News from the Village 25.06.15

Posted on June 25, 2015 by coachfordnews

Coachford Tidy Towns

Well done to everyone who helped to keep the village clean and tidy over the last few weeks as part of the Cork County Litter Challenge. The results for the last fortnight are in and Coachford scored a very good 96.80. This gave the village an average of 90.13/100 over the three judging periods. The 78.60 in the second period was a poor result  but the village recovered well and ended second overall out of the bigger villages with only Glanmire scoring better than Coachford and large villages like Ballyvourney, Cloyne, Killeagh and Innishannon finishing behind the Mid Cork village.. Martha McCaffery, Chairperson of the group said, “ We are delighted with the result and just goes to show what a difference a little effort  by a small group of people can make. We are grateful to all the businesses, residents and visitors who have helped us during the last six weeks. Huge thanks to Gateway worker, Oliver O’Riordan for helping to keep the village litter free   Let’s all keep up the good work during the summer and Keep Coachford clean. We would also like to extend  our heartiest congratulations to our neighbours Carrigadrohid and Dripsey on superb results and the very best of luck to Carrigadrohid in the semi finals.

 

School’s out for Summer

Coachford National School has closed for the annual Summer holidays. Last week a very special Graduation ceremony was held for the 16 sixth class students who now go on to Secondary schools in the area with 15 of them hoping to attend Coachford College in September. Peter Dineen, PRO of the Parents Association said,” the school has been a superb environment for education for these 16 pupils and we are very fortunate to have a such a fine educational facility in the village. The teachers and staff are a credit to the school and the last year has seen some fantastic achievements by the whole school in sport, science, environment and charity work. The children and their education is at the centre of everything they do. We are now all looking forward to welcoming the new pupils to junior infants at the end of August.”

 

Confirmation and Holy Communion donations

Children from Coachford National School who received their first Holy Communion and Confirmation this year donated some of the money they received from relatives and neighbours to Marymount Hospice last Friday. The classes along with the annual  ‘School Entrepreneurial Day’ raised over €675 for the hospice. This donation was very kindly received by Mr. Jack Callanan from Marymount “ I would like to very much thank the pupils and staff of the school for this very kind donation. For children to give up some of their money that they received for their holy communion and confirmation tells me a lot about you, your school and your parents. The annual Entrepreneurial day is an excellent idea and we are very thankful that you chose Marymount as your chosen charity”.

 

Aghabullogue meet Argideen

Aghabullogue Intermediate hurlers have drawn Argideen Rangers in round three of the Intermediate Hurling Championship. The game has been fixed for Saturday July 4th in Brinny but as with any GAA fixture this is subject to change. The winners of the game will be entered back into the championship draw whole the losers will be forced to play either Milford or Barryroe in the relegation final, a final that no team wants to be involved in.

 

Coachford Road Race

The Coachford Five Mile road race takes place this year on Friday August 14th at 7.00pm. Registration begins at 5.30pm in the GAA Hall where changing facilities are also available. The route is mostly flat however there are two climbs, one in the first half mile and the other begins just at the mile mark but after these it is fairly flat for the rest of the route. This is the third running of the race which is held as a fund raiser for Suicide Aware and local charities and is part of the Coachford Autumn Festival. There are cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd  in both women and Men’s categories and there will also be various spot prizes throughout the field. The race is also open to walkers. For further information contact Peter on 086 8030086.

 

Escort Mark 2

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Mark 11 Escort, the organisers of the Coachford Autumn Festival Vintage show are inviting all owners of the iconic car to come and celebrate with them on Sunday August 16th in Coachford. Kieran Doherty, PRO of the group said, “We are thrilled that this year we are hosting this celebration of one of the finest cars of the 1970s.  We are inviting owners ,enthusiasts and fans of this iconic car to come along and share your stories and experiences with the Mark 11 escort.”

 

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News from the Village 18.06.15

Posted on June 22, 2015 by coachfordnews

Flags Galore for Coachford

Coachford National School were the proud recipients of two flags last Friday. The School received their fourth Green Flag  and their first Health Promoting School Flag. The An Taisce green flag was awarded for  the Travel module. The aim of this flag is to promote and increase the amount of pupils walking, cycling, park ‘n’ stride, carpooling or using public transport, which will ease congestion by reducing the amount of private cars arriving at the school gate. It will also lessen the overall impact on the environment by reducing emissions and pollution. The journey to school is an ideal way for children to take part in regular physical activity, to interact with their peers and to develop the road sense children need as pedestrians and cyclists. The school children organised an action day where they walked to school, had a Car pooling awareness week and invited a member of the Gardai to come in and discuss road safety with them. In presenting the flag Dr. Mary Stack of Cork County Council praised the teachers, parents and especially the children. She said, “ this is Coachford National School’s fourth Green Flag and displays a huge commitment from the school over the last ten years to the  environment of the school and  the wider area and places the School as one of the top educators in environmental awareness and sustainability”.  Coachford National School became the latest school in the country to be presented with the Healthy Ireland –‘Health Promoting Schools’ Flag’. The Healthy Ireland-Health Promoting Schools’(HPS) Flag’ is presented by the HSE to schools as an acknowledgement of their work in improving the health of their school communities. The Healthy Ireland-Health Promoting Schools programme supports schools to focus on health and wellbeing. Signing up to the programme involved all members of the Coachford National school community. Students, staff, parents and guardians were consulted to identify priority health areas. Over a period of around 2 school years the school develop an action plan to address the health areas identified. Presenting the flag to the school and certificates to the students who worked on the initiative, Margaret Crowley HSE Health Promotion Officer said, “Schools work, at their own pace, supported by the HSE Health Promotion & Improvement Dept. In each school, a Healthy Ireland-Health Promoting Schools coordinator and Healthy Ireland-Health Promoting Schools team lead out on the progression of health and wellbeing and this work is supported by the school principal, board of management and wider school community.  The pupils and staff here in Coachford have shown a real commitment to the programme  and there is no doubt that being a Health Promoting school will be of huge benefit to the School . European research has shown many benefits of this type of whole school approach to health.  Chief among these benefits are increased self-esteem, safer and cleaner school environments, lowered incidences of bullying, a positive approach to health issues, increased parent involvement and better student/teacher relationships to name a few.

Coachford Community Farmers Market

All good things have to come to an end and so it is for the market.  For the last eight years Coachford market has been a regular successful and enjoyable social event in the village.   However, it is with regret that the committee now feel that it is time to draw this to a close for the moment.  Chairperson of the market, Penny Rainbow said, “We have had tremendous support from many different areas of the community and would like to thank sincerely everyone who has been involved over the years.   The stallholders and the market have collected for several charities over the years and the second hand book stall alone has collected €3286 for Saint Vincent de Paul  over the last six years.  We would like to thank everyone for their custom.  We would also like to wish all the stallholders the very best of luck for the future”.

Little Voices

The first event of the Coachford Autumn Festival takes place on Thursday August 13th. The Junior Voice of the Festival is being run for the very first time and a large number of entries are expected. Festival PRO, Kieran Doherty said,  “ we are all very excited about this event. The competition is open to singers under 16 and they can be individuals or groups. Musical accompaniment is allowed but backing tracks are not. We have lined up two very good judges to listen to the singers and judge them on performance, delivery and the quality of the voice. It will be a fabulous nights entertainment and all the proceeds of the event will be going to Suicide Aware and local charities.”  Further information can be got from the festival secretary on 086 8030086.

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Macroom Youthreach Programme

Posted on June 6, 2015 by coachfordnews

Are you aged 15-20 years and after leaving school?

Would you like to gain a national qualification recognised by employers and colleges?

Youth Reach Macroom Centre for Education can offer you these opportunities  in addition to a weekly allowance to support your training.

For more information click on the link to see our brochure  or ring 087 4130764

Macroom Youthreach Brochure web

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News from the Village 04.06.15

Posted on June 5, 2015 by coachfordnews

Corpus Christi procession

The annual Corpus Christi procession will take place in Coachford on Sunday after mass at 11.30am. The procession is a wonderful spectacle and an opportunity for the whole parish to come together and mark the event by walking in the procession and praying at the very beautiful grotto in Coachford. Children who have recently received their first Holy communion will lead the procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the village and the girls will scatter flower petals in front of the canopy which the children who have received their confirmation in April will carry.

New Community Council

The new members of the Aghabullogue Coachford Rylane Community Council met last week for the first time since they were elected in early May.  The council members are Siobhan O’Keeffe, Dan Twomey, John O’Sullivan Conor McSweeney and Aidan Ronan who represent the Aghabullogue area. Representing the Coachford area are; Mairead Ní Buachalla, Bernie O’Riordan, Martha McCaffery. Jeremiah O Sullivan, Peter Dineen, Pat Kiely and Doug Lucey. Representing the Rylane area are; Joanne Lyons, Norma Walsh, Sean Buckley, Nigel Dennehy and Vincent Carroll. The first order of business by the new grouping was to elect its officers for the coming year. After a discussion of the roles of the officers. the following were elected . Chairperson, Mairead Ní Buachalla, Vice Chairperson, Siobhan O’Keeffe, Secretary, Joanne Lyons, Treasurer, Nigel Dennehy and Public Relations officer, Doug Lucey. The meeting then went on to go through items of concern for the Community Council that need addressing . High on the list  were the ongoing issues with the lack of a proper sewage treatment plant in Coachford and the lack of a proper footpath in Rylane. The council also discussed the Village Design Statements, Tidy Towns, School bus service from Rylane to Coachford and the workings of the heritage committee. The next meeting is planned for June 24th.

Tidy Towns

The National Tidy Towns competition judging begins this week and Coachford Tidy Towns (CTT) are hoping for an improved mark this year. The group have recently installed a new planted bed south of the GAA pitch in what was a previously dead and blank space. The members of CTT would like to thank, James Murphy, Denis O’Sullivan (and Sean) landscapes and Patrick O’Donovan for all their help in getting this in place and looking so well. They would also like to thank Broomhill Vintage club and Coachford Autumn Festival for helping to fund this project. The village is looking very tidy and clean this year and the CTT would like to acknowledge the huge help of Oliver O’Riordan in keeping the place so tidy and Johnny Healy who volunteered an entire weeks work on various projects around the village. The CTT would also like to thank everyone who is working on making outside their homes and business premises looking well. Together we can make our place better.

Running Angels

Ten women from Coachford competed in the Cork City Marathon last Monday as part of two relay teams. The ‘Coachford Angels’ meet every week  with many others to jog around the village. Some of the women were part of Ciara Murphy’s Operation Transformation programme in February and have kept up the running ever since. They decided to set the Marathon as their goal and trained towards it. The ‘Angels’ completed the marathon which was run in dreadful conditions and enjoyed the experience so much that they vowed to continue the training throughout the summer. Next up for the athletes is the Coachford Autumn Festival 5 mile road race on  Friday August 14th.  The groups mentor and trainer, Ciara Murphy completed the full marathon in a time of 3hrs.36mins.

Exam Times

Over 220 pupils from Coachford College are sitting the Junior and leaving Certificate examinations at the college over the next few weeks.  The college has enjoyed some excellent results in these exams and the hope is that this year will be no different with maths and Science being the two areas where most students excel in. All the students are wished well in their endeavours.

County Mayor Awards

The Inniscarra Lake Tourism Development Company were nominated for one of the County Mayor’s Community and Voluntary awards for their development of the Coachford Greenway. The Greenway has been one of the successes of the year and thousands have availed of the very beautiful facility since it opened 11 months ago. Community groups and individuals from across the county were honoured for their huge commitment and dedication to their communities. Coachford were also included In the individual category, John Hogan and Siobhan were nominated for their work in their community down through the years; raising money for Cystic Fibrosis, allowing their business premises to be used as a community centre and for their unselfish service to the community in sport, education and charity

Major Mayor Award Winners

Congratulations to the members of the Inniscarra lake Tourism Development Company (ILTDC ) , the people who developed the Coachford Greenway. This week they were honoured by the Mayor of Cork, and Cork county council for their trojan work in developing the facility. The Mayor, Cllr. Alan Coleman praised the  ILTDC for their belief in the project, the manner in which they set about achieving their goal and the way that they delivered the finished product. “Make no mistake, what this group has done for the Lee Valley area and for the economy of Cork is immense. Not only have they created an inland fishing facility to rival any of those across Europe, they have also in the process created an outstanding amenity for the Coachford and Mid Cork region. It is my pleasure to announce that the Inniscarra Lake Tourism Development Company are the winners of the Cork county council community and voluntary award for Cork South. ” On accepting the award, Tommy Lawton of the ILTDC said” we are delighted to have received this honour. It’s always great to have the work that so many people have put in over the last few years appreciated and recognised. The Greenway is open  almost twelve months and the number of overseas anglers visiting the facility every week is on the increase and we are looking forward to a big influx of fisherman during the next few months. We are blown away by the huge number of people enjoying the Greenway and it’s great to see the walk being availed of by so many people.”.

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Coachford group wins Cork county Mayors award

Posted on June 4, 2015 by coachfordnews

imageCongratulations to the people who developed the Coachford Greenway.  Tonight they were honoured by the Mayor of Cork, and Cork county council for their trojan work in developing the facility. The Mayor, Cllr. Alan Coleman praised the Inniscarra Lake Tourism  Development  Company  ( ILTDC)  for their belief in the project, the manner in which they set about achieving their goal and the way that they delivered  the finished product. “Make no mistake, what this group has done for the Lee Valley area and for the economy of Cork is immense. Not only have  they created an inland fishing facility to rival any of those across  Europe, they have also in the process created an outstanding amenity for the Coachford and Mid Cork region.  It is my pleasure to announce that the Inniscarra  Lake Tourism Development Company  are the winners of the Cork county council  community and voluntary  award for Cork South. ” On accepting the award,  Tommy Lawton of the ILTDC said” we are delighted to have received this honour.  It’s always  great to have the work that so many people have put in over the last few years appreciated and recognised.  The Greenway is almost open twelve months and the number of overseas anglers visiting the facility every week is on the increase and we are looking forward to a big influx of fisherman during the next few  months. We are blown away by the huge number  of people enjoying the  Greenway  and it’s great to see the walk being availed of by so many people.”.

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Coachford features in County Mayor’s Awards

Posted on May 31, 2015 by coachfordnews

The Inniscarra Lake GreenwayTourism Development Company have been nominated for one of the County Mayor’s Community and Voluntary awards for their development of the Coachford Greenway. The Greenway has been one of the successes of the year and thousands have availed of the very beautiful facility since it opened 11 months ago. The awards take place next Wednesday night at a gala event on the top floor of the County Hall. Community groups and individuals from across the county will be honoured for their huge commitment and dedication to their communities. Coachford are also included In the individual category, John Hogan and Siobhan have been nominated for their work in their community down through they yearIMG_0060s; raising money for Cystic Fibrosis, allowing their business premises to be used as a community centre and for their unselfish service to the community in sport, education and charity .Unfortunately John and Siobhan will be unable to attend the event as they have an even more pleasant function to attend, the marriage of their son, John to Lauren Callaghan in Cardiff next week.

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News from the Village 28.05.15

Posted on May 28, 2015 by coachfordnews

Coachford rocks this weekend

The tenth annual Snottfest music festival  takes Snootfest poster aplace this weekend in Coachford. The music event hosted by O’Riordan’s Bar is always a tremendous spectacle of music and seen as the start of summer by many around the Lee Valley area. The weekend kicks off on Friday night when the Celtic rock band, ‘Hell for Leather’ pay their first ever visit to Coachford. This gig promises to kick off the festival with a bang. On Saturday night, the very popular and brilliant five piece band, ‘The Sea Captains’ will entertain the Lee valley crowds. Festival organiser, Pat O’Riordan says  “This band are excellent and were a huge hit last month when they played for the Marymount Hospice fundraiser. If you missed them then don’t miss them now!”.  On Sunday the festival will host two gigs and a monster family BBQ. The hot plates will be hopping with burgers, sausages and fried chicken from 5pm,  while the diners will be entertained by the wonderful Aidan O’Rourke singing his unique covers of all the songs you know and love. Sunday night sees the return of ‘The Hillbillies’. This  superb band brought the house down at last year’s event and are expected to do something similar at this year’s ‘Snottfest’. The festival of music and craic takes place all weekend in O’Riordan’s Bars Coachford .

Coachford gets Cleaner

Litter challenge rd 1resultsCongratulations to the Coachford Tidy Towns gang who received a brilliant result in the first round of the Cork County Litter challenge. The village received 95 points out of 100, losing  5 points due to two pieces of litter and 30 cigarette butts being found around the village. Chairperson of the group, Martha McCaffrey said, “This is a brilliant result for the village as it’s one of the largest in the competition having 3 pubs, 4 shops, 2 chippers, 2 schools, a pharmacy, a hairdressers, a GP surgery,2 play-schools, 2 hardware stores and a sports complex. Being sandwiched in between, Dripsey and Carrigadrohid, two of the cleanest villages in the county, certainly forces us to raise our game in the competition. Our biggest  litter problem continues to be cigarette butts and until we can change smokers habit of discarding these on the footpaths and roads as if  it’s normal to do we will continue to lose marks.” Coachford lies 16th overall and 1st in the big village category. Keep up the good work.

Intermediate Hurling Championship

Aghabullogue Intermediate Hurlers begin their 2015 championship campaign on Saturday when they face up to last year’s quarter finalists, Grenagh in Ballyanley at 7pm. The hurlers have been preparing well and have beaten Argideen Rangers and Ballygarvan in the league in recent weeks but Saturday night will be a tough challenge for the boys in green.

 

Rylane get promoted

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Congratulations to Rylane AFC who were promoted to the premier league from Division 1 on Saturday. Rylane secured their place in the top league by defeating St. John Boscos from Cork city by two goals to nil. The promotion will help to ease the pain of losing the title race with Kanturk FC the previous week. Rylane AFC have  become a very serious team over the last three years and have progressed quickly to the Premier division. Judging on last Saturday’s performance they will not be out of place in this very competitive league.

 

Junior VoiceJunior Voice poster

The Coachford Autumn Festival have announced a new event to this year’s programme. On Thursday August 13th the Junior Voice of the competition takes place in the GAA Hall Coachford. The competition is looking for the best under 16 singer in the Lee Valley region. Festival PRO, Kieran Doherty said “ last year’s Voice of the Festival was a huge success and we are looking forward to hosting it again this year  on August 15th. Following the success of last year’s show we received a number of requests to host a Junior version of the event for under 16s and we decided to give it a shot. We expect a huge number of entries and we are looking forward to finding some excellent singers to entertain us on Thursday August 13th.

Coachford Corpus Christi Procession 2013

Corpus Christi procession

The annual Corpus Christi procession will take place in Coachford on Sunday June 7th after mass at 11.30am. The procession is a wonderful spectacle and an opportunity for the whole parish to come together and mark the event by walking in the procession and praying at the very beautiful grotto in Coachford.

Win tickets for the ‘Euro 2016’ qualifier Euro 2016 logo

The Coachford AFC fundraising draw takes place on Tuesday June 2  for 2 match tickets for the vital ‘Euro 2016’ qualifier game between the Republic Of Ireland and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday June 13. The second prize is possibly even  more appetising as the runner up  will receive 2 tickets to the Ireland versus England ‘Friendly’ game also at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday June 7. Tickets are €5 each or 3 for €10 and can be bought from any club member or in most Pubs and shops in the village..

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Coachford National School Sciath na Scoil

Posted on May 27, 2015 by coachfordnews

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Pictures from Aghabullogue NS Sciath na Scoil

Posted on May 26, 2015 by coachfordnews

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News From the Village 21.05.15

Posted on May 20, 2015 by coachfordnews

Exciting Cycle Racing

The Coachford Cycling Club hold their annual Noel Deasy Skoda Coachford Classic, Junior and Senior Racing on this Sunday, May 24. There will be A2, A3, A4, Junior, Youth and Women categories. Sign on takes place at the GAA complex in Coachford from 9.30am until 11.45am. The Youth racing begins at 11.00am with the Main A2 and A3 races beginning at 12.30pm. If you are not one of the lucky ones taking part then you should really get out there to watch this spectacle of road racing. The cyclists will be racing on the loop route from Coachford to Coachford via  Carrigadrohid and Rooves Bridge. For more information email: coachfordcyclingclub@gmail.com

 

Summer Fishing Festival

The first of Coachford’s festival takes place this week when the annual Coachford Fishing Festival kicks off from May 24 to 26. The Festival is a huge event in the anglers calendar and if the last few weeks are anything to go by the catches are expected to be better than ever. A lot of the business in the village are expected to be very busy and some of them are sponsoring individual events throughout the weekend. The festival takes place along the northern bank of the river lee from Dripsey to Carrigadrohid with most of the anglers concentrating their efforts along the new Coachford Greenway stretch..

Sciath na Scoil

Congratulations to the Coachford National Schools girls team and the Aghabullogue National School who both have qualified for the Sciath na Scoil Finals next week. Coachford take on Ballyheeda (Ballinhassig) in the Camogie Final on Wednesday May 27 in the Nemo Rangers Sports Complex in Douglas at 11am and Aghabullogue take on Bartlemy on Tuesday also in Nemo Rangers grounds at 1.15pm. Aghabullogue defeated neighbours Rylane in a thrilling game last week to reach the finals.

Aviva Stadium tickets

Coachford AFC are running a fundraising draw over the next two weeks with two fantastic prizes on offer. First prize is 2 match tickets for the vital ‘Euro 2016’ qualifier game between the Republic Of Ireland and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday June 13. The second prize is possibly even  more appetising as the runner up  will receive 2 tickets to the Ireland versus England ‘Friendly’ game also at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday June 7. Tickets are €56 each or 3 for €10 and can be bought from any club member or in most Pubs and shops in the village. The draw takes place on Tuesday June 2.

Soccer Lotto

There was no winner of the €1,800 jackpot, The numbers drawn were 9 – 26 – 28Lucky dips of €40 Paddy O’ Riordan, €20 Lotto Ladies, Marie Murphy, Eileen Martin (Glebe), Paddy Martin). Next Week’s Jackpot: is €2,000  and the draw will take place in  O’Riordan’s Bar on Monday night.

 

Community House

The management Committee of the Coachford Community House have invested a large amount of money in bringing the facilities of the Main Street building up to superb standard. The building which is home to the local Community Playgroup now also contains two modern consultation/meeting rooms. The building is ideally located in the heart of the busy village and would be an ideal office space for a medical or legal professional. Rates are extremely reasonable and would be very advantageous for a start up or expanding business. For further information contact the building manager on 085  1594263.

Suicide Aware Honours Tractor Builders

Broomhill vintage club were honoured by the charity,.’Suicide Aware’ for all the support the club has given the charity over the last few years. At a flag awarding ceremony the organisers of the Coachford Autumn Festival were thanked for the enormous amount of monies raised for Suicide Aware over the last number of years through the Festival and the donations given at the’ Tractor Builds’ and ‘Vintage Runs’. Rugby Star, and the new ambassador for the Suicide Aware charity, Alan Quinlan, in presenting the flag, praised the club and commended them in their efforts to fundraise for a worthy cause and to help in removing the stigma around mental health. Club secretary, Peter Dineen said, “while it was lovely to be honoured and thanked by suicide aware, thanks should really go to all those who support our events and attend the festival and those businesses that sponsor us each year. Our Tractor builds have toured all over the county and beyond and have raised a huge amount of money through donations received at the various events. The Coachford Autumn Festival continues to go from strength to strength and is now one of the biggest weekend events in Cork. We are continuing to do our best to grow the event and to try and raise as much money  as possible for Suicide Aware and other charities.”  The Coachford Autumn Festival runs from August 14 to 16h.

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