News – 1/10/24 « Athea & District Notes

Oct/24

News – 1/10/24

Kathleen Collins, Sarah Brouder, Mary Brouder, Gertie Mulcaire and Helen Browne enjoying the Coffee Morning in aid of Milford hospice at the Hall on
Thursday last

Community Council

*FEASIBILITY STUDY*

The next public consultation session will take place on Wednesday evening Oct 2nd from 7 – 8.30pm at Athea Community Council Building. At this meeting we will discuss the findings from the survey and also some design proposals of the building will be presented by the architects. Everyone welcome to call in at any time between 7 and 8.30pm.

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí

Éireann AGM

The AGM OF Athea Comhlatas Branch will take place on Monday Oct 7th at 8pm in Batt’s Bar. A new year and a time for renewing membership. New members are especially welcome and we would like parents of pupils who attend the weekly classes to take part in the running of the branch..

Duck & Swan

Friday October 4th 7pm Batt’s Bar

Men’s Shed

We the GLIN MEN’S SHED will be in the SQUARE, ATHEA this FRIDAY morning at 9am to demonstrate & sell our wares.

Your support will go towards the every day running of our Shed. Your generosity & help is greatly appreciated.

Come along for a chat & view what we have

St Vincent De Paul

A Single Bed Apartment has become Available by Athea V. D. P. across from the church. Anyone interested in applying for same is asked to do so by October 8th., the final deadline You can ring me on 087-1233361 and your enquiry will be dealt with by the society in the near future hopefully.

Athea Drama Group

Readings for Sharon’s Grave will take place at Con Colbert Hall on Monday October 7th at 8pm. The play features a cast of twelve – 8 men and 4 women, of various ages. Anyone interested in a part is welcome to attend for readings. This deeply lyrical folk play, set on an Atlantic headland at the mercy of wind and rain, tells the tale of Trassie Conlee’s fight to protect both herself and her brother Neelus from the menace of her ruthless cousin Dinzee Conlee, one of Keane’s most extraordinary theatrical creations.

Athea Tidy Towns

Athea Tidy Towns would like to convey our sympathies to the Scanlon family on the sad passing of Hannah Scanlon, Dirreen. Hannah was an amazing lady with a real lust for life, having gone to her eternal reward in her 103rd year. The Scanlon family play a huge part in the Tidy Towns activities in the village, we are thinking of you all at this sad time. May the sod rest lightly on her gentle soul.

The Way I See It

By Domhnall de Barra

Is it my imagination or has the price of everything gone sky high? Paper I used to buy for €150 a few years ago is now €340 and much the same for ink and toner. I was looking at the second hand car market recently and anything manufactured within the past four years is over €30,000 while new cars are averaging around the €50,000 mark. Groceries and everyday essentials have also risen dramatically making it difficult for ordinary people to make ends meet because wages have not kept pace with these hikes. You would imagine then that the people in power would be doing all they could to improve the situation but they just seem to be squandering the taxpayer’s money at an alarming rate. The cost of the new children’s hospital would be a joke if it wasn’t a tragedy, then we had a security hut that cost 1.4 million and, the final insult, a bike shed housing 18 bicycles that cost €330,000 and doesn’t even keep the rain off the bikes! The sad thing is that nobody is held accountable for this but then that is the way the political system works. Big business finances political parties in the hope that, when they get into power, they will be rewarded handsomely with inflated contracts. It reminds me of the story told be the late Niall Toibín. Three contractors tendered for a small government contract. When they were interviewed, the first man, a Dublin contractor, said it would cost €3,000. Asked for a breakdown he said,: “€1,000 for materials, €1,000 for labour and €1,000 profit. The second contractor, a man from Mayo said it would cost €6,000 split evenly between labour, materials and profit. The last applicant, a Cork man said the cost would be €9,000. The man conducting the interviews was really amazed and asked him how he could justify those figures. He replied: “there will be €3,000 for you, €3,000 for me and we’ll get the Dublin fellow to do the job”. Then Niall would say: “and some people think that is a joke”. We have seen contracts over the years that started out at one figure and ended up being multiples of that amount. The thing is, it is not their money to play with, it is the income tax that is taken weekly from people’s pay packets that is being squandered. We are not too far away from a general election and candidates will be knocking on doors looking for votes. They should be asked to justify the use of people’s money, or should I say the misuse of it. We have to break the ties between political parties and businesses. There seems to be an inner circle that are able to do what they like and charge what they like. This cosy cartel is good for them but no good for the country. Somebody has to take charge. If a contract states that a project will cost a certain amount , then that should be the final figure. Some contractors are really clever at creating contracts that look like a bargain but the small print contains many clauses that will inflate the price over time. I worked for one such civil engineering firm in England who also had the lowest tender for every job but there were penalty clause for dealing with rock in the soil, excess water, bad weather and many more. The job always cost twice as much and there were also a number of brown envelopes for the officials who monitored the operation. There should be no loopholes or get out clauses that would allow the types of increases we have seen too often over the years. Enough is enough.

I have, over the years got many complaints from readers of this newsletter about the haphazard parking practices in Athea. One of the main complaints was parking on the footpath which caused serious problems for wheelchair users, people with prams and buggies and others who required help walking. With the footpath blocked they had no option but to go onto the busy streets and risk getting run over. About a week ago I was coming down from the doctor’s surgery and I had to pull up because there was a car parked right across the junction by White’s pub. After what seemed a long time a woman came out of the shop across the road and drove off with a smile on her face. In nearby towns this does not happen because they have traffic wardens who police the streets and enforce the law. Up to now there was no enforcement in Athea but all that changed last Thursday when two Gardaí put a parking ticket on any car illegally parked. They had a field day because it was a busy morning with the coffee Morning in aid of Milford Hospice in the hall. I was lucky because I walked down to the hall instead of driving, otherwise I would have been caught as well. People are not happy about it but, the law is the law and we should observe it. I am guilty myself of parking partly on the footpath but I will make this observation. In some areas the streets are quite narrow and, if two cars park properly at opposite sides of the road, there would be no room for a truck or a bus in the middle. We are lucky to have a good shop and the Chemist’s in the middle of the village but this does cause a parking problem. I am all for green areas but maybe part of Markievitz Park, near the street, could be better used as a car park. It is only a suggestion and I know it might not suit everybody but something has to be done or what happened last Thursday will become a regular occurrence.

Church Notices

Parish Pastoral Unit (Athea/ Abbeyfeale/ Mountcollins/ Templeglantine/ Tournafulla).

Fr. Tom Mangan 087-2348226, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Denis Mullane 087 2621911.

Masses this week- Tuesday morning 9.30am and Friday evening 7pm.

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

Bible Study commences in Athea Library this coming Wednesday evening Oct 2^nd at 7.30pm.

Mass Intentions: Saturday Oct 5^th at 7.3pm -Tom O’Halloran. Martin Healy (Coole West).

Jack & Nora Hassett. John Paul Stack, his parents Phil & Hannah and sisters Mary & Josie

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

Baptisms take place on the fourth weekend of the month. Parents who wish to baptise their child in the next few months should contact Siobhan on 087-3331459. Welcome Fr. Tom Mangan This weekend we warmly welcome Fr Tom Mangan to Athea/Abbeyfeale and the Pastoral Area of Parishes. Fr Tom is a native of Carrigkerry/Ardagh parish. He has worked in Mungret, St Mary’s and St Joseph’s parishes in Limerick City and most recently in Donoughmore Knockea Parish which is located to the south east of Limerick City. We wish Fr Mangan every blessing and best wishes as he takes up his new appointment.

Parish Administration: Tues-Fri 11am-1pm. call Siobhan on 087-3331459, outside of these hours text or email [email protected] Facebook: Athea Parish Church Community

will always have a place in my heart and in my prayers.