< Previous© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 10 Franciscan College Gormanston Cheque Presentation Transition Year students from last year recently handed over a cheque in aid of Cycle Against Suicide for €1,070. A great achievement for all those involved. Fundraising events included head shaves, bake sales, cycle-a-thon, etc. Schools Chess League Franciscan College Gormanston hosted its inaugural Local Schools Chess League match on 25 th October welcoming the chess squad from Coláiste na hInse. The chess matches were played in the Fr Ea- monn Newell College Library. After closely fought matches Franciscan Col- lege won this leg by 5 games to 3. Special thanks to Chess Team Manager Thierry Brearley who generously gives up his time to support the chess. Concern Debate On 9 th October Franciscan College Gormanston welcomed Scoil Mhuire Trim to its newly refurbished Lecture Stu- dios in the Teanglann to debate the mo- tion ‘Ending World Hunger by 2030 is Beyond Humanity’s Reach”. As hosts, the Gormanston team proposed the motion and were successful in carrying it. The next scheduled debate for Gormanston College is due to go ahead in Ashbourne Community School on 12 th November. Gormanston will oppose the motion: 'The EU Needs an Army'..§© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 12 East Meath Credit Union Branch Moving Forward With A New Full-Ser- vice Current Account F ollowing the hugely successful launch of Current Accounts for East Meath branch and the Drogheda Credit Union group with branches in Drogheda, East Meath, Dunleer and Trim last month Drogheda Credit Union is now able to ful- ly support their members in their financial offering. The new Current Account includes the globally accepted Mastercard Debit Card with Contactless Payments, Standing Or- ders, Direct Debits, and the option of an Overdraft facility. Members of the East Meath branch in Bettystown can open a Current Account online or in the branch office. This is good news for Credit Union members and for consumers in general who have limited choice at present. Credit Unions are seen to offer something different to the major banks in terms of their personal touch and are considered trustworthy. The new Current Account has simple and transparent pricing. A low monthly fee of €4.00 applies and that covers unlimited euro point of sale and contactless transac- tions, unlimited mobile and online bank- ing and unlimited standing orders and di- rect debit processing and up to five ATM withdrawals per month. Full details of fees and charges are available on www. droghedacu.ie . Tom Kiely, CEO of Drogheda Credit Un- ion said: “This is a watershed moment in the cred- it unions history. It means credit union members with savings and loans will now be able to get a competitive Current Ac- count from their trusted Credit Union, and they will no longer need to go to a bank to get this service. For the first time, Drogheda Credit Union will be able to provide our members with a real choice for their day-to-day financial needs. This service, which will be accessible globally and digitally will enable Drogheda Credit Union to become even more relevant to our members in the ever-increasing digital world. Credit Unions have been voted the ‘most trusted financial institution’ for many years, and just recently they became the first in the world to receive the coveted na- tional ‘CX Award for Best Customer Ex- perience in Ireland’ for a record-breaking five years in a row. This trusted position is one Drogheda Credit Union wants to build on with our current account launch. We envisage many members switching their day to day banking to the Credit Un- ion because we are a community owned viable alternative”. Information on the new Current Account from your Credit Union is available on www.droghedacu.ie or www.curren- taccounts.ie §Introducing Current Account from Drogheda Credit Union 041 983 8496 droghedacu.ie Drop into your local branch Find out more 02/21 EXPIRES END 5167 4700 0000 0000 SINEAD KAVANAGH DROGHEDA CREDIT UNION Mastercard is a registered trade mark and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. This card is issued by Transact Payments Limited pursuant to licence by Mastercard International. Drogheda Credit Union Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Same Friendly Service Easy to Sign Up Globally Accepted Debit Card Transparent, Low Fees www.droghedacu.ie© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 14 The Stamullen Roundup By Grace Tierney C ongratulations to Stamul- len’s Tidy Towns team. This small team work in the vil- lage every week and deserve a big thank you from everybody who lives here. Their 2019 score in the competition in- creased from 246 to 251 with special mentions for St. Patrick’s NS Green School’s committee and the memorial to Sgt. Patrick Mooney. It was their sixth year entering the competition and the full judge’s report is available to read on their facebook page (“Stamullen Tidy Towns”). They also won a gold medal in the Meath Anti Litter League this year. If you’d like to give them a helping hand they meet eve- ry Saturday at 11a.m. at the church. A Blood Donation Clinic will be held on Tuesday the 5 th of November from 4.30- 8.00p.m. in St. Patrick’s GAA Club, Stamullen. www.giveblood.ie If you pre- viously couldn’t donate because of resi- dence in the UK, please note - that restric- tion has been lifted. If you’re new to the area or will turn 18 by 15 th of February 2020 - don’t forget to get registered to vote. Full details and down- loadable forms are available at www. checktheregister.ie. The deadline for reg- istering is the 25 th of November. Community Historian Brendan Matthews, in association with the Meath Archaeo- logical and Historical Society, will give a talk about the life and times of Nap- per Tandy at the St. Patrick's GAA Club, Stamullen on Sunday the 17 th of Novem- ber at 3p.m. James Napper Tandy (1739- 1803) was an Irish revolutionary and a member of the United Irishmen during the 1798 Rebellion and lived for some time in the townland of Lisdornan (roughly half- way between Julianstown and Stamullen villages). The East Meath Hospital Association (EMHA) would like to thank everybody who supported their recent coffee morn- ing in Whyte’s, especially Brendan and his team. They raised €1,100. Here’s one for your diary - the annual parish fundraising Bingo Night will take place this year on Wednesday the 4 th of December in the City North Hotel. Pilates classes are starting in the village in November. They are aimed at beginners and those who want to return to/begin an exercise programme, so participant num- bers are limited. A monthly term costs €40 and you’ll need to bring a yoga mat. Classes will take place in the Parish Hall, 10a.m. on Fridays, starting on the 8 th of November. Queries/bookings to Vikki at 087-2805635. Got Stamullen news? Send it to Grace (087- 9074145) or grace@meathcoaster.com© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 15 Providing Professional Print Services to Meath Coaster Since 2009 2020 Calendars Ideal Fundraiser! 1,000 28-page Glossy A4 Colour Calendars €1.48 each Includes VAT * Excludes design info@beulahprint.ie© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 16 Bettystown Tidy Towns, BTT T he National Tidy Towns awards were announced in September and Bettystown won their very first National Tidy Towns award. We won the County Endeavour award, which awards the most improved village or town in the county. We were delighted to have received this national award and we hope, with the support of the community, businesses, schools and County Council to build on this progress to further enhance the town for residents and visitors. The judge’s report singled out some busi- nesses and private residences for their nice presentation. The business premises are, Reddans Bar, Relish Cafe, McDonagh’s bar and the Family Resource Centre. The private residences are Suimhneas Cottage on the Triton Road and Kiloran Cottage and The Bawn on the Coast Road. Not all of our projects were completed before the judging and the beautiful flower installa- tion by Funtasia was also completed after judging and we are sure that the judges will be very impressed with this floral dis- play when they return in 2020. To continue our voluntary work of en- hancing the village for us all, we do re- quire more volunteers, even if you can only join on an occasional Saturday or when we have a ‘shout out’ for assistance with some larger jobs, every little helps. Our thanks to all of those who support us, including, all of the local businesses and Cllr. Sharon Tolan through her Council Discretionary Fund. Plans and work for further enhancement works are already underway and we are very grateful to Eileen and Eamonn Mc- Cullough for their generous donation of 4 sacks of daffodil bulbs. These will be planted in the green verge at the Narro- ways roundabout along with some tulips for some spring colour. Our winter bed- ding plants have been planted in the plant- ers around the village. Autumn is a good time for transplanting and if you have any unwanted plants please contact us as we may be able to re-home them. Work is steadily progressing on our Christmas event, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday November 30 th from 5.00 pm. We are planning to make it a bigger and better event this year with Photos by Bill McDonagh,© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 17 • Private weekly appointments • Non-judgemental one-to-one support • Easy-to-follow Food Plan • Well-balanced diet • No supplements or meal replacements Weight Loss Made Simple tel: 087 778 2371 info@easyweigh.ie Visit www.easyweigh.ie | follow us on PRIVATE WEIGHT LOSS CLINIC Open every Wed & Thurs 9am – 6pm Start Your Weight Loss today by booking your 30-minute no-obligation Assessment only €20 two Christmas trees, a stage and sound system so we can all fully appreciate the DJ and the carol singing. To create your own memories of the night, festive face boards, a photo stand and face painting will also be there, with some treats and a special visitor!, follow us on Facebook for updates. On the same day, we will be holding a craft fair, raffle and food drive which will be held in Reddans, from 12 noon. The donated food, along with the profits from running the craft fair and the raffle will go to the local chapter of Vin- cent De Paul. Please consider visiting the craft fair and bringing along a non-perish- able food donation and in the evening join us as we turn on the Christmas tree and street lights. § Photo of Julianstown Drama group who put on a play entitled "A Julianstown Man " a fictional tale based on Michael Collier the infamous highway robber §© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 18 St Vincent De Paul Star of the Sea Conference What must we do to live our faith? Let us no longer talk so much about charity. Let us put it into practice and go out to assist those who are poor. (Frederick Ozanam 1833) C hristmas is a time for giving, sharing and helping. It is also a time when many people are in greater difficulty and this means that the pressure on SVP to re- spond to their need is much greater. SVP is a voluntary community organization which is financed by the community. The members in our conference assess fami- lies and individuals needs and pass on your support to them. Our monthly church gate collection is our main source of income and the peoples’ response to this is fantastic. We supple- ment this with our Christmas appeal and we ask you to make a generous donation at this time of the year. You may do so by contributing to the bucket collection outside the churches af- ter masses on Saturday 30 th November or Sunday 1 st December. You may also give your donation at any time to a member of our conference. There has been a huge growth in hous- ing development in the parish in recent times and with this increase in population comes an equal rise in the demand for our services. We help people with all kinds of genuine need, many need food, oth- ers may need clothes, some people have lesser need but are lonely, the wage earner may be temporarily out of work, their may be budgeting problems, a person recover- ing from illness or hospitalization and family pressures. Day to Day expenses considered normal can be a problem for the lower paid and the low wages earned by some people is a huge problem. So too can school expenses at first and second level and travel to col- lege for third level students. Old people feel the cold in wintertime and the fuel scheme is helpful to them, illness can be destructive in a family and there are in- numerable cases where people experience temporary difficulties. Thank you all for your unstinting support and with your continued help we will ca- ter for the need of people in our commu- nity with dignity and respect. Poor is the one who has no option to choose. P.J.Geraghty, President Star of the Sea Conference, St Vincent De Paul Society. Celebration cake for the recent 40th Anniversary Sacred Heart Church Laytown.© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 19 041 98 444 98 041 98 111 98 086 838 4444 www.eastcoastcabs.com EAST COAST CABS SERVICING MEATH COAST & DROGHEDA REGIONS CABS - 4, 6 & 8 SEATERS NEW RANGE OF MINI-VANS COACHES - 16, 24, 36 & 54 SEATERS AVAILABLENext >