CHALK TALK

Kindness, respect and looking out for one another were at the heart of this morning’s assembly at Scoil Naomh Barra in Wilkinstown.

Minister Helen Mc Entee joined pupils and staff to hear about the school’s introduction of the KiVa anti-bullying programme, with James Minnock explaining how it has been incorporated into school life and what it means for pupils.

A really positive initiative, giving children the confidence and tools to help create a kind and inclusive school community.

For Larry Mongey, so many memories of Rathkenny Hall are tied to the people who filled it. But one name still brings the emotion flooding back - Jimmy Carry.
Larry remembers wondering how the Rathkenny Revels could possibly continue after Jimmy’s sudden passing. Decades later, the loss is still deeply felt.
As Larry struggled to find the words, his wife Carmel quietly summed it up:

“He was looking down on us all.”

For more than 40 years, Kathy served as secretary of the Hall committee, and hers was never a name that simply appeared on the bottom of minutes.

Kathy brought ideas to the committee, but more importantly, she helped make them happen. There were meetings to organise, people to contact, events to arrange and all the work behind the scenes that nobody sees once the doors open and the Hall fills up.

And Kathy got things done.

As the years passed and the community changed, she was constantly looking at what the Hall could do next. When her first grandchild was born, she saw a need for a toddler group and helped establish one in the Hall. Other ideas followed, bringing different generations through the doors and giving people new reasons to use the building.

Kathy still misses Jimmy Carry. Even now, walking into the Hall, she can feel his presence still there. He belongs to a time and a group of people she remembers with enormous affection, and all these years later, the loss is still felt.

Perhaps that is why the Hall means so much to the people who gave so much of themselves to it. The building is still there, but so too, in their own way, are the people who filled it.

This year, as Rathkenny Hall celebrates its 75th anniversary, Kathy is helping to revive the Ballroom of Romance, bringing one of its much-loved traditions back to life.

After more than four decades of doing the work behind the scenes, Kathy is still doing what she has always done… helping to bring people together.

A big week for our Meath students in this week’s Meath Chronicle

Debs photos from Colaiste Na Mi and St Peter’s Dunboyne - see who you can spot!

We’ve also got a special Chalk Talk report checking in with some of Meath’s newest secondary school students to find out how our First Years are settling in.

And finally… the last of our Junior Infant photos. The Class of 2034!

Pick up the Meath Chronicle to see them all.