Community Notices 12th December 2017

The Parish salutes The Dean:  A huge crowd attended the Parish Centre on Sunday evening last to acknowledge the works of Dean Laverty in the Parish over the last 25 years, and also to celebrate his 55 years in the ministry of the priesthood as well as his 80^th birthday.  Presentations were made by all the schools, also from the Pioneer Association by Peggy Gavigan, the St. Shanaghan House by Teague McFadden and Bart Whelan made a presentation on behalf of his golfing friends.  Master of Cermonies for the night was John M. O’Donnell.  The main organiser was Fr. Johnny Moore who thanked the large crowd and then asked Stephen McCahill on behalf of the Parish to make the presentation of a portrait of the Dean by Sean O’Brogan to Dean Laverty.  An emotional Dean Laverty thanked all for attending on such a bad night.  Then we were all blessed by the arrival of the two Bishops: Bishop Boyce and Bishop McGuckian.  Tea and cakes were served  and Frank McGhee entertained to finish a great night.Beehive Bar Winter Concert:  The winter concerts in the Beehive Bar are going from strength to strength and over the past number of weekends have been thoroughly enjoyable.  This Friday night 15^th December will see Brid Harper, Tony O’Connell and Cyril O’Donoghue in concert and all are welcome.Duchas Magazine:  The Duchas Magazine is now on sale in the local shops.  It is a great production with lots of articles and photographs and will make an ideal Christmas present for family living in Ireland and abroad.Ardara has new and exciting Festival: “South of the Border” is the new Festival taking place on Valentines Weekend next year from 16^th to 18^th February, 2018. This Festival incorporates the music of Jimmy Kennedy and the stories of Packie Manus Byrne.  There will be a Song Contest which is now open for entries.  The Contest is for amateur song writers i.e., people who have no competition recorded.  The prize for the winner is €1000.00 and the inaugural scroll in the Jimmy Kennedy Song Contest.  More details will follow but anyone interested in competing in the Contest must send link to lyricsardara@gmail.com and all details of this Festival can be found on our South of the Border page.GAA Presentation Buffet Night:  The GAA annual Presentation and Buffet Night takes place in the Clubhouse on Saturday 30^th December,  beginning at 8.30pm.  The 1967 team of 50 years will be honoured as well as the annual awards.  Music on the night is by Brendan Gavigan’s new Band “Hard To Beat”.  All are welcome.Ulster Bank Service: Ulster Bank’s Community Banker, Eve Curran is holding drop in sessions every Monday 11-1 at the Heritage Centre and every Wednesday 11-1 at St Shanaghan House in Ardara.  She will be assisting with online banking set up or queries, One to One Personal Financial Review, helping you plan your financial goals, Assisting with your individual account queries, products and services, Arranging one to one appointments if you prefer a home visit.  Eve can be contacted on 087 1926529  Or eve.c.curran@ulsterbank.com  Please do avail of this service and call in. All welcome!Please take a moment –  Please take a moment to fill out the following short survey, which has been designed to help us gather relevant information on what makes your stay with us here in Ardara special and fulfilling.  We appreciate your support as we continue to grow and improve on these services, and your feedback is very important to us as a way to meet your future needs.   We look forward to seeing you all back with us again soon.  Please click on the following link to open the survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y2Y2DX2

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