Summer sun shines on first fair in Summerhill

With glorious sunshine on Sunday afternoon, Summerhill's first Fair Day was a tremendous success and a wonderful community family day out. The event was organised by the Summerhill Community Centre Committee who also held the 'Wild Rose of Summerhill' competition the previous evening. The 'alternative' beauty competition saw six local men dress up as lovely ladies and take to the stage in the community centre as they attempted to woo the judges with their antics to be crowned the first 'Wild Rose of Summerhill'. The popular winner on the night was Dan Larkin, representing Shaws, who impressed the judges with his Britney Spears persona. In second place was Nigel Brennan representing Castlelawns, who entered as Victoria Beckham. Third place went to Frankie Horan representing Diceys, who took to the stage as Corrie favourite Audrey Roberts. The other competitors were Owen Burke as Biddy from Glenroe who entered representing Macra; Mark Lynch as Carol from Fair City representing Centra and Gabriel Costello as Tracy Piggott, representing Kiltale Club House. A huge crowd filled the community centre and secretary Bernadette Gannon said the event was "hilarious" and that "everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves". The MC on the night was Sean Mahon and the judges, who had the hard task of selecting the winner, were Terry Martin, Nancy D'Arcy, Lynn Elliott and Mattie Kerrigan. All funds raised from the event go towards the fund to install a new lift in the Community Centre for the elderly and disabled. The newly crowned "Wild Rose", Dan Larkin, opened the Fair at 2pm. The activities took place on the Village Green and there was music throughout the day by Paul McDonagh's band. The wonderful sunshine ensured a large turnout and the Village Green came alive as locals enjoyed a picnic, listened to the music and enjoyed the dancing displays and stalls. The event was organised as a community day out and there was no admission charge and parking was also free. The community enjoyed wonderful displays of Irish dancing from the Coole School and also joined in the set dancing. For the children, there were bouncing castles, stomp rockets and face painting. There were artists and stands from local groups including St Vincent De Paul and the Third Age Centre and the local waterski and water boarding club, which is located close to the Shanks Mare, had their power boat on show. There were also plenty of vintage tractors on display thanks to the local vintage club. The ice-cream stand was in great demand the chip van and coffee stall also had plenty of business. Ms Gannon said: "The day was very well supported and it was a fantastic day out for families. There was everyone from young babies and children to older people, sitting on the grass enjoying picnics. There was a great turn out from the community and everyone had a great day. The village was hopping." The event was a great success thanks to the dedicated committee who have been busy planning the Fair Day and rose competition for the past two months, and also thanks to the great support from the local community. The committee is hoping to make the fair day an annual event and are looking forward to next year already. "We want it to be an annual event, It really brings the community together and we plan to make it an annual event. The object was for the community to have a fantastic fun family day out." The committee of Summerhill Community Centre would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made the weekend so successful. To the sponsors Summerhill Beauty Rooms, Auto Glynn, Castlelawns Residents Association, Centra Summerhill, Glynn Diceys, Paul Fay, Kiltale GAA, Body & Soul, Meath Macra, John Hussey Butchers, Summerhill Pharmacy, Macari's, Whispers Hair Salon, Vincent Nangle, Shaws, Posh Frocks, Flynns Nursery, Mary Mulvey, Cribbin's Instant Lawns, Ger Gannon, Summerhill GAA, Tidy Towns, Paul McDonald and his band, the Irish Dancers from Coole School, the set dancers and all the stall holders. Thanks also to the rose entrants, judges and host. See also www.summerhillcc.net.