Community Notices: Wednesday 1st November, 2017

Thanks –  A recent fundraising concert at Inniskeel Hall, Portnoo yielded a total of €1,307 which was donated to the work of the HOPE Foundation to provide shelter and education to street children in Calcutta, India, and for the educational assistance for a bereaved family in Kampala, Uganda. The variety concert proved to be an enjoyable and an entertaining event for local and visiting patrons. Thanks to the support and participation of the Inniskeel hall committee, the local press for advance notes, and the following sponsors;   Annora’s Bar Narin,  – Centra Ardara,   – Charlie’s Cafe Ardara,  – Curl up and Dye Hairdressers, Narin,  – Johnny Boyle Artist,Glenties,  – Patrick Boyle Shop and Fuel, Narin, – Lake House Hotel Clogher, Portnoo, – Mace, Portnoo, – Nancy’s Bar and Restaurant,  Ardara, – Physio Health Studio, Ardara. Thanks also to the ticket sellers, back stage assistants, audio control operator, MC,  to the Dolmen Centre committee for use of furniture, to the volunteers who supplied equipment, set up the dancing stage and moved furniture to prepare for the concert. Thanks to Boner/Cannon School of Dancing, McNelis/Cunningham School of Dancing. To music teachers; Denise Boyle, Kevin O’Donnell, Teresa Kavanagh, Martin Nolan, Michael Rooney, and singing trainer Sara Loughlin.  Thanks to the  parents for taking the children to classes, and to the performers who were generous with their time and displayed talent in singing, dancing, playing instruments and performing magic.Annual Church Dinner Dance –  This month’s annual church dinner-dance in Ardara is believed to be the 30th since it was first introduced.  The Reverend Robert Wray will be the fourth Minister to host the popular event which is being held in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel on Friday November 24th at 8.30pm. With music by B & J Sound, the evening will include a giant raffle and spot prizes. Tickets are now available from church members. New Irish Dance Classes –  New Irish Dance Classes will continue to take place at the Heritage Centre every Wednesday at 8pm.  The famous Irish Dance “The Maggie Pickie” will be taught by Joe.  The classes begin at 8pm and all are welcome.Jiving Classes –  Jiving Classes for beginners and more experienced Jivers will take place in the Heritage Centre from 8.30pm on Thursdays.Ulster Bank Information – Eve Curran, Community Banker for Ulster Bank,will be holding two drop-in clinics at the following locations in Ardara every week from Monday 11th November, from 11-1pm at the Heritage Centre, and Wednesday 13th November, from 11-1pm in St. Shanaghan House, Ardara. She will provide support on the following: one-to-one financial health checks, assisting with general account queries and products and services.  Alternative ways to bank safely including; registering for online banking, fraud and scam awareness/digital safety.  One-to-one appointments can be arranged if you prefer. Eve will be in Ardara on Mondays and Wednesdays and will be supporting local community groups and events, so if you would like her to call in to you during the day or early evening outside of the drop-in sessions, she can be reached on eve.c.curran@ulsterbank.com  or 087-1926529.Matchmaking Weekend –  The Matchmaking Weekend is taking place from Friday November, 10^th to Sunday November, 12^th.  A new committee are working hard, and this years’ festival promises to be one of the best ever.  This year the focus is very much on events in town,and we hope for all to get involved in the fun of the occasion.   Big Bands in town are: Jimmy Buckley on the Friday night, and Jim Devine on the Saturday night.  Amongst the many novelty games that will take place will include Blind Date, Traffic Lights & Speed Dating and some very interesting matchmakers will be in attendance.Christmas Lights – Switching on of the Christmas Lights is Sunday 3^rd December. Glenties Christmas Market – Glenties Christmas Market will take place on Sunday 19th November in The Highlands Hotel Glenties from 11am – 6pm. All your Christmas Shopping under one roof. Defibrillator Fundraiser for St. Shanaghan House & Ardara – Teague McFadden, Residential Services Manager of the Ardara Sheltered Housing Association is running a Talent Showcase as a fundraiser to purchase a Defibrillator for Ardara.  This event will be in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel on Friday 17th November from 8:00pm. The Nesbitt Arms have very kindly donated their function suite for the night. This will include a rich variety of both local established and up and coming artists, and should be a really entertaining night for a great cause. Posters will be distributed shortly. They hope that you might be able to support us through the donation of a prize for a raffle/auction, a direct donation to the fund and of course purchasing tickets for what we hope will be a fabulous night.  Given the vulnerability of our residents, it is our intention to site the defibrillator at the rear of St. Shanaghan House, but in a way that the whole of Ardara might have access through trained individuals, to an essential piece of life saving equipment. They are also looking at the establishment of a Cardiac First Responder network of trained volunteers within Ardara to ensure that we are really well prepared to respond to any cardiac difficulty. They have had an offer of free training already which is fantastic. Sympathy – The sympathy of the Community this week goes to the Shovlin family, Kilclooney, on the death of Pat Shovlin whose funeral took place in Kilclooney last Tuesday.  To the McNelis family on the death of John McNelis, Common, whose funeral took place in Ardara on Sunday last.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.    Please click on the following link to open the survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y2Y2DX2 Looking forward to seeing you all back with us again soon.  Ardara.ie

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