Road Racing Fundraising Weekend Postponed
Please note that this event has been postponed until further notice due to a clash with a cycle race in Athea village the same weekend
He is on the road again !
Joe Ahern is walking 100 miles for the month of May to raise money for The Irish Heart Foundation.
Joe has raised a large amount of money over the years by doing walks like these and deserves all our support.
If you would like to support Joe please contact 086 8155614
Blood Appeal
Following the May Bank Holiday weekend, the IBTS urgently needs to rebuild blood supplies. As of 9:00 a.m. this morning (Wednesday 7th May), our stock levels have dropped. For example:
- O negative: 2.0 days
- B negative: 2.2 days
- A negative: 2.7 days
We are reaching out to the Listowel Community with an appeal for blood donors to attend this Clinic:
Monday 12th & Tuesday 13th May
Listowel Arms Hotel 4:50pm – 8:10pm
New donors welcome at all clinics.
Please phone 1800 222 111 for appointment.
Donated blood plays a vital role in patient care — 65% supports cancer treatments and 5% is used in childbirth-related care. Every donation truly matters.
Thank you again for your continued support
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
There was great interest in the election of a new Pope in Rome this past week. People waited in St. Peter’s Square to see the white smoke appear from the chimney of the place where the Cardinals were housed during the voting process. Since then there has been great speculation about the new pontiff, someone who was not thought to be among the front runners for the position. He is a very well educated man with a background in the missions in Peru where he would have encountered a very different kind of life to the one he enjoyed growing up in the USA. People are wondering and hoping that he will continue in the same way as his predecessor, championing the poor and the downtrodden and trying to bring the church into the 21st century. There is much that needs changing but we must not expect too much. The Pope has only so much authority when it comes to change. During the ceremonies we saw rows of elderly, well fed men in long robes parading from chapel to chapel and it is these who decide what changes will or will not happen. Pope Francis wanted to do many things but there are a significant amount of cardinals who are what might be called “old school” and they want to go back to the days of the Latin Mass, segregation of the sexes in Church and a very strict observance of the rules as they applied centuries ago, especially in relation to anything other than heterosexual relations. They also don’t want to give women any power and see them as traditional home makers only. There is no doubt that, unless change comes, and comes soon, the numbers of practising Catholics will fall again. There are huge changes in a few years. When I was young, churches were full at every Mass. There had to be several Masses on Sunday to accommodate those who attended and every Saturday night the confessional boxes would be busy with people trying to get absolution for their sins. The Rosary was said in every house and every meal had a prayer before and after. Nowadays, there aren’t enough attending Mass to justify even one Mass on a Sunday in some places and there is such a shortage of priests that some parishes don’t have Mass at all on a regular basis. I don’t know how many families still say the rosary but I would say they are few and far between. The question of allowing married men to become priests should be top of the agenda along with the ordination of women. The fact is they are badly needed at the moment due the lack of vocations in this country. The few priests left are run off their feet trying to look after several parishes. It is to be hoped that the new Pope will win over some of the objectors and write a new chapter in the history of the Catholic Church. We await developments.
I took a walk up the bog road on Sunday last and noticed a good few people turning and footing turf. Due to the prolonged dry spell, turf has dried in record time and some of it is now ready to draw home, or at least that is what it looks like. The old people would not agree. They said that too much sun after the turf was cut was bad for drying because it put a hard skin on the outside of the sod but left the middle a bit raw. They used to say that the best weather for turf was breezy, showery weather. I don’t know but I think that if the newly cut turf gets enough wind along with the sun, it will dry all right. I wasn’t surprised to see so many people in the bog because they are working all the week and this is the only time they have to save their fuel for the winter. They have to take advantage of the fine weather because it will not last forever and when it breaks it might be a long time before another good spell comes. This would not happen long ago though. Sunday was strictly observed as a day of rest, the rule being no unnecessary servile work was allowed on the Sabbath. The only time I saw that rule being broken was in the summer when there was mixed weather and there was hay to be saved. If the Sunday was good and the weather was going to break, the hay would be made up on that day because to leave it might be to lose it entirely. They did not break the rule because it then became necessary work so there was no transgression. Sundays are fast becoming just another day of the week and it is a great pity. It was great therapy for people to put on their best clothes on a Sunday and go to Mass. Afterwards they would meet the neighbours, do a bit of shopping in the local shops and the men might even visit the pub for a swift drink. I remember Sunday mornings with great affection. My father had a lorry and we picked up people on the road who gladly jumped over the rails into the back to gat a lift to Mass. In those days the women and the men sat on different sides of the church so until I was old enough I sat in the women’s aisle with my mother. My abiding memory is the smell of stale sweat which did not change when I was old enough to stand with the men. After Mass we would be treated to an ice cream and maybe be given the price of a comic to read. These comics were magic to us and brought us into a new world of cowboys and Indians or great war heroes. I couldn’t wait to get home and read every line from cover to cover and then go out and pretend I was the cowboy fighting off the dreaded redskins! How times have changed.
Church Notices
Priests: Fr. Tom Mangan 087-2348226, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Dan Lane 087 2621911.
Mass Intentions Sat 17th May 7.30pm
Bridget Keane (1st A/v) and her grandfather Ned Quinn. Patsy O’Connor (South Keale), his parents Ann & William and brothers Joe & Jack. Denny Barrett. Paddy Collins (The Nursery).
Margaret Cummins & her grandmother Mary Vaughan.
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.
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 12/05/’25
No’s Drawn: 4, 23, 28, 32. No Winner
Lucky Dips
Ann White, Cratloe
Noreen Barry, Cratloe
Sarah Brouder, Hillcrest House
Shonagh Mahony, c/o Ned Mahony
Sellers Prize: Collins’ Shop & E. Fitzgerald
Next Draw: 19/05/’25 Venue: White’s
Jackpot €25,600