Ciara Hunt with Fr. Brendan Duggan in Lourdes

Christine Mullane, Liam Mullane, Fr. Brendan Duggan, Denis Mullane, Thady Hunt, Ashling Denihan and Mary Mullane in Lourdes

Graveyard Masses

Templeathea:

Friday, July 20th at 7.30pm.

Holy Cross:

Tuesday, July 24th at 7.30pm.

Barbecue at a later date in September with Mass at the Mass Rock.

Thank You

“Dai and Jane Stokes would like to say goodbye to all our friends, neighbours and villagers who have made the last 8 years at the Old School House so very happy.  We will miss you all and remember you for your wonderful generosity and friendship as we leave for our new adventure in Wales.  Thank you and goodbye.”

Athea Annual Outing

The annual outing will take place this year on Tuesday, July 17th. Visiting the Delta Centre, Sensory Gardens in Carlow with an optional visit to Carlow Museum and free time for shopping in town.

Bus departs from Newcastle West at 7.45am via Templeglantine, Athea 8.15am, Carrigkerry, Ardagh, Rathkeale, Adare, South Court.   For more information contact Marie Wrenn on 087 7674832 or Joan Fitzgibbon on 087 9865005.

Seisiún

The Comhaltas Summer Seisiún season has commenced at the Devon Inn Hotel Templeglantine on Thursdays. It is a traditional music song dance and storytelling show that entertains the audience for over two hours.

A Bit of Complaining 

By Domhnall de Barra 

There is no doubt that it is a fantastic time of the year for sports enthusiasts with the World Cup in full swing, the hurling, football, Wimbledon, Tour de France, Irish open golf and many more.  With all that is going on one would want three or four televisions on the go at the same time to catch it all !   It is very difficult to avoid clashes but there is one coming up on Sunday next that surely could and should have been avoided. The Munster champions, Kerry, are due to meet the Connaught Champions, Galway, at 4pm, exactly the same time as the final of the World Cup. I know there are still some diehards in the G.A.A. who still consider soccer a “foreign game” but the rest of us have moved on and have no problem supporting many different sports. There is huge interest in the World Cup plus, there is a good chance that England might be one of the finalists. The date for the final has been known for years so the question has to be asked why a match as important as the Kerry/Galway clash has to compete with probably the biggest sporting spectacle in the world. Could the match not have been played at a later time, say 7.30 like many of the Saturday fixtures and then everyone would be happy.  While on the subject of the G.A.A. I have to say it is a great organisation and is the sporting and cultural centre of most parishes in Ireland. It provides our youth with fantastic facilities for developing their sporting skills and binds communities together. It also has the greatest field game in the world –  hurling. The games that we have witnessed over the past couple of years have been breathtaking with the amount of skill, athleticism and pride in the jersey displayed by the hurlers who typify the Irish spirit.  I have often commented to my golfing buddies, when I see them taking too much time over a shot that hurlers can hit a ball with pin point accuracy while running at full speed down the wing while being challenged. Unlike their counterparts in soccer you don’t see  hurlers rolling around on the ground after getting the slightest knock. They give and take and show great strength of character giving a great example to our younger sportspeople.

I love soccer. When played properly it really is the “beautiful game” but I am afraid it is being sullied by prima donnas and cheaters who want to win at any cost and will try every trick in the book to do so. The slightest push in the back puts a player writhing on the ground as if he had been hit by a bus. Not only does he want a free kick but he will try his best to get his opponent a yellow card. Referees have a very difficult job sorting out the divers from those who are genuinely fouled, especially inside the box where a penalty may be the winning and losing of the game. I think it is high time goalmouth cameras were used, as in rugby, when somebody goes down in a dubious manner. Anybody found to be diving or feigning injury should be red carded straight away and also charged with bringing the game into disrepute. That would soon stop it. It is a very bad example to young players who will ape what the stars of the game are doing. Unfortunately it is now creeping into Gaelic football and should be stamped out. Clever forwards are able to blind side a ref and pull the arm of a tackler to make it appear that he has been brought down in the hope of getting a free kick. It is basically cheating and has nothing to do with the spirit of the game or the aims of the association.

While I am complaining, is it time to stop the playing of our National Anthem before matches?  Most of the players don’t sing the anthem or give it the attention it deserves. They are fidgeting and restless and don’t even wait till the end to move away. This is probably due to the attendance at the match who burst into cheering three quarters of the way through and drown out the music and the words. It is an insult to the flag and our country and if any other group did it we would be up in arms. Contrast this with the way the anthem is respected at rugby and soccer internationals where the anthem is sung with pride right to the end. It is a moving experience to hear the Welsh team and supporters raising the roof before a match and you can sense the pride within them. Why can we not be like that with the Soldier’s Song at G.A.A. games and if we can’t then, forget about it altogether.

I am off to Seattle for a few days so you won’t have to put up with my ramblings next week. Enjoy the fine weather.

No Newsletter Next Week, closing for holidays

Next Publication on July 25th