Patrickswell news for w/e December 9th.

CHURCH NOTICES: Listed readers for this weekend December 10-11, The Third Sunday in Advent Year B are as follows, Saturday at 7pm Michael Woulfe, Sunday at 10am Niall Sheehy, Sunday at 12noon Julie Darcy.Eucharistic Ministers, Saturday at 7pm, Christy Murphy, Rita Madigan, Joe Tierney. Sunday at 10am Noreen Murray, Eileen Nally, PJ O’Grady. Sunday at 12noon, Pat Kirby, Noreen Quinn, Birdie Enright. 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. Items for inclusion in the weekly Parish Newsletter should be handed into the sacristy by 9-30am on Friday or contact Fr. Muiris O’Connor on 353711 or 0866075628. Alternatively they can be emailed to muirisoc@eircom.net During the Saturdays of Advent, there will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the Prayer Room, from 9am until 12noon.

BLOOD DONORS: The Irish Blood Transfusion Service especially requires A and B donations this week, and donor clinics are being held at the Castle Oaks Hotel, Castleconnell, on Monday December 12 from 6 to 9pm, and at the Kilmurry Lodge
Hotel, Castletroy, on Tuesday December 13 also 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. For more information contact the Donor Information Line on 1850 731137, or their website.

 

 HUMAN RIGHTS: This Saturday, December 10 is celebrated annually across the world as Human Rights Day. The date was chosen to honour the adoption and proclamation by the United Nations in December 1948, of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, which was the first time that human rights were announced to the world. As this document  holds the world record as the most translated document with more than 360 language versions available, organizations around the world focus on helping people everywhere to learn about their rights. In 2006 the UN Commissioner for Human Rights made the following statement, “Today, poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world. Combating poverty, deprivation and exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend on how rich a country is. By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime. Poverty eradication is an achievable goal.” Has anything been achieved since then?

MILFORD: The annual Light up a Memory ceremony takes place at Milford Care Centre this coming Sunday, December 11 at 6pm. The fund raising team invites everyone to attend for carol singing prior to the illumination of the tree, which will be followed by refreshments. The original Memory Tree in the grounds of the centre was recently felled due to natural decay, so an alternative tree located at the main entrance will now take its place. Lights can be sponsored for E5 each, and the tree will remain illuminated throughout the festive season until January 8, when a mass will be celebrated at 6pm as the lights are switched off. Contact Milford at 485859 or 485860 to place an order or to receive an order form.

 

TIDY TOWNS: Our last meeting of the year before the Christmas break was held on November 29, with more ideas for planting and other improvements for next year still being thrown around for discussion. Members also acknowledged the recent donation, which was received from the Community Council. Prior to the main focus, which was  the arrangements for our Christmas night out, some members expressed their sadness and absolute disappointment, regarding the removal of some of the stones which had been laid only a few weeks previous, to provide a hard standing at the entrance to the lis ard. This contemptible activity flies in the face of all that we are trying to achieve to improve our surroundings to everyone’s benefit. On a more positive note, Friday of last week saw the arrival of pallet loads of kerbing stones at the area adjacent to the entrance to Shannon Development. We were absolutely delighted to discover that by early on Saturday afternoon, they had already been laid up as far as the entrance to the lis ard. This was the third piece of a jig-saw, which has brought long awaited completion to another project of ours, to add to the refurbishment of the wall, and the aforementioned recent provision of a parking and unloading area for vehicles.  We would like to thank most sincerely, County Councillor Leonard Enright, and Dermot Lamb of the Croom Area Office for their efforts on our behalf, and for instigating another improvement to the village and the area in general. Finally, with Christmas only a few weeks away, we will be performing a lighting up ceremony of our festive tree at the shrine, this Friday, December 9 at 7-30pm. The school children have been especially invited, and will make their own contribution with festive music and song.

Rumour has it that Santa Clause will also be joining in the fun.

 

CHRISTMAS GREYHOUNDS: Successes for local owners brought an additional air of  celebration, and financial reward for some of the patrons at the recently well attended Greyhound Benefit Night, which was hosted by the Community Council, as a fund raiser for the Community Development Fund. The first race was won by Holeinthewall owned by the dynamic trio of Louise Foley, Gloria O’Donnell and Niamh Geoghan, with race three being won by Ger Kearney’s Star Addition. Congratulations to you all, may your successes continue, and congratulations also to the winners of the well sponsored raffle prizes which were on offer.