There was a strong Abbeyfeale contingent in Helsinki on Saturday night for the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, and The Fields of Athenry rang out to the rafters as Dervish took centre stage at the imposing Hartwall Arena to represent Ireland against the cream of European talent.

In the opinion of this humble scribe, They Can’t Stop The Spring, was probably one of the better entries on the night and deserved much greater support than it eventually received. And, as the voting proceeded, we soon found out who our real friends were.

The English, God Bless them, took umbrage at the fact that we had foisted Terry Wogan upon them. The ebullient Limerick man was waxing lyrical over on the BBC and was proving a tad too irreverent for the stuffed shirts of the local broadcasting corporation who take these matters extremely seriously. Word was sent down the line from the head honcho. Shaft the Irish! And they did. They did.

El Tel is now, of course, Sir Terence Of The Garter, and is soon to be created a Freeman of Limerick. He made a recording back in the sixties, The Floral Dance, which caused quite a ripple of apathy within the music industry. In hindsight, the song wasn’t that bad, and was far superior to the English entry on Saturday night. (which we voted for – how sad is that!)

However, we expected more from the Poles and the Latvians. With a sizeable Eastern European Community in residence here, we thought that they might have gotten onto to their friends and relatives back in Krakow or Riga and told them to pick up a phone and support their adopted country. But not a bit of it! They stopped the spring all right.

And so it was left to Albania to give us a dig out with a five pointer. (we missed the conversion) Fair play to them. They may have a lousy soccer team, but they certainly know their music. They are welcome here anytime.

But back to the Abbeyfeale support in Helsinki. Their rendition of the Fields Of Athenry received the loudest applause of the evening and would have been a runaway winner had we thought to enter it. And therein lies the solution.

We are sitting of a virtual plethora of fine songs in this country. It is time that the rest of Europe got to hear them. The Old Bog Road tops the list. Sweetest Home On The Banks Of The Feale could be a worldwide hit for Westlife. And what about Aon Focal Eile? Imagine how that might sound in Belgrade next year. Also, we have The Langar, Shoe The Donkey, Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down, etc. The list is endless. (Suggestions to Abbeyfeale On Line please, with a five euro note for postage and handling charges)

So, away down to Lal Browne now with the lot of you and have all of the SSIA money on Ireland at 1000/1 to win the European double in 2008 – Song Contest and Heineken Cup.

As Del Boy used to say; “This time next year we will all be millionaires!”

ELECTION

And, speaking of millionaires, brings us to the local election campaign. Canvassing continues with all of the candidates knocking on doors and each promising to do better than the next. There is little excitement being generated in West Limerick, with the result regarded as almost a forgone conclusion. John Cregan FF is 1/20 to get elected. Niall Collins FF has gone from 1/10 to 1/16, and only millionaire money could have caused such odds to shorten. Dan Neville FG is 1/3 and Michael Finucane is 8/13. This race is not a good betting proposition and it might be advisable to just sit back and watch.

Nationally, they go 5/4 that FG/LAB/GREENS will form the next government, with a FF/LAB coalition at 9/4, and FG/LAB at 6/1. The only certainty from all of this seems to be that Labour will form part of the next government. Enda Kenny is now favourite at 10/11 to be next Taoiseach, with Bertie Ahern at 11/10 and Brian Cowen 5/1. Pat Rabbitte is 4/7 to be the next Tanaiste, and it is 6/1 bar.

Incidentally, Limerick footballers are 4/1 to beat Cork in the Munster semi-final next Sunday in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. They have no chance – have they?

TESCO

Work is continuing on the site of the new Tesco store which is set to open in Abbeyfeale next October. When completed, the store is expected to create up to 100 new jobs in the area and provide parking for over 200 cars.

SILAGE:

The recent rainy spell has led to good growth in fields and meadows, and silage operations in the locality are slowly beginning to get underway.

BONES;

The winner of the recent World Bone Playing Championship at Fleadh by the Feale was David Murphy from Ballaugh. Second was Paddy O’Donovan from Ardagh and third was Yurdi Machar from Denmark. The World Junior Bone Playing Championship was won by John Forde.

FLAG DAY:

The recent Flag Day in aid of Cystic Fibrosis was well supported. A sum of €2,000 was raised, and the organizers would like to thank all for their generous support.

RUGBY:

The AGM of Abbeyfeale RFC takes place at The Grove on Friday 25^th May at 7.30 pm. The weekend tour to Biarritz proved most successful. A tour party of thirty travelled over and, miraculously, the same number returned. They even played a bit of rugby – and won! (Abbeyfeale’s first win on French soil) A crowd of them arrived in to Jack O’Rourke’s bar on Monday night and regaled us with highly exaggerated tales of all of the architectural wonders that they had seen. (At €6.40 for a pint of Guinness, they were probably still hallucinating) It was, by all accounts, a great weekend and well done to all concerned.

SOCCER:

Abbeyfeale Utd A were beaten 4-1 by Newcastlewest in the final of the premier division league cup. Paul Doherty was the Abbeyfeale scorer.

GOLF:

There will be a Club Fourball at Abbeyfeale Golf Club on Sunday 20^th May in aid of the National Council For The Blind.