Kinnegad student lands six A1s

A young man from Kinnegad was among the handful of diligent and talented students who notched up maximum points in their Leaving Certificate results recently.John Gorman, a son of Eamonn and Margaret Gorman, Kinnegad, landed six A1s (600 points) in his final exams at St. Joseph's Secondary School, Rochfortbridge. John was on a trip to Paray-le-Monial in France when the Leaving Cert results were released. He accessed his results online, and as he scrolled through his subjects, he was delighted to see A1 after A1 on his tally of results.John and his parents, Eamonn and Margaret, wish to express their thanks to the teachers and staff of St. Joseph's, Rochfortbridge, whom they have described as "talented and skillful".Having picked up his CAO offers last week, John is off to the Trinity College, Dublin in September, where he will pursue the first phase of a career in pharmacy.'Respect parish property' appealAn appeal has been made for parish property in Kinnegad to be respected, after a container on the grounds of St. Finian's Hall, Kinnegad - which belongs to the parish - was set alight on Thursday night last.It occurred at 10pm, and within minutes, the container and its contents were engulfed by flames.Fire services personnel were contacted by nearby residents, who were concerned because of the fire's proximity to their homes; the burning container was located within three or four yards of one particular bungalow, with flames leaping into the air.Gardaí investigating the incident are appealing to anyone who may have been in the vicinity of St. Finian's Hall on Thursday night to contact them immediately, if they have any information.Parish, private and public property in Kinnegad have been targeted for vandalism a number of times over the past year, raising concerns among people living in Kinnegad.Most notably, the parish office in the town was wrecked by intruders last September, with offensive graffiti daubed on the walls. The new playground and the health centre in Kinnegad have also been targeted for vandalism.Last weekend, an appeal for vigilance and respect for parish property was read out at Masses in Kinnegad Parish."Please respect the property of the parish," the statement read. "It is the property of the Church, and as such not a free for all."We make our property available to serve the whole community, on very generous terms; please do not take advantage of this."If you see the parish property being vandalised or used for distasteful purposes, please report it to the Gardaí."Parents, it would be a great service to our society if you explained to your children how important it is for them to respect property that is available for public use."Road Club launchClonard Road Club, the new cycling club which has attracted significant support from neighbouring Kinnegad, will be officially launched at Clonard Hall on Thursday next, August 27 at 7.45pm.All club members and sponsors will be present, and tea and refreshments will be served.Work at Clonard progressing wellAll eyes are on the Clonard end of Kinnegad parish right now, where tickets are on sale for a tractor draw being run by the Friends of St. Finian Committee.The hard working committee has been busying itself over the past number of months in a bid to garner as much support as possible for the renovation of St. Finian's Church, Clonard.Tickets are available from any of the Friends of St. Finian committee members at €5 per ticket, or €20 for a book of five. The tractor is currently on view at T. Flynn and Sons, The Downs.The draw will take place on Saturday, September 26 as part of the Clonard Tractor Run, and all proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards the Clonard Parish Church Renovation Project.Work on the church is this week said to be progressing well, with the exterior of the building stripped back to expose the stonework.The last time this layer of the church was on view was 1826, when St. Finian's was first built. The exterior will now be re-rendered as part of the renovation work.Good views of the work in progress may be obtained from the cemetery, but members of the public may not enter the work site without permission.