Tipperary People and Places Series of lectures


The final lecture for the 2025-2026 Tipperary People and Places Series takes place next Tuesday, March 24, at 7pm in the gallery at The Source, Thurles. Dr Denis Marnane will deliver his talk: 'The Landlord, His Wife, The Parish Priest and a Tennis Player: A story of village folk, the Rice family of New Inn.' This is a free event and all are welcome.

Parish Church Lotto Draw Results
There was no jackpot winner in the Parish Lotto on Thursday, March 19, 2026. The numbers drawn were 3, 6, 13, and 15. The winner of the weekly draw for €30 was Caroline Harvey. Next week's draw takes place on Thursday, March 26, when the Jackpot is €5,000.

We are delighted with the support shown for our Parish Lotto, it is a fundraising initiative that is of great benefit to the parish. Please pass the word on and invite friends and family to take part. You can join, see the draw results, and details of how your support is making a big difference at: https://www.ourfundraiser.ie/org/fethardkillusty

GAA Sports Development Lotto Results
Fethard GAA Sports Lotto draw results for Tuesday, March 17, 2026, are as follows: the numbers drawn were: 4, 8, 28 and 31. We had no Jackpot winner and two Match 3 winners who received €75 each: Kenneth O'Donnell and Valerie O'Meara. One lucky dip winner received €100: Valerie Slattery. The next draw takes place on Tuesday, March 24, 2025, when the jackpot is €9,200.

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.

Progressive 25 Card Game at Fethard Ballroom

Social Dancing at Fethard Ballroom
Social Dancing continues at Fethard Ballroom on Sunday night, March 22, to the music of Muriel O'Connor and Fran Curry. All are welcome to come along and enjoy a terrific night’s social dancing from 8.30pm to 11.30pm. Admission is €10, which includes refreshments.

The Henry Girls back in the Abymill Theatre

Clonmel World Music Proudly Presents ‘The Henry Girls’ with special guest Sabrina Dina on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in the Abymill Theatre Fethard. Doors 7pm, show 7.30pm. Clonmel World Music is delighted to welcome back The Henry Girls, from Donegal, who are firm favourites among our audience.

The Henry Girls are three sisters - Karen, Lorna and Joleen, and between them they play harp, accordion, fiddle, ukelele, tin whistle and keyboard, as well as beautiful harmony singing that only sisters can achieve. The Henry Girls were brought up by music loving parents who introduced them to an eclectic array of sounds such as The Everly Brothers, The Bothy Band, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and Ella Fitzgerald as well being surrounded by traditional Irish music.

The girls have been playing music together since childhood but decided to go professional in 2010, and are now captivating audiences on worldwide stages having toured in Germany, America, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Austria and the UK. They have released three full length albums, to great critical acclaim. ‘Far Beyond the Stars’ is their third full length album. The sisters have toured and collaborated on various other music projects, most notably with Mary Black, Imelda May, Clannad, Sharon Shannon, The Hothouse Flowers, Donal Lunny, Altan and Dervish. The Henry Girls are renowned for their captivating, heart-warming and moving live performances.

We are delighted to also welcome Sabrina Dinan as special guest on the night. Sabrina is a singer songwriter from Co. Clare. She started playing guitar at age eleven. During that period of her life Sabrina was inspired by everything on the radio and listened obsessively with her sisters to everything ranging from Joni Mitchel to Wham.

Tickets for this great show are on sale now, from www.clonmelworldmusic.com  or direct from Gerry Lawless, on 086-3389619

An Taisce Spring Clean on Saturday, March 28

Please join Fethard Tidy Towns and Climate Action Group for the An Taisce Spring Clean on Saturday, March 28, at 10am. Meeting at Fr. Tirry Centre car park, Barrack Street. Gloves, vests, bags and litter pickers will be provided. Bring a friend along to help in this National Spring Clean.

Fethard 'Split The Cash' Community Draw

CLICK HERE 
to enter the next draw online!

Congratulations to Cathal Brett who won this week’s Community ‘Split the Cash’ draw for €177 on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Ticket was drawn by Pamela Sweeney. Thank you to everyone who supports our weekly draw. All money raised from this draw will be used to benefit our town.

Our next draw takes place on Thursday, March 26, 2026. Envelopes are €2 each or 3 for €5 and are available at the Tirry Community Centre, Kennys Centra Fethard, Lonergan's Bar, Fethard, and Butlers Off Licence, Fethard. CLICK HERE  to play online.

Fethard Bridge Club
On February 25 we held our very enjoyable charity night which was attended by visitors from other bridge clubs. All monies collected on the night are donated to Fethard charities. The club provided refreshments for the visitors while the results were being compiled. Club members also generously donated prizes for the winning pairs. The following is a list of the first ten prizewinners:

• 1st Gross Catherine and Tony Lonergan (Clonmel)
  
• 2nd Gross Eileen Moran and Marian Walsh (Clonmel)
  
• 3rd Gross Gemma Burke and Ann O'Dea
  
• 4th Gross Carmel Condon and Eileen Ryan
  
• 5th Gross Josephine Bulfin and Sean O'Dea (Killenaule)
  
• 6th Gross Bridie Ryan and Clare Fogarty (Clonmel)
  
• 7th Gross Eileen Frewen and Anna Cooke
  
• 8th Gross Noel O'Dwyer and Bill O'Sullivan
  
• 9th Gross Majella Smyth and Geraldine Meagher
  
• 10th Gross Dena Mulcahy and Bridget Cuddihy

Bridge continues every Wednesday evening at 7pm in Fethard Ballroom. New members welcome.

‘Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett- his life and times’

Section of the large attendance at the Fethard Historical Society's lecture on ‘Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett- his life and times’ by Vincent ‘Jasper’ Murphy held in the Convent Community Hall.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the Fethard Historical Society hosted a lecture on ‘Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett- his life and times’ by Vincent ‘Jasper’ Murphy in the Convent Community Hall. Terry Cunningham, Chairman, welcomed a crowd of over seventy people and thanked Vincent for coming along to share his comprehensive knowledge of Henry Kellett. Among the audience were Helen Carrigan and Cllr. Michael Brennan, of Clonacody House, the ancestral home of the Kelletts, purchased by the Carrigan family in 1937.


L to R: Liam Gleeson, Mary Healy, Vincent Murphy, Mary Hanrahan and Terry Cunningham.

Mary Hanrahan, M.C. for the evening introduced the guest speaker. “Vincent is, of course, well known locally as the proprietor of the renowned McCarthy’s Hotel, and as our local undertaker.  We are delighted to welcome him here tonight to talk about Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett as he has done extensive research on him. Vincent was also instrumental in discovering the exact location of the home of Maggie Maher, the Irish emigrant who worked as Emily Dickinson’s maid and saved her poems for posterity.”


L to R: Cecily Purcell, Vincent Murphy, Kate Murphy, Jenny Butler and Sarah Murphy.

Henry Kellett was born on November 2, 1806, in Clonacody House near Fethard. He left home at sixteen to join the British Navy, a surprising choice as his was a military family. He worked his way up to the rank of Vice-Admiral in a career that saw him travel around the globe. He served in the West Indies, then on hydrography surveys in Africa and along the coast of the Americas. He was involved in the First China Opium War, and subsequently served in Jamaica, Malta and China. Various places are named after him in Hong Kong, Washington, U.S.A. and the Canadian Arctic. Nowadays, he is most well-known for his command of the ship ‘The Resolute’ which was part of the flotilla sent to find the missing Lord Franklin expedition.

L to R: Catherine O'Flynn, Edwina Newport, Fr. Henry MacNamara OSA, Mary Hanrahan and Marian Fenton.

When the Resolute was decommissioned, Queen Victoria ordered that four desks be made from its timbers. One of those desks was presented to the then President of the United States of America, Rutherford Hayes. Known as the Resolute Desk, it was placed in the Oval Office by Jacqueline Kennedy during her restoration of the White House and it was the desk at which were taken so many iconic photographs of her husband, President John F. Kennedy. It has been retained in the Oval Office by all subsequent presidents, bar one.

L to R: Theresa O'Donnell, Margaret Lawlor and Willie O'Donnell.


L to R: Jorg Mille, Michael Mallon and Sandra McInerney.

Henry Kellett retired from the British Navy in 1871 and came back to live in Clonacody House. He never married and he died on 1st March 1975. He is buried in Fethard in the Holy Trinity Church of Ireland graveyard under a very simple grave slab as per his own instructions. He had also instructed that the wooden table from his ship’s cabin be placed on the grave, but it disintegrated over time and now only the grave slab remains.

L to R: Marian Fenton, Edwina Newport and Catherine Corcoran.


L to R: Ann Dwyer, Geraldine Mullins and Josephine O'Hagan.

Vincent also mentioned the Kellett Sledge Flag flown by Sir Henry Kellett during the search for the Lord Franklin ships. It was made of green silk and embroidered with a gold Irish harp reflecting Kellett’s heritage. It featured the Latin motto ‘Auxilium Ab Alto’ (help from above). The National Museum of the Royal Navy in England bought the flag in 2023 for £120,000, following a fundraising campaign supported by Michael Palin and Dan Snow.

L to R: Sean Aylward, Eamon Dwyer and Seamus Maher.


L to R: Vincent Murphy, Harvey Blackmore, and his father Robin Blackmore.

In an interesting postscript to the lecture, Mrs Cecily Purcell brought along an interesting artefact to show the audience- an ornately styled silver cup presented by the Kellett family, Clonacody, to the Clonmel Show Society in 1922, in memory of Captain Kellett, a nephew of the Vice-Admiral, who died tragically in a hunting accident. It is awarded each year for the best four-year-old hunter at the Clonmel Show.


L to R: Marian Goodbody, Cecily Purcell, Sue Perry and John Farrell. Cecily Purcell brought along an interesting artefact to show the audience- an ornately styled silver cup presented by the Kellett family, Clonacody, to the Clonmel Show Society in 1922, in memory of Captain Kellett, a nephew of the Vice-Admiral, who died tragically in a hunting accident. It is awarded each year for the best four-year-old hunter at the Clonmel Show.

The evening concluded with light refreshments, lots of lively discussion and a chance to view close up, the Kellett cup.

Enjoying a cup of tea and chat afterwards are L to R: Linda Furnell, Carl Kenny, Ger Boland, Ann O'Donnell and Pat O'Donnell.

What's On Clonmel – weekly guide to entertainment
Welcome to the online version of What’s On Clonmel, your weekly guide to events and entertainment. Find your copy in pubs and shops across town, or subscribe to receive it in your inbox. Now you can also browse and submit events in our interactive calendar!

Faces and Places from the Past
This week we look back to a selection of photographs from the 'Kenny Collection' that were gathered over the years. We invite comments and further information or corrections if possible. We invite people to let us know any names, or any other information that we can add to our files for future generations. If anyone can help us, please do and send any comments, photo information, names, to fethardnews@gmail.com

Triple Wedding in Fethard – Three couples were married in Holy Trinity Church, Fethard, on Saturday morning, November 26, 1955. L to R: Thomas Maher, son of Michael and the late Mrs Maher, Coolanure, and Teresa Anglim, daughter of the late Mrs and William Anglim; John O’Donnell, son of Mrs and the late Edward O’Donnell, Slanestown, and Margaret Ryan, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Ryan, Leicester, England; Edward Fleming, son of the late Mr Edward Fleming, and Mrs Fleming, Kilnockin, and Mary Kelly, daughter of Mrs and Christopher Kelly, Clonbrogan, Moyglass.


Killusy Pony Show 1970


Town Wall Renovations at North Gate Fethard (July 1963)
Fethard Gateway was Dangerous. Having stood for 600 years, North Gate at Rocklow Road – the only surviving gate of the old walls of Fethard had begun to crumble. The top of the 35-foot structure had been found to be in a dangerous condition and County Council workers set about the removal of several feet of stonework. The advent of the demolition crew caused a misunderstanding in Fethard, where residents, assuming that the treasured local monument was to be knocked down, indignantly protested. The news, however, that it was only the top portion which was being removed and that it was planned later to restore this, reassured those concerned. During the course of the work a plumb line, which is estimated to be over 600 years old, was found embedded in the masonry. Photographed above are council employees engaged in the delicate work of demolishing the top portion of the old Fethard gate. Photo includes: Johnny Cummins (horse and cart), working on wall are Paddy Dahill, Matt Morrissey (tradesman from Ballypatrick) and Dickie Butler, Kerry Street.


First elected committee of Fethard Patrician Brothers’ Past Pupils’ Union on February 16, 1970. Back L to R: Michael O’Sullivan, Hugh Walsh, Michael McCarthy, Tony Hanrahan, Jack Kenrick, Percy O’Flynn, Joe Hayes, Tommy Carey, Dick Fitzgerald. Front L to R: Paddy McCormack,Bro Stephen Delaney, Denis Hayes (President), John Whyte (Treasurer), Timmy O’Connor (Secretary) and Bro Luke Moroney.


Fethard Festival entry 'Welsh Girls' in the Fancy Dress Parade, from the early 1960s L to R: Bridget Grant, Kathleen Keane, Anne Shelly, Marie Lawless, Helena Quinlan, Anne O'Donnell, Sheila Gorey, Gemma Kenny. Kneeling: Joan Dargan and Joan Coffey


Fethard Festival Fancy Dress Parade early b1960s. L to R: Mary Coffey, Mary McCarthy, ? McCormack, Theresa Leahy, ?, Jean O’Brien, Peg Sayers, Patsy Quinlan, Easter Ryan and Ann Smith.


Fethard Players at rehearsal for 'When We Were Married' performed in the Town Hall from Sunday, January 30 to Sunday, February 6, 1972. The play was produced by Austin O'Flynn with the following cast: Angela Dillon, Danny Ryan, Ann Connolly, Frances Hayes, Pat Barrett, Michael Woodlock, Danny Kane, Carmel Rice, Percy O'Flynn, Eddie O'Sullivan, Goldie Newport, Geraldine Arnold, Betty Holohan and Jerry Skehan.

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

Fethard News for inclusion on this website
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.

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