Massive happy 92nd Birthday to Gaga Connie and happy 91st Birthday to Patie
Lots of love from Jack xx
who is called after their late father.
Athea Gun Club
It’s that time of year again and with the pheasant season fast approaching we would like to encourage people to clean and check their guns thoroughly before use. On Tuesday November 1st we will hold our annual long tail competition in the Top of the Town. Not only members but all are welcome on the night for anyone who would like to see exactly what we do on the night. Last entries will be taken at 7.15 and measurements start at 7.30 sharp. I would like to thank farmers and land owners for allowing us to hunt on their lands and on that note I would urge all members to be respectful of landowners property and close gates and fences while passing through. Keep membership and insurance with you at all times as you may be asked to produce them. I would also ask anyone who has any problems with vermin not to hesitate asking a gun club member for some assistance. Finally, safe shooting and happy hunting
Secretary Raymond Brouder
Members of the Athea United AFC Committee with Sabrina Cahill and her son Kayden, mother Doreen and family after winning the Jackpot last week scooping an incredible €18,200!
St. Bartholomew’s Church Athea
Mass Intentions next weekend Sat Oct 29th at 7.30pm
Ann, Mary Agnes, Jack & Vincent Barrett. James (Jimmy Danny) O’Connor. Matthew Tierney. Cathy Moran and her grandson Sean Moran and Martin Doyle.
Mass during the week: Tuesday and Thursday morning 9.30am.
Eucharistic Adoration & The Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning after mass.
All masses are streamed live on https://www,churchservices.tv/athea
Ministers of the Word Ministers of the Eucharist
Sat 20/10 Kathleen Mullane / Tom Denihan Yvonne Roche / Mary O’Donoghue
Parish Office Hours: Monday – Friday 11am-1pm
Contact Siobhán on 087-3331459. or email the parish office at [email protected]
Please Note
That my land in Coole West, Clash, Athea is a No Shooting Area as there are horses and cattle out there.
D. White
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I love looking at old photographs, especially those taken at the early part of the last century. The people being photographed usually are in a very serious pose with very little smiling in evidence. This is because the cameras at the time had to have a long exposure and a large flash to capture the image so people had to sit in the same place for much longer than they do today. You can tell roughly what decade the photo was taken by the clothes being worn which, in most cases, was the Sunday best and differed greatly from today’s preferred attire. Ladies had very long gowns or coats, with heads generally covered and the men wore hats. They also sported moustaches of varying designs and sometimes beards. Waistcoats were the order of the day and these had pockets to hold fob watches which were attached to a chain. Times have changed a lot since then, for instance, you very seldom see anybody smoking a pipe nowadays but, even when I was growing up, most of the men had a pipe in their pocket. I remember being sent to the shop for a “half-quarter (two ounces) of Bendigo” . This came in a hard slab that had to be cut up and ground into very small pieces to fit into the bowl of the pipe. This was a job every smoker had to learn and it required a very sharp penknife to cut the tobacco into narrow strips which were then ground into the palm of the hand. When the right consistency was achieved the tobacco was stuffed into the bowl of the pipe with great care. If it was not tight enough the flame would run through it and if it was too tight it wouldn’t allow the air through and could not be lit. Some men never got the hang of it, my father being one. Sometimes he got it right but, more often than not, he was cursing and blasting it as he puffed and puffed to no avail. It wasn’t long before he gave it up altogether and stayed with the cigarettes. Bendigo was the common tobacco at the time but there was also a more expensive type, Clarke’s Perfect Plug. As time went on the tobacco came in a tin, ready to be put into the pipe which made life a little easier for the pipe smoker. The penknife wasn’t made redundant as it was needed for cutting cords and plants on a daily basis. It fitted into one of the coat pockets along with at least a handkerchief, pieces of string, pipe or cigarettes and matches. The coats worn were similar to the suit jacket of today and they usually had started out life as part of a “Sunday” suit but were now reserved for everyday use. Everybody wore a head covering of some sort, hat, flat cap or beret. This was mainly because they were exposed to the weather every day which is why they always carried an overcoat. This garment was made of heavy material and reached down to below the knee. It usually had a belt and a collar that could be turned up against the breeze. Lighter coats called Macintoshes came into vogue and of course there was the raincoat, very important in our climate. Great care was taken of theses coats because, unlike today, they could not be bought off the peg – they had to be made by a tailor and were very expensive. It wasn’t uncommon at the time for somebody who had died bequeathing his clothes to a friend or relative. You would often hear the question: “who got his clothes?”. It seems laughable today but it was a very different world back then. Footwear consisted of heavy boots with rows of nails imbedded in the soles called “hob-nailed boots”. Again, they had to be made by a shoemaker and were heavy and durable. On Sundays a lighter boot was worn until eventually the low shoe came into fashion. Stockings were home made and every young girl learned, while going to school, how to knit a sock and turn the heel. I remember a neighbour of ours, a widow, who ran a card raffle before Christmas each year. The lucky winner got a pair of woollen socks she had knitted herself and, no doubt, they came in very useful. No matter how poor people were they always made sure they had good clothes for going to Mass on Sundays. On hindsight it was great therapy for everyone to dress up and feel good at least once a week. How times have changed. Young people nowadays are likely to wear the same clothes going to the bog as to a party. Styles change year by year influenced by the fashion designers who tell us such a colour and cut are “in”. Men’s trousers have gone from wide bell bottoms to narrow skin-hugging pants that are more like tights. Guaranteed, in a few years time they will go wide again.
Another thing that is noticeable when looking at old photos is the fact that very few people have any excess weight on their bodies. I suppose it is the fact that they had a staple diet of vegetables, fresh from he garden, potatoes, wholemeal bread and plenty of eggs. They also had a lot of exercise because this was before tractors and machinery and most of the work was done by hand. Cars were very scarce so they walked or cycled everywhere they had to go. They never attended a doctor unless injured or seriously ill and took no regular medicine. Contrast that with today when every doctor’s surgery is full to overflowing and there aren’t enough beds in all our hospitals to deal with the daily demands. Are we better off than those that have gone before us? Maybe we can expect a longer lifetime but the quality of life may not be as good. We are being kept alive by medical treatment which I suppose is a good thing in a way but I would love to see us not totally depending on lots of tablets to keep us going.