Lanesboro Ballyleague
Big Weekend Ahead
Marquees are going up, shop windows are painted, flags and banners adorn the street and all the work is almost completed in preparation for the World Predator Fishing competition and the Taste of the Lakelands. The Taste of the Lakelands and World Predator Competition will take place between Thursday 6th and Sunday 10th October.
The opening ceremony will take place on Thursday evening with a Parade through the town by the school children for the schools of Lanesboro, Ballyleague, Fermoyle, Cloontuskert, Ballagh, Cloontagh, Newtowncashel, Kenagh, Killashee and Kilteevan. There will also be representation by all the club and associations along with Longford and Roscommon Civil Defence. The Parade will take place from Lanesboro Community commencing at 6pm. For those intending to travel through the town or those that normally use Lanesboro Ballyleague as their route about that time can they bear it in mind that there will be major traffic disruption during the parade time.
There will be light refreshments served in St. Mary’s Hall afterwards and Art and Design by Stephanie Hanlon and Joan Farrell.
Events will kick off early on Friday at 8pm with the World Fishing Trials on Lough Ree. The Food Festival will begin at 11am in the marquee in the car park with the ‘Flour Hours’ This is for Primary Schools and booking is essential where Irish Brown Bread Maker of the Year Margaret Sexton will give bread making workshops.
At 2.30pm the Official Opening of the International Food Festival will take place and the special guest will be Shane Ross TD Minister for Tourism. The opening addresses will be made by civic leaders and representatives of the Local Enterprise Officers Longford and Roscommon.
At 3pm there will be aa Business to Business Seminar that is open to all food producers and start-ups, with special advice, assistance and help for producers who are setting out on their culinary journey and trying to get their product to market.
At 4.30 there will be a Live Food Demonstration by Gary O’Hanlon Viewmount House Longford and TV3 The Restaurant show.
At 5.30pm The Great Left Overs – cook with Mark Mc Carthy, Unilever Group, using only ingredients that have been left-over after a day at the food show and in the shops.
At 5.30pm there will be a drinks reception for the international fishermen in one of the marquees.
At 8pm the Roscommon Solstice choir will come on stage
At 8.30 the Big Celebrity Cook Off will take place: The cook off will be between Longford ICA and Roscommon ICA. Admission to this is €10 and the proceeds will go toward Pieta House, Athlone.
On Sunday Day 1 of the World Predator Fishing will take place from 8am.
At 10 am the Food Festival will continue with Ian Daly form Ma Nolan’s International Restaurant, France.
At 10.30 our very own Master Chef Stephen Dowd will take to the kitchen
At 11am Paul Horohoe, Local Ballyleague Master Chef and the hugely popular PS Red, Ballyleague
12noon Fiona Egan, Cloughan Farm and Cookery School
1-2pm Matthew Luca, Italian Cuisine
2-4 pm TV chef and Dunbrody House, Kevin Dundon – assisted by Margaret Sexton.
At 4pm Our very own Kieran Glennon, head chef at Irelands only 2 star Michelin Patrick Guilbaud’s Restaurant.
At 7pm There will be a Kid’s Disco in the marquee.
9pm There will be community events in the marquee – details on the Facebook page.
Sunday, the final day events commence between 8 and 10am with the final day of the World Predator Fishing between 8 and 10am
At 1pm the ‘Blueways Blowout’ in association with Waterways Ireland takes place with Kayaking, Angling Coaching for Children, The Zorbs are in town, Ice Cream Sunday Children’s party.
At 4pm there will be a wake Board exhibition with John Tully, Nicolette Spelic and Padraig Jordan.
There will be family entertainment all day in St. Mary’s Hall.
Come along to Lanesboro and Ballyleague the centre of Ireland for this weekend’s activities and hopefully we will be in reception of fabulous weather throughout the weekend.
A special word must go to Ciaran Mullooly and his team for putting together a wonderful list of events and a festival that will grow and grow.
Event
While the food festival runs mainly on Saturday October 8th there is an event especially targeted at locals on Friday October 7th when top Chef Gary O’Hanlon will perform in a LIVE cooking demonstration in the marquee at 4.30pm. This is aimed at anyone who wants to meet with the star chef of the TV3 Restaurant show and ViewMount Restaurant, Longford. This show is especially set up for an older audience and will be probably the most convenient show for many to attend as there will not be a large crowd in the marquee area for this and parking should be easier so get along to the Friday October 7th show at 4,30pm with Gary if you want to see the great chef in action.
Whist Drive
This coming weekend is normally the beginning of the Lanesboro Social Services Whist Drive season. The usual Whist Drive has been put back one month and will now commence on Friday night 4th November in St. Mary’s Hall. The committee is looking forward to meeting all their usual patrons and many new players for the November beginning.
Birth
Many congratulations to David and Margaret Dunning, Weekfield, on the birth of a baby girl.
Lough Ree Monster Run
Many thanks to all who turned out today for the run, could not have got a better day. Keep an eye on the Lough Ree Monster Festival Facebook page for updates on next year’s Festival. If it is ok with everyone I will email in the event there is another run in Lanesboro for any event. Congratulation to all the winners. For those who started in the second tranche just deduct 2 mins from your time.
10k Results: Mark Kenny 1st Male Over 40, David Mulkeen 1st Male Under 40, Madeline Doyle 1st Female Over 40. Aisling O’Hara 1st Female Under 40, Alice Johnston 1st Female Juvenile, Cian Walton 1st Male Juvenile
4 Miles: Maeve Dervin 1st Female Under 40 Deirdre Kenny, 1st Female Over 40, Eamon Leavy 1st Male Under 40, Padraic O’Dowd 1st Male Over 40, Caoilinn Flood 1st Female Juvenile, Kieran O’Dowd 1st Male Juvenile
Lanesboro Bridge Club
The results of the competition held on Wednesday last 28th September are: N/S 1st Brid Mc Dermott and Una Lawlor, 2nd Gemma Douglas and Elish Gray and 3rd Frank and Frances Brennan. E/W 1st Mae Casey and Noreen Dunne, 2nd tie between na Clarke and Eileen Kelly and Mary Casey and Geraldine Cafferty.
Poetry and Music
It is really catching on! The attendances at the Poetry and Music with Lasraí Writers is picking up and it is drawing great attention and comment. On Monday next 10th October you are invited to go along to Lanesboro Library for the next instalment of a very enjoyable hour. It will begin at 4.30pm and finish at 5.30pm. Whether you want to write a poem, read a poem or just listen to poetry there is no better place to be. A recent addition to the monthly event is the music and if you want to be a musical contributor just come along and you will be made very welcome.
Tidy Towns Results
The entire community continues to improve on their Tidy Towns results year on year and with the steady progression being made it will not be too long before one of the areas is mentioned as All-Ireland Tidy Towns winner. Cloontuskert is our leading points area with a total of 314 marks which is a further rise of 7 marks from the previous year and t is just 13 marks short of Skerries, Co. Dublin who won the competition with 327 marks. Ballyleague are closing in on breaking the 300 mark when they increased by 17 marks and jumped from their 279 last year to 296. Lanesboro continues to improve and this year they have increased from 256 to 264 marks.
Congratulations to Cloontuskert on being included in the Bronze Medal award list which includes €400 to continue their great work.
All in all it is a fabulous result for all three entrants and they must be commended and supported in their efforts to be acclaimed All-Ireland Tidy Towns winner in the future.
Football success
Following on from the success of the Under 12’s a few weeks’ back the U14’s were not to be out done when they travelled to Pearse Park on Saturday last to play St. Francis in the U14 B Final. The first half was when our lads did the damage as they led 1-9 to 1-2 at half time They needed that large lead as in the second half the St. Francis team stormed back into the game and in the end we eventually stayed ahead by the thinnest of margins on a final scoreline Shannon Gaels 1-12 St. Francis 2-8. We must compliment team mentors Pauric Farrell, Ciaran Prior and Seadna Ryan for great work done with the lads. The panel that did us proud were Cian Farrell, Duileach Ryan, Gordon Farrell, Sean Kenny, Briain Casey, Ultan O’Sullivan, Richard prior, Harvey Myhill, Oisin Kenny, Seadhna Ryan, Kevin Tansey, Conor Sorohan, Mark Dowd, Shane Prior, Misco Kajan, Shane Killian, Cathal Smyth, Cormac Casey, Niall Chawke, Aaron Kenny, and Jamie Hagan.
Dog Show
To co-inside with the festival there will be a dog show at the hall on Saturday October 8th at 3pm with prizes for 12 classes. Contact Emma at 086 8686461 for details.
50/50
On Monday 17th September last the 50/50 draw took place in the Clarke’s Bar. The very winner of the €433 prize was none other than Michael Greene. Michael is a tireless worker with the Ladies GAA club and he has been known to give lots of his time to the senior club as well. Mike’s win has brought great banter from him and we say well done to him. The blue envelopes are on sale locally at local shops and from club members and they cost only €2 each. Alternatively, you can opt for the pink envelope for €100 and that has you in the draw for 52 weeks. Your support is only mighty and it is great to see that the jackpot is hovering over the €400 mark over the past few weeks; The club is deeply appreciative of your continued support.
For your Information
Since last week, the civil records are now available online. There are cut-off points, but all births 1864-1915, marriages 1882 -1940 and deaths 1891-1965 are there now. The earlier marriages and deaths will be added.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-search.jsp
Diary Date
The Lough Ree Community Resource Group is hosting a Christmas Fair on Sunday 4th December in the Co-Op hall. More from the Co-Op committee.
Lough Ree Sub Aqua Club
Congratulations to Paddy Mc Phillips and Longford AC on a very well run Primary Schools Cross Country event on Saturday 26th September in the grounds of Moyne Community School. The fixture could have done with some extra support from the local schools but all the competitors there enjoyed the event. Ella Hogan Fermoyle ran a great race, picking up a medal in the Girls 5th/6th Class race and qualifying for Connaught Schools Cross Country. She was well supported by Alice and Aoife but they were missing one other person to make up a team and lost out on team medals. Kieran O’Dowd performed well in the Boys 5th/6th class, finishing just outside the medal positions and we all know that cross country is not his favourite event while Cormac and Luke ran well in the Boys 3rd/4th class event.
In a very competitive Secondary Schools event Caoilinn Flood and Hazel Johnston picked up medals in the girl’s event while Ivan Johnston who was our sole representative in the boys also picked a medal. Again these competitors could have done with a bit more support from their school mates to make up a team of four.
Sunday morning was a great morning for the Lanesboro 10k and 4 mile Run/Walk but the turnout was somewhat disappointing considering the beautiful morning. It was great to see our young athletes were well able to cope with the longer distance s and enjoyed the run. We were not surprised to see Cian Walton have a great run in the 10k and Caoilinn Flood obliged in the 4 mile run. Well done to all the other athletes who competed, great prospects for the future. Trophies were that bit different and much appreciated by all. We noticed Ciaran Mullooly brought the family but left the camera crew behind this time. Thanks to Cronan Flood for his valued help with the results.
Road running continues each Tuesday at 6pm in Clonbonny all welcome.
Shannonside Renewal
With up to 3000 visitors expected in Lanesborough this week for the World Fishing championships & the Taste of the Lakelands Food Festival , we URGENTLY need help with stewards on Thursday and Saturday . If you can help for an hour please contact Alan Farrell at 0868697952 or Alan Horohoe at 086 8454125 or attend meeting of stewards & Gardai at 9pm this Monday night in the hall at the bridge.
The town now looks really well with many of the windows decorated but this coming week we would like to encourage as many businesses, home and shops as possible to adopt one of our visiting nations by flying their flags on their building front. The flags of all the nations (listed below) are now available for sale with Terry the Butcher and Daybreak shop in Ballyleague – priced just 12 euro for a 3 feet by 2 feet flag so please get your favourite nations flag and get it up on the building. It will certainly help to bring in this nations and their supporters to your business.
Apart from that a word of advice to all publicans and shop owners. We have been advised that members of the International and national media will be in the town from Wednesday night. A certain Sunday newspaper ‘Pub Spy’ is also supposed to be visiting all the licensed premises on Thursday and Friday and it’s going to be a busy week for us all so please put your best foot forward and help promote our town on the world stage – it will be worth it.
Finally, we wish to thank everyone who has helped to organise the festival. All we need now is some good weather so fingers crossed.
Community Employment Vacancies
2 positions of Personal Carer, 1 position of care attendant. Criteria qualifying age 21years and in receipt of welfare payment, Full accredited training will be provided.
Submit CV to Breda at the EDI Centre Longford or email to breda.coordinator@edilongford.ie For further information call 043 3347515
This week at our Library
Knitting & Crochet Group continues every Monday 2-4pm. All Welcome!
ESOL Class continues every Tuesday evening 7-10pm.
Art Classes with the very talented Nicolette Spelic will take place for six weeks starting on Monday October 24th at 8pm. Contact the library to book your place on 043 332 1291 or email lanesborolibrary@longfordcoco.ie
Beginners German Classes: Classes commence on Wednesday October 26th 6.30-7.30pm. The class will be one hour per week for six weeks. Each six-week course costs €30. Pre-booking is advisable as numbers for each class are limited. To do this or to obtain further details please contact Lanesboro Library on 043 3321291 or email lanesborolibrary@longfordcoco.ie
Lasraí Writers Group: The very popular ‘Poetry and Music’ will continue at Lanesboro Library on Monday 10th October from 4.30 to 5.30pm. Come along and share a favourite poem. The group is looking forward to seeing you there and to meet
Festival Committee Notes
FESTIVAL WEEK
The big festival is now upon us. It is now expected that up to 5000 people will attend the Taste of the Lakelands food festival in the giant marquee in the carpark behind the hall and the World Fishing championships on Lough Ree between this Thursday October 6th and Sunday October 10th so the committee has issued an urgent appeal this week for local volunteers to come forward and assist them with the stewarding of the event. The key events that will need stewards will be the opening ceremony festival parade on this Thursday October 6th at 6pm and the food festival expo in the marquee on Saturday October 8th from 9am to 7pm.
The festival parade starts this Thursday at the community college on the Ballymahon road and will make its way down the town and over the bridge before returning to the marquee at the car park. All children taking part in the parade should go into the community college assembly hall at 5.30pm Approximately 30 stewards will be needed. The parade will feature the fishermen from 17 countries with the children of 8 local schools who have gone to great lengths to design special costumes and masks on various fishing and food themes. The parade will also feature giant inflatable movie and cartoon characters such as a 40 feet tall Spiderman and the civil defence and emergency services will also attend.
On Saturday October 8th the food festival stand holders will start arriving at 7am to set up their stands. The food show opens to the public at 10am and runs all day until 6pm. It is estimated that the festival will need 60 to 100 stewards for general organisation, safety arrangements, car parking etc so every clubs and community group in the area is requested to help our if they can by nominating at least ten members to assist at some stage.
The support of local volunteers for these key events is absolutely crucial as the events simply could not go ahead without proper stewarding and the assistance of the Gardaí.
If you are available to help steward please put your name down on the book in Joe O’Briens corner shop or the Daybreak shop in Ballyleague this week or call directly to Alan Farrell at 086 8697952 or Alan Horohoe at 086 8454125 please .
The good news for all stewards is that, with the support of Kepak convenience foods, HB Ice cream and Lyons tea, they will all get a nice free dinner for their efforts on the day – the very least that could be done for the volunteers involved.
FESTIVAL PARADE
The children from 8 local primary schools have been invited to take part in the opening festival parade on Thursday night October 6th at 6pm. The committee visited every school over the last 4 weeks and invited teachers, pupils and parents to come up with a special theme for the children to take part in the parade. Each school is to be asked to help present a group in costume and with special masks and colours to reflect some element of the fishing or the food festivals. Please ensure your school is represented. The committee wish to thank the school teachers and pupils who have embraced this event. The highlight of the parade will be the school children marching in front of the 300 international anglers, the giant inflatable cartoon and movie characters and the rescue services and local community groups. For more information, please call into Helen in the Angling hub office in Ballyleague. The parade will go over in Ballyleague and back to the marquee in the car park where the children will be treated to special refreshments and a disco celebration.
LOCAL EVENT
While the food festival events run mainly on Saturday October 8th there is an event especially targeted at locals on Friday October 7th when top Chef Gary O’Hanlon will perform in a LIVE cooking demonstration in the marquee at 4.30pm. This is aimed at anyone living locally who wants to meet with the star chef of the TV3 Restaurant show and VM Restaurant, Longford. This show is especially set up for an older audience and will be probably the most convenient show for many to attend as there will not be a large crowd in the marquee area for this and parking should be easier so get along to the Friday October 7th show at 4,30pm with Gary if you want to see the great chef in action.
DOG SHOW
To co-inside with the festival there will be a dog show at the hall on Saturday October 8th at 3pm with prizes for 12 classes. The doh show will now take place right behind St Marys hall . Contact Emma at 086 8686461 for details.
FISHING
Anglers from 17 countries will be here in the town for the world championship from Wednesday onwards. Please make them welcome and invite them back to stay with us again. This is our week to impress and after 12 months of very hard work the Lough Ree Angling Hub will be promoting the area and the superb fishing on the lake here over the coming days with each and every International visitor. We will also have visitors from the national and international media here in town this weekend so please get the flags of the nations flying on all shop fronts and homes. Each business is asked to ‘adopt the colours’ of one of our visiting nations so please make an effort. The glags of the nations are available for sale in Terry the butchers and daybreak. Thankfully the weather forecast is looking good for next weekend so fingers crossed.