Thomond Park at Night

Thomond Park Night Photo

Update:

Munster U20 3  Ulster U20 0

Thomond Park will open for business tonight with an Under 20 match between Munster and Ulster .This match would normally have over 200 in attendance ,tonight it is expected 2000 to 3000 will attend to see and have the honour of been at the first ever match in the new Thomond Park.There will be no tickets on sale at the gate tonight,tickets available from the www.munsterrugby.ie or the Munster Rugby Sports Store in O’Connell Street Limerick.The seating in the new stands are not open to the public tonight due to ongoing work.

Thomond Park from Hassetts Cross

 

 

(Please forgive the clarity as I did not have a tripod with me on the night )

For Great Video Viewing on the Redevelopment of Thomond Park see http://www.standupandbuild.com/

Shannon Images Stand Up And Build

Croom Macra na Feirme

Community Spirit is alive and active in the Maigueside Region as a new  Macra na Feirme has been formed in the Croom area after many years and they have been inundated with new members ,as a past member myself  of the Macra in days of the Quizzes (Will we ever forget Peter Murphy and his Cross Country Quiz on RTE and his Quiz books )The Field Evenings ,The Debates ,the endless craic.

I remember doing AG Science (EGG slang we used to call it in school) Agricultural Science in school for the Leaving Cert, a Christian Brother said to me, do pass as you don’t know your weeds .I met him years later and said great advice I did honours on the day and got one .Sometimes people think Macra is all about farming well it’s a lot more and has a great social side.

 

For more on Peter Murphy see the link

 http://www.news4.ie/april06/frame3/8pope.htm

RTE Stars of yesteryear see anfearrua

http://www.anfearrua.com/db.asp?a=topicdisplay&tid=167788&xpos=35

Chim Chimney

Chim Chimney

The Power of Nature as i was explaining to my elderly neighbour today and that he may have problems with his chimney down the road,he has a Fuschia ,a Purple Wallflower and it looks like a berbis darwinni (Correct me on this ,gardening experts!)growing in his good old chimney.How did they get there ?

The Birds are great carriers of seeds and is the power of the wind ,Good Old Nature I Say.

The National Ploughing Championships

The National Ploughing Championships are taking place this week from 23 to the 25 in Farmley, Cuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny, and again this year Macra na Feirme’s marquee is showcasing what Macra has to offer.
Macra’s state of the art stand is number 478 on row J and we hope to see you all there.
There are details of upcoming Macra, events, projects, travel opportunities for members, information on agricultural issues affecting young farmers. Galway Macra will be in attendance to highlight the ever popular Rally, members of the host county Kilkenny Macra will be in attendance to sign up new members and the national President Catherine Buckley will be on site over the three days to meet visitors to the Macra Marquee.
There is also a competition with The Gleneagle hotel which aims to promote farm safety, and will offer one lucky competition winner a mid week break for two, a competition run in conjunction with the Pensions board to promote greater take up of pensions in the agricultural sector with the chance to win a lap top, a secret sounds of the farm competition, an inter-county and company bucking bronco contest; the FBD young farmer of the year will also be on site along with Kilkenny Macra members will also be present on the stand to recruit new members to local Macra clubs in the area.
The entry form for the Gleneagle mid week stay is available for download on www.macra.ie and completed forms can be dropped to the Macra stand, number 478 row J.

Lisa Cahill

Limerick Macra News

Limerick Macra are preparing to host the infamous MacraVision competition, which will take place on 4th October at the South Court Hotel, Raheen, Limerick. Last year it was a great success. The present members of Macra will turn out in their glamour, coming from all corners of Ireland and it is also a super opportunity for people to come along and see what Macra is all about. It promises to be a fantastic event and has often being mentioned as a stepping stone to “You’re a Star”. The competition itself is very similar to ‘Stars in your Eyes’, where competitors dress up as their favourite act and sing, karaoke style. Prizes are on offer for the best group and solo singers and a special award will go to the best dressed act. It will be a fantastic night of entertainment with the best singers and impressionists in Ireland present and many surprises. Lisa Cahill will be running an exciting community dance workshop during the day. All are welcome to this event and you are asked to register your interest for this dance event by emailing 08lisacahilldance@gmail.com or text 086 4085877. To find out more about competing in Macravision, please contact Annemarie on 0876934619.
Macra are organising a ski trip to the village of Hopfgarten im Brixental which lies at the foot of the Hohe Salve Mountain and with its narrow cobbled streets and magnificent baroque church provides a perfect setting for a ski holiday. The hotel itself is one of the best 4 star hotels in the region and with its central location, only a few meters from the Gondelbahn for easy access to over 240 km of piste on Wilder Kaiser Brixenthal, you are truly at the centre of things. All rooms feature Austrian twin beds, shower, toilet, hairdryer, telephone, radio and cable television.
Prices are based on twin sharing. Destination Hopfgarten im Brixental, Austria. Tour Dates 24 – 31 January 2009, Tour Length 8 days / 7 nights, Tour Price €1105 based on 16 paying persons (current price).
 
Upcoming events:
The National Rally taking place in Galway Oct Bank Holiday, a mad weekend of socialising and also the finals of the men and ladies 7 a-side Gaelic Football competitions. Contact Mono O Donoghue 0879507681 or check out www.bebo.com/macrar .
Sept 26th – County Limerick Bowling Final will take place in
the Supermacs Bowling Complex on the Ennis Rd at 8.30pm. 
Oct 17th to 19th – Ballyhoura Rambling Weekend, a
wonderful walking festival with organised walks for experienced or leisurely walkers. Contact Deebert House 06331200 for further details.
If you are interested in finding out more about Macra, then why not go onto our excellent website, www.macra.ie. There are clubs throughout the County and if you are interested in finding out more, then you need to contact Lisa Cahill now on 086 4085877 or email limerick.macra@macra.ie

Agricultural College Places on the Up

Increase demand for Agricultural college places has reached a milestone for the Agricultural industry- Macra na Feirme national president Catherine Buckley said ‘agriculture is at a turning point in terms of recent increases in the numbers of students attending agricultural colleges. Ms Buckley said it has become apparent to Macra that the decline of new entrants to farming is about to change, this is due to the year on year increase in the numbers attending agricultural college. According to Teagasc, enrolment figures for further education courses in Agriculture will be up 42% to date this year on the back of a 47% increase last year, and optimism among farmers is high. A recent survey conducted by Macra na Feirme on 109 young farmers, indicated that 67% of those surveyed were optimistic about the future of farming in Ireland. When these young farmers were asked about the areas of most concern to them, they highlighted rising production costs as the number one issue of concern to them and given the time the survey was conducted with the disastrous summer it’s no surprise that climate change was regarded as the second area of concern. Macra na Feirme believes that farming is at a turning point and is about to embrace the opportunities of the future which have been highlighted by world economists.
Lisa Cahill 

No Fat Cat,Sunshine Cat

Photo of the Day.

At last Ireland basks in the sunshine after months of bad weather ,no rain for days even the cat is out taking in the sun .

Croom United’s Munster Junior Cup Win,Preliminary Round

Coonagh United 2 Croom United 3

Croom recorded a great win away in the Cup to Coonagh United ,this was a clash of last season’s Div 1B Champions Croom and Div 1B Cup Winners Coonagh.Goals from Markus Cregan,Stevie and Mickey Cahill won the day for the Maiguesiders.

Croom United

 

Coonagh United

Tyrone had the Dahlias Supporting them

Dahlias

One could not help thinking that Tyrone had everybody supporting them to win the All Ireland v Kerry  ,even the Dahlias in my garden were all out in their vibrant red and white offering their support.Kerry were seeking their 36th All Ireland Title ,Tyrone  ended up winning their third in this decade.It takes two teams to contest a great match which it turned out to be on the day.Brian Dooher has to be line for player of the year award after yesterday’s sublime performance for Tyrone .For the Kingdom of Kerry they will be back after all they are kingpins of Gaelic Football.

More info on Dahlias on http://gardening.ie/index.php/in-the-garden/level-3/flowers-and-foliage/61-flowers-and-foliage/185-growing-great-dahlias

Seamus Sheahan

Seamus Sheahan

Seamus Sheahan in the photo pondering his Politicial Future by the River Maigue in Croom.The nominations for the local elections are due and Seamus is hoping that Croom will have another represenative,Croom has only one councillor in 106 years on the Limerick County Council and  that is a long time even in Politics .

Seamus is the Secretary of the Cumann of local Fianna Fail and has been invloved in Politics all of his life.He is a great community activists.He is secretary of the Croom Community County Council and current President of the Croom United A.F.C .Croom Sheltered Housing Committee a member of .Seamus takes great pride in his work as a member of the Croom Senior Citizens Committee for all his life.

It is all change in the Limerick Electoral area for the coming elections as the maps show…

Adare Electoral Area

Croom is now part of the the redrawn  Adare Electoral Area as are many others …see the previous map

The Old Bruff Electoral Area

It is cetainly all change on Maigueside as the Political Lines on the Limerick County Map have been redrawn.