Noel Ambrose, winner of the Long Tail competition on Sunday last, accepting the cup from Ned Mahony & Jerry Brouder, Athea Gun Club
Congratulations to Dr Johathan Quille who graduated recently with a P.H.D in Chemistry at U.C.C
Athea GAA Pitch after being drained, levelled & re-seeded.
Athea Fair Day
The Fair takes place on this coming Saturday, November 7th. As usual the village will be buzzing with the stalls, horses, ponies, donkeys, fowl etc. The fair is always a very enjoyable and sociable occasion so we hope that the weather will be kind on the day and that people will come to the village in their droves.
Noonan’s Christmas Lights Fundraiser
A fundraiser will be held at the Top of the Town, Athea this Saturday, November 7th with music by Paddy Quilligan, there will be complimentary food and spot prizes and all funds will go to the charities that Noonan’s Lights support. All welcome.
Going Strong Collection
The annual Church gate collection will take place this weekend, November 7th/8th. at all Masses.
The Christmas party will take place on Wednesday, December 9th. Dinner at 1.30pm with music after by Blue Rhythm. €10 per person for dinner and entertainment, numerous spot prizes on the day. Names to be handed in to Rose at Brouder’s Shop or Peggy Casey before December 1st.
Car Boot Sale
There is a car boot / table sale on this Saturday, 7th November, the day of the Athea Fair, at the Con Colbert Community Hall. Tables €5, Cars €5, Vans €10. Doors open to sellers at 8.30am and open to the public at 9.30am. For further information contact 086 2247408
Athea Graveyards Collection
Thank you to all who so generously donated to the graveyards collection at the weekend. The total received was €2,329.30. Thanks also to the collectors for both masses.
Gerry Adams TD unveils Con Colbert Monument in Athea
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD visited Athea on Saturday where he unveiled a new monument to 1916 hero Con Colbert. Mr Adams was welcomed to the town by Cllr Seamus Browne who is the party’s candidate in County Limerick for the forthcoming General Election.
Speaking at the unveiling, Deputy Adams said;
“I am very honoured to be here for the unveiling of this monument to Con Colbert and all those who have died in the cause of Irish freedom.
“I want to thank the organisers for the invitation and to extend a very special welcome to Con Colbert’s relatives who are here with us and to Con’s great-niece Aida Colbert-Lennon for the unveiling.
“It is very, very important that Irish citizens remember and honour women and men like Con Colbert and I want to commend the local Committee for leading the way here in County Limerick with this monument.
“The 1916 Rising in which Con played such a valiant role was a proud and momentous event in the history of the Irish nation.
“Despite what some of our political opponents have recently tried to claim, Sinn Féin has never tried to ‘claim ownership of 1916’.
”Instead we have sought to popularise the centenary and place the message of the 1916 Proclamation at the centre of commemorative events.
”Some in the political establishment don’t want to talk about the republican and egalitarian message of the Proclamation. This reluctance has been reflected in their approach to marking the Centenary of the Rising. From the initial shambolic launch of its commemorative programme, the Government has been playing catch-up with popular opinion on this issue.
”At every stage they have sought to sanitise and de-politicise the events of Easter Week.
They have refused to agree to the request from Sinn Féin for a public holiday to mark this momentous event in our history.
We must be one of the few countries in the world not to have a day which is a celebration of nationhood and the sacrifices of those who struggled for independence.
”But the Centenary will be marked by Irish people next year through popular events at home and abroad and Sinn Féin will be part of that.”
1916 Proclamation
Speaking following the unveiling, Cllr Seamus Browne added;
“Sinn Féin is firmly wedded to the politics espoused in the Proclamation and the ideals that inspired Con Colbert.
“In the Ireland of today, that means ending the marginalisation of rural Ireland, tackling the housing crisis, and protecting our vital public services. Sinn Féin wants to see an Ireland in which all children are equally cherished and not left to face lives of poverty and deprivation.
“However, realising that vision means making very different choices to ones made by governments over the past four and a half years.”
A Costly Mistake
I spent the past week in England, visiting friends and relations, mainly in Liverpool, Wigan and Coventry. Searching for the cheapest option I flew to Manchester from Shannon with Ryanair and hired a car at the airport. It was a cheaper option than taking my own car on the ferry, or so I thought !. The first hike in price came when I found out we didn’t have enough space in two cabin bags and had to book in a suitcase. That was an extra €20. I thought that wasn’t too bad until I found out it was €20 each way. I had made a deal on the internet for the car but when I went to pick it up there was an extra €110 for insurance. Then there was fuel. If I pre-paid for a full tank I would get it cheaper but if I didn’t I would be charged €2 a litre to top it up on return – caught again. I spent the first night in Liverpool and then drove to Coventry the following morning. I used to drive for a living in England back in the sixties but, despite the improved motorway network, it was a nightmare coping with the traffic. All three, and sometimes four, lanes on the motorway were bumper to bumper and it was stop-go all the way. You could drive at 70 miles an hour for about 15 minutes and then crawl for the next half an hour. You couldn’t relax for a second as cars and trucks in front might suddenly brake or try to change lanes in a hurry. Anyway I persevered and managed to get where I wanted to and had a great time talking about the old days and visiting places where I had lived fifty years ago. Things were going smoothly until it came to coming home. I had in my mind that we were due to leave Manchester airport at 6.55 on Saturday evening so we were killing time in Liverpool when I looked at the ticket to see what terminal we were flying from. To my horror I realised that I was looking at 06.30 departure time which wasn’t in the evening at all (that would have been 18.55, not 06.55) and the flight was well gone. I have never felt so stupid in all my life and if I had the ability to kick my own backside I would have done so. What to do next! The car had to go back to Manchester so getting a flight from Liverpool was out of the question, even if there was one available so there was nothing for it but to go to Manchester Airport and go on standby . The next available flight to Shannon was not until Monday morning so that was out of the question. There were few options but we eventually got on a flight to Dublin that night but because it was too late to book on line we had to pay emergency excess which brought the total price for two tickets to €601.03. It was take it or leave it so we did not have a choice. We had to make our way from Dublin airport to Heuston station and get the last train to Limerick where my daughter Bríd met us and took us to Shannon where my jeep was parked. We eventually got home 14 hours after going to Manchester airport. So the next time you read about the bargains to be had from Ryanair, make sure you study your times, travel with little or no luggage and do so in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t mind paying the same money as before, or even double that, for the missed flight but to hike it up to over €600 is just daylight robbery. Should have gone to Specsavers !
Now that Halloween is out of the way the countdown to Christmas is really under way. How did Halloween become so popular ? In our young days it was known as “snap apple night”. An apple would be hung on a piece of string and we had to try and bite it with our hands tied behind our backs. Sounds easy enough until you try it. The apple had a habit of swinging away from you and hitting you in the face on return. Another game was trying to retrieve money from a basin of water with our teeth. Again not as easy as it sounds and we usually ended up soaked from the water and bruised from the apple. A Halloween brack was always bought and would be cut on the night. Each person got a slice and if you were lucky enough you got the ring which was hidden somewhere inside. The ring meant you were going to be married. We dreaded getting the piece of wood which was the sign of death. There was also a pea but I can’t remember what that was for. There was no trick or treating and no bonfires lit. I remember on one occasion my aunt Lizzy coming home from England and bringing fireworks with her. We had never seen anything like it before and were fascinated by the sparklers and rockets with their cascading lights. The kids have a great time now dressing up in all kinds of scary costumes and going from door to door collection sweets. In recent years the adults have got into the act with Halloween costume parties. It is all a bit of fun and something to look forward to in the fall of the year. Now for Christmas, if I can afford it after my trip to England!
Domhnall de Barra