Ardpatrick is a small village located in the south of Limerick, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the north slopes of the Ballyhoura Mountains, on the edge of the Golden Vale. On the hill above the village is the site of a 5th-century monastery and round tower or cloictheach, now in ruins. Legend tells of a peal of 7 silver bells which once hung in the tower. The monastery was reputedly founded by St.Patrick himself and is surrounded by earthworks probably far more ancient. From the hill can be seen Castle Oliver, a 19th Century mansion built by the Oliver Gascoignes, an Anglo-Irish family. Its fine stained glass windows, which feature the life of St.Patrick, have recently been restored.
About an hour from both Cork and Shannon airports, the village comprises a small number of houses around the parish church. At the south end of the village is a memorial garden and tourist information. Each summer there is a 3 day Festival na Fianna. The Greenwood, just to the south of the village gives access to walking trails across thousands of acres of countryside.
CHURCH READERS The following are the readers at Masses this weekend Eamonn O’ Riordan at the 7pm on Saturday night and Pat O’ Dwyer at the 10am on Sundaymorning.
BLACKROCK GAA NOTES There was no winner of the present lotto jackpot, the numbers drawn were 8, 16, 20, and 30. The €40.00 lucky dip went to Pat and Aileen Kelleher, Kilfinane, promoter Kelleher’s Bar. €20.00 went to Joan Halpin, Laurencetown, promoter Centra. €20.00 to Ita O’Brien, Mountain View, promoter TG Ryan. €20.00 to Tom Hennessy Ballyriggan, promoter Chrissie O’ Sullivan. €20.00 to “Mollies”, Kilfinane, promoter Molly’s. Next lotto is on Thursday August 16 in Greenwood Inn and the jackpot is €2,300 all welcome. Best of luck to all our patrons and many thanks to our promoters for their support every week.
This week all roads lead to Croke Park and we are all very excited in Blackrock GAA and very proud of our Richie and Jimmy for the part they are playing in this journey and we wish them and John Kiely, Declan Hannon and all the team and management and everyone involved in this momentous occasion for Limerick GAA. And we hope Kevin Griffin and Griffins Coaches will be transporting another cup ”the biggest of them all” out of Croke Park on Sunday evening, and we look forward to meeting “Liam”. Hopefully by the time you are reading this, the ticket situation will have eased and there will be enough for all who want to go, keep trying the relations and friends in other counties, tickets have a habit of showing up at the last minute so don’t give up hope. Safe journey to all our members and supporters travelling to Dublin at the weekend. Luimneach abu.
The Junior B’s drew with Garryspillane in the South Championship, 1-10 apiece. We are now second in the table with 5 points and one match to go, our last match is V Camogue Rovers. The Premier intermediate championship will resume after the All Ireland.
TIDY TOWNS COLLECTION The Annual Church gate collection in aid of Ardpatrick Tidy Towns was held last weekend, the amount collected was €465.00 many thanks to all who contributed.
HILLSIDE PLAYERS YOUTH DRAMA The Hillside Players Youth Drama had its first workshop and registration last Tuesday night in the community centre Ardpatrick but don't worry if you didn't make it you can register again this Tuesday August 22, we will be running our workshop from 7.30pm to 8.30pm, please come along we'd be delighted to see you, there is no pressure to perform on stage we have plenty of work off stage from set design to sound and lighting that may interest you! Youth Drama is open to all secondary school students and membership is just €5. Normal workshops will run on Monday evenings at the same time as above. Please contact us either through Facebook or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions. We'd like to say a huge congratulations to the Ardpatrick Festival committee on another very successful festival last weekend, well done to all involved!
LOCAL WEDDING The wedding of Deborah Clifford, daughter of Doreen and Mossie Clifford, Sunville, and Robert Kirwan, son of Thomas and Margaret Kirwan, Galway, took place on Saturday July 21 at St. Patrick’s Church, Ardpatrick. The celebrant was Rev. Fr. Anthony Bluett. The Bridal party were Carmel Lindkvist, Cecilia Beasley, Marie Liston and Emma Flynn. The best man was Barry Kirwan, and the groomsmen were Hugh and Brian Kirwan. The reception was held at the Lakeside hotel, Kilaloe. Congratulations to the happy couple!!
JOHN HUNT 1949-51 EXCAVATIONS UNVAILED Gillian McCormack and the Department of Archaeology UCC have organised a Heritage Week event to mark Gillian's recent publication of John Hunt's (of the Hunt Museum) excavations from 1949-51 at Ballingarry ring fort. There will be an illustrated talk, a book launch and a guided tour of the ring fort. It will take place on Saturday August 18 at 7:30pm at Glenbrohane Community Hall, Garryspillane, Kilmallock, V35Y328. For those wishing to attend the site tour please bring sturdy footwear and dress for the weather! All welcome! For further details: please ring 086 816 2068 or go to heritageweek.ie.
CARDS The weekly 45 continues at the Greenwood Inn every Thursday night at 9.15 pm, all are welcome.
The Ardpatrick Development Projects group was officially formed in Ardpatrick last night following a meeting in the Community Centre.
George Douglas opened the meeting and did a review of how a group of seven people from the community have been working in the background for the last 12 months to secure land close to the village. A 3/4 of an acre site next to the primary school, as well as a disused farm building, have been identified and prices have been agreed with the landowners.
George then outlined the feedback that the group have had recently from meetings they have held with the Ardpatrick Community Council, the School Board of Management and the Parents Association, as well as a meeting with the Pre-Planning Dept of Limerick City and County Council.
Having brought the project to this point, the group of people involved then felt that there needed to be an official group formed, with a mandate from the community to take the project forward.
With nominations thrown open to the floor, the following officers were elected:
Chairperson George Douglas, Vice Chairperson John Shanahan; Secretary Damien Lee, Assistant Secretary Mike Coughlan; Joint Treasurers Eamon O'Sullivan and Mary O'Sullivan; PRO Alan McCarthy.
Committee: Ed Douglas, Dave Quilty, Pa Collopy, John Downes, Fran Stone, Liz Power, Michelle Quilty and Pio McCarthy.
Anyone wishing to join the Committee is more than welcome, please come along to the next meeting or get in touch with any of the elected officers.
