Great music at Batt’s Bar for the Bodhrán Competition on Friday last
Bodhrán Competition
The annual Bodhrán Competition was held at Batt’s Bar on Friday night last. The organisers, Francie Flavin and Jerry Brouder would like to thank all those who took part in the competition, adjudicators Domhnall de Barra and Eibhlín Broderick, Helen Barry of Batt’s Bar for her sponsorship of the beautiful trophies, Jack Quaid for the amplification, all those who bought raffle tickets and the sponsors of the spotprizes.
A great night was held by all.
Results:
Junior: 1st. Paddy O’Connor, 2nd. Darragh Ó Cinnéide, 3rd. Feidhlim Watters, 4th Eoin O’Connor
Ladies: 1st. Tríona Ní Cinnéide, 2nd. Elizabeth Scanlon.
Confined: 1st. Jerry Brouder, 2nd: Liam Broderick, 3rd: Paddy M. Griffin
Open: 1st: Mike Walsh, 2nd: Jerry Bouder, 3rd: Paddy M. Grifin.
Camino Walk
We had a most memorable week travelling 114km along the French Camino travelling from St Jean Pied de Port to Estella, Spain in September in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation. Huge thanks to everyone who donated towards my fundraiser, which raised the amazing sum of €4,720. I am privileged to have undertaken this journey with a special group of people, sharing stories and memories to last a lifetime. Anyone out there thinking about travelling the Camino, go for it, you won’t regret it!
Damien Ahern
Going Strong Christmas Party
The Athea Going Strong Christmas Party will be held in the Hall on December 6th. with Mass beforehand at 12 noon
(See Kathleen’s Corner for more details)
Results:
Junior: 1st. Paddy O’Connor, 2nd. Darragh Ó Cinnéide, 3rd. Feidhlim Watters, 4th Eoin O’Connor
Ladies: 1st. Tríona Ní Cinnéide, 2nd. Elizabeth Scanlon.
Confined: 1st. Jerry Brouder, 2nd: Liam Broderick, 3rd: Paddy M. Griffin
Open: 1st: Mike Walsh, 2nd: Jerry Bouder, 3rd: Paddy M. Grifin.
Noel Roche, Fairy Street, celebrating his 90th birthday at St. Ita’s Day Care Centre, Abbeyfeale recently.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
The news that there will be speed ramps in the village is greeted by me with mixed feelings. Firstly, I am glad that something is being done at last about vehicles speeding on the streets of Athea, especially in the summer time with huge tractors and trailers having no regard for the limits. Time was when tractors were slow and cumbersome but that day is gone. They can now travel as fast as any car and because of their sheer size they leave little room on the road for anyone else. There are also the “boy racers” who use the streets at night doing all sorts of tricks with their souped-up cars. Speed ramps will put a stop to their gallop. The village will be a lot safer so I welcome the move but there is another part of me that hates speed ramps. Some are very severe and even at extremely low speed will give you quite a jolt if you are not prepared for them. In the interest of safety I will, however, put up with the inconvenience. I hope they put some in the vicinity of the hall and school. Because there is a big fall in the road down from the GAA grounds, it is very easy to be over the limit so we do need something to make us all slow down. The same can be said for the Listowel road coming down past the garage. They have a fine footpath up there now which makes walking there a bit easier but I am glad Kathleen Mullane mentioned the Glin Road in last week’s issue. I have brought this up before because I walk that road on a regular basis and I have first hand knowledge of how dangerous it is. The bend beyond Sinan’s Gate is narrow and is blind to traffic from both sides. If there is somebody walking, with traffic approaching from both sides, they can’t be seen until the last minute and good brakes are the only things that avoid an accident. There is a big wide ditch on the right hand side which has plenty of room for a footpath without encroaching on the owner’s land. I have raised this with the council before but if any of you have any influence please put a bit of pressure on to get this footpath done before somebody is seriously injured or even killed.
There are a lot of chat shows on TV such as Morning Ireland, Ireland AM and the Today Show, to mention just a few. They are light entertainment and also cover the burning topics of the day. They all follow a similar agenda with a spot reserved for tips from a top class chef on how to improve our cooking. They make the various dishes look simple and easy to follow, even to somebody like me who can barely boil an egg but I am always amazed by the amount of extra ingredients they use. No dish is spared a variety of herbs and spices, most of them unknown to me, and I wonder what size of a kitchen cabinet would be needed to house them all. It is a far cry from the type of cooking I grew up with. The diet, in those days, had little variation. Eggs, bread and potatoes were the reliable and of course they were all readily available from the hens, the flour bag and the pit. Sometimes there might be porridge for breakfast but cereals like Muesli were unheard of. The dinner changed little from day to day. For five days a week it was bacon and cabbage, or turnips but, because there was no meat allowed on Fridays, fish or eggs would be served with the potatoes. There might be onions, carrots and parsnips when in season. On Sundays most people had meat bought from the butcher in the nearest town or village, usually roast or boiling beef, and this was a real treat. The supper consisted of bread and butter with strong tea and sometimes there might be cold meat left over from the dinner. I remember a recitation I heard years ago which was about the experiences of a man who wasn’t too bright at school so his parents sent him out on service to an old farmer in a remote townland. He describes, in the recitation, his experiences in his new surroundings and he describes the food with a bit of sarcasm:
“The dinner had great variation,
Not a word about mutton or malt,
One day there was salt and potatoes,
The next day potatoes and salt”
The women of the house made their own bread and no two cakes tasted the same. They used to say the knack was “in the hand” as a light touch was needed. There was white bread, brown bread, bran bread and mixed bread and we couldn’t wait for it to come out of the oven to taste the delightful hot crust. I am very lucky that I am married to one of the best bakers of bread on the planet. Noreen has her own recipe for loaves but she has two specialities: flat bread and mixed “paque” (phonetic spelling). The flat bread is made on a griddle and the “paque”, cooked in the oven, is bran based in a triangular shape also called “pointers”. She never uses measures, just a pinch of this, a fistful of that and a dollop of the other but the mixture is always just right. A taste of any of those when fresh out of the oven is heavenly but that does not mean they aren’t to die for on the days afterwards. Of course it is nice to have new ideas and to sample foreign cuisine but, to me, there is nothing better than the griddle bread, pointers and of course the black puddings and pork steak which was received from the neighbours when they killed the pig. Baking bread is not the only thing Noreen is good at but, if it was, I would marry her anyway!! Too much of the food we eat nowadays is processed and contains additives and preservatives that are doing us no good. We might be better off with some of the old recipes and forget about exotic dishes that may be more harmful than good.
Church Notices
Ide Naofe Pastoral Area (Athea, Abbey Feale, Mountcollins, Templeglantine and Tournafulla).
Canon Tony Mullins 087 2600414, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Denis Mullane 087 2621911 and Fr Dan Lane 087 2533030 (retired).
Baptism Information: Next baptism date is Sunday November 26th at 12 noon and on the fourth Sunday of the month thereafter. Contact parish administration for details.
Next baptism course on Tues Nov. 14th at 8pm, contact Theresa for further details 087-1513565.
Parish Administration: Tues-Fri 11am-1pm. call Siobhan on 087-3331459, outside these hours
text or email [email protected]
Mass Intentions – Fri 24th 7pm, Loretta Barrett – months mind. Sun 26th 11am, Larry & Nora McAuliffe and all deceased members of the McAuliffe & Tierney families. Kit Flynn. Catherine Woulfe – Keale. Mrs Mary Ahern. Canon Liam Houlihan. Ger ‘The Clerk’ O’Connor.
(All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea)
Conversations with Bishop Leahy Bishop Leahy has begun his round of “conversation” gatherings across the Diocese, beginning in Kilmallock last Monday night. The meeting for our Pastoral Unit will be held in the Longcourt Hotel, Newcastle West, this Wednesday night Nov 22nd at 7.30p.m. These meetings are to offer people a chance to open up questions and issues regarding the future of our faith community, its mission arrangements and structures. It is an occasion to present to people some of the data about our parishes and the diocese and to enter into an informal conversation. In announcing these gatherings, Bishop Leahy said, “We won’t make big decisions immediately but we will be moving along the pathway of community discernment. I would ask you to spread the word about these meetings, everyone is welcome to attend.” All who are concerned about the future of our faith community in this area of the diocese are encouraged to attend. For further information, contact and any of the priests in the area.