STAPLESTOWN & Districts Section of
Tir na Mona Community Council
At their AGM held at St. Kevin’s G.A.A. Club on
September 6, members of the Staplestown and District community re-elected Sean Flannery as
Chairman of their section of the Tir na Mona Community Council. Feargal McEoin was elected
vice-Chairman, Theresa Noone-O’Brien, Eileen Fitzharris honorary secretaries, and
Mary Murphy and Sean Flannery honorary treasurers for the next 12 months. Mary Murphy and
Allen Byrne will be handling publicity matters for the Staplestown & District Section.
Reviewing the events of the year Sean Flannery complimented all those within the
community who contributed in so many different ways to the activities of the Tir na Mona
Council in general and to the particular projects within the Staplestown district.
The Staplestown Community Alert Group under the guidance of James Egan organised and
raised funds for the erection of Community Alert signs in the area under the Tir na Mona
and also including the name of the townland where each sign is located, something which
has not been seen before on such signs. Thanks to financial assistance from the Department
of Social, Community and Family affairs this group was able to arrange for the provision
and installation of 18 personal 2-way speech security alarms to elderly members of the
community during the year. The Community Alert Group expects to hold an AGM at St.
Kevin’s clubhouse at 8 p.m. on Wed. October 6. All those already involved and
interested are invited to attend.
The Tir na Mona/Staplestown Voluntary Housing Association developed very quickly during
the year as a result of initiatives and strenuous efforts of several members of the
community. This group under the Chairmanship of Bernard Owens and Secretary Diane Browne,
is now a legal entity within Tir na Mona and has recently been engaged in lengthy
discussions with the County Council in respect of the provision of up to 12 affordable
houses for qualifying families from the community, on land to be provided by Kildare
County Council. Provision of such land depends on it being available in the first place
and County Council Chairmen P.J. Sheridan who attended the latter part of the Sept. 6 AGM
confirmed that discussions in respect of the purchase of a suitable site, are already at
an advanced stage and he believed the County Council would have a positive answer on this
very soon.
Mr. Sheridan was thanked for his efforts on behalf of the
Housing Association and he was also asked to express the community’s thanks to the
County Council for the erection of the new speed limit signs and road markings in
Staplestown. It seems that the long requested foot-path from the village to St.
Kevin’s will also go ahead in the new year.
The Staplestown District section of the Tir na Mona road clearance project on May 1 was
a big success with participation at various times during the day of almost 40 members from
the district including 28 from the Kilmurry and Betaghstown areas! County Council skips
place respectively at Staplestown and at the Pines Golf Course for the day were filled to
overflowing with rubbish picked from the ditches along the roads and lanes in our area. (A
third skip at Donadea was quickly filled by residents from that area). Another
community-wide clean-up is planned for the last Saturday in October - the more people who
help out with this worthwhile task - the easier and faster it will be to do! Look out for
details!
Community residents from Staplestown, Timahoe and Coill Dubh co-operated in the
clean-up and re-opening of the entrance to and pathways around Ballinafagh Lake in a
project driven by Terry Doherty and Gail Maher.
This project designed to restore some of the leisure amenity value of the lake now
alas, only remembered by the older members of our community, saw some of our residents out
there most Wednesday evenings during the Summer with strimmers, grass cutters, saws, picks
and shovels working successfully to re-gain some of the losses to gorse and reeds. An
accessible grass track was opened around the lake and foot-path connections were re-made
with Coill Dubh and Cooleragh. Much more remains to be done. All residents who are
interested are invited to contribute to a feasibility study on Ballinafagh Lake to be
carried out over the next 2 months by Tir na Mona with the help of funding from KELT.
The Tir na Mona Annual Wild West Jamboree on August 1 in St. Kevin's was a drier affair
than the awful deluge of the same night last year and a true community effort saw members
of the Timahoe, Staplestown and Donadea areas working hard on Saturday to get outdoor
dancing area ready with floor materials provided by Pat Cosgrove abundant straw provided
by Edward Cummins. Most of the attendance spent the night dancing outdoors to the sounds
of C & W music provided by Marty Mitchell & Co. which seemed to please all of the
Cowboys and Cowgirls there who danced into the small hours. A small contingent of sweaty
Indians 2 that is, seemed unfamiliar with the music and spent most of the evening leaping
about in some kind of tribal version of the Michelin men in grass skirts wielding barely
threatening plastic tomahawks - not a great ad for balding spare tyres but interesting
nonetheless. The night raised more than £1,200 towards Tir na Mona expenses. A big thanks
from Sean Flannery was extended to all who came along on the night, and to all those who
did not travel but supported by buying tickets in advance, and to all who helped to get it
all ready, who helped on the night and, who helped with the take down and tidy up on
Monday. Next year all are looking forward to being indoors and outdoors for the Millennium
Jamboree in and around the new St. Kevin’s Clubhouse.
LIBRARY
The mobile library will visit Staplestown car park on Thurs. 30th Sept. from
11.45-12.20. Join up and avail of a great selection of books covering a wide variety of
interests. The next visit will be on Thurs. 14th Oct. at approximately the same time.
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