There was jubilation among the pupils of a rural two-teacher national school as they celebrated the winning of the coveted award for the tidiest school in North Tipperary.

The shining example of the manner in which the school and surrounds at Birdhill National School impressed the judges in the competition open to all schools in North Tipperary has also been a well deserved accolade for the work of the teachers at the school and the parents of the pupils.

Birdhill National School, with an enrolment of 58 pupils does not have the benefit of a caretaker to keep the grounds and the surrounds, but instead it is a wonderful example of community spirit and its achievements within a local community.

"Of coarse we were thrilled to get the award and the compliments which were paid to the work at the school by the judge were very encouraging. The pupils all lent a hand with the work, but we could not have achieved it without the wonderful co-operation and work of the parents", said school principal, Mrs Nora Hewitt.

But it is not for the first time that the national school at Birdhill has been in the winners circle, having previously figured as an award winner in the county in the ESB competition for schools winning the County award the first time they entered the competition.

As a result of winning the award for the Tidiest School in North Tipperary from North Tipperary County Council the school is the richer of the benefit of a handsome presentation of books, equipment and CD's for the school with which they are delighted.

Increasing: Birdhill National School is now reversing the trend of falling enrolments being experience at many small rural based national schools of which they were also part in the past - a pattern which has now been turned around.

A few years ago Birdhill lost a teacher, because of the fall off in enrolments and the school records show that there was one year in which they had no new enrolment.

In contrast they will qualify for a third teacher again from the start of the next school year in September 2003 as the number of pupils attending the school show a steady increase as a consequence of the number of new houses and new families in the area in recent years.

The enrolment at the school in September 2000 was 33 pupils, increasing to 41 pupils the following year and this year to 58 pupils. With a further increase in enrolments from September next, Birdhill will qualify for a third teacher.

Mrs Hewitt explained that the attention to the grounds and school surrounds which has brought so much success to the school was initiated five years ago involving the pupils and a parents committee prior to which there had been no garden at the school.

"We have no caretaker at the school, but the parents have been wonderful doing all of the heavy work. We could not survive without their help which has been great. We cut the grass ourselves and involve the pupils in planting and keeping the grounds", she said.

"It is very rewarding work and I feel that it is good for the children to get involved and they love it. It is an opportunity for them to learn something about plants and shrubs and generally keeping the school surrounds tidy", she added.

Deirdre Cox who judged the competition for the County Council complimented all concerned with the school by commenting that she would have loved to be a pupil of Birdhill school herself.

She said that everything they had done had brought it all together for the school and she was very impressed by the bright and attractive colours used.

Past pupils: There is an element of "going back to school"

The work undertaken over

the past five years has involved general improvement of the grounds, planting beds of flowers, trees and shrubs and re-painting.

They also adopted a motto which is prominently displayed in the grounds to the front of

the school, where it has also served to enhance the appearance of a surrounding wall for oil supplies at the school by painting the symbol and name of the school on the facing wall.

The emblem of the school is

the eagle and the adopted motto is that Birdhill National School - and its pupils - "soar like an eagle"

Having collected three awards for their school and surrounds in a programme commenced five years ago no one

could argue that they are not living up to their stated motto with success.

With the enrolment at the school also increasing and Birdhill about to become a three teacher school it is a success story all the way with a bigger and brighter future ahead for the rural school. Congratulations on their continued success to all concerned with the work which is marvellous tribute to community involvement and the parent, teacher and pupil partnership at the school.

GOLFING SOCIETY

The annual general meeting of the Mulcair Golfing Society will be held at O'Sullivans Lounge, Newport on Wednesday next, December 4th commencing at 9 p.m. The past year has been another very successful one for the society and the end of year awards to be announced at the AGM will conclude the business for the year.

BIRDHILL ICA

Birdhill ICA Guild will hold their December meeting at the Community Centre, Birdhill on Wednesday night next, December 4th at 8 p.m. There will be a demonstration of Christmas Card making and Christmas Crafts at the meeting.

GAA

Newport hurlers ousted Gortnahoe in the replay of the county Intermediate Semi-final at Templemore on Sunday last with a margin of one goal to their credit at the final whistle. Congratulations to the team on their consistent performance since the North Tipperary final which unfortunately they lost in the replay to Kiladangan.

However they are facing Kiladangan again in the county final which should have all of the ingredients for a cracking game as Newport make their final bid for glory in the county this season.

Ballinahinch must meet Clonakenny again to decide the county Junior Hurling title for the season after a last minute point secure a draw for Clonakenny on Sunday last at Toomevara. A very determined Ballinahinch side are determined that they can bring the honours to the parish and good luck to them in their bid.

SALE OF WORK

Ballinahinch GAA Annual Sale of Work will take place on this Sunday at Killoscully December 1st commencing with an auction of timber, turf, Christmas trees and two pigs. A number of side shows will provide variety for the remainder of the evening at the local community centre.

BEST KEPT CEMETERIES

Two cemeteries in the parish of Newport within less than a half mile of each other - one opened half a century ago and the other dating back for over 700 years - have taken two of the three awards for the best kept cemeteries in the Nenagh-Newport area in the annual North Tipperary County Council awards.

The maintenance of both cemeteries is being handled by local committees who have been helped by the Community Employment Schemes under FAS in the restoration and upkeep of the graveyards.

It was the second year in successful for the overall award in the Nenagh-Newport are to be awarded to Rockvale Cemetery, Newport which was opened in the early 1950's and recently extended. In third place for the past year was the 700 year old cemetery at Kilnarath which has previously taken second and third places in the awards following the restoration of the cemetery in recent years.

The certificate presented to the committee of Rockvale Cemetery cited that the award was being presented for the extraordinary work of the committee in the upkeep of the cemetery which is a credit to their efforts as the best kept in Nenagh-Newport area.

The local committee have been working on the maintenance of Rockvale Cemetery for nearly a decade. Donal Meaney is chairman, Lizzie Coleman, secretary and Martin

Collins, Treasurer with committee members David Egan, John Joe Quigley, Michael Ryan, Gurtshane, Mary Ryan, Limerick Road, Mrs Buckley, Pat Coleman, P. J. O'Sullivan, and Martin Kennedy.

An annual church gate collection has helped to fund the purchase of the necessary equipment and materials and there is a small contribution towards the upkeep from North Tipperary County Council.

The general upkeep of the cemetery has been transformed since the committee took over the work, which initially involved the removal of a lot of waste material from the surround walls in particular. They have expressed their gratitude for the assistance which they have received through the Community Employment Schemes - FAS which has been a great help with the work.

Following the addition of the extension to the cemetery and the removal of the dividing wall the cemetery now covers a large area of ground and they are concerned for the future work load involve din the upkeep of the extended area.

Kilnarath

The graveyard at Kilnarath dates back to the 13th Century and is one of the oldest burial grounds in the area. The restoration of the ancient graveyard involved a lot of work in re-building the surround walls, raising headstones and a general clean up of the area. More than 100 tonnes of earth was brought into the cemetery to help to level the ground surrounding the former church ruins which had become very uneven. The committee is led by chairman, Ned Ryan, Cragg, and secretary P. J. O'Sullivan with committee members, Sean Ryan, Gurtshane, Oliver Russell, Jim Healy, John Ryan, and Michael Maunsell.

Secretary of the committee P. J. O'Sullivan said that a lot of work had to be put into the cemetery at Kilnarath to bring it to its present state. Because the cemetery is steeped in history they had also to be very careful to ensure that all the headstones were protected and inscriptions on stones in the cemetery were now covered.

YOUTH CLUB

Newport Youth Clubs will hold a table quiz at Ryan's Bar, Cork Road, Newport on this Thursday night commencing at 9.30 p.m. and all support will be appreciated.

CASSETTE

Casette's and CD's of 'Newport Town' by cousins Denis Ryan and Denis Carey are available in local shops in the town and a contribution from the local sales is going to the local Society St Vincent de Paul.

NEWPORT ICA

A demonstration of flower arranging with the Christmas theme will be given by Kimberley Fitzgerald, of Bluebells, organised by Newport ICA Guild will be held at St Joseph's College, Newport on Wednesday next December 4th commencing at 8 p.m.

CONCERT

The Francis Black concert at Newport has been provisionally arranged for Saturday January 11th - subject to confirmation.