CHRISTMAS CAROLS: There will be a Service of Lessons and Carols in St. Fintan’s Church (Church of Ireland), Durrow on Saturday 16th December at 7.00pm with singers and instrumentalists from Heywood Community School, Ballinakill. All are most welcome!
CHRISTMAS PARTY: Cullohill Community Centre will host their Annual Christmas Party on Friday December 29th from 9pm ’till late. Over 18s only. Tickets €10. Music by Ali D. Only drinks purchased at the venue can be consumed. (Subject to licence). All monies raised will be used to pay down the debt owed on the recently completed Centre extension. Tickets are on sale in most local businesses and from members of the committee. All are most welcome.
AVAILABLE: Holiday Letting – Two Bed, Double Ensuite Apartment, just 2km outside Durrow. Available for Christmas Holiday letting. Might suit a small family returning home for Christmas holidays. All mod cons and parking available. Any enquiries to durrowapartment@gmail.com by email please.
ABBEYLEIX AND KILLERMOGH PARISH: The Abbeyleix South National School is advertising for a part time secretary. Full ad is on EducationPosts.ie Online.
CONGRATULATIONS: Congratulations to Sonya Duggan, the Director of Kilminchy School House, who recently has been honoured with the Business All-Star of Laois – Entrepreneur of the Year 2024, by the All-Ireland Business Foundation.
OUR LADY’S MEADOW PRIMARY SCHOOL: Our Lady’s Meadow Primary School Durrow are currently accepting applications for admission to Junior Infants for the school year 2024-2025. The closing date for completed applications is Monday, 8th of January 2024. Please ensure you apply before the closing date as last year we were oversubscribed. The school’s Admission Policy, Annual Admission Notice and Application Forms are available on the school website www.ourladysmeadow.org via email from ourladysmeadowschool@gmail.com or from the school by phone on (057) 8736329.
DURROW COMMUNITY SERVICES: Durrow Community Services currently have the following vacancies: 5 positions as an Environmental Worker in Durrow; 1 position as Groundskeeper in Durrow; 1 position as an Environmental Worker in Cullohill; 1 position as a Catering Assistant in Durrow Meals On Wheels. As per the Department of Social Protection requirements, the positions are 19.5 hours per week and must be on a Social Welfare payment for minimum of 12 months to apply. Please contact Astrid Andersson on 057 8736870 or andersson@durrowcs.com for further information.
DURROW TIDY TOWNS NEWS – Take a little piece of Durrow home with you, or buy the perfect gift for that someone special! Durrow 2024 Calendar now available featuring photographs of our beautiful Georgian village, all in support of Durrow Tidy Towns. Can also be purchased locally in shops and businesses in Durrow and will be on sale at the Saturday Market in the CES office. The calendar can also be purchased directly from any of our committee which includes Fred Townsend, Mary Thornton, Tom or Kathleen Flynn, Fiona Jacob, Kathleen Doyle, Rita Casey or Emer O’Brien. You can also message our Tidy Towns page on Facebook. Many thanks to everyone for their ongoing support of Durrow Tidy Towns.
SET DANCING CLASSES: Set Dancing continue in The Wheel Inn Ballyouskill on Thursdays at 9pm – all are most welcome to join. Contact Paddy at (085) 8607256 or Francis at (085) 7157694 for more details. An enjoyable way to socialise and dispel the winter evening blues while helping to keep fit.
SUNDAY NIGHT DANCING: Dancing in The Wheel Inn on Sunday nights to Checkers.
WANTED: Looking for a cleaner for a few hours once a week in the area. Please contact childcaredurrow25@yahoo.com if interested.
CULLOHILL COMMUNITY CENTRE – PROGRESSIVE 25 CARD GAME: Progressive 25 Card Game continues every Sunday night in Cullohill Community Centre at 8pm and all are most welcome. Winners on Sunday 3rd December 2023 were: Joint First – Kevin Wolfe and John Mackey, Vera Brennan and Willie Gorman, Ger Alley and Ollie Clooney, Dick Brennan and Michael Kells. The Raffle Winners on the night were: William Carroll and Noreen Ryan.
BALLYOUSKILL 25s CARDS GAME – Ballyouskill 25s Cards continues in Ballyouskill Community Hall on the last Friday of the month at 8pm. Usual prizes and a raffle on the night. All are most welcome to our next game on Friday, December 22nd for a Christmas special and a regular game will also be held on December 29th. November results: Joe McGill and N. Delaney (11 games); P. Mullaly and B. Nolan (10 games); J. Mooney and H. Holland (10 games); P. Brennan and T. Murphy (10 games). The raffle winners on the night were: Neddy Delaney and Jimmy Ryan. Many thanks to D&G Systems for sponsoring the raffle and also to the Wheel Inn for their continued generosity towards the cards night.
WHIST DRIVE: The Killermogh Whist Drive is held in the Parochial Hall, Cork Road, Durrow. The Next Whist drive is on Thursday 21st December at 8pm. All are most welcome.
DURROW BRIDGE CLUB: Club meetings continue on Wednesdays at 7.30pm in the Castle Arms Hotel. All are most welcome.
DURROW AND DISTRICT PIPE BAND: We’re always looking for new members, so why not come along to a practice? Get in touch with our Facebook page if you’re interested in learning the pipes or drums, all levels catered for. See https://www.facebook.com/DurrowPipeBand or search Facebook for “Durrow & District Pipe Band” to find us online.
LOETB COURSES IN JANUARY 2024: LOETB (Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board) are offering a diverse range of courses for
further education and training in various fields. This is a great opportunity for individuals in Laois and Offaly to explore new interests, learn new skills, and meet in a supportive environment. The courses cover a wide spectrum, from Dress Design and Cooking to Mindfulness, Sign Language, Horticulture, Art, and Craft and much more! This variety ensures there’s something for everyone, catering to different interests and passions. If you or someone you know is interested in trying something new or enhancing existing skills, reaching out to LOETB on (057) 8630093 is a good step. We can provide more information the courses, schedules, and enrolment details. Taking part in further education and training not only enriches personal knowledge but also fosters a sense of community and personal development. Its a positive initiative to combat the potential January blues and start the New Year with a fresh and engaging experience.
THIRD LAOIS DURROW SCOUTS – Our Beaver and Cub Scout sections are currently at capacity for leader Ratios. If you are considering volunteering, love the outdoors and learning new skills then please consider joining the scout group. Email gldurrow@gmail.com with any questions or to put your name forward.
Scouts Section: Are you 12-15 years old? Do you like: * adventure; * the outdoors; * making new friends? If so, our Scout group could be for you! We currently have limited spaces in our Scout section. For more information please contact gldurrow@gmail.com by email.
DOG WALKERS! A reminder to clean up after your dog. We have Mutt Mitt dispensers and instructions on how to clean up after your dog, throughout Durrow. Dog fouling is a serious health risk and children can easily not see it and bring indoors on bikes, shoes, buggies and it’s a particular hazard to wheelchair users. If you’d like to become a green dog walker we have information in the Post Office and Library regarding the initiative. Please be responsible and clean up after your pet!
DURROW POST OFFICE: We here at Durrow Post Office do both AIB and Bank of Ireland Lodgements and withdrawals. We provide a quick and professional service for all your personal and business banking. We are here to help you and make banking easier.
AIB CUSTOMERS – You can do * Cash lodgements with bank debit card or lodgement slips; * Cash withdrawals with bank debit card; * Cheque lodgements with a personalised lodgement slip.
BANK OF IRELAND CUSTOMERS – You can do * Cash lodgements with bank debit card or lodgement slips; * Cash withdrawals with bank debit card; * Cheque lodgements with a personalised lodgement slip.
DEFIBRILLATORS IN DURROW: We are lucky to have defibrillators in Durrow – one at the Gala Grocery Store and one at The Community Playground. It is vitally important that if you or anyone you know is unfortunate enough to need to use one, you must inform Susan in the Gala Grocery Store as soon as possible afterwards, as the pads need to be replaced – NOTE: They are single use! The defibrillator needs to be ready for the next person who may need to use it – that person could be you or a loved one! Thanks for your cooperation.
DURROW LIBRARY NEWS: All our Laois Library branches are open to the public for browsing, PC usage, printing, photocopying and studying, in addition to all the free events taking place throughout the month – see details below. You can browse the Laois Libraries online catalogue here: https://laois.spydus.ie and if needed, borrowers can reset their library PIN in order to access the catalogue – contact your local library or email library@laoiscoco.ie for assistance with this.
ONLINE BOOK CLUB – Laois Libraries Online Book Club reads one book a month chosen from the BorrowBox collection. Join us on the last Wednesday of each month when questions are posed for discussion on our Book Club Facebook page. You can join the group on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/315513126404037 online. New members are always welcome.
OPEN HOURS – Durrow Library Opening hours are Tuesdays from 1.30pm to 7.30pm (closed for lunch from 5.30pm until 6pm) and Wednesdays from 10am to 5.30pm (closed for lunch from 1.30pm to 2pm). Phone: (057) 8736090 Email: durrowlibrary@laoiscoco.ie for further information.
ADULT ART GROUP – A self-led art group meets weekly every Tuesday at 2:30pm. Call or email the library for more details.
IRISH CIRCLE — The Irish Circle group meets in the library on Tuesdays at 6.10pm. Beidh fáilte róimh cupán tae agus cúpla focail Gaeilge a labhairt no a canadh.
DECEMBER EVENTS: Cioral Comhrá meets on December 12th at 6.15pm. (No booking neccessary).
Family Craft Table takes place on December 12th at 2pm, December 13th at 10am and December 13th at 2pm. (No booking neccessary).
Crochet With Courtney takes place on December 13th at 3pm.
Lego Freeplay takes place on December 19th at 2pm. (No booking neccessary).
Book Club takes place on December 19th at 6pm.
Messy Play Fun takes place on December 20th at 2.15pm (Booking Essential).
DURROW COMMUNITY SATURDAY MARKET: Durrow Community Market continues on Saturdays from 9am to 12 noon on the Kilkenny Road beside the Church.
LIVE LOCAL WEATHER: Visit www.laoisweather.com for live local weather data from Durrow.
DURROW FIRE AND RESCUE: Do you need a smoke alarm? Or do you know of someone who does, in the Durrow, Cullohill or Ballacolla area? Every home should have a minimum of two of the life saving devices! Durrow Fire & Rescue will provide and install smoke alarms for anyone that needs them, and there is no charge for this service. Simply email info@durrow.ie if you are interested, or if you know of a friend or neighbour that needs to have the devices installed. Please leave a contact number too.
DURROW FIRE AND RESCUE: Members of Durrow Fire Brigade are available to give fire safety talk to any interested adult groups or organisations, in the Durrow, Cullohill and Ballacolla areas. If interested please contact Station Officer David Donohue.
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CHURCH NEWS: Parish Office – Regular opening hours have now resumed and are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10.00am to 2.00pm. We have signed Mass cards, Baptismal candles, Communion gifts and more available to purchase. All Mass intentions, baptisms and weddings must be booked through the office on (085) 2625033, by email at durrow@ossory.ie or in person. No Private advertising in the weekly Mass Newsletter.
Mass Hours – Saturday Evening – 6pm Vigil Mass in Rathdowney; 7.30pm Vigil Mass in Cullohill and 7.30pm Vigil Mass in Durrow (This Mass in Durrow only celebrated when Canon O’Doherty is available to celebrate it); Sunday Morning – 10am Mass in Errill; 11.15am Mass in Durrow.
Baptisms in Rathdowney and Durrow – Following the changes to our Mass schedule, baptisms can be booked for Saturdays at 4.30 pm in either Parish and Sundays at 12 Noon in Durrow and Cullohill or 12.15 in Rathdowney and Errill.
Adoration – There will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Cullohill Church every Thursday morning from 8.50am until 9.50am.
Pastoral Council Members – The members of the Pastoral Council are: Martin Lawlor; Mary Lawlor; James Walsh; Carmel Ruane; Mary Ryan; Vicky Murphy; Margaret Murphy; Seamus Clancy; Sr. Anita O’Leary and Fr. Martin Delaney.
Church Envelopes – Envelopes for October, November and Christmas are now available in the church. You can return them at Mass times or to the Parish office in Durrow (Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm). If you can help a neighbour by collecting theirs too that would be great. Thank you.
Online Advent Retreat – The Priory Institute is delighted to offer a FREE OF CHARGE online retreat ‘Reflecting on the Sunday Gospels of Advent’. Visit our website www.prioryinstitute.com to register or find out more.
Anam Cara Midlands – The organisation that supports bereaved parents, is holding it’s monthly Parent Evening for bereaved parents on Wednesday 13th December at 7:15pm in the Mullingar Park Hotel. This event is free and open to all bereaved parents regardless of the age your child died, the circumstances of their death, or whether their death was recent or not. We also offer an online service. For more information please call us on (01) 4045378.
St Vincent de Paul – Both Durrow and Cullohill branches will hold Church Gate collections on the weekend of the 9th and 10th of December. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Durrow Nativity Scene – The crib this year is situated in the Grotto in St Fintans Terrace, Durrow.
Bambinelli Sunday – This year we plan to celebrate a wonderful tradition from Italy where on the Third Sunday of Advent, Families are invited to bring to Mass the infant Jesus from their own crib at home. During the Mass the Infant Figure will be Blessed in preparation for Christmas. Please bring the Infant Jesus from your crib to the 7.30pm Mass in Cullohill next Saturday or 11.15am Mass in Durrow next Sunday and we will have the special Bambinelli Blessing.
St. Mary’s Cathedral, Chapter House Bookshop – Now open 5 days a week (Monday to Friday) from 9.30am untill 5.00pm. The bookshop has a great selection of Nativity Sets, Christmas Cards, Christmas Mass Bouquets, spiritual books and other religious gifts. A selection of Calendars, Catholic Diaries for 2024, Bibles and a wide range of Children Stories Pictures.
SYMPATHY is extended to the family and friends of Vincent (Vinny Cooney), Tinweir, Durrow, Co. Laois on their recent bereavement.
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NUMBER FOR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL – LAST UPDATED JULY 2023: Please note that our confidential contact helpline number for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Durrow, has been changed to (083) 4056021 as of July 14th 2023.
THE HARPS GAA CLUB NEWS – SPLIT THE BUCKET – A standing order of €8 a month gives one entry a week, €16 a month gives two entries a week and €20 a month gives three entries a week. If you would like to set up a monthly standing order please contact Tom Ryan on (087) 6159226 or Shane Brophy on (087) 2034035. Thanks to everyone who supports our weekly Split the Bucket draw.
NOTICE – The Junior B Leinster Quarter Final is Postponed until January 2024.
THE HARPS CAMOGIE CLUB: Follow all the latest news from the club at https://www.facebook.com/HarpsCamogie online.
Schools Visit – Our Junior Camogie team had the honour of visiting Our Lady’s Meadow National School Durrow on Friday 1st December and St. Tighearnach’s National School on the Friday before Midterm. They got to bring the trophy in along with them and answered lots of questions about winning the county final. No doubt there will be future County Final Winners in both schools.
U10 Camogie – Congratulations to our fantastic U10s, who ended their camogie season with an eight-week block of ball wall training. The girls got to cap it off with their own Christmas party, which included dressing up in their Christmas Jumpers and singing Christmas songs as they were training. Well done for your great work throughout the year. They’ve made massive improvements throughout the year and we hope you keep up the training with your Christmas Challenges. We hope to see you all back out on the pitch in the coming year!
Christmas Raffle – It’s that time of year again for our Annual Christmas Raffle and this year our prizes are amazing… First Prize: A pair of International Rugby Tickets for Ireland V Italy on the 11th of February 2024 in the Aviva Stadium. Second Prize – A signed Rugby World Cup Jersey by the Irish Squad. Third Prize: Overnight Hotel Break for Two. Plus many more great prizes too! All our camogie players have tickets to sell or you can buy tickets at: https://www.idonate.ie/raffle/HarpsCamogieClubAnnualChristmasRaffle online. We appreciate all the support everyone gives to our club and hopefully you can be lucky enough to win some of these amazing prizes!
U16 COUNTY CAMOGIE CHAMPIONS! A huge congratulations to our girls who won the Under 16A last Sunday 2nd December against Castletown. A great achievement, well done to all the management involved with this amazing team!
CULLOHILL HANDBALL CLUB: You can contact the club on cullohillhandballclub@yahoo.ie by email.
THE LIONS AFC CLUB: FOR HIRE – Astro Pitch Hire, suitable for 7-a-side soccer social groups, casual bookings and team activities. For all enquiries or to make a booking please contact lionsafc@gmail.com or call (085) 7088511.
GRASSROOTS PROMOTION: Circle K and FAI Grassroots Promotion! Win €30,000 for your Club. To enter the competition, customers must have downloaded the Circle K App and registered for PLAY or PARK, Circle K’s loyalty game. Then you simply select your chosen football club in the FAI portal within the app and upload your Circle K receipt to generate a draw entry for your club. One draw entry will be generated per receipt uploaded. The more entries a club gets, the higher their chances of winning will be. Go Lions Facebook or Instagram pages to see videos on how to enter and we would ask for your support in getting in as many entries as possible over the next couple of months for the Lions AFC, Durrow!
WIN BIG THIS CHRISTMAS! This year is the 50th year of the Lions AFC Christmas Hamper Draw. To commerate this, we are running a separate 50th Year Golden Anniversary Draw running in conjunction with our regular Christmas Hamper Draw. The purchase of a ticket for the 50th Anniversary Draw will give you three separate chances to win €5,000 over the Christmas period. The three Draws will take place on December 26th, December 30th and January 6th. Tickets are €50 each, and all proceeds will go towards our Pitch Development Fund of which you can see our development plans on our Facebook Page. Tickets are available from the committee or a number of club members.
WELL DONE: A big shout out to Lions U12 player Nikki Mullally who represented Kilkenny in the U12 All Ireland Inter-League on Sunday, December 2nd. Its great to see the girls section of our club being represented at County level. The Kilkenny girls were on the wrong side of a seven goal thriller losing out by four goals to three. Nikki was her usual dynamic self in Midfield. Keep up the great work Nikki!
WELL DONE: Well done to Lucy Kelly who played for Kilkenny District League V Carlow last Sunday evening, December 2nd. Lucy was on the score sheet as they went down to a strong Carlow team by 3-1. Keep up the good work Lucy….
LADIES TEAM: Women’s League Division 1 Result – Evergreen 2 V 6 Lions AFC Scorers: Aoife Jordan X3, Shannon Kelly and Ruby Quinn. Last goal was an OG by Evergreen.
MENS TEAM: Junior League Division 1 Result – Lions AFC 8 V 2 River Rangers A. Scorers: Darragh Kelly X2. Danny Delahunty X2, Jim O’Connor X2, Lee Coffey and Luke Hudner. A cold and foggy, but luckily dry Sunday morning (December 2nd) saw the clash of the in-form River Rangers against our also in-form boys. The game started quickly with our lads on a positive front footing from the get go. A well worked build up saw Darragh Kelly open up the scoring. We continued to apply pressure but River Rangers caught us on the break with an excellent long range effort that went past the helpless Darren Maher. Our boys responded really well with our front three causing huge problems. Lee Coffey was a constant threat and scored a second for us with Danny Delahunty also getting another to give us a comfortable lead with an excellent finish across from the keeper. Half time was just upon us when River Rangers pressed hard and caught us out to get one back to give them confidence going in at half time.
The second half started cautiously with both teams looking not to make mistakes. Our boys handled the early pressure well and began to take charge of the game. Danny Delahunty who was a constant threat got his second goal with an excellent finish. Just when the game looked to be finished we went a man down with a second yellow given. The fresh legs of Luke Hudner and Jim O’Connor were a huge help and both added mores goals to secure the win for us. An excellent day for the boys with the fourth straight win in the league against tough opposition.
MENS SECOND TEAM: Junior League Division 2 Result – River Rangers 1 V 2 Lions AFC. Scorers: Conor O’Brien and Jamie Devine.
U11 GIRLS: Well done to our U11 Girls who put on another fantastic display last Saturday (December 1st) scoring some excellent goals. The girls played really well, showing great skill and determination throughout. Keep up the great work girls.
DURROW AND CULLOHILL DISTRICT ANGLERS: JOIN US – The club is always looking for more Juvenile and Senior members to join up. Why not consider it – a great way to get outside to a new hobby! All fishing membership cards can be bought in The Gala Shop Durrow, Lawlors Flower Shop Durrow, and in Fran’s Fishing Shop Mountrath. All day tickets and full membership cards are available. There are court appointed water keepers overseeing the club’s waters and you could be asked for membership. Please ensure all membership and tickets are valid and please adhere to club rules listed on the membership cards. Happy Fishing!
TRIDENT FITNESS CLUB – KETTLEBELL SPORTS AND FITNESS CLASSES: Learn to use kettlebells safely and effectively from one of Ireland’s top ranked and most experienced professional kettlebell sports and fitness instructors with over 10 years of experience in kettlebell sport and fitness. Included in the classes are bodyweight exercises as well as posture correction and strengthening techniques. Together with proper kettlebell instruction you can learn to prevent and remedy a wide range of joint and mobility issues and injuries. Class schedule: Tuesday 6.30pm; Thursday 6.30pm; Saturday 11am. Venue: Durrow Community Hall CYMS. Call David or email for further information. Also available for personal training. Tel: (087) 3833258 or email: tridentfitnessclub@yahoo.ie or borukettlebellclub@yahoo.com for more information.