News – 26/11/24 « Athea & District Notes

Nov/24

News – 26/11/24

Winter oin Athea

Christmas Party

Athea Going Strong Christmas Party will take place on Wednesday, December 11th at the Hall. Mass at 12noon followed by dinner, dance and raffle. Adm. €25

Contact:

Eilish Geoghegan 087 9065042

Mairéad Langan 087 6407026

Eileen Sullivan 0879848247

Athea Community Games

The AGM of Athea Community Games will be held on Wednesday 4th December at 8.30 at the GAA club meeting room.

The committee are looking for more volunteers so Athea children can take part in even more competitions in 2025

Grow Mental Health

Grow Mental Health (Henry Street, Limerick and Croom)- Friendly Community based peer support 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 and self-teaching. Contact Celia 086-1526966/ Danielle 086-1588626/Www.grow.ie

Aine Ahern who was on the West Limerick Schools team who won the final of the Larkin Shields against Limerick City schools team in TUS Gaelic grounds.

The Way I See It

By Domhnall de Barra

What a week we had ! It started of with weather that was almost balmy, turned to frost, then one of the heaviest falls of snow we have seen in a long time covered everything and finally, storm and floods. Despite the fact that the snow was forecast we were not ready for it and many motorists got caught out by the slippery conditions, especially early in the morning. For some reason we cannot deal with a fall of snow in this country. In other parts of the world they have snow for months in the Winter but it does not stop them driving about as normal. We are not trained to deal with snow and icy conditions so, much of the problems are caused by bad driving such as going too slowly approaching a steep hill or going too fast going downhill. Dealing with a skid is another skill we have not developed. I remember being taught how to manage a bus on an icy surface when I was preparing for my test in Coventry many years ago. That knowledge came in handy a few times since then but, thankfully, we don’t get that much snow so it is better to keep off the roads as much as possible until more favourable conditions prevail. The downpour of rain combined with the melting snow saw rivers burst their banks and cause serious flooding in many areas. Athea just about escaped but Abbeyfeale featured on the national news channels when the area around the mart and the soccer grounds got swamped. I remember, when I was going to school in Abbeyfeale, that particular area being flooded regularly until the river, further back, was dredged. That was over 60 years ago and I don’t think it was done since. Farmers used to take gravel from the river but that was stopped because of the damage to spawning grounds. Funny thing is, when they were taking the gravel out, the river was full of fish, now that it is protected the fish are very scarce. It is a big worry for anyone living on what is designated as a flood plane because we are in real danger of things getting worse due to climate change. We will have more storms, rain and other severe weather conditions according to the experts and who are we to question their judgement. Let us hope that the rest of the winter won’t be too severe.

Planning permission is being sought for the renovation of the Community Council building on Con Colbert Street. This was originally a town house that was added to by Pa O’Connor to accommodate his hardware business. Pa did a roaring trade with people coming to him from all over Limerick and other neighbouring counties to avail of the good bargains he regularly had on offer. He had almost everything for sale and if you were looking for an item he did not have he would promise to have it for you the following week. I bought an accordion from him in the 1960s for the princely sum of £60. Of course I didn’t have that kind of money but that didn’t bother Pa. I could pay a fiver or a tenner whenever I had it and there was no pressure. Many a house in Athea was furnished with Pa’s “pay as you can” policy. Although I’m sure he got caught on occasion, the vast majority of the people were honest and paid off their debt as soon as they could. I don’t think he could operate in that way today. There are too many people who are only too eager to get goods or money under false pretences. Every day I open my phone, there is someone trying to do me with various scams. Just today I had another one telling me that I have a package in the post office that has some of the address missing and one from Bank of Ireland telling me there is suspicious action on my account. I also get regular phone calls from someone about my Revolute account despite the fact that I don’t even have a Revolute account. The best thing to do is ignore these messages even if they seem to be ok. If there is a problem with your bank they will contact you themselves and, above all else, don’t ever give your details to an online site that is looking for them.

This is also the time of year when we are all looking for bargains due to the Black Friday sales. Be very, very careful. If an offer looks too good to be true, it is. Yes, there are good deals to be had but always know who you are buying from. Stick with the reliable companies that have a good track record. A woman, lately, saw a vacuum cleaner for sale on a website. There was a photo of the object which looked really good. At the price asked, €50, she was sure she was getting a bargain and added it to her basket. After a couple of weeks an item arrived in a packet much too small for what she had ordered. On opening it she discovered that it was indeed a vacuum cleaner just like the one she saw on the ad but it was a small toy to suit young children operated by batteries. She tried to get her money back but when there was no reply to any of her emails and texts she eventually gave up. There’s a lot to be said for shopping local. It may be a bit more expensive but you know exactly what you are getting.

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. Mass Intentions this week: Friday Nov 29^th Nora Lynch – 1^st Anniversary.

Sunday December 1^st – Denny & Birdie Ahern. Bob Guiry & Kitty Hough. Catherine Woulfe (Keale Cross). Larry & Nora McAuliffe and all deceased members of the McAuliffe & Tierney families. Tom White & his wife Mary (Knocknagorna).

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

The Advent bible study group will reflect on the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love and prepare our hearts for the celebration of Christmas. Every Wednesday evening at 7.30pm in the Library Athea. For further details contact Pat on 087-2034626

Outdoor Advent Wreath at St. Bartholomew’s Church: Each Sunday evening of Advent, accompanied by the church choir, a short prayer ceremony will take place at 5pm where the community are invited to come together for the lighting of the candles followed by tea & coffee in the church afterwards. Everyone welcome to come along and join us as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas

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