Congratulations to Bill Dolan, Creggan who celebrated his 90^th birthday on Friday. Bill looks really well and enjoys a visit to Shannonbridge most evenings of the week.

Kieran Pat Devery and his brother Sean from the Bronx called again after visiting Clonmacnois. Sean is a good friend of Terry Connaughton from The Riverdale Steak House in the Bronx. Terry is related to our family as my grandmother was Connaughton. I must call in for a steak the next time I am in the Bronx.

Good to see Oliver and Patricia Keenaghan in Shannonbridge last week. Oliver worked in the local power plant and lived in Saint Ciaran’s Park before moving to Tarbert in 1970. They have recently bought a house in Delvin Park, Ferbane and plan to move home very soon.

Mick Doherty’s friend Ian Sparrow from Spain and England was in Shannonbridge last week and of course I asked him if he was fishing. He told me he was and had caught a big pike. Then he produced his mobile phone / camera and showed the picture of a really big pike. He reckoned it was over 40 Lbs weight so I hurried along to fetch the anglers log book to make the entry. I was had. The previous night Ian and Mick had photographed a picture of the new Irish record pike caught last year from an article in the anglers log book and there it was on his camera phone.

Thanks to Ken Smith from Santa Barbara for locating the website that covers the four people Louis and Nora Brennan and Norman and Bernie Quinn on their cycle trip from Salthill to Sydney. It is www.salthill2sydney.com

Met Sigurd Soedring who lives in Hogarty’s house in Cloneish and works with Nexans Ireland in Athlone.

A visitor at the weekend was looking for a book of information on the Shannonbridge area. He was an Egan and the Mc Egan website is under www.clanegan.org

One of the group - Michael Egan Dublin is a son of James Egan from Clondelara and Dublin.

Tommy Kenny from Coole Ferbane died last week. Tommy was married to Brigid Mc Guinness from Cloniff and they had four children Breda, Andrew, Thomas and Gerard.

Alan Rock works with one of the Kenny boys in London and came home for the funeral. Alan is in great form and told us that another Shannonbridger Eamon Kelly is working with him at the tiling business.

Margaret Egan nee Nurse Noone from Athlone died on Thursday and was buried today alongside her husband Martin in Clonmacnois. Her daughter Aisling and her husband and three children were home for the funeral.

May they rest in peace.

Aisling was remembering some of the things about her Dad Martin who used to love to visit Shannonbridge. He told Margaret that he had to go out to Shannonbridge to meet a man that wanted to buy his tractor. So he set off. Aisling found the tractor still in the shed when Martin died about eleven years ago. Once Martin met the Darcy Brother on their way home from the mart. They and others played for a box of chops that Oliver Darcy had brought from Ballinasloe and as luck would have it Martin won them and brought them home to Margaret later that night. When she opened the parcel it turned out to be a box of bones. Another occasion the telephone rang in the bar and Mick asked Martin to answer the phone. It was Margaret asking if Martin Egan had gone home yet. Martin assured her that Martin Egan had left for home a half hour ago.

A book entitled “A History of Gaelic Games in Garbally College, Ballinasloe 1925 – 2006” has been published. Cost 10 Euros. Omitted from its pages was my contribution to hurling development at the college. My classmate Sam Stanley was a member of the Galway Minor Hurling Team and he was assigned the duty of taking sideline pucks. That is when the opposing team hit the ball across the sideline then the other team are entitled to a free puck using the hurley with the ball on the ground. Sam wanted to do some practise and asked yours truly to hit the balls back to him. Most of the balls went into the air as planned but some went at pace along the ground. So I got a hurley and swiped at these sliothars. (That’s balls to you ) One was passing on my right side and I made a great swipe at it. My leg work was not in pitch and I hit myself a mighty belt on the shin which left me in bed for two days. And it never got a mention. Must see the editor John Noonan.

On schooling it was a bit sad to read that the Christian Brothers are to end their direct involvement in schools in the 32 counties. Their schools will now be run by a separate trust.

More praise for Glebe Caravan Park, Clonfinlough. An English couple were telling that they bring their mobile caravan to Ireland regularly on holiday and have stayed at caravan parks all around the country. They reckon that The Glebe is the best that they have used on their journey. Well done Glebe Park.