By Marian Harnett
PROLOGUE: Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it’s dark. Zen Proverb
SYMPATHY TO FR. SHOJI: Parishioners are saddened to hear of the death of Mary Tutti Varghese, mother of Fr Shoji Varghese. Mrs. Varghese died suddenly at her home in Kerala, India, last Sunday. Fr Shoji returned home this week to attend her funeral. We offer our prayerful sympathy to Fr Shoji and to his family. May she rest in peace.
DEATH: Sincere sympathy to the Moloney family on the recent death of Patsy Moloney, Bantry. May he rest in peace.
CONGRATULATIONS: Ailish McCarthy and John Riordan who celebrated the sacrament of Marriage here in Abbeyfeale on Friday, September 10. We wish them every happiness in their married life together..
MASS FOR FR. JOE: The 10am Mass on Friday will be celebrated for the late Fr. Joe
Foley, our beloved curate, who died recently.
LITTLE BLUE HEROS: Congratulations to our community Garda, Roger O’Donoghue, who was one of a group of Gardai who cycled from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale as part of a fundraiser for the Garda charity Little Blue Hero’s. Abbeyfeale Community Alert were delighted to present Garda Superintendant Aileen Magnier with a cheque on their arrival in Abbeyfeale.
LOCAL AUTHOR LAUNCHES NEW BOOK: A new collection of short stories by Pat McLoughlin has just been released. The title of the book is ‘Just One More Thing’. Multi award winning writer, Donal Ryan, described the stories as “humane, empathetic and blessedly sincere; adding that the collection was a joy to read. The book is available at ‘An Siopa Milsean’ (Mary Flynn’s), Abbeyfeale or online at www.limerickwriterscentre.com. Like Pat’s previous three books all proceeds will be donated to local charities.
COVID-19: Change in Restrictions from Monday, September 6 religious ceremonies can take place using 50% of the place of worship’s normal capacity. Here in Abbeyfeale this means that we can accommodate up to 500 people for Mass. For marriage ceremonies the number of people allowed to attend is 100. In order to maintain safety, we suggest that no more
than 6 people sit in any one seat. People living in the same household may sit together. Stewards will continue to direct people to seating and we ask you to follow the
guidance of the church stewards, so that we don’t have a situation where people are all gathered together in one section of the church and other areas of the building are
empty. Those attending Mass are still required to wear face masks as we are in an enclosed area and all visitors to the church should continue to sanitize their hands.
Windows will remain open for ventilation purposes. As the autumn approaches and the temperatures drop, parishioners are urged to wrap up well.
Some seats will remain
closed off to help maintain some distance between people attending Mass. Any person with COVID-19 symptoms should not attend Mass. You should self-isolate and contact your doctor for advice. Now that we have additional capacity we encourage more parishioners to attend Mass in the church. Like Pat’s previous three books all proceeds will be donated to local charities.
GLÓRACH CONCERT: For the first time since Daoirí Farrell played here in February 2020, live music made a comeback last Friday at the Glórach with Breaking Trad delivering a memorable gig as part of FealeFest.The venue looked resplendent after the renovations, and our socially distanced crowd (limited to just over 50) couldn’t get over how warm the auditorium was. With a mixture of polkas, instrumentals and a mixture of a well known songs with their own unique twist, the trio of Niall Murphy, Donal Murphy and Mike Galvin gave a performance for the ages, joined towards the end of the evening by young local musicians including Keavagh O’Donnell, Caoimhe Murphy, Ella Murphy and the Flynn sisters Maria and Emma. The concert can be viewed on the Glórach Youtube page, and will hopefully be the first of many as we move towards the longer nights of deep Autumn and Winter. Thanks to all involved, and to the LCETB for their support in making this event possible.
WORKSHOP IN ST. ITA’S: As part of FealeFest, a workshop was held in the courtyard of St Ita’s Hall on Saturday Afternoon, celebrating the culture and song of the Travelling community. John Coffey described growing up in Abbeyfeale in the 1970s and ’80s, what a wonderful town he felt it was back then, and the various games played by the Traveller kids on the Clash Road at that time. John set the scene for a diverse afternoon of entertainment with two fine songs, before the younger generation of the local Traveller community mixed it up with pop, rap and country. Thanks again to the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board’s Local Creative Youth Partnership for delivering this event and the music workshops held at the Community Education Centre. Here’s hoping this won’t be a one off event, but rather an annual feature on the Abbeyfeale social calendar.
FURTHER EDUCATION & TRAINING CENTRE, MOUNTMAHON, ABBEYFEALE (THE OLD TECH): The following free courses still have some spaces left: Sewing for Beginners, Beginners knitting, Payroll Manual & Computerised (Level 5), Bookkeeping manual and computerised (Level 5), Childcare Level 5, Healthcare Level 5, Sign Language, winter window box gardening, making a podcast, Upcycling Furniture, Local history. Please call the office on 06831198 for more information, Email: [email protected] or register at www.learningandskills.ie.
PILGRIMAGES ON THE LOUGH DERG PILGRIM PATH:
Wednesday 15th, Saturday 18th & Sunday 26th September and Sunday 3rd October, with Mass outdoors, weather permitting. The full route is a 12km loop, with a shorter 8km option. Advance booking is essential. For further information email [email protected] or telephone 0(0353) 71 9861518. www.loughderg.org Lough Derg Pilgrim Path, Pettigo, Co Donegal. F94 N289