Fethard Juvenile GAA Club

Tipperary hurling star, Paul Curran, photographed with budding GAA stars at Fethard Juvenile GAA VHI Cúl Camp last week.

The VHI Cúl Camp finished on Friday 28th August, after a great week. Tipperary hurler Paul Curran visited the kids on Thursday. They were also filmed on Wednesday for the 'Up for the Match' programme on Saturday. Thanks to the coaches, John Cummins, Kevin Hally, Julie McGrath, Barry Shortall, Clair Ryan and Andrew Ryan.


Local girls taking part in the Fethard Juvenile GAA VHI Cúl Summer Camp. Back L to R: Katie Butler, Niamh Shanahan, Laura Ryan, Katie Ryan. Front L to R: Aimée O'Donovan, Sally Butler, Ciara Hayes, Amy Brophy and Laura Hards.

Our secretary would like to thank those parents who helped at break times and said that without the help of Gus Fitzgerald and Mary Godfrey from the senior club, and Emma Fleming, who stayed all day everyday, she would have been lost.


Coaches and assistants photographed at Fethard Juvenile GAA VHI Cúl Camp last week. Back L to R: Ann Fleming, Kevin Halley, Fr. Anthony McSweeney C.C., Barry Shortall, Gus Fitzgerald, Johnny Cummins. Front L to R: Mary Godfrey, Julie McGrath, Claire Ryan and Emma Fleming.

We attended the U-10 hurling blitz in Mullinahone on Saturday. Unfortunately not all turned up but those who came did the club proud. We will keep you posted of other events coming up in September.

Well done to Dylan Fitzgerald who played for Tipperary in the U-15 county hurling and to Aaron Conran who played for Tipperary in the All Ireland U-16, which they won. Good luck to our U-14 hurlers who play their semifinal on Monday 31st August against Kilsheelan.
Fethard Juvenile GAA Club Golf Classic held on 15th August, raised a fantastic amount of funds for our club. The Golf team prizes went to: (1st Prize) Denis Burke, Seamus Mullins, David Walsh; (2nd Prize) Brian Higgins, Shay Coen, Eugene Blanchfield; (3rd Prize) James Smyth, Paul Kenrick, William O'Brien (3rd). ‘Nearest the Pin’ prize was won by Peter McManus.

Our draw held that evening was won by, Mary Ryan, Borrisoleigh (TV), Sean Connolly, Kilsheelan (Weekend Break), and Craig Pollard, Fethard (Tipperary Merchandise Voucher). Thanks to all for your generous support and sponsorship. Also to Slievenamon Golf Course and Lonergan's Bar for the use of their facilities.


Tipperary hurling star, Paul Curran, signing autograph for Harry Butler at Fethard Juvenile GAA VHI Cúl Summer Camp

Our AGM will be held on Saturday 19th September in the Abymill at 8pm. All are welcome to this important meeting, which lays the foundation for the coming year.

Income crisis in farming!
South Tipperary IFA are hosting a series of meetings across three venues in South Tipperary to address the current income crises in farming. One of these venues is Fethard Ballroom on Thursday 10th September.

The title of these meetings is ‘Managing cash flow in the current climate’. There will be speakers from Teagasc, Tipperary Leader, The Banks, Department of Social & Family Affairs, and a Life Coach. Topics addressed will include, ‘Managing your Money’, ‘Knowing your entitlements / Farm Assist’ and ‘Preventing / Managing Stress’.
The meetings are free and open to all farm families in the area, starting at 8.30pm.

Fethard ICA new season meetings
Fethard ICA are resuming their new season meetings on Tuesday 8th September at 8pm. As our summer failed to arrive, we can only pin our hopes on a good autumn, perhaps an Indian Summer!

We hope that all the membership had a good rest and are now ready and willing to get involved in the preparations for the 100th Birthday Celebration of ICA which take place next year, 2010. It is surely a wonderful achievement that an organisation set up to improve the lot of women 100 years ago is still going strong and has a role to play in modern Ireland.

Our Speaker for the night will be Monique Cremer of the Natura – The Natural Sleep Company, she will demonstrate her various products to aid a good nights sleep. Also our friends in the Cloneen Guild will join us on the night. The ‘Red Group’ are in charge of catering.

Sadels celebrate first birthday

Staff members photographed at the 'First Birthday' celebrations of Sadels Restaurant, Burke Street, Fethard. L to R: Laura Forde, Connie Cuddihy, Catherine O'Sullivan, Maura Ryan, Tina Whyte and Christina Szilagyi

Who lived at 1000 Main Street Fethard?
Names like Ferguson, Underwood and Venables are not normally associated with Fethard, unless you happen to be watching the sports channel on television, but these were among the 116 names listed as living at 1000 Main Street, Fethard, in 1911.

The oldest member of Fethard’s Community in that year was 91 and lived at number 35 Main Street, alongside 26 other single females, in the Convent.

All these details of the 1911 National Census have just been made available online and make for a very interesting read. If you had relatives anywhere on the 32 Counties of Ireland, it is possible to look up the original forms that were filled out on the night of the Census.
The files give a very interesting overview of Ireland in that year, listing everybody’s age, gender, occupation, level of literacy, religion, marital status, ability to communicate in Irish, number of children born to a household and the number of those still living and finally the list of infirmities.

Those who were in institutions were listed only with initials, so if one was in a Workhouse or a Prison, it would be more difficult to trace, though details of occupation prior to internment are given, making it possible to trace a person if you had even some minute detail. Anybody interested in looking up the files can find them online.

Fethard Bridge Club
Fethard Bridge Club will re-open on Wednesday 9th September. The game starts at 7.30pm sharp so we would like all members to arrive in good time! New members welcome. Looking for a partner contact Berney Myles 6132038.

Jack represents Ireland in Russia
Jack after being presented with his Irish international jersey photographed with his coach Martin Fennessy, Clonmel Boxing Club.

Jack Connolly, The Green, Fethard, a member of Clonmel Boxing Club, is selected for the Irish International Schoolboys Boxing Squad. Jack will represent Ireland in the 52kg weight division at the European Boxing Championships, which this year will be hosted in Perm, Russia, from 26th September to 4th October.



Jack is also part of the Irish high performance squad who for the past five weeks have being put through their paces at the National Boxing Stadium, Dublin. This is the highest boxing Jack can achieve at schoolboy level and great credit is due to his commitment and the pure sweat and tears he has shed to get himself to where he is today. Jack has won many contests including ‘boxer of the tournament’ awards over the past two years and truly deserves his place on the Irish team to travel to Russia. Jack is an outstanding ambassador for the sport of boxing for both club and country and will represent Ireland with his heart. We wish him well at the European Championships. Bon Voyage.

Fethard & Killusty Community Lotto
The numbers drawn on 26th August were 1, 3, 4 and 32. We had no Jackpot winner and no ‘Match 3’ winner so the following drawn tickets won €50 each:
John Pollard (online ticket);
Olive Looby, Ballybough, Fethard;
Pat Hayes, Lurgoe, Killenaule.

The three following Lucky Dip winners received €50 each:
Maura Meagher, Killenaule;
Evelyn Shelly, Ballingarry;
Kitty O'Donnell, Slievenamon Close, Fethard.
Next week’s Jackpot continues at €10,000 and the Jackpot sellers prize is €1000.

Died Recently in USA
The death has occurred on 23rd August of Bridget Bernadette (O'Sullivan) O'Donnell, age 77, of St. Michael, Minnesota, USA. The late Bridget, born 1st September,1931, was originally from Knockbrack, Fethard. She is survived by her husband, James F. O'Donnell; children, Hugh (Brenda) O'Donnell of Elk River, Margaret Coffey of Albertville, Mary (William) Johnson of Otsego and Paul (Jennifer) O'Donnell of Monticello; grandchildren, Matthew (Jenna) O'Donnell, Sean, Kevin and Joe O'Donnell; Erica, Rosalyn, Anthony and Elizabeth Coffey; Erik, Leah, Luke and Michael Johnson; Nicholas, Allana and Liam O'Donnell; great-grandchildren, Sean Voigt and Leo O'Donnell.

Preceded in death by parents, William & Margaret O'Sullivan; four sisters, Christina Burke, Mary Walsh, Margaret Jordan and Katherine Hawkins and by a son-in-law, Michael Coffey. Funeral Mass and service took place at St. Michael's Church on Frankfort Parkway in St. Michael city, Minnesota, USA.

Sponsored Cycle in aid of Fethard Youth Café
Volunteers are requested to take part in a sponsored 20-mile cycle on Sunday 27th September starting from the Ballroom Car Park at 2.30pm. The route will be two laps from Fethard to Coolbawn, over to Moyglass and back to Fethard. Sponsorship cards are available from Paul Shanahan or any of the youth leaders. Proceeds will be used to help finance the Youth Café’s annual running costs, in particular over the winter months when electricity and heating is a premium expense.

Healy family

The Healy family, formerly from The Green, photographed together recently when all six met in Fethard. Back L to R: Jim, Tommy, Ed. Front L to R: Catherine, Concepta and Ann Healy.

Fethard GAA Club News
Fethard senior footballers lost the South final on a scoreline, Fethard 0-8, Moyle Rovers 0-14. Full report in the sports section of The Nationalist.

Fethard certainly did not lie down and with just a few things not going their way on the day, Moyle Rovers pulled away in the last eight minutes. Another day we will meet again, maybe in the county series semifinal or final, where we can regroup and give it another go.

Our Junior A footballers lost out in the group stages of a play-off for first position on a scoreline, St. Patricks 2-9, Fethard 0-7, after extra time.

Our next outing is in the Minor B Hurling South semifinal on 8th September. Our intermediate hurlers are out on Friday against Carrick Davins on 11th September and our Junior A footballers play the South quarterfinal against Carrick Davins on 13th September.

The Under-21 B Hurling quarterfinal played on 22nd August was a thriller with our boys coming out with a single point win, Fethard 4-10, Clonmel Og 2-15. Fethard and their ability to score goals at vital stages was to prove crucial in their victory. Eoin O' Connell though marked tightly had a marvellous game contributing 1- 07 (1-04) from frees to his team's total. He is undoubtedly an exciting young talent and was well supported on the night by Gavin Fitzgerald, Dean Tobin, Peter Gough, Alan O'Connor, Richard Gorey, Tom Gilpin and Ciarán Ryan.
The Fethard team was: J.P. McGrath, Gavin Fitzgerald, Declan Doyle, Niall Hayes, Thomas O'Connell, Dean Tobin, James Kelly, Jamie O' Keefe, Peter Gough, Eoin O'Connell, Richard Gorey, Alan O'Connor, Aaron O'Donovan, Tom Gilpin and Ciarán Ryan.

GAA Lotto Jackpot Won

The GAA €10,000 Lotto Jackpot was won this week. Congratulations to Martha Williams, Killusty, Fethard, on winning. Photographed at the presentation of cheque were L to R: Gus Fitzgerald, Jim Williams, Martha Williams, Nicky O'Shea, Denis O'Meara and Mary Godfrey.

Paul Brady at the Medieval Wall Fethard
Paul Brady took to the stage by the Medieval Wall in Fethard on his Travelin’ Light Tour armed with three guitars, a bouzouki, a mandolin, a keyboard and his unique voice. And forty years of songs. He had no backing musicians, so both he and his songs had to standalone and prove their worth. And prove it they did when he got a standing ovation at the end of the night.

He had a battle on his hands as the gig was in the open air, and the day that started with brilliant sunshine began to cloud over during the sound check and gradually began to rain as the concert progressed. A professional to the core, he looked at the lighter side of things when drying down his piano which was situated side stage and close to the elements, “If I get electrocuted, will somebody tell my wife that I love her”.

Brady didn’t rest on his laurels and play safe with a greatest hits package, but ventured back as far as his traditional roots in the sixties when he was playing with Planxty, the Johnsons and later with Andy Irvine, to pull out songs like ‘The Jolly Soldier’. Those who came to hear the more popular Brady tunes weren’t disappointed when he played songs like ‘The Island’ and ‘Nobody Knows’, but the highlight of the show for many of the older fans was when he let rip on the bouzouki with his voice as the accompanying instrument and his feet hammering the stage from time to time as percussion.

It was a pleasure to see one of Ireland’s top performers proving his worth by the unique Medieval Wall in Fethard.

Tipperary Shows Open Working Hunter League
When the points had been added up from the Tipperary IPS Show, Killusty Show, Clonmel Show and Tipperary Show for the Tipperary Shows Open Working Hunter League sponsored by the Equine Warehouse of Clonmel, the worthy winners were declared as Michelle Sheridan's ‘Padley Little Richard’ ridden by Shannon Sheridan in the 133 cms division, Lucy Lambe's ‘King's King’ ridden by Phoebe Lambe in the 143 cms division, Marie Holohan's ‘Johnny's Pride’ ridden by Jane Holohan in the 153 cms division and Shane McKenna's ‘Apache Legend’ in the Intermediate division. Each of these winners will receive a warm winter rug for their pony with the best wishes of Mr Paul Ryan of the Equine Warehouse, Ard Gaoithe Business Park, Clonmel.
While many names appeared on the winner's lists from the participating shows only those of the winners of the rugs appeared more than once. Consistency is very important in a pony and the winning ponies showed that they had that. Well done to all and, hopefully, they will do well in this league next year.

Fethard and Killusty Community Games

Well done to Caroline Stokes, Ballybough, who represented Co Tipperary in the U-12 backstroke swimming event at the recent HSE Community Games National Finals in Athlone.

The Area Games committee intend to hold their AGM in the near future. There are several new families in the locality and now is the time to get your children involved in the many sporting and cultural opportunities that community games provides. Anybody interested in becoming involved in the games might please contact the games office at 052 6131906. We would love to see the many existing supporters com

The ‘Big Match’ on the ‘Big Screen’
Tickets may be scarce for the ‘big match’ on Sunday but for those, young and old, looking for a bit of atmosphere are invited to come along to Fethard Youth Centre and watch Tipperary try for All-Ireland glory on the ‘big screen’ starting at 3pm. All are welcome.ing along to assist us too.