< Previous© August 2018 The Meath Coaster30The 16th Annual Sand FestivalBettystown Beach Sunday, July 8th .A record number of both contestants and onlookers were at this year's An-nual Sand Festival. 16 years now and still going strong for the Sandcastles and Sand Sculpturing Competitions. This event was testament to the late Dick O'Reilly's vision to show case our beaches and encourage young and old to enjoy our beautiful amenity. When one of the winners of the bigger prizes was asked how did it feel to win, she replied "It's not about winning it's about making memo-ries for our children" And what memo-ries we will have after such a wonderful day on the beach of Laytown-Bettystown.Thousands of men women and children flocked to the beaches to enjoy the Sum-mer Sunshine and build and castles. The Chair of Meath County Council Cllr Tom Kelly was on hand to present all the prizes in the various categories for both sandcas-tles and sand sculpturing. This Year's Prizes for the Senior Sand Sculpturing were sponsored by Liz and Roger Pickett, The Cottages Laytown and Jimmy Gilna, The Cottage Inn Laytown. All Junior Sculpturing prizes were sponsored by Macari's Takeaway in Bettystown.The National Sandcastles and Sand Sculp-turing Festival organisers want to thank the their other sponsors: F.L.A.G. The Fisheries Local Action Group, UNITAS, Patrick and Margaret Smith Riverside Home and Gift Mornington, Tresses and Tallons of Bettystown, Aileen Smith - The Flower Yard Mornington, Har-rys' Centra Mornington, Pat's Centra Bettystown, Boyne Valley Foods, Cllr Sharon Tolan and Cllr Tom Kelly.The overall winner of the Sandcastles Competition was presented with the "Dick O Reilly Perpetual Cup" - The Hennessy Family from Kentstown Co Meath. This is presented each year to the individual or group who showed or displayed best effort on the day. A very special note of thanks to the late Dick O'Reilly's family for sponsorship of this cup.The organisers want to say thank you to Meath County Council and The Beach Wardens for their assistance with the event with a special note of thanks to Ger-ry Keoghan who was on hand on the day to assist with setting up and First Aid if we needed it. Thank you to all the judges who gave © August 2018 The Meath Coaster31up their Sunday Afternoon to assist and judge the various categories. Not an easy task.The winners for 2018 were as follows: Senior sculpturing1st prize went to Eiva, Kristia and Oli from Latvia - Polar Bears 2nd prize went to Conor Duff, Bettystown - Beached Whale 3rd prize went to Michael and Greg Sherry, Drogheda - Wall of Love Junior Sculpturing1st prize went to Aaron and Sophie, Bettystown - Aligator 2nd prize went to Dan De Val, Dundalk - Betty The Squid 3rd prize went to Colin, Brad and Josh, Bettystown - Jurassic World Under 5's1st prize went to Dillon and Emma, Bettystown - Mammy's Castle 2nd prize went to James, Laytown - Rockcastle with Cars 3rd prize went to The Bedfords, Dub-lin - Titantic BoatUnder 8's1st prize when to Grace and Rose, Bettystown - Shark 2nd prize went to Imo-gen Feehan, Laytown - Terri the Talking Car 3rd prize went to Jensen, Blanchards-town - Meteor ImpactUnder 13's1st prize went to Amy Doyle, Dublin - Star-fish 2nd prize went to Ealanor, Mornington - Sand Well 3rd prize went to Thomas and Lily, Dunsaney - Mini Sand CityFamily Category1st prize was won by The Hennessy Fam-ily, Kentstown - Sandcastles - and the Over All Winner too !2nd prize was won by The Melia Family, Donacarney - Mermaid 3rd prize was won by The McCarthy Family, Cavan - Sand-castle FortCheck out the Facebook page for pho-tographs of this year festival and past events. The website is www.nationalsand-castles.ie Martina Maguire and Susan Wogan of the organising team ask that anyone who was on the beach for the festival and took any photographs of sandcastles or sculptures to please share on their Facebook Page - Sandcastles Bettystown. The 16th Annual Sand Festival was a won-derful success and looking forward al-ready to 2019. §Early summer morning by Derek Cooper© August 2018 The Meath Coaster32Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisementsCOMPUTER PROBLEM?Contact Oliver 041.988.7526 087.797.0740iPhones Smartphones RepairLaptop/Desktop Repair & UpgradesFacebookFacebook has been taking some very heavy pressure in the media and from law makers for some time now and I thought it prudent to outline how these companies operate and make their vast profits. Ultimately it is up to you to decide if you want to continue to use these apps to share information. Hopefully this arti-cle will give you some more information which may help you understand the world of the “cloud”.Cattle and SheepWith the wonderful weather we have been having you may have taken a drive in our countryside and observed the picturesque views of meadows and animals of all va-rieties grazing peacefully. To you, unless you are a farmer, they are lovely animals at peace. The livestock farmer sees them differently. To the farmer they are assets to be fattened up and eventually sold for slaughter or their products sold. When it comes to the internet that is exactly what you are to Facebook and indeed to virtu-ally all of the data giants including Goog-le, Amazon, Ebay, and Whatsapp (owned by Facebook). In case you wonder about Apple and Microsoft their aim is also the same you are profit and your wallet and personal data are the milk or meat. Selling Your InformationIn considering the about point you must also dwell on the following truth: Every picture, message, post, search and visit to the cloud are collected analyzed and flogged to whomever is willing to spend the money to get the data. So Aunt Mol-ly’s 80th pictures and posts are being col-lected and turned into profit by Facebook and their compatriots. The revelations in the press about who accesses this data and how it can be used to manipulate your thoughts on topics has caused a sharp de-crease in the number of people opting out from using social media. Integrity and PrivacyAs a computer technician I’ve repaired hundreds if not thousands of computers in my work career. Most of them were packed with information. Part of my job requires as a fundamental requirement that I can be trusted and that my integrity is such that I won’t be accessing your personal private data. Imagine my repair terms required you to agree to allow me copy all of your data, trawl through it to build a picture of who you were and then flog it to compa-nies looking to exploit it. What person in their right mind would drop off their lap-top to have a virus removed? But that’s exactly what is happening when you use Facebook and other cloud apps. The latest kicker is that they are doing the same with your cloud email which explains why it was “free”. It’s not you are paying the price of you privacy for it. The wonderful thing about using software is that you can choose NOT to use it.“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi Oliver Reidy is a computer technician and has been in the industry since 1981.You can con-tact him via email at help.desk@reidyonline.com or at the telephone numbers listed on this page. § © August 2018 The Meath Coaster33Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisementsDrumgoole Financial Services is regulated by The Central Bank of Irelandoran@drumgoolebrokerage.iewww.drumgoolebrokerage.ieProtecting Your LegacyThe power of Section 72 life insuranceSaving enough of your hard-earned money into your pension to prepare for retirement is a good idea. But how do you protect what you have saved and make sure it goes to your familyThe advantages of having a retirement fund include tax relief on your contribu-tions, tax-free growth on its investment and you can take a tax-free lump sum at retirement of up to €200,000. However, if you were to pass away what you leave behind as a legacy financially, including your pension, will more than likely be subject to tax.Your Total Retirement FundThink of your total retirement fund as a pot. If you leave your pot to your child it will potentially be subject to inheritance tax or income tax. By using a small proportion of the value of your pot on an annual basis you can set up and pay into a life insurance poli-cy, which will cover the tax bill that will inevitably be due. In this case, 100% of your child’s inheritance from your retire-ment fund can be protected.You may or may not be familiar with what is known as a Section 72 life insurance policy which is used to help offset an inheritance tax liabil-ity. It is a special insurance policy taken out specifically to help pay tax-es arising from inheritance. If setup correctly, the money paid out, when it is used to pay these taxes, will not be subject to tax.You may leave your Approved Retirement Fund to your husband or wife to make use of when you pass away. It won’t be subject to inheritance tax but any money they take out of it will be li-able to income tax.• If they decide to cash in the entire fund it will be subject to PAYE at marginal rate (plus PRSI and USC).• If they don’t take any money out, the fund will still be subject to tax. From the year they turn age 61 ‘Imputed Distribution Rules’ will apply which means income tax is payable on an annual minimum withdrawal amount drawn down from the fund.And when your spouse passes away the retirement fund may then be left to your children. Alternatively, you could consider leaving your retirement fund to your children.Have questions or would like to chat about this topic? Contact Oran on 087 668 6624 or visit www.drumgoolebrokerage.ie for more information. §© August 2018 The Meath Coaster34Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisementsTHE VIEW FROM THE KITCHEN TABLE, By Geraldine HughesI’m not a party person, I’m happy to at-tend parties and I’m happy to stay to the bitter end of most of them but not if the party is about me. Having a Christmassy birthday takes care of most of that but I did have 2 parties and while I didn’t hate them I certainly didn’t enjoy them. They went by in a blur of faces and an anxious tummy, and I was delighted when they were over -and then sorry I didn’t enjoy them more, but that’s human nature. I do like organising parties though, and with my eldest turning 21 (what?!! It feels like only yesterday that he was sat in his pram all decked out in his cute out-fits, distracting people from the fact that I had hardly brushed my hair since he was born!) He likes parties too, if the dawn home comings are anything to go by, but strangely not keen on the idea of having one himself. But Mr. the View and I would like to have a party for him. He doesn’t want a function room. I have been to very good parties in function rooms, and I have also been to ones where trying to keep the crowd in the same room as the party is like try-ing to nail jelly to a wall. A meal is out. When you try to nail down numbers from extended family it becomes a night-mare. So, we settled on a few pre-drinks for him and Oasis Childcare Centre Mornington Co. Meath Crèche Montessori Playgroup After School Telephone 9888135 + Purpose Built + Fully Insured + HSE Inspected + Fire Certified + Intercom Entry + Large Safety Tiled Playground + Large Car Park + Easy Drop Off and Collection + Small Groups + Dedicated Staff + 7:30am to 6:30pm ONE CHILD! ONE LIFE! ONE PRE-SCHOOL EXPERIENCE There are some places remaining for our ECCE and PLAYSCHOOL classes for SEPTEMBER 2014. Book early to ensure that your precious child gets the highest quality & happiest pre-school experience East Meath’s Leading Childcare Provider Summer Camp for August 2018 Booking available! We are not part of a chain! a few friends before they go clubbing. I can’t help myself though and I invite all the family to pre-pre-drinks. This means food and before I know it, I’m buying up the freezer section in Aldi, and trying to pin my son down about numbers. He dislikes committing to anything like numbers, on the grounds that he could be held accountable at a later date, so he procrastinates and avoids me, which is a mistake because now I’m taking matters into my own hands and I’ve bought giant garden games and organised doughnuts instead of a cake, sorted out a playlist and bought a sound tower. Actually, my daughter has done the last two bits, and invited most of the guests (all her own friends). A friend of mine did similar to this, to the point that her son’s friends were having such fun they never went clubbing, drank the house dry, and only went home at 5am after the neighbours threat-ened them with the Gardai, mainly because they had sung ‘MR. Brightside’ 15 times in a row. So, the day is approaching – he still hasn’t made up his mind which day he wants to do this on -and I’m getting a bit nervous. What if no-one comes? What if every-one comes? Parties are fun, aren’t they? I mull over this as I sort out a disco ball and fairy lights. By not deciding, he has decided, so he is hav-ing (a little) party, and it’ll be fun! Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisementsHOUSEHOLD SERVICESBG PAINTING & DECORATINGInterIor & exterIor25 YEARS EXPERIENCE REFERENCES AVAILABLEFREE CONSULTATIONS & ESTIMATESWALLPAPER ALSO AVAILABLEContact Brian 086 7308449Call Nicky - 041 9887128 087 7734344 A Local BusinessCosmic Cleanwww.cosmicclean.ieT&Cs & Minimum Charge appliesMAJOR DISCOUNTS for Multiple RoomsRug Collection & Delivery Service AvailableProfessional Carpet & Upholstery CleaningSPECIAL OFFER!Noel SavageElectrical Services20 Years Experience • Security LightingFuseboard Upgrades • Rewires, Extra Sockets • Lights, Fully Insured and RegisteredNo Job Too SmallBettystown, Co. MeathMobile: 086 2518898 Bettystown AlterationsWedding Alterations and Evening WearPremises located behind the offices in McDonough Caravan Park on Triton Road (Opposite Tesco) Phone: 086 775 3 776Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm Lunch 1:30pm - 2:30pm Close Tue 2pmClothing Alterations•Wedding/Evening Wear • Leather/Suede Repairs •CurtainsSame Day ServiceMoloney Boiler MaintenanceBarry Moloney - Heating Engineer• Oil Boilers Services and Repairs• Aga Cookers• Central Heating Power Flush• Installation of Central Heating Filters• All Aspects of Heating & Plumbing - Commercial / ResidentialFree Quotations, All Work GuaranteedMobile: 087 3337488barry@moloneyboilermaintenance.ie TREE SURGERY Trees Topped, Trimmed or Removed incl. root destruction and removal. Stump GrindingHEDGE CUTTING & SHAPING. OLD GARDEN SHEDS & FENCING REMOVED All green waste removed, Driveway, Patio, Power-washed, Gutter cleaningSpecial OAP RatesFree Estimates, Fully Insured, Long Experience4 SEASONS GARDEN SERVICESContact Jim 085 1163631-042 6030099No Job Too Big or Too Smallwww.dcsandgravelfuel.ieYour local supplierFor Building Materials & Garden ImprovementsCall 087 9427957Mon - Fri 9am - 5pmSat 9am - 11amChurch Road, Mornington, Co. MeathTusla inspected€16 per session(part time place)Ample Car Parking GAA Clubhouse StamullenOpening Times:9am ·12pmWe offer ECCE From 2-8 yearsPart time places from 2-5 yearsOur Montessori staff are qualified, dedicated to providing kind, warm, tentative and a satisfying learning experience to each child 086 2162872 lamhabeagaanmhi@gmail.com© August 2018 The Meath Coaster36When Life Seems Too Difficult Or Stressful After traumatic experiences, it's normal to feel fright-ened, sad, anxious, and discon-nected. If the upset doesn't fade and you feel stuck with painful memories, you may be suffer-ing from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Feeling you'll never get over what happened or feel nor-mal again. By seeking treatment with a Professional Psycho-Therapist like my-self you develop coping skills, overcome PTSD and move on with your life. What is PTSD? Any event, or series of events, that over-whelms with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness leaving you emotionally shattered can trigger PTSD, especially if the event feels unpredictable and uncon-trollable. When your sense of safety and trust are shattered, feeling unbalanced, disconnected, or numb have bad dreams, feel fearful, OR find it difficult to stop thinking about what happened then PTSD is a possibility.You feel stuck .The mind and the body are in shock, and your feel-ings are disconnected. Signs and symptoms of PTSD Mostly symptoms develop within hours or days following your dramatic / traumatic event. Or sometimes weeks, months, or years. Sometimes out of the blue and other times, triggered by something that reminds you of the traumatic event, re liv-ing the words or memory of events Re-experiencing the experience through intrusive memories, flashbacks, night-mares, or intense mental or physical re-actions when reminded of the trauma or person. Avoidance and numbing. Avoid-ing anything that reminds you of the trau-ma, unable to remember aspects of the trauma, a loss of interest in activities and life in general, feeling emotion-ally numb and detached from others. Hyperarousal, including sleep prob-lems, irritability, hypervigilance (on constant “red alert”), feeling eas-ily startled, angry tearful. Negative thought and mood changes. Feeling alienated and alone, difficulty con-centrating or remembering, depression and hopelessness, feeling mistrust betray-al, maybe guilt, shame, or self-blame. Traumatic events like human-inflicted harm—such as rape, assault, and torture including mental torture or emotional and psychological harm via toxic relationships that involved Trauma Bonding Threats to Leave or Control and Manipulation, leave the victim feeling uncontrollable over their own life. A traumatic relationship was inescapable. Fear of Physical Harm, Emotional and Psychological Abuse or Financial Abuse traumatizes the mind It can result from many different types of distressing experiences, including mili-tary combat, childhood neglect or abuse, an accident, natural disaster, personal tragedy, or violence. Emotional and psy-chological trauma If you’ve experienced an extremely stress-ful event—or series of events—that’s left you feeling helpless and emotionally out of control, you have been traumatized. Any event that shatters your sense of safety can leave you feeling traumatized, whether it’s an accident, injury, the sud-den death of a loved one, bullying, pas-sive aggressive or domestic abuse, a deep-ly humiliating experience or Divorce. Break Your Silence TODAY. Simply call or text 0858126677 for your Consultation Bernice Mc Kenna Psychotherapist (MICHP) §© August 2018 The Meath Coaster37Grant Electrical96 Betaghstown Wood, BettystownPhone: 041 988 6908Mobile: 087 275 4057• Electrical Installation and Maintenance• Extra Sockets & Lighting• Electrical Shower Installed & Repairs• Immersion Heater Installed & Fitted• Free Estimates NO JOB TOO SMALL!Mammy Day CareCrèche, Montessori & AfterschoolFull and part-time careECCE Free pre-school yearsAffordable childcare schemeAfter-school careLarge outdoor play area3 months to 12 years of age catered forStamullen, Co. MeathE: info@mammydaycare.com T: 01 690 5333/086 8286927We wish all our past Montessori children the best of luck in primary schoolLaytown Tidy TownsMid Summer is upon us and although the great weather led to a huge amount of beach litter being left on a daily basis people stepped up to help clean it up. We had people, adults and children, who were disgusted at the condition of estuary and beach in Laytown and took action by taking a plastic bag on their walks and do-ing their bit to help restore the area. We would like to thank all who did this, par-ticularly thanks to Mary and Catherine for coming down to give us a hand with our litter picking. (See Photos)Meath Co. Council took the challenge head on and did a great job of early morn-ing clean ups. Our CE participant, Gary who has been newly assigned to our group for two mornings a week, also got stuck in and has been keeping the whole village and beach litter free!Gary will also be helping with main-tainence of our planters and flowerbeds and will take part in further projects with us. He will also be keeping an eye on the Memorial Garden with a view to weeding the flowerbeds and notifying us if any-thing needs attention.We will soon be starting work on our raised flowerbed which will be located on the side of the road to Julianstown near Sonairte.....watch this space! (See photo)Rain stopped play for us on Saturday 28th, but as you know we meet every Saturday for a clean up of the village and beach if possible. Please feel free to join us any-time, even just for 15 minutes! The more who come out the more we can get done!!Tusla inspected€16 per session(part time place)Rural SettingGormanstonOpening Times:9am ·12pmWe offer ECCE From 2-8 yearsPart time places from 2-5 yearsOur Montessori staff are qualified, dedicated to providing kind, warm, tentative and a satisfying learning experience to each child 086 2162872 lamhabeagaanmhi@gmail.com© August 2018 The Meath Coaster38Laytown Strand RacesBook LaunchIt’s that time of the year again, when Laytown begins to gear up for the excitement, colour and spectacle of the Laytown Races. This year’s festi-val on Thursday 6th Sep-tember marks 150 years of racing on Laytown Strand. To get the cel-ebrations going, the race committee is launching a commemorative book Laytown Strand Races, celebrating 150 years in the Glenside Hotel on 14th August at 7.30. Trainer Ted Walsh will launch the book, while M.C. for the event will be broadcaster Des Scahill. All are welcome.Compiled by racing enthusiast John Kir-wan and historian Fiona Ahern, members of Bellewstown Heritage Group, who also produced 300 Years of Racing at Bellewstown in 2013, this book is packed with interviews, anecdotes, recollections, reminiscences and historical facts about Laytown Races. John, who was born on the fringes of Bellewstown Race-course, is in charge of keeping the Bellewstown track in order throughout the year. He also knows Laytown well as he as-sists in the laying out of the racetrack there each September. He spent last winter re-searching and writing up Laytown racing and compiling statistics. Fiona has written the history of the races and they both also interviewed jockeys, train-ers and owners who had participated in the excitement of Laytown Races over the years. Their stories really make the book.The result is a beautiful book with stun-ning photography, which also includes a round-up of all the racing held at Laytown since 1945 and an invaluable statistics sec-tion from 1919 onwards. This is a must-have for anyone interested in horse-racing or anyone who lives in or near Laytown."Laytown Strand Races, celebrating 150 years" (€20) will be available from Laytown Race Committee, tel. 087-6860639.Sarahlee, trained by P. Casey, winning the Bettystown Handicap in 1990 ridden by W.J. SmithCoreczka, trained by Ms C. Cannon, and ridden by jockey O. Orr winning the At The Races Handicap Sept 2017Rubens Glen, owned by Delanys and ridden by Timmy Regan, being led in by Niall Delany after winning the Julianstown Plate in 1952.© August 2018 The Meath Coaster39Cilles Athletic ClubB5 2018, what a night! At Cilles AC we’re delighted to host a race that encourages athletes from every ability to don a pair of runners and get out there. So much goes into making the event happen, with that in mind we’d like to put your hands together in a big thank you for...NSP Expert Lab Solutions – our main sponsor since the B5s inception 4 years ago They’ve helped us build on the initial success to get the race to where it is today.Tescos and Colmcilles Gaa both allowed us use of their premises for number/t-shirt collection over a couple of nights, many thanks to them both.DJ Niall Bennet kept the party atmosphere going at the start and finish, he being in charge of the sounds and MC. Thanks to Ronan and crew at Myrunresults for a very professional setup on the timing. Meath Civil Defence were on hand for any first aid needs.Flogas were on hand to sponsor the wa-ter stations again this year, much needed on a warm summers evening. Thanks to Boyne Valley foods for sinish line crisps and Crazy Fruits for banans.The afters are such an important part of the evening and Laytown/Bettystown Golf Club have been for gracious hosts for the second year running. Special men-tion for Sarah in Slimming world who pulled out all the stops to let us have the room for the evening.Eamon Faulkner and family were on hand once more to present the Peggy Faulkner memorial cup as the ladies prize, Eamon as always bring fabulous bouquets for our winning ladies. We had spot prizes kind-ly donated from Cool Beanz, The Black Bull, Homestore of Bettystown, Calla-ghans butchers, Angenic hairdressing and Donebate Golf club.Thank you to the residents of Bettsytown Continued over....Next >