There is a notice board erected on the pub beside Killeens announcing an exclusive new development of six luxury 3 bed-roomed town houses in prime location, (which is that site). Each two storey house will have a floor area of 1020 Square Feet approx. It looks like there will be three houses in a cluster at the front and three more in a cluster at the rear. The auctioneer is Pat Finn and there may be more information available at www.myhome.ie

Some websites that may be of interest include –

www.belmontmill.com which is the old Perry's Mill and the new Studios area which has been set up alongside.

http://www.irishwildflowers.ie which is a remarkable collection of names of wild flowers with a photograph of the flower and its name in Irish and English all in neat alphabetical order.

www.galwaynews.ie browse and buy photos from The Connacht Tribune newspaper group.

This site contains over 150,000 images of Galway.

www.irish-trophy-fish.com has the 2008 Irish Specimen Fish Report 2008. This shows a list of specimen size fish caught in river, lake and sea.

www.offalyindependent.ie is now a free newspaper. This week it tells us that 5,500 people are signing on in Offaly. There is an interesting article titled Seeking the lost castles of Offaly. From the twelfth century to the mid 1600’s, there were around 220 castles in Offaly. Now they are trying to find where a number of these castles were located. Read on.

Interested in a 1977 Honda ‘50’ which the owner claims is driving like new for 200 Euro.?

Phone 086-3927372

Last week Jim Killeen from Melbourne was back in Ireland and called to say hello. Jim had been over in Ireland last October and had visited Clonmacnois. Remember that he was telling us that he had organised a get- together of Seven Jim Killeens on one occasion. In October after visiting Clonmacnois I asked him if he had seen the St. Killeen Church in Clonmacnois. He had not heard of it. But this time he had done his homework and was able to find the remains of the Church without any help.

Last October Jim told us that he had visited Galway and Connemara after leaving Shannonbridge.

In Galway he heard and met a Canadian harpist, Moira Kelly, who is living in Galway. Since October Jim has kept in touch with Moira. The reason for his return was to ask Moira to marry him. The good news is that she agreed. So congratulations to Jim and Moira.

Jim might be interested in an article in the Irish Times titled President Salutes saint’s cementing of Irish-German ties

This tells of the visit of President Mary McAleese to the German city of Wurzburg, where she paid tribute to St. Killian, the Cavan-born monk martyred there in the seventh century. And there’s more.

Mark Lyons, son of Tony Lyons, Kilcock was married on January 2^nd. Jerry Lyons was home from America for the wedding and a week ago he visited Shannonbridge with Eamon and Catherine Lyons. The fourth Lyons boy/man is Noel. The Lyons parents came from Shannonbridge. Denny Lyons was from Templedew House, behind Louis Darcy’s home. And Marie-anne Lyons was a Darcy from Shannonbridge.

Recently I saw a Doon / Shannonbridge programme of a football match about twenty years ago. There were some old photographs included and one of them was a picture of the 1936 Shannonbridge Team that won an Offaly Junior Title in 1936. The player’s names were listed.

Back L. to R. Kieran Kenny, Glebe, John Lyons, Templedew, Peter Guinan, Clonfinlough, Paddy Reid, Shannonbridge, Fr. John Bannon, Clonfinlough, Tom Johnson, Woodbank, Bill Dolan, Clonlyon, Gus Egan, Clondelara.

Front L. to R. James Devery, Clonlyon, Owen Egan, Clonlyon, Bill Burns, Leharrow, Michael Joe Reid, Shannonbridge, Frank Higgins Clonfinlough, Michael Shea, Clonfinlough.

Some 14 spectators were also named as Paddy Kenny, Raghrabeg, Team Manager, Mick Kelly, Team Trainer, Joe Mahon, Clonfinlough, Joe Redican, Clonfinlough, Pat Joe Mc Dermott, Clonfert, Kevin Coleman, Shannonbridge, Tom Kelly, Clonfinlough, Tommy Coleman, Shannonbridge, Kieran Egan, Clonlyon with hat, Kieran Turley, Clondelara, Michael Kenny, Ballinasloe, Tom Kelly, Leharrow, Bill Maher, Leharrow, and Jack Connaughton, Moystown.

Louis Darcy who showed me the programme told that Joe Redican was the only Offaly man ever to win a League Medal, when he played with New York against Cavan in 1950.

A photograph taken some 30 years ago shows four Shannonbridge youngsters on the footpath just up from Killeens. The kids are Jim Killeen, Dara Moran, Eilis Killeen and Colin Killeen. The background shows a good view of the Old Forge, where the Health Center now stands. My brother John told me that Peter Larkin was the Blacksmith in that forge followed by Jack Butler. Bill Kilroe was an assistant to both Peter and Jack and prepared the fire on the circle that was used to fit the iron rim to the cart wheels, and this was located near the drain on the road to the Power Plant.

There is a nasty old virus type cold/flu staying around. After Christmas I brought it to bed for four days but the bugger got fond of me. So I got up but it has stuck with me.

I reckon that the person in charge of controlling the level of the river also got the flu as there was a high flood when I went to bed and four days later the water was gone from the callows and the level was down to summer level. But today I see a pair of swans swimming in the flood behind the house.

Personally I think that there should be more photographs on the Shannonbridge web page allowing people to share all types of photographs relating to the area. Dream on.