Fethard Cycling

Another balmy evening on the 17th July saw the cyclists heading from the carpark to D’Arcy’s cross and straight through Poulmucka.  Meeting Joe Burke here they turned right for New Inn.  In the village we turned left for Golden at a good steady pace.  After a brief pause in Golden we headed towards Cashel.  Arriving at the Church it was decided that we were good for a few more miles so we went out the Dualla road and took a right just before the village.  This brought us back toward Mockler’s Hill and home to Fethard.

Unable to make the cycle myself, I’m sure the conversation turned to Fethard-on-Sea at some stage.  With less than a week to go I hope all the sponsorship cards are full by now.  However, if you would still like to make a contribution, cards are still in Newports’ Newsagents and O’Sullivans Chemist – also monies can be given to any of the cyclists.

Remember if you haven’t been training for the event, you will be ill-advised to cycle on the day.  If you have been training, please make yourself known and make contact with one of the organisers without delay.

Finally, a big thank-you to all who supported our very successful Table Quiz on Friday night last especially to Philip, Ann & the staff of Butlers Bar for hosting the event.  A total of €550 was raised for the worthy cause.  A special thank you to all who donated spot prizes.
— (BiKe) 

Junior Cycle
Please note that the plans for the Junior leg of the Sponsored Cycle have been changed.  Junior participants are requested to meet at Kiltinan Barracks, at 2pm, where they will be joined by the senior group.  Junior Cyclists are requested to give their names to Jimmy O’Sullivan or Edwina Newport prior to the event.

Happy Birthday Amy

This happy photograph was sent to us of Amy Morrissey celebrating her first birthday with cousin Patrick Colville.

Come along to The Square
Fethard & Killusty Community Council issue an open invitation to everyone in the community and beyond to come along to The Square on Saturday next, 29th July, to join in activities to celebrate the launch of the Fethard Heartsafe Programme.

Proceedings commence at 2.30pm with the launch of the Slí na Sláinte Walking Route.  The highlight of the afternoon will be the welcoming home of the cyclists participating in the Fethard to Fethard Sponsored Cycle.  It is envisaged that the cyclists will arrive shortly after 3pm.

Refreshments, for everyone, will be provided in the form of freshly prepared healthy snacks and drinks as directed by the Irish Heart Foundation.  A selection of information books and leaflets, advising on a variety of Heart and Health Care will be available to take home.  Live entertainment will add a festive atmosphere to the afternoon.

Please come along on the day to join in the activities, which are all free, and to applaud the cyclists for their efforts and to cheer them home with gusto.

Photos from the Past

Fethard’s young athletes in the 1970’s. Back L to R: Dermot Hackett, Tommy Sheehan, Chris Coen, Brian Burke, Tom Ryan, William Connolly, Peter O’Dwyer, Fergus McCormack, Willie O’Meara and John Hackett. Front L to R: Adrian Pollard, Dessie O’Brien, Paul Mullins, Johnny Connolly, Raymond O’Brien, David Kane and Gerry Horan.


Killusty National School 1963. Pupils pictured with Canon Lee, Mr. Lory Noonan (principal) and Miss Flood (teacher). Pupils in front include: Tom Halpin, Michael Dunne, Pat Aylward (RIP), Ann Duggan and Yvonne Holohan. In the back are: John Pollard, Tony Sheehan, Tommy Nicholas, Michael Prout, Pat Holohan, Sean Aylward, Eileen and Marian Duggan, Ann O’Donnell, Tery Sheehan, Marie Dunne, John Lee, John Holohan, Paddy Halpin, Joe Allen, Noreen Tobin, Olwyn O’Flaherty, Rose Murray, Alice Dempsey and Bridget Prout.

Community Games
A rather dismal meeting of Fethard Area Community Games took place on Monday, 17th July. This meeting was arranged to give parents of competitors a chance to air their views on fund raising and to provide any information they may require seeing that we have the largest number of competitors ever competing on the first weekend from Friday 18th August to Sunday 20th August.

Only five parents attended this meeting so our attempt to organize something proved to be a non-runner. The decision of the meeting was that the Community Games will fund the bus and pay the registration fee for the competitors staying outside of the camp. All competitors staying in Mosney must have their accommodation fee of €100 paid on or before the next meeting which will take place in the Tirry Centre on Tuesday 1st August. The committee would sincerely like to thank all those who generously contributed to their Church Gate Collection taken up last weekend. Your support is very much appreciated.

Six-year-old Jack Ward, Garrinch, Fethard, who will represent Co. Tipperary in boys Under-8 Art Competition at HSE Community Games National Finals in Mosney on Saturday, 19th August.



Complete list of those competing in HSE Community Games National Finals are:
Art: Jack Ward, Garrinch, and Laura Rice Everardsgrange; Model Making: Andrew Maguire, Annesgift; Swimming: Philip Maher, Ballybough; and both boys and girls volleyball teams.

Apologies to Ciaran Ryan, Slievenamon Close, who is captain of the under-15 boys volleyball team, and due to a clerical error in our previous report, Matthew Fitzgerald was named as captain. Sorry about that Ciaran!

Gary Bradshaw, The Green, one of the competitors from Fethard area who will represent Munster in the boys Judo event in the forthcoming HSE Community Games National finals in Mosney

Church Gate Collection
Annual church gate collection in aid of Concern will be taken up at all Masses this weekend.  It is hoped that people will subscribe generously to this worthy cause. Volunteers to stand at masses would be appreciated and anybody interested in giving half an hour to collect at any of the Fethard Masses and, especially in Killusty, please contact Joe Keane at Tel: 052 31719

First Communion boys class 1958

Fethard First Communion boys class 1958. Back L to R: John Joe Napier, Ed Healy, Pierce Lyttleton, Thomas Keating, Austin Godfrey, Pat O’Brien and Michael O’Sullivan. Front L to R: John Fogarty, Tony Sayers, Jimmy Hayes, Thomas Barrett, Connie Coen and Gerry Nevin.

Fethard GAA Club News
On Friday next 28th July we take on Carrick Davins in the second round of the Junior A Football League Championship in Ned Hall Park at 7.30pm.

On Wednesday 19th July we lost to Carrick Swans on a scoreline of, 0-5 to 2-11, in the Junior B Football played in Kilsheelan.  Team was: Damien Donovan, Darragh Corbett, Paul Kenny, David Kelly, Mike Kelly, Diarmuid Bourke (0-3), Gay Horan, William Harrington, John Hanrahan, Patrick Aherne, John Fitzgerald (0-1), Paul Kenrick (0-1f), Paddy Cooney, Miceál Sean McCormack and Gerry Ahearne.


Members of Fethard Juvenile GAA Club on their way to Croke Park to see Tipp play Waterford in the All Ireland Hurling quarterfinal.

Our Lotto Jackpot of €3,200 was not won and we had no match three winner. The numbers drawn were 10, 14, 18 and 22.  The following won €30 from tickets drawn: The Sheehan Boys, Woodvale Walk; Monica O’Shea, Woodvale Walk; Bill Bradshaw, St Patricks Place; Josie Fitzgerald, Kiltinan; and Willie O’Meara, Killusty. The €50 Lucky Dip was won by Austin Godfrey, Derryluskin.  Tickets were kindly supplied by Harrington Developments.

Wedding Bells for Paul and Marie

Congratulations to Marie and Paul Looby who were married on the 24th June and are now back from their honeymoon. It's back to more than work for Paul who is also presently very busy organising a central London venue for this year's Fethard / London Reunion. We will let you know soon about the finalised details.

Fethard’s link with the Great War 1914-1918

Bloody Sunday survivor Frank ‘Scout’ Butler photographed with friends from The Green c.1940s. L to R: Paddy ‘Creamy Top’ Daniel, Willie ‘Doheny’ Sayers, and Frank ‘Scout’ Butler.

Frank ‘Scout’ Butler, The Green, was one of the many young men of twenty from Fethard district who saw active service in the trenches during the Great War 1914-1918. The number of men from the area who served may be gauged from the 127 who took part in the first Armistice Day parade in 1919 and to quote one of the ex-servicemen, “Probably as many more never came back”.

Why did they go? Most went from economic necessity, some spurred on by the spirit of adventure and perhaps some really believed they were fighting for the freedom of small nations. The late Danny Mullins, Knockbrack, has said: “Paddy O`Donnell (The Green) and I were standing opposite the Barracks watching the soldiers moving out. One of us said, “I’d love to go to the front.”  We did  not even know what it was or even where it was, but it sounded like a good idea to two teenagers with nothing to do and no cash to do it with. Both of them joined up and served right through the war.

Who were the others? Space allows the mentioning of just a few. The old veterans such as Nick Wall and Dave Hayes who had seen service in the Boer War, General Kellett, Dan Heaney, Paddy O’Shea and his brother Mick, Tom and Mick Kearney, Major Hughes, Tommy Leahy, Frank (Scout) Butler, Dave Morrissey who went through the hell of Gallipoli, and Jack Carey, the best story teller and historian of them all.

How, as boys we listened enthralled to Jamsie O’Mahony! Jamsie, the gentlest of men, had seen very little active service. How were we to know he was stretching his imagination more than somewhat when he said: “There we were in the trenches when we got the order to go over the top. We jumped out and advanced, we had not gone very far when I came face to face with a big Prussian. We parried and I stuck him, kicked him off my bayonet and carried on for about a mile”.

Frank Butler, as he was leaving Croke Park following the shooting on Bloody Sunday (Frank was the Tipperary goalkeeper that day), was halted by an auxiliary.

“Where’s your gun Paddy,” the auxiliary demanded. “I left it in Flanders”, replied Frank. “What was your regiment and company?” was the next question. Frank reckoned his prompt, correct reply probably saved his life.

The one characteristic that never left any of these ex-servicemen was their bearing and neatness. Always ship-shape and Bristol fashion, even in times when things were not as good as they might have been. They are all gone now but their memory lives on, especially with those of us privileged to know them. In quite a few houses in Fethard there is a photograph of a young man in uniform or a few beribboned service medals in a drawer. Some day an inquisitive child will ask, “Mammy, whose medals are those?” and be told, “Those are your Mammy`s Grandad`s, he brought them back from the war.” Which just goes to show, as everyone knows, old soldiers never die, they simply fade away.