Pupils Lauren Healy and Padraig McMahon raising the flag on Proclamation Day at Athea National School

Pupils from Athea National School holding the present day Proclamation which they composed for 2016

Team Limerick Cleanup  

Athea Tidy Towns in conjunction with Team Limerick Cleanup are holding a massive clean upon Friday 25th March 2016 .Volunteers in all our townlands are encouraged to participate. Refuse bags and pickers will be provided. We would much appreciate your support to make our parish a litter free area.

If interested please contact one of the following: Damien Ahern, Margaret Scanlon or Eileen O Sullivan

ATHEA TIDY TOWNS FUNDRAISING FASHION SHOW

Dedicated followers of fashion will be in for a real treat later this month as the Athea Tidy Towns Group hosts another fundraising fashion show to aid of their vital work in the village. A highlight of the social calendar in Athea in previous years, this year’s show has been set for Thursday, March 31st at 8pm with the Con Colbert Hall once again providing the perfect setting for the event. The show itself will showcase the latest trends (Men’s, Women’s and Children’s) from all the top boutiques from West Limerick and North Kerry and will be preceded by a cheese and wine reception. Judges will also be on the lookout for the best dressed lady on the night with some lovely prizes up for grabs.
Tickets are now on sale at Brouder’s Shop, Athea Credit Union, and Collins’ Shop Athea and are priced at just €10.

Characters (continued) 

Last week I wrote about the “characters” in Irish life that enriched our lives so much but now seem to have disappeared. One such man was Con Curtin from Brosna. Con, or “Coneen Jack Maurice” as he was known locally, lived up the road from my father’s house about two miles on the Castleisland side of Brosna near a well known place called the “Black Banks”. Like many more good men at the time Con took the emigrant ship and worked for years in London. He worked hard and made a name for himself ending up with a good job as foreman in one of the tunnels that were being built at the time. Working in the tunnels was probably one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs at the time but the rewards were good as the wages were roughly twice what could be earned above ground. Con eventually became the owner of a pub in South London called “The Big Balloon”. As he was a well known and respected fiddle player the pub soon became a Mecca for traditional musicians both from around London and those visiting. The middle of the last century was a great time for traditional music, particularly in London so the place was alive most weekends. Con was a very witty man who had a ready answer for every occasion. One Sunday morning, a few of us were in the bar trying to cure ourselves after a mighty session the night before, when a dapper little gentleman came in the door, took off his overcoat and hung it up. We could see he was an ex serviceman who had made a mistake and come in the wrong door. The British Legion Club was just next door. As he made his way into the gloomy bar he realised his mistake but, not wanting to lose face, stopped just for a moment and then said to Con, “’alf a bitter please guv’nor”. He went down the bar to a high stool, took his handkerchief from his top pocket and proceeded to wipe the seat of the stool. He was just about to sit down when Con, who had been eyeing him out of the corner of his eye while filling the “’alf” of bitter, said, “my dear and decent boy, will you do me one favour before you sit on that stool?”   “W’ats that mate” said the bemused visitor to which Con replied “will you take out that handkerchief again and give one wipe to the arse of your trousers.”  The poor man didn’t know whether Con was in earnest or joking but he did as he was asked, to our great amusement, finished his drink in one gulp and got out of there as fast as he could. Con was a good musician with a great repertoire of tunes. He was also an adjudicator who was very unpredictable when it came to comments on the performances of the musicians before him. On one occasion he was judging an underage competition. A young boy who was just beginning gave a typical scratchy performance on the fiddle and of course did not figure among the winners. Afterwards his mother approached Con and asked him what he thought of her son. “Well”, said Con, “I’ll tell you one thing and I won’t be contradicted. He is the nearest thing to a fiddle player I ever heard”. The poor woman went away happy not realising what he had really meant. Another time he was commenting on the performance of a fiddle player who could only be described as flamboyant. He had put in lots of ornamentation and embellishments and expected to win easily. Con, however, had other ideas. “This man has great ability”, he said, “and I have one bit of advice for him. Put in the bits you left out and leave out the bits you put in and you will go far”. Later on in life Con came back to Brosna and opened a pub there as well. By this time he had quite a reputation and players came from all over the country to play in his establishment. One night the great Frankie Gavin was in the pub playing a few tunes when Con, who had been across the square in Flanagan’s Bar, came in and asked Frankie “what’s your name boy” “Ah Con sure you know me” said Frankie. “If I did”, said Con, “I wouldn’t be asking you”. I’m Frankie Gavin”, he said to which Con replied, “ah no, I have a record of that man inside and he is a good fiddle player’”  It took a while before Frankie realised his leg was being pulled. I knew Con well and had many a session with him. Behind the rough exterior he was a very intelligent man, a fine musician and a character who will never be replaced. May he rest in peace.

Domhnall de Barra