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Lord Mayor honours piper Paddy at City Hall

There was a very proud occasion for the Carrigaline Pipe Band recently as long-serving member Paddy O’Connell was received by the Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Dan Boyle, at Cork City Hall.

A post on the band’s Facebook page said it was a “great honour” for Mr O’Connell to meet with Mr Boyle in his official office, accompanied by family, friends, and fellow band members.

“A musical tribute was performed by piper Jason Deasy, whose playing added to the dignity and significance of the event,” read the post.

“This recognition follows what has already been a remarkable year for Paddy, who was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Community Sport Awards in January — a fitting acknowledgement of his decades of service and dedication,” it added.

“The Carrigaline Pipe Band continues to grow and thrive, and it is without question that the steadfast commitment and leadership of Paddy O’Connell have played a central role in the band’s success. We are proud to call him our own.

“Very proud day for Paddy O’Connell and the O’Connell family … truly well deserved for without Paddy’s commitment and dedication over the years his band family Carrigaline Pipe Band wouldn’t be still thriving.”

First Responders celebrations

Carrigaline Community First Responders recently held an event at the Carrigaline Court Hotel to celebrate their 10 year anniversary of volunteering in the community. More than 800 adults and children came through the doors and were taught hands only CPR on both adults and children. Volunteers also taught the community how best to help someone if they were choking.

A spokesperson for the group said the the event would not have been possible without the help from other local responders including Passage West, Kinsale, Tracton and Cork city.

“Also at the event were the Order of Malta, RNLI, Crosshaven Coast Guard, National Ambulance Service and UCC scientists showing the importance of hand hygiene. The Carrigaline community first responders were very grateful for their sponsors Johnson and Johnson, Carrigaline Court Hotel and Barry Collins SuperValu,” said the spokesperson.

“This was also a very special day as we had Mark O’Keeffe and his partner Helena Kiely,” they added. Mark is a local cardiac arrest survivor who set up a go fund me page for the Carrigaline Community First Responders to recognise and commend the work that they do.

“Helena who is also a member of the National ambulance Service spoke about the night her beloved Mark went into cardiac arrest and how the first responders and her colleagues from NAS helped to save Mark. It was a truly remarkable story,” said the spokesperson.

They presented a cheque for €3,161 and an award to the responders who helped on the night.

“The Carrigaline first responders went above and beyond to help by putting the bedroom back to its original order as unfortunately a lot of mess can be caused to make space for all the help that was needed,” said the spokesperson. Helena said that this was truly remarkable and by doing this took away a lot of stress that might have been caused reliving the event.

Youth club concert

Crosshaven Youth Club will host a fundraising concert with music by the Cork Light Orchestra at the Crosshaven Community Centre on Saturday, April 26. Tickets for the concert, which will run from 7.30pm to 9pm, are available from Centra at Crosshaven priced at €15.

Summer evening of song

The River Rhythms Choir will host ‘A Summer’s Evening of Song’ at the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Mary, Goggins hill, Ballinhassig on Saturday, May 1, from 7.30pm.

The evening will feature performances by The City of Cork Male Voice Choir, The Frankfield Gospel Choir and River Rhythms Community Choir. Cash donations will be gratefully accepted at the door on the night in aid of Cork ARC Cancer Support House.

Community Cultural Festival

The dates for Carrigaline’s Got Talent Community Cultural Festival have been fixed to run from Thursday, June 19, to Sunday, June 22. The programme will include a music marathon, music therapy workshops, a sports day, a concert and a family day — keep the dates June 19-22.