Coachford Confirmation – a huge success.

Twenty boys and girls from Coachford National School were joined by their friends from Rylane and Aghabullogue schools for a beautiful ceremony of Confirmation on Tuesday in St. Patrick’s Church Coachford. The boys and girls were welcomed to the church by Parish Priest, Fr. Peadar Murphy and in all   35 children received the sacrament of confirmation from Bishop William Crean. Every child was involved in the ceremony with many of them taking part in the readings, singing and presenting the Offertory Gifts. All the Children were well prepared under the excellent guidance of their teachers; Mr. Michael Horan, (Coachford NS), Mrs. Mary Buckley, (Rylane NS) and Mr. Seamus Cronin (Aghabullogue NS). The Children were also accompanied by their very proud parents, Godparents, Grandparents, families and friends. The children from Coachford who received the sacrament were; Killian Barry Murphy, Sarah Byrne, Kiera Cooney, Julie Crowley, Amy Desmond, James Flanagan, Aisling Healy, Emily Long, Conor Lynch, Hannah McCaffrey, Joshua Martin, Patrick Moody, Adam Murphy, Mark Murphy, Emma O’Driscoll, Jack Oldham, Pádraig O’Sullivan, Aoife Riordan, Annelise Roche and Julie Tarrant. The twelve children from Rylane were Ciara Ahern, jack Browne, Daniel Desmond, Joshua Grimes, Mark Kelleher, Oísin Lane, Shane Moynihan, Shauna Murray, Cialan O’ Sullivan, Ben Padwick Darragh Reidy and Toni Wilson. The three from Aghabullogue National School were Sean Barrett, Jack long and Alan O’Sullivan.

Village Station

The Coachford Village  ‘Spring’ Station takes place in Caochford Church next Wednesday, April 2^nd at 8.00pm. Coachford  Village Station covers  The village, Knockanowen, Part of Nadrid, Leemount, Railway, Glebe, Fr. Sheehan Place and Beechville.

Busy April ahead for Coachford

The month of April looks like it’s going to be a very busy one for Coachford. First up on April 13^th is the Broomhill Vintage Club Spring Run. The run is open to all Veteran, Vintage and Classic Cars and Tractors. Modern tractors are also very welcome. Registration is from 11.00am in the GAA hall in Coachford with the vehicles heading off towards Blarney and Donoughmore from 12.00noon. On Easter Sunday night Coachford Players will begin a three night run of the hilarious comedy, ‘Panic Stations’, in the GAA Hall from 8.00pm each night. On Friday April 25^th Mouse Racing will take centre stage in O’Callaghan’s Bar. These tiny creatures that have been in training for the last three months will provide great entertainment for those in attendance at the Inniscarra Lake Tourism Development fundraiser.   

Coachford AFC super seven

The Coachford AFC B team scored an amazing seven goals in their defeat of Los Zarcos last weekend in the league. This was a superb performance by the boys who are still in the fight for promotion as the season enters the finishing straight. The premier team battled back from a goal down to equalize against kilreen in the league when Man of the Match Pa Finnegan blasted to the back of the net from a spot kick. Peter O’ Riordan was superb in goals and Ciaran Lucey was a tower of strength in defence.

Schoolboys Soccer

Coachford Under 13s travel to Ballypheane on Saturday to play Kilreen in the league at 12.15pm. On Sunday the under 16s entertain Macroom in the league in Carrigadrohid at 10.30am and the Under 14s entertain Carrigaline at the same venue at 12.15pm.

Aghabullogue U12s and U16s win but others lose

The Under 12 footballers started their season with a well deserved win over Ballincollig last weekend and the Under 16s were emphatic winners over Blarney in their league but the Under 21 footballers suffered a five point defeat at the hands of Macroom in the semi final of the Mid Cork championship. The Intermediate hurlers lost their second game of the league when they went down by six points to St. Catherine in Ballynoe last Sunday afternoon. This weekend the Intermediate Footballers play Ballydesmond in Coachford on Sunday.

Seachtain na Gaeilge at Coachford College

The students and teachers of Coachford College celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge in style last week. The school held a monster Ceili, Table Quizzes, Treasure Hunts, Hurling Skills, Facebook competitions and many more novel events all through the medium of Irish. Some of the teachers showed off their skills as Set Dancers to the delight and amusement of many of the pupils.

Coachford Confirmation.

Coachford Church will host the parish confirmation ceremony on Tuesday March 25^th at 11.00am.  Over 30 children from Coachford, Aghabullogue and Rylane National Schools will receive the sacrament.

Blarney, Bweeing and Beyond.

The Coachford based Broomhill Vintage Club has announced that they are holding their Spring Run on Sunday April 13^th . Registration is from 11.00am in the GAA hall in Coachford with Tractors, Cars, motorbikes and trucks heading off at 12 noon. The Cars head for Blarney and Waterloo before meeting up with the tractors in ‘Molly’s Bar’ Bweeing.

Aghabullogue Footballers reach semi Final

The Aghabullogue under 21 footballers will play Macroom on Saturday March 22^nd at 3.30pm in Carrigadrohid in the semi final of the Mid Cork Championship. Aghabullogue defeated Kilmurry last weekend on a score line of 2.13 to 2.12 in a thrilling game of football. Unfortunately for a lot of rugby supporters the Six Nations game between Ireland and France was fixed for the same time as the Under 21 game and could not be changed. This meant they were denied the opportunity to see Aghabullogue win a game which saw superb skill, bravery, talent and some unbelievable scores from both teams. Aghabullogue finished the game with only 13 men following some yellow and black card decisions. When the final whistle came there was no talk of any retirements or end of eras passing or indeed any media frenzy focused on just one of the thirty players, there was just a sense of achievement for the young men from aghabullogue of reaching the semi final of the championship.

Breaking legs

The usual way of wishing luck to people who are about to go on stage is “Break a Leg” but Coachford Players have experienced the very opposite of good luck as one of their cast has suffered a broken foot just weeks before the group were scheduled to perform their hilarious comedy, ‘Panic Stations’ in Coachford. The group have now been forced to postpone their staging of the play to Easter Sunday Night, Bank Holiday Monday and the following Tuesday. Club PRO, Peter Dineen said “It’s a pity we have to postpone but it couldn’t be helped and the extra few weeks rehearsals gives all the cast a chance to perfect their lines and performances! We are all looking forward to the show going ahead on April 20^th 21^st and 22^nd and looking forward to seeing as many people as possible supporting their local drama group.”

Soccer

The Coachford Premier team travel to Kilreen for a league fixture on Saturday at 3.00pm while the B team entertain Los Zarcos in Carrigadrohid at the same time. In schoolboys soccer, Killanardrish/Coachford Under 13s play Avondale on Saturday morning at 10.30am in Beaumont Park and the Under 16s travel to Buttevant for a league game also fixed for 10.30am. The Under 14s have a home fixture in Carrigadrohid on Sunday at 10.30am when Blarney united will provide the opposition

We Have a Plan

The Village Design Statements (VDS) for Coachford Aghabullogue and Rylane were launched last week by the Mayor of Cork County, Cllr. Noel O’ Connor. The statements are blueprints for the three villages and outline plans and projects that the community would like to see completed over the coming years. The VDS are community led plans which will help to shape the future of the villages and will act as a guide to developers and the Cork County Council in what way the whole community wants to see their village grow into the future.  Lisa Cashman form the West Cork Development Partnership congratulated the Community Council on working to draw up the VDS but reminded those present “ It is only now that the real work starts”. Aine Collins TD said “it was wonderful to see the way the whole community worked together to bring the VDS to this stage and it showed what can be achieved when communities have a goal and work towards Achieving that goal.”  Cllr Noel O’Connor remarked on the very expansive document and how well laid out it was. He also spoke of how important planning for the future was for local communities. “We in the council will do our utmost to accommodate all communities when they bring projects before us. We recognize that there is a huge amount of work going on right throughout the county in communities and if we can be of any help in any way then please come to us. Our door is always open.” He said.

The VDS cover a huge range of projects from safer roads and footpaths to developing playgrounds and growing sustainable communities. The process undertaken by the communities and URS consultants involved gathering information about the villages, speaking to a wide range of stakeholders, getting the views of school children, adults and community groups and then preparing a document showing what is important to the community about their village and what projects can be achievable in the short, medium and long term.

Community Council Chairperson, Deirdre O’Donovan in addressing the large attendance said “ These Village Design Statements will enable this Community Council and the ones that follow to plan for the controlled development of our villages. When we were drawing these plans up at the beginning we first had to look at what was good and bad about our villages. We could see that there were many good things that we already had; our heritage, location, scenery, businesses, sporting facilities and of course the people. The things that we wished to improve or change were numerous. This plan will help us to change these things and at the same time enhance what is good about the area. We as a community Council will work with all the agencies to improve each village and to address the items that the community has prioritized in this document. We are grateful for the huge support of the Lisa Cashman and West Cork Development Partnership in helping us to prepare these plans and we look forward to working with them in the coming years. I would also like to thank Faughna Keohane and Conor Shanahan of Cork County Council for their support. Our villages are precious to us. We all face uncertain times and many challenges ahead but we as a community Council are optimistic for the future of Aghabullogue Coachford and Rylane. We must work to ensure that our villages are safe, vibrant and welcoming to new people. They must be relevant to all who live in our community and we must create an environment for them to grow and prosper. With the support of the County Council, the other state agencies and each other I believe all these things are achievable.”

St. Patrick’s Weekend Food Market

The Coachford Farmers Market will be decked out in green on Saturday to celebrate local Irish Food and food producers form the Coachford area. The market kicks off at 10.30am and runs for two hours. It’s a great place to pick up some fresh vegetables, cheese, cakes and bread.

Weekend Music

O’Riordan’s Bar Coachford will host the very talented Jennifer Lyons from ‘The Voice of Ireland’ on Sunday March 16^th from 9.30pm and on St. Patrick’s Day Eva Cremin will entertain the revelers from 7 to 9pm.

Break a leg

The Coachford players production of  “Panic Stations” has had to be postponed until April 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd due to one of the cast breaking a bone in  their foot. The ‘Break a Leg’ greeting in theatre circles usually means the best of luck to those about to go on stage but in this instance it means the cast will have to wait for an extra three weeks before they can venture on the boards with their comedy.

St. Patrick’s Day vintage run

The Annual Dripsey Vintage and Car run takes place on St. Patrick’s Day from Griffins Garden Centre. Registration is from 10.00am and roll out at 11.30am.  The run, in aid of Muskerry Autism Support Group and Dripsey Community Association is always well supported and the craic at Griffins before the run is very enjoyable. This year singers, musicians and set dancers will entertain all those attending the show before the cars and tractors set out for their run west and north. There will be prizes galore for the Best Car, Best Tractor, Best Dressed Lady and Gent and Best original tractor.

Buns for Bangkok raises lots of lolly.

The recent Cake Sale and Coffee Morning in aid of Sister Annie Louise’s work in Thailand raised over €3,510 .The organisers would like to tank all those who baked and bought cakes.  They would also like to thank everyone who supported the coffee morning and those who supported the raffle. One of the organisers. Helena Merrigan said “ it was a huge success and we were overwhelmed with the support. The money will go directly to the hostel in Bangkok with Sister Annie and will be used to help those in most of need”.

GAA

Aghabullogue Under 21 footballers take on Kilmurry in Ovens on Saturday at 4.45pm in the quarter final of the Mid Cork Championship. The boys had a good win over Blarney in the previous round and are hoping to make it to the semi final again this year.

Club Shop

The Aghabullogue Club shop will be open from 11.00am to 12.30pm on Saturday March 15^th at the GAA complex. Hats, Gear bags, jackets, replica jerseys, socks and lots of other club merchandise will be available at the shop

Soccer

Both of Coachford AFC adult teams are in action this Saturday at 3.00pm. The premier team take on Springfield in the league at the Glebe and the B team entertain Waterloo in Carrigadrohid.

Schoolboys Soccer

The under 14s travel to Fermoy to play the North Cork side at 12.15pm on Sunday and on St. Patrick’s Day the Under 12s play Kinsale in Carrigadrohid at 10.30am.

Garden Talk

The Coachford Flower Club will host a garden talk by DJ Murphy of Bandon Garden Centre will take place on Wednesday March 19^th at 8.00pm in Breathnach’s Bar . Non Members are very welcome.

Mayor to launch future plans for three villages

The County Mayor, Cllr. Noel O’Connor will launch the Coachford, Aghabullogue and Rylane Village Design Statements on Tuesday March 4^th at 7.30pm in the Community Hall Aghabullogue. Also in attendance will be Aine Collins TD, representatives from West Cork Development Partnership, who funded the project and representatives from Cork County Council.

Village Design Statements (VDS) are used to empower local communities throughout the island of Ireland to become involved in shaping their local environments. It is also hoped that the VDS will become a useful tool for the community in planning and shaping their local community.

In preparation of the VDS for Aghabullogue Coachford and Rylane, local schools, organisations, businesses and the wider community were invited to complete questionnaires and to take part in open workshops in each village. The Community Council in partnership with Consultants URS, West Cork Development Partnership, and other various project Partners worked on drawing up the plans over the next number of months.

This is a unique venture in mid-Cork, where a blueprint has been set out for a community, its three villages and environs, intended to last well into the future, and coinciding with the upcoming Cork County Development Plan. It will also assist the Community Council in the furtherance of its many aims as;

·        It describes what is special about the area and sets out visions for its future

·        Highlights opportunities for business creation and enhancement, recreation, tourism, heritage and the improvement of rural services

·        Identifies short, medium and long term projects and proposals

Chairperson of the Community Council Deirdre O’Donovan said, “ Village Design Statements are an ideal vehicle for communities to determine what is needed in their area and to plan for the future. We were delighted that so many people got involved in drawing up the plans. Over €20,000 was invested in these blueprints and we are looking forward to unveiling them at the launch.”

The Village Design Statements for each village will be available for public viewing on Tuesday 4 March 2014, at 7.30pm, in Aghabullogue Hall. Please come along and all are welcome. 

Buns for Bangkok

A cake sale and coffee morning in aid of the Good Shepherd Sisters of Bangkok will take place on Sunday March 2^nd in the GAA Community Hall Coachford after the 10.00am mass. A local nun, Sr. Annie Louise Horgan, has worked in Thailand since 1965, where she runs a Centre catering for over a thousand under-privileged people. The Centre  provides Day Care for children from the slums and also cares for immigrant women and those who have been affected by human trafficking. Your support would be greatly appreciated. All money raised at the Cake Sale will go directly with Sr. Annie Louise back to her Centre in Thailand. For more Information contact Helena at 086 3748941

In celebration of Sir

The retirement party for Mr. Pat O’Leary, recently retired Principal of Aghabullogue National School will take place in Breathnach’s Bar, Coachford on Saturday March 1^st at 8.30pm. All welcome, particularly past pupils.

Parish Quiz raises €1500

The Inter Village Table Quiz raised €1,500 for the coffers of the Community Council last weekend. The winning team from Coachford and Aghabullogue went head to head in a tie breaker to see who was the most intelligent team of the parish. Coachford were crowned Champions after Aghabullogue failed to even attempt to answer the final question.  22 tables took part in the parish quiz. O’Callaghan’s Bar hosted the Coachford Quiz and Eileen and Patrick put on a wonderful show and also sponsored the prizes for first place. Kathleen’s Shop Coachford presented a beautiful hamper as first prize in the raffle.

Soccer

Fresh from their comprehensive 6-0 win over Tramore in the league last weekend. The Killanardrish/Coachford under 13s entertain the Cobh side, Springfield in Local Cup tie in Carrigadrohid on Saturday at 3.30pm. The under 14s take on Tramore in the league on Sunday at 10.30am also in Carrigadrohid.

Coachford Premier team play Greenwood in the league on Saturday at home at 3.00pm while the B team travel to Ballinhassig to take on the home side also at 3.00pm.

Lotto

There was no winner of the Coachford AFC lotto. The numbers drawn were 4,18 and 24. The jackpot for next week’s draw stands at €3,400. The numbers will be drawn in Breathnach’s Bar on Monday night.

Hogans call last orders at Coachford Pub

After almost 16 years John and Siobhan Hogan finally called time at their pub onMain street Coachford last Friday night. The very popular couple took over the pub in 1998 and ran a very successful business at the Village Inn for years, The pub was one of the most popular drinking establishments in Mid Cork and was very much loved by the community and visitors.  John and Siobhan held a farewell party last Friday with many of the pubs regulars down through the years turning up to say farewell to their local. A lot of those who served inside the counter were also in attendance. John and Siobhan Hogan ran a good business and offered something more than just a pub to the community.  Hogan’s was not just a pub. The building was a pub for many years before John and Siobhan took it over. Any place could be a pub. But Hogans was special. Hogan’s not only served drink, it served the community. It served as a theatre, a church, an auction room, a museum, a lecture theatre, a changing room, a dance hall, a games room, a meeting room for many organisations and groups. It was the scene of wild celebrations and countless parties. It was the venue for christenings and wakes. It fed flower groups, footballers and farmers. It was the home of race nights for Horses and even mice. It was the venue for performers, players and late night poker. It was the pub for the sing song, the session and the set.

Hogans was where everything was at. This pub was the focal point for so many things. There is no doubt that John and Siobhan ran a great pub but they also ran the village’s unofficial tourist office for many years. This pub was often the first place strangers would come to when arriving in the village. It is no coincidence that countless fishermen used  here as their Irish head quarters and than many new people who set up home in the area quickly considered Hogans as their local and John and Siobhan as friends. Hogans was also an unofficial FÁS training centre. There was many a young person received a crash course in the art of Bar work before heading out to the states or Australia so they would have something on the CV to carry them through a summer away from home.

Hogans was the first place in Cork county to serve black and white pudding along with sausages and wedges in baskets. It was the first and probably still is the only pub to have a FIFA Soccer tournament every St. Stephen’s Day. It is the pub that holds a Poker tournament in honour of a dear customer who never drank alcohol

To serve the community drink would have done. It’s what most pubs just do. But Hogans supported the community. They have sponsored the GAA, Soccer and Camogie Clubs. They organised and supported a sponsored mountain walk for ten years and raised over €100,000 in aid of Cystic Fibrosis from 1999 to 2009.  Spot prizes were doled out on a daily  basis for various lost and worthy causes. If there was something to be done around the village then John Hogan would be asked to do it and he rarely refused. He was, and still is involved in so many things, training teams, parents association, soccer club, GAA, Community council and even fishing. There were many nights when he should have been here but was stuck on some committee or at some pitch and Siobhan had to hold the fort. They are a unique partnership. They ran a unique pub and a unique business.

Chairperson of the Community Council, Deirdre O’Donovan said, “ While it is sad to see any business close,  the closure of Hogans is particularly devastating for the community. John and Siobhan ran a great business and their pub was almost like a community centre. Coachford, like every other community has felt the effects of the economic downturn and the loss of many of our young people overseas has affected pubs more than any other business. The village had four pubs for over 100 years and the loss of Hogans will be felt right throughout our community. I would appeal to everyone to support our local businesses and to try and make sure that we do not lose any more of our precious pubs and shops.”

Rescheduled Vintage AGM

The Broomhill Vintage Club will hold their rescheduled Annual General Meeting next Thursday night, February 13th in the Community House Coachford at 8.30pm. The Vintage club and Festival Committee had a very successful 2013 and will discuss the highs and lows of the previous 12 months and look ahead to 2014.  The club welcomes new members and everyone is invited to the AGM. Their annual spring run is scheduled to take place on Sunday April 13^th.

Brains of the Parish

It’s that time of year again … the annual Community Council Table Quiz!!!! Saturday, 22 February next in each village at 9pm. The venues this time are O’Callaghan’s, Coachford, Cremins, Aghabullogue – – The Anvil Bar (O’Brien’s), Rylane. The council hope to link the three villages by internet on the night and have the winning table in each venue enter into a three way playoff, for an overall winner. Rylane intends to keep its crown, Aghabullogue wants it back and Coachford is aiming to take it all. Tables of four are at a reasonable cost of €20 and proceeds will be used to fund the Community Council in its many ventures. Please do consider attending and supporting this worthwhile cause and as always a great night is guaranteed!

Aghabullogue are Munster Champions

Congratulations to the Aghabullogue Scór Quiz team who won the Munster title last night as they represented Aghabullogue and Cork. Well done  to Paul Ring, Aodan Healy, Tom Long and Niall Barry Murphy. The boys, all students of CoachfordCommunity College will now represent their club, county and province in the All Ireland Final in Castlebar Co. Mayo.

New club for Coachford

Coachford/Aghabullogue Macra na Feirme will be holding their first club meeting on Friday in the meeting room at the old Hogan’s Bar, Coachford at 8.30pm. New members are very welcome. For further information contact Jerry on 087 9315783 or Margaret on 086 3497934.