Grandfather, Joe Aherne, with his grandson Luke Fealey presenting a cheque for €10,100 to St Johns ward, Crumlin Children’s Hospital from the proceeds of his annual walk from Ardagh to Listowel and bucket collections in Newcastle West and Listowel.
Joe wishes to thank everyone involved, all who contributed or helped in any way. Special thanks to the Gardaí in Newcastle West, Listowel and Tralee for their help on the day. Joe is already looking forward to next years outing.

Jason Kelly, Coole East, who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Agricultural Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Tralee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Athea – Young at Heart-Annual Christmas Party

MASS, DINNER  &  DANCE-TOP OF THE TOWN BAR-WEDNESDAY 5th DECEMBER

Everyone Welcome – Age 21+ upwards.

Concelebrated Mass in Top of the Town Bar at 12 noon sharp followed by Dinner & Music by Blue Rhythm. €15 per person inclusive for Dinner, Dance, Raffle  &  Afternoon Tea.

To Book: Please contact Peggy Casey on 087-9416223 or Mairead Langan on 087-6407026.

Menu: Beef or Turkey. Names must be in by Wednesday 28thNovember.

Take Away Dinners on the day, need to be ordered in advance when booking.

Parish Céilí

A Céilí, in aid of the Shane Enright fund. will take place in the Community Hall this Saturday night Nov. 10th starting at 9.30pm. Your support would be appreciated.

Thank You

A big thank you to Limerick County Council & Councillor John Sheahan for organising the cutting back and trimming of the big trees at the Community Hall.

Thank You

Con Kearney, whose brother Donal Kearney died recently in Newmarket, Co. Cork, would like to sincerely thank all the people from the parish who attended Donal’s  funeral and also those who sent their condolences. Many thanks, it was very much appreciated.

On Top of the World

by Domhnall de Barra

I often wondered what it would be like on top of the world and last week I eventually found out. I was in Switzerland with Noreen for a few days visiting our grandson Daniel who is working over there in some hi tech job that pays loads of money. Good for him!!  Anyway, it was a whole new experience and a trip I won’t forget in a hurry. We flew into Zurich airport and headed south to Biel where we had a lovely pent house flat for the duration. Biel is a beautiful old city that hasn’t changed much over the centuries. It has kept all the wonderful architecture and replicated it in the most recent buildings so that they fit in seamlessly with what is already there. You can get a sense of history just walking along the streets especially those with the towers that house clocks that not only tell the time but also the day of the week, month and astrological signs and all this without a wire or a battery. I was also impressed by the cleanliness of the place and the way they live. On Sunday mornings, for instance, you can’t use a bottle bank because the noise of the bottles breaking inside might upset the neighbours sleep!  Public transport is everywhere with streets full of electric buses and trams but also conventional buses which cuts down on the traffic and makes getting around very simple.  We travelled to Lucerne on Thursday  which was about an hour and a half’s drive. Lucerne sits on the famous lake at the foot of the Alps and has to be seen to be appreciated. We got on to a train, a very funny looking one because the back was about twice the height of the front, that took us slowly up Mount Pilatus at an angle of 50%. The seats are angled so we were sitting as normal. The train travelled on two rails with a raised rail in the middle that had cogs on both sides that connected to the train’s engine and ground its way upwards. I am not great at heights so it was a bit scary at first looking down sheer falls but I soon got used to it and I was spellbound by the majestic mountain face and the trees and vegetation as we climbed higher. Almost at the top there was a mountain goat grazing between huge boulders oblivious to the staring crowds. How do they live and survive so high up in such treacherous terrain?  We reached the top and got out on a viewing platform and it literally took the breath away, firstly with the shock of the cold weather and then with the scenery that could be seen on all sides. It was 15°at ground level that day but it was snow and ice at the top even though the sun was shining. I wonder what it would be like in winter. We were supposed to come down in a cable car but it was out of service on that day so we boarded our little train again and headed down. The place has a beauty all of its own and we were so lucky with the weather. The next day we went to Berne which is the capital, another old city with marvellous views and great buildings. There are plenty of shops and cafes but they are expensive. Petrol is €1.75 a litre in the cheaper garages and clothes cost about double what they do here. Food is also very expensive but there is a great variety to suit every taste (except bacon and cabbage).  We went to where Daniel works in Solothurn to sample more of the country and again were suitably impressed. I’d like to say I went skiing but I don’t have the guts for that nowadays because I am afraid that if I fell I would be a bit like Humpty Dumpty and couldn’t be put back together again! All in all it was a wonderful few days and we were lucky to have Daniel who stayed with us all the time as our personal guide – way to go!

We flew out with Aer Lingus, who charged an arm and a leg for everything so we were pleasantly surprised , coming home with Swiss Air, to be given breakfast free on board and a gift of Swiss chocolate to take away, and all at a cheaper price.

I was annoyed twice on the way home. At the airport we were sitting at the gate waiting to board when a well dressed, middle-aged couple came up and sat on two of the three seats reserved for the disabled even though there were plenty vacant farther back. Then, we did a bit of shopping on the way home at Super Valu in Abbeyfeale. I was sitting in the car when a 182 Transit van drove into the parking lot, passed out several spaces and pulled up in the disabled space by the door. Two heavy men got out and waddled into the shop to emerge some time later with a bunch of flowers each. Enough said.