A huge congratulations to our own Brian Sheehy who got married on Saturday to Sarah Reidy. The club wishes you both a long and happy future.

Athea National School

Are celebrating 100 years on Friday, 10th June at 12:00pm. There will be a Mass at the school, followed by light refreshments and all are welcome, past pupils, staff or anyone connected to the school down through the years. Come along and celebrate with us!

ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, ATHEA

Athea Parish Church Notices

Athea National School – Celebrating over 100 years in Education                                                                       

We congratulate the School community on reaching this great milestone of over 100 years of educating the children of Athea. There will be mass at the school on Friday next June 10th at 12.00pm.

Mass Intentions next weekend Sat June 11th 7.30pm:  Michael Haslam.

Readers:                                     John Redmond & Patsy Hayes

Eucharistic Ministers:              Catherine Woulfe & Mary Hunt

Weekday Mass Times this coming week: Tuesday and Friday evening 7pm.                                                                                                                   

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning.

All masses can be viewed online via the following link https://www.churchservices.tv/athea

Parish office hours:   Mon – Fri 11am-1pm.                                                                                                            Contact Siobhan on 087-3331459 or email [email protected] – if you wish to book a mass, make an enquiry for a christening/wedding date, arrange a signed mass cards and all administration queries. The next baptism course will be on Tuesday June 7th

The Leaving and Junior Cert exams begin next Wednesday 8th of June. We wish all our students the very best during the exams. We can support our young people during this challenging time by keeping them in our prayers.

The Way I See It

By Domhnall de Barra

The Fleadh is over and what a great few days of entertainment we had. The tone was set on Wednesday night when a big crowd attended the Top of the Town for a night of story-telling. Frances Kennedy had the audience in stitches with some of her yarns and she introduced some of the best story-tellers in the country to regale us. Time went so fast that I didn’t realise that I was standing in the same spot for over three hours until the following morning when the pains set in, but it was worth it. The following night brought singers from three counties together to join with the many singers from Athea who answered the call from Catherine Murphy and a lovely night was had by one and all. It was great to hear some young singers from the area who are keeping up the tradition. After the official opening on Friday night the Wrenboys from Athea and Tournafulla gave exhibitions on the gig rig and, unlike the last time we were there, there wasn’t a midge in sight. Saturday morning was busy with competitors looking for their venues, motorists trying to park in the wrong places, people looking for programmes and wristbands and stewards in their hi-vis jackets making sure everything was organised. A great job was done by the committee and all the helpers and the competitions ran smoothly. It was great to see the young musicians practising in the open air by the hall and down by the river. There was plenty of music around the village on Saturday night but the attendance at the concert was disappointing Those who attended were in high praise of the group “Fuinneamh” who are without doubt the best traditional group in the country at the moment. When they are famous, as they are sure to become, people will say “they were in Athea for the Fleadh”.  Sunday’s competitions were staged a bit earlier than usual so that everyone could get to see the Munster final between Limerick and Clare and as soon as the match was over the sessions began. The Ceili in the Hall was a great success thanks to John Joe Tierney and his team. So, overall,. It was a very successful Fleadh and a credit to the organising committee who worked so hard, not just at the weekend, but in the weeks and months leading up to the event. It was the 10th County Fleadh in Athea who have hosted it more times than any other branch. Well done to all.

Things are almost back to normal again even though Covid is still amongst us and business is booming in the hospitality sector. There are however some disturbing signs that prices are being hiked ahead of what they should be and that certain people are trying to cash in on the return of  tourists and indeed our native holiday makers. Hotel prices are away too high and there is no justification for that. A room that, pre-Covid, cost €100 per night is now being offered at three or four times that amount. Yes, the cost of living has risen but not by 300 to 400%. I was in a restaurant lately and was looking forward to a steak until I saw it priced on the menu at €46. I told the waiter I only wanted a steak, not the whole cow and ordered a very over-priced chicken. Needless to say I will not be dining there again. On the other hand, I had the pleasure of having a family dinner at the Devon Inn Hotel recently and I was more than surprised at how reasonable the prices were. Six of us had drinks, main course and desert, the best of food that included a steak for myself, all for a total of €150.30. I will definitely be going back for more !

My son Danjoe and his family are coming home on holiday from Denmark next month. He usually hires a car at Dublin Airport but when he tried booking this time he was quoted €3,000. I bought many a good car for less than that in my day and, again, there is simply no justification for it. He can have one of our cars while he is at home. We have seen this happen before and it is not sustainable. People are not fools and neither have they money in their pockets to throw away. The average holiday maker is an ordinary worker who saves up for a year to take a well earned break. If the cost of holidaying in Ireland is too expensive, people will vote with their feet and go elsewhere. They will kill the goose that laid the golden egg and when the bottom falls out of the market they will be crying to the government to bail them out again. They should be told exactly where to go.

 

The same could be said of the housing rental market. Just because there is a scarcity, some greedy landlords are exploiting the market and asking astronomical prices for what could be called very ordinary or even sub-standard accommodation. There was an article lately about a landlord in Dublin who had twelve people in a small two-roomed flat. There was no room for wardrobes or any other furniture and they all shared a tiny bathroom. For this they paid €600 each per month. The government need to step up security on this type of racketeering. They are operating outside the law and should be prosecuted. It is time to get back to local authorities and city councils building a plentiful supply of housing like they used to in the past. Leaving the housing to the private sector hasn’t worked except for the developers who walk away with huge profits. Nobody should have to pay a king’s ransom for a roof over their head and as a nation we have a responsibility to look after each other. Where there is a will there is a way. This was proven when we had to deal with the Covid pandemic and we can do it again with the housing.