Congratulations to Michael Aherne,
Glenagore and Maranda Elswick,Virginia who were married on March 19th.
at the Adare Manor.
The couple are honeymooning in Mauritius.
Scór Winner
Sincere congrats to Edel O’Sullivan, daughter of Sandra and Noel, Hillside Drive, Athea, who won the solo singing in the SCOR competition in Cashel at the weekend. Edel now goes forward to the All Ireland in the INEC in Killarney, she is wished all the best.
Daffodil Day
The recent Daffodil Day street collection raised €1680 for the Irish Cancer Society. The generosity of our parish continues to amaze.
Sincere thanks to everybody who supported this very worthy cause.
County Fleadh
The next session , raising funds for the County Fleadh to be held in Athea over the June Bank Holiday Weekend, will take place at the Top of the Town, Ballyhahill, on Saturday night next, April 9th. All are welcome for a night of music, song and craic.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, ATHEA
Weekend Masses Intentions
Sat 9th Apr 7.30pm: Mary & Mossie Browne. Denny, Nellie & Mick Mullane.
Sun 10th Apr 10.30am: Mary Reidy – Month’s Mind. Tom Browne – Month’s Mind.
Michael & Ellen O’Keeffe. Kathleen Reidy- 10th Anniversary. Pa Walsh – 2nd Anniversary.
Paddy & Kathleen O’Connor and Johanna, Michael & Dan O’Connell.
Kathleen O’Halloran – Dublin/late of Cratloe.
Lenten Programme (All services available through the webcam)
Tuesday 9.30 am: Mass
Wednesday 7.30 pm: Lenten Prayer Service.
Thursday 3-4pm: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Devine Mercy prayers.
The Rosary will be recited before mass on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
Baptismal Information: Any parent wishing to baptise their child must have completed the baptismal course. Please contact Theresa for further details 087 1513565.
Easter Mass Bouquets available in the church – inside main front door.
Ministers of the Word and Ministers of the Eucharist
Sat 9/4 Caroline Pierce / Margaret Ahern Sun 10/4 Margaret Cotter / Eilish Geoghegan
All masses/services are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea
If you wish to book a mass etc., text/phone Siobhán on 087-2237858 or email the parish office at [email protected]
Retirement
Fr. Brendan will be leaving the parish on Easter Sunday after nearly six years with us. We will be sad to see him go and want to wish him the best for the future as he takes up a new position with his own religious congregation in Rockwell College, Co Tipperary. Fr. Tony and Fr. Denis will be taking over responsibility for the parish from Easter Sunday onwards.
We will be having an extra special mass on Easter Sunday to ‘Thank’ Fr. Brendan for his time with us and will be making a presentation to him on behalf of the parish – however if anyone wishes to make a personal donation to Fr. Brendan you can place your envelope in the offertory box and it will be passed onto him.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I wonder why people are so surprised at the horrific carnage inflicted by the Russians on the people of Ukraine in the northern region. Civilians have been shot, raped, had their throats cut and left dead on the streets with their hands tied behind their backs. Earrings have been forcibly ripped off women’s ears before they were raped and murdered. This should come as no surprise because it is the modus operandi of the Russian army. They have done exactly the same in other conflicts in other countries. It is well documented that, at the end of World War 11, any woman, of any age, captured in Berlin was repeatedly raped. It is a sad reflection on the human race that such atrocities can be committed on innocent people. Once upon a time wars were fought between armies but that changed in modern warfare when civilians became targets. It is not just confined to the Germans or the Russians; British planes bombed the suburbs of German cities and the USA dropped an atom bomb on the people of Japan. In the minds of the armchair generals the end justifies the means so it is not going to change any time soon. How far will Putin go? It is difficult to know because he does not think like ordinary human beings. He is cut from the same cloth as Hitler and Napoleon and they all thought they would create vast empires. They also found it difficult to accept defeat. Napoleon took 600,000 men to invade Russia and lost the most of them to the arctic conditions. He still wanted to form another army and would have done so except for the fact that his own people took the power away from him and banished him to St. Helena. Hitler spent his last days in a bunker, still believing he could somehow turn the tide and win the war. His own generals made many unsuccessful attempts to assassinate him. They have no sense of what is right or fair and build a fantasy world in which to live. The Kremlin issued a statement that the bodies lying on the ground in Ukraine were staged as propaganda for the western media. This is an insult to the intelligence but then, when you think that they will not even acknowledge that they are in a war and feed this garbage to the citizens of Russia on a daily basis there isn’t much hope for optimism. The only hope, in my estimation, is that, like Napoleon and Hitler in the past, Putin’s own people will turn against him. That is why severe sanctions are so important, even if the ordinary people of Russia will suffer in the meantime. The Ukrainian army has to be given military assistance in the form of weapons, tanks etc. to continue their heroic struggle, something Putin did not expect. What a pity so many countries are reliant on Russia for gas and oil. We are feeling the pinch here as prices rocket and we are told that food for animals and humans may get scarce after the Summer. How did we become so dependent on fuel from a country that is, to say the least, capable of anything. Time was when we were almost self sufficient. When I was growing up every house in rural Ireland had a garden. Every cottage was built on an acre so that some of the land could be cultivated and the rest would provide enough grass for a cow. Farmers always set a bit of land aside on which to sow potatoes and vegetables such as cabbages, turnips, carrots and parsnips. They might also set a bit of lettuce and rhubarb, or onions and beetroot. Most farms also had an orchard that provided a plentiful supply of apples. Those who were not farmers did not have orchards but their gardens supplied enough food for the most of the year. The cow provided milk and the calf from that cow provided much needed income when sold in the springtime. It was also common for people to rear pigs. They did not need much space as a small shed would accommodate six or seven bonhams. One or two of these would be killed for the table while the remainder would be sold when they were fattened. It is now illegal to kill pigs like they did in those days. Hens, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and other fowl thrived in every yard providing eggs and meat for the pot with a few left for sale at Christmas. By living this way the people of rural Ireland were self sufficient and needed very little money for items like tea, sugar etc. Somewhere, along the way things changed and the garden by the house disappeared. Most of the farmers also stopped growing vegetables and started buying from shops instead. They bought milk in cartons even though they were sending that milk to the co-op to be processed. It was all in the interest of “progress” and the government paid advisers to show farmers how to maximise their profits. Alas some of the advice was short-sighted. At one time the land was treated in springtime with farmyard manure which was the natural and organic way of doing things. Now we have fertiliser and slurry to drive the grass while at the same time ruining the soil. Experts tell us that within 20 years, if the use of artificial fertiliser and slurry continues, the soil will be too poor to produce anything. Maybe the very high cost of fertiliser is a blessing in disguise at the moment and will encourage farmers and their advisers to think of alternative ways. We should, however, think seriously about bringing back the gardens around the country. Apart from anything else, tilling a garden is good exercise and there is great satisfaction on watching your produce grow and mature. It is a great feeling to walk into your own garden, dig a bucket of spuds, pick a head of cabbage or turnip and cook them fresh for dinner. In many towns, nearby land is set aside as allotments for the people to rent and use to grow produce. This could be done in every town and village in the country. It is worth thinking about.
Update on Ukrainians In Cahermoyle
Just another update on progress with our Ukrainian friends staying in Cahermoyle on day 11. Things are going very well. Some of our guests have moved out to other family or friends or into houses during the past week. Another 50 Ukrainians landed on Sunday and I’m glad to say, everything was ready for them and all are being very well looked after. For example, a group of 40 from Cahermoyle went to Ballybunion last Sunday and really enjoyed the trip.
As a group (St. Kieran’s GAA club & Ardagh Dev Assoc) we are working very closely with management and staff at Cahermoyle house every day. This is working very well and the funding we have received from the public is being put to very good use, ‘plugging gaps’ in the system.
Because of the public’s generosity and the express wishes of all Ukrainians in Cahermoyle, we are organising a consignment of medical aid and equipment to be delivered to the Ukraine. This huge consignment will cost us €10,000 and we are assured it will be on the ground in the Ukraine within a week. We will be getting an itemised list of what we are sending with this money and will publish this list in due course.
Even after this consignment is paid for, we are still in a strong position financially to continue to support all aspects of life in Cahermoyle. We will continue to support the transfer of some guests to local houses and support families who have guests staying with them due to your wonderful financial support. Thanks everyone for all your financial support and all other support also. It has been amazing.