Jason Lynch with his family

Jason Lynch with Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton

Athea Student Leads the  World in Exam Results

Athea student, Jason Lynch (pictured right with family) has come first in the world out of over 14,800 students in the Association of Chartered Accountants Business Analysis Exam. Jason, has just completed his final Auditing exam (P7) this month and, if successful, will apply for full ACCA membership in September – making him one of the youngest ever accredited members at the annual New Member’s Ceremony in October. Jason was in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin to be presented with his award by Minister Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Education and Skills at an ACCA Business Breakfast.

When asked about his achievement Jason said, “Business and accounting always came naturally to me and perhaps more importantly, I’ve always enjoyed it. People sometimes don’t realise the rewarding nature of being able to help small and small and medium business owners with the minutia of accountancy – give professional advice and see the positive impact it has on their finances and their life. There is a considerable people element to the field that I think a lot of people overlook and that’s what’s always interested me most about it.”

At the event fellow Limerick native and Chair of ACCA Ireland, Stephen O’ Flaherty noted, “Jason’s achievements have impressed everyone here at ACCA. It is an incredible achievement for Jason and bodes well for the industry in Ireland to have such talented and committed people entering accountancy. The fact that Jason has the potential to be one of the youngest ever accredited accountants only adds to his accomplishments.”

“Our focus at ACCA has always been to equip our 200,000 fully qualified members and 486,000 students worldwide with the skillset, ethics and leadership to support dynamic and changing workplaces. Jason represents the latest consignment of young Accountants who will soon be impacting on Irish and global business and that is something to be excited about.”

Athea Annual Outing

The annual outing will take place on Tuesday July 17th. The venue is Carlow. For more information contact Marie Wrenn on 087 7674832 or Joan Fitzgibbon on 087 9865005

Dance the night away on July 6^th

A Fundraising dance will take place in Fr Casey’s Club House Abbeyfeale on Friday Night July 6^th 2018 in aid of the Kerry/Cork/Limerick Cancer Health link Bus. Music is to the Premier Blue Boys with special guests Mike Mini Moore McCarthy, Marian Kirby, the Diamond Sisters, Sister Norah Hickey. Dancing is from 9pm to 1am. Finger food will be served and a raffle will take place. For more details contact Benny Thade McCarthy on 0879918546

2018 – Danaher McGrath Trust Scholarship

The Trust is making a number of scholarships available to students of the parishes of Athea, Abbeyfeale, Mountcollins, Tournafulla and Templeglantine for studies at third level.

The student must be of limited means. There will be a number of scholarships available each year.

Application forms available at Athea & District Credit Union.

More ramblings from yesteryear 

By Domhnall de Barra 

I write a lot about the past, mainly because I remember it with great fondness and I miss the very simplicity of the times and the wonderful nature of the people. Long ago we really had communities that cared for each other. You might not think it at times if you overheard a discussion  but, even though we loved to talk about the neighbours, when anybody was in trouble everybody rallied around. I noticed this very early in life because my father had two best friends, Con “Pete” Broderick and Willie Healy. Con came to our house rambling at night, as was the custom at the time, and all the local news was trashed out. Then the two of them would talk about “Healy” and find great fault with him. When my father met with Willie – they were great drinking buddies – the subject would turn to Con Pete and the laugh would be on him and, although I was never privy to a conversation between Con and Willie, who met every morning at the creamery, I’m sure they spoke about “Barry” in the same way. Despite this they were the very best of friends and would do anything for each other.

Times were tough in the middle of the last century after the second world war and Ireland trying to find her feet as a new nation. There was very little money about and even big farmers were put to the pin of their collar to survive. Labourers lived in cottages and an acre of land supplied by the County Council and big families were the norm. Most people kept a “cow for the house” but when the cow went dry they never did without milk because a neighbouring farmer would give a bottle to keep them going. In return he would expect a day in the bog or in the meadow and it worked out well. Nobody was left on their own. If somebody had a meadow of hay down and the weather was about to break, all the neighbours pitched in and the hay was saved in no time. Going the road at that time one might come across animals grazing along the ditches and the grass margins. Cows, horses and asses roamed along quite contented and, in general, took no notice of people passing by. This custom of grazing the “long acre” as it was called, was widespread, especially when grass got scarce. It was illegal of course and people could be taken to court and fined.  A man who shall remain nameless was before the judge in Abbeyfeale charged with allowing his cow to graze unattended on the roadside. He was found guilty and when the judge fined him50 shillings he said: “a fair price your Honour, I’ll take it again next year”.   Trying to find the pony or ass to bring the milk to the creamery in the morning was a difficult task at times because they could wander quite a way from the house and could take any route they wished. After finding them you could find that they weren’t too anxious to come back and be tackled up and there would be a chase for a while until somebody volunteered to help and the animal was brought under control. Asses, in particular, could be very stubborn when they wanted to be and could spot weakness in a person a mile away. I remember one that belonged to Johnny Patsy Mick Woulfe, in Cratloe, who would do anything for Johnny but would blackguard the life out of me when I took him to the creamery or the bog.

There was another time at home that  taught me a lesson about asses. My father brought home a big ass from somewhere down the County Limerick and left him in the field by the side of the house. We were all young at the time and were fascinated by this new arrival and of course he was tormented from our attentions. One day I was encouraged to go up on his back for a ride and of course I took on the challenge. The ass wasn’t too happy about it and made getting on his back very difficult what with twisting, turning and kicking. We persevered however and eventually, with the help of a low ditch, I sprang onto his back and thought I was a cowboy riding the range. The ass, however, had not given up his opposition to this nuisance on his back and being both sadistic and clever, ran along the side of the ditch where there was a thick growth of briars sticking out. I was 9 or 10 at the time with short trousers and bare legs. The briars tore the skin open from the thighs to the toes and the blood flowed freely. The ass, being thick skinned and hairy, had no such problems and he got his wish as I quickly threw myself off and left him to his own devices.  To add insult to injury, my mother did not appreciate what I had done and gave me a good whacking into the bargain. Lesson learned.  I don’t really blame the old donkey because they had a very tough life drawing all kinds of loads in carts in all kinds of weather. They did not like the rain as they are really desert animals and should not be in Ireland at all. Unlike horses their coat is not waterproof so they get wet, just like we do. They have got quite scarce now but there was a time when there was one in almost every home and we would have been lost without them in the days before the tractor and modern machinery. Most of those that are left live in sanctuaries like the one in Liscarroll, Co. Cork, and live out their remaining days in peace and contentment. These sanctuaries deserve our support in the great work they have undertaken.