Great excitement as young and old enjoy successful North Longford area family fun day

The village of Lisryan and the surrounding communities came together yet again to enjoy yet another successful Family Fun Day in the Community Park on the Sunday, July 6.

This was the third year of the successful event.

Thankfully the weather was kind enough to us and the day started off with a well-attended 5km run, which was won again this year by Niall McGarry, Finea who improved on his personal best on the day.

It was great to see the mix of young and not so young taking to the road for the event.

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Congratulations to all runners and especially to those who went home with a plaque/medal for winning in their respective categories.

This was followed by the much-anticipated Kiddies Tractor Run which is a great hit every year with our little ones (and not so little).

They were all awarded for their efforts by getting a free ice-cream from Des Hamilton’s Ice Cream van, which proved to be a great hit on the day.

Fun and frolics were had all day on the bouncy castles which again attracted young and old.

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The hospitality marquee was busy throughout the day providing teas and coffees and our famous Faustina Rodgers’ home baked treats on the day. The food truck was also kept busy feeding all.

The day continued with novelty races, obstacle courses, Taekwondo displays and competition hosted by our adopted Kerry girl Grace O’Sullivan who travelled up from Waterville to be part of the day.

Grace is a member of the Irish Taekwondo team and has taken part in many competitions at European level. She is a proud holder of a black belt in her field.

The Tug of War rope proved to be a great hit again this year and the crew from the Order of Malta on site for the day made sure to show their strength on the day, our unofficial coach Dave O’Hara proved his worth on the day by giving some great advice (??). Great fun was had by all.

The face painter on site was kept busy down to the final few minutes of the day. We also had a number of stalls who had some beautiful goods for sale on the day.

The event commenced with our Annual Mass on Friday 4th which saw our new Sensory garden being blessed and officially opened on the night by Fr Pierre.

The raffle was a great success with 14 winners of some fabulous prizes. Thanks to all who supported this.

The Sensory Garden is a new addition to the community park to be enjoyed by all with a variety of textures, sounds, smells and equipment.

It is a testament to the successful tender from ARK Landscape who designed, planned and brought the whole area to life.

Paul Anderson and his wife, Claire are to be commended for their work on this project.

A special word of thanks to the sub-committee who worked on getting the project completed, all the background work involved in these projects mostly goes unseen and therefore doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves, so well done to all involved.

A word of thanks also to our local windchime maker, Mr. Sean Carthy, who, using recycled products makes beautiful pieces of artwork for all to enjoy, one of which will be proudly displayed in the sensory garden.

We do ask however that this space, and the park as whole is treated with the respect it deserves as it is a space for all to enjoy for years to come.

The Tidy Village Committee work tirelessly to continue to enhance the area and also in bringing the village and surrounding communities together.

The committee is made up of all volunteers who give up their time and energy to the community.

We want to thank everyone for their continued support, without it we would not be able to organise or facilitate the events we host.

On Sunday, August 24 we are hosting our very first community BBQ and Kids Disco. (€5 charge).

Later this year we will be having our Annual Kiddies Halloween party on Monday, October 27 (charge will apply) and our much-loved free event the annual Santa Dash on Sunday, December 7.

Just a few dates for the calendar so as not to miss out.