People visiting the area last week must have thought that they had arrived in the middle of the monsoon season, as the worst flooding in living memory hit parts of West Limerick. on Thursday night.

Newcastlewest bore the brunt of it.  (Athea was also badly hit) At one rainfall station in the area, a measurement of 90.1mm was recorded over a few hours, whereas around 100mm of rain could normally be expected in a month. Floods of up to eight feet high raged through Bridge Street and the South Quay area, moving vehicles and submerging buildings.

The N21 Limerick to Killarney road was closed for a period, and an emergency operation began at around 2am after local crews called for back-up. A helicopter based in Shannon was sent to the scene. Around 3,000 homes were without electricity, and around 100 homes in the South Quay area and 50 businesses on Bridge Street and North Quay in the town are facing massive clean-up bills.

Many motorist were stranded, and were forced to abandon their cars. Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported.

Abbeyfeale escaped the worst of it. There was some localised flooding as the level of the Feale rose. However, most roads remained passable, and livestock was not effected as they were moved to higher ground.

Many people still talk about the big snowfall of 1963. In years to come they will also now recall the flood of 2008.

Welcome to summer!

HOLIDAY;

The town was busy for the August Bank Holiday Weekend. Many local exiles have returned from overseas for their annual summer holidays and are spending time with family and friends. The passing tourist trade has also increased significantly over the last couple of weeks.

RUGBY:

Training has commenced for the new season and continues in The Grove every Thursday night. New players are welcome.

SOCCER:

Former Abbeyfeale Utd player, Denis Behan, scored for Cork City in their 1-0 win over Sligo Rovers in the premiership on Saturday.

BORD NA nOG;

Fr Casey’s added the U/14 League to their West and County Feile titles with a 3-11 to 2-5 over St Mary’s.

GAA:

Many Kerry football fans stopped off in the town on Sunday evening following the victory against Monaghan, and green and gold jerseys and flags were very much in evidence. They were all in good voice and looking forward to the meeting Galway in the quarter-finals.

Latest betting to win the All Ireland; Kerry 6/4. Dublin 11/4. Cork 5/1. Armagh 6/1. 10/1 bar.

Match betting; Kerry 3/10. Galway 3/1. Draw 9/1. Cork ¼. Kildare 7/2. Draw 9/1. Dublin 8/15. Armagh 15/8. Draw 15/2. Armagh 2/5. Wexford 5/2. Draw 15/2.

In the hurling they go; Kilkenny 2/5. Tipperary 5/2.Cork 9/2. Waterford 8/1. Kilkenny are 2/5 to beat Cork (5/2) next Sunday.

OLYMPICS

The 2008 Olympic Games start in Beijing on this Friday 8^th August. A total of 51 Irish athletes will compete.

The travelling party includes Melanie Nocher and Aisling Cooney, the two swimmers drafted into the team earlier in the week as part of a developmental arrangement with the OCI and Swim Ireland. The inclusion of the pair means that the team has one more competitor than the one that travelled to Athens in 2004.

The team will be competing in 12 different sports; athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming and, for the first time, triathlon.

There are not many genuine medal contenders but there are hopes for podium finishes from the boxers and rowers.

Much is expected of bantamweight John Joe Nevin, light welterweight John Joe Joyce and middleweight Darren Sutherland. Captain Sutherland has trained in England at Brendan Ingle’s Wincobank academy and won the national title in 2006 and 2007.
Among the rowers there is experience of good times and bad. Ireland has enjoyed substantial success on the international stage but failure at the world championships in Munich last year and a poor record at Olympic level fuelled the hunger of the likes of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearóid Towey and Cathal Moynihan

Towey, especially, will be eager to take something memorable from an Olympic Games after a series of unfortunate events led to him finishing 10th with Sam Lynch in Athens.

Four years earlier in Sydney in the lightweight fours, he finished 11th.

The team appear to have turned a corner, however, and are genuine contenders after an impressive showing the qualifiers in Poznan, Poland, where they were second behind Germany.

Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, praised the efforts of the athletes, their coaches and national federations for their sustained efforts to gain Olympic qualification. “I know that the athletes will represent Ireland on the world’s greatest sporting stage with pride and passion”.

We wish our competitors the very best of luck.

A couple of familiar faces surfaced somewhat unexpectedly in Abbeyfeale during the week. (See pics in MSN Gallery, LATEST PHOTOS)
Dave Mahon and John Heslin were part of the garda escort assigned to local politician, Gerard Collins, during his tenure as Minister for Justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1987 and 1992.
Gerard was first appointed […]

A couple of familiar faces surfaced somewhat unexpectedly in Abbeyfeale during the week. Dave Mahon and John Heslin were part of the garda escort assigned to local politician, Gerard Collins, during his tenure as Minister for Justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1987 and 1992.
Gerard was first appointed as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs […]

The holidays are here. Schools have been closed for the past few weeks. The builders are on their traditional two-week break amid fears that some of them may be forced to endure and even longer holiday. Many people have headed for Portugal and the South of France in search of sun, sand and sea breezes. […]

Saving hay in Abbeyfeale would appear to be a thing of the past. The uncertain weather and the advent of giant silage machinery has sounded the death knell of haymaking in the locality.
Nothing beats the scent of fresh hay in a newly-mown meadow. At the turn of the twentieth century hay was still cut by […]