HAPPY EASTER
Jerry Brouder with his colleagues from Glin Mens’ Shed in Athea last
Saturday morning.
Chair Yoga
In Knockanure Community Centre on Wednesdays at 11am. Fee €10
Parish Litter Pick-up
The annual parish clean-up will take place on Good Friday. Every year tons of litter are picked up by local volunteers on all the roads around the parish. In this day and age there is no need for anybody to dump their litter on the side of the road so please refrain from doing so
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I had made a promise to myself that I would not write about Trump anymore but two awful happenings that occurred this week have changed my mind. One was the bombing of a hospital in Ghaza by Israeli forces and the other was the bombing of people leaving Palm Sunday ceremonies in a church in Ukraine. It is beyond any shadow of doubt that these two events are war crimes and the majority of world leaders rightly condemned them as such but Donald Trump did not. He made no mention of Ghaza and failed to condemn Russia saying they “made a mistake”. It is clear that both the Israelis and the Russians feel they have a free hand because Israel has the total backing of Trump and Putin has him in his pocket. There seems to be a plan between Trump and Putin to carve up Ukraine between them in what will be called a “peace deal”. Trump does not care about ordinary people, he just looks at the deal and how much he can make out of it. Look at what he did to the American economy with his tariffs. Ordinary people are feeling the effects, especially those with retirement pensions who see their money disappearing before their very eyes. He was forced to back track on some of the tariffs because the bond markets got spooked and he also had to take off some of the tariffs on Chinese goods because America needs them to keep going. He thought that by threatening the world they would all come looking for deals or, as put it, “kissing his ass”. There was no great rush and I think he has lost any leverage he had. There is something bothering me about all this. Where is the American government? Surely they have a duty to the people of America to protect their interests. How can one man have so much power to wield? USA is supposed to be a democracy and prided itself on being the leader of the free world but what I see is a dictator doing exactly what he wants with no respect for government or judiciary. This trade war is far from over and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a recession as a result of it. Is that going to make America great again.? I don’t think so. In a trade war everybody loses. Trade between countries should be fair and equitable. Trump condemns Europe because they will not allow American beef and other such products to be sold here. The problem is that we have standards and American beef that has had hormone treatment does not come up to those standards. The same applies to food from any other country and rightly so because the protection of the consumer is paramount. The fact is we all need each other and co-operation is the key. There is no need for strong arm or bullyboy tactics. At the end of the day people will have to sit around the table and make a deal. There will be give and take on both sides but that is the art of politics. The sad part is that the President of the greatest country in the world hasn’t a clue about politics and has surrounded himself with colleagues who know just about as much as himself. They are chosen for their unquestioning loyalty to him and there is no fear of any of them calling halt. Each day brings a new revelation that shows how far America has strayed from the great nation it once was. They may think they are smarter and better than all the rest of us but they are showing by their actions just how stupid they really are. It is time for decent Americans, Republican and Democrat, to stand up and be counted. You can’t surrender you country to a bunch of businessmen who just want to make themselves and their cronies richer. If people knew last year what they know now, I don’t think Donald Trump would be in the White House now. Time to pray I think.
This is Holy Week and it brings back memories of long ago when the vast majority of people in them parish were Roman Catholics and observed the laws of the Church. This was he last week of the Lenten Fast which was going on for seven weeks since Ash Wednesday. Fasting and abstinence were obligatory and were fairly strict. Eating was limited to one meal a day and two collations. In the small meals you couldn’t have more than a certain weight of bread. I forget exactly how much it was but it was meagre and I remember my mother weighing it on an ouncel. Every Friday was a day when no meat could be eaten and this was also strictly observed. When this week came, the last of the fasting was in sight and people were excited by the fact that they could once again eat enough!. We also gave up something for lent like sweets, drink, sugar etc. and we couldn’t wait to taste them again. This didn’t always work out. One year I gave up sugar and I couldn’t wait for Lent to be over so that I could put a couple of spoons in my tea again. Come Easter Sunday morning and I duly stirred two flowing spoons of sugar into my cup of tea. I took a mouthful and almost threw it out again. It tasted awful and I never put sugar in my tea ever since. I suppose you could say it was a blessing in disguise.
Things have changed quite a lot since then but Easter still remains the biggest festival in the catholic calendar so enjoy it everyone.
Surviving members of the Athea Set Dancers who won the All-Ireland Scor title at the MNational Stadium back in the 1970s
Front Row: Eileen Barry, Nancy Woulfe and Gretta Enright
Back Row: Timmy Woulfe, Joe Murphy and Domhnall de Barra who provided the music on the night.
The other members of the set were Patie Enright, Timmy O’Keeffe and Margaret Cotter who have all gone to their eternal reward.
Photo by Bridie Murphy
CHURCH NOTICES
Priests: Fr. Tom Mangan 087-2348226, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Dan Lane 087 2621911.
Easter Ceremony Arrangements: Wednesday April 16th– Mass of Chrism – St John’s Cathedral.
Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lords Supper 7.30pm, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 9pm- 12am.
Good Friday: Celebration of the Lords Passion 3 pm, followed by Veneration of the Cross.
Holy Saturday: Solemn Celebration of the Easter Vigil 8pm.
Easter Sunday: Dawn Mass, Holy Cross Graveyard 5.30am, St. Bartholomew’s Church Mass 11am.
All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea (except dawn mass)
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
Chrism Mass 2025 – St. John’s Cathedral, Limerick on Wednesday, 16th April at 7.00 pm.
Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament in Athea Church on Holy Thursday night 9pm-12am
Easter Dawn Mass at Holy Cross graveyard on Easter Sunday morning at 5.30am.
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
Tom Collins from Athea and Timmy Collins from Abbeyfeale at Listowel on Thursday with donkey owner Pat O Shea .
Photo Moss Joe Browne.
Athea Community Council Lucky Numbers Draw
14/04/’25 No’s Drawn: 2, 5, 23, 28 No Winner
Lucky Dips
M & R., Carrigkerry
G, B. & N. Collins, Knocknagorna
Paddy Frank, Carrigkerry
B. & A. Ambrose, Lr. Dirreen
Sellers Prize: E. Fitzgerald & Collins’
Next Draw: 21/04/’25 Venue: Batt’s Bar
Jackpot €25,200
Duck & Swan
Scenes from the Duck & Swan night at Batt’s Bar on Saturday night last. It was also the occasion of Jerry Brouder’s 70th birthday. A great night was had by all with musicians and friends coming from far and near. Athea branch of Comhaltas would like to extend congratulations and good wishes to Jerry who has been the back bone of the movement over many, many years. He has also been very active in the Gun and fFshing clubs and organises the Duck & Swan nights to feed the ducks on the river.
