By Kathleen Mullane

“Well Done To All” 

Congrats and well done to the U11s basketball team who, on Sunday last, travelled to Dromcollogher where they took part in the Community Games competition and came away in 2nd place in the County and getting silver medals – indeed an achievement.

Then on Monday evening the girls made up for their defeat in the Killarney ‘Super 7’ competition by winning the “division 2” schools competition.

On Sunday night the Athea Junior B team beat Glin in Ballyhahill on a scoreline of (0-7) to (0-5).

Incidentally it’s great to see the Athea teams receiving good support now at their games and the players feel ‘urged on’ by this support. Also the gym section up at the GAA Clubhouse is being well used by the players and the equipment that was donated was most welcome. I’m sure all further equipment not wanted by parishioners would be gratefully accepted by the club.

You might be wondering why I’m praising all the sporting activities in our parish. Well, on Thursday night last Tarbert Comprehensive held their annual Awards Night which was attended by parents, students, and dignitaries alike. From a small place like Athea it was brilliant and heartwarming to see the many Athea students who received awards on the night and our parish was very well represented in soccer, football, rugby, basketball and the transition year students who received their Gaisce Awards-having walked many kilometers in the Black Valley in Killarney as part of their trials. This shows that the benefit of having our great Sports Hall, our fine GAA pitch and of course ‘The Vales’ soccer pitch, have brought out the best in our young people in the sporting and fitness side of things! And not forgetting the volunteers who spend many hours of their own time training and managing the various teams.

Another sport I must mention now that many have taking up cycling – in particular our younger boys and girls. Safety on our roads is so important and sometimes they take their bikes without helmets and high-viz jackets. My own daughter Michelle Curry, who is the Road Safety Education Officer with Kerry County Council has asked me to mention that if anyone needs a high-viz jacket, she can provide same free of charge and with so many fatalities and accidents with bikes now on our roads it’s imperative to be safe always.