A report on Blue Flag beaches in the Youghal area indicates that Claycastle and Redbarn are likely to have their Blue Flag status restored for 2010, having had them denied due to poor water and an over prevalence of seaweed respectively, last year. By Christy Parker

However, water quality at the Front Strand has been deemed unfit for Blue Flag status for another year at least. The Strand lost its Blue Flag in 2008.  Garryvoe says the report, will retain its Blue Flag for next season.

The report is based on 2009 summer monitoring. The Blue Flag Programme for beaches and marinas is administered by An Taisce and run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), an international non-governmental, non-profit organisation. The report was forwarded to Cork County Council with the addendum that An Taisce generally announces its Blue Flag recipients definitively come June.

Up to five zebra pedestrian crossings are amongst Priority 1 projects being considered by Cork County Council and the Youghal Disability Awareness Group on foot of a €50,000 allocated by the County authority. By Christy Parker

Representatives of the disability group and Cllr Michelle Hennessy, its communication officer from Youghal Town Council, are surveying the town with Town Engineer Paul Murray as to best spend the cash. The funding follows an Accessibility Audit conducted in 2008 by the County Council under the 2005 Disability Act.

Points under consideration for pedestrian crossings include Aherne’s (Lower Cork Hill/North Main Street), the Credit Union, Merricks,  Catherine Street and the Mall House. Kerbings in several areas are likely also to be rendered more disabled-friendly, with dropped access and tactile surfaces implemented. “The grant won’t fund all the Priority 1 options so it is expected to target initiatives that are most cost effective to install, says Michelle.

The projects are expected to commence within two weeks. It is hoped that other Priority 1 and Priority 2 and 3 measures will be incorporated in the coming years.

The Imokilly branch of the Organisation of National Ex-Service personnel held their commemorative mass for deceased and serving members of the forces at St. Mary’s Parish Church, Youghal, yesterday ( Sunday 15th Nov.). The  President of the Imokilly branch 90 year old James Walsh was present and Mayor of Youghal Cllr Sandra McLellan represented Youghal Town Council. The celebrant was Canon Tom Browne P.P.
Photo: Michael Hussey  www.youghalonline.com   Email: news@youghalonline.com

The main objective of ONE is to ensure the welfare of ex-servicemen and women by way of providing accommodation to homeless, elderly or disabled members in need of such domestic accommodation and shelter and other assistance that may be required. They also promote social cultural and sporting activities in order to develop a spirit of comradeship between serving and retired members of the services, as well as provision of information in the area of pensions, social welfare benefits and other entitlements. Its Patron is Mrs Mary McAleese, President of Ireland.

More photographs of the spectacular high tides in Youghal last Saturday (14th Nov. 2009) were sent in to Youghalonline.com by another local photographer Kevin Power.
If you have news worthy photographs of the town or surrounding area please sent them in to Email: news@youghalonline.com for consideration for publication.

Click on image to enlarge and see more of the high tide photographs taken by Kevin Power on Youghal’s front strand and Ardmore Bay.

KGK COMMUNITY HALL
The KGK Community Hall Committee are working hard and paying attention to detail to ensure all the housekeeping, paper work & various jobs are being kept on top of which is keeping them on their toes. After a very successful American Tea Party they know there’s plenty to be done to keep the hall running smoothly.

You can play your part in a number of ways-firstly we are still looking for volunteers to help keep our community hall clean, we’d be grateful if you could lend a hand every 8 weeks or so for a couple of hours.  We’ll work a rota system. Any help would be very much appreciated. Remember the more people we have the less often you’ll need to clean. You can contact Mary Herlihy to add your name to the list.

Secondly- Remember the hall is there to be used and can serve many different functions. The number to call if you need to book the hall for sporting events, meetings, birthdays, etc is 087 9675399 between 7 & 9pm.You will find that we have very reasonable rates. Please remember that the hall is available free of charge for funerals and the months minds as long as it is left in the same manner as it is found.
Thirdly-With our fantastic new state of the art Theatre we hope to put on a number of crowd pleasing productions throughout the year. We look forward to entertaining you on our stage which can be set to 3 different levels & stored away,  with our 32 stage lights & spot light, a sound system any professional would be happy to use especially with our curtain surround to achieve the best acoustics possible. Yes this is another great achievement by those involved. Congratulations  to all,  but most notably Will Motherway, Tomas Roche & Bridget Hunt for ensuring this project was done to a professional standard .There is no doubt there will be great nights of varying degrees of entertainment to be had in the KGK Community Hall Theatre as phase 2 is now complete. We wish to thank you for your patience while this project was being done. For safety reasons the main hall was out of use but is now ready for use again.
Finally we would like to thank the West Waterford Hunt for their generous donation after the Fun Run. They have been great supporters down through the years.
Remember for all events relating to the KGK Community Hall, watch this space!
KGK Community Sports Hall is kindly sponsored by Tallow Area Credit Union.

Youghal Town Council accorded a civic reception to Kathleen Keniry at the council chambers on Saturday Night ( 14th Nov. 2009). A large audience representing past and present pupils, dance teachers, family and friends were present to celebrate Kathleen’s 50 years teaching of Irish dance and culture in the town.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com    Email: news@youghalonline.com

Speech by Mayor of Youghal Sandra McLellan at the civic reception held in The Mall House to honour Kathleen Keniry.

“Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you all here this evening to this civic reception to honour Mrs Keniry for bringing Irish dance and culture to Youghal for the past 50 years.

Its always a pleasure to celebrate a long career of dedicated service.

Mrs Keniry qualified with An Commisiun 55 years ago and like her father before her began to teach Irish Dancing in Midleton.

Her dad had a small business in Youghal on the main street and Youghal was like a second home to her, so it was inevitable that Mrs Keniry was going to start teaching Irish Dance Classes here in Youghal.

She began her first lessons here in the Town Hall 50 years ago. Among some of her first pupils were Helen Loughman O’Brien, Bridget Hughes Eleanor Seward Barry and Margaret Carey. Over the years she moved to the League of the Cross and the Community Centre where she never missed a Wednesday.

Some of her pupils went on to achieve great honours. She was rewarded by winning an eight hand reel, a three hand reel and by Marguerite Savage winning the Individual Award at the All Ireland Championships.

She was a founder member of An Comdhail Muinteori na Rince Gaelic which was founded in Glasgow in 1970. She will be returning to Glasgow next year to celebrate its 40th Anniversary as President of the organisation. That is some achievement.

She also became an adjudicator over 30 years ago.

I would like to congratulate you on all you have achieved throughout your 50 years of dedication and commitment for the benefit of the people of Youghal and surrounding areas.

Mrs Keniry Thank you so much and enjoy the rest of your evening.

I would now like to make a presentation to you on behalf of Youghal Town Council”.

Mrs Kathleen Keniry’s speech

She firstly thanked sincerely Youghal Town Council for the honour bestowed on her with this Civic Reception. She very much appreciated it. She told of how she opened her school in Youghal in 1950 and the first pupils through her door were Brigid Hughes, Helen O’Brien, Eleanor Barry and Mary Murphy. She has enjoyed every minute of those years.  The pupils were always a pleasure to teach but without the parents there would not have been a dancing class.  Many of those parents now have children and grandchildren who are pupils today.  Their support was invaluable.  She thanked all the teachers down the years.   She was delighted to see such a large gathering tonight, including pupils, parents and teachers.   And NO, contrary to rumours, SHE IS NOT RETIRING!

Click on image to see the civic reception accorded to Kathleen

These spectacular photographs of the high tides in Youghal yesterday (Saturday 14th Nov. 2009) were sent in by local photographer John Hennessy. The high tides are a beautiful sight to see on Youghal’s front strand. To see more of these images visit John Hennessy Photography .
If you have news worthy photographs of the town or surrounding area please sent them in to Email: news@youghalonline.com for consideration for publication.

Click on image to enlarge and see more of the high tide photographs taken by John Hennessy on Youghal’s front strand.

Killeagh Camoige Club held a surprise 80th birthday celebration for Sheila Spillane while also honoring her 36 year long contribution to the club. Over 250 people attended the party for Sheila who is one of the founding members of the club.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

Click on image to enlarge

Youghal Town Council has been named Town/Borough Council of the year 2009 at Chambers Ireland’s 6th Annual Excellence in Local Government Awards which were held in Dublin on Wednesday 28th October 2009. The Awards were held in association with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com       Email: news@youghalonline.com

To mark the occasion Youghal Town Council invited the County Mayor, Derry Canty and the County Manager, Martin Riordan to the Town Hall last Monday evening (9th November).  The County Mayor and Manager  officially marked the occasion of Youghal being awarded the Town Council of the Year at the recent Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards. The Awards were held in association with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Nominated by Youghal Chamber, Youghal was short-listed for three awards (more than any other town or borough council) across Arts & Culture, Economic Development and Partnership with Business. In all, 36 town, borough and county councils were short-listed from nominations received. This year was the first occasion that an individual Top Town/Borough Council accolade was awarded from within the total assessments. The overall Local Authority of 2009 was South Dublin County Council.

Aileen Ahern, manager of Youghal Socio-Economic Development Group, describes the award as “national recognition for Youghal Town Council’s innovative approach to rejuvenating the local economy. These projects are are all about investing in Youghal’s Unique Heritage, and having the vision for Youghal as a major tourist destination going forward,” she adds.
The event supported by AIB, An Post, CBRE, ESB Networks, Hibernian Aviva Health, Vodafone and Zurich. Awards were also sponsored by Boots and Energia and each winner was presented with a specially commissioned trophy designed by Mullingar Crystal.
Click on image to see the awards reception at Youghal Town Hall

For further information please contact Aileen Ahern, Manager, Youghal Socio-Economic Development Group on: 024-20530, or tourism@youghal.ie

Or Jessica Dempsey, Press & Communications Officer, Chambers Ireland on 086-6081605 or jessica.dempsey@chambers.ie.

The Walter Raleigh Hotel was the venue for the inaugural Community Radio Youghal ( CRY Local Radio) Country Music Awards 2009. By Youghalonline Music reporter / Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

There was much speculation over the last several weeks as to who would win what award and voting was by phone requests to Community Radio Youghal. There was a huge crowd in the hotel on Monday night many waiting for the doors to open from six o’clock. When the doors did open at seven within half an hour all the seats were filled.

At eight o’clock MC on the Night Tommy Collins from Community Radio Youghal started proceedings with the first award Most Popular Duo going to The Dreamers featuring Gay Brasil from past bands Tweed &  The Whole Shebang and young Derek Greenslade who entertained the crowd with three musical numbers before handing back to the fantastic Paddy O Brien Band  of Connie Casey on guitar, Michael McAndrews on drums and Anthony Slevin on keyboards.

The next award went to Pat Daly for Best Local Country Album 2009 Pat accepted his award and much to the delight of his many fans sang a few numbers to entertain the ever increasing crowd

This was followed by The Beginners Country Music Award which went to young brothers Padraig and Conor O Sullivan on drums and guitar sons of Patrick O Sullivan, played a few songs to delight the crowd who by now were dancing away on the dance floor.

The award for Most popular local country singer then went to the mighty man Pat Tobin, many people on the night have spent countless hours dancing and listening to this great performer, Pat who has had hits with several o0f his own songs sang a few songs to keep the crowd on the floor.

This was followed by the award for most requested local singer on Radio which went to Patrick O Sullivan who is currently staring on TG4′s Glor Tire shows in the country music singing competition. Patrick who had played a few songs with his two sons earlier on in the evening then went on to sing a few of his more popular songs.

The next award to be handed out was to Popular singing sister duo The Benn Sisters for the award Popular Female Duo on the Irish Music scene The sisters Carrie and Leanne currently living in Enniskillin but from London both sang songs from the new album which pleased the huge crowd.

At this point in the proceedings a short break was called to give the backing band a chance to take a well earned break and also for members of community radio Youghal to sell raffle tickets. As soon as the break finished the mighty man from Aglish. Country Music star Paddy O Brien and his band went back on stage and entertained the crowd with many of his big hits before returning the microphone to MC Tommy Collins.

The first award of the second half of the show Best Irish International Country singer went to the mighty man of Country Music Paddy O Brien. Paddy then sang a few songs with his band and got the large crowd on the floor dancing.

The second award of the second half of the show Best Irish Female singer went to the very popular and entertaining Trudi Lalor who was backed, as all singers were by the Paddy O Brien band. Trudi in fine voice continued to entertain the dancers with a great selection of songs from her old and new albums.

this award was followed up with the award for Best Irish Entertainer which went to young and upcoming country singer Damien Bowe who had traveled from Laois to accept his award, Damien was new to many and they enjoyed his performance on the night.

Then the award for Best Solo Artist went to non other then Sam O Doherty who has written many great songs over the years Sam dressed in his white suite sang some of his best loved songs and entertained the large crowd with some stories of his life on the road.

The award for Showband Hall of Fame went to local star and entertainer Art Supple for his outstanding work in the music business over a lifetime He was not present on the night but was ably represented by his son Shane Supple who thanked everyone on behalf of his dad, then Tommy Collins asked Shane to perform a song or two himself on behalf of Art which Shane did with ease.

The award for best Local songwriter went to Kerry man Peter Burke for his work in songwriting and Peter took to the stage and sang many songs to the delighted crowd, Peter who is also an accomplished musician played the keyboard

The award for Best Group went to the Michael Collins band for there work in the music scene over the last number of years, Michael then sang a few songs to the crowd and kept everyone in great spirits and in an upbeat mood himself giving young Anthony Slevin a break

Nearing the end of the night with many people still dancing away the award for Best Male singer went to Shaun Loughery who mentioned his father while accepting the award, Shaun then went on to sing some songs and keep the dancers out on the floor.

It came to the final award on the night and much to the surprise of Paddy O Brien he won the award for Best overall Performer this was followed by a surprise Birthday cake which was carried up to the stage for Paddy to blow out the candles When paddy finished that part of the the surprise he and the band continued to sing for another half an hour bring the whole night to an end some five and a half hours after it started.

Mention must go to all the staff at Community radio Youghal and of course Tommy Collins MC on the night but a big well done must go to Theresa and Maura Joyce who had planned the whole event and of course Mags Carey who was involved in organizing everything. To the Walter Raleigh hotel for providing
great facilities and to all the people who voted for the artists and the large crowd who turned up on the night a big well done to all.

Award List
Beginners to Country Music: Padraig & Conor O Sullivan
Most Popular Local Singer: Pat Tobin
Most requested Local Artist; Patrick O Sullivan
Country Songwriter: Peter Burke
Best Female Duo on the Irish scene; The Benn Sisters
Best Group on the Country Scene; Michael Collins
Best local album 2009: Pat Daly
Most Popular duo: The Dreamers
Best International Irish Artist; Paddy O Brien
Best Male Irish Singer: Shaun Loughery
Best Female Irish Singer; Trudi Lalor
Best Irish entertainer: Damien Bowe
Hal of fame Award; Art Supple
Solo award: Sam O Doherty
Best overall performance: Paddy O Brien

Click on image to see the CRY Awards 2009