All About Cork: Pick up a pumpkin at the Field of Dreams festival

This year’s Down Syndrome Cork Field of Dreams Pick-a-Pumpkin Festival is almost upon us, running over two weekends again this time around, on Sunday, October 5, and Sunday, October 12, from 10am to 3.30pm on both days, with a range of time slots available across each day.

The festival will feature three ticket types this year with a family/group ticket costing €32.50 (plus fees), and that will include entry for four people and will allow them to take away one pumpkin.

A pumpkin ticket will cost €20 (plus fees) and will include entry for one and one pumpkin.

An entry ticket will cost €5 (plus fees) and includes entry only for one and does not include a pumpkin.

Children aged under two go free.

To enter the pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin, you must purchase a pumpkin ticket or a family or group ticket.

On the day, you can follow the Pumpkin Trail around the site with stops along the way including the Haunted Cabin, the outdoor games area, the Sheep Pen, the Halloween Photo Booth, the Arts & Crafts area, and the Pumpkin Patch.

Visitors will also be able to join in for scary songs and stories, (temporary) Halloween tattoos, and the Guess the Pumpkin Weight competition.

The Field of Dreams Pumpkin Café will also be open each day with a selection of seasonal sweet treats along with a range of hot and cold beverages.

Built in 2017 to meet the ongoing learning needs of adults with Down syndrome from across Cork city and county, the Field of Dreams was developed by the Cork branch of Down Syndrome Ireland and it has thrived in the eight years since.

In the years since it opened, Field of Dreams has been home to hundreds of graduates, and it currently has 64 students.

The vision of Field of Dreams is to provide adults with Down syndrome opportunities for ongoing learning and growth.

For some graduates this will move them towards a life of greater independence and self-reliance, and, for others, it will move them towards paid work.

Field of Dreams is built upon a three-acre horticultural site on the Clash Rd in Curraheen, which Down Syndrome Cork leases from its friends in the Cork Agricultural Society.

The campus is designed to meet the specific needs of people who have Down syndrome, and the project focuses on providing days for its students that are productive, busy, meaningful, and full of fun.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite only. For further information about this year’s Down Syndrome Cork Field of Dreams Pick-a-Pumpkin Festival, please contact Debbie at debbie.kelleher@downsyndromecork.ie.

Al-Anon weekly meetings

Regular weekly Ballincollig Al-Anon meetings are held every Thursday at 8pm in the Ballincollig Community Centre, on Station Rd.

Al-Anon meetings are for anyone whose life is being, or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking. Listening to the shared experiences of others may help those affected to find the confidence they need to deal with the effects of another person’s drinking.

The anonymity of those attending Al-Anon meetings is protected by the use of first names only, and anything discussed within an Al-Anon meeting is treated as confidential.

Parking for the meeting will be available at the community centre or at the adjoining Scoil Eoin car park, next to St Mary and St John’s Church.

Confidential helpline: 01 8732699. See alanonuk.org.uk.

Gaelscoil Uí Riada open night

Gaelscoil Uí Riada Baile an Easpaig in Bishopstown is holding its open night ar Déardaoin Fómhair 2ú, Thursday, October 2, from 10am to 1pm. Rolú — enrolment — is open from October 1.

Gaelscoil Uí Riada was established in Wilton in 1984 and currently has 259 students and 16 teachers.

The school is named after acclaimed Cork composer, educator and Gaelgoir Seán Ó Riada.

Gaelscoil Uí Riada’s website says the school will offer students an excellent education in a safe and vibrant environment where self-esteem and individual talent is nurtured and fostered within the richness and diversity of the Irish language.

The school’s motto is ‘Live, that there may be life’ which, the school says reflects its ethos of striving to provide an innovative, child-centered curriculum in a friendly, caring, tolerant and inclusive atmosphere.

Fáilte roimh chách, all are welcome. Telephone: (021) 4342027, or mail oifig@gaelscoiluiriada.ie.

Scoil Barra open night for prospective Junior Infants

Scoil Barra, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, is holding its open night for any prospective Junior Infants for the 2026/27 year on Thursday, October 9.

A co-educational primary school in Ballincollig, Scoil Barra first opened its doors to pupils in 1985.

Since then, the school has grown and expanded considerably and it now has 440 pupils with a teaching staff of 31 teachers, including 11 special education teachers, and in addition it has eight Special Needs Assistants.

The school also has excellent facilities including a general-purpose hall, a large computer room, and spacious playing areas.

Despite Ballincollig’s ongoing expansion, Scoil Barra still maintains the benefit of an almost rural setting, being adjacent to the Regional Park and boasting its own large playing field, set against the majestic backdrop of the rolling hills above Inniscarra.

Retired assistant principal Pat Naughton wrote of Scoil Barra in 2010:

“Children today wear the school’s crest on their uniforms. Designed and introduced in the early years of the school, its symbolism says much about the school’s mission and outlook.

“A bird soars above the waters. Spirit, courage, creativity, and imagination are possible when roots, values, and traditions have been established from the start.

“As the saying goes, ‘we need to give our children roots and wings’.”

For further information, contact Scoil Barra,
Innishmore, Ballincollig. Telephone:
021-4873459; fax: 021-4289763; email:
info@scoilbarra.ie.

Pyke Theatre Group

The Pyke Theatre Group is holding its monthly get-together at Ballincollig Rugby Club at Tanner Park on Tuesday, October 7, at 8pm.

All are welcome to an evening of music, song, drama, and dancing.

Admission is free and the theatre group will be selling raffle tickets at the door on the night with spot prizes available to all who participate.

As always, there will be hot food and a cuppa served.

The group said it hoped that as many people as possible would come along and enjoy a great night and meet new friends.

“We will also have information on the upcoming Ballincollig Drama Festival which commences on Monday, October 13, and runs until Thursday, October 16, curtain at 7.30pm,” they said. “All are welcome.”

GAA Club weekly lottery

The numbers drawn in the Ballincollig GAA Club lottery, which was held on Thursday, September 25, were 5, 6, 7, and 29.

There was no winner of the €16,600 jackpot, but there were three consolation prize winners for club supporters, with €100 going to
Rebecca O’Callaghan, €50 to Marion Clifford, and €50 to Ailis Coleman.

The jackpot for this week’s lottery draw now stands at €16,800.