Christmas Bazaar
Fethard & District Day Care Centre will hold their annual ‘Christmas Bazaar ‘in the Tirry Centre on Thursday, November 27, from 11am. In conjunction with the bazaar we are holding a monster raffle and a cake sale. Refreshments will be served. All donations gratefully accepted. Please come along and support our fundraiser.

Died Recently
The death has occurred suddenly on Thursday, November 13, 2014, of John Joe White, Rathkenny, Drangan. John Joe, pre deceased by his wife Mary (nee Donovan) and his daughter Gabrielle, deeply regretted and sadly missed by his family, his daughters Geraldine and Catherine, his sons John and Laurence, his sister Rose, grandchildren, great grandchildren and extended family.

Reposing at McCarthy's Funeral Home this Saturday from 5 pm to 7.45 pm. Funeral to arrive at the Augustinian Abbey, Fethard at 8pm. Funeral Mass on Sunday at 1pm followed by burial in Drangan Churchyard. May he rest in peace.

Patrician Presentation Awards Day

Special Guest, Eoin Kelly, presenting the Padraig Pearse Award (Best Junior Cert Irish, History and English) to Sadhbh Horan, Tullamaine. L to R: Eoin Kelly, Sadhbh Horan and Mr. Michael O'Sullivan (Principal).

On Friday, October 24, Patrician Presentation School Community, its Board of Management, Parents’ Association, and invited parents gathered for the school’s Annual Awards’ Ceremony. The event lauds and honours the many achievements of our students in the school year 2013-2014. Mr Michael O’Sullivan welcomed all to the Awards Day and congratulated all the Prize Winners and their parents and said that he is extremely proud of the school, the teachers and the pupils.


Sue Anne O'Donnell presenting the first Adam O’Donnell T.Y. Award to Louise Fitzgerald, Clerihan, in memory of her late son and past pupil, Adam.

The guest speaker on the day was star Tipperary senior hurler, Eoin Kelly, who was very warmly welcomed by all present. Eoin reminded the pupils that actions speak louder than words and urged them to go to Mass and to keep the faith. He went on to speak of the similarities which he sees between sport, school, and work where honesty, positivity, leadership and discipline are concerned. Finally Eoin said, that hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard and that if the pupils put in the work they will reap the rewards of their labours.
The prizewinners were as follows: Student of the Year awards: Amy Byrne, Lisronagh (1st-2nd Year); Mark Hayde, Saucestown (2nd-3rd Year); Eoghan Hurley, Fethard (5th-6th Year). Bishop Delany Award for Best Leaving Cert Results 2014 – Michelle Walsh, Killusty (550 Points); Timmy O’Connor ‘Spirit of the School Award’ – Lucy Whyte, Coleman; Adam O’Donnell T.Y. Award – Louise Fitzgerald, Clerihan; Padraig Pearse Award (Best Junior Cert Irish, History and English) – Sadhbh Horan, Tullamaine; Paddy Broderick Award (Junior Cert Geography) – Sarah O’Donnell, Grangebeg; Ms Marian Gilpin (Literature, Arts and Music) Award – Orla Walsh, Katie Whyte and Louise Fitzgerald (Junk Kouture 2014 Finalists); Fethard Quill Awards – Junior Section, Alan Larkin, Kiltinan, and Senior Section, Timmy Hurley, Fethard; Sports Awards (presented by Mr John Palmer, AIB and sponsored by AIB) – Megan Coen, Fethard and Keith Cronin, Coleman.


Mary O'Connor, daughter of the late Timmy O'Connor presenting the first Timmy O’Connor ‘Spirit of the School Award’ to Lucy Whyte, Coleman. The late Timmy was Deputy Principal of the school up to his retirement in 1988.

Student Council Certificates were presented to 2nd Year students Lucy Whyte, Coleman and Malachy Brett, Tullamaine; 3rd Year students Amye O’Donovan, Fethard, and Mark Hayde, Saucestown; 4th Year students Emily Whyte, Clerihan and Dylan Fenlon, Lisronagh; 5th Year students Orla Walsh, Killusty and Keith Cronin, Coleman; 6th Year students Niamh Morrissey, Cloneen and Thomas Channon, Lisronagh. Senior Mentors certificates were presented to Orla Walsh, Killusty; Katie Whyte, Coleman; Annie Prout, Derryluskin; and Louise Fitzgerald, Clerihan. Attendance and Punctuality Certificates to Lucy Whyte, Coleman (1st–2nd Year); Shauna O’Neill, Lisronagh (2nd–3rd Year); Emma Cronin, Coleman (3rd–4th Year); Katie Whyte, Coleman (TY–5th Year); Adam Fitzgerald, Fethard (5th–6th Year).


Special Guest, Eoin Kelly, presenting the Bishop Delany Award for Best Leaving Cert Results 2014 to Michelle Walsh, Killusty (550 Points).

Special Achievements Awards were presented to: Sadhbh Horan, Tullamaine (Art) and Cassie Needham, Fethard (Art); and Dylan Fenlon, Lisronagh (Woodwork). Great Fethard ‘Bake Off’ awards to Carly Tobin (Junior Section) and Orla Walsh (Senior Section). Well done to all our Award Winners.

St. Vincent de Paul assistance
Any person requiring St. Vincent de Paul assistance for Christmas please find application forms at the back of both churches. Please return completed forms to any member before Sunday, November 30.
Our annual collection will take place on the weekend of December 6 and 7, and as we rely completely on local donations we would ask for your continued generous support. If you are around that weekend you can still donate by mail to our treasurer, Vincent Doocey, Abbey Road, Fethard. Receipts will be issued on request. Very many thanks.

Creative Writing Workshop at Crocanoir
Poet and novelist John MacKenna (whose new novel Joseph has just been published) will lead a weekend workshop at Crocanoir, Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th November, that looks at the idea of finding life and poems and stories in the quiet time, the time of darkness - the month of November! Drawing on tales and memories from childhood, adolescence and adulthood - memories related to the month when everything seems asleep - the workshop will bring to light and life the fireside stories of the things that go bump in the darkness. A weekend of fun, remembering and writing. Contact John at 086-8907329 for further details.

New floodlighting for community sportsfield
Fethard & District Rugby Club is raising funds to go towards the new pitch floodlighting at the Community Sportsfield. The lights are due to be installed during November at a cost of over €90,000 and will be a major asset for all who enjoy sport in our community. On Friday night, November 28, the Club will hold a table quiz at McCormack's Ardagh House in Killenaule at 9pm.

We are also continuing with our ‘Cash for Clobber’ event for the next few weeks. Please drop any items of unwanted clothing, footwear or soft toys up to the rugby club on Friday nights during training, or contact Alice 086 0612306 or Mary 086 1688158. Many thanks for your generous support.

Social Dancing at Fethard Ballroom
Dancing at Fethard Ballroom on this coming Sunday night, November 16, to the music of ‘Michael & Breege’. Dancing 9pm to midnight and admission is €8 which includes tea and cakes.

Fethard Scouts thank you
Many thanks to all who contributed to our Annual Church Gate Collection last weekend which amounted to €1,165, for which we are most grateful.

Fethard Athletic Club
Fethard Athletic Club would like to thank all who contributed to our recent church gate collection where we raised just over €800. Your generosity will help to keep the club up and running in the local community and is sincerely appreciated.

Our ‘Santa Run’ is the club's next fixture on Sunday, December 21, where we welcome walkers, joggers, runners and of course, children in buggies. Each year it proves to be a really festive occasion to help get us all in the mood for Christmas, so come along and enjoy a lovely afternoon.

Also the club's Christmas night out will again be held in Clonacody House on Friday December 12. We had a fantastic night last year so hopefully you can all make it again, partners welcome also.

Fethard Bridge Club
The results of our game on Wednesday, October 22 were: 1st Gross, Berney Myles and Alice Quinn; 2nd Gross, Nell Broderick and David O’Meara; 3rd Gross, Carol Kenny and Gemma Burke. 1st Nett, Margaret Slattery and Betty Walsh; 2nd Nett, Marie Delaney and Noreen Evans; 3rd Nett, Hayes and Teresa O’Brien.

Fr. Lazarus OSA will say Mass for deceased members of the bridge club this Wednesday, November 12, at 6.45pm.

Next Wednesday, November 19 we play for the Gross Turkey prize. Please note that bridge now starts at 7.15pm sharp! If you are interested in learning bridge, come along to the Tirry Centre on Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm. Anyone looking for a partner contact Berney Myles at 6132038.

Fethard & Killusty Community Lotto
The numbers drawn on November 5 were: 7, 17, 24 and 30. We had no jackpot winner and one ‘Match Three’ winner who received €150: Helen Crotty, Killusty.

The three following ‘Lucky Dip’ winners received €50 each: Margaret Dunne, Ballycullen, Mullinahone; Dermot Darcy, St. Patrick's Place; and Joe Kenny (Online Ticket).

Next week’s draw takes place on Wednesday, November 12. The Jackpot is €10,000 and the Jackpot seller’s prize is €1,000. All proceeds go towards community work in Fethard, and we thank you for your on-going support.

Fethard GAA Sports Lotto
The numbers drawn on November 7 were 6, 11, 24 and 25. There was no jackpot winner and no match three winner so the following five drawn tickets received €30: Donna Keyes, Woodvale Walk; Justin Walsh, c/o Merrys Clonmel; Martin Burke, Main Street; Kaylin Quinn, c/o Merrys Clonmel; and Benny Morrissey, St Marys, Killenaule. The €50 Lucky Dip winner was: Matt O'Dwyer, Red City.
Next week’s Jackpot is €7,100 and the draw will take place in Fethard GAA Park on Friday, November 14, at 7pm. All are welcome. Thank you for your continued support.

November Cemetery Rosaries for the Holy Souls
Rosaries for the Holy Souls will be recited in the following cemeteries on Sunday, November 16: Rathcoole Cemetery at 2.45pm and Redcity Cemetery at 3.30pm. All are invited to come along and remember our loved ones who have passed on to their eternal reward.

Dr. Martin Mansergh speaks on The Peace Process

Dr. Martin Mansergh, who was intimately involved as special adviser to successive Irish governments with the working out of the ‘peace process’ in Northern Ireland will speak in Fethard on Friday, November 21, in the Convent Community Hall at 8pm. The peace process in Northern Ireland has very real repercussions and echoes for the whole of Ireland and across the full spectrum of our lives from politics and economics to culture and sport.

Dr Mansergh is one of the Government’s eleven person ‘Advisory Group on The Decade of Centenaries’, which is chaired by Dr Maurice Manning, Chancellor of The National University of Ireland. Many of the topics that were core to the recent Peace Process have their origins in the happenings of a hundred years ago and are still central to the governmental impasse that is tormenting the Stormont administration at this very minute.

Dr. Mansergh’s talk is definitely very opportune at this time and both his informed reflections on the past and his perspectives on the future are of more than just general interest. They are of very real importance, as the ‘peace process’ on the island of Ireland still has decades still left to run before the issues involved can be regarded purely as ‘history’.

His talk, entitled ‘The Peace Process –The Long Term Perspective’, is being hosted by Fethard Historical Society in the Convent Community Hall at 8pm on Friday, November 21. Admission, Members €3, Non-Members €5 and refreshments will be served. For those wishing to join the society membership can be paid on the night: Individual €7, Family €10, Students and Unwaged €5. All are very welcome to this important event.

Fethard Patrician Presentation Secondary School launch new website on Tipp FM
Tune in to Tipp FM Tuesday morning, November 11, from 11am to 1pm, when Tipp FM will broadcast live from Fethard Patrician Presentation Secondary School. The new school website will also be launched www.fethardsecondaryschool.ie and tickets for the school show 'Cinderella' will go on sale from the school at Tel: 052 6131572. The show will take place in the Abymill Theatre from December 5th to December 7th (Matinee on the Sunday, December 7th).

The late John Bradley
One of Ireland’s leading historian and for many years the great chronicler of Kilkenny – his native city - Mr John Bradley, historian and author died in his sleep early on the morning of Friday, November 7, 2014.


The late John Bradley (right) giving a walkabout in Fethard in June 1993

John will be fondly remembered in Fethard as the first historian, Director of the Urban Archaeology Survey at the time, to promote Fethard’s medieval significance when speaking at the ‘The Norman Festival Weekend’ held in Cahir Castle in August, 1986, said, “Fethard is, I would think, probably the most important small medieval town in Ireland without any doubt. Its preservation and its proper development as a historic town is a matter of national importance.”

Following the lecture, attended by Fethard locals Pat O’Shea, Martin O’Shea and Joe Kenny, John was approached and invited to speak in Fethard. This he did in June 1987 when he educated a large attendance on Fethard’s medieval importance and tourist potential during a walkabout of the town. John’s talk was instrumental in setting up a Fethard Historical Society the following year, 1988.

Guess who’s Dead?
Fethard will feature on RTÉ One television on this Thursday, November 13, at 10.15pm when Ardal O’Hanlon’s new series, ‘Guess Who's Dead’, pays a visit to Fethard.

The programme series features Ardal O’Hanlon traveling around Ireland trying to figure out what is behind our national obsession with death notices and going to funerals.

Fethard Players rehearse for ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’


Fethard Players are currently in rehearsal for their forthcoming production of a great comedy, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ by Joseph Kesselring. The play will commence in the Abymill Theatre on Monday, November 17, at 8.15pm and continue its run until Sunday, November 23, with the exception of Thursday night. Special admission price on Monday and Tuesday night at €10, all other performances admission is €15. Booking is open now at Fethard Post Office Tel: (052) 6131217.


Cast of Fethard Players photographed at rehearsal for their forthcoming comedy'Arsenic and Old Lace' which will be staged in the Abymill Theatre commencing Monday, November 17, for six nights. Booking at Fethard Post Office Tel: 052 6131217. Standing L to R: Ann Walsh, Anne Connolly, Liam O'Connor, Jimmy O'Sullivan, Colm McGrath, Tom Gilpin, Richard Hayes. Seated L to R: Marian Gilpin, Niamh Hayes and Mia Treacy. Also in the cast are Pat Brophy, Joe Hanley and Pat Dunne.


Producer Austin O'Flynn (left) directing cast members at rehearsal for Fethard Player's forthcoming production of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' which will commence a six night run in the Abymill Theatre on November 17. Booking at Fethard Post Office Tel: 052 6131217.

The play, produced by Austin O’Flynn, is a farcical comedy revolving around the Brewster family with the following cast: Abby Brewster played by Ann Walsh; The Rev. Dr. Harper by Marian Gilpin; Teddy Brewster by Liam O’Connor; Officer Brophy by Pat Brophy; Officer Klein by Richard Hayes; Martha Brewster by Ann Connolly; Elaine Harper by Niamh Hayes; Mortimer Brewster by Jimmy O’Sullivan; Mr. Gibbs by Joe Hanley; Jonathan Brewster by Pat Dunne; Dr. Einstein by Colm McGrath; Lieutenant Rooney by Tom Gilpin, and Ms Witherspoon by Mia Treacy.

Patrician Presentation School Awards 2014

Annual Newsletter Donation
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Fethard News
Items for inclusion on the weekly Fethard News page on The Nationalist can be emailed before noon on Mondays to news@fethard.com or delivered by hand to Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard.