Patrickswell news for w/e August 12th.

CHURCH NOTICES: Listed readers for this weekend August 13-14, The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, are as follows, Saturday at 7pm Dan Riordan, Sunday at 10am P.J.O’Grady, Sunday at 12noon Michael Punch. Eucharistic Ministers, Saturday at 7pm, Michael Houlihan, John Collopy, Maria Bucke. Sunday at 10am, Kathleen Enright, Sam Milburn, Joanne Tierney. Sunday at 12noon, Michael McDermott, Eileen O’Shea, Louise Carey. Please arrange a replacement if you are unable to fulfill any duty allocated to you. Weekday masses are at the usual time of 9-30 am Monday to Friday. The weekly prayer meeting takes place at 8 pm on Monday and all are welcome.

 PARISH NEWSLETTER: There will be no publication of the weekly newsletter during the month of August.

CEMETERY MASS:

A reminder that the annual masses for the deceased of the parish will take place in Patrickswell this Tuesday August 16, and at Kilkeedy on Monday August 29, both commencing at 7-30pm.

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION: This Monday, August 15 is the Feast of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It commemorates her death and her bodily assumption into Heaven, "Having completed the course of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”, and is the most important of all Marian feasts. It also became known as Pattern Day, pattern being a derivative of  pátrún in Irish, or patron in English. The day was celebrated in practically every parish in Ireland from the middle ages to the mid nineteenth century, and was associated with holy wells. The people would walk around the well a certain number of times while saying special prayers, and drinking the water as well as bathing in it because of its curative powers. As well as the religious aspect, Pattern Days became noted for rowdy amusements, and the clergy in 1660 tried to keep matters under control by announcing the following decree: "Dancing, flute-playing, bands of music, riotous revels and other abuses in visiting wells and other holy places are forbidden...."

COLLECTION: The church gate collection this weekend, is for the emergency aid work, which is being carried out by Trocaire to relieve the terrible suffering of the millions of people in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, who are desperate for food, water and basic health care. You are urged to please dig deep and be as generous as you can to assist a cause, which has been described as the worst humanitarian disaster of the century.

 BLOOD DONORS: The Irish Blood Transfusion Service requires three thousand donations of blood every week, and  donor clinics are being held at the South Court Hotel, Raheen Roundabout on Monday August 15 from 5 to pm, and at Cappamore Community Centre, on Tuesday August 16 from 6 to 9pm.You can visit any blood donor clinic as long as ninety days have elapsed since you last gave blood, and you are urged to please give regularly. There will be a donor clinic in Adare the following  week. The clinic which was scheduled for Caherdavin on August 15, has been cancelled. For more information contact the Donor Information Line on 1850 731137, or their website.

GOLF SOCEITY: Congratulations to Brian Murray who had a hole in one in Adare Manor golf club on the sixth hole last weekend in a four ball competition. Ger Considine and his partner won the same competition with a great score of 47points. Will members please note that there is a change of time and venue for our next outing which is Benny Nolan’s President’s Prize. The outing will now take place in Adare golf club on Sunday August 21 from 10am to 12noon, and not in Galway Bay golf club as originally planned.

CREDIT UNION: Hard to believe it’s still summer but thoughts have already turned to the upcoming exam results and the back to school routine. With this in mind, MPCC Credit Union is pleased to announce its new Educational Loan.Borrowing money to finance your education or training is an everyday part of life. Fortunately your local Credit Union makes it that bit easier for you. Whether it's to pay for school uniforms or books in Primary or Secondary school or the increased expenses and fees associated with Third Level Education, this new loan, available for members and their families, is one of the most competitive Educational loans available anywhere. It also covers the purchase of PCs, laptops and educational software. In the current economic climate more and more people are upskilling themselves and this discounted loan rate is also available to members who are taking part in Adult Education or further studies to assist them with these costs. This low interest loan is just another one of the benefits in being a member of your local community based credit union.

Please contact any of our offices for further details, or  www.mpcccreditunion.ie.  Best of luck to all our members currently awaiting their exam results.

CAKE STALL: Bernadette Behan of Tervoe, Clarina, is running the cake stall

 at the Milford Care Centre Annual Fair on Sunday August 21, and is appealing to all you wonderful cooks and bakers out there for donations of cakes, bread, and buns for the stall.  If  any one wishes to donate any items of home baking, please contact her on  087 8162774.

WEDDING: Crecora church was the venue on Friday July 22, for the happy and joyful occasion of the marriage of Aoife Geoghegan, daughter of Mary and Donal Geoghegan of Faha,  Patrickswell, and Morgan Moloney,  son of Mary and John Moloney, North Circular Road, Limerick. The groom was assisted by his two brothers, Simon and Barry and also Aoife's brother Brian. The bride was assisted by her sister Niamh, her friend Caroline Conway and Morgan's sister Eleanor. The reception was held at the Bunratty Castle Hotel, and was attended by family and friends from near and far and was much enjoyed by all. Aoife and Morgan, the new Mr and Mrs Maloney, are wished all the very best in their new life together.

SCRAP SATURDAY: Patrickswell GAA club is organising a scrap metal collection day for Saturday October 1, which will be an opportunity to get rid of unused or obsolete items in an environmentally friendly way. Further details will be announced closer to the date.

MUNSTER CHAMPIONS: In a thrilling encounter at the Gaelic Grounds last  Wednesday evening, the Limerick U21 hurling team gave an impressive all round team performance, when they defeated Cork by 4-20 to 1-27, after extra time, to become Munster U21 champions. Congratulations to all concerned with their success, including Patrickswell’s own Mark Carmody and Seán O’Brien who have again brought great credit and pride to their club, parish and county. Many seasoned followers of the game have described the performance as absolutely brilliant.

HAPPY LEFTHANDERS’ DAY: Seven to ten percent of the population are lefthanded, and Saturday August 13 celebrates their uniqueness and difference. International Lefthanders Day was first observed in 1976, and is designated to promote awareness of the inconveniences facing left-handers in a predominantly right-handed world. If you are left-handed, you know that living in a world designed for right-handed people can be quite difficult. Things like opening doors, writing in spiral notebooks, and using a computer mouse leaves you feeling awkward and frustrated. Left-Handers' Day is designed just for you in celebration of your sinistrality. There's even a Left-Handers' Club where you can join forces with thousands of other left-handed people, who are all in the esteemed company of Leonardo da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, and Barack Obama, to name but a few.