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Hi and welcome once again to your free Interactive Waterford and County newsletter and Pat Kiely's almost' weekly comments AUDIO JUST UPLOADED (4 pieces each appx 5 minutes long)
Welcome all those of you
wonderful people, from in and around the County of Waterford,
whether by birth, ancestry or adoption. Hello once again.
Well this is issue 64 of your weekly newsletter, a number that always reminds Kiely of a song recorded by Beatle, John Lennon in the late 1960s.
(ie.Definition of the word 'Beatle' for younger readers:
A member of a 1960s pop group who wore funny suits and sported identical haircuts, long before today's 'Boyz bands' thought of dressing up in identical leather coats and bleaching their hair!
Lennon was assassinated outside his New York apartment back in 1980 and had he still been with us, he would now be only a few years away from the 64 he once so chirpily sang about.
His murder shocked many people around the world at the time, as did the killing of US President, John F.Kennedy nearly 20 years before.
In this country Between the 1930s and mid 1990s, to be gunned down or even mugged, in the street would have been crime almost unheard of, and if something like this did happen it would have caused outrage....but not anymore!
Last week in Dublin, there were two drug linked professional killings in broad daylight and later the same week a group of innocent foreign students returning from a happy night out,were set upon,attacked and beaten by some local thugs!
Horrible acts, in a country which until only a few years ago always felt so safe.
A place where once, the only possible invasion of one's space that a visitor might have experienced, may have been an unexpected 'Hello' from a stranger or a friendly wave of the hand from the driver of an approaching vehicle!
In a country whose government keeps on bragging about its wonderful Celtic economy, perhaps suitably nicknamed after a wild beast, something is clearly going wrong.
It is not all gloom however. Old fashioned qualities still exist in many country places, but unfortunately caution, sadly, is still needed in many of our larger cities.
Returning to the subject of John Lennon or rather his second wife Yoko Ono for a moment, isn't it funny how quickly time passes and times change.
To think that Yoko, the Japanese artist John married in the late 60s a woman several years his senior,is now probably looking back, not forward to her own 64th. birthday with nostalgia.
When they married they both blathered on with great intensity, about world peace.
Looking at the TV news lately its obvious that we still have a long way to go before the peace they asked for is achieved in many parts of the world and even in the North of this country.
But first......a change of mood...
WHICH BROTHER MARRIED SYLVIA not once but TWICE? 
One of these two County Waterford brothers, Jimmy and Mike Fitzgerald, married Sylvia from the Isle of Dogs in England...Not once, but twice...Find out, the who, the when, and the why, next week.
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SOUND BYTE! In the last two issue we have mentioned the Munster Fleadh Cheoil, if you want to hear some of the sounds archived on Real Audio or through MessageBay.com's sound plug in system, visit Kiely's homepage where also a a sound version of this newsletter will follow shortly.
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'MADDEN'S SHIELD' GOES TO WALES!.
A while back Kiely was asked along to Ballysaggart West Waterford Autograss racetrack near Ballyduff where local drivers were competing against a team from Wales.
In true Irish fashion it rained and
poured.....
After the first couple of races the heavens opened, turning the track into something reminiscent of last years ploughing championship in Fermoy, but making the event all the more exciting for the spectators who had turned up to give their support.
By the end of the afternoon it was very difficult to see the mud covered numbers on the cars as they slid around the track.
The racing
started off quite well for the West Waterford team, with local
man Mike Carey winning Class 1, but as the afternoon wore on,
even though the West Waterford Team came close to winning many
races, the visitors ended up with the most points, eventually
being awarded the Madden’s Shield in the Ladies, Juniors,
and Winner’s section.
These 'perpetual' Madden shields were donated some years ago by the late Micheal Madden of Lismore whose 4th anniversary was last week.
Most of the Welsh drivers and
supporters had to leave after the races had finished, to make
their way to Rosslaire Ferry Port, and could not stay for the
later presentation of shields and prizes in Ballyduff, but their
success in Ballysaggart must have made the expected rough sea
crossing back home far less painful.
‘We hope to meet up with the Welsh
challengers possibly before the end of the year, or certainly
within the next 12 months to bring the shields back home,’
said this year's newly elected Autograss Chairman ‘Ber’
Cunningham, from Chapel Street, Lismore, who has been a member of
the club for the past ten years.
‘Our next West Waterford Auto Club Ltd. event will be held in Araglin on July 30th as part of the festival activities,’ remarked Ber, before running for shelter from the pounding rain!
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SNAIL MAIL! photo. PHOTO: BILLY 1945 Billy Clements has written by more traditional means, (by letter post!) from Frinton on Sea in Essex to say how much he enjoys Kiely’Comments.
Billy would like to say hello
to any of those still around Lismore who might possibly remember
him. He said he moved to the town in 1929 after his dad died, and
lived there until 1946.
‘Lismore is home to me! ' Remarked Billy, who said, he used to live opposite Hickey’s Garage and can remember clearly the funeral of Lord Charles Cavendish and also of meeting the famous American dancer Fred Astaire who loved the odd pint in Madden’s Bar.
Billy said he hopes to be able to send Kiely an email in the future when his son Geoffrey gets his new computer sorted out. He also wants to send best wishes to Joe Willoughby Proprietor of The Ballyrafter Hotel where they stayed when he visited Lismore a few years back.
(Billy has recently written to me with photos and an interesting story about his childhood and the funeral of Lord Charles Cavendish,which will be featured in this newsletter in the coming weeks.
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EMAILS and FE-MAILS! First a big thankyou to The following who sent Kiely a real live snail mail postcard recently Just when FERGAL O'BRIEN local postman thought it was safe to venture out in daylight once again...
KEVIN MOLONEY....who sent a beautiful 20 in one card of various churches he recently visited in California.
Thanks to JOANNE GONZALVES who sent a card of her 'mile high' city Colorado.
MARY LAPPEN (Cant quite make out the name, who sent a card of The National Shrine of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.(Please get in touch again Mary)
Another card came from Jackson Mill Bridge, but the postmark obscured the senders first name.. Their last name I think was HAYES..
Please also get in touch so I can credit you with thanks.
Dont forget if you are kind enough to send Kiely a card by snail post PLEASE PRINT your NAME and Email address clearly..If possible midway down the card or across your dollar bills, so it does not get hidden by postmarks and I can reply..
FERGAL my postman must be wondering by now, how I can have so many friends around the world with all the extra post he has been carrying the last few months!
Headmistress MARY ENGLAND would love you all to visit her school website.
http://homepage.eircom.net/~lismorens
MARY was featured in this newsletter in the past,and is very much into environmental issue.
Another link you will find very interesting but also very moving has been sent to me by DENIS STRANGMAN in Australia, whose wife was taken seriously ill a little while back, right out of the blue.
Denis is keeping an on-line diary of his wife MARG'S progress on this website....
http://www.geocities.com/oldparl/journey.htm
Please check it out and maybe say a little prayer for them.
Hello to DECLAN and Dr KEVIN McCANN PHOTO: Declan and Dad Thanks to DECLAN MC CANN over in Canada, who sent me on by post more details about his retired father who was once a Doctor in Tooraneena.
I recently printed an update of your info in my Dungarvan Observer newspaper column. Thanks Declan.
Hi to JACK LAMB who always keeps a watchful eye on the online progress of Kiely's County Waterford newsletter.
Hello to CHARLES and CYNTHIA over in Mobile, Alabama,who also sent me greetings from their Mobile to my mobile in a text message if you know what i mean!
Hi to CHARLES GAVNEY, who was in a panic after his 'better half' PHYLLIS accidentally deleted Kiely's Aug. n/letter from his computer.(Kiely sent him a copy)
TONI RINGLE a nursing student over in the States reckons the Waterford County and weekly newsletter helps her relax after a hard days night of study.
Thanks to SUSAN FINLAYSON in Canada,for checking some sound files for me even though she has been busy with visitors..
Also greetings to MARGARET WEBB and BRIGID GUARINO who both wrote this week saying they were waiting for this new issue to arrive through their computer.... (Thanks for your continued interest)
Hello to PETER AND MARIA BOUCHER. Peter sends thanks for being put in touch with someone in Dunmore East,who he now regularly emails.
Peter has asked Kiely to look up an old friend of his parents MOLLIE WHITTLE whose family used to run the local dairy...
Peter reckons he was raised on the white stuff from their dairy as a child in Kilcohan. (Must take a run down that way when I can Peter.)
Mr PE WILLIAMS has written all the way from Montana to say he is a fan of the chicken trot or was that the fox trot dance he wants! (Keep stepping it out Pat)
Hi to PATRICK CASHMAN who sent me a mobile phone message from England.
Hi to MICHAEL TROY over in USA Web TV land, who says this newsletter brightens his day,(thanks Michael) Micheal hopes to visit Waterford some day and check out his Troy and Weldon ancestors.
Hello to JAMES and His wife VANESSA O LEARY married in June. James is from Australia and Vanessa is from County Waterford.
Talking of weddings,
Howdie to BEVERLY HANNON (IOWA)who reminded me that BRAD PITT might be descended from England's youngest MP Lord Pitt in the 1800s..That also gave me some mileage for feature in my newspaper column last week, thanks Bev..
And NO..... BRAD and JENNIFER didnt stay in Lismore Castle (YET) on their honeymoon after all.
By coincidence as I started to write this newsletter I mentioned New York, and as I finish I have just heard on the news that the winner of the Rose of Tralee has just been announced..
The new Rose this year comes not from the land of the Shamrock but from the land of the Big Apple.. Congratulations!
Well that's it for this week,
So finally,finally, finally.....
Thanks once again to all who subscribed, signed the guestbook, sent real postcards or emailed or left voice messages..and as they say down this way.. Thanks a million!
There will be more name mentions next week, and remember you must go on-line to see the photos....
See 'ya all next week. God bless, Pat.
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