Dated 29^th March 2007 02.40 hours

An article in Tuesday’s Irish Times titled ‘Pioneer’s Association on the road to recovery’ tells how 25,000 young people have joined PTAA in recent years. The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association has a Father Mc Greil as their spiritual director and his plan is to visit every branch of PTAA in the coming years.

The owner of Dartmount Square Park in Dublin is Noel O Gara from near Athlone (Ballinahown) and he has put the property on the market with an asking price of 100 Million.

We heard of the news on Wednesday of the death of Mrs Egan,nee Pardy,Belmont, mother of Owen Egan.

Also on Wednesday news of the death of Stephen Kelly aged 23 years from Moystown.

Stephen had been involved in a crash on his motorbike last Saturday on the road between Cloghan and Banagher and died in Tullamore Hospital yesterday.

May they rest in peace.

On Tuesday morning the first major pile-up on an Irish Roadway occurred in a heavy fog on the Kildare to Newbridge road. Some 40 vehicles were involved, 27 people were hospitalized and one person died.

Father Lorenzo Bracken, celebrated a healing Mass in Cluain Chiarain in Clonmacnois on Wednesday evening and a large number attended.

The Irish soccer team played a much better game against Slovakia in Croke Park under floodlights and won 1 – 0. Kevin Doyle scored the winning goal.

Some other results from Wednesday night –

Czeck Republic 1 - Cyprus 0.

England 3 - Andorra 0.

Israel 4 - Estonia 0.

Wales beat Macedonia.

Weather on Wednesday turned out to be fine and sunny and the promised rain did not fall. Flood had eased back well.

The Shannonbridge Library had a fund raising table quiz on Wednesday night and there was a tight race between the seven teams competing. Friend Ben called in and joined Bridie and Kaye and Pat on their team for a short time. Questions were set by a new quiz master and one question asked to use the numbers 3, 4, 6 and 8 using any numerical means to get an answer of 18. Ben had gone for this question.