Patrickswell notes for w/e February 13th

CHURCH NOTICES
Listed readers for masses this coming weekend, February14-15 are as follows; Saturday at 7pm Dan Riordan, Sunday at 10am P.J.O’Grady, Sunday at 12noon Lena Mary Houlihan. Eucharistic Ministers. Saturday at 7pm E.O’Byrne, R. Madigan, J.Tierney. Sunday at 10am, N.Murray, P.J.O’Grady. Sunday at 12noon B.Enright, N.Quinn, P.Kirby. Please arrange a replacement if you are unable to fulfill any duty allocated to you. Weekday masses are at 9-30 am Monday to Friday. The weekly prayer meeting takes place on Monday evening from 8 to 9pm and all are welcome.

MONTHS MIND
The Months Mind Mass for Christy Hanrahan, late of Killonahan, will take place in St. Michael’s Church, Manister, this coming Saturday, February 14 at 6pm.

SENIORS CLUB
Patrickswell Senior Citizen Club is running in the Resource House every Friday from 3pm to 5pm. We have the book club on once a month, and also the chiropodist comes to the club once a month. Anybody, not just members of the Friday club, can avail of these services in the village. If you would like to use the service of the chiropodist please contact Mary Kennelly on 0872738411 who will let you know when the chiropodist is visiting and any other information you require. Members visited the cinema last Friday instead of the usual club meeting. It is full steam ahead trying to come up with ideas for the Irish Festival Celebrating Creativity in older age.The theme for Bealtaine is “Go and open the door” so people are invited to try something new that allows us to celebrate our constant learning and capacity for creativity at all stages of our lives. It takes place in May. Members of the Friday club have written stories about what it was like when they were growing up in their area, and we hope to publish a booklet with all the different stories in May. We would like other members of the community in Patrick swell to participate in this by submitting stories or poems and maybe a photo taken about your time growing up in the community. You can email these to eveness@iolfree.ie or post them c/o The Friday Club, Resource House, Main Street, Patrickswell, before the 30th April. The more stories we have, the better the publication. We hope to get advertising to help us pay for the publication of the booklet, so if there is any business out there who can help in any way please let us know. We will call to businesses in the community over the next few weeks. Members of the Friday Club would like to wish Mary & John Murphy a happy 50th Wedding Anniversary.

HEALTH AND HEALING
An application has been made to the County Limerick VEC for a tutor to run a Health and Healing course in the Community Resource House. This was made on behalf of the community by West Limerick Resources and is open to all if it goes ahead. We hope to have a decision in the coming weeks and will let people know in due course. Mo Foley from West Limerick Resources can be contacted on 087 9915873/069 66298.


WORK ACCESS
If you have a disability, and would you like help and support in gaining and maintaining employment then please contact, Work Access Ltd, 1st Floor, Pillar House, Little Ellen Street, Limerick, Tel: 061 493095, email: info@workaccess.org website:www.workaccess.org
It is intended to help people with disabilities find employment within Limerick City and County.

DANCING
On the five Mondays in March, local dancer and dance instructor Lisa Cahill will run dance classes in Patrickswell GAA hall from 10-11.30am. This is a trial to see if local women have an interest in a group like this. Lisa hopes that these classes will be about both fitness and fun. If you are interested in coming along, please contact Mo at West Limerick Resources on 087 9915873.

SPORT
Interested in Organising Sport in Your Community? Then the County Limerick Local Sports Partnership’s (CLLSP) Active Leadership Training in March might be perfect for you. The course is fully certified and covers the following topics: Leadership skills, Safety and injury prevention, Code of ethics, Planning and organising a Sport for All session and programme, and Programme Administration.
The course is open to anyone over 18 who is interested and enthusiastic about organising sport in their community and who is already involved with a community group who could benefit. Specific sporting skills are not required. The training is a very practical and enjoyable experience. Please note: this award is aimed at people seeking a multi-sport award. If you are interested in getting training in a specific sport, then please contact the relevant National Governing Body for that sport. The training will run on Saturday 28th March in Croom Community Hall from 9.00am to 6.00pm and costs €30. You can book a place with Kathleen Kennedy of CLLSP on 061 496463.

DRUGS INFORMATION
The Voluntary Sector Group of the Mid West Regional Drugs Task Force has invited
Dr Des Corrigan, Chairman, National Advisory Committee on Drugs, to talk to parents, community groups and management committees who want to learn more about the effects of alcohol and drugs. It is an opportunity to consider some of the consequences of drug misuse. Please come along and bring a friend, to The Greenhills Hotel, Ennis Road on Monday February 23 at 7-30pm. Dr Corrigan is an excellent speaker and we hope to have plenty of time for questions and answers. Leaflets and information on the services in the region will be available.

ISPCC
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is currently looking for new volunteers. If you are interested please contact their Regional Office at 115 O’Connell St. Limerick, Tel 400077.


ALLOTMENTS
If any one is interested in booking a plot in the recently established Allotment Scheme in the Murroe – Cappamore area please contact John Hassett 0877811851 who will be happy to furnish you with more deatails.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CHRISTY HANRAHAN RIP
4-12-1923 TO 18 – 01- 2009

Christy lived and worked all his life in the townland of Killonahan, in the parish of Manister. He took over the running of the family farm with his sister Kitty, at a young age, and worked the land until his retirement. He was a man of great stature, and, as Fr Blewitt PP Manister, mentioned in his tribute to Christy, he probably had to duck his head each time to get into the stalls to milk the cows. As well has his farming, Christy took great pride in his garden in the orchard, growing his own vegetables for many years. He was by nature a creature of habit, and you could set your clock by him, as he passed by, accompanied by his two dogs, to bring in the cows for milking . If he met anyone on the way, he would always salute, and stop to pass the time of day. There was always time to offer his opinion on any given subject, ranging from the weather to sport, especially the previous or next week’s hurling or football, and world affairs to politics, a gift he retained right up to the time of his passing.
He ploughed with horses in his early years, and would have been working the land at the time of “Compulsory Tillage”. He was part of the generation where neighbours helped neighbours, and took it in turns with the threshing. There would often be up to twenty at the Hanrahan’s dinner table for such occasions. Initially he would bring his milk to the creamery by horse and cart, but time moved on, and there followed a succession of vans, the registeration number of the first one being, I U 9084, as Kitty is well able to recall.
He didn’t take part in sports himself, but he enjoyed the thrill of sporting occasions, and would often cycle to race meetings. His over-riding passion though was all things GAA, and as well as attending many local parish encounters over the years, he also travelled to Croke Park by train on occasions for All Ireland finals, a fact of which he was very proud. In recent years he added rugby to his list of interests, particularly with the success of Munster, and became very knowledgeable on that subject too. Despite not participating, he was nevertheless a formidable opponent when it came to discussing or debating the merits of particular teams or their performance, or players and their positions, and he had a remarkable memory for facts and figures. Christy enjoyed many a game of cards in his time, together with a pint of plain and a small one, and was a popular figure in the local hostelries where he would pass away the time of day putting the world to rights. Kitty loyally and steadfastly looked after Christy at home until he required more specialist care, and he became a much loved and well liked resident of St. Catherine’s Nursing Home at Newcastlewest, where he continued to amaze staff and residents with his ability to converse on the topics of the day. He also became the “unofficial keeper of the remote control” especially on match days. Kitty is eternally grateful for the loving care and attention he received there, and it was a blessing for her to know Christy was very happy there.
Christy passed away peacefully at the Regional Hospital on Sunday January 18, after a short illness, seven weeks after celebrating his eighty sixth birthday. Christy’s removal took place from Daffy’s Funeral Home in Croom, to St. Michael’s Church Manister. He was buried in the adjoining graveyard after a mass which had been arranged by their kind neighbours, with many of their long standing friends from the surrounding area in attendance. May he rest in peace.