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P a g e | 1

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 theNewsletter 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; whateverthe 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

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P a g e | 2LOCAL NEWS

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 PolicingCommittee 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

wouldn’t be told.”

The County Councillors agreed to write to the JusticeMinister 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 generationbuilding. 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.

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P a g e | 3

USEFUL NUMERS:

Doctors

USEFUL NUMBERS

Gardai

Ferbane

(090)6454302

Birr District HQ Birr

(057)9169710

Cloghan 

(090)6457102

Banagher

(057)9151310

Shannonbridge 

(090)9674122

Eddenderry

(046)9731290

Rhode

(046)9737002

Kilcormac

(057)9135002

Clara

(057)9331100

Daingean

(057)9353042

Doctors

Banagher

Dr Harkings

(057)9151247

Kilcormac

Dr Mary and James Lee

(057)9135031 

Hospitals

MIDOC GP Out of hours

(1850)302702

Midland Regional

Hospital Tullamore

(057)9321501

Portiuncula HospitalBallinasloe

(090)9648200

Dentists

Ferbane

Localdentist.ie

(090)6453864

Dental Services

Ferbane

Ferbane Co. Offaly

(090)6454915

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P a g e | 4LOCAL NEWS

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 town’s Christmas lights

were switched on in main street 5p.m.

The entire town gathered together for

this special occasion and everyoneenjoyed 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 fromsecond hand books and dvd’s, children’s 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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P a g e | 5COMMUNITY NOTICES

Tuesday’s 29th Nov, 6th, 13th, 20th

Dec.

LECTIO DIVINA -

Prayerful reading of the SundayScriptures

after 10am Mass in Ferbane Church

Monday 19th December

Reconciliation Service

10am Ferbane

(Incorporated into Mass)

Sunday 15th January

Belmont Senior

Citizens

High Street Hall

Tuesday 20th December

Parish Carol Service

Ferbane Church, 8pm

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P a g e | 6

BMW Spares & Services

24 HR RECOVERY SERVICE

Killanagoony,

Ballinahowen, 

Athlone,

Co. Offaly

Contact Paul Pigott

Mobile; 087 7801433

Email; pigottautos@yahoo.ie

ADVERTISING

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P a g e | 7SPORTS

Date Local Time Stg Home Score Away Venue TV/Att

/12/2011 19:30 P4 Ulster Rugby v Aironi Rugby Ravenhill

/12/2011 20:00 P2 Cardiff Blues v Edinburgh Rugby Cardiff City Stadium S4C

/12/2011 20:00 P6 Harlequins v Toulouse The Twickenham Stoop Sky Sports

/12/2011 13:30 P6 Connacht Rugby v Gloucester Rugby The Sports Ground Sky Sports

/12/2011 14:30 P5 Benetton Treviso v Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque Stadio Comunale diMonigo

Sky Italia

/12/2011 14:30 P1 Castres Olympique v Northampton Saints Stade Pierre Antoine Canal +

/12/2011 15:40 P1 Scarlets v Munster Rugby Parc y Scarlets Sky Sports

/12/2011 16:40 P2 Racing Métro 92 v London IrishStade Yves du Manoir,

Paris

France

Televisions

/12/2011 18:00 P5 Saracens v Ospreys Wembley Stadium Sky Sports

/12/2011 12:45 P3 Bath Rugby v Leinster Rugby The Rec Sky Sports

/12/2011 12:45 P3 Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Firhill Arena Sky Sports

/12/2011 16:00 P4 ASM Clermont Auvergne v Leicester Tigers

Euro 2012 Draw

“There’s no denying it has been a

tough draw,” he said, but added it

would be fantastic to face Spain,

describing the reigning world and

European champions as “one of the best teams of the last 30 years”. 

Ireland have faced both Croatia

and Italy in friendlies over the last

12 months - drawing 0-0 withCroatia at the Aviva Stadium in

August and beating Italy 2-0 in

Liege in June.

During the World Cup 2010qualifying campaign, Ireland drew

2-2 with Italy in Croke Park and 1-

1 in Bari.

Ireland's last competitive meeting

with Spain, also the country's last

fixture at a major championships,

was in the second round of the

2002 World Cup in Suwon, Korea.

The sides drew 1-1 before Spain

progressed 3-2 on penalties.

Euro 2012 gets underway in

Warsaw on Friday June 8th, 188

days from now, with co-hostsPoland facing Greece.

Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia,

Czech Republic.

Group B: Netherlands, Denmark,

Germany, Portugal

Group C: Spain, Italy, Ireland,

Croatia

Group D: Ukraine, Sweden,

England, France.

Oulart lose out for 2nd year as Coolderry’s accuracy proves key 

oolderry's Cathal Parlon and Keith Rossiter of Oulart-the-Ballagh reach for the sliotar during the

einster club final.

FFALY’S Coolderry proved yet again that nothing can be taken for granted in sport when they upset

ulart-The-Ballagh from Wexford to claim the Leinster Club Senior Hurling Championship title.

omplete outsiders prior to the start of the competition, Coolderry were deserved 1-15 to 1-11 winners

Sunday’s final at Nowlan Park. Not many had seen it coming, least of all perhaps Oulart-The-Ballagh.

hile the victory is a marvelous win for a club like Coolderry and in general for Offaly hurling, it is yet

other massive disappointment for the Wexford champions. Oulart have now lost two Leinster deciders

a row, both coming within the current calendar year.

hey were also, it has to be admitted, too good for Oulart-The-Ballagh. Sadly, for the Wexford outfit

ey simply weren’t accurate enough, hitting 14 wides compared to just five for their opponents.

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P a g e | 8

We’re on our way to Euro

2012. Olé, Olé, Olé

SPORT

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P a g e | 9

Stalemate in the Premiership as Manchester Citymaintains their unbeaten run. Already it looks like

everybody else is playing for second place but who

knows. We will just have to wait and see. For the

neutral fan though it makes for more interesting

viewing as we wonder what Manchester Utd and the

rest of the chasing pack will do.

1 Manchester City  14 7 0 0 24 4 5 2 0 24 9 35 38

2 Manchester United  14 5 1 1 19 10 5 2 0 12 3 18 33

3 Tottenham Hotspur  13 5 0 1 15 7 5 1 1 14 9 13 31

4 Chelsea  14 5 0 2 19 11 4 1 2 12 6 14 28

5 Arsenal  14 5 1 1 13 5 3 1 3 17 18 7 26

6 Newcastle United  14 4 2 1 10 8 3 3 1 9 7 4 26

7

Liverpool 14 2 5 0 9 6 4 0 3 8 7 4 23

8 Stoke City  14 3 2 2 10 8 2 1 4 4 15 -9 18

9 Aston Villa  14 3 2 2 10 7 0 5 2 6 11 -2 16

10 Everton  13 2 1 4 7 9 3 0 3 8 8 -2 16

11 Norwich City  14 3 2 2 12 10 1 2 4 8 16 -6 16

12 Queens Park Rangers  14 1 4 2 6 10 3 0 4 9 15 -10 16

13 Fulham  14 2 3 2 12 9 1 3 3 4 7 0 15

14 West Bromwich Albion  14 2 1 4 6 9 2 2 3 7 12 -8 15

15 Swansea City  14 3 3 1 8 2 0 2 5 6 18 -6 14

16 Wolverhampton Wanderers  14 3 1 3 10 11 1 1 5 5 13 -9 14

17 Sunderland  14 1 3 3 10 9 1 2 4 6 8 -1 11

18 Blackburn Rovers  14 2 0 5 10 15 0 4 3 11 17 -11 10

19 Bolton Wanderers  14 1 0 6 9 19 2 0 5 10 15 -15 9

20 Wigan Athletic  14 1 2 4 8 15 1 1 5 4 13 -16 9

SPORT 

 The Premiership

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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.

The studio is currently located in Athlone but

lessons will soon be taking place in Gallen

Community School Ferbane.

For more information contact Sinead ; (087)

2249490 or (087) 9447449

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

Ferbane and district

Credit union Limited are

Holding our AGM on

Wednesday 14th December 2011

At 8 pm

In the Heritage Centre Ferbane

Everybody welcome

Our Car draw takes place on the night

As well as our Members draw.

All those in attendance at the AGM will

be entered into a free 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.

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P a g e | 11BUY & SELL

All in perfect condition

€90 

Contact Shane 0857659403

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

PsP and many games

Gamecube and game. 

Contact for more

information- 

0868818145 

Chimney Clean Service

Contact Robert Cornally 087-2879006

Available to clean Chimney’s 

Windows and gutters

Special Rate Available For All 3 Together.

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  

Firewood For sale

10ft x 5ft 6 Trailer

€150 free delivery to Ferbane

area

Call Dylan on (087)9869865

Ford fiesta carparts 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

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P a g e | 12OFFALY ROVERS

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 you’re getting on. Again our e-mail is:

westoffalynewsletter@gmail.com 

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P a g e | 14GALLENCS

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 wasn’t that slippery but that didn’t mean people didn’t 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. Patrick’s Bed.  

Before the descent, we said a prayer and off we went. It was exceptionally

dangerous on the way down and it wasn’t 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.

PloughingOn the 20

thof 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

didn’t 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 c lass.

Diarmuid Connon

 Articles Courtesy of 

 TY ScéalGCS students with their Christmas

shoeboxes

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P a g e | 15GALLEN CS

Canadian

Ambassador’s 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 wasonce 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 andall 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 Gallenstudents should be proud of 

that.

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P a g e | 17FEATURES

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” (SeanMacCoghlan began this building from

this date 1575)

 

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P a g e | 18FUN PAGES

An old wives’ tale says

that bread baked on

Christmas Eve will never 

go mouldy

The 25th

December was not

celebrated as the birthdayof 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.

It’s 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.

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P a g e | 19CONTACT US

If you have any news stories, interesting

tales, photograph’s or want to wish

someone well please drop us an e-mail atWESTOFFALYNEWSLETTER@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 O’Shea 

Matthew Murphy

Niamh Kenny