Pat Higgins dressed as St. Patrick for Canon Kelly’s Mass last Sunday. See Kathleen’s Corner
Congratulations
To Athea Playground Committee who secured planning permission for their project and also a grant of €100,000. this is a much needed facility for our community and I know that we will all give them the support they need and deserve
VINTAGE ROAD RUN
Knockdown Vintage Club will host their Annual Charity Road Run on Sunday 30th March 2025. Draw tickets are on sale at the moment for worthy charities Contact:
Margaret Culhane Hon. Secretary 087230 3918 .
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
With all the upheaval and commotion that’s going on at the moment, I went into a kind of a nightmare the other night. I though that a MAGA movement was set up in Athea ! No, “not make America great again” but MAKE ATHEA GREAT AGAIN. I know, total madness but I got to wondering how someone like Trump would approach it. First of all we would have to seal the borders and deport all the blow-ins from neighbouring parishes and beyond. There would be an exemption for somebody who was married to a person from Athea and in productive employment but otherwise, out you go!. Athea houses for Athea people. The small shops in the village would all be reopened and a levy would be put on all goods bought in neighbouring towns. Check points would be created on all roads in and out of the parish to ensure the proper penalties and levies are enforced. The creameries in Athea and Cratloe would be reopened and these would take the milk from Athea farmers only and then produce butter, cheese, yogurt etc. for consumption by the people of Athea. Kerry Co Op products would be banned from the shop shelves. Every household would have to cultivate a garden to grow potatoes and vegetables so that there would be plenty for everybody. We would go back to keeping a pig for the table and chickens to provide eggs and meat. People who don’t have land would be given allotments in land confiscated from the County Council who are just letting it lie idle. The bogs would be opened up providing lots of summer jobs and it would become compulsory to have a fireplace in every house. The old coal mine in Cratloe would also be reopened and this would provide more fuel. We would even be able to export to other parishes and make a lot of money. All the forestry in the parish would be “nationalised” and a sawmill built to turn the timber into log houses, rafters, stakes and firewood because we are being ripped off by speculators from outside who take lorry loads of timber out of the parish every day. These are just some of the changes that would make Athea great again and the envy of other parishes in the area but, hang on, didn’t we have all this before? We had the creameries, the shops, the gardens , maybe not the sawmills but we were able to feed ourselves without having the buy expensive food. Yes, it was a different time and we can’t turn back the clock but are we really that better off today?. I grew up in that kind of world and I can honestly say that, though we may have been poor by today’s standards, we were very happy and contented with our lot. We certainly were much healthier. There were no doctors surgeries full of patients and no medicines except for the odd Aspirin or two. If we got a cold or flu, our mothers and grandmothers went to the hedgerows and picked herbs that were boiled and mixed into a potion that cured the problem. You went to the doctor only if you were very ill and if you had to go to hospital you were dying! People used to bless themselves if they saw the ambulance, known locally as “the Croom car”, passing the road. The fact that we had no processed foods helped as well. The potatoes and vegetables came straight from the garden into the pot and I have yet to taste any meat as good as a bit of fresh porksteak. Simple living it certainly was and I know we can never go back to it, or could we? Who knows what the future may bring. The world is up in a heap at the moment and we were never closer to a nuclear war that will change everything forever. I hope I am totally wrong and that Athea will continue to prosper, even without the MAGA movement!!
One thing I noticed over the weekend – there is far less drinking than there was a few years ago. Not that long ago we had 11 pubs here in Athea and every one of them would be full on St. Patrick’s Day. Now we only have three pubs and they were quiet enough this year. There is definitely a change in how people socialise and I, for one, think it is a good thing. In my younger days everything revolved around drink. I couldn’t wait to be big enough and old enough to be able to stand at the counter and drink a pint with my father. Every occasion was an excuse to have a drink. People who came to the village would not go home without calling to a pub. They thought it would be bad luck if they didn’t. After Mass on Sunday, even though the pubs were officially closed, there was a brisk trade in many establishments. Shopkeepers and others would have one or two before the supper and the farmers bringing milk to the creamery often delayed for a couple of hours and a good time was had by all. I was saying to somebody the other day that I found it hard to understand how pubs did such a lively trade at a time when there was little money around. He said to me: “the men might be drinking but the wives and children were sometimes going without at home”. I don’t want to seem to be anti drink, God knows I have swallowed my fair share of it over the years, but I resent the time I wasted at numerous counters when I could have been doing something more healthy and productive. There is nothing nicer than a drink with friends or family but, everything should be in moderation. Here’s to more enjoyable times to come.
Church Notices
Priests: Fr. Tom Mangan 087-2348226, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Dan Lane 087 2621911.
Masses this week- Tuesday morning 9.30am & Friday evening 7pm and Sunday 11am.
Intentions: Sunday 23rd March: John Horgan, Margaret O’Connor, Michael Carroll,
Mike & Nellie O’Keeffe, Bridie & John Tom Scanlon.
Eucharistic Adoration and the Devine Mercy Chaplet every Tuesday morning after mass.
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.
ALONE are seeking volunteers in the ATHEA area. Full training and support provided. If interested, please contact Caroline on 086-4040910.
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
A two hour documentary named
Father and Son
The story of Paddy Finucane, TD and his son Mick. Paddy’s 26 years in the Dáil
Footage of the Gale River in Moyvane in the 1940s
Also footage of the Brick and Cashen Drainage work in the 1950s
And Donal Bill Sullivan’s story when he found Con Dee in Cooilbee Bog on May 12th, 1921
At Clounmacon Community Centre On Friday, 4th April at 8 o’clock
Refreshments served Adm €10
Athea Community Council LUCKY NUMBERS DRAW
DATE: 18/03/’25 Jackpot: €24,700
No’s. Drawn 17, 24, 28, 32. No Winne
LUCKY DIPS
€20 Denise Deegan, Limerick
Michael Fitzgibbon, Moyvane
Betty & Elizabeth, c/o Charlie
Eleanor Mullane, Knocknagorna
Sellers Prize: Collins’ Shop & Lal Browne
Next Draw: 24/03/’25 Venue: Brown Joe’s