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Welcome to the WestOffalyNewsletter. This is an Enterprise project undertaken by the Transition Year students of Gallen CS. They have designed, compiled and will continue to update and improve the Newsletter throughout the school year. We came up with the idea because we believed that there was no other accessible forum serving the catchment area of our school. Even though our school is situated in Ferbane , we want our newsletter to encompass all of the West Offaly area as that is where our students are from. We want our newsletter to serve our school community but also the wider community. We would ask people to contribute to our website by sending us in any local events they want to publicise; sporting or otherwise. We would love to hear from all of the local clubs; whatever the code, and we would be delighted to put the information on our site. If you have a story to tell, be you young or old, send it in and we will do the rest. The business community can benefit from our website. We are local and people would much prefer to travel shorter distances to get a bargain or avail of a good service. If you want to sell something from around the house or on a bigger scale, then why not contact us as we have a Buy & Sell section also. Ads are free in our first issue but hereafter will cost 10 per month for Business ads and 5 per month for Buy & Sell Ads. We also have a section entitled Offaly Rovers where we would invite those from our communities who have gone abroad, for whatever reason, to send us on their stories, advice, pictures etc. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your support. Tom Dunican {Transition Year Co-Ordinator}

Local News Community Notices Sports Business Directory Advertising

Buy& Sell
Picture Gallery Gallen CS Features

westoffalynewsletter@gmail.com

Issue 1 December 2011

LOCAL NEWS

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Garda Stations
CONCERNS over proposed closures of rural garda stations were voiced by Offaly County Councillors with clarification to be sought from the Minister for Justice and Equality. Fianna Fail Councillor Sinead Moylan Ryan raised the issue at the November meeting of Offaly County Council this week. The County Councillor outlined her concerns, saying it would be detrimental if smaller rural stations particularly in the south and west of the county were targeted as part of any closure plans by the Minister for Justice. Moylan Ryan requested the Council write to the Justice on the matter. Fine Gael Councillor, Connie Hanniffy supported her motion. However, she urged caution in the wording of the letter. We should write to the Minister seeking direction on the matter regarding rural stations, what the policy is and which would be closed, she remarked, noting that it would be important as well for the Policing Committee to know where the boundaries of where each station covered and requested the provision of this information in preparation for any closures. Independent Councillor John Foley agreed with the sentiments of the previous speakers. We are being left behind. Everything seems to be closing down. We wouldnt be told. The County Councillors agreed to write to the Justice Minister seeking further information on this issue.

Lumcloon Energy
Lumcloon Energy had initially been granted planning permission for a 100MW licence, but sought to increase this to 350MW and the CER granted the increased licence in February. John Gallagher, the Spokesman for Lumcloon Energy, confirmed this week that the CER had granted the increased licence, which he said was a major step forward for the company. "The plan is still very much on course," he said. "That the increased licence was one of the big issues to be resolved. That was a major hurdle to get over." Mr Gallagher added that the company had done some initial clearing works at the site and hoped to be able to make an announcement regarding the progress of the project before the end of the year. Once the construction phase begins it is expected to take two years to complete the power station. The company has previously said that the power station will create up to 500 jobs during its two year construction phase and 50 permanent positions thereafter. The area of the site where the station will be built is 4.6 hectares. The plant will operate on natural gas with distillate oil as a standby fuel, in the event of an interruption to the gas supply. Gas will be supplied to the facility from the gas network, operated by Gaslink, and electricity will be exported to the National Grid via the existing transmission lines located at the site. In open cycle operation, the station will be capable of producing up to 188MW of electricity. The power generation units include four gas turbines, four heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) and two steam turbine generators, which will be contained within one building constructed with varying roof heights determined by the components within. Each HRSG will also be fitted with supplementary gas burners. Two air cooled condenser (ACC) units will be externally located adjacent to the power generation building. Four diverter stacks (38 metres in height) will be provided for use in open cycle operation and four HRSG stacks (49 metres in height) will be installed for use in combined cycle operation.

USEFUL NUMBERS

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USEFUL NUMERS:
Doctors
Doctors
Banagher Dr Harkings (057)9151247 Kilcormac Dr Mary and James Lee (057)9135031

Gardai
Ferbane (090)6454302 Birr District HQ Birr (057)9169710 Cloghan (090)6457102 Banagher (057)9151310 Shannonbridge

Dentists
Ferbane Localdentist.ie (090)6453864 Dental Services Ferbane Ferbane Co. Offaly (090)6454915

Hospitals
MIDOC GP Out of hours (1850)302702 Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore (057)9321501

(090)9674122 Eddenderry (046)9731290 Rhode (046)9737002 Kilcormac (057)9135002 Clara (057)9331100 Daingean (057)9353042

Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe (090)9648200

LOCAL NEWS

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Heritage Centre Concert

On Sunday the 4th of December a musical event with a difference took place in the Heritage Centre, Ferbane. Donnchadh Gerrity held his nearly bi-yearly musical get together. There was an open mic and we had everything from 10yrs olds to 30+ and more. There was a great buzz in the air as one after another they all got up and wowed everyone. There is a podcast of the event available HERE so go on and have a listen. And make sure to keep an eye out for the next one! Diarmuid Connon

Christmas Lights
Christmas lights everywhere are been unboxed so the people of Ferbane and other areas have started to put them up to liven up their towns In Ferbane on Sunday the 27th of November the towns Christmas lights were switched on in main street 5p.m. The entire town gathered together for this special occasion and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Sale Of Work
The sale of work this year was a resounding success this year with hundreds of people going up and buying up all the items on sale from second hand books and dvds, childrens toys, cups, clothes, rosary beads to cooking utensils showing their support for a very good cause. There was also a spin the wheel raffle going on the night with great prizes for everyone from selection bottles to wine and this seemed to be the main attraction on the night.

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Progressive 25 Card Game Every Saturday night at 9pm sharp in high St. Community Hall Jackpot 350.All welcome.

Alcoholics Anonymous MeetingsEach week in Ferbane Contact 01 4538998

Ferbane Toddler group Every Wednesday in bright beginnings Childcare Centre from 11am1pm . Children 0-5 years welcome.

Ferbane prayer groupPlease note the prayer meeting will NOT BE HELD ON WEDNESDAYS 21ST AND 28TH December. Resumes again January 4th 2012

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Coffee morning Resumes again in January. The social services would like to thank Brosna Press and FS and all the voluntary workers for all their help throughout the year. Wishing everyone a happy Christmas and new year

Table prayer for Christmas

Bless us as we sit down together at this table For our Christmas Meal. Bless the food we share and help us to Remember those who are hungry. Be with our neighbours and our friends, Those who are lonely, sick or away from home. We pray that our departed loved ones may Now sit at your table in heaven. May the joy of this feast give us strength And light, now and in the days ahead. We ask this prayer through Christ our Lord .Amen.

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BMW Spares & Services 24 HR RECOVERY SERVICE

Killanagoony, Ballinahowen, Athlone, Co. Offaly Contact Paul Pigott Mobile; 087 7801433 Email; pigottautos@yahoo.ie

SPORTS

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Date 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan 13/14/15 Jan

Stg P4 P3 P6 P2 P3 P1 P5 P2 P5 P1 P6 P4

Home Aironi Rugby Glasgow Warriors Harlequins London Irish Montpellier Munster Rugby Ospreys v v v v v v v

Away ASM Clermont Auvergne Leinster Rugby Gloucester Rugby Cardiff Blues Bath Rugby Castres Olympique Benetton Treviso Edinburgh Rugby Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque Northampton Saints Connacht Rugby Leicester Tigers

Venue Stadio Brianteo, Monza Firhill Arena Twickenham Stadium Madejski Stadium Stade Yves du Manoir, Montpellier Thomond Park Liberty Stadium Stade Yves du Manoir, Paris Vicarage Road Parc y Scarlets Stade Ernest Wallon Ravenhill

Racing Mtro 92 v Saracens Scarlets Toulouse Ulster Rugby v v v v

Garry castle champions A last minute free from second half substitute Conor Cosgrove crowned Garrycastle of Westmeath AIB GAA Leinster Senior Football champions for 2011.St Brigids from Dublin must have felt that they were forcing extra time when a second half sub of their own, Gavin McIntyre, kicked a fine point from 20 yards to level the sides for only the second time in the match.The Westmeath side went into an incredible 1-7 to 0-2 lead early in the second half with the help of a Gary Dolan goal and it looked like there would be only one winner but back came Brigids with the help of four points on the trot from Paddy Andrews.Garrycastle started the brighter of the two. The vastly experienced Westmeath side were showing all their worth and none more so than centre forward Dessie Dolan.Four points from the former All-Star, his first of the afternoon coming from a free, within the opening 15 minutes of the half showed that the Dublin side were just unable to contain the Westmeath intercounty star.Brigids only scored once in the opening half scored by full forward Ken Darcy from a free after Darren Harte fouled Paddy Andrews while he made his way to goal along the by-line. Both sides had their share of goal chances during the opening 30 minutes.Brigids who were slight favourites going into the game struggled massively in the opening half with the likes of Darcy, Barry Cahill, Ken Kilmurray and Paddy Andrews not playing to their full potential and left a lot of work to do in the second half. The second half combination of Darcy and Andrews, which Garrycastle failed to hold down ,kicked into gear when a long ball into the big target man was knocked down to the on rushing.Andrews and he showed just how simple it was for the Dublin side to get back into this game.Dessie Dolan managed to respond instantly for the Westmeath side two minutes later with a massive point from all of 35 yards to restore the five point lead.Then on 38 minutes what proved vital for Garrycastle was the goal from Gary Dolan. Some fine work on the left hand side from James Duignan who cut through the Brigids defence and fired a low shot on goal only to see his effort flicked into the top corner of the net by Gary Dolan.However, Brigids did manage to respond over the next 10 minutes with 0-2 from John OLoughlin and 0-4 from Paddy Andrews to leave it with just a single point separating the sides.McIntyre was introduced and looked to have tied up the game for the Dublin champions but a free deep into injury time from Cosgrove, the coolest man in the ground, stepped up to crown Garrycastle as new AIB Leinster Football champions 2011.

SPORT

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Results Table
POS ^ V 1 _ 2_ 3^ 4v 5_ 6^ 7v 8_ 9_ 10 _ 11 _ 12 _ 13 _ 14 _ 15 _ 16 _ 17 _ 18 _ 19 _ POS ^ V LP CLUB P W D 1 Manchester City 16 13 2 Manchester United 16 12 4 Tottenham Hotspur 15 11 3 Chelsea 16 10 5 Arsenal 16 9 7 Liverpool 16 8 6 Newcastle United 16 7 8 Stoke City 16 7 9 Norwich City 16 5 10 Aston Villa 16 4 11 Fulham 16 4 12 Swansea City 16 4 13 West Brpmwich 16 5 14 Everton 15 5 15 Queens Park Rangers 16 4 16 Sunderland 16 3 17 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 16 18 Wigan Athletic 16 3 19 Blackburn Rovers 16 2 LP Club P W D GF GA GD PTS 2 1 50 15 35 41 3 1 37 14 23 39 1 3 31 18 13 34 2 4 34 19 15 32 2 5 31 24 7 29 5 3 20 13 7 29 6 3 21 19 2 27 3 6 18 25 -7 24 5 6 25 29 -4 20 7 5 18 21 -3 19 6 6 18 18 0 18 6 6 16 20 -4 18 3 8 16 24 -8 18 2 8 16 19 -3 17 4 8 15 28 -13 16 5 8 18 19 -1 14 2 10 17 30 -13 14 4 9 15 30 -15 13 4 10 21 36 -13 10 L GF GA GD PTS L

P a g e | 10

Karate Lessons

The Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu Ireland Karate-do Association is a group of dojo and students that have chosen to follow the teaching of Beaumont Sensei. Techniques are performed in a manner that results in the greatest speed and power possible without causing injury or harm to the person performing them.

Ferbane and district Credit union Limited are

The studio is currently located in Athlone but lessons will soon be taking place in Gallen Community School Ferbane.

Holding our AGM on Wednesday 14th December 2011 At 8 pm

For more information contact Sinead ; (087) 2249490 or (087) 9447449

In the Heritage Centre Ferbane

Or e-mail shamuoc@gmail.com
www.matsubayashi-ireland.com Facebook; Matsubayashi shorinryu international We are fully insured have all our coaching certs and are garda vetted All those in attendance at the AGM will be entered into a free draw. Everybody welcome Our Car draw takes place on the night As well as our Members draw.

We are delighted to announce that this year we will be paying a dividend of 2% and a rebate of 10% on all regular rate of loan interest paid during the year.

BUY & SELL

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All in perfect condition 90 Contact Shane 0857659403

PsP and many games Gamecube and game. Contact for more information-

Chimney Clean Service

Contact Robert Cornally 087-2879006 Available to clean Chimneys Windows and gutters Special Rate Available For All 3 Together.

0868818145 2006 Yamaha yz 85 for sale,

big wheel version, one off custom made aluminium tank, tallon hubs, wavy discs front and rear, new brake pads, full racing exhaust, pioneer sticker kit, all original plastics / sprockets & exhaust come with bike, make ideal Christmas present 1299 ono. Contact 0876157818

Firewood For sale Darcy Domestic & Industrial Maintenance Clonmacnois, County Offaly Phone Padraig on (087) 2370502 Boiler servicing and efficiency testing Also tiling, Laying of timber floors, Plumbing, Painting and all general DIY work 10ft x 5ft 6 Trailer 150 free delivery to Ferbane area Call Dylan on (087)9869865

Ford fiesta car parts for sale

I have a green back bumper in perfect Condition and a front grill. I also have tail lights and mirrors all off a 2000 ford fiesta Call or text for details

086 3147446

OFFALY ROVERS

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Any people from the West Offaly area that are abroad for whatever reason, we would really love to hear from you. Send us your pictures, stories, advice or let us know how youre getting on. Again our e-mail is: westoffalynewsletter@gmail.com

PICTURE GALLERY

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GALLENCS
On the 15th of September 2011 all of us TYs went on a pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick with Ms. Breen, Ms. Reynolds and Mr. Irwin. We all arrived at the school at 08.00 and left on a bus at 08.15, arriving at Croagh Patrick at 11.30, where we got ready for the climb. We all separated into three groups, the good, the very good and the excellent. The good group went first and then the very good went twenty minutes after, followed by the excellent group after another twenty minutes. The idea was that we would all reach the summit together. The first bit of the walk was very tough and tested our endurance. We had good weather, so it wasnt that slippery but that didnt mean people didnt slip or fall because many did on the way up. On the ascent, we had picturesque views of Clew Bay and also the surrounding mountains. Half way up, we all came together at a level part of the mountain and had a bit to eat. It was extremely windy at this point. Some of the lads left the initials of the school down the mountain beside a tarn. After a bit to eat we all left in our individual groups for the second half of the gruelling challenge. The very end of the hike was very steep and there were loose rocks under our feet, which is a dangerous surface. This section seemed to go on forever but when we saw the summit we were relieved and overwhelmed. At the top we met up and waited for everyone. We had lunch and took a few photos. At the top it was very clear and we could see for miles. There were mountain sheep at the top and they got some of our lunches. We saw the church at the summit and also St. Patricks Bed. Before the descent, we said a prayer and off we went. It was exceptionally dangerous on the way down and it wasnt long before we had our first casualty. One of the girls fell down about fifteen metres until she finally came under control. She scraped down her arms and hit her head and ribs. She got a bad fright but she was ok. We all got down safe and sound at around 5pm and we said another prayer at the foot of the mountain before we set off for home. We stopped off in Roscommon Supermacs for dinner and we arrived back in Ferbane about 9pm after a magnificent day out. Stephen Mannion.

P a g e | 14 Ploughing
On the 20th of September the TYs went to the Ploughing Championships in Athy, Co. Kildare as part of our Ag. Science class. We left the school at 9.30am and the traffic got heavier the closer we got to the event. Everyone was so excited but also tired as it took two hours to get to Athy. When we got there, we were at the largest open air agricultural arena in Europe, covering 700 acres. We found it hard to get around the whole thing in one day. There were lots of food markets, electronics, cars and clothes. It was a time consuming kind of a day because we wanted to see as much as possible in the few hours we had. There were lots of different breeds of cattle, sheep, horses, goats, pigs, dogs, poultry and birds. There were competitions for the animals with rosettes or products from the sponsors as prizes. It was a great day all in all and it certainly proved that you didnt have to be a farmer to enjoy it. Rachel Digan

Scratch Scratch was launched in Gallen Cs on Wednesday 21st September by sports journalist Eamon Horan and representitives from Atlantic corridor AIT and Ericssions there aswell. Scratch is one of the simpliest programing languages out there. You can take control of Sprites and get them to move talk or play guitar using scripts these are the code the program uses to give the sprite its instructions. As I said the is the simpliest way to program and withing 5 minutes you can do on scratch what normally takes a week to code in real life. To date we have made bands, games (Zombies, Tetris, Mario) and other funny and wierd creations with the help of Barry from AIT.So far we have completed 4 weeks of a ten week course and by the end of this course the aim is to enter our project into the nationa competition. There will also hopefully be a prize for the best project out of our class. Diarmuid Connon

Articles Courtesy of

TY Scal

GCS students with their Christmas shoeboxes

GALLEN CS

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Canadian Ambassadors Visit

Written by Matthew Murphy

On the 6th of October, the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Loyola Hearn, visited our school. He came to visit because he curious to see the new school and he was once a teacher himself. When he first arrived, he came to the TYs we gave a presentation. We welcomed him to the school and we told him about all the activities we had done and all the awards our school had won. He got a tour of the school and he also visited the Cluny Suite. As he was leaving, he commented that This school and its students are excellent, so all Gallen students should be proud of that.

FEATURES

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Cloghan Castle
Cloghan Castle is said to have been built originally as a monastery by St. Cronan in 600. In 1203 the Normans fortified the remains of the monastery by building a defensive wall around it, part of this still exists.
Description and History This well preserved tower house is a perfect example of this style of castle. Standing at roughly 15m in height the castle has all the basic features of a tower house, The first floor has collapsed but has been replaced in recent restoration works. However, according to the present owner, the stairs were deliberately destroyed to prevent people accessing the castle when it was derelict The history of this castle is equally as interesting as the building itself. It was built by the MacCoughlan clan the late 15th century and was the first place in Ireland to practice musketry. The castle passed into the hands of the Boleyn family. Henry gave it as a gift to Thomas Boleyn as he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. In fact, cousins of Anne are buried in the grounds underneath a hawthorn tree. The writing on the stone has eroded away but may still be recovered with a rubbing. The inscription reads: "Here under leys Mary and Elizabeth Bullen, daughters of Thomas Bullen, son of George Bullen, son of Thomas Bullen, Earl of Ormond and Viscount of Rochford." Luckily this castle escaped the campaign of Cromwell and is in relatively good condition. The castle did become ruined but the excellent renovation work of the present owner is slowly restoring this castle to its former glory.

In 1336 Eoghan O' Madden, conquered the territory of Lusmagh, he is thought to have built the present keep. In 1595 the O' Maddens lost the castle during a siege which cost 200 lives.
Between 1651 and 1683 Cromwellian soldiers occupied the castle and added to it by building two towers. During the Williamite Wars the Irish Jacobite Army camped outside the castle in 1689. Originally the estate was 3,200 acre. It is now set in 70 acres of beautiful park land with another 80 acres of ancient woodland, which is a wildlife sanctuary. It is the oldest inhabited home in the country.

FEATURES

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Coole Castle
Coole Castle was built by Sir John MacCoghlan on the banks of the Brosna in 1575. It was the last of the MacCoghlan castles to be built. He erected it as a present to his second wife Sabina O'Dallachain. Formerly there was a mural slab in the castle with a Latin inscription translated in English as "This tower was built by the energy of Sir John MacCoghlan, K.T. chief of this Sept at the proper cost of Sabina O'Dallachain on the condition that she should have it for her lifetime and afterwards each of her sons according to their seniority". It is unknown where this mural is at present. In his will in 1590 Sir John left Coole Castle to his widow. Over the fireplace, in its original location, in the topmost room of the castle is a plaque written in Middle Irish which reads: SEAGHA MAC OCHL DO TINDSCAIN O SEO SUAS 1575 (Sean MacCoghlan began this building from this date 1575)

FUN PAGES

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An old wives tale says that bread baked on Christmas Eve will never go mouldy

The 25th December was not celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ until AD440

Germany made the first artificial Christmas trees. They were made of goose feathers and dyed green.

During the Christmas/Hanukkah season, more than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made.

Its considered bad luck to take down holiday decorations before "Little Christmas" on January 6th.

Leftovers can sometimes be your enemy. Spoilt leftovers are responsible for 400,000 cases of post Christmas associated illnesses.

CONTACT US

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If you have any news stories, interesting tales, photographs or want to wish someone well please drop us an e-mail at WESTOFFALYNEWSLETTER@GMAIL.COM
Or just drop your ad/story etc. into the school. And we will do our best to publish it in the next issue.

Editor-in-Chief
Tom Dunican

Editor
Diarmuid Connon

Writers
Aisling OShea Matthew Murphy Niamh Kenny