Sacrament of Confirmation

Congratulations to the following children from the Parish who received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Archbishop Michael Neary on Tuesday, March 8th in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Ballinlough.

Carrick NS: Stephen Comer, Caoileann Fitzmaurice, John Finan, Declan McNamara, Robyn Gallagher, Lana Raftery, Laura Lynch, Eilish Egan, Rachel Beirne, Ciara Manning, Ian Coyne, Darren Webster, Brendan Connolly, Cathal Kelly, Brian Neary, Daire Burke, Louise Browne, Elaine Garvey, Chloe Quinn, Aine Fruaghan, Nicole Keaveney, Eva Lennon, Sinead Ryan.

Granlahan N. S. Ciaran Brennan, John Kilboyle, Seamus Burke, Fintan Kearney, Sarah Caulfield, Louise Ruane, Lisa Naughton, Michelle Neenan, Amy Brady, Ailish O'Gara, Connor Kearney, Audrey Costello, Anne-MArie Heneghan

Ballinlough NS: Luke Harris, Caroline Cornwall, Emma McGoldrick, Sinead Dolan.

The children wish to thank their teachers, priests, Bishop Michael Neary and parents for their help and guidance in preparing them for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Clay Pigeon Shooting

Ballinlough Gun Club will hold a clay pigeon shoot for members on Monday, March 28th at the usual venue. All members welcome. At a recent meeting of the club, a vote of sympathy was passed to the relatives of the late Sean Lyons RIP who was a long serving member of the club.

Granlahan Activities

Kung Fu is continuing in the community centre in Granlahan on Wednesday evenings.
Also - Aerobics on Fridays at 8pm.

Car Boot Sale in Cloonfad

A car boot and jumble sale will take place in Cloonfad Community Centre on Easter Monday, March 28th commencing at 11 a.m. The proceeds from this venture will got to the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice. Anybody who wishes to donate items for this worthy fundraiser can hand them into the Community Centre on Easter Saturday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and on Easter Sunday between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.. For further information contact Dan Caulfield at 087-6761358

FAITH DEVELOPMENT

Fr. John Finn M.S.C. will give a series of talks on Faith Development in St.Patricks Church, Cloonfad starting on Friday evening March 4th at 7.30pm. An ideal chance to do something for your faith during Lent. Any question you have on any aspect of faith can be discussed at these talks. All are welcome.

Cloonfad Scenic Walks Launch

Eamon O’Cuiv - THE MINISTER for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will officially launch Cloonfad’s Scenic Walks Resource Centre at Derrylahan at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 18th.

These walking routes have been set up by Cloonfad Development Association, supported by the Irish Sports Council. Seven circular walking routes plus two "SlĂ­ Slainte" Walks now traverse the countryside across the eastern section of Slieve Dart from Cloonfad on the Dunmore Road to Clogher and Cortoon off the Kiltevna Road.

Sean Corcoran is the Co-ordinator.
A twinning project has now been initiated with Busot, Alicante on the East coast of Spain, based on similar walking and recreational amenities.

Members of Cloonfad Development Association will visit Busot in early Summer to arrange twinning and a delegation from Busot will visit Cloonfad later in the year to finalise plans.

An application for funding had been forwarded to the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism to finance the building of a new resource and information centre.

“Walking is the major tourist attraction in the West of Ireland and Cloonfad is ideally placed to attract visitors since it is only 12 miles from Knock Airport.

Hundreds of hours of voluntary work have been carried out on a traditional farmhouse cottage to renovate it as a resource and information centre but a new building will have greater flexibility and will more readily accommodate people with special needs. Likewise days upon days have been spent upgrading walking routes to the stringent specifications laid down by the Irish Sports Council,” Mr Corcoran noted.

As ninety per cent of the Cloonfad scenic walks are off the main road network safety and tranquillity are assured. Our committee extends a warm welcome to everybody for the official opening on March 18th,” the Walks Project Co-ordinator concluded

Lough Harps U18 win in Ballinlough

Lough Harps youngsters had an importantwin in the Connaught Cup last Sunday. They earned themselves a deserved place in the Connaught Cup semi final. They beat a team from Ballisodare - County Sligo. The team all contibuted to the victory.
Ballisadare started the better of the two teams - an dthe first half ended with a 1-1 score . The second half saw Lough Harps put on a fine display of team soccer. They played with grit and went on to win the game 2-1.

Well done lads.

Variety Concert in Ballinlough

The 3rd Annual variety show will be taking place on MArch 16th 2005 in the parochial hall Ballinlough. Details to follow soon.