Scéal has been VERY quiet recently hasn't it? Well here's the main reason why. We have been VERY busy putting together a Centennial Cookbook for the Auckland Irish Community. The book will be fresh off the printing press in early December and on sale from the Auckland Irish Society on the 11th of December... just in time for Christmas!

ALL proceeds go to the Auckland Irish Welfare Fund (a very worthy cause!) and the book is retailing at $35. Sceal has transferred all copyright and ownership to the Welfare Fund so the book is now entirely theirs! - we're nice like that

We're looking at a full colour, fully bound 140 page book here, and it's jam packed full of Traditional (and some not so traditional) Irish recipes - but more than that, we've removed most of the pictures of food (yawn boring!) and replaced them with images, stories and songs of the Irish community spanning 80 years!

Thanks to DF for posting this onto youtube for us.

Here's the Irish team leaving the hotel for the match.. Wishing I was there.... again.

Get off yer ar5es and support the IRFU Charitable Trust Cycle and Walk in New Zealand with Mick Galwey and Mick Quinn (former Ireland International Rugby players) raising funds for the IRFU Charitable Trust – supporting seriously injured rugby players

Given the Craic that is the RWC - it'd be a great way to put something back into a great Rugby cause - and a great way to earn some brownie points from Himself upstairs - the 15th of Oct is the day before the Irish Semi Final (no offence Wales )

Here's the Itinerary

Fri, 30 Sept - cycle Naseby to Middlemarch

Sat, 1 Oct - cycle Middlemarch to Dunedin

Tue, 11 Oct - walk Queenstown - 10.00am start from the Copthorne Hotel around the lake out to the Golf Club and back

Sat, 15 Oct - walk Auckland – 10.00am start from Ferry Building, Quay St, to St Heliers Bay and back

Tue, 18 Oct - walk Tauranga – 10.00am start from Armitage Hotel around the lake and out to Mt Maunganui

From Leonie Keane (one of this year's Auckland Rose of Tralee contestants)

We’re having a Traditional Irish Session in Onehunga Main Street Bar on Thursday the 15th of September in aid of Hospice NZ.

Details on the main musician Richie Keane are below;

Onehunga is host to the Irish team during the Rugby World Cup, and we are pleased to have Richie Keane all the way from Limerick performing traditional Irish music .

Richie Keane’s musical success as a solo artist and guitarist and part of a traditional band has won him critical acclaim both in Ireland and overseas. He has sold over 10,000 C.D’s and has played around the world including in front of over 30,000 at Boston’s St Patrick’s Day Festival.

Help support Mercy Hospice in conjunction with House of Travel Ellerslie with a donation towards this cause and enjoy a night of great musical talent

I would appreciate it if you could circulate this within your group. I know it's quite short notice but the more the merrier!