News – 5/11/24 « Athea & District Notes

Nov/24

News – 5/11/24

Congratulations to 8 years old Emily O’Connor who won a Gold Medal taking first place in Gymnastics Ireland in Dublin last Sunday. |

Well Done Lads

It wasn’t to be for Athea Juniors in the County Final on Saturday last but they can be assured that the parish is very proud pf their achievement. It isn’t everyday you get to a county final and remember the old saying: “you have to lose one to win one”. Better luck next year.

Athea Playground Fundraiser

A Social Dance will take place in the Hall on Nov 9th from 9 –11pm with music by Paudie Coffey Band. Adm is €10 and proceeds will go to the playground fund

Athea & District Credit Union will be CLOSED on Saturday 9th for the Fair of Athea

The Late John Moran

Brendan Ferriter was a predecessor of mine in Knocknagorna school. He was very enthusiastic about the scholars he came across in his teaching days there and spoke in particular about a couple of prodigies called John Moran and Billy Berkery. I didn’t know Billy very well and John had left the school before I arrived. However, we got very close in subsequent years because he joined the staff of Athea N.S. and we served there together for ‘donkeys’ years until we both retired. John was a cherished member of the school staff. His views were always weighty, he was a valued member over the years and was looked upon by the rest of the staff with the greatest of admiration. He loved his job, he loved his children and often spoke about their abilities and challenges. Above all, he contributed to a peaceful atmosphere within the school and a great camaraderie among the staff. He approached his work with the utmost professionalism and was meticulous in his preparation and delivery of the curriculum at all times.

John’s contribution to life in Athea was prodigious. Literally everything that was good had his hand on it. He was a founder member of Athea Credit Union and you can see where that is today. He was involved in the carnival committee which raised funds for the upkeep of the GAA and for the purchase of the present sportsfield. One of his greatest achievements among them was his dedication to the construction of the Con Colbert Memorial Hall which was funded in the early stages by church gate collections all over Co. Limerick and North Kerry. He was involved in St. Vincent De Paul and church activities to mention but a few. He was certainly peerless, whose like will be hard to emulate and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him especially myself. We convey our sincere condolences to his wife Catherine and the lovely family that they reared together in Toureendonnell. All we can say is rest in peace, the way he always lived.

Slán agus síochán leat a Sheáin.

Timmy Woulfe.

The Way I See It

By Domhnall de Barra

As we go to press, the US election is taking place and by the time you are reading this the result may be known although it may take some time because, if Trump does not win, he will hold up the whole thing with lawsuits. He has already promised this and more chaos as well. I sincerely hope that he does not get a chance to pardon himself for his crimes by becoming president. I know there are policy differences between opposing political parties but, however bad it was before, he has succeeded in putting a huge rift between the American people on either side and now it is the divided rather than the united states. He has brought politics and statesmanship to a new low and has shown by his words and actions that he has no morals or scruples and will tell outrageous lies and make disparaging comments about opponents. One should have respect for others, not call them “dumb as mud” and say they have a very low I.Q. He appeals to the worst of human emotions and, unfortunately, there are too many people on the ground only waiting for someone to give their own criminal leanings legitimacy. I fear for the world if he gets power into his hands but it is out of everybody’s control by now. I can only pray.

Our own elections will be coming soon and I hope that we will not descend into the American way of name-calling and mud-slinging. Of course there will be banter but, at the end of the day, candidates will accept the election results and congratulate the winners, whatever party they belong to. There are people in our country who would follow Trump if we were here but, thank God, they are in a small minority and don’t have any real influence. The reality is that there isn’t a whole lot of difference between most of our political parties who may have different goals but will soon realise, if elected to office, the limitations of what they can actually achieve. In general, we have been well served by our politicians. Yes, there are problems with health and housing but we must remember the troubled times we have come through and how badly off we were a few years ago when we had to be bailed out by the IMF but, we live in a free society with a good standard of living and full employment opportunities. I say “opportunities” because there are still some drawing unemployment assistance even though there are thousands of jobs out there to be filled. That is one situation I can never understand. Unemployment assistance and benefit are an important part of how we treat our people but they should be a last resort and granted only if a job is not available. For too long this country has had high unemployment and we should embrace the advances that are made and take advantage of any opportunity to take a job.

I often thought I would love to be like the Cuckoo. I would live here for the Summer and emigrate to warmer climes for the Winter. If I ever had enough money, say won the lottery, I would buy a house in Spain and leave here at the end of September and not return until well into Spring. Wasn’t I lucky I could never afford my ideal life because the weather is now so unpredictable in parts of Spain that I might have been caught up in the terrible flooding of the last couple of weeks. It is heartbreaking to see the devastation caused to the locals with many dead and some bodies still trapped in underground car parks. The government was very slow in responding to the crisis with most of the help coming from ordinary people who rushed to the scene to do whatever they could. It is another indicator of global warming with the elements getting more severe by the passing year. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it because the damage is done. All we can do is pray that it is a passing phase in the story of the world and things will revert to what they were in time. Listening to the experts, this is an unlikely event ant things are only going to get worse. We are extremely lucky to be living where we are. We might complain about too much rain at times but, in general, we have a mild climate and don’t really get any extremes. Long may it last.

Some of our readers have asked me to highlight the excessive use of bangers and fireworks down by the bridge over the Halloween period. As far as I’m aware, fireworks are illegal in this country but, then again, when did that ever stop anything. It is easy for someone to drive over the border to Northern Ireland and fill a car load of them to be sold on at a good profit so they are freely available. The reason they are banned is the danger, especially to younger people, of them going off prematurely and causing severe bodily harm. They are, after all, explosives and should be handled with extreme care. That said, they are part of celebrations all over the world and naturally we love them as well. Maybe the Community Council or some other body should have an official fireworks display at Halloween and then the event could be controlled and properly run. There would then be no need for others to annoy the local citizens with too much noise going on over a long time. It is just an idea so let me know what you think.

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.

Annual Remembrance Mass on Friday November 8^th at 7pm. During Mass a candle will be lit for those who died during the past twelve months. For those whose relatives died outside the parish and you wish to remember them at this mass, please contact the parish office by phone/text or email (details below).

Graveyard Prayers will take place in Holy Cross cemetery next Sunday Nov 10^th after 11am mass and in Templeathea cemetery on Sunday November 17^th after 11am mass.

Bible Study continues in Athea Library every Wednesday evening at 7.30pm.

Mass Intentions- Sunday November 10^th at 11am: Michael & Peg Reidy, Johanna Sheehy and Chris Goodall. Mary & Patrick O’Sullivan and their son James. Josie & Patie Mulvihill, daughter Mary & Dermot McFerran and granddaughter Tara Barrett.

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 04/11/2024

No’s Drawn: 1, 5, 13, 29. No Winner

Lucky Dips

Sinéad Brouder, Gale View

Megan Carroll Athea

Seamus Sexton, c/o Collins’ Shop

Maggie Collins, Lower Road

Sellers Prize: Eileen Fitzgerald & Eilish Geoghegan

Next Draw: 11/11/’24 Venue: Batt’s Bar

Bodhrán Competition

The Annual Bodhran Playing Competition was held at Batt’s Bar on Sunday night last. There was a great crown in attendance on the night including a family from as far away as Leitrim who played, danced and took part in the competition. Thanks to the following for making the night such a success:

Helen at Batt’s Bar for sponsoring the beautiful trophies

All those who gave spot prizes

Domhnall de Barra & Eileen Broderick, adjudicators

All the musicians and dancers who provided great entertainment

Francie Flavin who sold raffle tickets and all those who bought the tickets.

All those who took part in the competition.

The results are:

Confined