by Kathleen Mullane

Athea will be the “Hive of Activity” on Sunday morning next April 29^th as cyclists gather at the Colbert Memorial Hall at 9.30am with a departure time of 11am to take part in the Limerick Kerry Charity Cycle. This is a great fundraiser for the Brothers of Charity in both Listowel and Newcastle West. Residents and visitors are asked to note that there will be an increase of both traffic and cyclists in the area and also you are asked to keep dogs under control. Hopefully the cycle will be accident free with nice, dry weather. Be out to cheer them en route.

Happy 21^st Birthday wishes go to Darren Murphy of Dirreen (son of Noreen and Denis) who celebrated at The Top of the Town on Saturday night last along with family and friends. A great night was enjoyed by all.

Well done to the U-19’s Athea United Soccer team who on Saturday last took on Rathkeale in Clounreask in the Desmond League U-19 Shield final.  It had to go to extra time, as there was no score at full time and in the final 15 minutes United scored no less than 3 goals. Great excitement all round.

Maurice Moore once again ‘came up trumps’ this year in  Art in the Community Games – he got a Gold Medal in the U-14 in the County – Maurice is grandson of Nancy and Timmy Woulfe, congratulations are sent to him, no doubt proud  parents and grandparents.

Sincere sympathy is extended to the Reidy family on the recent death of Kathleen, Upper Athea. Kathleen loved her game of cards and was gifted with her hands, following the family tradition of upholstery. She will be sadly missed by her family. ‘May she rest in peace’

It’s great to see that there’s an attempt being made to reintroduce the Tidy Towns Group again. As I’ve said before the FAS workers can only do so much and if we hadn’t them the place wouldn’t look as neat and tidy as it does. We should be especially proud of our Graveyards and the way they are kept. There are so many unemployed now with so much time at hand that they may enjoy joining a Tidy Towns Group, and help out with a bit of weeding , planting of flowers, painting, washing etc. It would be nice to have our little village with hanging-baskets etc. And with enough ‘doom and gloom’ about it would bring ‘a bit of sunshine’ into everyone’s lives. So give Lal Browne a call if you’re interested in helping out.

Well done to the Athea U-12’s and U-16’s girls who won their games in Banogue and Ballyhahill, respectively last week and on Monday night. We also thank the parents who transported the U-12 team.

Maggie Large, Fitness Instructor, will commence classes in Ceol Cobraí, Glin on May 1^st at 7.30pm for 8 weeks. All are welcome for a great workout.