Athea Vintage Club Presentation
Athea Vintage Club were honoured to present a cheque for €3,000 to Athea Playground Committee.
Proceeds from our annual Road Run will go towards establishing a much needed playground for future generations of kids..
Our aim in Athea Vintage Club is to raise funds for local charities and support local where we can.
We sincerely want to thank all of our sponsors each year, you are too numerous to mention but every year we come knocking and without fail you support us as a group. We want to thank you all as we know how important local support is and we appreciate your generosity each year to us.
Since we established the Junior Kids Run it has become more popular every year.. we just want to thank all the parents for supporting this part of our event and we love to see the delight and determination on all the kids faces. This year the speed ramp was an added obstacle.. who knows what next year will bring… watch this space!
We also have to sincerely thank Helen Barry Batt’s Bar & Paul Collins Collins XL Athea for their generous sponsorship each year for the Junior Run. Without fail every year both supply sweets for 200 sweet bags.. the sugar rush is their fault
Thank you to all the volunteers who each year show up and help us any way they can. It helps the day run smoothly and allows us to keep improving. New volunteers each year are always welcome..
Finally, thank you to everyone who attends on the day with their cars, tractors, motorbikes & trucks.. We thank you for always supporting our yearly event.
On behalf of Athea Vintage Club & Road Run thank you all for another fantastic road run in 2024 & watch this space for 2025…..
Athea Community Games
Athea Community Games will host their AGM on Wednesday Dec 4th at 8.30pm in Athea GAA clubhouse. New members are always welcome and greatly encouraged to attend.
Important Notice
Tickets for Community Council draws on Monday nights are invalid if they do not include the date and seller. It is up to the buyer to ensure that tickets are fully filled out otherwise an opportunity to win the jackpot could be lost.
Margaret O’Mahony, Coole West, with Michael Flatley at the UK Post Awards in London
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
If you were writing it as a story, nobody would entertain it because it would not be believable that a convicted felon and liar who demeans women and insults immigrants and who also has a very poor command of language, could possibly be elected President of America. I could also add that, before his previous election, he had no background in politics and has no grasp of foreign affairs. My biggest fear was that, when elected, he would surround himself with like-minded individuals who would carry out his bidding enthusiastically and I am afraid it is now coming to pass. His appointees, so far, have no experience of government and include some with very unorthodox ideas and one who was under investigation for serious crimes. Putting the likes of Joe Kennedy in charge of health is really letting the lunatics run the asylum. He is on record entertaining the most ridiculous conspiracy theories and his objection to vaccines is a real danger to the health of millions of people, especially children, in the US. I was talking to a friend of mine lately who is from America and I asked him how so many people had voted in such numbers for Trump and he explained that, despite all his faults, they were willing to take a chance on him because they felt they were better off under his time, four years ago, than they are right now. Yes, everything is more expensive but that is the result of the Covid pandemic and the wars that are now taking place. The economy in America is actually doing really well in comparison to the rest of the world and inflation is coming down but that did not seem to register with the voters. There is also a “four year itch” where whatever party is in power loses support. It happens in other countries as well like the Tory’s and Labour in the UK and Fianna Fail and Fine Gael here. The government of the day takes all the blame and gets very little credit but the overwhelming reason for change is dissatisfaction with the cost of living. We see it here ourselves as we face another election where parties have donned their Santa outfits and seem to be laden down with presents for the electorate. It is merely entertainment and not to be taken seriously but there are some people who will be swayed by the promises made. Such is politics and I, for one, m glad I have no part in it.
COP 29 has, to say the least, been disappointing so far. There is no agreement between countries regarding climate change with some of them even questioning it’s very existence. It is obvious that they are going to continue mining and using fossil fuels regardless of the scientific advice and this is a huge problem. If huge parts of the world are not on board then all the good work by the rest is in vain. To make matters worse, Donald Trump has gone on record promising “dig, baby, dig” as soon as he gets into power meaning the mines, fracking gas and the return to internal combustion engines is on the cards. That leaves most of North and South America ignoring the warnings and carrying on regardless. There are also huge countries like China and India who are acting in the same way. Unless they can be persuaded to change their minds there is no hope of a tiny spot on the map like Ireland making any difference. If we reduced our carbon footprint to zero, it wouldn’t make a bit of a difference. All the countries have to move together and, until then, there is no point in going overboard with radical ideas like cattle culling on Irish farms. Yes, we should do our best but there is no point in harming ourselves if it is all going to be of no avail. If we want to make changes we should get the infrastructure right first. Our wind farms are now providing almost a third of our electricity but much of what is generated is wasted because the national grid cannot take it. If the government want us to change to electric vehicles why not ensure that they are affordable and that the infrastructure is in place to charge them. There is no reason why an electric vehicle should be more expensive than the conventional models that have many more components. There was an incentive with the government grant but that, inexplicably, has now been removed. I have a theory that government grants just increase the price of a commodity and the sellers end up pocketing the most of them. Anyway, we are where we are, as they say and we await further developments.
As I write, the secondary school teachers union is staging a protest about proposed changes to the Leaving Cert. One of the major ones is hat at least 40% of marks in the exam would be awarded for non written assessment. I have a feeling that this is a problem for some teachers who don’t want to have to asses their own pupils. It is, to my mind, a great idea and would go some way to having a more favourable test of a students suitability for further education rather than the one we have now that depends totally on written papers that are based on one particular day that might be an off one for some. The teachers have a point when they say that money must be spent on training and infrastructure and that the views of those who have to deliver the programmes should be taken into account. There is one chance to gat it right so there is no reason to rush something as important as this.
Church Notices
Parish Pastoral Unit (Athea/ Abbeyfeale/ Mountcollins/ Templeglantine/ Tournafulla).
Fr. Tom Mangan 087-2348226, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Dan Lane 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.
Confessions any Friday evening after 7pm mass.
Graveyard Prayers will take place at Templeathea cemetery on Sunday November 24th after 11am mass. Bible Study continues in Athea Library every Wednesday evening at 7.30pm.
Mass Intentions- Sunday November 24th at 11am: Phyllis Murphy and husband Timmy and all deceased members of the Murphy & Daly families. Mary Ahern – Coole West. Kit Flynn.
William & Mary McAuliffe, Bridget & Thady McAuliffe and James McAuliffe.
To book a Mass intention contact the sacristy after mass or contact Siobhan on 087-3331459.
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.
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
Athea Community Council Lucky Numbers Draw
18/11/2024
No’s Drawn: 15, 20, 21, 23. No Winner
Lucky Dips
Bernie Higgins, Glasha
Ned White, Athea
B. & A. Ambrose, Lower Dirreen
Haulie Liston, Athea
Sellers Prize: Francie Flavin & Collins’ Shop
Next Draw: 25/11/’24 Venue: White’s
Jackpot €23,500