Evan Curry, who captained the UL Fresher 2 Team who won the Division 3 League Final against TUS Athlone, with his brother Aidan, grandfather Paddy Mullane and father Paul at UL last Thursday evening
CHRISTMAS PARTY
Athea Going Strong Christmas Party
will take place on Wednesday, December11th 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
of €20 will be taken on
the day.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
The annual music class recital and trad session will take place in the Con Colbert Community Hall on Saturday next, Dec 7th at 7pm. Light refreshments and other “goodies” plus a raffle on the night. Everyone welcome.
Athea CCE tin whistle class with teacher Eileen Broderick
Athea Ladies AGM
Athea LGFA club will have their AGM on Friday 13th December in the clubhouse at 7.30. As always we would love to see more people get involved for 2025.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
All over bar the shouting, as they say, and the general election has thrown up a few surprises but, at the same time, it looks like more of the same for the foreseeable future. With FF and FG the only two parties who will have the numbers to make up a government with a little help from one of the smaller parties or independents. As expected, the Greens got hammered but I don’t think anyone foresaw a scenario where their leader was fighting for the only seat they managed to keep. The polls also underestimated the amount of support Fianna Fail would get and the fact that they surpassed both Sinn Fein and Fine Gael in seat numbers. Some big names failed to make it over the line as well and you would have to feel sorry for some of them who took the hit for spearheading what was government policy for their departments. I think we can now safely assume that the days of single party dominance in this country are well and truly gone. We had decades of either FF or FG forming governments and, the truth is, there was very little difference in policy between the two of them. We must also remember that these are very different days with different problems to solve so we wait and see what transpires over the next few weeks. I have nothing but admiration for all those who stood for election last week. Who would be a politician? The sacrifices they make are enormous. Your private life is no more and anything resembling normal family life is a memory. For every person who praises you there will be one who hurls abuse at you. Worst of all are the cowards who hide in social media and post defamatory material about a politician that is mostly untrue. People continually call to politicians houses at all times of the day and night with complaints and requests for some favour or other often wanting the rules slightly “bent”. Dick Spring from Tralee, former leader of the Labour Party, once told of a time when his father Dan, who was a Labour TD for North Kerry, had to leave the table during the Christmas dinner to deal with a constituent who called to the door with some problem. They also have to keep irregular hours and be available at all times for functions, meetings, funerals etc. so it is no walk in the park. Some might say the money is an attraction but, in the grand scheme of things, it isn’t huge and certainly wouldn’t compensate for the sacrifices that have to be made. I know I certainly couldn’t do it and I realised that many years ago when I was asked to join a political party with a view to running for office, so fair play to them, they deserve our respect and support because it is their efforts that ensure we have a good country to live in and the supports we need from day to day.
The Doc on One is a program on RTE radio that highlights certain events that have happened in Ireland over the years. One of the programmes was about an event that happened in Brosna a good few years ago when a fresh grave was re-opened in the middle of the night. Con Carey was an elderly man who lived alone in Brosna and died on the road coming home from the pub one night. He was put in a coffin and buried in the clothes and wellingtons he was wearing which were soiled from the roadside where he fell. Some people tried to do something about it but they weren’t allowed and the funeral went ahead with burial in nearby Mountcollins cemetery. A group of Con’s friends, who later became known as the twelve apostles, decided to take matters into their own hands and gathered at night in the graveyard where the coffin was dug up. Con’s body was washed by a woman who was with them and clean clothes were put on him before lowering him back into his final resting place. Con had no immediate family but the people of Brosna showed that he was one of their own and they looked after him. I knew Con well from my time going to Brosna where my grandparents lived and it is no exaggeration to say he was quite a character. He lived alone in a council house and, on one occasion he attended a clinic in Brosna run by the late Dan Spring TD and asked him to try and get some repairs done to the house. Dan promised him he would look after it but nothing happened until Dan was attending a funeral in Brosna a couple of weeks later where he met Con and assured him everything was in hand. “As a matter of fact”, he said, “two men are going in the morning for sand and gravel to do the job”. The following week Con entered Dan’s clinic and when Dan saw him he said, “I suppose you are wondering about your house”. “No”, said Con, “but I am wondering whatever happened to those two misfortunes who went for the sand and gravel or was anything ever again heard of them”. That story shows how people looked out for each other and there was a great community spirit where nobody was left behind. I wonder would the same thing happen today or are we all too tied up in our own problems to worry about anyone else.
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 Sunday Dec 8th: John Moran (months mind). Ellen Tierney. Patrick & Julia Kelly. Mary Larkin. Nora McCoy.
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 during Advent 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.
Christmas Mass Bouquet Cards are available now in the church.
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
**Outdoor Advent Wreath at St. Bartholomew’s Church***
Advent is a time of expectation and hope filled with rich traditions. “Advent” means “arrival” or “coming,” and it prompts us to pause each day in December and remember why Jesus came at Christmas. The advent wreath and candles provide beautiful symbolism for each week of advent as we wait for Christmas to arrive. The advent wreath is made up of five candles in total – three purple candles symbolising Hope, Peace and Love, one pink candle symbolising Joy, and one white ‘Christ Candle’. Advent lasts for four Sundays leading up to Christmas, beginning on Sunday December 1st. For the second year, a large outdoor Advent Wreath will be placed at the front lawn of St. Bartholomew’s Church. On each Sunday evening of Advent, accompanied by the church choir, a short prayer ceremony will take place at 5pm, where the community will be invited to come together for the lighting of the candles followed by tea & coffee in the church afterwards. We would like to extend a special welcome to families and children, and every member of our community.
Athea Community Council
Lucky Numbers Draw 02/12/2024
No’s Drawn: 5, 7, 9, 14. No Winner
Lucky Dips
Mary & Jamie Mahony, Galeside
Chris & Maria McCarthy, c/o White’s
Anne & Timmy Sheehen, Hillside drive
Bill Mulvihill, Upper Athea
Sellers Prize: Eilish Geoghegan & Collins’ Shop
Next Draw: 16/12/’24 Venue: Brown Joe’s
Jackpot €23,800