On Saturday eleven Jehovah Witnesses stopped off in Shannonbridge for a cup of tea and a snack. I was wondering if they were going to conduct a door to door visit but they were on their way to Athlone. Some hours later one of the group came back looking for a purse that she had lost but failed to find it. She left a contact number if anybody finds it.

Telephone 087 – 1300602.

On Friday Mary Frances Flynn died in her home in Portlaoise. Molly as she was known worked for many years for Powers the Turf Accountants. Her neighbour told us that she was very active and played golf and bridge regularly. She was a sister of the late Jackie Flynn and Father Jimmy Flynn and she was buried in Moore Cemetery on Sunday afternoon. May she rest in peace.

The Mass on Saturday was an anniversary Mass for the late Geraldine Mc Manus and there was a big family gathering of the Mc Manus family for the occasion. It was good to see Simon Mc Manus there and he told us that he is living in Ballaghadreen.

The For Sale sign has been placed on Coakley’s house which is situated between Moran’s Shop and Cregg’s Self Catering. Auctioneer is Edward Enright from Birr.

The Sunday papers told of the death of Liam Lawlor in a crash in Moscow in which he and the driver were killed. Liam Lawlor was a T.D. who made the headlines in Ireland in the past few years and has been a principal in a Tribunal of Enquiry. May he rest in peace.

See on the paper today that the escaped wild mink from mink farms are causing an amount of damage to the Common Gull population on Lough Mask and Lough Corrib and the gull population has suffered an 80 to 90pc decline in recent years.

The man involved in Perry’s Mill in Belmont was telling us this evening that they have got the wheel turning again. He was fascinated with the paperwork and records of the mill when it was in operation. All letters and invoices etc were stored and the stamps on the envelopes are a history in themselves as the temporary stamps used in 1922 with overprints are on the envelopes. Some posters from elections were also found as the late Robert Perry was the Returning Officer and posters were included in the paperwork .Details of shipments of grain and their source and boat names are a plenty. A large quantity of this material has been handed over to the County Library in Tullamore.

Had some heavy rain at the weekend but it cleared up again today. River level has risen slightly but the fallen rain has not fully reached the rivers yet. Still a few fishermen around with an English Family and a party of eight German anglers arriving today.