A beautiful new addition to Jim Dunn’s Mural at the site of the forge featuring the late Tadgh Shine

ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, ATHEA

Mass Intentions next weekend

Sat Aug 21st 7.30pm: Nancy Langan (month’s mind). Pa O’Connor (first anniversary). Jack Brosnan and his parents Tom & Catherine and his sister Cathy Topham and deceased members of the Brosnan family. Ned & Delia Langan.

Sun Aug 22nd 10.30am:   Eileen Tierney.

Readers: Sat: Patsy Hayes

Sun: Maireád O’Donovan.

Eucharistic Ministers: Sat: B. Ahern / M. Donoghue

Sun: M Dalton / M Hunt.

All masses and funeral masses are live streamed on the Church Services TV network via the following link https://churchservices.tv/athea

The Church is open daily for private prayer. If you wish to book an anniversary mass, a wedding or get a mass card signed please contact Fr. Brendan on 087-0562674 or Siobhán on 087-2237858.

Baptismal Information Any parent who wishes to baptise their child must have the baptismal course completed – for further details please contact Theresa on 087 1513565. Next course date: Tues 14th September.

The Way I See It

By Domhnall de Barra

The upgrading of the greenway that runs from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale, and will eventually continue to Listowel, has created business opportunities that were not there before. Barnagh Gardens has re-opened and is full every day with tourists and those who walk or cycle the greenway stopping for a coffee or tea and to relax in the beautiful surroundings. At various stops along the way bicycles can now be rented, at a reasonable fee,  to individuals and families who want to combine sightseeing with exercise. The bikes come in all shapes and sizes to suit everyone. They even have ones with little trailers that would seat two toddlers and are covered from the rain by a plastic hood. I walk from Abbeyfeale towards Templeglantine a couple of times a week and I have noticed a great change since the new surface was laid. There are now far more cyclists than pedestrians and, at last, there are rules to be followed by all users. I think they have got it wrong though because pedestrians are asked to walk on the left hand side of the path. This means that  the cyclists, who ride on the left as well, approach the walkers from behind. Surely it would be better if pedestrians walked on the right hand side facing the oncoming bicycles.  Anyway, it is lovely to see this facility being used by locals and visitors alike. The other day I was overtaken by a young lady on a bike that had no saddle or no structure to hold one. It meant she had to keep standing on the pedals with no chance of resting the body. It reminded me of when I first learned to cycle as a young lad in Cratloe. My mother’s bike usually rested against the gable end of the house and I couldn’t wait to try it out. The first few attempts ended in disaster with both myself and the bike on the ground. At last I got a bit of momentum going and managed to balance as the bike raced down the hill. Unfortunately I lost control and crashed into the hen house, which was not a very pleasant landing. I had no major wounds but the house was damaged and the handlebars of the bike were twisted. That wasn’t too bad until my mother appeared waving a sally rod to make sure I never forgot the incident and would not be so foolish in future. The few slaps did me no harm, neither did they deter me from trying out the bicycle when her back was turned and eventually I managed to cycle all around the small field. I was so small that my backside couldn’t reach the saddle and, like the young lady on the greenway, I stood on the pedals and cycled like that for a couple of years. In those days a bicycle was a kind of a luxury and had to be minded. I remembered this when I came upon another couple last Saturday mending a puncture by the side of the road. Fixing a puncture was a necessary skill long ago. We didn’t have the money to replace tyres when they got worn so eventually they would pick up punctures on roads that weren’t as smooth as they are today and we had to be prepared to take off the tyre, pull out the tube, smooth off the affected area, removing any thorns or other sharp objects, apply a sticking solution and covering it with a patch. Then we had to wait while the solution set before putting the tube back inside the tyre and pumping up the bike. The older the tyres, the more patches were applied. I remember having one tube that had so many patches that it looked like it had a rash. When I started secondary school in Abbeyfeale I was still on my mother’s bike and had to wait a couple of years to get the first bike I could call my own. At first I used to take great care of it, wiping it down and oiling the chain and all the moving parts but, as time went on, I got a bit careless and wanted to move on to  “three-speed-gear”. Ah, how simple life was back then. It is great to see renewed interest in cycling, a great means of exercise and an alternative mode of transport to the cars that use fossil fuels and are soon to be banned. My son Danjoe lives in Copenhagen and on a visit there I noticed that the place is full of cyclists. They have their own cycle paths on the main streets and have right of way over motorists at junctions. Maybe more could be done at government level to promote cycling in this country. Many of us could do with the exercise and we would all be healthier.

Heartiest congratulations to GAA Chairman, Paul Curry, and all the other Mayo natives in the area on Mayo’s fantastic win over Dublin on Sunday last. It was indeed a great achievement and it was fitting that it should be Mayo that eventually put a halt to the Dub’s gallop. Having said that, Dublin have been a fantastic side, probably the best the game has ever seen, but all good things come to and end and Mayo await either Kerry or Tyrone in the final. Nobody would begrudge Mayo getting their hands on Sam after such a long time having come so close on several occasions, but they will have to earn it.

The events unfolding so rapidly in Afghanistan are frightening. The speed at which the Taliban took over the country surprised everyone and it begs that question as to why the government forces didn’t put up a better, or any, resistance. The evacuation of American troops left the door open and the Taliban needed no invitation to walk through. America learned nothing from the Vietnam war. They went into Afghanistan to wipe out the Taliban but only succeeded in killing some of the leaders while they were no match for the guerrillas in the mountains. Twenty years later, with thousands of lives lost, the Taliban are stronger than ever and are going to inflict their  religious beliefs on the community. Already we hear horrifying tales of murder, torture and rape. These terrorists treat animals better than women who, in their eyes should not be seen outside the house and have no place in society. They took the country with the type of savagery that was seen when the Russian forces entered Berlin at the end of the war in 1945. No woman was safe then as is the case now in Afghanistan. Ireland will try to provide asylum for some of those who may be looking to flee the country and we should welcome them with open arms. I know there will be those who say “look after our own first” but, in comparison to those unfortunate people, we have the life of Riley.

Query

Does anybody know when electricity came to Athea Village? The rural area got electricity in 1956.

If you know do please contact us at 068 42533 or   087 6758762