Saturday and Sunday seemed to be a popular day for First Communion and 15 children from the parish had their big day on Saturday in Clonmacnois.
Creagh school had a session on Saturday and Sunday to allow families find hotels and restaurants etc to cater for the celebrations.
Moore parish had Confirmation yesterday.
The Shannonbridge Active Retirement group meet on tomorrow morning after Mass at 10.30am.
Weather is back to lovely and grand after a few showers in the past few days.

Marietta Oberhuber is a well known fisherwoman around Shannonbridge. Her husband works at constructing the new power plant and they live in Michael and Madges house in Moore. Marietta has taken to the sport of pike fishing and was pleased to tell us that she caught her biggest one ever last week which measured 86 Cm and weighed about 14 pounds.She is e-mailing a photo to the weekly coarse and pike report that can be found under www.shannon-fishery-board.ie
Fishing continued good this week with bream.tench, roach, hybrids and pike and perch being caught and most released alive again.
Bob Tilley and Kevin Boltz from Bristol finish their annual visit today and fished Cappaleitra backwater a few times.Best bag 62 lbs
Bob cannot understand why other mates that used to come to Shannonbidge now prefer to stay at home and fish from 04.30 AM to 09.30 PM

The Shannonbridge football team were disappointed last evening when they were beaten by Ferbane by three points at their game in Clara. This more or less knocks them out of this years championships. Ferbane tried to have the game postponed and there was a rumour that seven of the Ferbane fifteen were due to play a match earlier in the day for the Ferbane soccer club Gallen United
Talking to a Polish construction worker yesterday and asked him did he fish. Was surprized when he said that he played tennis on the village tennis court with some of his workmates and some local people. Good to see the facility getting used.
Doggone-- A distraugh owner of a young black and white springer spaniel pup was busy putting up posters at the weekend. It appears he bough the young pup in Cloghan and when he got to his home near Ballinasloe the pup was missing.You can contact the owner at 090-9673994 should you see the nameless puppy.

Charles Carry tells us that progress is good on the construction of his brother Aidan's new house in Raghera Beag and the walls are now up to the lentils. Good to hear that Aidan is using local craft and trade such as blocklayer plasterer carpenter glazer and eplumbing and electric and tiler.Of course he is using Charles whenever he is free. Charles is working on the construction of the new east / west highway and so far they have reached Kilcock.When finished it will make it easier to get across the country but it will be a toll road.

Mary Margaret Reid always had the first roses to bloom and it is good to see that her cottage now Cora Kellys has the same roses in bloom.
Cottage lovers like Paulien might like to know that the cottage alongside Louis Darcy's on the Cloghan road and once known as Hollerans and then George Hynes and presently Gallahers is for sale with Rothwell Auctioneers in Ballinasloe.Tel 090-9642127.
Our Westlife group started cutting the grass on the roadside and embankment on the approach road from Ballinasloe and are full of vigour to get it looking well.All help is welcome. Noticed on Saturday at the funeral in Clonmacnois that Offaly Council are in the process of cutting the grass. Coming out from the graveyard there is a sign warning of a £9000 fine for littering so I picked up a brown bag and found three lovely postcards of Clonmacnois inside.

On Saturday Annie Price's husband Joe Greally was buried in Clonmacnois after his funeral Mass over in Galway and Annies sisters Lucy and Eileen and Ethel and Vera and brother Chris were all home for the funeral.
News this morning that well known GAA personality from Cloghan Michael Mc Intyre has died. Mick was in his mid nineties and was active right to the end. May they rest in peace.

On Saturday Michael and Susan Burke arrived in Shannonbridge with their children Catherine and Sean.They are in great form and father and son went fishing at 6.30 a.m. on Sunday morning fishing off the arches.Michael hooked a bream and had to play it across the river to land it in front of Macklins. Sean hooked and landed a fine two pound hybrid. Im sure that Martin will take them out in the boat for a spot of game fishing.

Great to hear from Kate in Uganda and of course Sarah and Ciara in Sydney.Orla filled me in about the house sharing over the weekend.Kate will be delighted to hear that her parents went to Dublin on Saturday night to hear Mike Colin and Louise play support once more to Lukka Bloom which features a brother of Christy Moore and the bold Christy was at the concert and met the Shannonbridge trio afterwards.This time they played for thirty minutes and again sold any CD's they had.Did not hear any direct comment from the Shannonbridge support duo as yet.

After what seems a record period of unbroken weather the Weathermen forecast correctly and strong southerly winds brought almost welcome rain last evening. Farmers gardeners ad fishingfolk were among the welcoming party and Mary had it timed to a tee as she put in new plants last evening just hours before the rain.Today is clear but blustery winds are noew from the East.
Colin K has set off for Dublin last evening to continue a series of camera classes so be warned. He will also be linking up with Mike Thornhill and Louise to provide back up for another Lukka Bloom concert tomorrow night in Dublin. See Louise web under entertainment section.

Library night last evening clashed with the Ireland v Romania soccer challenge game in Dublin and of course the reappearance of Roy Keane in an Irish jersey. Ireland won by a single goal 1 - 0 and the library took a heavy beating with only one adult and one child attending.Hopefully things will be back to normal next week.

The Corncrake people at Crank House Banagher tell us that the number of corncrakes identified so far is 18 birds. You can contact them at 0509-51676.
Today the bad news that there was two dead swans near the bridge at Shannonbridge was passed on to Crank House who will pass on the news to the Swan Sanctuary office and the Wildlife office.
One swan is near the sewage outlet pipe and the second one is upstream from the bridge. Many fatalities have been caused by swans flying into the overhead cables but ESB have placed coloured cones on their cables which has helped to reduce accidents to swans.

There is a lesson to be learned from our Polish and Turkish friends presently working at the building of the new power plant.
Almost every one of them carries a shopping bag in their pocket. If we copied their example think of the combined effect it would have on the environment.
The sunshine seems to have had a knock off effect on fishing in the rivers and a number of anglers have tried the Grand Canal with surprizing results catchin bags of fish weighing from 40 to 60+ pounds in weight.

It continues to amaze us how holidaymakers return to the River Shannon with such consistency.Last night Ingrid Tode told us that they first came on a cruiser holiday in 1974 and have returned for 15 holidays since.Other years them have tried South America, the States and a variety of European and Asian countries but the Shannon keeps calling. This year they are spending two weeks using Silverline Cruisers in Banagher and then they are planning to visit Donegal for one week driving a motor home.Their business card features an attractive red and white lighthouse on the River Elbe which they purchased some years ago and can be seen at www.leuchtturm-elbe.de

Good news from Kate Thornhill that she arrived safely in Uganda and has written an e-mail home. Give her time to settle in and no doubt she will give us her impressions of Uganda over the next six months or so.
The brother Jim Killeen and his wife Maureen return to Chicago today after three weeks of exceptional weather.Mick John Togher and Brian from the barge took them on a cruise to Ballinasloe for their last day yesterday and Jim was fascinated with John Togher's recall going over people and events around Shannonbridge from over sixty years ago.

Sad news on yesterday;s paper of the death of Joe Greally in Streatham England.Joe was a native of Ballygar and was married to Annie Price Shannonbridge.They had two children Michael and Leslie.There will be a funeral Mass in Streatham on Thursday with burial in Ireland.May he rest in peace.

Heard that Tom Rafftery Garage in Clonfad had a weekend party from Fri til Sunday for the launch of the new Peugeot 407. Along for the occasion was ex Correen musician Bobby Kilkenny.
The new showrooms have been built with just some finishing off work remaining. Shannonbridge man Simon Hynes is in charge of the Stores and Paul Barnes is giving a spring clean to cars like you never dreamed of.

A visitor on Sunday was enquiring if there was a Steam or Vintage Rally about and on enquiry nobody had heard of any.Then later in the day about 15 Vintage tractors passed through Shannonbridge which were taking part in a fund raising drive for Crumlin Hospital in Dublin.Never saw a bucket.

The Shannonbridge/Doon Lotto Jackpot bit the dust on Monday night when our new postmaster Richie Brown choose the numbers 2, 11, 15,and 23 to collect a cool 3,600 Euros. Congratulations Richie. The new Jackpot next week will commence at £2000 and each week £200 will be added to it.

A welcome visitor in the area at present is Martin Roissler from Darmstait Germany whose Irish home was once the home of Master John Walsh in Clonfinlough.This time Martin has his mother along and she paid her first visit to Shannonbridge at the weekend. She promised to come along to hear Paudge perform on Wednesday night. Hope they enjoy their holiday.

Bits and pieces.Corncrake people told us today that they have 14 birds identified including one hovering between Morans Island and Boranagh. He had not heard of the ones above Clonmacnois but will check them out this evening.
Our man Padraig Harrington was defending his title in the German Open at weekend and had a putt to draw but missed.Came second.
Good to see Christy Mc Evoy from Clonfert in Shannonbridge yesterday.
First Communion is in Clonfinlough next Saturday at 12 noon. Hi.
Declan Price has resumed the fishing game and caught a load of skimmers on the backwater.He is presently repairing a fiber glass rod and is also on the Westlife group --see below.
Mick Coakley has been in Ferbane nursing home recently but is now back in Portiuncula.
See two tickets on sale for Thursday's friendly soccer game with Ireland and Romania as owner does not want to see a certain player in the green jersey.Keen to sell.
Weather continues to be mighty.
Had lady looking for a birdbox on Saturday from Dublin as one she bought last year now has a pair of bluetits nesting in it. Seems great tits only weigh between 0.5 and 0.8 Ounces which continues to fascinate me.
Shannonbridge Diner and Takeaway was closed at the weekend in preparation for new owners moving in this week.Many are hoping that Mags Hairdressers will remain.
It pays to walk Moby as proven by Ernie Barry from West Brom who is on holiday with George Stokes.Ernie is not a fisherman and walked Moby for two evenings. Then he had a go at fishing and caught two tench weighing 4.5 and 3.5 pounds.He has been hooked.

Moby and I missed out on the walk yesterday when brother Jim took Maureen his wife and our cousin Kaye on a trip to The Cut which is the name for the small canal a mile downstream from the bridge.The easiest way of getting to it is by crossing the stile at the old jetty and follow the river crossing three other stiles on the way.The first field contains the ruins of Rachra Castle which according to The Four Masters was demolished by O'Melaghlin and the English soldiers from Athlone barracks in 1557.After which a war broke out between Mac Coghlan, who owned the castle and O Melaghlin.Michael Reddy told us that some of the stones from the castle were used in the building of the walls for the Magazine. This field is known as The Magazine Field. The field also contains a fieldworks which was built as a defence against Napoleon c1806 to hide cannon guns.Note the little hill near the river came about when the river was deepened for navigation.The sewage works is fenced in and gives a discharge of water into the river which is attracted to fish.Through the stile into Borranagh which is a meadow of about 55 acres divided by marking stones.One two acre lot has been fenced off as required by REPS the agricultural regulator.This is an area favoured by the Corncrake and our walkers got a pleasant surprize when they got to The Cut as a Corncrake called out Crek-Crek about thirty feet from where they were standing. When taking this walk consider taking a bag for rubbish as birds are inclined to remove items from the bin as well as careless humans.

If you missed Mass in Shannonbridge at the weekend you might also have missed the Quotes on the Parish Newsletter.
- An exhaustive study shows that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes...Earl Wilson.
- If it weren't for heredity, most of us wouldn't be able to leave anything to our children....Doug Larson
- The man who seldom finds himself in hot water is the one with a wife, several daughters and one bathroom....Anon.
- A home is the place where part of the family waits until the others have returned with the car....Anon
By the way Westmeath beat Offaly by a single point at Croke Park.

Looks like Westlife is coming to Shannonbridge. Not the popgroup but a plan being prepared by a group of our older youth including Gerry,Greg,Dan,Morny,Mike and hopefully others to upgrade the view on the Western approach road from Ballinasloe by carrying out work on the embankment, shrubs and roadside.They would welcome others to join in the clean up and they are also casting an eye on the area around the new jetty as a follow up.This is great news and hope there plans go well for them.

The Winning Streak TV programme at the weekend had some local interest and everyone was delighted when Mrs Yvonne Kenny from Ballydangan scooped the first prize of a holiday home in Spain valued at £250,000. Congratulations and well done.

The Scottish born nun that used to work in Daycare in Portiuncula for many years paid on visit to Shannonbridge on Saturday to enjoy the sunshine.She recently celebrated her Golden Anniversary as a nun but tells us she joined up in England and was three years in preparation before taking her vows.She is looking forward to the completion of a new retirement home near the hospital in Brackernagh which will cater for about sixty nuns.Many of these nuns will be from the missions as well as Irish based nuns.Remember her name ? Sister Phil.

Our webmaster Mike Thornhill is into the diving and recently got a new Dry Suit which means you don't get wet in the water. On Saturday night he was eager to try it out. Before jumping into the Shannon near the cruiser mooring a swan that was swimming nearby approached right up to the bank maybe attracted by the hissing noises from the air tanks as the swan hissed a warning to clear off that this was its territory.
Mike has set up Kate with a link and she will do the odd bit of writing from Uganda. Kate leaves tomorrow and we wish her a safe journey.

Weather this week has been top drawer and the visiting anglers are having mixed luck.Water temperature has risen and bream, tench and roach are heading for maternity which are the backwaters and bays.Good fishing in Cappaleitra, Clonfert and Mickies Backwater. Feel that anglers should be more aware that fish are in spawn and should not use keepnets. Keepnets are lonk nets usually about three metres long that are placed in the water in front of the angler in which he places his catch.In the evening the keepnet is removed and the fish emptied out on the grass or onto a large sheet of plastic where they are either weighed or photographed or both.They are then released back alive into the water.How would you feel if you were a pregnant mother being placed in a tight net with maybe fifty or more pregnant mothers for up to twelve hours and then tossed out on a plastic sheet.

Declan Costelloe the Community Development Officer with West Offaly Partnership tells us that the next meeting of the West Offaly Community Forum will take place on Tuesday 25th May 2004 at 8.30pm in Rath Community Centre.
Agenda
1.Funding for the Community & Voluntary sector 2004.
- Applying for funding and drawing it down.
- Special emphasis on(1)"Supports for Voluntary & Community Groups" note closing date 31st May for West Offaly Enterprise Fund.(2) Lotto funding.
2.Update from Offaly Community Forum.
3.Creating linkages with Offaly Community Forum.
4.AOB
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT DECLAN AT CRANK HOUSE,BANAGHER.
Telephone 0509 51622

See on the pike and coarse fish Report section posted under www.shannon-fishery-board.ie that our visiting anglers are having good catches of fish and that they have a few photographs of their catches thanks to George Shadwell and Trevor Tarrant and their skill and of course their Digital Camera.The anglers seem to be concentrating on Correen Ford, Devenish Island, Brosna mouth and Meelick but I noticed this morning that Dave Stedford has his cruiser moored midway along Long Island upstream from the bridge.
Heard Ciara Macklin tell Pat last night that their dog did not have pups as yet. Moby will be so disappointed and we are not going to tell him.

Last evening Jim Maureen and yours truly set off to visit Clonfert and surrounding area.We went by Clononey Castle and Shannonharbour without stopping and crossed the bridge at Banagher to get to Our Lady of Clonfert Church where at 7pm people were already gathering for visitations and Mass at 8pm.There must have been 500 small candles lit in front of the altar housing the statue of Our Lady of Clonfert.Then we drove to Saint Brendans church nearby.The door was locked so we just looked at the main Archway over the door and looked at a few tombstones including Mansey Howes which we always pronounced Hough.We walked down to road to visit Emmanuel House with the ruins of the Bishop's Palace and Yew Walk on our left.Visited the large meeting/church building and the circular meditation chapel. There was a chorus of birds singing and there was a great peace around.Jim wanted to visit the old shooting grounds that Tom Coleman and he knew so well so we drove down the road that brings you to the railway line across from the power plant and he was trying to figure out some of the old ruined houses where Traceys and Mc Dermotts and Lucas and Comer and Howe families and others lived.Then it was on to my favourite church at Meelich which is the oldest working church in Ireland.Met some angling visitors on their way to have a look at the river nearby.Then home to hear Paudge Bennett and George Stokes singing The Fields of Athenry.
The Trip must have given Jim and Maureen the notion to visit Newgrange today and I would have gone along but was not contactable.

Moby took George Stokes and myself for a walk to the new jetty last evening and as we passed Cora's cottage which was once Reids we noticed that some of the lovely creeper has started to grow there again.By coincedence this morning Pat mentioned Mary Margaret Reid and how she used to keep her brothers suits immaculate by washing the suits in boiled ivy which was used long before the modern washing powders. Pat was using another Mary Margaret idea for cleaning fluff and dirt from a skirt which is to use a dampened nylon.
Checked on the other two birdboxes last evening but saw no sign of a bird.Must ask John Price to have a look.

Time flies and in another week Kathleen or Kate Thornhill will be off to Uganda to teach for six months.Ciara and Sarah will be joined by Kate as she has promised to send the odd update of Uganda whenever she gets near an Internet Cafe.Hope everything goes well for her and looking forward to hearing how Uganda is.

Great bit of excitement in Shannonbridge at lunchtime yesterday as police gave chase to four people in a car at high speed starting from Birr and passing through Shannonbridge and crossing the bridge . At Clonfad church the four turned right and ran into a police car which was blocking the road at Dermot Glennon Haulage. They tried to escape into Drumalga Wood but two were apprehended at once and the other two later. The police helicopter was in action. There were two men and two women involved.Tried to pick up more information on the midnight news but by then we were wiped off the map.

A great two weeks fishing holiday finishes today for Simon Preece and John Phillips from South Wales who came to Shannonbridge mainly for a pike fishing holiday but ended up in a wide variety of good fish being caught and released and good friendships being founded.Their best pike was 21.5 lbs with others weighing 18, 14, 12, 10,10 and many single figure ones.Best bream was 6.5 lbs, best perch 3.5 lbs,best tench 3 lbs and lots of good roach and hybrids.No wonder they have booked a return visit for next year staying with Patti Corbett at Rachra House.Catches from this area can be found under the Coarse and Pike report section at www.shannon-fishery-board.ie
Long time visitor to this area is George Stokes Leeds who arrived at the weekend and as well as catching fish sings a number of songs with his favourite being The Fields of Athenry.Hope Paudge Bennett gets him to sing tonight and Wednesday. Bet Lorraine from Pottstown would like to hear them. She is looking forward to hearing Ciara and Sarah talking Aussie for the next while.
Bit of Shannonbridge past played music in Shannonbridge when Noel Kirby from Castletown played his saxaphone. Noel was one time leader of The Kerbstones and as well as playing music in this area back in the early sixties he was one of the Mick Kirby contractors who built Saint Ciarans Park housing and the group of four houses opposite the church now occupied by Thornhills, Devines, Ryans and Keohanes.

Parish Newsletter yesterday told us that the Active Retirement Group will have their next get together on Tuesday 18th @10.30am after Mass, in the Hall.
Also has an interesting website www.babynamesofireland.com which has a wide selection of Irish names for boys and girls,with an explanation of their meaning and origin. Is there a hint there ?

Some months ago John Price - he of the Noel Keena/John Price pub smoking rooms fame was asked to throw an eye at the location of some bird nesting boxes in Killeen's garden and we are glad to report there is now a family of Blue Tits being reared in one of the boxes which he attached onto an old apple tree.
Went to Clonmacnois with Jim and Maureen on Friday evening to visit some family and friends graves.It was like walking through history as we searched for old friends last resting place. Just upstream from the cemetery we heard two corncrakes. One was on the Roscommon bank and the other in the callow land on the opposite Offaly side.Rang the corncrake people and left the message.

Golf hit the news big time in Shannonbridge at the weekend when two of our village golfers won the cups in Ballinasloe Golf Club.
Shane Kelly had a score of 73 Gross to win the Junior Scratch Cup.
Vincent Costelloe was the winner of the Intermediate Scratch Cup with a Gross of 80. Congratulations and well done to both.

Saturday the 15th May was Eurovision Song Contest night with the Irish entry getting seven points.Story going the rounds about our singer Chris Storan that he was seen doing 130MPH through a 30MPH area in an effort to gain 12 points.
It seemed it was a bad night for Louise,Colin and Mike Thornhill to play warm up for Luca Bloom in Dublin but people attending the concert said they played very well and no doubt Louise will tell you her feelings on her webpage under Entertainment section.
Fancy being sold out of CD's after the show.Aint that somethin'

Last evening at the library Ann Corbett and Patricia Coughlan were in charge of the bookwork when Paul Barnes from Clonfad arrived in with his two books and two bars of chocolate for the girls. Paul was telling us that he is now working with Tom Rafferty Motors who are right next door to him as Paul lives in the late Paddy Kelly's house on which the garage is built.He is kept busy cleaning and valeting cars and taking cars for their MOT tests.Paul was telling us about the new showroom that is being constructed by Liam Keena which will have space designated for all the different functions with office and canteen space upstairs.The origal showroom and workshop will be re-erected and used as a storage area.

Today is the sixth anniversary of the death of Frank Sinatra and was expecting Val Joyce on his Late Date radio programme last night to have a number of Frank's songs but he seemed to be celebrating the operetta composers Gilbert and Sullivan.Maybe tonight. He played a song sung by Ciaran Sheehan who is performing four concerts in Ireland next week. Maureen Killeen who is home from Chicago told us that Ciaran Sheehan's mother were both pregnant together for the first time and met in the hospital.Discussing names for babies Maureen had her mind to call hers Ciaran if it was a boy and Shannon if it was a girl. It was a girl and was christened Shannon. Mrs Sheehan's baby was born and she asked Maureen would she mind if she named her boy Ciaran.
And so it happened.

Tonight Shannonbridge Library open as usual from 7 to 9 pm and your support would be appreciated. You can help by either using the library yourself, encouraging other people to use it or byvolunteering to help run the library during the open hours.
There is a change in the system for writing to this webpage and Ciara and Sarah were caught out like yours truly by having their latest contribution pasted twice.
Good news for the girls.A couple who come down to Shannonbridge on Sunday and return on Monday evening tell us that if you are in Melbourne in Australia and interested in bar work then they have a good contact.

The Corncrakes have started to arrive.Brian who lives on the barge told us that on Tuesday night a corncrake singing kept him awake all night while berthed at The Cut downstream of the village bridge and Peter Howes from Basingstoke told us that he heard one calling while he was fishing at Clonfert.When we rang the Corncrake Help Desk 0509-51676 today , the girl Anita knew about the one at Clonfert backwater and one heard near the railway bridge downstream of the power plant but had not heard of Brian's bird. She said they will investigate it and so far 12 birds have been identified in the local callows with ten downstream of Shannonbridge and two upstream.Keep their phone number handy if you hear one.

Tuesday morning saw a full busload of the Shannonbridge Active Retirement group set off on an outing travelling through Loughrea and Gort on their way to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park with music for the journey from Joe the guitarist and Liam Keohane on tin whistle with almost everyone singing along in some fashion.I saw a woman sitting in front of me looking round to check what she was hearing.Hope it passed the test.Took about three hours travelling to reach Bunratty and there was a welcome stop at Gort for a break.There was an interesting tour of the castle and then a visit to the Folk Park nearby.There were eateries in the park or in Dirty Nellies pub.
Next it was onto Killaloe to see how people live beside the Shannon and time for shopping and eating again this time at The Lakeside Hotel or Mollies. Great that Mike Aine and Neal came along to see us away from home.For a change the bus came back through Nenagh and Limerick and the driver pointed out the house where Bing Crosby's housekeeper was born. Arrived home at 9.30.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day so Moby took Jim and Maureen who are home from Chicago and myself for a walk.He chose Ragherabeg - one of his favourites and when we crossed the bridge we were joined by a friendly golden labrador for the trip.The rivers fields and callows looked in prime condition as we used the footpath that brought us to the entrance to Ragherabeg.After the Burren trip we were concious of the wild flowers and shrubs in bloom.We counted about ten different flowers including primrose, cowslip,dandelion,daisy,crows foot,bluebells,wild crocus,and many more with no names but will the wild orchids in the Burren.We went to see Fergal and Linda Moran;s new home with an all round view.Back down again we met Adain Carry working on the site of his new house being build close to O'Briens old homestead.The foundations and ground floor are laid and Adain has arranged neat rows of blocks ready for the blocklayer.The old house is in poor condition but have no doubt Adain will transform it later.
We varied the return journey by crossing the hill at Frank Guinans house and visiting the Old Street where Vincent Darcy will be building his home.Less than a mile further on the bog road we took the Island Road and enden up at the river where the strem that runs from Jarlath Kennys house runs into the river.Looked at the Fortifications from the North view and came up the steps in front of the Fort resturant and home.
Felt on the walk that there is a need for a more active Tidy Town to re-emerge from somewhere.

Friday evening was runaway car evening in Shannonbridge. Somebody parked their car outside the priests house and left the handbrake off. Mary Killeen was dropping off the Alive paper in the church and was walking home thinking of people that like to have the paper dropped in. Suddenly there was a crash into the wall beside the gate of the church and as it was a holyman that owned the cr there immediately flowed out water due to the radiator being damaged.Mary was just feet away.
Friday evening Peter Howes arrived leading a party of 19 fishermen on their annual trip to Shannonbridge and Peter set a hard pace for the others by catching 35 large bream on Saturday.
Two pike anglers from Wales Simon Preece and John Phillips were delighted to catch a pike weighing over 21 lbs ( How do you type a half ?) on Friday and recorded it on their digital camera so we were all able to see Simon's catch from Devenish Island. On Saturday they caught a 14 pounder at Correen Ford on a blazing day and when they fetched their camera from the car the sun had wiped out the pike snap. So be warned.

Ciara and Sarah are doing an excellent job on their travel log and a file has been started of their reports to date.Heard Oliver Darcy asking for the folder the other night. Comments later.
Lorraine in Pottstown is enjoying your e-mails very much and showed them to Father Tom Duffy who declared Ciara quite a poet and Lorraine agrees. She does not know Colin Farrell. Shame.
Ken and Betty in California are also enjoying the update from South Africa as they were there a few times.They enjoyed a dinner at the Country Inn so much that they intend returning when they are next there.Find it under cybercapetown.com/Constantia if you want to have a look.

Jurgen De'hann from The /Netherlands was over for a friends wedding near Dublin and decided to spend some time to visit Ireland using campsites as his base.Previously he had done the Kerry bit and this time he headed for Galway, Connemara and Achill Island.The caravan and campsite located at Clonfinlough attracted him to this area.Jurgen had exceptionally good English and he explained that when he was a child his parents brought the family for five weeks each year to either England Scotland or Wales.Ireland was omitted.He plans on visiting Clonmacnois and the Clonfinlough Stone today and we were telling him about the Bog Village found near Fin Lough some years ago.He was enjoying his holiday and the Guinness but missing his girlfriend.Said he will return again.

The Active Retirement group have almost a full busload for their trip to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park next Tuesday May 11th. Jim and Maureen Killeen arrive from Chicago on Monday and hope to join the trip. Kay Fitzpatrick is the contact.

The Crows Nest package latest is to be found in our Photo Gallery.Thought we would beat the rest for a change.The steak knife is beside a dessert spoon and James Dean was used as a background. In Ryans garage we found a 50x30 inch photo of Dean and the back of the picture was virgin white. Hope you can make out the screws, nails,peg,assorted wires and cable ties.Declan tells us that this was dropped off in about ten days as well as an amount of sticks and other material not in the picture.
Was this a part of Clean Up Week recently. ?

Paddy Kelly from America a neighbour of Paddy Kenny was reminiscing about the late Canon Horan from Moore and his involvement in producing plays.He had a preference for plays by John B.Keane and when he was younger set up some kind of record while working in Africa on the missions. The Irish Catholic newspaper had written the words of a play in the Irish language written by John B.Keane in one of their weekly editions and the then Father Horan had received a copy of the paper in Africa. He selected an African cast in his mission and produced the play in Irish . Buala Bos as they say or clap your hands for Father Horan.

See that Celtic News Group who are a subsidiary of Scottish media group Dunfermline have bought the Westmeath Examiner newspaper for around £20m. They also own the Westmeath Independent, Offaly Independent, Meath Chronicle and the Anglo Celt.
Our security tells us they have been looking at this site but are still only looking.

Declan Ryan was telling us last night that Michael Viney used the Crows shopping basket items in his Saturday column on 24th April and that Stephen Heery has been in contact to know if they still have the pieces as he wants to take a photograph of them. Stephen lives across the river near Eyrecourt and is a well known writer on the environment and nature. Hopefully we will get a photograph and show the collection to you all soon.
Sales of Esker stones took a sudden leap last evening with sales of 11.80 Euros the proceeds going to the mission box. Seems they were priced too low as a number of people gave two euro to choose and name a stone and take it as a keepsake.

Ken and Betty Smith from California agree with Lorraine that Ciara and Sarah are doing a great job on describing their trip. Ken and Betty were in Capetown and on Mount Table but they took the cablecar.
Weather here turned cold last evening with wind and rain so we took Lorraine Mc Kenna's cure and played Paudge Bennett live for two hours. And it seems to work as today is much brighter.Paudge told us that all the CD's are gone and he played a song especially for Lorraine. His daughter Tammy arrived back from her sojorn in Australia on Holy Thursday and is now back in London playing her music. Sarah Ann is at college in Dublin and is doing fine. She is still in fine voice as she won a singing competition in Offaly recently so she must be good.

The Pottstown Mc Kennas are enjoying Ciara and Sarah's travel news as we all are.
Lorraine has a cure to get over the dreary cold rainy days they are having at present.She plays her CD of Paudge Bennett and Sarah Anne. Must get Paudge to play a request for her tonight.

Enjoyed Rose's jackdaw collection and was telling Jimmy Mooney about it last night. Jimmy said he was doing some tidying up around the old house and came across a small stamped silver spoon probably used for mustard that had not tarnished and he remembers finding it when cleaning the rain gutters about 35 years ago obviously dropped off by an upperclass crow.
Noticed last evening that the entrance track to Mark Carty's site has been laid. The site is on the village side of Ashbrook Farm on the same side of the road.
Was in Raghrabeg on Monday and saw the site for Aidan Carry's new house alongside O'Briens old house. Glad to hear that Aidan plans to restore this old house later.

Spent a very enjoyable weekend at The Burren Law School 2004 whose theme was "The Environment and The Law". There were a number of interesting half hour lectures and three field walks out on the hillsides with Brendan Dumford who has produced a booklet on The Burren and told us there is an amount of information on the website www.burrenbeo.com. The lovely wildflowers depend on the farmers grazing the higher ground during the winter which clears the grass and allows the flowers to grow just now when the cattle come back down to the lowland.
We visited the ruins of the Church of Colman and Brendan did not think he had been in Clonmacnois. This trip was named The Slieve Corron Nature Reserve.
Another field trip they took us to the Burren National Park where there seemed to be something interesting at every step. Wind breaking walls in a T shape to give shelter to cattle, passage graves, hazel trees a foot high and about twenty foot long growing between the rocks so as to avoid the wind. The highlight was a stone fort on top of a steep high ground that would remind you of Dun Aengus ? on Inishmore.
The best trip probably was on Saturday morning at 7.30am for Michael Greene's Mornig Walk led by local historian Jim Hyland. Meet in the square in Ballyvaughan at 7.30. Doc and Nora and me fein took up the offer and were there at 7.20 to find three girls waiting. Parked the car and Doc ran back to find a group of men had now arrived. Told them she was going back to the car to collect two others and when we got back they were gone.We had no program and found out they had visited Ballyalban Forts and Mass Rock. Dick, Betty and Molly the dog made the wise decision and stayed in bed. Reminded us of the late Sally Kennedy (see Tue Apr 27)
By coincidence I arrived back in Shannonbridge yesterday afternoon and soon afterwards Sally's husband Joe dropped in for a visit. Joe is in good form and among the news I was interested to hear that Father Tommy Daly's brother from Rashina is in the retirement home in Clara.

Offaly has a famous jockey from Rhode named Pat Smullen. Over the last few days it was good to see Michael F Watts from Belmont have his first winner at Punchestown.
Seems that Michael was only a few weeks in his apprenticeship when he was offered the ride and produced a top class performance. Congratulations Michael and next time let us all know about it beforehand.

The death occured at the weekend of Peggy Soden Tullamore widow of the late Doctor Michael Soden who worked in Portiuncula and later in Tullamore.Her remains will be removed to Mucklagh church this evening with house private. May she rest in peace.
Dont know as yet if Rose of Birdwatch Shannonbridge is going to hold a garage or booth sale but Lorraine Mc Kenna from Pottstown wants first option on the steak knife from the crows collection.
Good to see that Oliver Hilliard's creation The Irish Golfers Guide to Open Fixtures has arrived. Oliver tells us that he has clocked up nearly 3,000 miles in a few days delivering it all over the country. Perhaps he should do a follow up with a Guide to Irish Open Roads.

Good to hear from Ciara and Sarah in Capetown. Hope they call to see some of you during their trip. Ciara's sister Orla was telling us these girls are moving in high places -- not just Table Mountain as they tell us below. The girls noticed a character in the restaurant they use that looked like Colin Farrell the actor with a growth of beard but they ignored him.Next day they saw his photograph on the papers.Now they are sorry they did not say hello.
For their information Shannonbridge was busy for the weekend with good sitout type weather so I am told as I was in Clare.

Times chane judging by Peter Mooney from Doon. Last night he was leving his sonAlec back to boarding school after the Bank Holiday weekend and Peter was wondering if everyplace would be locked up but Alec said it was open as he spotted a line of glowing cigarette ends in the dark outside the building.
Alec was a member of the Athlone U18 rugby team who won at the weekend.The team was captained by Julian Walshe and a number of the Saint Sarans school team who had a recent big win were also playing.

A seminar hosted by West Offaly Partnership will be held in Teach Lea, Boora on Tuesday 11th May@7pm which will discuss the future for Community Transport in West and South Offaly. More information from 0509-51622

Big day today for about a dozen children from the parish when they will be confirmed by Bishop Colm O Reilly in Clonfinlough church at 4pm.
Parish Bulletin tells us that the total amount collected for Trocaire in the parish during Lent was £3,230. Trocaire is the agency set up by the Catholic Bishops to help fight Famine.

May is the month of Our Lady and Clonfert is among the leaders in celebrating this. Every day for the month of May some religeous ceremony takes place in Our Ladys Church Clonfert and Joan Farrelly tells us that the church has been packed every day or night so far.