This picture was taken by Damien Ahern earlier in the year when there was a heavy downpour, the ducks are not overly impressed and according to Damien’s Facebook comment they decided to leave the riverside and go to Batt’s for a few scoops!
Thank You
Just a note to say how delighted we are with the response to our September cinema day in honour of baby Brendan. We are thrilled to announce that we have raised €7,000 for the Jack and Jill Foundation and the Limerick neonatal fund. A big thank you to all who cycled, sponsored and donated money.
A special mention to our refreshment sponsors, Rose Enright’s shop, Athea. Supervalu and Dillane’s shop Abbeyfeale, Gallivan Kennedy Group and New Ireland assurance. Thanks to the hall committee for providing the venue. The money is to be shared equally between the two charities. It will provide vital neonatal equipment and home nursing care. So pat yourself on the back for providing babies and parents with more peaceful days and nights. We are so proud and humbled to be part of such a special community of people.
Annemarie, Maurice and Nancy Horgan.
Athea Community Games
The AGM of the Athea Community Games is taking place this Wednesday 9th at 8pm in the Community Hall. We welcome all parents as we get our year under way, last year saw great success with many of our children making it to the National finals in Athlone. There are a range of events that we compete in including athletics, swimming, art, basketball and gymnastics, but we would love to expand this to drama, dancing, draughts etc. It only takes a little time and the children benefit greatly, so please come along if you feel you can help out. Looking forward to seeing some new faces this Wednesday.
Thank You
Michael, Therese, Ella and the Ahern family would like to thank all those involved in the recent fundraising dance at the Top of the Town. A great night was had by all and your support was greatly appreciated.
Ireland 2016 Centenary Year Information Sought on Con Colbert
As part of Ireland 2016 Centenary Year, Limerick Genealogy is planning an exhibition on the family history of Con Colbert who was executed for his part in the Easter Rising.
Con Colbert was Captain of F Company, 4th Battalion of the Irish Volunteers. He was executed on the 8th May 1916 with Sean Heuston, Michael Mallin and Eamonn Ceannt. Cornelius Colbert was one of thirteen children born to Michael Colbert and Ann McDermot, in October 1888, in the parish of Mahoonagh and Castlemahon. When Con was around three years old, his father Michael moved the family back to Athea where Michael was born.
Limerick Genealogy is researching the Colbert family history in Limerick using genealogical and historical sources -and this will culminate in an exhibition on the family to be held in west Limerick.
Limerick Genealogy would welcome contact from anyone descending from the extended Colbert family and indeed from any persons with memories, memorabilia or photographs relating to the family.
For more information, please contact Catriona Crowe, Limerick Genealogy on 061 496542 or [email protected].
Who to believe…….
The topic all this week has been the summit on global warming and “saving the planet”. The major powers turned out in force including our own Taoiseach who as usual succeeded in speaking out of both sides of his mouth at the one time. On the one hand he promised that Ireland would play its part in reaching the targets set but on the other hand he pointed out that it would not be achievable. It is difficult to know what side to come down on. We would all like to see a cleaner, greener planet but at what cost? We could have it if we get rid of all the cattle who unfortunately fart methane gas, get rid of our cars and trucks or switch to electric ones (unfortunately the country is not equipped for that yet), change from oil and gas heating to coal and turf. Oh, hang on a minute, coal has been banned and in many parts of the country it is now illegal to cut turf so electricity is the answer but, wait, that is produced by some plants burning fossil fuels and that is no good for the environment so we forget about milk and beef, walk everywhere and freeze in the wintertime. Fat chance of that happening. Common sense has to prevail and a balance has to be struck. Are we really saying that a tiny island like Ireland has that many cattle that they upset the balance of nature? I sometimes get the impression that the so called “lovers of the earth” would like us all to go away and leave the countryside to the animals who seem to have far more rights than we have. Why should every species of being be preserved? Is it right or proper that the building of a motorway or by-pass be stopped because a rare form of snail has been found?. Would the world be so much worse off if that snail was to become extinct? I don’t think so. Castlegregory golf club has a nine whole course on the sea. There are a few lakes that are inhabited by a rare frog called the “Natter Jack Toad” which is a protected species. A couple of years ago they wanted to build an extra nine holes to make it an eighteen hole course and there was talks of them joining up with Doonbeg. This would have meant an influx of tourists to the area bringing much needed revenue. Work started but was soon brought to a halt because there might be a danger to the toad. This despite the fact that the proposed development was going nowhere near the lakes where the toad lives. There are several other instances of work being stopped all over the country because of snails, frogs, birds etc.
We had a struggle ourselves in this area as some people thought the windmills would interfere with the Hen Harrier. Imagine the chances of a bird with the best eyesight in the world flying into the slow-moving vanes of a windmill. If some people had their way Dinosaurs would still be roaming around!
Getting back to the cars and changing to electricity. The technology was there fifty years ago. All the milk floats in England were electric. They were charged overnight and had no problem keeping going for four or five hours. Likewise golf buggies have been powered by electricity for decades and they can keep going for eight or more hours. Why has there not been big developments in electric power since the middle of the last century. The answer is money, not the cost of producing them or developing charging points etc but the loss of revenue from the tax take on petrol and diesel. If we all changed to electric vehicles in the morning the economy would suffer badly so just like turkeys don’t vote for Christmas, governments are slow to get rid of such a cash cow. Eventually it will happen because there is not an infinite supply of oil and gas and wells will eventually go dry. In the meantime small steps are being taken but there aren’t enough charging points number one and number two, it takes too long to charge an electric car. It can take 30 to 40 minutes to fully charge a battery and if more than a few are waiting for the point one could have quite a delay. No doubt the boffins will eventually solve the problem. I think we will keep the cows for now. This country produces the highest quality milk and beef and we are opening up new markets all over the world every day. It is something we can be proud of and maybe we could find other ways of reducing the carbon footprint besides ruining half the population. We have the Atlantic ocean battering our western shores so why don’t we have it harnessed to produce electricity. When I was in Denmark for the first time I noticed a lot of windmills (this is before there was any talk of them around here) and I asked if they were powering the national grid. I was surprised to learn that Denmark buys its electricity from Sweden because it is cheaper than producing their own. Sweden uses tidal energy and produce far more than they need. If we developed tidal power along the western coast, not only would we have affordable electricity but we could export it to the UK and Europe. It also has the advantage of not being seen unlike the windmills that some people don’t like.
The experts have given their opinions. As usual they differ, some saying that global warming is caused by us, others that it is not unusual and the world has gone through many changes before we ever had the means to pollute anything. Who to believe?…….take your pick
Domhnall de Barra