Domhnball de Barra, 2015 Captain, Castleisland Members Golf Club, at the Captain’s Drive-in last Sunday morning. The Club has succeeded in raising the necessary finance, through the generous donations of the members, and is now up and running and looking forward to a good year. New members are especially welcome at  €350 for the first year. If five join together the cost is €1,500, a further saving of €50 per member. Pavilion membership is also available  at €100,  For further information contact Domhnall on   087 6758762

Domhnball de Barra, 2015 Captain, Castleisland Members Golf Club, at the Captain’s Drive-in last Sunday morning. The Club has succeeded in raising the necessary finance, through the generous donations of the members, and is now up and running and looking forward to a good year. New members are especially welcome at €350 for the first year. If five join together the cost is €1,500, a further saving of €50 per member. Pavilion membership is also available at €100, For further information contact Domhnall on 087 6758762

Community Alert Meeting

A public meeting will be held in the Community Hall (Kitchen) tonight Wednesday Feb. 4th at 7pm re: Community Alert Texting. It will be chaired by Diarmuid Cronin from  Muintir na Tíre. It is hoped that a good crowd will attend.

Athea Drama Group

Presents the hilarious comedy ‘It’s The Real McCoy’ in Con Colbert Memorial Hall, Athea starting on this Thursday, February 5th,  and continuing  on Sat. 7th, Sun. 8th, Thurs. 12th, Sat. 14th & Sun. 15th  The play starts at 8pm with doors open at 7.30pm.

A combination of high drama and amazing Irish wit – ‘It’s The Real McCoy’ is not to be missed!

Afternoon Tea Dance

An afternoon tea dance will take place in Fr, Casey’s Clubhouse, Abbeyfeale on Sunday, February 8 from 3-6pm with music by Mike Condon.  Teas will be served and a raffle will be held.  All proceeds will go to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

“Grandparents Day”

Last Friday, on the insistence of my two granddaughters, I attended Grandparents Day at the Gael Scoil in Newcastle West. I didn’t know what exactly to expect but when I arrived the hall was full of people like myself. The children were up by the stage and sang beautifully during the opening prayers and readings and there was an exhibition of step dancing, sean nós, set dancing, hip hop, a beautiful rendition from the school choir and a large group of traditional musicians gave a flawless recital. Then the principal, Kathleen Shanahan from Athea, welcomed us all and did a wonderful slide show of what grandparents are and do. I was delighted to find out that I identified with each funny slide  telling us how much we spoil our grandchildren such as; giving them treats they would not be allowed at home, allowing them to stay up late and watch TV, filling them with sugar and generally letting them get away with behaviour that would not be tolerated by their parents. There were little snippets like “grandparents have silver in their hair and gold in their hearts” tempered by “grandchildren for a couple of hours make you feel younger; any more than that makes you feel older.” It got me thinking about my own grandparents or rather the lack of them. I really knew only one grandparent, my mother’s mother who was always with us. My grandfather, Dan Harnett died before I was born and my father’s parents lived in Brosna so we only saw them when we visited and didn’t really have a chance to develop a relationship with them. That did not stop my grandmother Hannah, or Nana Barry as we used to call her, spoiling us. She had a shop at what is now known as Barry’s Cross in Two Gneeves and as soon as we arrived she would go into the shop and come back with Goggins lemonade and Polo biscuits, treats we were only used to at Christmas and very special occasions. I can clearly remember trying to make the bottle of lemonade last as long as possible by taking tiny sips near the end and sometimes letting the lemonade flow back into the bottle again and again. My grandfather Garret, died at the relatively young age of 65 when I was a young teenager. At home Nana Harnett looked after us and used to slip us sweets and stuff behind my mother’s back. She used to give me the odd Woodbine when I started smoking, before my parents ever found out. It would be frowned on today but back then smoking was not thought to be dangerous, on the contrary it was recommended to make you relax and relieve stress. All the film stars and sports people of the day smoked. She always had good advice to give and we went to her with all our troubles.

Today I thank God for the gift of our grandchildren and the opportunity to watch them grow and of course to spoil them rotten. During Parents Day a lot was said about love and the importance of hugs and kisses. We should never miss an opportunity to tell someone we love how we feel because there is no feeling better than that of being loved. It is especially important to young people who need their confidence boosting as much as possible. So, after a cup of tea and a selection of delectable cakes, I came away from the school in Newcastle in a very happy mood and looking forward to spending more time with my eight grandchildren in the future.

We get the best of them because when the going gets tough we can always send them home!

Domhnall de Barra