Checking out the new GAA walking track. Kathleen Gallagher, Moyvane and Betty Barron, Athea and London.
Old friends.
At the official launch of Healthy Athea Club & walking & running track last week
Coffee Morning
The recent Coffee Morning raised €1,450 for Milford Hospice.
Sincere thanks to everybody who supported it, and to all those who baked the cakes and helped out on the day.
Guitar Lessons
Guitar lessons with Margaret Carroll will return at the Library this coming week. Beginners: Tuesday 7-8pm. Advanced: Wednesday 7-8pm and Adults on Wednesday 8-9pm. Enquiries to 087-9395273.
Beginners Yoga in Athea
Starting Back by popular demand on Thursday 7th October at 6.30-8.00pm in the Community Hall, Athea.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, ATHEA
Readers: Sat – P. Hayes Sun – J. Redmond
Eucharistic Ministers: Sat – B. Ahern/M. Sheahan Sun – E. Geoghegan/M. Hunt
Mass Intentions:
Sat Oct 9th 7.30pm Kathleen Sheahan (Month’s Mind). Jim Lynch (1st Anniversary).
Sun Oct 10th 10.30am Martin Healy. Jack & Nora Hassett.
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 Siobhán on 087-2237858.
Your prayers as requested this week for Mrs Marie O’Connor and Mrs Joan Phelan recently deceased. RIP.
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 12th October.
Diocesan News
The pastoral outreach team has put together a full and varied programme for the autumn which we hope will offer support and nourishment for our parishes. Full details are available on the Church notice board – the flyer provides a summary of the various offerings. Registration for each of the programmes is essential.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I often wonder about the people we have elected to govern our country and whether we have made the right choices. I don’t suppose any of us voted for a Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Green coalition but that is what we got. The government seems to stumble from one blunder to another, the latest being finding a way to reward front line workers for their efforts during the pandemic. Somebody had an idea that they should be given a financial bonus and that is what it should have remained – just an idea. Unfortunately some of those in high office ran with the idea and almost promised it. It is a nice thought but totally impractical as it is almost impossible to determine who should qualify for the bonus. No sooner was it mooted than the scrambling for places at the trough took place. Gardai, taxi drivers, bus and train drivers, shop assistants and many more who worked during the crisis had a right to a claim, as they saw it. What was a bit much was the teachers unions wanting their members included even though they weren’t actually working for a lot of the time with schools closed. To be fair, it was the unions and not the teachers themselves who made the claim and I was delighted to hear many teachers on the airwaves stating that they did not want to be included. Let’s call a spade a spade; we simply can’t afford it. The government might be talking about throwing money around like confetti but we aren’t just broke, we are in serious debt. Look at all the money that has been spent since the start of the pandemic in supporting businesses and workers. It is money we didn’t have in the beginning and our national debt has now gone so high that our children’s children will be paying it back. Then there is the other idea of creating a new bank holiday (why don’t they call it what it is – a public holiday) either in November or February. Haven’t we got enough public holidays as it is? It is not a “free” day off, somebody has to pay, and again the government will have to pick up the bill for the public service. No doubt the hospitality sector will be all for it but there are a lot of small businesses out there who just couldn’t afford to give their workers an extra day off with pay or pay double or triple time for those who may have to hold the fort. No, it is not the way to proceed. Sometimes governments have to make unpopular decisions in the public interest and forget about trying to buy their way at the next election The proper way to compensate the frontline workers is to overhaul the health service so that in the future our hospitals will be properly staffed and waiting lists will be a thing of the past. This would take financial investment but that is what it is, an investment in the future of our country and the health of the nation. The two tier health scheme has to go. I am not in favour of totally free health insurance, every one should pay according to their means and it would be ridiculous to see millionaires included, but medical assistance should not depend on whether you have money or not. A couple of years ago Noreen was taken into hospital and was waiting for tests. She was in a bed in a corridor and we were told that we would be there overnight. I happened to mention to a nurse that we did have private insurance and, within ten minutes, she was put into a semi-private ward. I felt guilty because there were old people in that corridor in a far worse state than Noreen but they had to wait for a public bed even though there were plenty of empty private beds in the hospital. That is just the way things are but it shouldn’t be. There should be a national insurance scheme, run by the health service, where nobody would lose out because of lack of means. There is a line in an old song that goes “If living was a thing that money could buy, the rich would live and the poor would die”. How tragically true!
“You should never speak ill of the dead” That was drummed into us as we grew up and, to be fair, it is seldom done. The opposite is in fact the case. As soon as somebody passes they become almost saintly with all the good things being said about them. It is now customary for some family member to say a few words about their loved one at the funeral Mass and it must be a great comfort to other family members. However, I have noticed that some of these words of praise can go on for too long and go into too much detail. Sometimes, as they say, less is more and a concise contribution can have a much greater impact than a long-winded one. Why should we wait until somebody dies to show them what we think of them? As an example, there are those who have given great public service during their lives and it is only after they die that they are shown appreciation. Would it not be better if that was done while the person was alive and made aware of how much they are loved and respected. Never pass up a chance to tell a loved one how you feel about them. Too soon the day will come when they won’t be there to hear it.
Congratulations to Athea GAA on their newest venture, the tarmac walkway. I walked it the other day and it is a great improvement on the track that was there before. It gives people a very safe place to exercise away from roads that can be busy and dangerous at times. Athea GAA are very progressive and, through all the improvements they have made in recent years, they now have one of the best club pitches in the country. It is good to see that they are not just thinking of the footballers and hurlers and are not afraid to spend money on a facility that will be of benefit to all the parish. Well done and keep up the good work.