Muintir Bháire
Newsletter
MBCC
Election
Its election year this March! The
Community Council hold elections every 3 years. This year the election papers
will be handed out to the houses during the week of 23rd March. We
ask that people return these forms to the ballot boxes that will be available
after Ahakista mass on 28th March and Gortalassa
mass on 4th April. Ballot boxes will be in Kilcrohane Church on both
the 29th March and 5th April. Also a box will be in the
producers shop and at the notice board in Ahakista. Also the option of posting
back your paper is available to Secretary Annette Nicholas, Ahakista, Bantry.
Further details are given on the
last page of this newsletter. If anyone has any questions be
sure to contact a member of the Committee, or e-mail Annette on muintirbhairecc@gmail.com.
Durrus Craft Market
The Durrus Craft Market will be returning to Phillips Green on Sunday March 29th, and on the last Sunday of every month until
July, from 11am-3pm offering a wide
range of local handmade crafts. You can also meet the creators have a chat and
a cuppa. All stalls are inside unless we have good weather. Free admission and
parking to all visitors. If you would like to book a stall
please contact Niamh at durruscraftmarket@gmail.com or 087 1491549 for more information.
Easter Egg Hunt
The MBCC Easter egg
hunt will be held on Easter Sunday 12th
April, at 12.30pm in the Kilcrohane
Community Field, weather permitting. This event is for children under 12.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Bardic
School
A Public
meeting to inform the public of the results of the Feasibility study completed
recently about the Bardic School, this will take place in Kilcrohane Hall, on Wednesday
11th March at 8.30pm. All are welcome.
Park
Run
Are you
interested in volunteering with a Park Run? If so contact Michael O’Brien,
Kilcrohane on 087 2263274 or email michaelboo1@hotmail.com
Ahakista Rowing Club
The Ahakista Rowing Club season went under way in the turn of the new year, with our senior crew starting their pre-season
with indoor training and the junior crews following shortly. As ever the aim is
to get on the water as early as possible.
Our Annual Easter Run is
taking place on Saturday the 11th of
April. Our season will culminate with the club hosting an off shore regatta
on the 13th of September.
As ever the club is always looking for new members for their senior and
junior crew and volunteers to grow the club and make those local events a
success.
Carrigboy N.S
Carrigboy NS
and St James' NS were delighted to help Durrus Cheese celebrate 40 years of
cheese making in Coomkeen. Both schools put on an
exhibition about life in Durrus and further afield 40 years ago on the 12th
February last.
The school also
had a visit from author Olive Mooney. The children really enjoyed the book
reading and appreciated the great tips Olive gave to the future writers in
Carrigboy.
It will be a
busy time for the pupils in the next few weeks. On the sporting front the
pupils will be taking part in the FAI 5 a side soccer tournament. The school is
also taking part in a sciath na scol hurling competition
for the first time and football training will be starting shortly. There are
also big plans for seachtain na gaeilge and the school's
science week in the next few weeks.
Kilcrohane N.S.
Enrolment
Day is on Friday the 20th March from 2-3pm.
Rusnacahara N.S.
The
pupils of the school are enjoying the many extra-curricular activities at the
school such as Tag Rugby and Basketball lessons. Gaelic Football lessons will
begin shortly as the pupils will be preparing for the Cumman
na mBunscoil
football competitions which take place in May.
They
really enjoyed a recent drumming workshop in the school and look forward to
their swimming lessons which commence after Easter at the Water School, Kealkill.
Pupils
in 5th and 6th class will be receiving the Sacrament of
Confirmation in the Sacred Heart Church, Durrus on Thursday 14th May
along with pupils from Carrigboy N.S. and Kilcrohane N.S. In preparation for
this Canon Martin O’Driscoll from Bantry has organised a Retreat Day for the
children of the three schools at Myross Woods, Leap.
We
are currently working on our fourth Green Flag on Travel, having already
received our flags for Litter and Waste, Energy and Water.
There
will be a clothes collection at the school on Friday
13th March, funds raised will be used to alleviate the cost of
school activities for the pupils. If you have unwanted clothes or pairs of
shoes you can drop them inside the school wall any day before then.
The
school Enrolment Day is on Wednesday 25th March from 1 to 2pm. Even
if you have not already decided on a school for your child you are very welcome
to come along on the day to view the school and meet the staff.
St.
James' N.S.
The children of St. James' National had great fun
learning with the Bee-Bot’s which were loaned from the West Cork Education
Centre. The children had great fun programming the ‘’bots’’ to complete mazes,
climb the number line and navigate a busy street
We all learned about Durrus 40 years ago and
imagined what life would be like in 40 years as part of the Durrus Cheese
Anniversary celebrations. We had a lovely day up at Durrus Cheese discovering
how cheese is made and even made some cheese of our own! (Thanks Sarah and Jeffa).
Senior pupils visited Carrigboy NS to hear author
Olive Mooney talk about her book trilogy "Chronicles of Cadaver
College".
Shrove Tuesday was celebrated in style as the
pupils made pancakes from scratch, cooking then tossing before devouring them.
We all made Lenten Promises with
some of us giving up sugary treats and others taking on new challenges.
We are looking forward to World Book Day when we
will welcome local author Lydia Little and hope we
don't frighten her away with our MAD HAIR!
We have just completed our swimming lessons in The
Maritime and are looking forward to starting GAA with Jason on Monday mornings.
Are you a Farmer or Fisherperson living in West Cork?
Are you seeking part-time work?
·
The Rural Social Scheme provides community-based
work on a part-time basis to farmers and fisherpersons. (their
spouses/partners/siblings)
·
Participants
work 19.5 hours per week and these hours are based on a farmer/fisherperson-friendly schedule
·
To qualify for the RSS you
must be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment and be aged between 25 and 66.
If you wish to seek further
information, please contact:
Arran O Driscoll
West Cork Development
Partnership
Top Floor
Credit Union Building
Kent St
Clonakilty
Co. Cork
0238834035 or arran@wcdp.ie
Beach Cleanup
Muintir Bháire
Community Council needs you to help keep our peninsula beautiful. We would
really appreciate if you could spare an hour or two to join us for a Beach and Roadside Clean up on Saturday, March 14th, beginning at 11
a.m. at the following meeting points - Kilcrohane Hall, Gortnakilla
Pier and The Cabin at Ahakista.
We ask that any
children be accompanied by an adult and it is also important that people
cleaning on the roadside wear reflective jackets. Bags, pickers and gloves will
be provided.
If you cannot make
it on that particular day, it would be great if you were willing to 'Adopt a
Mile' of roadside close to your home to remove litter from the verges. You can
contact Deirdre Towns on 087-7940860 to organise bringing the rubbish to an
agreed collection point on that particular weekend. We really appreciate your
help and every little bit can make a difference.
Muintir Bhaire Community Council Elections
The tenure of the
current Muintir Bhaire Community Council ends in March 2020 and preparations
are currently underway to elect the new Community Council which will take up
the baton for the next three years. The Community Council is a voluntary body made up of local residents
working together to develop and improve local amenities. It operates under the umbrella of Muintir na Tíre.
Opportunity to get involved
Being a
member of the Community Council provides an opportunity to get involved in your
community and to contribute to the development of your local area particularly
at a time when communities have to work together and be resourceful. Members
identify and address local priorities. A
commitment to attend monthly meetings is required and each elected council
operates for a three year period. If you are nominated in your electoral area,
we encourage you to join as this is your chance to make a contribution to the
area. It is important to have new energy
and ideas but we also hope that those previously involved would consider
returning as members as the experience is invaluable.
Nominations
A number of
the members who are currently serving are willing to remain on the Community
Council for the next three year term.
This is important so that there can be a sense of continuity
particularly with ongoing projects and also so that relevant information can be
passed on. You will receive the
opportunity to nominate people who you believe would have an interest in
getting involved when the elections take place in March.
AGM
It is
intended to have all new members in place in time for our A.G.M. which will be held at the end of March. The date will be
announced.
Key Activities of Muintir Bhaire Community Council
Ø It runs the Social Activities Club for older residents
and employs the Coordinator, Julie O’Neill. The monthly lunches, outings, the
Tuesday group and other activities have been extremely well supported and hugely
successful.
Ø A number of annual activities for younger residents
have been established – the Easter Egg Hunt and Hallowe’en Party are both very
popular events with local children.
Ø Road improvements and increased signage have been put
in place.
Ø Annual beach clean-ups are held
Ø It runs the
Blackgate Centre, which provides a venue for holding meetings and also a number
of social events have been held over the years. It also acts as a trail head
for the Sheep’s Head Way
Ø It coordinates the
opening and the maintenance of the toilets in Tooreen which are a great
resource for walkers and visitors to the area. These are the only public
toilets on the peninsula.
Ø It is responsible
for the organisation and running of the very successful Christmas@ the
Blackgate which has run for the past nine years. Santa. Mrs Claus and the Elves
are hosted in the Blackgate for a weekend in December each year and
approximately 200 children and their families get to meet them as well as
visiting the live Crib and meeting a local blacksmith
Ø It also organises
the Christmas Tree Lighting event in Kilcrohane every year and hosts the
community get together with mulled wine/ hot chocolate and mince pies that
follows it.
Ø It successfully applied
for LEADER funding to carry out a feasibility study to explore ways of telling
the areas unique bardic story in a way that is sustainable and would benefit
the local area. The feasibility study was completed at the end of 2019 and the
work in implementing the recommendations will be the focus of the new Community
Council in 2020 – 2023.
Ø It has organised a
number of talks in Kilcrohane Hall on a wide range of topics including First
Aid and Promoting Positive Mental Health.
Ø It has contributed
to the cost of Hedge Cutting along the roads in various location by co-funding
the cost with local residents
Ø It maintains the
Defibrillators in Ahakista and Kilcrohane, which are an essential community
resource
As you can see, the Muintir Bháire Community Council plays a vital part in promoting and developing the area and raising community spirit. By joining the Community Council you have the ability to enhance our community which like all rural areas has undergone unprecedented and dramatic change. At a time when rural communities are under threat, please consider volunteering for a term as your community needs you.