Neddie and Hilda Hunt with their grandchildren, Bríd, Eimear, Ciaran and Molly at Athea National School Grandparents Day

Seamus McNamara presenting Matthew Tierney with his medal at the GAA Medal Presentation night at the Top of the Town

Happy New Year to All

Athea GAA Annual General Meeting

Our 2015 AGM will be held in the Clubhouse this Saturday January 9th 2016 at 9pm. All Members are welcome to attend.

Church Gate Collection

Athea Ladies Football Club Church Gate Collection is on Saturday the 16th and Sun the 17th of January.
AGM

We are holding our AGM in the club house on Saturday evening the 16th of January at 5.45pm. It is very important that all players, mentors and members attend and anyone new that would like to play or get involved in Athea Ladies Football Club are also always welcome.

Crumlin and the Ronald McDonald House  

This week end gone we had a church gate collection for the Ronald McDonald House Charity which is based on the grounds of Crumlin Hospital. The Ronald McDonald house provides accommodation in a caring and supportive environment for the parents of sick children in the kids hospital with self contained housing units.

Running costs annually are €400,000 and the money raised this week end €711.73 will be donated towards the running costs of the house. In 2015 three families in our community availed of this wonderful service, the Hickey, Reidy and Ahern families and they would like to say thank you to everyone who supported this worthy charity so generously.

It All Starts Again

Another year gone and a new one begun. At this time of year we all promise ourselves to live better lives, give up fags or drink, take more exercise, eat healthier food etc, etc.  The vast majority of us will fall at the first hurdle and pretty soon will be back to our old habits. We mustn’t be too hard on ourselves if and when we fail; our wish to change is just a reaction to the overindulgence of the festive period. It is not natural for most of us to sit around day after day, eating and drinking too much. Yes, it is nice for a little while but pretty soon we begin to miss the routine of the working day and hanker to “get back no normal”. What is it all about anyway? For the past three months, at least, we have been inundated with ads for all kinds of Christmas fare and as we got closer to the day the shopping frenzy intensified. I had the misfortune to have to buy a few last minute items on Christmas Eve. It was unreal. Trying to park the car was the first problem before joining the scrum in the aisles. It took me ages to get what I wanted and then queued for the best part of an hour while trolleys piled high with food were checked and paid for. One would think the shops weren’t going to open again for a month. I was getting a bit agitated until I noticed that people were actually being nice to each other, wishing each other happy Christmas and enquiring about the family members coming home. I relaxed and joined in the merriment realising that this was the true spirit of Christmas. I really enjoyed my own Christmas. Of course I made the usual pig of myself but I will have plenty of time to work the extra few pounds off. The real joy of it all was the family time. We went to the grandchildren on Christmas morning  and it was worth anything to see the joy on their faces as they proudly displayed what they had received from Santa. They were also very proud to give us our presents. We went home for the dinner and that evening we had another family gathering, this time with Noreen’s extended family at Josephine and James O’Connor’s house in Gortnagross. What a night of music and song made special by the visit of the Athea Wrenboys who stayed and entertained us for over an hour. Everyone was in high spirits and there was a real feeling of warmth in the room. It brought home to me how important family really is and how futile it is to fall out with each other as we do from time to time. Most family rows begin over something small and escalate to the point where people feel they cannot back down without losing face. If I had any advice for the future it would be this; if you are not talking to some member of your family or a near neighbour, make the effort in 2016. Someone has to make the first move and there is nothing that cannot be put right. The act of forgiveness is a blessing in itself and releases us from the mental anguish that goes with animosity of any kind. What I am really trying to say is; would it be possible to extend the feelings of love and friendliness that we experience at Christmas to the rest of the year? If we could wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing and our lives would be so much more enriched.

Finally, this week, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers all the very best in 2016. I have a feeling that we have turned the corner and that employment will pick up in the near future. I look forward to the return of many who now make their living in Australia, Canada and other places. There really is no place like home.

P.S. Only just over 11 months to Christmas!!!.

Domhnall de Barra