answer God’s call to join the priesthood. There was an older man called Paddy Hennessy living in the street and he was their mentor. They could all meet at his place and thrash out their plans, enjoy recalling their successes and planning to do better the next time when they lost.  But join he did and when ordained he was sent to far away Nebraska  to mission there.  Funnily enough, his older neighbour across the road Fr. Joe Murphy, was also working in Nebraska, but it’s a very big place and they were miles apart. Needless to say he found it very different and his Irish accent was no help. After the first sermon he gave, he said to his congregation that he hoped he hadn’t gone on too long, but they assured him that it wasn’t a problem  because they didn’t understand a word he said anyway. He soon settled into his new life, but he never forgot his love for athletics and soon went into the schools where he organised groups of young people, both boys and girls according to their  age and ability and got them out on the sports fields to train.  He always regarded weight lifting to be a vital part of training and he pushed his subjects to unbelievable heights. Up the very long ladder, step by step. His great boast today is that for one of the girls in his team to beat the Russians. A first. A wonderful first for the lad from Millstreet who played with Willie Neenan and the others down the lawn and wherever they could.  Is it any wonder that today when the Willie Neenan 5M Race Day comes round, that he is filled  with  jizz at the thought of it all and who can blame him.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 2nd July”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

The wheel of Millstreet rolls on and work on preparing the old cinema at the West End has started in earnest. Even this fine structure needs a lot of work to bring it up to today’s standards for a modern day Gym and leisure complex. Already work has started on the sound-proofing, and the fireproofing. There is a fine residential section to the front which will be upgraded to meet the requirements of any family home of today. Great plans indeed, needless to say funding will be a major factor and the Community Council is hoping for good support in their efforts to provide a first class amenity for our town, which will see them far into the future.

Please keep up the good work in support of our Tidy Towns. The weather is rather dry and plants are in need of constant watering and attention. Come out on Tuesday evening at 7 for the weekly Clean Up and we ask all road users to refrain from littering our roads. The countryside is aglow with flowering shrubs and trees. The white Elder tree is weighted down with blossoms and many people like to harvest some at this time of year to make their own lovely elderflower cordial.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 25th June”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

The Lotto Jackpot was won on Sunday night, €5.800 went to Breeda Burke, Dromagh, and her mother Ann of Murphy’s Terrace was the seller so it was a case of luck all round for the Burke Family. On behalf of the Lotto Committee I want to wish them many congratulations.

The details are . The Lotto  Draw was held on Sunday night and the Jackpot was won. Numbers drawn were 6,12,23, 29  First prize to Breeda Burke, Dromagh, the seller was her Mother Ann and she got €580 sellers prize. €20 went to the following nine people. Betty O’Rahilly, c/o Capabu, Joan Wall, c/o Coleman’s, Our Cat’s Mom, c/o Michelle Whelan, Tony McCaul, c/o The Juvenile GAA, Teresa O’Sullivan, c/o The Clara Inn, Noreen Aroma, c/o Mary O’Connor, Breda Sheehan, Main St, Oz, c/o Colemans, ‘Sixteen’ c/o Michelle Whelan, and Mulligan c/o The Bridge Bar.

Next Draw June 23. Jackpot €2,000.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 18th June”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Many,many thanks to all those compliment me on my weekly report. Some in person, some online. The trouble is I don’t often see the ones online and fail to say thanks, I’m still not great at finding certain things online. In fact I’ve never found the fine reply that I got from Jerry Doody about the Metal Bridge and I was looking forward to telling you all about it. Some you win some you lose, but you keep going.

Our trip to Donegal last week was great and even though I had been there before. You’d always see  different things, next time around. Over fifty of our ARAs travelled, a few from other places and we all stayed at the wonderful Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran. The place was kept busy with many of our equals from other places and it’s pleasing to know the we the older folk can still play our part in keeping many hotels around the country going. Add to that the Parks and great houses where we pay our way plus the many cafes and restaurants that we frequent along the way. Our organisers  especially Mary Sheahan, left no detail out of her tight program from beginning to end. Even getting us back to Millstreet on Friday evening in good time to cast our votes. Some even with ample energy to attend the public Mass in St. Mary’s Cemetery.  The enjoyment that we got from our trip will see us in good stead in the weeks and months ahead. Thanks to all those who planned it all so well.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 11th June”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

What is it about the Green Glens that it keeps on winning. And it’s cheers all round again this week as the Irish Team wins the Nations Cup. Fifteen Nations from across the globe made their way by plane, ship and truck to get here in an effort to win tops  and then it comes to the host nation little Ireland. We won the Eurovision Song Contest, We won World Boxing here and now the Mighty Nations Cup. We have reason to be proud indeed we have. I want to thank my new-found friend, Jill for giving me that piece of welcome information as it was happening on the course.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 4th June”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

My last report in the month of May. And looking back it wasn’t a bad one. We got a fair mix of sun and rain and now that we are into the last quarter they tell us it will be rain all the way to the end, so we wait with baited breath.  I bet we’ll get a few sunny spots too.

 This week sees yet another mighty International Equestrian event coming to Millstreet. The Bloodstock of the globe and their owners will thunder into town during the week and perform  at the Green Glens on Friday and Saturday and the following two days, eventing  over the lavish planes of Drishane.  The great thing is that admittance is free all the way so people of all ages, creed and colour will get an opportunity to view it . The first International Horse Show was held in 1979.  Millstreet was a very different place back then. A humble hamlet, trying to hold on to the few good shops and stores which were winding down from a few successful years. Our town was ripe for change, for improvement, for new thinking and on it came with the Duggan Family. When you live long enough you get to see a lot and you remember a lot.  You tend to appreciate the changes for the better that took place in the town that you love so well. Only driving into the car park in the West End gives me a lift. Because in my young days all that place was a wilderness. Big black iron gates and just inside, a black-clad little woman  still there from the days when the person in the gate lodge had to be on the alert to open the gates the minute the lord and lady or whoever needed to go through. Nobody only those who saw it then and sees it now can appreciate the wonderful changes and improvements that have come to reality since then. The wide open entrance, the spacious carpark, the Community Hall, The youth Centre, the public toilets, even the funeral home,  the creche, the majestic Carnegie Hall, all done up, our beautiful Town Park, I love them all, because I knew the place when they were not there. No public toilet in the town can you imagine and I can well remember the fight we had to get it installed. I am the last surviving founder member of the Community Council, which was formed in 1977 and  I’m proud to say that I’ve been there and worked for it all in whatever way I could, because I wanted better for my town. And we did get great work  done, needing endless fundraising and pleading with our public servants and Govern departments.  If they  were all listed it would make interesting reading I’m sure.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 28th May”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

There may be warnings of terrible thunder and thunder rains, but nothing can beat the early morning warm foggy world with the sun coming through. The dew on the grass and on the branches creating a wonderland of jewels all glistening in the slanting sun. A visiting cat re-enacting the wild desires of the beasts of the forest, crouching down ,even on the wet grass, in the hope of ambushing an unsuspecting little bird. Who was busy himself gathering stuff to make a nest. While other people  have to rush around catching up with their work-packed days, it’s nice for me and my likes, to have the time to follow the day at a speed reduced rate. I’m not sure if the idea of not cutting the lawn in May is such a good idea. It means that a lot of the new growths don’t come, leaving the birds without them. We all know only too well that when we cut the lawn, the first thing up in it’s wake is the dandolion. The favourite food of the small birds. But when they are not cut down the old stem stands withering there, with nothing to replace it. Nothing that is until the growth of mown again welcomes the next plants to spring up and sports its woolly head full of seeds to the sheer joy of our little feathered friends.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 21st May”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

Fondest greetings everyone and I hope you’re allenjoying the beautiful weather. There was a host of fixtures planned for the entire weekend, from Darkness into Light, First Holy Communions, Vintage Run, Dancing at the Wallis for our ARA and their friends from other Clubs,  to name but a few. Plus the lovely weather for others to make plans of their own.  During the previous week our farmers were busy gathering in the silage, following all the weeks and months of rain and others getting their turf cut, all making sure that the coming winter will  be good for both man  beast.  I trust that all who had a good and successful time will give thanks to the Good Lord for his wonderful gift of fine weather that made it all possible.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 14th May”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

The sun is making a fine appearance as the merry month of May rolls on.  Dramatic sun-downs light up the evening skies like never before. The recent setting sun threw up a variety of scenes as it skimmed over the highs and lows of the landscape. Scenes to be admired and captured on camera to be treasured again and again and shared with those who missed them. The system played a thick on me leading me to think that I was with the fairies. I took a fine image of Sundays evenings sun-down from inside my conservatory window my back to the tv. The picture came out great showing the full volume of the bright orange clouds high over Clara Mountain but to my dismay on checking my handiwork I got a shock to see the face of a weird looking man inside my wall looking straight at me. The  world of the supernatural, sprang to mind as I slammed my phone shut to give myself time to think, not always easy when you’re on your own. Then I steadied myself and opened it up again. Only to find that the mystery man’s face was a reflection from the television which was in the room behind me. Ahhh, the relief. Welcome and all as the sun may be please take good care to cover up well. The hot rays on the sun are really very burning as I found out first hand. So please wear good sun-block.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 7th May”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

It’s not often we get good news but to hear that our town is being given the princely sum of €117,000 for local improvements on a Monday morning, it is enough to brighten up anyone’s day. Well done to those who succeeded in netting this welcome shot in the arm for Millstreet and as time moves on we look forward to see the changes that it will make.

First Holy Communions are the order of the day at the moment . The children from Cloghoula National School received their Communion in Ballydaly Church last week and this Saturday  May 4^th it’s the turn of the children of Cullen who will have their ceremony in their own local Church. Following that on May 11 May it’s the turn of the little girls of the  Presentation National School and the boys of Scoil Mhuire  in Millstreet. In the build-up to their special days the children and their parents took an active part in what is called ‘Grow in Love,’ at the 11.30 masses in recent times and we wish them God’s Blessing at this important time in their lives and pray that the blessings which they will receive through the Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist will stand to them in whatever road life takes them  in their future years.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 30th April”

Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made. That the Lord has made.   Let us rejoice, let us rejoice,  and be glad He did.

Oh the joy of a warm sunny spell and I hope that everybody is making full use of it. It seems a pity that little children have to spend long hours in class when their bodies would benefit so much from the  warmth of the sun and think of all the fun they could have in the great out of doors following the long months of wet weather which we have come through. Thankfully the people of the land are getting an opportunity to do their work. It’s great to see more and more cattle out grazing. Little lambs prancing in the fields and even the little rabbits making an appearance late in the day. Some folks have lots of bunnies around them and sometimes they can even be a problem especially when they make a meal of the baby plants of cabbage or flowers which you have so tenderly put into the ground. I don’t have that problem, living as I am on an island of sorts, encircled by the beautiful Finow river on one side and the busy Main Road on the other, boundaries that keep all wild life away.  So I have to depend on other peoples rabbits for my pleasure. I catch a glimpse of them grazing on the hilly fields as I drive to town. But at breeding time it grieves me to see lots of the little ones foolishly  wondering on to the busy traffic and meeting their waterloo.  But all is not lost as the hungry mother fox makes no delay in availing of a tasty meal. I know, Mother Nature can be cruel at times.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 23rd April”

Dia is mhuire díobh go léir a cáirde and welcome to my Report.

In spite of the cold weather, mother nature is doing her best to get on with her program for the year. Even the few days with less rain is having an affect. In the distance cattle can be seen grazing where the land is high and well drained bringing a surge of hope and perhaps a hope to do some planting even at this late stage. By this time in former years planters would be scanning the drills to see the first stalks on the potato field, coming through, always a delight to see. But not without it’s concerns, because the fear of frost held them in its grip until the last days of May. People were great in olden times for setting vegetables. Some in large quantities such as turnips and cabbage which they shared with the animals, but also onions and lettuce and radishes and brussels sprouts and peas. A small section was cordoned off at the verge of the potato field and a ridge raised up and manicured in every detail giving it the feeling of a ‘cut above the rest’. Some people saved the seeds from the previous year’s crop where they allowed some plants to grow on and blossom and ‘go into seed’ which they carefully collected and kept in a dry place for the following year.  Some were able to say  that they had the same ‘strain’ of plants for years and years. My Dad was good at this kind of thing. I would be with him as he prepared the ground and with the handle of the shovel he would press the parallel grooves all along the length of the ground. Then we would both inch along dropping in the seeds as we went before carefully covering them up again with the powdery soil. Maybe the sun was always shining back then or maybe he only did this work on a fine day, I can’t recall. Looking back at it now it all sounds so pleasant and wholesome. But God, how I hated that work, I don’t know why but it irked me to the bone and I did it with a puss on me afraid to open my mouth, because I knew what was good for me. Needless to say I’d rather be off playing with the dogs or riding the donkey etc. As well as drills of cabbage which we shared with the animals. My Dad would plant other cabbages, such as Greyhound and Savoy on the ridge. Smaller and tastier heads than what was called cow-cabbage. The Savoy lasted all winter and we often kicked the snow off the head when sent for some for the dinner in winter time. The peas had to be staked. Another fairly boring task. It involved breaking limbs off nearby trees and bushes and sticking them deep into the ground to support the plants. Pigeons were the plague of the kitchen gardener. They loved to wolf down the newly planted cabbage plants  which brought The angry Da out with his shotgun to put them to flight. With a bit of TLC the garden flourished and the moaning at planting time was soon forgotten when you’d sit on the warm ground and devour a belly-full of baby carrots, onion leeks or juicy peas when sent out to bring some in for the dinner.  Gifts from Heaven, all having been blessed with Holy Water on the first of May.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 16th April”

Dia is mhuire díobh go léir a cáirde and welcome to my Report.

I hope you are all well and safe following the ravishes of storm ‘Kathleen’ which put us all to the test over the weekend. Thank God, very little damage has been reported locally, perhaps we are getting better at reacting to the warnings and battening down our hatches in good time.  Or maybe by now that everything that was loose has already been blown away. Ironically we had no less than two weddings in the Parish on Saturday. It must  have been any bride’s worst nightmare. First of all the days leading up to Saturday, heavy sleety showers were driven by hurricane winds, not the sort you’d need if you were putting the final touches to your big day. There was no let-up. The adverse conditions still raged on Saturday morning, causing power cuts at homes and even at the hairdressers. Which forced some to seek help from neighbours whose power supply survived.  God was good, there was a little respite at mid-day when the sun shone out to give all the wedding parties the opportunity to make it to the church and then the rain and storm returned. What a story those couples will have to tell their grandchildren in years to come.   We wish them God’s Blessing and many years of wedded bliss in the years ahead.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 9th April”

Dia is mhuire díobh go léir a cáirde and welcome to my Report.

Fools Day is over and the clocks are put forward and the sun is shining, what more can we ask for? Schools are closed for the week, so let’s all be merry and bright.

Our Easter ceremonies went very well.  A great number of people attended the Penitential Celebrations  on Wednesday evening where priests from other parts of the Dioceses sat in our church to hear confessions.  Holy Thursday evening also drew fine crowd and on Good Friday the Church was all but full for the final story of the Passion of Christ, before the joyous nine o’clock Mass on Saturday night to celebrate the Risen Christ. We had five priests on the alter and the choir excelled themselves, especially in the rendering on The Gloria at the end and the Congregation responded with  a rousing   round of applause.  The priest thanked all those who helped in any way to make our Easter ceremonies the wonderful event that it was.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 2nd April”

Dia is mhuire díobh go léir a cáirde and welcome to my Report.

Holy Week, the last week of Lent. The very thought fills us with joy and the expectation of a glorious Easter with the Sun dancing in the early morning sky.   But before all of that let us stop and think of the rest of  this week. The week when Christ died for us on the Cross on Calvary. The past five weeks of Lent have dragged by as we made our sacrifices whether big or small in preparation for the death of Jesus on Good Friday and now with only a few days to go let us up our efforts for the one last heartfelt push in His name before we let it all hang out again and feast on our goodies, go back to the smoke or tipple or whatever, happy in the thought that we did our bit.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 26th March”

Dia is mhuire díobh go léir a cáirde and welcome to my Report.

St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone and for us here in Millstreet, it was nothing short of a Showstopper. From early morning the sun shone out and kept the glow on all the events of the day. Our wonderful Pipe band played us into 11.30 Mass and as they paraded in tune all the way to the alter, you got that spine-chilling feeling of pride, even emotion. Founder member Tim O’Shea was there for photographs while stalwarts like the spritely Michael McCarthy and Brenden O’Sullivan led the group. It’s at moments like this that you weigh up the important part that things like your own pipe band play in a community and how important it is that we value them to the full. We had no less than three priests on the alter for Mass. Fr. Billy Radley, Fr. O’Shea (Kilcorney) and Fr. Sean Tucker.  They were joined by Canon John at Holy Communion time.  The band played the full church out after mass ended before rushing off the take part in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Killarney and were back again to take part in ours at 5.

[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 19th March”