What promises to be a night of comedy comes to Moore Hall next weekend.

The poster advertising the event call it A Night of Comedy featuring

Patrick Kenny, May Greene, Marcella Grehan, Mary Flynn and many other acts.

It takes place on Saturday and Sunday night and commences at 8pm.

Three charities will benefit from the proceeds. Admission is 10 Euro and OAP’s and Children are 5 Euro.

When I asked Patrick Kenny if there was a complimentary ticket going with the two posters displayed in Killeens, he told me he was sorry but all the tickets were bought up two months ago. So what’s a guy to do?. Go to Moore Hall on Sat /Sun night at 8pm and pray you get in and enjoy yourself.

Yesterday morning we awoke to snow falling. It was soft snow and melted away quickly.

In the afternoon I met a couple who have purchased Jack Kenny’s old home in Cappaleitra village and are in the process of cleaning and redecorating. The girl mentioned that she was a good friend of Mary and Kevin O’Brien and asked about Mary’s mother Teesh Coughlan. This morning after the Active Retirement Group meeting Teesh told me that Mary knows the girl well and her mother in Coosan but she just cannot remember their names. Must have something to do with age as Teesh tells me that her birthday is tomorrow and so Happy 83 Birthday Teesh.

Walking down to Ned Hendricks’s house last week I noticed that the foundation stone for the old school has been preserved on the wall in front of the three houses built on the site.

It reads as follows -

Shannonbridge National School Founded by Rev. F. Duffy P.P. AD1866.

So I looked at the school that closed last year. The stone there reads –

Oliver Plunket National School 1940.

The founder Father Pat Higgins is not mentioned

Mothers Day has become a special day of celebration in Ireland as is befitting and Fergal Moran from The Fort Restaurant told us that it is their busiest Sunday of the year. This year The Fort had to arrange three lunch sittings to cope with the demand.

Fishing has got a start in the past two weekends after the flood has almost receded from the Callow land. Gerry Casey and John Gleeson have been out pike fishing on both weekends. The first weekend Gerry had a fine pike that weighed 16.5 lbs caught on dead bait and released alive. On Saturday 1^st March Gerry and John fished upstream and John hooked a fine brown trout that weighed 8.5 lbs. Bait used was a dead mackerel This fish was also returned alive. River level on last Wednesday was 3.45 metres.

Hope that John and Gerry will take part in two pike competitions being organised – one in Northern Ireland and the other in Leitrim Details are available at website www.anglingireland.net There is a limit to 240 anglers fishing from a lake boat with two anglers per boat.

Family tree search today. Annie Norton from Clonmacnois emigrated and got married in Bournemouth to Donal Eaton. They had four children – Denise Forway, Helen Kurlapski, Dawn Harvey and Eddie Eaton. Eddie died in 1997. Denise is over here in Ireland and looking up information on the family. Today she is visiting Clonmacnois and calling to see Gus Claffey who has the record of grave allotment for the cemetery. Denise mentioned the Merrigan Family and that her mother is pictured in a book. Wishing her well in her search.

The birds are hungry judging by the nut feeders that would normally last a week are now half empty after two days. So keep them in mind.

The book Cool Metal – Clear Water tells the history of the old trading barges on the Irish Canals and is published by The Heritage Boat Association www.offalyhistory.com

The front cover shows the 61M Barge berthed at the warehouse at Shannonharbour.

Thirteen men are around the barge and three on the bankside. P.J. Carroll tells us that one of the men on the barge was his late uncle. The book notes the history of each barge and the owners. There are many pictures of the barges and even one of the early horse drawn barges. Copies are available locally or through the website above.