Musicians taking part in a Trad Session in Donie’s Bar on Easter Sunday night

Athea Community Games

Will have their Sports Day  on Sunday April 28th at Athea GAA Pitch starting at 2pm. All are welcome races for U5 to U16 and fun novelty races.

Memorial Mass

A Memorial Mass will be said for the late John Hunt of Chicago (and formerly of Athea)  in St. Bartholomew’s Church, Athea on Tuesday, May 7th at 7pm.

 

Ladies Monthly Night Out

The next Ladies Monthly night out will take place on Friday, May 3rd at Brown Joe’s at 9.30pm. This will be a fundraiser for the Lourdes Fund. All the usual games, quiz, bingo and fun. Your support would be appreciated.

Athea BranchComhaltas CeoltoiríEireann

The County Fleadh takes place in Athea over the June Bank Holiday weekend.  There will be a meeting at the Top of the Town on Monday night, April 29th at 9pm to continue making arrangements. We will need a lot of help to run this Fleadh so please, if you can at all, come along to the meeting. This is about promoting Athea and all its businesses so if we all pull together we will have a very successful Fleadh Cheoil

Afternoon Tea Dance

There will be an afternoon tea dance in Fr. Casey’s Clubhouse on Sunday, May 19th with dancing to Mike Condon.  All funds will go to Laura O’Donoghue’s volunteering trip to Zambia with Suas.

Fleadh by the Feale

Abbeyfeale is gearing up for one of the biggest weekends of the year with people travelling from all over Ireland and further afield to attend and some to participate in Fleadh by the Feale over the May Bank Holiday weekend. This promises to be a great gathering with lots of entertainment to suit all tastes.

A Few Thoughts 

By Domhnall de Barra

Memorial Mass for the late John Hunt will be celebrated in St. Bartholomew’s Church, Athea, on May 7th at 7pm.  John lived most of his life in Chicago but was a regular visitor home up to last year. He made the headlines when he appeared on the Late Late Show at the time of the All-Ireland hurling final having flown from America to see his beloved Limerick lift the McCarthy Cup. He caught everyone’s attention with his mental ability and his ready wit and humour.  When asked  if he was nervous about flying at his advantaged age he said that he had asked his doctors advice on the matter and the doctor said “don’t worry, if anything happens to you during the flight, you will be that bit nearer to Heaven”.  John was one of the most interesting men I ever met. I ran into him at Batt’s Bar one evening and, though we had never met before, we got into conversation and I never missed the next couple of hours going by. We discussed various topics from places I knew in America to politics, religion and the general state of the planet.. When he found out I was from Cratloe and who my grandparents were, he went back over the years and I was amazed by his knowledge of the neighbourhood and who lived in each house. He could trace those who had left for America and England and was able to tell me their progress. He had a wealth of funny stories about various people we knew in common and I came away that night wondering how one head could contain all the knowledge he had.  I met him occasionally since then but not nearly enough times. He was very proud of his Irishness and particularly his roots in Athea. The world is a poorer place for his passing but we can rejoice in the fact that he lived a long and eventful life and got to see Limerick win the All-Ireland before he finally went to his eternal reward. I have no doubt he is now in deep conversation with some of his many friends who have gone before him. May he rest in peace.

The year is flying by and we have  just enjoyed the Easter holidays. It was a glorious weekend for a change and gave us all an opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities. It is hard to imagine that it is less than a week ago when we were experiencing winter conditions –  life in Ireland.  As time flies by the dates for the County Fleadh are rushing towards us and preparations are well under way. This is the ninth time Athea has held a county fleadh but times have changed a lot since the last time we hosted the event in 2002.  Like other villages some of our shops and pubs have disappeared so it is all the more important now that we make a success of the event and bring some revenue into the village.  The Comhaltas Committee have been working hard gathering sponsorship for the programme and once again the support from the business community has been fantastic. The running of the fleadh is a huge undertaking and needs a lot of manpower to see it through. We are looking for assistance from anyone who has a couple of hours to spare on either the Saturday or Sunday to fill the roles of door stewards, traffic controllers, wrist band sellers, programme sellers etc. It would be great if we could get enough people so that anybody would not be required except for a couple of hours. If you can help us in any way please let one of the committee know or contact myself on 087 6758762.

Now that the weather has changed we will be faced with another problem; grass cutting. With the best will in the world, our CE scheme will not be able to cover all the work that is necessary, especially if the Tidy Towns are to make a good impression in this year’s competition.  At one time there were two men employed in the village cleaning the streets every day and the Co. Council regularly mowed all the grass in the public areas. That day, however, has gone. Firstly the street cleaners weren’t replaced when they retired and now I am told that the council will no longer be mowing the park areas. This will definitely cause problems for us. We have a programme of work outlined that we just can’t get around to doing what the county council should be doing. Athea Community Council does its best to assist the hall, the Church, Tidy Towns, GAA, graveyards, school and any other organisation that needs help but there is only so much that can be done. The County Council needs to come on board and either get contract workers to keep the grass down or give us extra resources to do so. It would be such a pity if all the good work the Tidy Towns Committee has done was spoiled because the place wasn’t well kept.

Maybe, as council elections are coming up, it would be no harm if people from Athea put pressure on those seeking election to try and get us the help we need. It is surely worth a try