Latest Laois News: Out and about in Durrow
Local news from Durrow, Spink and Cullohill
CHURCH NEWS:
With Level 5 restrictions now lifted we can again go to Mass. Mass will be celebrated on Saturday night at 7pm and Sunday morning at 11.30 am. Durrow Church can have three pods, the centre Aisle is one pod of fifty people and the two side Aisles of twenty five people in each pod. At the moment one of the side Aisles will not be open unless there are 75 or more people at Mass. In order to have both side Aisles open we need more volunteers to comply with the law and make everyone safe. If you wish to volunteer please contact Martin Lawlor 087-2185839. Face masks and coverings must be worn in the church at all times except when receiving the Eucharist. Everyone is asked to assist the volunteers and stay safe
Cullohill Mass
Mass will be celebrated in Cullohill Church Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Mornings at 10am so as to avoid school traffic. Mass on Saturday evening will be at 8 pm and it can be seen on Facebook and on radio at 106.8 fm. This mass is available to all over the World online.
TIDY TOWNS 2021:
The 2021 Tidy Towns Competition is confirmed as going ahead and we need all help possible to make Durrow’s entry one of the best. A five minute sweep once or twice a week outside your business premises or home. As the summer season is coming households and businesses are asked to give colour to the town by putting up Hanging Baskets, window boxes and tubs.
SCARECROW BINGO – YOU PLAY, WE PAY!
With the long summer evenings now in, we will hold our Online Scarecrow Bingo on the last Saturday of every month until the Autumn. Our next game will be Saturday May 29th and books and sheets are now on sale this week! We would like to thank all of our players who enjoyed the games over the past few months and we look forward to seeing you again at the end of May! Click here for more information.
APPEAL:
We are looking to paint the community hall opposite the Church on the Kilkenny road. This is where the Scout Den and Meals on Wheels are operating from. There are also some other small maintenance jobs around the village which need to be cleaned up for this year’s Tidy Towns Competition. The CES scheme will paint the same but we need your help to sponsor a bucket of paint. If you can sponsor €25 or any amount, please call Astrid in the CES scheme on (083) 4092464 or Ethel in the Community Council on (087) 0665752
BEGINNERS KAYAKING COURSE FOR ADULTS (SAT 26th – SUN 27th JUNE 2021) – A fun weekend of paddling and on-the-water instruction for adults who want to learn the basics of kayaking with qualified Canoeing Ireland instructors.
The programme includes: Level 2 Kayak Skills Award – Training and Assessment / River Safety and Rescue Cert (RSR1) / Annual Membership of Laois Kayak & Canoe Club / and Registration with Canoeing Ireland. Places are limited. Booking through Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/3t419ZQ (this is a shortened link, please type capitals and small letters as shown)
LEAFY LOOP WALKERS PLEASE TAKE NOTE: A portion of river bank on the River Erkina has collapsed between Castle Durrow and the Knockanoran wood. It is not very safe. This has been reported to the Leafy Loop team and thanks to Mary for letting us know.
LEAVE NO TRACE: Please remember to leave no trace when out and about on our walks both in Durrow and around Durrow. We are proud members of Leave No Trace and we hope you will follow suit. Please keep your dogs on a lead, pick up after them and take your rubbish home with you. Leave our town and walks clean for all to enjoy safely. Be a part of who we are and what we believe in.
WALKERS TAKE NOTE: Please remember that dogs are required to be on a lead on the Leafy Loop walk in Durrow. Please remember that the walk crosses Private, Coillte and Farmland and all dogs are required to be on a lead throughout the route, without exception. For local walkers, if you see a dog off the lead, please do remind visitors that dogs need to be on a lead as although there is some signage reminding people, sometimes it can be missed and visitors may not be aware that dogs must be on a lead at all times.
SCARECROW FESTIVAL 2021 CANCELLED:
We can now confirm that the 2021 Durrow Scarecrow Festival will not be taking place this year. Like everyone else, we were hugely disappointed when the global pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 festival. We never gave up hope of bringing the event to you this summer and have been working hard behind the scenes to make it happen. However, for the safety of all our frontline workers, volunteers, artists, traders and visitors, we now know that it’s not possible to make it happen. However, we do have exciting news for 2022! We will be back from Sunday 24th July until Monday 1st August 2022. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the HSE staff for their extraordinary efforts in rolling out the vaccine, as well as thanking all of you for your support in keeping the Scarecrow Festival alive by your participation in our online Scarecrow Bingo on Saturday nights. Until we can be together again, keep you and yours, safe and well.
DURROW SCARECROW FESTIVAL APPEAL:
We are continuing to fundraise to match fund a grant received for stage two of our community hall! Our Festival as most of you will know is a huge fundraiser for projects within our community including the maintenance of our much loved amenity areas. If you can assist, please do, any amount would be so much appreciated. We are in this together and will look forward to working with and seeing you all in 2021! Visit here online to donate if you can. If you are not online, you can donate directly if you wish, this can be done by dropping an envelope into Happy Days Crèche or Lawlors Gala and addressing the same to DDF/Community Hub.