Bridge News.
The winners of the last couple of Bridge games were as follows:
23-05-2016
1st: Nano Fitzgerald and Geraldine McMahon.
2nd: John Fitzpatrick and Mary Prendergast.
3rd: Peggy Murphy and Margaret Power.
4th: Eileen Kirwan and Mary Cummins.
30-05-2016
1st:Peggy Murphy and Breda Cowman.
2nd: Kate Hayes and Sean Hennessy.
3rd: Margaret Power and Pauline Fanning.
4th: Nano Fitzgerald and Monica Sullivan.
Sincere Thanks.
The collectors for the IHCPT and Down Syndrome Ireland contacted me about the recent church gate colections they held in Saint Nicholas church in Ballyduff. They would like to thank all who contributed for their generosity and support.
Cemetery Mass.
Our annual graveyard mass in Ballyduff will take place on Wednesday July 13th at 7.30pm. This is always a very well attended event and if you could please help spread the word that it is coming up to people outside the parish who may have relatives or friends buried here.
If you are visiting our graveyard to tidy up your grave or replace flowers etc we would ask that you would please bring a rubbish bag and bring home your dead flowers and plants. All this helps to keep our graveyard neat and tidy.
Co.Op Centenary.
The Kilmeaden Co.Op centenary committee are very busy organising their centenary events. They are issuing an appeal to anyone who may have old photographs or historical information relating to the Co.op to get in contact with Pat Coady or Gabrielle Power in Kilmeaden Co.op.
Exam Wishes.
We wish the very best of luck to all those young people who will sit the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert next week. We hope that they will all be happy and content with the papers and that all their dreams come true.
GAA Academy.
Our U7’s and our U8’s took part in blitz competitions lately and did themselves and their club proud. The U8’s faced tough opposition in Clonea as well as some long grass but they acquitted themselves well in some low scoring games. Our U7’s hosted a blitz in Kildermody and their performance was breathtaking winning 4 of their 6 games topped off with a draw and a narrow loss also. Both these teams are from the same pool of players and are progressing nicely and the enjoyment they are providing should be bottled. A big thanks also to the three young whistlers who kept the proceedings moving. Training continues on Wednesday evenings at 6pm and will soon be held on Saturday mornings at 10.30am also.
The Music Man
We were all plunged into shock last week when we learnt of the sudden death of Michael Harris, formerly of Amberhill. Michael had been living in the Holy Ghost houses for the past few years where he was extremely happy but to all who knew him Amberhill was his home. He spent many happy years there with his wife Mary and their three beloved sons Ger, Kevin and Dermot. Michael worked hard all his life with Roadstone and it can honestly be said that he gave 120% every day he was there. What little spare time he had was spent in his shed tinkering away with tractors and engines and of course the other great love in his life was music. I can honestly say that I have never met a finer mouth organ player, I’d swear he could make it talk. I had the honour of spending many a Sunday over at their house in Amberhill while we would gather to practice for Scor. Practice was planned for an hour but I would always end up staying all evening as a session would break out. Poor Mary or Kathleen next door would end up feeding us before the evening was out. Michael passed on his great love of music to his children and as his son Dermot played the box at the graveside I knew Michaels heart would be bursting with pride. Michael and Mary had to suffer immense sorrow a few years ago when they suffered the loss of their son Kevin who was a very talented dancer, his legs moved so fast they didn’t seem to touch the ground at all.
Eldest son Ger, a gifted hurler spoke during Michaels funeral mass with great dignity, love and passion about his dad and had everyone smiling with stories of his dads escapades. I must congratulate Fr. John Harris who officiated at the funeral mass of his uncle which cannot have been easy but I can imagine how comforting it was to the family.
Michael was indeed a quiet, unassuming optomistic man who w as happy when his family was happy. He was delighted with the arrival of grandchildren and I’m sure they have lots of lovely memories of time spent with grandad. In the hard days ahead I hope the family can draw comfort from these memories. I now picture Michael resting on a cloud playing the mouth organ instructing Kevin to get a group together for one more set dance. Our deepest sympathy to all Michaels immediate family including his brothers and sisters who were a huge part of his life. May he now rest in peace and keep an ear out because that mouth organ was never quiet for long!!