Some of the group in Lourdes with the Limerick Diocesan Pilgrimage. Joan Manaher, Clodagh Histon, Agatha Barrett, Kathleen Mullane, Nicole O’Sullivan, Nicole Fitzgerald
Colbert Community Hall
Church Gate Collection
This weekend Saturday 8th/Sunday 9th July before both masses. Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Athea Day Trip
This year’s day trip will take place on Wednesday, July 12th. Venue: Japanese Gardens and National Stud, Kildare.
Bus leaving Newcastle West at 7.15am via Templeglantine, Abbeyfeale, Athea (8 o’clock) on to Carrigkerry, Ardagh, Rathkeale, Adare, South Court Hotel. For more information contact
Marie 087-7674832, Joan 087-9865005
Sacristan’s Collection
The Sacristan’s collection for Ann & Carol will take place on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd of July. Envelopes can be got in the church. Your support is appreciated.
Trip to Knock
Bus going to Knock on Thursday, July 27th (Mullane’s Coach). Fare: Adults €20, children €5. Names and fare can be handed in to Rose’s Shop. Book now to secure your place.
Charity Walk
A charity walk in aid of Children’s Cancer charity Aoibheann’s Pink Tie will take place on Sunday July 9th on Ballybunion Beach at 1 pm sharp. Registration from 12 noon, with balloon release at 12.45 pm. Everybody welcome.
They Made a Difference
Domhnall de Barra
I started to fill this part of the newsletter when Pat Brosnan, R..I.P., passed away. Pat had been with us from the time the first issue was published and he never failed to have his hand-written copy with us well before the deadline. In his “corner” he covered many different topics from rural affairs to politics and the local news. Pat was not just a writer but a poet and a great composer. He wrote songs and poems about local places, events and kept us abreast of all the changes with songs like “The New Turf Machine”.
They say you never miss the water ‘till the well runs dry and there is no truer saying. But it isn’t just Pat we are missing. Most of the local poets, playwrights, songwriters and other wordsmiths who have passed on are not being replaced. There aren’t any young people following in their footsteps and I am fearful that there never will be.
The beauty of language is most evident in poetic form and this part of the country was blessed with a variety of poets, ballad-makers and rhymers. Dan Keane, from just over the Kerry border, also passed away in the last few years. Dan had the ability to compose verse at will. He was very fond of Athea and spent many years going around the parish collecting insurance. Dan could come into a house, have a cup of tea and a bite to eat and then fall asleep in the chair for a while. On waking he might take out his pen and write a couple of verses in praise of the food he had received or some member of the household. He was very witty and has left us some wonderful books to remember him by. But he wasn’t just a poet, he also produced two very scholarly works, one called “Around Athea” in which he named all the townlands and gave the Irish versions of the titles and their meaning. One might think this was a huge task but he did the same for all North Kerry. These should be studied by children in all the local schools.
Paddy Faley has also gone to his eternal reward. Paddy kept us entertained for years with his poems and recitations. No local variety concert was complete without a turn from Paddy. His verses are most important as they represent his own area at a particular time in history. His ability to make us laugh will always be remembered. His daughter, Peg Prendeville, is keeping up the writing tradition and we are lucky that she does a column in this newsletter every week bringing us all the latest in the Knockdown area.