Local Notes: Ardcarne Foroige, Special Olympics, Blessing of Animals
There was a deep sense of sadness and much regret in the parish of Rahara and wider circle when the news broke of the death of Mrs Mary Byrne of Sallins, County Kildare and formerly of Ballyglass-Rahara, who passed away peacefully on August 22nd in the wonderful care of the staff in St. James’ Hospital, Dublin following a brave battle with illness, borne with great courage and dignity. Mary was in her 67th year and was the eldest of five children, three girls and two boys, born to her parents Malachy and Peggy Byrne “nee Beattie” Ballyglass. She received her primary education in Rahara and Ballymurray National School and went on to secondary school in the Convent of Mercy Roscommon. At a young age Mary possessed a very caring nature, and it was no surprise that she took on nursing as a career. She loved to care for her elderly granny and as time went on caring for younger cousins and then her nieces and nephews and they all have lovely memories of her to this day. She began her nursing training in June 1977 in Jervis St. Hospital. She then went to Scotland to train in midwifery. After working in the London Clinic she returned to Dublin and worked in Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital where she completed an orthopaedic course. Sometime later she announced that she was going to work in Bangladesh with Concern. Her family members worried about her, but Mary embraced the experience and made wonderful friends and seemed to have a lot of good fun along the way in between the hard work. She enjoyed it so much she stayed for three years. When she returned, she set about completing a public health nursing course and this was where Mary found the area of nursing that suited her perfectly. She often mentioned she could combine her professional knowledge with genuine interest in people. Mary was a born nurse, she was caring, kind, knowledgeable and compassionate and genuinely interested in her patients. Her family has received so many lovely good will messages from all over Ireland from the families of patients Mary had cared for and the impact she had on their lives. She had a deep and genuine faith and prayer was central to her life she attended daily Mass.
Mary retired two years ago at the age of 65 years. Sadly, she was only able to enjoy her retirement for a short time before her health began to deteriorate. She spent the last year enduring serious illness and she bore her illness with enormous dignity and courage. Even when she was suffering herself, she was still thinking about other people around her. Prior to Mary’s illness she loved walking and she took up hiking with her friends and attempted to climb the highest peaks in Ireland. She also did the Camino Trail in Portugal, mission accomplished.
Family was very important to Mary, and she was always interested in what was happening in the lives of her nieces and nephews, she never missed a birthday or any important milestone in their lives and was always present for all family gatherings. Predeceased by her beloved parents, Malachy and Peggy Byrne, she is now sadly missed by her loving sisters, Susan and Liz; brothers, James and Martin; uncle, Paddy; aunts, Kathleen and Teresa; nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, neighbours, relatives, her Opus Dei family, and a wide circle of friends. Mary reposed at Northbrook Terenure on August 25th. Removal was to the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace Merrion Road Dublin. Removal afterwards to the Church of Mary Immaculate, Rahara for prayers followed by burial in Rahara Cemetery. May She Rest in Peace.
News of the death of Mr Bertie Fallon Toberdan, Lecarrow was received with much sadness and regret, not just in the local community but in a much wider area. He was well known and a popular figure to a great many people. Bertie passed away peacefully in the devoted care of the wonderful staff at the Sacred Heart Care Home, Roscommon on September 3rd surrounded by his family.
He was born in 1934 to his parents Delia and William Fallon and grew up in Rinnegan close to St. John’s Wood and Rindoon overlooking Lough Ree. He attended St. John’s National School after leaving school Bertie turned his hand to various jobs such as labourer followed by construction work such as helping at house building.
In 1956 he joined his brother James in London working first for London Transport and later in construction. It was during this time he met his future wife Nora, a nurse, a native of Ballygar. Love blossomed and was the beginning of a partnership that lasted almost seventy years.
Bertie and Nora returned to Roscommon and married on June 3rd, 1959, and built a long and happy married life together in Toberdan and raised a family of nine children. Bertie farmed the land and worked for more than 25 years in the well know business Chadwicks, Athlone. He was well respected by both his employer and customers and was most helpful and knowledgeable.
Apart from family and work, one of his great passions was soccer supporting Athlone Town FC and becoming involved in local club football. He took over the managing of Knockcroghery Rovers from the late 1970 to 1980’s and he became a founder member. In 1985 he took on the role of manager of St. John’s Athletic bringing them to many successes over the years. A few years later he was part of the founding committee of yet another club namely Rahara Rovers. One of his greatest legacies was his role in establishing the football grounds in Lecarrow that has become the home of the Roscommon and District Football League. He was regarded as a great coach who brought the best out of the players. He was regarded as a very wise man and was capable of expressing his opinion when the need arose. In his retirement golf became one of his next best pleasures and he spent many happy years playing at Roscommon Golf Club where he made many friends.
As his children grew up and made their way in life and made their own homes, his family continued to grow through his thirteen grandchildren and great grandchildren and he took great pride in their achievements.
In September 2025 Bertie sadly said goodbye to his beloved wife Nora after 66 years of marriage now almost a year later his family bade a sad farewell to Bertie who passed away on September 3rd, 2026. Bertie was also predeceased by his parents Delia and William Fallon, brothers, Peter John, James and Martin, sisters, Dorothy, Lily, and Kathleen. He was a much-loved father to Martin, Margaret, Patricia, Jo, Noreen, Olive, Hubert, Sarah, and the late Ethel. He will be forever missed by his 13 grandchildren and great grandchildren, his surviving sister Margaret, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, partners, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours, and many good friends.
Bertie reposed at Smyth’s Funeral Home, Roscommon followed by removal from his home in Toberdan to St. John’s Church, Lecarrow for his funeral Mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining Cemetery. A guard of honour by the many football organisations escorted Bertie to his place of rest. His children and grandchildren participated in the offertory gifts, prayers of faithful and readings.
A joint event launching the Energy Master Plans of Gorthaganny and Tooreen will be held on Wednesday, October 7th at the Marian Hall Community Centre, Gorthaganny.
The open event, which runs from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., is an opportunity for local people to learn more about energy use within the community.
Gorthaganny has been registered as a Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) and as part of this 10 houses and four businesses were entitled to a free energy audit and BER Rating. Homeowners and businesses in the Gorthaganny area completed the home energy survey and BER survey.
There will be no obligation to complete proposed energy works and participants can choose a selection if they wish and receive advice from the Sustainable Energy Community engineer. Figures produced by eTownz, who along with SEAI host and deliver the programme, produced projected savings by 2030 once the Energy Master Plan is applied.
Planned savings for the West Roscommon include 266 tons of CO2, 1.1 GWh of energy and €230k to the local economy.
Eve Hughes, community energy engineer with ATU Sligo will be presenting on the evening alongside energy saving product suppliers.
The Cloonfad Magazine Committee is inviting articles, photos, committee reports and other items of interest for submission for this year’s magazine. They can be submitted to the magazine cloonfadmag@gmail.com or given to any committee member.
The A team had a good win against Moore Utd by four goals to one. The goalscorers were Mark Maloney (two goals on his debut for the club ), Matthew Freyne and David Hennessey. The B went down to Moore B in a high scoring game by five goals to four. The scorers were Barry Duffy, Keelin Flynn, Zouhir Rahmani, and Carlos Kirrane.
This October Lorraine Cunningham is taking part in two runs in Salthill, the Galway Bay Marathon and the Croi 5km Charity night run in memory of her brother George (Gerard). George would have been 47 on his next birthday and together these two runs make up 47kms. “So every kilometre, every step towards the finish lines will be for him,” said Lorraine.
She is also taking on this challenge to raise funds for Croí Heart and Stroke Charity. Croí provides vital support to people and families affected by heart disease and stroke. Donations can be made at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/lorrainecunningham.
A fashion show will take place on October 2nd at 7.15 p.m. in Creggs National School in association with renowned Limerick stylist Celia Holman-Lee & the Holman Lee Agency. The show will start at 8 p.m. with refreshments in reception from 7:15pm. The night is a fundraiser for Creggs Rural Development and the Sunflower Children’s Hospice, the first children’s hospice outside of Dublin to provide compassion for children and their families across the West of Ireland. Tickets are now on sale, €30, in O’Rourke’s Spar, Creggs. To contribute to the fundraiser, contact Sheila 0878382944.
The Roscommon Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Roscommon SPCA) is run completely by volunteers who give up their free time to fundraise and work tirelessly each weekend to gather enough funds to cover upcoming costly vet bills. The annual upcoming church gate collection takes place at St. Mary's Church, Kilbegnet on Sunday , October 4th. All donations collected on the day go directly to animal welfare in County Roscommon.
The death took place recently of Mrs Mary McCluskey (nee McGuire), Killarney, County Kerry and formerly of Keelogues, Creggs. She was predeceased by her husband Jimmy, sisters, Eileen and Bridie, brothers, Mickey and Jimmy and will be greatly missed by her sons, John, Joseph, Robert, Michael, Anthony, Kevin and Paul, daughters, Christine, and Geraldine, daughters-in-law, son-in law, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Margaret, nieces, nephew, relatives and friends. Her funeral Mass and burial took place in Killarney.
The death took place recently of Mrs Noreen Dowd, Ballindine and formerly of Liverpool, Manchester and Creggs. Predeceased by her son Wayne, parents, Joe and Margaret, brother George and uncle Ed she is survived by her husband, Martin; daughter, Cheri; son, Joe; daughter- in-law, Babs; granddaughter, Elle; grandson, Joe; nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends. Following Mass of the Resurrection in St. Mary’s Church, Kilbegnet the burial took place in the local cemetery.
The death took place recently of Mrs Philomena Trayers, The Pigeons, Athlone wife of the late Tom Trayers, Athlone and formerly of Curragh, Glinsk. Predeceased by her husband, Tom and son, Fergal she is survived by her daughters, Maria, Fiona, Sharon, and Elaine, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law and many wonderful friends and neighbours. Philomena's funeral Mass took place at St. Mary’s Church, Tang and was followed by burial in Temple-a-Valley Cemetery.
Sympathy is extended to Ann Marie O'Toole, Karen Dowd and Pauline Neary on the recent passing of their mother Mrs Mary Concagh, Middletown Glenamaddy. Sympathy is also extended to Stephen Morgan ( Curragh) on the sudden passing of his mother Mrs Bridie Morgan, Backlash, Ballymoe and to Christina Fahy on the passing of her father-in-law, Benny Fahy.
Congratulations to Pauline Scott and brothers, Ian and Jason Connelly recent winners of the Glinsk GAA 50/50 draw.
A music session with Liam Purcell and friends will take place on Sunday, October 4th from 4-6 p.m. in Cleen Hall, Knockvicar. All welcome.
Ardcarne Foroige Youth Club meets every two weeks in Cootehall Community Hall, Friday evenings 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m.. New members are always welcome. If you would like to become a leader, the group would love to have you come on board. Contact Flora 085 883 0323.
Barracks Cuppa & Chat has resumed in the Barracks, Cootehall on Thursdays at 11.30 a.m.. New members welcome.
Cootehall, Crossna & Drumboylan Defibrillator Group has launched its fundraising appeal. Members of the committee are calling to every house in the parish of Ardcarne with donation envelopes. The committee is asking for your support to help raise enough money to purchase six new, state-of-the-art defibrillators to replace the existing units, which are now reaching the end of their operational lifespan. Every donation, no matter how big or small, will make a difference. Your support will help ensure that the community continues to be a safe place to live, work and visit.
Best of luck to all the primary school children representing both Ardcarne Parish School and St. Michael’s GAA & LGFA in Scór na bPaistí in Elphin Community Centre on Friday evening. The competitions begin at 7 p.m.. This is a ticket-only event.
The Leitrim Special Olympics group is running a table quiz on October 3rd next, in Berry's Tavern Drumshanbo, at 9 p.m.. Table of four is €40. Great spot prizes on the night too. All support greatly appreciated.
Ardcarne Parish Graveyards Committee expresses sincere thanks for the generous donations received following the recent tri-annual appeal. A list of donors will be published and displayed in Ardcarne and Kileenan in November 2026. Any person who wishes to donate should do so now to have their name included on this list. Thank you for your continued support.
The blessing of animals will take place in Keadue Church car park after 11.30 a.m. Mass on October 4th.
There was no winner of the lotto jackpot when the draw was held at the weekend. Numbers were 12, 15, 21 & 22. Consolation prizes were won by the following: €70, Emma Earley, Arigna; €30, Yvonne Moran, Aughnasheelin; €20, Vera Cooney, Ballyfarnon; €20, Ann Marie & Stephen Goldrick, Ballinwing; €20, Gary Wynne, Arigna. Jackpot now €3,200. Next draw will be held on Sunday evening. Enter online at stronansgaa.com.
