Clocks go back this weekend!
Don't forget the clocks will go back by one hour at 2am on Sunday, October 27. This will mean an extra hour in bed. Clocks on smart phones should update themselves automatically, but older analogue clocks need changing manually.

Fethard Newsletter celebrates 60th anniversary with pride

Taking part in the Annual Pilgrimage to the Holy Year Cross on Slievenamon on Saturday, August 15, 1998 , the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.

Sixty years ago, the first ever Fethard & Killusty Emigrants Newsletter was prepared by members of the local Legion of Mary and posted to parish emigrants with the following introduction:

“This Newsletter (1959) comes to you our brothers and sisters who have found it necessary to leave home so as to obtain employment. This is our first effort at sending a Newsletter to you. We hope that its contents will be of interest to you all as we send news of varied societies etc., which are working in our parish and some general news of the parish for the past year.”

First Newsletter found in London
The late Pat Shine, formerly from Crampscastle, mentioned in 1998 that he came across an old Newsletter at his home in London. Some days later we received the Newsletter by post, which, on closer scrutiny, discovered it was the first emigrants' newsletter published. It featured events that happened in 1959 so we concluded that the Newsletter was prepared in 1959 and posted sometime around Christmas 1959 and January 1960.

Prior to this, the only recollections of the first production were recalled by the late Don Byard in October 1995, when he explained the actual mechanics of how the production was printed at that time. Don unfortunately died suddenly three months later, on February 24, 1996, and never got to know a ‘First Newsletter’ printed in 1959 still existed.

In Don’s newsletter article published in 1996, he recalled that the document was made up of two typed pages consisting of a short introduction along with some brief notes from local clubs and a list of Births, Marriages and Deaths over the past year in the parish of Fethard and Killusty.

The original draft was in longhand and consisted of three foolscap pages which were typed on to the old wax type Gestetner Stencils. This task was completed by Joan Fergus from Cashel Road, Fethard, and was typed up at her workplace, the office of Joe Coffey, Engineer, Burke Street, Fethard. This operation had to be completed without typing errors as the facility for correcting such stencils had not yet come on the market, and the whole document had to be typed without a ribbon with a very even pressure so as to ‘cut the stencil’ evenly. The next stage of the production process brings back memories of Gutenberg and his early printing press as the copier used for reproducing the finished product was more akin to a screen-printing process than any of the later Ink Gestetner copiers which were so common up to the seventies.

The finished wax stencil had to be ‘stuck’ to the screen with ink and we were advised by the local expert on this process, the late Paddy McLellan, who had used this temperamental machine widely for instant reproduction of Non Stop Draw Results when fundraising was carried out for building the Monastery. The trick was to get the stencil to adhere to the screen without a wrinkle as otherwise a whole page of text was in danger. As the ‘presses rolled’ the mess really began. Each page had to be inserted individually and the inked roller passed over the screen and then the finished page carefully removed and left to dry for almost a day. Thus it was that the desks of a classroom in the Patrician Secondary School were covered with newspapers on which all the sheets were slowly drying. The first edition consisted of two and half pages of which about one hundred copies were produced. Because of the density of the ink used it was not possible to use both sides of the page. Even such common day items as a small stapler were rare in those days and again one was borrowed from Joe Coffey for stapling the pages together.

Costs for the original production were minimal and the whole project was funded from Legion funds. Even postage was in old pence and the task of fund raising for a modern production had not yet to be faced. Sadly, Don recalled, “I have no copy of that first primitive effort in my possession, but memories are almost as indelible as the ink used in its production.”

So, friends, as you read through this year’s Newsletter, which charts another year of life in Fethard, spare a thought for all the smudgy and ink-stained fingers that dabbled with enthusiasm over those first pages some sixty years ago.

U14 County Title for St. Rita's Camogie Club

Mary Ann Fitzgerald (Captain) receiving the U14 County Shield from Carmel Harkin (left).

Well done to St. Rita’s U14 Camogie team, Fethard, who won the County U14 B Shield Final against Cashel on Saturday, October 19. The girls were up against a very strong Cashel team but held out to win on a score line of 1-8 to 1-7. Thanks to Sandra Spillane, Chris Foley and Micheál Spillane for all the work they have put in with this team throughout the year. Their effort and commitment was very evident last Saturday.


St. Rita’s U14 Camogie team, Fethard, who won the County U14 B Shield Final against Cashel on Saturday, October 19.

We would like to wish best of luck to St. Rita’s Junior B team, who take on Lorrha in the County Final next Saturday, October 26, at 12 noon in the Ragg Camogie Grounds and our U16 team who take on Ballina in the U16 County league final on Monday, October 26, at 1pm. Five of our camogie girls will take the field for both county finals next weekend. We appeal to all our supporters to come to the Ragg and support both teams.

Table Quiz at Burkes Bridge Bar
A Table Quiz will be held in Burke’s Bridge Bar, Fethard, on Friday, November 8, at 9pm, fundraising for a trip to Kolkata organised in aid of The Hope Foundation. For further details contact Helena O'Shea or Aobh O’Shea at 083 4803000. €20 per table and lots of spot prizes on the night.

Memorial Day for Road Traffic Victims
Sunday, November 17, is United Nations Memorial Day for Road Traffic Victims. To mark the occasion a special service will take place at 11.30am in the Augustinian Abbey, Fethard. All are welcome especially those who have in any way been touched by road traffic tragedy.

Social dancing at Fethard Ballroom
Fethard Ballroom continues its social dancing on Sunday, October 27, to the music of ‘Muriel O’Connor and Fran Curry’. All are welcome to come along and enjoy a great night’s entertainment and social dancing from 9pm to midnight. Admission is €10, which includes tea and cakes. For further information or for booking the ballroom, contact Eileen Coady, Tel: 086 0776420, Email: eileencoady@hotmail.com

The Last Days of Bridget Cleary
Clonmel Historical and Archaeological Society will host a lecture ‘The Last Days of Bridget Cleary: A Local Perspective’, by Michael Power, on Monday, October 21, at 8.15pm sharp in the Main Guard, Clonmel. Admission: Members €5 and Non-Members €7.

Christmas Flower Demonstration
A Christmas Flower Demonstration by Mandy Quigley of ‘Fethard Flowers by Mandy’ will take place on Thursday, December 5, at Slievenamon Golf Club, at 7.30pm. Admission is €10 and tickets are available from Slievenamon Golf Club. Refreshments and raffle on the night.

Fethard Bridge Club Results
On Wednesday October 9, we played for sponsored prizes and the results were: 1st Nett, Carol Kenny and Gemma Burke (winners of sponsored prize); 2nd Nett, Margaret Slattery and Mike Burke; 3rd Nett, Marie Delaney and Ann O'Dea; 1st Gross, Monica Anglim and Betty Walsh; 2nd Gross, Berney Myles and Alice Quinn; 3rd Gross, Rita Kane and Kay St. John.

This week we play for Halloween prizes and on November we play the first round of the Player of the Year. Bridge starts at 7.15pm each Wednesday. Anyone looking for a partner contact Gemma Burke 086-6064148.

FAI Futsal Competition in Tipperary Town

Fethard Patrician Presentation First Year girls’ team who played in the FAI Futsal Blitz held in the Canon Hayes Recreation Centre in Tipperary Town against Coláiste Dún Iascaigh, St Annes and St Ailbhes .

On Wednesday, October 16, Fethard Patrician Presentation First Year girls and boys played in the FAI Futsal Blitz held in the Canon Hayes Recreation Centre in Tipperary Town. The girls’ group was made up of four teams: Coláiste Dún Iascaigh, St Annes, St Ailbhes and Patrician Presentation Secondary School. The girls displayed great skills in each match, with goals coming from their captain Lucy Kenny. Rebekah Cuddihy, Aoibheann Collum, Ava Gorey and Emily Spillane also had impressive scores. The girls really enjoyed the day.

The girls team consisted of: Emily Spillane, Kiera Daniels, Aoibheann Collum, Aoife Harrington, Rebekah Cuddihy, Ava Gorey, Lucy Kenny, Amy Costin, Zoe Prout and Aílíse Fitzgerald.

Fethard Patrician Presentation First Year boys who played in the FAI Futsal Blitz held in the Canon Hayes Recreation Centre in Tipperary Town with wins over Edmund Rice College, Coláiste Dún Iascaigh and Abbey School Tipperary Town.

The boys’ team was also very impressive. There was a great display by captain Liam Kiely. Oisín Ryan, Jake Fox, Nestor Kashuba, Haydyn Fleming also had excellent performances supported by Robert Thompson, William McCarthy and Jay Dunne Clarke to become runners up in the futsal competition. This is a massive achievement for our First-Year boys with wins over Edmund Rice College, Coláiste Dún Iascaigh and Abbey School Tipperary Town.

Futsal is an indoor version of association football. It is played between two teams of five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper, and up to seven substitutes per team. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a hard-court surface delimited by lines - walls or boards are not used. A smaller ball with less bounce is also used. The rules of futsal create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity and technique, as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

Well done to both teams. A great day was had by all and well done to the local FAI officers for running a fantastic competition.

U19 Soccer Team march on in the Munster Championship
Last Thursday the Patrician Presentation Secondary Under 19 School Boys’ team played St Ailbhe’s in Tipperary Town in what was essentially a must win game. The prize on offer was a place in the last 14 of Munster. This was excellently achieved on the day with a superb display of skill and determination.

The game began in a whirlwind with both sides keen to assert their dominance on proceedings. After a tight first twenty minutes opening, Darragh Hurley opened the scoring with a superb headed goal from a corner kick. Luke Allen made it two-nil within two minutes with a peach of a volley. After that St Ailbhe’s were forced to push more players into attack which left them somewhat open at the back. The Patrician Presentation team capitalised emphatically on this with Nevan Healy, Robert Hackett and man of the match Dara O'Meara finding the net on numerous occasions. And so we march on to the last 14 in Munster. Congratulations to all involved.

Congratulations
Congratulations to the management, players and all our students involved in the Under 14 Camogie Final last weekend with an impressive win over Cashel.

Emigrants Newsletter – thanks for your generosity
A huge ‘Thank You’ for all who contributed to the Fethard & Killusty Emigrants’ Church Gate Collection last weekend. A total of €1,290 was collected for which we are most grateful. Anyone who still wants to donate and be acknowledged in this year’s publication can do so by contacting Carmel Rice, Brookhill, Fethard, or Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard, or alternatively by Credit Card or PayPal online at www.fethard.com/donate/ All donations of €10 and over will be acknowledged in this year’s Newsletter.

Last call for reports, articles and photographs
We remind those preparing club or organisation reports or individuals preparing articles, that the deadline is fast approaching and after which, we can’t guarantee inclusion due to limited space and postal cost restrictions.

You can also make a secure donation by Credit Card or PayPal by clicking the 'DONATE' link below.

New Addresses
If you have relatives abroad that you wish to receive the newsletter you can also send us their address by email to: emigrantsnewsletter@gmail.com or hand them in to Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, or Carmel Rice, Brookhill, Fethard.

Fethard & Killusty Community Lotto
The numbers drawn on Wednesday, October 16, were: 3, 9, 10 and 13. There was no jackpot winner and two ‘Match Three’ winners who received €75 each: Marco Sabatini, Main Street, Fethard; and Mary Sayers, Crampscastle, Fethard.

The following three ‘Lucky Dip’ winners received €50 each: Mairead Fallon, Killenaule; Terese Kate Murphy, Coleman, Fethard; and Tom Purcell, Burke Street, Fethard.

Next week’s draw takes place on Wednesday, October 23. The Jackpot is €10,000 and the Jackpot seller’s prize is €1,000. All proceeds go towards community projects in Fethard, and we thank you for your on-going support.

GAA Sports Development Lotto
The numbers drawn on Friday, October 18, were: 6, 10, 20 and 31. There was no jackpot winner and one ‘match three’ winner who received €100 each: Monica Pollard, Rocklow Road, Fethard.

The next draw takes place on Friday, October 25, in Burke’s Bar at 7.30pm, when the jackpot is €23,700 and the seller's prize is €1,000.

The committee of Fethard GAA/Sports Centre Development Lotto would like to thank all our supporters near and far who participate in our weekly lotto draw. The funds raised are used to promote sport in the local community.

Evening with The Choirs at Old St. Mary's Church, Clonmel

Christmas Shoebox Appeal 2019

The Christmas Shoebox Appeal is an Irish project that promises to get your 'Christmas Shoebox' into the hands of a needy child in Eastern Europe. All they ask is for you to fill a shoebox with a range of simple Christmas gifts, and drop it off at your local drop off point at Centra, Fethard, or Monica Pollard, Rocklow Road, up and including Friday, November 8, 2019. All you need to do is get an average size shoebox (or a plastic storage container would also be great), and wrap it with Christmas paper. If anyone would like a prepared box ready to fill, please contact Monica Pollard Tel: 087 1258591 or Joan O'Donohoe, Tirry Community Centre, Barrack Street, Fethard Tel: 052 6131000.

Choose who you'd like to receive your gift – a boy or a girl, in one of three age groups: 2-4 years, 5-9 years or 10-14 years. For further information contact Monica Pollard, at Centra Foodmarket, Fethard, or by Tel: 087 1258591.

Some photographs taken in and about our area twenty-five years ago . . .


Pat O’Gorman (centre) pictured in Fethard after his family arranged a surprise visit to his native town. Pat worked at Rice’s farm in Brookhill, Fethard, until he was 17 years of age, he then left for England and wasn't back home since. On his arrival met many of his old friends and neighbours and was also brought on a tour of the farm where he worked and the house where he lived. L to R: Mrs. Susan Carol Rogers, Pamela and Pat O’Gorman, Janice Maureen May (daughter), Dermot Rice, Brookhill, and Chris Nevin, proprietor of The Gateway B&B where he stayed while in Fethard. (Photograph taken May 26, 1994) .


Two local lads on a bicycle made for two cycling on Main Street, Fethard on June 6, 1994.


Fr. Denis Shanahan and Mrs Frances Harrington pictured with the six boys who received their First Holy Communion after Sunday Mass in Killusty on June 12, 1994.


Photograph taken from Fethard Ballroom balcony of a large crowd at 'The Paddies' during the London-Fethard Reunion Festival Dance held on June 24, 1994.


Community Council chairman Bernard Walsh presenting award and bouquet of flowers to Ann-Marie O’Meara, Fethard, who was chosen as the 1994 Festival Queen at the Fethard-Killusty London Reunion Festival Dance in Fethard Ballroom on June 24, 1994.


Together again after 25 years are these Fethard Patrician Presentation School classmates pictured at their Leaving Cert Class of 1969 Reunion held on June 25, 1994, after taking part in a tour of the old and new secondary school in Fethard. Back L to R: Michael Smith, Martin O’Mahoney, Vincent Woodlock, Jimmy Hayes, Michael O’Sullivan and Abe Kennedy. Middle: Kathleen (Keane) Maher, Carol Cross, Peggy (Delahunty) Fox, Ann (Tierney) Boyle, Seamus Maher, Frances (O’Flynn) Ryan, Eva (Hackett) O’Keeffe, Patsy (Sayers) Kirwan. Front: Gemma (Kenny) Burke, Matthew Tynan, Anne (Shelly) Fortune, Gerry O’Riordan and Patricia (O’Connor) Clear.


Celebrating their 50 anniversary on June 26, 1994, were the members of Fethard Macra Na Feirme club and to mark the occasion their entry in the 1994 Fancy Dress Parade won the ‘Best Group’ award.


Members of Juvenile GAA Club photographed at Fethard Killusty London Reunion Festival Fancy Dress Parade held in Fethard on June 26, 1994.


For Facebook members, many of these photos are also published on Fethard Faces and Places from the Past page. This Facebook page is used for sharing old Fethard photographs with members of the group and is open to anyone interested in joining.

Fethard News
Items for inclusion on this website and on the weekly Fethard News page on The Nationalist can be emailed before noon on Mondays to fethardnews@gmail.com or delivered by hand to Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard.