Jim"s local contribution recognised by Council

On April 30, one of Kinnegad"s best known personalities was recognised for his contribution to the community by Westmeath County Council, as the Westmeath County Council Cathaoirleach"s Awards took place.The Kinnegad-based community garda received his prize among many other local community volunteers at the annual awards function, which was presided over this year by Council chairman, Joe Whelan.Jim was nominated for the award by Kinnegad Community Council. In a statement, the local group said that they nominated him for three reasons.'First as this is the 125th Anniv of the GAA Jim has been instrumental in the massive build up of a thriving underage network in Coralstown Kinnegad GAA that is unrivalled in its value to the area,' Kinnegad Community Council said in a statement last weekend.'Secondly, Jim has served as a coach in St Etchen"s and been instrumental in much of their underage success over the years.'Thirdly in his role as community garda, and the fact that he lives in Kinnegad and is known to so many, has lead to Garda accessibility which goes far beyond the time-tabled hours. On all three fronts, Jim"s unselfish attitude, and his generosity of time and spirit, have been instrumental in the success of Coralstown Kinnegad GAA, St Etchen"s NS GAA and the community of Kinnegad.'Cardinal Brady to attend celebrationThe Catholic Lord Primate of All Ireland, Sean Cardinal Brady, will be in attendance when Kinnegad Parish formally celebrates the centenary of the Church of the Assumption, Kinnegad on Sunday, June 7.On Tuesday night of this week, meetings will take place in Kinnegad to discuss the Liturgy for the Centenary Celebrations, as well as preparations for the event itself.Mass celebrating the centenary will take place in the Church at 3pm on June 7, and members of the parish are expected to turn out in huge numbers to mark the occasion.The Church of the Assumption, Kinnegad was officially dedicated in 1909 with a concelebrated High Mass led by Most Rev. Laurence Gaughran, the then Bishop of Meath.Mischief forces relocation of Kinnegad playgroundA worsening pattern of anti-social behaviour at Kinnegad"s new playground has resulted in a decision to relocate the facility elsewhere in the town, it emerged last weekend.Kinnegad parishioners were told at Masses last weekend that the playground, which is currently located on parish property on the Athlone Road, will have to be moved due to increasing problems with late night mischief.The playground was installed in the town after the parish came to an agreement with Westmeath County Council, providing the site free of charge.It was originally intended that the playground would become part of a larger sporting and recreation development for Kinnegad, but with the recession in full swing, circumstances have obviously changed.'As you can imagine, no one is happy that this is the case,' Kinnegad parishioners were told last weekend. 'In the interest of ensuring that we in Kinnegad continue to have a play area, Kinnegad Parish and Westmeath County Council, through the work of Mr. Pat McLoughlin, are about to agree to a re-location of the play area to parish property in front of St. Etchen"s [National School].'Clearly responsibility for the care of a play area lies not with the County Council or the Parish, but with those whose children use the facility.'A condition in the new licence will be that a committee of local parents take responsibility for the care of the play area.'Fr. Tom Gilroy, P.P., Kinnegad, said that to this end, interested parents could contact the Parish Office on (044) 9375117.This week, Cllr. Pat McLoughlin welcomed the news that plans for the new site were progressing.'I"m delighted to have played a major role in securing the site immediately in front of St. Etchen"s,' Cllr. McLoughlin said. 'It"s a much more open site, and less likely to be the victim of anti-social behaviour, as was the other site on the Athlone Road.'I"d like to thank George Lambden, Director of Services with Westmeath County Council, and Bishop Michael Smith through Fr. Tom Gilroy, for their very proactive stance in making this very high-profile site available to the children of Kinnegad.'When I originally had the idea of moving the play area to a different site because of anti-social behaviour, I did not wish to see the perpetrators of this behaviour winning over the people of Kinnegad, but I decided to identify a new site so that the children of the area would be able to play, with their parents" minds at ease.'I have done this following representations made by many individual parents in the general Kinnegad area who have contacted me by phone, and met me personally to see if something could be done.'Fr. Gilroy contacted Bishop Smith, and I liaised with George Lambden, and the four of us met in Kinnegad and agreed on the larger site, thanks to the Bishop"s good graces.'I look forward to parents taking responsibility for the site in a true community effort,' Cllr. McLoughlin added, asking volunteers to contact the Parish Office to offer their services.