by Peg Prendeville

It was with great sadness that we heard of the passing of Tommy (I always knew him as Tom) Wallace last Friday. Tom, born in Glenbawn, lived in Lios Mór in Feoghenagh, being cared for by the Brothers of Charity. Though he had many challenges in life he always had a smile on his face and never forgot your name. He had a most beautiful Mass on Monday in Ballyhahill, with many tributes paid to him. It was obvious that he was well liked in Lios Mór as a number of his Brothers of Charity family attended the Mass as well as many neighbours and friends. He will be greatly missed by his sister Maria, who was so fond of him, and by his brother Mossie. May he rest in peace reunited with his mother and father Nora and Dick and his twin brothers Jimmy and Jerry.

Aphasia Awareness takes place in June every year with a focus on raising awareness about aphasia, a communication disorder affecting speech, understanding, reading, and writing, often caused by stroke. I had to learn all this when Jim got his stroke which damaged the whole communication area of his brain. It makes life rather difficult for everybody and it highlights how important words and languages are for daily life. Those of us who can speak, read and write have a lot to be thankful for.

Fr McNamara, who is currently on sick leave, will be transferring the St Johns at the start of July. He is sad to leave us and we are sad to see him go.  There are envelopes in the Churches for anybody who wishes to give him a parting gift. They will be presented to him before he leaves. Our new priests will be coming around July 5^th. While we are sad to See Fr Austin go we are grateful to Fr Francesco and Fr Liam who will be coming in place of Fr Tim and Fr Austin. As with anything in life we have to adapt to changes.