Christmas Panto 'Snow White' at the Abymill

Patrician Presentation Secondary School presents their Christmas Panto 'Snow White' at the Abymill Theatre on Friday, December 8, to Sunday, December 10, at 8pm. Tickets are now available from the School Office or by phoning 052 6131572. It promises to be a great panto for all the family.

St Vincent De Paul Annual Appeal
Dear friends and supporters our annual church gate collection will be on the weekend of December 9-10. Unfortunately not as many people are attending Mass as there was in the past so we ask you to consider other ways of donating if you are in a position to do so. A donation can be given to any member of the Conference and receipts will be given when requested.

You can send a donation to The Treasurer, St Vincent De Paul, Fethard, but please do not send cash through the mail. Again receipts are available when requested. As we are now in the computer age you can also donate online by scanning the QR Code above.

We very sincerely ask you not to donate to us if this will leave you short or that you neglect a charity you already support. We have always been well supported in the Parish for the past 127 years and we hope we will be also this year. Any person or family who needs our help should please give their name address to any Conference member or contact us on Tel: 085 8086099, 086,1940016, 086 8588118, in complete confidentiality. We also wish all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Celebration of Christmas Carol Service

GAA Sports Development Lotto Results
Fethard GAA Sports Lotto draw results for Tuesday, November 28, 2023, are as follows: the numbers drawn were: 15, 18, 20 and 31. We had no Jackpot winner and no Match 3 winner. One Lucky Dip winner received €100: Keenan Aherne. The next draw takes place on Tuesday, December 5, when the jackpot is €25,600. The funds raised are used to promote sport in the local community.

Married Recently

Congratulations to Johanna Sheehan, daughter of Dan and Ann Sheehan, Killusty) who married Fergal Fortune (Wexford) on November 17, pictured above with their daughter Juliette.

Day Care 'Christmas Fair' outside Town Hall

Fethard Day Care Centre will hold their annual Christmas Fair on Friday December 1, 2023, outside Fethard Town Hall from 8am to 1pm. Please come along and support this great cause.

'Stable Perspective' – A joint visual art exhibition

All welcome to the opening of 'Stable Perspective' – A joint visual art exhibition showcasing the work of local painters, Tim Corballis, Sophie Carpentieri, Rosemary Ponsonby, Eugene de Leastar, Silvia Tilli, Cecily Purcell and Millie Philippa. The canvas is often the territory of the introvert, but this stable of seven meet weekly to share their views, tricks and passion. And now they have taken over Fethard’s Town Hall and to offer their equestrian perspectives with you. Join us on Thursday December 30, at 7.30pm at Fethard Horse Country Experience, Main Street, Fethard.

Social Dancing in Fethard Ballroom


Fethard Ballroom continues its social dancing on Sunday, December 3, to the music of 'Dermot & Irene Ring'. All are welcome to come along and enjoy a great night’s entertainment and social dancing from 8.30pm to 11.30pm. Admission is €10, which includes tea and cakes. For further information or for booking the Ballroom, contact Eileen Coady, Tel: 086 0776420.  

Wexford Youth U19 team All-Ireland Cup winners


Fethard girls Nicole Delaney (above) and Michaela Lawrence (below with her sister) who are both members of the All-Ireland Cup winning Wexford Youth U19 team, after beating Shelbourne 4-0 in the final, a huge achievement for both Fethard girls. Well done!

Parish Church Lotto Draw Results
There was no jackpot winner in this week's Parish Lotto on Thursday, November 23, 2023. The numbers drawn were 10, 12, 18 and 23. The winner of the weekly draw for €30 was Judy Doyle. Next week's Jackpot for Thursday, November 30, will be €2,375.




Please pass the word on and invite friends and family to take part. You can help our Parish in a real, practical way.  Thank you for your support and the best of luck in our next weekly draw. PLAY OUR LOTTO NOW

Glorious Gowran for Fethard’s McNamara and Rice

Fethard AC members L to R: Louis Rice and Emmett McNamara

The Google maps were all set on Gowran Park, Co Kilkenny, as Athletics Ireland held their flagship event The National Cross-Country Championships on Sunday, November 19. Our two senior athletes, Emmett McNamara, and, Louis Rice, both fresh from their fantastic performances in the Munster’s Senior championships last weekend were now ready to mix it with the best of the best club athletes in Ireland.

After a week of very heavy rain the course conditions were expected to be extremely soft underfoot and, indeed, that proved to be the case. The magnificent attendance, however, was fortunate in that the weather stayed relatively dry for the whole day’s fantastic schedule of championship cross-country racing.

Those fighting for championship honours and European Cross-Country selection were going to have to be at their very best to book their places to Brussels and that is certainly how it materialised as the cream of Irish middle-distance running set a blistering pace through the first lap. With such a fantastic pace being set it was inevitable that the field would be strung out across the Gowran Park landscape.

The eventual winner, Kieran Dalton of Mullingar Harriers, lead the field home in a blaze of glory followed closely by Kevin McClure, Ennis Track, and Hugh Armstrong, Ballina.
For Louis and Emmett, this was their debut at this level, though Emmett, a winning jockey in the Epsom Derby, had experienced the Gowran turf before but he always had a horse for company but no such luck today as he relied on his own legs to get him round. Both lads performed like seasoned athletes, never waning from their task. They exchanged places several times as they picked their way through the 220 strong field.

Last week Emmett and Louis were part of a Tipperary team that won gold in Munster. As report is being written we have been informed that the Tipperary team of, Tobin 19th, Ciobanu 40th, Maunsell 42nd, Moore 72nd, McNamara 116th and Rice 123rd, have won National Silver in the B Section Inter County. This is such an amazing result for our club and county under the guidance of senior coach John Laste. Very well done to all six athletes and a huge congratulations to Emmett and Louis, your focus and dedication to your running is truly admirable and you are both excellent role models for your club mates.

Mysterious Frenchman returns to France – Au Revoir Algy!

Algy – the young Frenchman who has been working in Dooks, is going home to France on Saturday

Visitors to Dooks will have run into the dashing young French student known as ‘Algy.’

Algy has been in Fethard since the middle of September on a mission to learn English by intensive immersion in the local community. This dedication has also taken the intrepid young explorer to Sparky’s and to Burke’s pub and to McCarthy’s where he has honed his conversational skills late into the night. To be fair, he has also been to Mass every Sunday, rain or shine.

We caught up with him yesterday and asked him what impressions he will take home of the people of Fethard. ‘Jesus! They’re the finest!’ he said. ‘Great craic. They’re dotes, even the guerriers.’

Algy (whose real name is Louis-Jean – which shortens to ‘L-J’ and leads us to ‘Algy’) is from Angers in the Loire Valley. He has been taking a break from his Law studies but returns to college in January and back to the grindstone. Both his parents are lawyers – his father a professor of Medieval Law in Paris and his mother a property lawyer in Angers. Home is an ancient mill on the little river Layon which he shares with his parents, four younger siblings, a dog and numerous hens and the occasional fox. His father is ‘a great one for the DIY’ says Algy, ‘but he is injured at the moment after an argument with a chisel.’

Algy has been staying with his long-lost cousin, Richard Robinson, at Watergate where he has developed a passion for The Full Irish and a ‘decent bacon and cabbage.’ So he will surely return in the near future. ‘I’ll be back in Tipp,’ he said. ‘It gets to you, this place, it’s a grand little spot.’

Algy thinks the food in Dooks is ‘as good as France’ - surely the highest compliment from a Frenchman? And did he enjoy working there and speaking English? ‘Not a bother,’ he said. ‘Flying it!’

We shall miss him!

Mens Shed Christmas Craft Fair & Coffee Morning


Fethard Mens Shed are running a Coffee Morning and Christmas Craft Fair at Fethard Town Park on Monday, December 4, in the Front Lobby. Starting at 10am with Music, Food, Craft Stalls, and a Christmas Raffle with loads of prizes will take place. All are welcome to come along!

Big Picture – Fethard Confirmation Girls, May 1988

Girls who received the Sacrament of Confirmation at Holy Trinity Parish Church Fethard in May 1988, photographed with Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Morris, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly.

You can zoom in closer to see more detail by clicking the photograph to zoom-in and double-clicking the photograph to zoom-out. If you can help with further information please let us know. Your comments, names or corrections are always welcome to: fethardnews@gmail.com

Faces and Places from the Past
This week we have a selection of photographs taken during the years 1987. We have some names but not all, so if anyone can help us, please do. Please send any comments, photo information, names, to fethardnews@gmail.com

Fr. Tony Lambe, Angela Dillon-White, Danny Kane with first Holy Communion children in Killusty Church in June 1987.


Mr Dessie O'Malley, leader of the Progressive Democrats, is pictured with members of the Fethard branch on his visit to Killenaule in June 1987. Back L to R: Joe Murphy, Tim Finn Killenaule, Mick Smith, Austin O’Flynn, Jack Murphy, Philip Joyce. Front L to r: Rosario Joyce, Billy Gardiner, Dessie O’Malley, Liam Croke, and James O'Gorman.


South Tipperary County Council members visiting Fethard Folk Museum in June 1987, photographed with owner Christy Mullins


Winners in the ladies racquetball team competition held in Fethard Sports Centre in June 1987 L to R; Michelle Fogarty, Patricia Breen and Jenny Fogarty.


Runners up in the Ladies racquetball team competition held in Fethard Sports Centre in June 1987 L to R: Monica Kenny, Susan O’Meara and Mary Burke.


John Bradley, director of Urban survey giving a walkabout tour of Fethard on June 28, 1987. Photographed above speaking at Holy Trinity Church of Ireland.

Please send any comments, photo information, names or stories, to fethardnews@gmail.com

Fethard News
Comments or items for inclusion on this website can be emailed to fethardnews@gmail.com or delivered by hand to Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard.