Local Notes: Handball Success, Heritage Festival, Mapping Project
Grace Connaughton, Williamstown Handball Club who won the U-11, One Wall competition at Claregalway Handball Club.
Ballintubber Heritage Week takes place from July 17th–26th. Highlights include festivities on Saturday 18th. The Old Schoolhouse will host heritage market stalls, traditional bread making, artefact displays, music, face painting, castle tours and plenty of activities throughout the afternoon. Another highlight is the Lughnasadh – Gathering the Work exhibition, running from July 24th–26th in the Old Schoolhouse. Curated by Janel Pleskac, the art and archaeology exhibition marks 10 years of Castles in Communities. Contact tidytownsballintubber@gmail.com for more information on Heritage Week.
The annual Ballintubber Cemetery Mass will be held on Sunday, July 19th at 11.30 a.m.. A collection will be taken up before Mass for the upkeep of the cemetery. There is still more work to be done in the cemetery before the Mass. Families are asked to please tidy up graves by removing weeds and withered flowers. If you have an hour to spare on Tuesday or Thursday at 6.30 p.m. please come along with your spade, strimmer or brush. Thank you to all the volunteers who have given their time at the clean-ups.
Thank you to everyone who helped clean Kilcroan Graveyard last Sunday. Working in the heat was not easy, but a great job was done, and it is thanks to those efforts that the graveyard continues to look so tidy. The next cleanup will take place on Sunday, August 9th. This will be the final cleanup before the annual Cemetery Mass on Sunday, August 16th at 3 p.m...
Great work has been carried out recently on the graveyard wall at Kilcroan. Sincere thanks to John Hegarty and Shay Morgan for power washing and preparing the wall, and to Frank Hanley of the Ballymoe Community Employment Scheme for painting it, with assistance from Hope. The work has brightened up the entrance beautifully.
A digital mapping of Kilcroan Graveyard is underway. Thank you to Tom McTague, Helen Joyce, Rosaleen Timothy and Aidan Conboy for their assistance with this work. Once the project is complete, a new updated graveyard map will be erected, and further details will follow in due course.
Massive congratulations to Helena Cummins who captained her team to a wonderful semi-final win over Westmeath and will now lead her team onto Croke park in the All-Ireland Intermediate ladies final on August 2nd. This will be Roscommon ladies’ first appearance in an intermediate final since 2005 and their first appearance in Croke Park since 2001. They defeated Westmeath in the semi-final by 2-14 to 2-10 in a closely fought semi-final with the winning goal coming in the final minutes. Helena had a great game in goals making a fantastic save in the first half. Helena is now looking forward to All-Ireland final day as is all her family and friends. Everybody in Cloonfad is extremely proud of Helena and wish her well in the final.
Well done to Vivienne Gannon and the Roscommon minor girls who defeated Down to reach the All-Ireland minor A final. This is a massive boost to ladies football in Roscommon and augurs well for the future of our senior team. Vivienne lined out at corner forward against Down in the semi-final and as is customary for her scored a crucial goal in the game. This wonderful team play Kerry in the final.
Manager Tommy Keane has managed Roscommon U-16 ladies team to the All-Ireland B final. In what is a wonderful year for ladies football in the county there are now three teams at U-16, minor and Intermediate level contesting All Ireland finals. This is a wonderful achievement for Michael Glaveys and Roscommon.
Congratulations to Grace Connaughton who won the 11 & Under, One Wall competition at Claregalway Handball Club yesterday. Grace topped her group to secure her place in the semi-final and battled on to win the final against Fenagh Handball Abbie Kane. Well done Grace In the 13 & under competition both Emily Connaughton & Catilin Smyth topped their group and secured their spot in the semi-finals. Emily tied her semi-final game which was a fantastic match and missed her place in the final by the narrowest of margins in a tiebreaker. Caitlin faced the overall competition winner and although tying the scores earlier in the game, she ran out of steam and finished her semi-final 20-12. Also out were Aoibhe & Caitlin Pedraza in the 13 & u-girls and Cian Smyth in the 13 & u-boys, who all gained valuable experience. Everyone played some really lovely handball and enjoyed games against new competitors. All of the competitors will be in this age grade next year so the future is looking very promising.
The Heritage Society is now at the busiest time of the season, with major events coming up regularly. A further meeting will be held on this Wednesday, July 15th at 8 p.m. in Templetogher. One of the items on the agenda will be to continue with preparations for the Open Day at Templetogher Heritage Area on Sunday, August 23rd. For this, the group is building a programme on the theme “Heritage at Risk - UNLESS ….”, and the programme for the day is now practically finalised. Practically all of members have renewed their membership fee for 2026, and a warm thank you to all of those. All others who wish, may take out either regular membership or, for those not in a position to attend our meetings, associate membership, with the fee for both remaining at €20.
You can see all the Heritage Society’s activities on the Facebook page - facebook.com/heritagewilliamstown.
Mass will be celebrated in Kildaree Cemetery on Monday, July 27th at 7.30 p.m. and in Carraroe Cemetery on Wednesday, July 29th at 7.30 p.m.. Please let family and friends living away from the parish know about these Masses as they may wish to attend.
Wishing every success to the Galway senior hurlers and management in the All-Ireland final against Limerick on Sunday. A huge number of supporters will be travelling from the immediate locality for the game, all hoping that this great occasion will live up to its promise.
Williamstown and its environs are all looking their very best at present. The proprietors of a number of buildings in the locality have recently enhanced their respective premises, a development which has added even further to the overall attractiveness of the area.
The Kilkerrin Community Council annual lotto campaign is now underway. First draw on Monday, August 3rd and a starting jackpot of €4,700 - your support is greatly appreciated as the lotto is the Community Council's main source of funding for local projects. If you would like to join the lotto or are unsure who your seller is, please contact Sandra Grogan (087 913 8607) or Keith McMahon (086 348 2019).
Your prayers are requested for Peter Gormally, Milltown, Galway, (brother of Fr Michéal Gormally); John Shaughnessy, Central Park Nursing Home & Dangan, Tuam, (brother of Michael Shaughnessy, Castletown); Dan Fitzgerald, Rathfarnham, Dublin & Lemonagh. May they rest in eternal peace.
Cemetery Masses 2026 takes place (weather permitting - if raining in the Church) in Kilkerrin Cemetery, Sunday August 2nd at 11 a.m. and Clonberne Cemetery Saturday evening August 8th at 7.30 p.m.. Cemetery maintenance collections will take place at these Masses. Please let people know who may wish to come home for the occasion.
