Boat in open water

Is the last frontier on Earth

Where the individual is free to go

Fore, aft, port, or starboa

Based solely on free will

Captain Seamus Garrahy from Gettysburg has his beliefs above printed on the back of his business card.

On Sunday the man from Mayo who uses the shooting range at Lumcloon frequently, called in on his way home. A northern breeze made it cold for shooting so he used gloves minus the finger covers.

He is looking forward to sowing his vegetable garden where he grows a range of vegetables including green runner beans that produce a red flower. In the glasshouse he plants sweetcorn which has to bend when it reaches the roof.

Great number of Gerry Green’s family cousins neighbours and friends attended the Months Mind Mass for Gerry on Sunday.

The weekend brought a number of regular visitors including –

Ken and Betty Smith nee Connolly from Santa Barbara,

Steve and Liz Nell from Sheffield and Creggan,

Dave and Paulien Kemp from Bradford.

Four almost regulars from Sydney called today after visiting the Orkney Islands and Scotland. William (Bill) Darcy, Harvey Rose, Fred Yakich, Ian Jacobs but without Wally Oliver called in today. On other visits they had stayed at Michael Creggs and Laurel Lodge. Locals will remember them going on the bus to Croke Park to support the Offaly hurling team and they also helped saving the sod turf.

This time they are staying in Tipperary but look out because they are coming back to Shannonbridge soon. They were wondering if there was any local football or hurling games on around. Yesterday they enjoyed Tipperary beat Galway in the hurling league final? By a couple of points.

Ken and Betty Smith from Santa Barbara are fond of travelling and they told us that when they read on this site about Papua New Guinea as related by the visiting nun they realised that they had never been to that country. When they checked out the cost of a visit there from California via Cairns, Australia they found the airfare would be 14,000 $ dollars each. I think what really put them off was Ken remembering that one of the Rockefellers had visited there and gone on a safari up the river. He went so far on the safari as at that time there were some almost savages living in that area and poor Rockefellers never came back. Is there an opening for Ryan Air one way ticket deal. Or maybe Aer Lingus might repeat their offer similar to the one last week when their computer was offering tickets to America for 5 Euros.

Michael and Nancy Doherty seem to be enjoying their time visiting Aunties in Chicago. They called in to see the brother Jim and his wife Maureen and no doubt they have been planning a little river excursion on the Shannon next month. Mick Sharry reckons that they are going downriver to see Lough Derg and Killaloe.

Michael and Nancy are due to return to Kidlawn next weekend.

It’s almost a week since Eamon Kelly set off for Perth in Australia. Before he went he told us that he was taking his football gear with him so if there is any football team in Perth interested in a knacky Gaelic footballing forward let us know and we will give you contact details.

Charlie and Penny from Bath who called in on a short visit last weekend and told us that they were friends of Dave Smith and John will be glad to hear that Dave Smith and John and two friends are coming to Shannonbridge in August on a coarse fishing holiday.

That cold northern wind for a few days has caused the land to dry out and the river level yesterday was 2.7 metres as read by Mick Sharry.

The first record of a fish catch recorded in Killeens Catch Book for this year was made by Reinhard Leiricia from Taubiug, Germany. He caught two pike of 81cm and 61cm using a wobbler. They were good.

Four people from Finland called in today after visiting Clonmacnois told us that their weather in southern Finland was warmer than our weather. And I was blaming the cold winds coming from the North causing the pike difficult to catch.

Maybe it’s for their good.

Patrick Kenny told us that there was Confirmation in Moore Church on Friday last.

Arch –bishop Neary of Tuam administered the sacrament.

One of his grandchildren must have been for confirmation as a whole gang of Kenny’s had a meal in The Fort Restaurant to celebrate.

On a ticket for Clonmacnois I notice a web address www.heritageireland.ie

The Midlands Arts and Culture magazine for Spring 2008 which is newly released is a review of the arts in Laois, Westmeath and Offaly. The website is www.offaly.ie

I noticed one of the articles has our own Daithi Rua (Dave Donegan) recalling his life in music. Daithi mentions that he is taking part in the Shannonbridge Midsummer Music Festival which takes place this year from 20^th to 22^nd June.

Keep an eye on Daithi on his website at www.daithirua.com Check out the Offaly.ie site to find how you can get the magazine.

Some recent deaths include the late President of Ireland Paddy Hillary and Michael Mills the one time Ombudsman and a feature writer on the Irish Times. Both were buried last week. May they rest in peace.

Today some of the Cunningham Family whose family came from Nure called in after having visited Clonmacnois in search of their family plot. They had called to Gus Claffey but his records commence in 1954. They told us that a number of the Cunningham Family had moved to Athlone and settled there. They were going to try the parish records.

Glad to get a phone call from Ed Brown from Manchester who was looking for the Shannonbridge website address. Ed has unearthed an assload of cousins in this parish. Ed plans to visit his daughter in Australia soon. He told me that his nephew is a fine swimmer and has been selected to swim in the Olympics so he is practising very hard. Hope he does well

Overheard Patrick Kenny retell one of the Mike Merrigan saying yesterday –

“Jay, I see that Pete’s black man is home”. That was how Mike described when Father Peter Kenny was home on holidays. Patrick was saying that when Pete’s Black Man is home later in the year that he will be celebrating Fifty Years in the Priesthood.