Excited Athea group after finishing the Camino 165k trek in Santiago. Photo by Kathleen Mullane
Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann
The branch would like to extend its sympathy to the family of the late Jim Herbert, Knocknaboul. Jim was a fine traditional singer and the last remaining member of the first Comhaltas branch committee in Athea.
May he rest in peace
Mental Health
Friendly Community based peer support groups for anyone experiencing mental health issue through 12 Step Program of connection, hope, identity by empowering people to nurture their positive wellbeing by supporting personal growth through education and self-teaching. Contact Celia 086-1526966/ Danielle 086-1588626/Www.grow.ie
Athea United AGM
Will take place at the Clubhouse, V94ESR3, on Friday 11th July at 8.00pm
Athea Community Council
We are delighted to report that we have passed the first stage of the Town & Village Renewal Fund Application. We are now invited to submit an application for funding for the large 500K fund. At this stage there is still no guarantee of funding, but it is heartening to think our project was the only project in Limerick to progress to stage two. To be in with the best change, we need to ensure our application is of high standard, ticking all the boxes. Anyone with a background in project management/construction are invited to give a hand with this application. As with most funding applications, match funding is required. To this end, we encourage you to continue to support the Athea Community Council Ltd. weekly draw, with all funds raised going towards the Athea Community Council Projects. You may have noticed our two window displays at our building. One being a display from Athea Tidy Towns, and the other a display of the works of art from our local craft group.
Many thanks to David O Sullivan, Lower Rd. for his assistance in preparing the windows for the display.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
What we all have known for ages has now become official – Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe. Almost every commodity is dearer, especially the basic shopping bag ingredients that have soared since the start of the war in Ukraine. First of all the cost of power went up with electricity production curtailed by the loss of gas and, as electricity prices are tied to gas prices , bills went through the roof to the extent that the government had to step in and give a hand to households that could not afford the high prices. The ironic thing is that, in Ireland, electricity producers do not depend on gas that much so they were able to make a killing and are still doing so to this day. This should not have been allowed to continue and, looking to the future, changes in the way prices are decided should be considered. The price of petrol and diesel also went up suddenly and they have been kept fairly high every since despite the fact that the price of crude oil has dropped until this weekend when the attack on Iran by the Americans could trigger a new scarcity which will once again send prices skywards.. Have you ever noticed that when the price of crude goes up the price at the pumps goes up straight away but when the opposite happens and the price comes down it could take a long time for the prices at the pumps to follow suit. The cost of staying in a hotel in this country is away above what it should be. On my last trip to England I could get very good hotel rooms for less than €50. The same here is now costing nearly ten times that much. They also take advantage of big concerts or games to hike up the price. Eating out has also become very expensive. A steak is over €30 in most restaurants and don’t dream of ordering lamb which is now one of the most expensive pieces of meat. Those that run the establishments will point to the high costs of running a business in this country and therein is another problem. High insurance premiums, VAT, labour costs etc. have a big bearing on the prices on the menu but I can’t help feeling that some prices are inflated. Despite that the hospitality industry re still demanding a reduction in the VAT rate, something that I can’t see happening. The insurance companies promised to lower premiums if the government put a cap on awards by courts. This was done but have the premiums come down? If anything they have got more expensive. Going to the pub for a couple of social drinks was a regular occurrence in this country and it was great to socialise with the neighbours but now the cost of drink is prohibitive. Guinness in Killarney is €9 a pint and that is cheaper than some parts of Dublin. Even in pubs that are just charging the going rate, the cost of a night out is prohibitive. Take, for instance, two couples who meet in a pub for a night out. The men are drinking pints and the women are drinking shorts with mixers. Each round will cost the guts of €30 so they wouldn’t be expected to stagger on their way out! It doesn’t stop there. In rural areas they will have to get a taxi and probably have to pay a babysitter as well, so a good night out will cost half of their disposal income. Now they are getting the drink at a supermarket or off-licence and socialising in their own homes. No wonder pubs are closing down at an alarming rate. Supermarkets are vying with each other for our custom but they are charging far higher prices here than they do in other countries. Along with that we are also being short-changed by the reduction in size of items like chocolate bars and aerosol cans etc. No wonder the multi-nationals refer to Ireland as “treasure island”. The cost of putting a roof over one’s head is also a huge problem. We were used to high prices in cities like Dublin but now we have them in places like Athea. Small, 3 bedroom bungalows are selling for €400,000 and that is with just a builder’s finish. Another €100,000 will have to be spent to make them habitable. It is just the market but how are ordinary people going to be able to afford such prices especially since wages have not increased that much over the years. It is hard to know what the future holds but it is difficult to be optimistic. The government, and not just this one, failed badly to provide housing and infrastructure over the years so we are at a point where, even if houses could be built, there isn’t enough services like water and electricity to support them. I am glad to see that there is a change in the planning process with An Bord Pleanala being replaced. Planning has been a nightmare over the years with too much time spent on frivolous objections. We have had people who live in the Dublin suburbs objecting to housing developments in places like Kerry and Donegal, places they may never have even visited. Some of them were serial objectors and I hope that they will now be treated as trouble makers. In the meantime we are going to have to try and come to terms with the high cost of living and look for ways to improve people’s lives. There are no magic bullets that will cure this but I hope that the powers that be can put their heads together and come up with some solutions otherwise we will have more and more of our young people choosing to emigrate to countries where they will be able to earn much more money and live at half what it would cost them at home. This will leave us with a severe shortage of skills in the country and a reduction in the population that will affect schools and businesses. This has happened before but then it was because of lack of opportunity and recessions but now we have full employment and plenty of money, a very different scenario. I hope nto God i have it all wrong.!
Church Notices
Priests: Fr. Tom Mangan 087-2348226, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Dan Lane 087 2621911.
Mass Intentions: Saturday June 28st 7.30pm, Michael Woulfe (months mind) & his parents Tom & Kit Woulfe. Larry, Marie & Pat Buckley. Kit Quinn O’Connor.
All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea
Our annual Corpus Christi procession will take place next Saturday evening June 28th after 7.30pm Mass. We especially welcome the first communion children and their families.
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 23/06/’25
No’s Drawn: 7, 11, 21, 28. No Winner
Lucky Dips
A.J.T., c/o Eilish
Áine Ryan, c/o Damien
Michael Brosnan, Upper Athea
Jet & Maggie, Athea
Sellers Prize: Collins’ Shop & Francie Flavin
Next Draw: 30/06/’25 Venue: White’s
Jackpot €26,200