Confidence over Progress on Kilcock town centre site

By Peter Kelly  (Liffey Champion, Page 2)

Kilcock Residents may be hearing about developments at The Old Monastery site in the town centre very soon. Little has been heard over the last two years about the site but at the recent Clane Area Committee meeting on 9^th February), Cllr. Liam Doyle (FF) said that there may be some move on plans to bring the site back to use in the not too distant future after meeing with Kildare County Council earlier in the day. He said that the meeting was a good one and he is now waiting on a report on it. However, Cllr. Doyle would not be pressed any further on the issue as the meeting drew to an end.

John Bruton to speak at the Maynooth/Kilcock Lions Club charity presentations

By Aideen Sutton (Liffey Champion, Page 9)

John Bruton

Former Taoiseach and retired EU ambassador to the USA, John Bruton, was to speak at a Maynooth/Kilcock Lions Club Presentation ceremony at 6pm on Thursday 18^th February.

The event was to take place at the club’s sheltered housing development, Nagle Court on the Dunboyne Road in Maynooth and afterwards Mr. Bruton was to meet the residents and members of the Lions Club.

Funds for various local causes were to be presented at the event also. These causes include school book funds for Maynooth Post Primary and Scoil Dara in Kilcock, Alzheimer respite care and the campaign for a new parish hall.

When the state budgets were cut, funds in schools for book supply were no longer supported by grants so the Lions Club stepped in and offered help from funds raised from the community through various projects. The 2 secondary schools were to each receive €2000.

More Suicide Prevention workshops planned for north Kildare

By Sarah Egan ( Liffey Champion, Page 5)

A new ‘Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention sub group for north east Kildare’ has been set up to tackle the issue of suicide in the area. Further mental health and suicide prevention seminars are being planned for 2010 following the success of last year’s seminars in Maynooth.

Deirdre Cullen, member of the sub group, has said that they are looking at the issues of young people and they are hoping to do an evening of talks for parents and teenagers soon. She added that there are 17,000 young people and 8,000 NUI Maynooth Students in the area which is why it’s so important to provide help and support to a group which makes up and third of the population.

The sub group caters for Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, Kilcock and the surrounding area and has membership from the HSE, Kildare Youth Service, Mental Health Ireland, Leixlip Town Council and the Community Councils in Maynooth, Celbridge and Kilcock.

http://www.suicide.ie/

http://www.aware.ie/

http://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/

Haiti collections bring in more than €70,000

By Peter Kelly (Liffey Champion, Page 6)

More than €70,000 was raised last week by parishioners at masses across north Kildare and Lucan to help the people of Haiti. It follows the devastating earthquake which struck the poorest country in the Northern Hemisphere 5 weeks ago.

The Parish Priest of Kilcock and Newtown, Fr. PJ Byrne, praised people for their generosity and support they have shown towards the Haitian people. This follows recent collections that were taken in Clane and Rathcoffey Parish where €5,568 was raised and in Cooleragh and Staplestown where €5,540 was raised. The Justice and Peace Group in Lucan also raised €18,000 last month.

Therese Brady is a local aspiring writer and writes mainly about food, fiction – novels and short stories, restaurant, movie and book reviews and I have my own website www.theresebrady.com and blog called Writer’s Cramp. This is where I keep my creative juices flowing during those down moments of writer’s block. I’ve completed one novel and am currently working on the second. Find me on Facebook and Twitter.