By Fergal Browne   Dr William George Meade A huge crowd had gathered to watch the procession which carried the neighbouring Ballymartle and Ballinhassig Hurling teams to the Park in Cork. It was the summer of 1890, and an alternative County Championship was under way. The official competition, recognised by the GAA, had been boycotted by most Cork hurling clubs, for political reasons. A separate championship had been organised by Fr. O’Connor, a curate based in The Lough pari

By Tara Maher   As Scoil Bhríde celebrates 50 years in its present building, the Crosshaven community is looking back with pride on nearly 150 years of education, dedication, and service inspired by the Presentation Order and its remarkable foundresses.  Today, Scoil Bhríde is home to 191 students, with eight classrooms, two support rooms, eight class teachers, two support teachers, three SNAs, a principal and school secretary.  The Presentation Order was founded in 1775 by H

By JJ Hurley Six-year-old Declan Ryan saw his dreams come true last weekend when he met his golfing hero Shane Lowry at RTÉ studios. Declan was selected from thousands of applications to attend Late Late Toy Show auditions in Cork and was later chosen as a Toy Demonstrator on the show, watched by over 1.7 million viewers on Friday December 5th. On the night, Declan met host Patrick Kielty and delighted audiences by demonstrating toy dinosaurs and dragons. He also showcased hi

To facilitate the Wren boys Street festival in Carrigaline on St Stephen’s Day the Main Street from the Bank of Ireland to the Corner House will be closed to traffic from 10 am to 2 pm. The Wren boys will arrive from the south at the Gig Rig outside Phelans Pharmacy at 11 am and Straw Boys will arrive from the north. Families from near and far are invited to the colourful spectacle of Hunting the Wren, to dress up and join in the fun and the craic of the Wren in Carrigaline.

A group from Passage West who meet weekly for a game of 7-a-side decided to run a 11 V 11 tournament as a Christmas special. The tradition started in 2023, and the group raised €3,200 for a charity close to their hearts in Pieta House. It continued in 2024 when they raised €3,350 for the Passage West PACE Centre.   This year, they look to continue the tradition and the charity for this year is again the Passage West PACE Centre. The PACE Centre is a local charity that caters

By Tara Maher Christmas has come early in Ballinhassig! After nearly three years of planning, fundraising and building Ballinhassig AFC has officially opened their new  full-size, FIFA-standard all-weather pitch at Gortnaglough in a major development that will transform football and sport for all age groups in the area.  The €700,000 investment includes a top-quality carpet with advanced shock absorption, new fencing, ball-stop netting, covered dugouts, an accessible walkway

Writes Leo McMahon   If you go down to Waterpark Woodland today, you’re in for a big and beautiful surprise!  Thanks to the trojan efforts of members of Carrigaline Tidy Towns, the picturesque area near Waterpark pond is being rejuvenated into a popular walking and nature trail. No one has worked harder on this eco-friendly venture than project leader Alan Desmond, Ard na Ri, Carrigaline, who outlined to The Carrighoun progress at the time of writing. Waterpark Woodland Trail

Following her short film Seascape ’s success at the Indie Cork Film Festival, filmmaker Lorraine Hogan has recently celebrated three consecutive sold-out screenings of her work in Cork. Seascape , a film by Lorraine Hogan exploring community and connection through sea swimming, was featured in Indie Cork’s Made in Cork 2 programme, highlighting Cork-based filmmakers and rising talent. The screening quickly sold out, prompting the Arc Cinema to move it to its largest auditoriu

By Tara Maher   This September, probably for the first time since Love/Hate’s dramatic finale, families across Ireland gathered together in the sitting room on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights to watch Ireland’s version of The Traitors. At the heart of that was Christine Duff.  When Christine moved to Carrigaline twelve years ago, she had no idea how deeply rooted she would become in the community. “I love it down here,” she says warmly. “We’re near the beach, the woods, and

By Tara Maher Just over two years ago Centra Crosshaven changed hands over to Alex Barry.  Originally from Monkstown, Alex studied Accountancy at University College Cork and trained in Deloitte before “heading off to Australia like everyone does.” Upon returning home, he had no grand plan, but running his own business was always in the back of his mind, having seen many of his family members do it. He began working his way through the ranks of Musgraves, with stints in financ

By Tara Maher   Emerging portrait artist, Jenny Lawlor is carving out a place for herself in Scotland’s capital, blending her Irish roots with a growing artistic identity that recently culminated in her first solo exhibition. Originally from Crosshaven, Jenny spent her entire childhood and early adulthood in the coastal village before relocating to Edinburgh. She is a past pupil of Scoil Bhríde and Coláiste Muire, and studied at the Crawford College of Art, Munster Technologi

SIMplyGolf365 is proud to introduce Ireland’s first-ever mobile golf simulator, now based at Raffeen Creek Golf Club and available to travel. SIMplyGolf365 is a state-of-the-art simulator brings world-class golf experiences directly to golfers wherever they are. Offering professional golf coaching with PGA Professional Jack Howard, tailored sessions for Ladies Get Into Golf, and immersive simulator play across a variety of top courses from around the world. Their mobile serv

(JJ Hurley) Tracton’s Imelda Lynch is set to once again conquer fear of the water in 2026, guiding swimmers along the shores of Oysterhaven with her popular classes. What began as lessons during Covid has grown into the thriving ‘Oysterhaven Bunch’, now boasting 270 adult swimmers and almost 400 children in the junior ranks. For Imelda, there is something very special that draws people to sea swimming – therapeutic, even. ‘People tell me they have taken up sea swimming for al

(JJ Hurley) Ballinhassig face Courcey Rovers, as Valley Rovers, Ballymarlte and Carrigaline host group of death Action from last year's Co-op Superstore Premier Intermediate Clash between Carrigaline and Ballincollig (Bernard Laverty) County rivals are set to collide after the Cork GAA championship draws lit up Páirc Uí Chaoimh tonight, serving up a host of local derbies and heavyweight pairings for 2025. Few fixtures will draw as much attention as Ballinhassig versus Courcey

Writes Leo McMahon   Increased Garda presence, including bicycle patrols, in response to ongoing incidents of anti-social behaviour in Carrigaline Community Park was urged by Cllr Una McCarthy (FG) and fully supported at the monthly meeting of the county council’s Carrigaline Municipal District (MD). Requesting that the divisional Garda chief superintendent be written to, she said that a number of people had reached out to her reporting incidents such as eggs being thrown at

Writes Leo McMahon   A call on the county council to engage with current owners Industrial Development Authority (IDA) with a view to acquiring Luc Strand, Loughbeg, Ringaskiddy and improving amenities there was made by Cllr Eoghan Fahy (SF)  and supported at the recent meeting of Carrigaline Municipal District (MD). Cllr Fahy said that like greenways, beaches such as Luc, Fountainstown and Myrtleville were no longer seasonal but used all year round with swimming, saunas and

By JJ Hurley The Trident Hotel, Kinsale, played host to Kinsale AFC’s celebration of 90 years of football on Saturday night last. Before the celebrations kicked off, The Carrigdhoun spoke with William McCarthy and Donie Searl – two surnames which, along with the Jones’s, Foran’s and Irwin’s, have long been associated with the club. Now boasting one of the most spectacular clubhouse views, William and Donie reflected on far less illustrious playing facilities, which depended l

By Tara Maher   Kinsale’s Sailing into Wellness received nearly €2.5 million worth of funding as part of the government’s The New Solutions Scaling Up Scheme. The scheme was established to fund proven social innovation projects that are ready to grow and achieve greater impact.   Sailing into Wellness will use its €295,734.56 grant to establish permanent hubs in areas currently served by its mobile unit, as well as to strengthen its existing operations through initiatives suc

Monkstown Bay Sailing Club (MBSC) is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Flag Officers for the 2026 season, following the Club’s recent Annual General Meeting held at the clubhouse overlooking Monkstown Bay. The new Flag Officer team will guide the Club through another exciting year both on and off the water: ·       Commodore:          Ewen Barry ·       Vice Commodore:   David Doherty ·       Rear Commodore:   Sandy Rimmington Incoming Commodore Barry expressed

A LONG FAREWELL AND SAD GOODBYES FOR AN ICONIC LADY PAT HOWARD (Nee Livesey) - THE NONAGENERIAN HAD TOUCHED THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS PEOPLE IN SO MANY WAYS. Writes John Twomey On November 5 th last the news of Pat Howard’s death was announced and it was received by both young and old with sadness and a sense of loss.  Hence they came in great numbers to express their sorrow and say their goodbyes. HUGE TRIBUTES One of the largest crowds ever assembled at the Carrigaline Funera

By Tara Maher   Barry Collins Supervalu has won best bakery offering at the National Grocery Retail Awards 2025, sponsored by Checkout ,  during a gala awards ceremony at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin, on Tuesday, 21 October.   These awards, now in their fourth year, combine the legacy of Checkout’s  previous awards, including the Best in Fresh awards, and celebrate best-in-class performance across all areas of grocery retailing.  Maeve Martin, Editor of Checkout Magaz

U18 Girls Munster League Div 2 By Staff Reporter Kinsale 6 Limerick 2 On Sunday, the U18 girls continued their good run of results with a strong win over Limerick in a very competitive game. Kinsale led twice in the first half, only for Limerick to level the game at 2–2 by half-time. If it had not been for some excellent saves in goal from captain Izzey Colbert, the team could, and probably should, have been behind. Kinsale celebrate another goal. Pic: Jane Connaughton Havi

Crosshaven continued their impressive run of form, securing a hard-fought 3-1 victory over a resilient Macroom side in the Munster Senior League. The win marks Crosshaven's fourth consecutive triumph, a remarkable achievement given they traveled with depleted numbers due to illness. The game started steadily, but it was Macroom who broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. A somewhat fortuitous bounce saw the ball skid awkwardly, allowing the home side to capitalize and take an

Tracton 3-17 Diarmuid Ó Murchús 1-13 Three first-half Tracton goals proved decisive as they held off a brave Diarmuid Ó Murchús effort in the Ross Oil U21 C Hurling Final in Minane Bridge on Tuesday night. Tracton Ross Oil U21 C Hurling Champions Two goals from man of the match, Cathal Lowney and one from Daire O'Riordan in the opening 30 minutes gave their opponents a huge mountain to climb in the second half, a task that proved insurmountable. However, the Crosshaven/Shamro

Diarmuid Ó Murchús 1-12 (1-2-8)  Newcestown 0-9 (1-0-9) (JJ Hurley) Diarmuid Ó Murchús celebrating their first county title tonight in Bishopstown Diarmuid Ó Murchús claimed their first county title with a powerful second-half performance as they defeated Newcestown in the Fé 18 D1 Football final at Bishopstown on Saturday night. Trailing by a single point at the interval, the Carrigdhoun side upped the ante in the second period, led by the influential Oisín Buckley. Howeve

(JJ Hurley) Kinsale’s residents begin their Christmas celebrations early this year with the return of an old friend, the pantomime, Goldilocks and The Three Bears  on Tuesday, November 25th. David Pearse set to play (Auntie Sceptic) in the upcoming Goldilocks and The Three Bears at the Shane Fitzsimons Riverside Theatre at Kinsale Community School from November 25th, seen here with some of the cast. (John Allen Images) Making a welcome return to the town’s Christmas diary, T

Crosshaven Tri Club held its Annual General Meeting this month, celebrating another outstanding year of growth, participation, and achievement both on and off the course. David Pollard was confirmed to continue as Chair for the year ahead, following a year that saw record engagement, new initiatives, and the club’s highest ever membership. Membership has risen sharply to over 130 members. The club now proudly has their most female members in a year to date and has a target to

This year marks a special milestone for us and our team at Carrigaline Organic Hair Studio. Twenty years of making people feel beautiful, confident and cared for.  When we first opened our doors back in 2005, we had a simple dream to create a space where everyone could feel comfortable, pampered, and walk out smiling. We never imagined that two decades later, we would still be here doing what we love most and surrounded by so many loyal clients who have become like family.  O

Ireland’s picturesque foodie capital, Kinsale, is set to take centre stage in the upcoming episode of TG4’s "BUILDINGS BEO." Airing Wednesday, December 10th at 8:30 pm, this captivating instalment delves into the remarkable transformation of Kinsale's disused Old Mill building, breathing new life into a structure steeped in history. Presented by Carrie Crowley, "BUILDINGS BEO" explores the nationwide efforts to revitalise Ireland's architectural heritage, showcasing the inspi

Writes Leo McMahon   A call by Cllr Una McCarthy (FG ) on Cork County Council to install pizza box bins in Carrigaline Municipal District (MD) was unanimously supported at the recent meeting of the MD. Such bins had been successfully installed in the city and other areas, she stated. There had been an increase of fast food outlets in Carrigaline and across the MD. Often, pizza boxes were thrown on the ground because people wouldn’t take the time to tear these up and put into