Birr Community Online

Due to the Birr Review 2007 selling out much faster in the shops we are pleased to make the download available earlier than originally planned. To purchase online click here or click on the Online Shop at the top of this page. The download cost is €10 and all proceeds go to the Birr Lions Club to support their many charities. Payment is available through Paypal (including using your credit card) and processing of your payment is done through Paypal’s secure servers - we do not keep any of your financial information on our servers.

Yes, it’s that time of the year again when the most eagerly awaited publication in Birr is available in the shops. Now in its 7th year it’s packed full of information on local clubs and organisations, an annual round-up of events in Birr, many articles of local interest by local people, advertisements from the many businesses and trades in and around Birr - supplies are limited and it usually sells out very quickly. A copy costs €10 and all proceeds go to the Birr Lions Club for their many charities.

For those not able to get hold of a printed copy or if you want extra copies for your friends and relatives then it will be available for download from this website in PDF format from January 1st, 2008. There will be a cost for this and details will be available shortly by clicking on the Online Shop tab which will be coming soon.

New Members

At the recent AGM the Management Committee proposed an incentive to encourage new members: that the entry fee be reduced to 500 euro for a full member and 800 euro for family membership for the months of December, January and February only. All going well, the new course should be playable by early Summer when the three new fairways and seven new greens will have matured. Members are very excited about this new development and are eagerly looking forward to added challenges. New members will certainly be very welcome.

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Christmas vouchers

Looking for ideas for a Christmas gift? Why not consider a Birr Golf Club Subscription Voucher for your family or friends? Please call Joan Grimes at (057) 912 0082.

New Members

At the recent AGM the Management Committee proposed that as an incentive to encourage new members that the entry fee be reduced to 500 euro for a full member and 800 euro for family membership for the months of December, January and February only. This proposal will be reviewed on an annual basis.

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Management AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the club took place on Sunday last. The meeting was delayed by one hour to allow members attend the Leinster Club final and heartiest congratulations are extended to Brian Whelehan and his team on bringing a seventh Leinster tital to Birr. Chairman Billy Donlon opened the meeting by calling for a minute’s silence in memory of our deceased members. The Hon. Sec. in his report pointed out that the year was dominated by the development of the new lands. He noted that the Development Committee under Noel Molloy had been handed a very difficult job but members could clearly see that this committee had proved equal to the task. All were looking forward to playing the new course hopefully by early summer. The Hon. Sec. thanked all the committees for their dedication to the Club and complimented the captains for the many hours they spent looking after the affairs of the members. He noted especially the work of Hon. Treasurer David McDowell whose accounts show how much work he put into keeping the financial affairs in order.

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Santa Claus & The Elves are set to return to the Magical Winter Gardens of Birr Castle on the following dates:

Friday, December 14th 6pm-8.30pm
Saturday, December 15th 4pm-7pm
Sunday, December 16th 4pm-7pm
Monday, December 17th 6pm-8.30pm
Tuesday, December 18th 6pm-8.30pm

Call 057 9120336 for more details on admission prices and event.

Wednesday 5th December

Official handover for the Macregol Gospels to Offaly County Council @ 8.00pm in Birr Library

Saturday 8th December

Storytelling @ 11.30 am

Bookworms @ 2.30 pm - Charlotte’s Web is a children’s book by acclaimed American author E. B. White. First published in 1952, it tells the story of a barn spider named Charlotte and her friendship with a pig named Wilbur.

Next book for the Bookworms is Something Invisible by Siobhan Parkinson. With a new baby sister and a stepfather, the life of eleven-year-old Jake is full of change, but nothing prepares him for his relationship with an enigmatic girl, her large family, and the tragedy that strikes them all.

Thursday 13th December

Storytelling with Suzie Hogan @ 10.30 am - Christmas Special. Senior Infants from the Mercy Convent School will attend.

Friday 14th December

Coffee morning with music provided by the Mercy Convent Choir @ 10.30am

Saturday 15th December

Storytelling in Polish with Kate Grabowska @ 11.30am

Christmas party for all members of the Birr Library Book clubs @ 2.30pm

Management AGM

Members please note that the Management AGM will now take place at 5 pm on Sunday 2 Dec. This slight time change was made in order to facilitate members wishing to attend the Leinster Club Final in Tullamore between Birr and Ballyboden. Best of luck to our hurlers. We look forward to some very exciting hurling. Members should also note that motions for discussion and nominees for the Management Committee have been posted on Sun. 25 Nov.

Captains’ Dinner

The annual dinner to honour our Captains Billy Donlon and Yvonne Boland will take place in the Clubhouse on Sat. 1 Dec. at 7.30 pm. A large turnout is expected to honour our popular captains and reservations can be made by contacting Joan at 057 9120082. A great evening is promised with music by Harmony.

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Birr Historical Society will officially hand over the facsimile of the Gospel Book of Macregol of Birr to Offaly County Council at a reception in Birr Library on Wednesday 5 December at 8 pm. The facsimile is already an attractive addition to the superb new library where it will be displayed free of charge as a reminder of the ancient monastic heritage of the town.

At the same event the Birr 1300 Committee will officially hand over the manuscript copy of Cáin Adomnáin produced by Margaret Maher and the bronze-coated iron bell produced by Dan Edwards in 1997 to commemorate the promulgation of Cáin Adomnáin at Birr in 697 AD.

How surprised would be Macregol of Birr and Adomnán of Iona to see that Birr people take such an interest in their work after so many generations and so many centuries had passed.

As usual, there will be performances by students of the schools in Birr parish at the annual celebration of the feast day of St Brendan, patron of Birr which will take place this year on Friday 30 November at 7.30 pm at St Brendan’s Church of Ireland, Oxmantown Mall.

Students from Crinkle NS will contribute a light dramatisation and there will be mime, bell ringers, choral singing and a procession with parish treasures to complement the ecumenical liturgy. This annual celebration has been steadily gathering support and it is hardly disrespectful to say that it has become a lively, interesting and unifying annual event.

Dickie Rock

He’s back! One of Ireland’s most famous sons, Dickie Rock, is selling out venues around Ireland once again. Following the recent, hugely successful RTE documentary about Dickie and his place at the forefront of the legendary Irish Showband scene, his loyal fans throughout the country have been clamouring for a chance to relive those glory days. With a new album and his autobiography out in October, these are exciting times for the Irish legend who has already secured a well-earned place in Irish entertainment history.

Sat 1 December @ 8pm - Tickets €25

Esma’s Secret (Grbavica)
Film Club

The recent past looms dark and fearsome over Jasmila Zbanic’s debut feature Grbavica, set in a suburb which witnessed some of the worst massacres of the 1990s Balkan war. Whatever its weaknesses, this coming-of-age story about a teenager and her relationship with her single mother succeeds in revealing the wounds barely healed by several years of relative peace. Mirjana Karanovic, behind some of the best pictures from the region during the last 20 years, is splendid as the parent desperately trying to protect her daughter from the past. As the child, Luna Mijovic, is a fresh and energetic new face who should go far. Winner - Golden Bear for Best Film / Berlin Film Festival 2006

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Management AGM

Members please note that the Management AGM will now take place at 5 pm on Sun. 2 Dec. This slight change in the time was made in order to facilitate members who wish to attend the Leinster Club Final in Tullamore between Birr and Ballyboden. Members should also note that motions for discussion and nominees for the Management Committee must be posted on or before Sun. 25 Nov.

Captains’ Dinner

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