Bible group at Athea Library every Wednesday night . Missing from photo Bernie Higgins and Margaret McAuliffe
Grow Mental Health
Grow Mental Health- Friendly Community based groups for anyone experiencing mental health issue through 12 Step Program of connection, hope, identity by empowering people to nurture their positive wellbeing by supporting personal growth through education, peer support and self-teaching. Contact Celia 086-1526966/ Danielle 086-1588626/Www.grow.ie
Celia Brett
Mid-West Area Coordinator
Athea Comhaltas Branch
The branch would like to thank all those who took part in our recent fundraiser for Carol Liston O’Connor at Brown Joe’s. A special thanks to those who sponsored spot prizes and bought raffle tickets on the nigh.
Athea Wrenboys are also making a contribution to the fund.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
The number of deaths from traffic accidents on our roads is frightening, to say the least. There was a programme on TV last week that discussed the issue in depth and many reasons were put forward including speeding, drink and drug driving, using mobile phones etc. Many commentators put the blame on lack of policing but that is unfair because many of these accidents happen on country byroads in the small hours of the morning and it is totally unrealistic to expect the Gardaí to be everywhere at all times. There is a clamour for more road blocks and speed cameras and I suppose the more visibility the police have the more likely we are to obey the laws. The problem I have with speed vans is that they seem to park in areas where they can make easy money, like just inside the speed limits entering a town or in dual carriageways where a limit of 60 exists but is totally unrealistic. I have never heard of accidents in most of the places in which thy operate so, if they are to be used as a deterrent, they need to be where accidents are most likely to happen. Speeding is definitely one of the biggest problems. Young male drivers, in particular, see no danger when behind the wheel and are likely to be showing off to their friends on bad roads late at night. I believe that driving a car is such an important life skill that it should be taught in secondary school. Everyone should be instructed in the proper way to handle a vehicle that can become a lethal weapon in the wrong hands. I don’t think drunk driving is as big a problem as it used to be because it is now socially frowned upon and most people will not take the chance. There is however the problem of drugs. It is no great secret that Cannabis, Cocaine and other substances have taken over from alcohol as the preferred way of “getting high” by most of the younger generation. Up to lately these were not being detected at road blocks but they are now and hundreds were found to be over the limit at the last bank holiday weekend. There are also prescription drugs that can impair a persons ability to drive so we’ll have to be very careful before we sit behind the wheel. Phones are a real danger. In this day and age people are glued to their screens all day long and have the phone beside them when driving. It is ok to get calls using the bluetooth device but messages are another problem. Taking your eyes of the road for just a split second can cause a vehicle to veer into the path of an oncoming truck or car or to go off the road on the near side. All modern cars have screens on the dashboard that give information to the driver continuously. The problem is the driver has to take eyes off the road to read what is on the screen and that is dangerous. Some modern cars are fitted with technology that will not allow them to stray across the white lane lines but there are no lane lines on a country road which is where most of the accidents happen. Many of these roads were built before the motor car to accommodated horse drawn vehicles and are too narrow for two vehicles, not to mention the acute bends. I had an experience myself, a couple of years ago, of driving in narrow country road above Carrigkerry. I was coming up to a bend when a van came around that bend at speed. The driver braked but the van fish-tailed and I had to swerve left to avoid hitting it. Unfortunately for me I went off the road into a ditch that had a concrete pipe. It drove the front wheel back under the body making a complete write off of my jeep. Meanwhile, the van driver continued on his merry way without stopping to see if I was alright. Nobody was killed so I wrote it off to experience but it just shows how dangerous it is to drive on country roads. The powers that be give us statistics that show fatal accidents are increasing year on year. We don’t want to see that but it is a bit unfair because we are not comparing like with like. When I was growing up there were only a few cars in the parish, now there are three or four outside every house so we have far more vehicles on the roads than we ever had. The population is also increasing so, in the absence of a good public transport network, there will be more cars on the roads and consequently more accidents. I still think speeding is the main culprit. Why are cars capable of doing over 250 Kls an hour when the highest speed allowed in the country is 120 on motorways?. Why do we not have fixed cameras all over the place that will record those who transgress and, in these days of modern technology, why do we not have a device fitted to our cars that will show where and when we have exceeded the speed limits? When I was in England one of the jobs I had was driving heavy goods vehicles and I remember the introduction of the tachograph which recorded our speed at all times. We didn’t like it at first but I am sure it prevented many accidents. This was a long time before modern technology so I am sure it would be quite easy to have an upgrade on the tachograph that would detect all our speeding transgressions. Speed check points are good but they are only efficient for a short time as motorists will warn each other and everyone will slow down. If we knew that our driving was being recorded maybe we would be more likely to obey the rules of the road. One death on the roads is too many so it is up to us all to do our bit and think about the possible consequences of our actions.
Church Notices
Parish Pastoral Unit (Athea, Abbeyfeale, 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).
Masses this week- Tuesday and Thursday morning 9.30am.
Eucharistic Adoration and The Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning after mass.
Mass Intentions Sat April 20th 7.30pm Josie O’Sullivan & her husband Patsy. Kathleen O’Halloran. James & Kit McAuliffe . Rita McLoughlin & her husband Jimmy and Liam McAuliffe
All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea
Baptisms take place on the fourth Saturday of the month at 2.30pm. The next baptismal preparation meeting takes place in the sacristy Athea, Tuesday evening May 14th at 8pm. Parents who wish to baptise their child in the next few months are encouraged to attend. Please contact Siobhan 087-3331459.
Easter Dues: Sincere thanks to all who supported the Easter Dues Collection in support of the clergy of the parish and Pastoral Unit. They appreciate your generosity and support.
Lenten Scripture Reflection: ‘A Journey through the Bible’ – continues in the Library, Athea every Wednesday night 7.30-8.30, followed by a cuppa and a chat.
Parish Administration: Tues-Fri 11am-1pm. call Siobhan on 087-3331459, outside these hours text or email [email protected]
Athea Community Council
Lucky Numbers Draw 15/04/2024
No’s Drawn: 10, 15, 16, 19. No Winner
Lucky Dips
Johnny Mullane, GAA
Thomas Brosnan, Upper Athea
Mary Lyons, Listowel
Eilish Geoghegan, Athea
Sellers Prize: Eilish Geoghegan & Batt’s Bar
Next Draw: 22/04/’24 Venue: Brown Joe’s Jackpot €20,400