Easter Celebrations

Procession leaving the Church on GoodA Friday. Photo: Bridie Murphy

There was a good attendance at all the Easter Religious Ceremonies over the past weekend.  The outdoor Stations of The Cross was a spectacular event on Good Friday as people took turns to carry the cross from station to station. The soldiers, dressed in tradition Roman costumes, added greatly to the solemnity of the occasion. The Dawn Mass was also well attended as were all the other gatherings for the festive season.  Congratulations to all concerned.

Sean Barrett & Tom Riordan photographed by Bridie Murphy at the Atations of the Cross on Good Friday

Scripture Reflection

Readings from The Bible continue on Wednesday evenings, from April 3rd., from 7.30 to 8.30pm in the Library. All are welcome to participate and jpoin in a chat afterwords

The Way I See It

By Domhnall de Barra

I suppose I could say I have two great passions in life: music and golf.  For golf read sport because that’s the only game I can play at my age but at one time I was never off the playing fields. I remember a time, in England long ago, when I would play rugby on a Saturday, soccer on a Sunday morning and Gaelic football or hurling in the afternoon. It sounds exhausting now but, back then, I didn’t think twice about it and would go on to play music at the Kerryman’s Club in Coventry on Sunday night and end up at a dance until the small hours.  Oh, to have that energy back again but time waits for no man and all too soon you begin to realise that there are limits to what you can do. When I gave up playing football I decided to take up golf but it wasn’t as simple as that. There was the cost of equipment and joining a club so I started off doing a bit of pitch and putt. Having played hurling was a great advantage and I soon got the hang of the game called golf. Joining a club was the big problem. Unlike today, when everyone is welcome, back then golf clubs were elitist and did not cater for the working classes. There was also the cost of joining which made it almost impossible for the ordinary person to get started. The first time I applied to join a golf club came as an eye-opener to me. I put in my application and a couple of weeks later I got a letter telling me I wasn’t successful. There was no explanation as to why so I thought that was it until I met a cousin of mine who was already a member of the club. I told him about the club’s decision not to accept me and he said, “why didn’t you tell me, apply again and you will have no problem. They did not know who you were but I will put them in the picture.”  I told him I wouldn’t humiliate myself again and I though that was that until I got another letter from the club saying a mistake had been made and my application was now accepted. It really is about who you know!.  I have been playing ever since and it was the best move I ever made. Times have changed and now everyone is welcome, regardless of occupation or social standing. The advantages of playing golf are multiple. It is a game that can be played at any age and is probably one of the best physical exercises you can get. During a round of golf you will walk several miles and use every muscle in the body. You are out in the fresh air for about four hours and you will get to meet new friends and acquaintances. Over a round of golf you will get to know a lot about your playing partners and I must say that, over the years, I have made great friends. I am not saying for one moment that all golfers are nice people, far from it but you soon learn who you want to play with and who you want to avoid.  There is also the chance to be part of the club structure and work in committees to make the game and the course better for everybody. I have always liked being involved in organisations so during my time as a member of  seven different clubs I had the honour of being Club Captain on three occasions and President on another. You might ask why I was a member of so many clubs and the answer is simple. Over the years they closed one by one because, in modern times, it was too expensive to keep them going. In recent years golf courses in Newcastle West, Foynes, Abbeyfeale, Listowel, Castleisland and Ardfert had to close their gates and it is a great pity because they were a great asset, especially to young golfers who spent their summer holidays on the local fairways. While they were doing that they were avoiding hanging around towns and villages getting into all kinds of mischief. I am really enjoying playing golf at the moment and I will continue to do so as long as God leaves me my health.

As  I previously mentioned I have always been involved with voluntary organisations and it has brought me great satisfaction over the years. One of those is Athea Community Council which was set up over 40 years ago to make Athea a better pace for all who live in the parish. My first involvement was to be supervisor of a FÁS Scheme  that worked on building stone walls and creating the Giant’s Garden along with keeping the place as neat and tidy as possible. I moved on to take over as supervisor of Cairde Dúcais but I then took over from Thady Hunt as Chairman of the Council and I have filled that role ever since. I can look back with pride with what we have achieved over the years and I was blessed to have worked with a great committee. There is no comparison between the village as it was before the foundation of Athea Community Council and what it looks like today. This was achieved through the various CE schemes we sponsored and continue to do so. As I previously stated, time waits for no man, so at the next AGM I will not be seeking re-election as chairman. It is time for young blood to take over and we are blessed with a wealth of talent in the parish so I would urge anyone with a little bit of time to spare to please join the Community Council. I can guarantee you will get far more out of it than you put in. I will stay on the council for a while and continue doing the weekly Lotto, if I am required, so I would like to end by thanking all those who worked with me down through the years, especially our secretary, Lillian O’Carroll, who is also standing down. She has given Trojan service to the community and kept our financial affairs in perfect order for such a long time. A final thanks to all the people of Athea who have been more than willing to offer their support, financially and otherwise, when required. You can be proud to be from Athea.

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 9.30am.  Friday (first Friday) 7pm.

Eucharistic Adoration and The Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning after mass.

Mass Intentions Sat April 5^th James Casey (months mind). Tim Enright (1st A/v).  Bill & Margaret Relihan. Michael Scanlon Snr. & Michael Jnr., Dolores Chandra & her son Sharath

All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea

Weekend Mass changes to Saturday evening at 7.30pm commencing next weekend April 6^th .

Thank You. Sincere thanks to all who assisted in the preparation and celebration of our Holy Week Ceremonies. Thanks to all our parishioners for joining us in the church for this special week. Fr Willie, Fr Dan and I are grateful for the encouragement and support we receive from so many parishioners. Sincere thanks for your continued financial support. We wish you and your families our warmest wishes for a joyful and blessed Easter. Fr Tony Mullins.

Lenten Scripture Reflection: ‘A Journey through the Bible’ – continues in the Library this  Wednesday nigh 7.30-8.30

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  01/04/2024

No’s Drawn: 10,  13,  22,  28. No Winner

Lucky Dips

Gearóid Collins,                 The Nurseries

Peg Quinn,                          Athea

Mary & Bob Barkess,       Park

Tom Hynes,      c/o Ned Mahony

Sellers Prize: Lal Browne & Collins’  Shop

 Next Draw:  08/04/’24    Venue:  White’s Bar

 Jackpot €20,200

Candidate with strong Athea connections now in Limerick Mayoral race.

“John Moran is well aware of our great community spirit here in Athea.

He has the greatest respect for all our organisations and the volunteers who work tirelessly ensure that the parish of Athea meets the needs of the people.

As a friend and neighbour John has assured us that he will endeavour to do his best for the people of Limerick City and County and all support for him in this historical election would be greatly appreciated.

Tom O Connor

Clash Athea.”

After a slow start, the race for the historic election on June 7 of the first ever Mayor to be chosen by direct vote by the people of Limerick has started in earnest.

It is important that all of the voters in Athea make sure that they are registered to vote so that the voice of Athea counts in the selection. What is good for Athea might not be the same as what is good for areas of the city or other parts of the county.  So we need to pay careful attention to the campaign and make sure we chose wisely.

There are now six candidates with others expected to declare shortly and one with strong Athea connections, John Moran.

As a reminder, up to now, the Mayor was selected by the political party which controlled the Council chamber from among their councillor members.  The Mayoral office rotates with a different one being appointed every year.

The new executive Mayor will be appointed full time, for five years, so plenty of time to get their manifesto delivered.  It is no longer a ceremonial office mainly going to openings of new amenities or cultural and educational events or meeting visitors to Limerick.  Instead, the Mayor will have significant budgetary and other executive additional powers.

From June, the mayor will now be the person to make the decision on how the annual budget of some 300 million spent every year in Limerick will be allocated and their decisions will be approved by the councillors – like the Minister for Finance proposes the national budget to the Dail for approval.

So that means that the Mayor will decide on what priorities hundreds of millions of euros should be spent each year and then in what villages and towns the projects for those priorities will be spent first.

Because the Mayor will be responsible for all of the county, not just the city, voters in Athea will need to watch to ensure that they understand the needs of our community.

Happily, one of the candidates is one of our own and so has a head start to understand the needs of this area.

John Moran, who went onto to become one of Ireland’s most senior civil servants as Secretary General of the Department of Finance, knows Athea well.  He lived as a very young child with his grandfather John Moran on Clash Athea when his parents Sean Moran, a well-known builder and mother Bridie came home to Limerick from Birmingham before settling in Patrickswell.

Older residents of Athea may even remember his grand-uncle Mick’s butcher shop on the main street or seeing John travelling from Clash to the village in the morning to the creamery with his uncle Tom (Mautie) Moran or competing in the Scor na nOg set-dancing for Mungret (and it must be said never beating our own Athea team).  We even sourced a photo of the young John holding the reins with his grandfather John Moran.

Happily, we have been told that he has already been spotted meeting with people in Athea to discuss what priorities we have.

We will be watching to see which other candidates do the same and bring you discussions about their manifestos as they evolve.