by Kathleen Mullane

Well isn’t it great to have our Athea Parish Newsletter on sale locally this week, having been on-line since the beginning  of the corona virus. This especially is good news for those who don’t have the capacity to read it on line. Hopefully as many as possible will return to buying the newsletter as if not enough copies are sold it would not be feasible to keep it printed. We wish Domhnall and Lillian continued success with its publication. I’m  sure  they would be glad of any photos readers may like to publish especially of happenings during the lock down. Also the office will be open this week for anniversaries, notes, articles for sale etc for inclusion  in the newsletter. 

A good crowd attended the first Saturday night mass here in our church at the weekend.  Fr Duggan will act as Bishop to confirm the 5th and 6th class pupils of Athea National School in August.  The classes will be confirmed over 3 weekends to enable family members and relatives to be present due to number restrictions  in the church.

First communion will take place when the children return to school, indeed strange times.

As I put together these few lines this Sunday evening for publication, we are after having a really beautiful day and the sunset towards the west  in Ballybunion  is something  else. I know we are always complaining about our weather but having just spoken to my daughter in America while ago they can’t even go out as the temperature  there is in the high 30s  and one can hardly breathe with the humidity so we should count our blessings.

We went for a walk today to the Conaceens and there are so many different routes you can take up there it’s fabulous. One road can take you down on to the road near Cratloe  school, another up by the windmills and down by Aherne’s  farm, or you can go another route and look out over Clash, or the one I call the heart failure road down by Joe Vaughan’s  quarry which is indeed a difficult pull up  but all so enjoyable.

We are truly living in a great part of the country with beaches only a few miles away also, so enjoy the weather while it lasts, and when it rains just grab an umbrella and go for it.