Passing of esteemed lady

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1 Passing of esteemed lady It is with a sense of great sadness that we record the passing of one of our most esteemed community members, Betty Hehir, of Shandon who died on Sunday of last week. Betty was a member of the widely known and highly respected Brennan family of Dr. Caseyville, and while she had not enjoyed the best of health for a time the news of her death still came as a great shock to many people. She was predeceased by her husband Patrick(Pa) and also by her brothers P.J. and Dick Brennan. A lady of charm and personality, Betty was a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother. As a friend too there were none better, and her death has created a vast void within the local community. The removal of her remains took place from the home of her daughter s residence at Youghal Road last Wednesday morning to St. Mary s Parish Church. Following the celebration of Requiem Mass Betty was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery in the presence of a hugely representative gathering. Betty is survived by her son Pat, daughter Ann, brother Michael, sister Rita, and many other relatives including her beloved grandchildren. To all of them sincerest sympathy is extended. Ann the top Bookseller Those of us who have had personal experience of Ann McAuliffe in her role as staff member at Easons in the Shopping Centre won t have been surprised that she has become the first ever winner of the Cathal Elliott award for the Young Bookseller Of The Year. The award, initiated in 2007 in memory of the legendary book trade personality Cathal Elliott who died last year, attracted contestants from the four corners of the country. However it was Ann who came out on top and she was honoured at a dinner in the Galway Hotel organised by the Irish Bookmakers Association. What a wonderful tribute to Ann, and what a prestigious acknowledgement too for Pat Whyte and his entire Easons staff. Sincere congratulations to one and all. Great Honour for Austin page 1 / 5

2 The former Waterford and Abbeyside hurling tar Austin Flynn, Youghal Road, flew out to New York yesterday with his wife Cybil and he will be honoured by the Waterfordmens Association at a function in the Astorian Manor Hotel in Queens on this Friday night. Austin, now in happy retirement following a successful career in the health service, is receiving a special Achievement Award in recognition of his immense contribution to Waterford hurling throughout his illustrious career, the highlight of which was the All-Ireland replay victory of A very modest man, Austin is a most deserving choice for this prestigious honour and we congratulate him on behalf of the entire community in his home town. Incidentally Friday night s function is also being attended by another Abbeyside native, Billy Kyne, in his capacity as mayor of County Waterford. Controversial New York trip There s certainly no shortage of Dungarvan representation on the Waterford County Council delegation heading off to New York tomorrow(thursday) for the St. Patrick s weekend celebrations in the Big Apple. The delegation is being headed by the Mayor of county Waterford, Abbeyside s Cllr. Billy Kyne, and also travelling on it are Fine Gael s Cllr. Pat Nugent and Labour s Cllr. Theresa Wright, both of whom represent the Dungarvan electoral area on the County Council. We hope they enjoy their stay in New York even if it is at the ratepayers expense!! The Big Parade Its now all systems go and the finishing touches have been put to the preparations for next Monday s St. Patrick s Day parade in the town. It will, as in former years have a 2.30 start from Crotty s Corner, travelling across the Causeway and into Grattan Square where the reviewing stand will be located. We have had many good reasons to be proud of our March 17th parade down the years, and the certainty is that the 2008 event will match and more past parades. Under the chairmanship of Jim Veale -Mr. Parade himself countless hours of page 2 / 5

3 preparatory work has gone into ext Monday s parade, and that will be reflected in what I m assured will be a spectacular event. We have been asked by the organisers to appeal to the general public to fully co-operate with the many stewards and the gardai that will be on duty, and if the weather is favourable we can expect crowds of up to 7,000 to 8,000 to attend. On the reviewing will be the mayor of Dungarvan Cllr. Damien Geoghegan and his fellow Town Council members as well as our beloved parish priest Fr. Nicholas O Mahony and a number of other celebrities including of course Mai O Higgins who penned our official anthem, Dungarvan My Home Town, and who has been an ever present at the parade since its revival more than thirty years ago. Late Joan O Brien Another stalwart member of the community has answered the Final Call in the person of Joan O Brien, Abbey View. A member of one of Dungarvan s best known and most respected families, Joan was a delightfully pleasant lady and one whose popularity deservedly encompassed every sector of society locally. She was a kind and caring person, a lovely human being in every regard, and a true and very trusted friend who will be greatly missed. The esteem in which she was held was mirrored in the hugely representative attendances at both the removal of her remains to St. Mary s Parish Church and the Requiem Mass and subsequent burial in the adjoining cemetery. They were indeed very fitting final tributes to a lady we will all remember with great affection. Joan is survived by her brother John, her sisters Nancy, Sarah, Mary, and Veronica, and a wide circle of other relatives including her brother in law, sister in law, nephews and nieces. To all of them our sincere sympathy is extended. Feile Na ndeise Launch It seems to come round quicker year on year, but the fact is that the annual Feile Na ndeise traditional music festival is almost upon us once more and will take place as usual on the holiday weekend in May. The official launch of the Feile takes place tonight(wednesday) in the famous O Donoghue s Bar in Dublin s Merrion Row and the launch will be performed by the legendary Miceal O Muircheartaigh who is of course also the Feile Na ndeise patron. page 3 / 5

4 A massive organisational effort is being mounted in respect of this year s Feile which is expected to attract upwards of 20,000 people to the town throughout the holiday weekend. And hopefully the weatherman will be more favourably disposed towards it than he has been in the past. GAA Awards Night There was a full house at Lawlors Hotel last Friday night when the County Board s various awards for 2007 were presented. From a local perspective of course it was Abbeyside/Ballinacourty s night winning the coveted Club Of The Year accolade after what was the most successful year in the proud history of this great club. The award was accepted on behalf of the sister clubs by chairman Tony Mansfield. The equally coveted Footballer Of The Year award went to Gary Hurney and the popularity of Gary s selection was reflected in the tremendous reception he received as he accepted the trophy. It really was a great GAA social occasion, and all credit to people like county PRO Joe Cleary(also an Abbeyside/Ballinacourty man) for so successfully organising it. Late Monica Cliffe Sincere sympathy is extended to the widely known and highly respected Cliffe family of Carrowgarriffe, Cappagh, on the death of Monica Cliffe which took place at St. Joseph s Hospital on Tuesday of last week at an advanced age. Predeceased by her husband Jimmy almost thirty seen years ago, Monica also suffered the immense personal loss of the death of her daughter Maura and son Noel at the ages of eight and ten years respectively in She is survived by her sons Maurice, Eamon, and Kevin, her daughters Nora and Margaret and many other relatives to whom sincere sympathy is extended. Monica s remains were removed from the Kiely Funeral Home to Modeligo Church last Wednesday evening accompanied by a huge cortege, and following Requiem Mass last Thursday she was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery in the presence of another vast concourse. page 4 / 5

5 Best Wishes Hospitalised at present is one of the community s most popular characters, Paudie Organ of Abbeyside. Paudie hails from one of Abbeyside s oldest families and is himself a virtual legend in his home town. He hasn t enjoyed the best of health for some time and is presently hospitalised locally, but everyone will be hoping to see him out and about again sooner rather than later. The Welsh Invasion For more than a quarter of a century now Welsh rugby fans from the Maesteg area of South Wales have been coming to our town for the weekend of the Ireland/Wales rugby fixture. That mans a trip to Dungarvan every second year and this year the party has grown to almost thirty with the Park Hotel their base for the five day duration of their stay from Wednesday last to Monday of this week. They have become hugely popular with the locals and in fact were given an official reception by the Town Council on their previous visit in They are always exemplarily behaved and have made many friends in Dungarvan. We know they enjoyed their latest visit to us and we know too that the planning and organising for their return in 2010 is already under way. Incidentally none of the party went to the game in Croke Park, opting instead to watch it in the comfort and ambience of some of our local hostelries!! page 5 / 5