Dia is mhuire díobh go léir a cáirde and welcome to my Report.
St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone and for us here in Millstreet, it was nothing short of a Showstopper. From early morning the sun shone out and kept the glow on all the events of the day. Our wonderful Pipe band played us into 11.30 Mass and as they paraded in tune all the way to the alter, you got that spine-chilling feeling of pride, even emotion. Founder member Tim O’Shea was there for photographs while stalwarts like the spritely Michael McCarthy and Brenden O’Sullivan led the group. It’s at moments like this that you weigh up the important part that things like your own pipe band play in a community and how important it is that we value them to the full. We had no less than three priests on the alter for Mass. Fr. Billy Radley, Fr. O’Shea (Kilcorney) and Fr. Sean Tucker. They were joined by Canon John at Holy Communion time. The band played the full church out after mass ended before rushing off the take part in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Killarney and were back again to take part in ours at 5.
It was heartening to see the work going on in the town square It was a matter of all hands on deck. Strong men made short work of placing the rows of crowd control barriers before the reviewing stand while others filled the scene with flowers and coloured bunting as the welcome sun shone down. For an hour before our 5 o’clock start the well known Peter Lane of Blackwater Sound Fame played and sang to the gathering crowds. As only Peter can. Cartoon characters dressed on furry suits mingled with the crowd and small tricolour flags were handed out to all and sundry. Little children were delighted to have one and the waving of hundreds of them added a great sense colour and fun and joy. There was a fine Garda presence as Sergeant Paul Lynch and his companion made sure that all was safe.
Right on the dot of five, Marie Twomey took the mike, ably standing in for Noel Buckley. By then all the seats on the reviewing stand were occupied by guests and members of our public bodies, including Canon John and Fr. Paddy O’Byrne. After a few items of the parade had gone by. Marie called for a minutes silence for Aiden McCaul, as it happened, right in front of his own hardware store. Aiden passed away the previous night and the announcement came as a surprise to many. The mark of respect was adhered to in detail and in spite of all the little children etc in the crowd, you could hear a pin drop during that one minute. The parade resumed and it was one of the best ever. Many of our schools took part and it was great to see schools from other places also. One tiny tot stole the show as she took to the empty street to do her very own solo skipping high and long in awe of the crowd.
The prize winners were announced at the very end of the parade and I’m sure they will be published on our website etc. Once again the heavies were on hand to move the barriers into the Barrack yard and tidy up the street as some people took smallies home and others crowded into the food outlets and bars to round off yet another wonderful St. Patrick’s Day. Well done to all involved.
The boys of our National School sang at Mass on Saturday night and got a lovely round of applause from the congregation.
Out in Carriganima on Saturday the weather was not so kind, for their Parade but not to be outdone the determined Seanie Murphy forged ahead and had them singing and marching in the rain and a great time was had by all. Well done Seanie. Always keep an eye on Carriganima, they never fail to come up with novel things from time to time.
The Cullen and District Special Needs Association who brought the curtains down on their 38th Sponsored Weigh In last week, want to thank all those who supported them in any way for the past numbers of weeks.
Meanwhile up in Aubane they are getting to do it all again on Friday March 29th (Good Friday). That night they will again stage their wonderful three-act play which was written by Gerdie Buckley and all the cast come from the local community. Tickets if you can get one are €15.
And now that the celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day are over let us go back to the holy season of Lent which will end in just two weeks. There’s still time before Easter to up the prayers and good works, in aid of the troubles at home and of the world over. There is Mass in our church in Millstreet every day, usually at 10 am but it changes if there is a funeral. Stations of the Cross will be said on Friday at 7 pm before 7.30 Mass. Eucharistic Adoration every Tuesday from 10.30am to 7.30pm. Come for an hour or drop in for a little while . Please support it well. We have people who are bereaved and those who are sick in hospital, awaiting results of tests plus all the conflicts abroad, they all need our help. We cannot do it in person so let us not to be found wanting in our prayers.
Mass in Cullen tomorrow Wednesday at 7.30pm and on Thursday 21st. 7.30.
Social media is full of ways and means of growing things at the moment. I’m glued to Facebook reading about them. It’s amazing how we can make things grow just by saving our everyday waste orange peels, banana peels, brown sugar, bread soda, yeast rain water, the list goes on .To see it on screen makes it all look so simple and everything is worth a try. My first attempt is to stick a few small cuttings from a rose bush into the banana and cover it over in a pot with compost. Could it work, I’ll let you know.
Here are the results of this weeks lotto draw which was held on Bank Holiday Monday night. Numbers drawn were 17,27,30,32 and the Jackpot was not won. €100 went Ned & Sheila Walsh, Carriganima c/o Corkery’s Bar. Corkery’s got €50 sellers prize. €50 went to Sean Twohig, Castlecor c/o Colemans. €20 each went to Boys 2 c/o Michelle Whelan, Ann Hourigan, c/o The Mal Paso. Eveny Costello, Priests Cross, Mary Lane, Adrivale, c/o Sheila. Charlie & Nell Cooper c/o Corkery’s Bar, Chris, Kate & Libhin Hickey c/o D. Hickey. James Hickey c/o Kevin. Joan Collins, Dooneen c/o O’Learys.
Next draw Sunday March 24 Jackpot €3.200.
Sinn a bfuil a cáirde, Slán is beannacht Dé libh go léir.
