Dia is Mhuire díobh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.
A fond hello to one and all as we join forces at the start of another new year. We were so blessed with fine weather over the Christmas period. No traffic delays or cancellations. Our Church ceremonies were all very well attended. Our church was beautifully lit and brightly decorated. Our church choir and pipe band added their own special flavour and through our wonderful streaming service, all of our services were received loud and clear in many parts of the globe. On the other hand those coming from far away places enjoyed the warmth and welcome that only comes from being with family and neighbours at this special time of the year. Many thanks to all those who helped in any way to make our Christmas so special.
It made our festival even more special to have our own world class singer Darren Kiely among us for a few days. Most of Millstreet dressed up to the nines to attend his concert at the renowned INEC complex in Killarney where he gave his all to a packed house.
In the mean time our friend Jessie Buckley from nearby Killarney is sweeping the boards in Hollywood with what seems to me the greatest of ease. Well done to all our stars. They do us proud.
Today we mourn the passing of the lovely Tessie Kelleher. Tessie passed away at her home near Cullen at the wonderful age of 108. She is reputed to be the second oldest person in the country. She was lovingly cared for by her namesake daughter Tessie and the rest of the family. I know Tessie for as long as I can remember. As far back as 1939/40. when she worked at my cousins Han Corkery’s little draper shop in the Main Street. After our mother’s death my Dad used to buy the underwear for myself and my sister there (in the lowest of whispers) because the very mention of such things by a man back then was taboo. We didn’t meet very often down the years because we lived in different parts of the parish, but when we did old memories were recalled. I had the pleasure of joining herself and her daughter Tessie for tea at the Aroma Cafe in the not too distant past. I offer my sincere sympathy to her wonderful family and may the gentle soul of Tessie rest in peace.
At a time like this the word goes out to see who is the next most senior citizen in our parish. Time will tell.
There was no end to the amount of fundraising that was held over the Christmas period. Far too many for me to mention but it still goes to show that there is no limit to the goodness of people. Well done to all those who contributed to good causes and helped to make Christmas better for those in need.
Because I’m still not up to my full health following my trip to hospital, I made up my mind not to give presents or cards this Christmas and give the money to charity instead. My decision was accepted by all. However a couple of presents did come and now I am the proud possessor of a hard back copy by one of my favourite writers Manchán Magan, called Ninety –Nine Words for Rain (and one for sun) I loved that man. I loved his airy fairy ways. It was such a pity that he died so young. His book for want of a better description, is gas. Leafing through it some of the pages are totally blank, making you wonder why. Is it meant to make you think for yourself. Or maybe entice you to stop everything and wait for the brain to do something. His ways have so many parallels to the things that motivate me. Anybody who knows me know that I’m a doodler. As long as I have a piece of paper and a pen I’m never bored because I will draw something. He draws faces in the wind, I do that too, it reminds me of what we were told when we were young that a sow can see the wind. There are countless hours of pondering for me in this book , I love the mystery of it all and there I’ll leave it ,before I reach a point where I can’t stop. Many thanks to the person who chose the gift so well. And thanks to my family for making my Christmas so special.
As I said I didn’t do much posting at Christmas but some cards still came and I get a lovely Mass card every year from a family who sign all their names and the Mass said at St. Francis Friary, Liberty St. Cork. I cannot send one back because I don’t have their address or even who they are but God love them the Mass Christmas card comes every year. Many thanks if they see this I’d be glad if they got in touch.
As life returns to normal following the Christmas break the Cullen Special Needs Association wasted no time in getting back to action. They opened their six week fundraising Weigh In in Cullen on Monday night, and got off to a great start when sixty people turned up. Mairead Reen was there to do Weighing In and from next week Hannelie O’Connor will be there to conduct exercises to music. It’s the fun way to lose those pounds that were put on at Christmas. All proceeds will go to Special Needs Fund. Please support them well.
The National Machinery Show will be held at the Green Glens on Wednesday and Thursday January 21 and 22 and the program of Equestrian events for the months ahead is vast and varied. Starting as early as April. So watch this space.
Please look up our website every day to get a full account of all that is happening around here. The service is in good stead following the wonderful response to the Go-fund-me appeal and can look to the future with great confidence thanks to all who gave.
Our World is a pretty mixed up place at the moment and more and more people are turning to prayer as can be seen on social media . Our Pope Leo makes great use of it to spread to word of God to his people. Urging everyone to say the Rosary every day. Our young people have a lovely young saint in Carlos Acutis to pray to. Never in our lifetime have we seen a lad so young being canonised, so he must be very special and I’m sure would lend a listening ear to our young people. Saints in our day were always from as far back the sixth century, so we could never get familiar with them. Carlos Acutis is surely an inspiration to our young people because of his young age. We can never force anybody to pray etc, but it’s good to let them know that the help is there if they feel they need it.
Sinn a bfuil a cairde ,Slan is beannacht De libh go leir.
