Glad to hear today from Declan Ryan that Rose and he had added some notices.

Then I started doing on a spring-clean on my shirt and jacket pocket to remove the reminder bits written on Shannonbridge and Moore United weekly Lotto stubs.

Some might be of interest.

On 8^th March Tom Carty kindly took me along to Moore Hall to ‘A Night of Comedy’

Presented in two parts, beginning with The County Final between Clanna Gael and Na Piarsaig. A great match.

The Echo featured famous singer Michael Grenham complaining to the hall manager Padraig Egan about the echo in the hall. Padraig said there was no echo and Michael bet £20 that there was. Padraig went off to get advice. Along came Patrick Kenny and Michael told him about the bet. He asked Patrick to be The Echo and explained what he had to do. Back came Padraig and Michael started proving there was an echo in the hall. Everything Michael said Patrick repeated from his hiding place.

Padraig was almost convinced but tried it out himself saying-

‘I know where you can buy a bottle of whiskey for £2.’

The Echo came running out shouting ‘Where, Where, Where’

Crime line was a feature on giving a urine sample. The nabbed husband got his wife to fill the bottle. The result showed that he was five months pregnant.

The Three Tenors had Liam Curley, Tom Costelloe and a Muppet singing away to their hearts content.

Second half had a brilliant Acupuncture Irish Style featuring Patrick Whelan, Padraig Egan, Michael Grenham, Marcella Grehan and Maura O Brien.

Then The Three Tenors followed by The Hospital Scene which featured

Patrick Kenny, May Greene, Mary Flynn and Marcella Grehan. Just brilliant as Patrick would say.

At Gerry Greene’s funeral Mall Father O Hanlon asked everyone to remember about Gerry. I remember when the Lotto was started up and the Jackpot was 500,000 Euros.

After some years this was increased to One Million. In the pub one night somebody asked what you would do with a million pounds which was a great amount of money at that time. Someone said if they won that they would give 100.00o to each of their children.

Gerry Green said that he would have nothing left if he did this. Gerry had ten children and suddenly one million was broken into small pieces.

After the funeral on Saint Patrick’s Day (17) I was telling Ned Hendrick about my memory. Then I remembered that when Ned first came to work in this area it was for Gerry Green. Ned remembers that his first day in this area was on Saint Patrick’s Day 1954 when he came to Greens farm.

Ned told me that the two little holes in the cavity block wall in his yard are being used at present by two Blue Tits that are setting up nests there. He is amazed at the speed at which they fly into the hole.

Today our neighbour Alo Moran has a special birthday as he hits the four score.

So Happy Birthday Alo. Noticed his sister Rita Kenny in the village on Sunday.

Rita was married to Willie Kenny, a brother of the late Johnny Kenny from Cloneish.

On Sunday Peggy Byrnes arrived home after three weeks in Sydney in great form and with a wonderful tan. She was lucky to meet her stewardess sister Sally in Sydney.

Banagher held its first Patrick’s Day parade last Sunday since its last parade 46 years ago.

Everything went very well and hope they keep up the tradition.

In Ballinasloe Barry Quinn told us that they had a good parade. I enquired was the town Brass and Reed Band playing and was surprised to hear that they disbanded a few years ago.

The Irish Times have a service where you can choose a FrontPage from The Irish Times going back to 1859. See www.ireland.com/frontpage for details.

Athlone Community Radio is on 101.6FM.

Last Friday on The Late Late Show Sonny Knowles (75) was featured singing a song.

In his early days Sonny played with Earl Gill and later The Pacific Showband.

Joe Darcy was a brother of the late Father Ned Darcy.

Glad to hear that my Saturday night friend Mary Craughwell won at Bingo in Saint Mary’s Hall Athlone this past week. She plays Bingo twice a week and keeps telling us that she never wins. Now we know.

After Mass on Sunday last for the late John Joe Egan, Woodbank, his son Eamon Egan told me that I had won the ‘Where’s That’ competition in the Inland Waterways News (www.iwai.ie) The picture showed part of the old cast metal iron swing bridge at Shannonbridge with the name Thos Rhodes Engineer in stand out relief.

News from across the bridge tells us that Roscommon County Council

-Plan to erect four more roadside lights. ( two for year 2007 and two for year 2008)

-Plans to resurface the roadway.

- Erect new signage at Naughtons.

Glad to meet Marly and Edith Miller from Vermont on their recent visit. For Marly this was his first trip to Ireland but Edith had been here twice before.

Glad to hear that friends Ken and Betty Smith will be heading this way in a few weeks from now.

The Radio Eireann medium wave band is going off the air real soon but should be available on FM or whatever. A letter in today’s Irish Times tells of a disgruntled Belfast listener who has difficulty picking up the new service line and now fears that he will not be able to hear Sunday Miscellany on a Sunday morning. Promise to give you the new wavelengths soon.

Flood has crept back up again. Lots of primroses and daffodils in bloom and the chorus of birds heard from the neighbouring gardens while at Darren Egan's viewing on Tuesday evening was out of this world.