The Warp and Weft of Heritage Weekend

The Warp and Weft of Heritage Weekend will take place from this Friday 11th to Sunday 13th October.This year’s theme is Donegal Folklore, Fact and Fiction and celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Disney screenwriter, Larry Watkin was inspired by Ardara native, Jimmy O’Rourke (Back Road), storyteller, fiddler and tinsmith and upon his return to California he changed Darby’s character from a dancer to a fiddler.The weekend will consist of activities for local schools, exhibition of Jimmy O’Dea’s memorabilia, Wee Paddy McGill archaeological collection, art exhibition, a 1940’s vintage night with prize for best dressed, talks, film screening, field trip and storytelling.The Programme of Events can be viewed on our Warp & Weft of Heritage Page.More information can be found on donegalgapheritage.iephone: 0879214206 or email: ardaraheritagehistory@gmail.com 

Dance Classes with Joe McGuigan

Dance classes with Joe McGuigan will take place in the Heritage Centre starting this Wednesday 9th October 8.00pm to 9.30pm. All welcome. 

Exercise Classes

An exercise class called Piloxing (shadow boxing, standing pilates and dance) is starting Wednesday 9th October at 10.00am in The Heritage Centre, Ardara.6 Weeks Block of Classes: €40Contact: 086-4073941 

Coffee Morning

The Present Day, Ardara – Wednesday 9th October 10am-6pmYou’re invited to a charity Coffee Morning in celebration of the gift of life of Teresa Keeney.There will also be a beautiful hamper up for grabs worth over €200, with tickets available in store now. The draw will take place Wednesday evening after the Coffee Morning.All money raised will go to Teresa’s Gift of Life Fund! 

20 years Gift of Life Celebration Dance

Teresa Keeney from Crumlin is having a 20 Years Celebration Fundraising Dance this Friday 11th of October in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel with music by Hard 2 Beat and local singers.The fundraiser is for the Donegal Branch of the Irish Kidney Association, the Charlie Bennett Memorial Fund and St. Luke’s Cancer Lodge in Dublin.Teresa is 20 years over her liver transplant on this date, and she will be going door to door in the coming weeks.Tickets are €10 and there will be a raffle on the night. This promises to be a great night of entertainment for worthy causes. 

Official Opening of Ardara Credit Union

The official opening of the Ardara Credit Union takes place this Saturday 12th October from 3pm to 6pm. Everyone welcome. Refreshments will be served and loads of prizes on offer. 

Adams & Staats Concert in the Beehive

There will be a Concert in the Beehive this Saturday 12th October with a performance by a group direct from Nashville called Adams & Staats, namely Brandon Lee Adams and Johnny Staats, featuring a combination of flatpicking guitar and mandolin mastery.A gifted, musically agile and versatile duo, Adams & Staats are excited to be coming to Ireland to perform for an Irish audience. The 9-gig nationwide tour, in association with UPS & IBMA, kicks off in The Beehive Bar in Ardara.The Concert begins at 8pm.A night not to be missed! 

Killcashel Service

The annual Service of Prayer and Remembrance in Kilcashel will be held on next Sunday 13th October at 2.30 pm. 

“Cherish the Ladies” Weekend in Ardara

Bank Holiday weekend 25th to 27th OctBack by popular demand, “Cherish the Ladies” are performing for two nights in ArdaraFriday 25th there will be an Opening Concert in the Beehive involving the Kane Sisters and Guests beginning at 8pm.Saturday 26th the Gala Concert with Cherish The Ladies and Special Guests in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel at 8pm.Sunday 27th there is “Sets and Céilí” in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel from 3pm to 6pm with “Cherish the Ladies” Céilé Band. An afternoon not to be missed.The Final Concert takes place on Sunday night 27th October in the Beehive starting at 8pm with Don Stiffe, Kate Purcell, Deirdre Bonner and Special Guests. 

Owenea FM Fundraising Dance

Owenea FM, the Ardara based community radio station, is staging its annual Fundraising Dance Evening on Halloween Night Thursday October 31st.This popular evening of music and dance is being held at the Nesbitt Arms Hotel, Ardara.Doors open at 9pm and tickets, available from presenters, are just €5 each. 

Old rivals Ardara and Glenties square up in new TG4 series on Sunday

Two teams of six from Ardara and Glenties, where massive rivalry exists on the playing field, go head to head. Each team sets out from their own village and races towards the opposing village and along the way they will have to negotiate different challenges against the clock. Fastest, fittest and strongest wins the day. And bragging rights to who is the GO GASTA champion, at least for one year anyway.TG4 Sunday October 13th at 8.30pm 

Save Our Beach At Castlegoland

The next protest walk will take place on Saturday October 26th, meeting at Narin Strand at 3pm.All welcome to come along and support! 

Duchas Calling

The committee of Duchas, the annual magazine, are very happy with contributions made so far for this week. More articles, photos etc. are welcome. Contact: duchasannual@gmail.com with any articles or for further information. 

Flotto Results

The Flotto Results on Mon 30th September, were: 5, 9, 14 and 24 and the nearest were Cathal Breslin, Cronkeerin and Kathleen Molloy, Tullycleave. 

Tidy Town Report 2019

The adjudicators visited Ardara during the Summer this year. The judges were very interested and impressed that the National Schools made a big contribution with regular litter day collections.They feel an effort needs to be made to ensure that the Housing Estates get involved in the Tidy Town and the contribution of those involved was noted.The judges were aware of the members of TUS and the Social Employment Participants and the huge effort in helping keep the town tidy.The judges enjoyed their afternoon walk around the town taking in the many attractions which included the Diamond Center. They loved the prominence of the Catholic Church building while the Wood School, the natural stone Church of Ireland structure and the Methodist Hall looked very well. There were many impressive Commercial Buildings to be seen on adjudication day and they included the Heritage Centre which is a wonderful reuse of the old Courthouse Building, and the Nesbitt Arms Hotel which looks exceptionally well with its fresh coat of paint. The Corner House was most impressive while further down the Post Office, the Beehive Bar and the Centra Store all stood out. Teague’s Bar oozed with character as did Doherty’s Bar and Mickalene’s. The judges admired V2 Boutique, The Beauty Room and The Barber Club all of which are located in an attractive modern building which has been sensitively designed to fit in with the surrounding traditional style. The Ardara Dental premises is similarly successful as its harmonious design blends seamlessly into the traditional style landscape. The Credit Union building is also a modern structure (complete with as gaeilge signage) that looks very well, as does Life Pharmacy and the lovely Creative Hairdressing premises. The judges loved the Present Day Gift Shop. They also loved the Traditional designs and neat appearance of the Bridge Bar, Chas McHugh and Nancy’s. The Ardhill Guesthouse, Drumbarron Guesthouse and Campbell’s all seemed to be painted recently and looked brilliant on the day of the visit.The use of window murals to improve the appearance of the vacant building opposite the Hotel is commended and we note that your Committee has done a lot of work to derelict Buildings, painting them to improve the Town appearance. The judges commented that the County Council under the Derelict Sites Act can compel owners to take remedial action if their properties become derelict.The judges felt the Diamond provides a lovely focus to the town and like last year particularly liked the statue commemorating Johnny Doherty. They also noted that new trees were planted to further enhance the space and look forward to seeing these mature in the years ahead.The judges visited St John’s Pier and were disappointed. They feel much more could be done with this lovely amenity.The hard work of the volunteers on landscape could clearly be seen during the visit. Of particular attention were the central planted beds on the Diamond which provide warm colours and interesting diversity of plant species. Good quality planting schemes could be found along the River Bank and the judges were impressed by the diversity of species that could be seen there. They wondered if there was a prepared planting scheme which identifies pollinator friendly species for specific locations. The hanging baskets are a nice addition to the streetscape and were well maintained.The judges congratulated Ardara on the development of the Biodiversity Lane at Woodhill and hope the area is protected to enable habitat flourish here. However, the area would benefit from a wildlife study. This would be an ideal project for the local Schools or Transition Class in Science.The judges wish to congratulate Ardara on the particular high standard of litter control that was achieved on adjudication day. The town was virtually litter free throughout and this is considered to be an excellent performance. The judges also noted in 2018 a similar high standard and this is clearly the result of hard work on a daily basis by a vigilant volunteer or volunteers. Well done and keep doing what you are doing.A small number of improvements remain. The excess finger signs at the Hillhead should be addressed, too many and unsightly. The water pump outside Gatsby House would benefit from a fresh coat of paint while the rendering boundary wall at the Church of Ireland could be spruced up. The black wooden frame that forms a boundary to the Car Park off your Park could be revamped by a new coat of paint and there were a number of Litter Bins needed a cleaning. Aside from these small issues, the overall standard of tidiness was notably high.The judges concluding remarks were that Ardara continues to make significant progress in the competition with an increase in 20 points this year to 265. The judges hope more and more volunteers get involved and look forward to further improvements in Ardara in 2020.Note on the Tidy Town Report: particular thanks must go to John Cassidy for his wonderful control of litter in the town and entrance roads. We could not praise him enough for this work. Special thanks to Eugene Herron for his continued efforts on the Diamond and in the Car Park, at last his hard work is being appreciated by genuine people. PJ McCafferty continues to clean the streets and bins each week and looks after the flower baskets. His continued and steady work is much appreciated. Noel Watters has kept all the public park trimmed and neat at all times and his effort made a wonderful contribution to a good result. Leo Breslin and Paddy Breslin continue to keep the town entrance roads trimmed and cleaned and this is a vital job and important in giving a first impression of Ardara. Michael Barrett’s work for the community of Ardara has truly been immense over the past couple of years. Michael has seen to it day or night that Ardara is looking good and does so much work not truly appreciated in general. Well done and thanks Michael. 

Anniversary Masses

For those viewing on the Church of the Holy Family webcamSaturday at 11.00am – Anniversaries of Maggie & Jimmy Molloy, Maghera Saturday at 7.30pm – Anniversary of Mamie Kennedy 

Sympathy

The sympathy of the Community this week goes to Kevin Dunleavy, Aighe on the death of his sister Mary Dunlevy in Ballybofey last week. ARDARA WEATHER