The harvest moon hangs round and high
It dodges clouds high in the sky
The stars wink down their love and mirth
The autumn season is giving birth
Oh it must be October.

Almost in one breath we seem to have seen off 2007. October is always associated with harvest. In our young days the last act of reaping was the back breaking 'digging and picking of the spuds'. We always looked forward to this in our seminary days in Thurles; it gave us a few afternoons of respite from the tedious seminary day.

In Church we focus on harvest during October. The work of CAFOD (Catholic Aid for Overseas Development) is highlighted and in many parishes a raising of awareness to the causes of poverty and underdevelopment is undertaken. This year CAFOD focuses on the plight of Zimbabwe's food shortage, which is critical. It is good to remember that as we fundraise for CAFOD Mr. Bob Gates (no relation to Bill) has asked and received an increase of 19 billion dollars for the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Burma has been in the news as well. A vile dictatorship, akin to what Shinawatra (of Man City fame) ran in Thailand until he was ousted, has ruled that country since 1962. Various attempts to relieve the plight of the downtrodden people have been violently put down as on 08/08/88 when thousands were massacred. Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize winner) won a landslide victory in the democratic elections in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern. We should be pressuring our MPs to speak up for the Burmese people, asking them to implore the International bodies to bring pressure on the military rulers of Burma to govern fairly. It is all we can do.

Fr. Pat Clarke

Fr. Pat is here at the moment. As a result of the very positive response to the recent television documentary on his work especially the new project 'City of the Angels' he has been asked to attend different meetings here and in Ireland. Pat is an amazing man with a wonderfully positive attitude in the face of terrible poverty. He is my kind of priest, self-effacing and shunning the inane titles that go with 'power' within the Church. His concern is the plight of the disadvantaged and the liberation of the oppressed, true to the Gospel 'Option for the poor'. Action speaks louder than words and we have words a plenty!

Great Day on Flight of the Earls

Congratulations and gratitude is in order for a most informative day put on at the Irish Centre, Cheetham Hill on the significance of the 'Flight of the Earls'. 2007 is the 400th anniversary of the event; on Friday September 14th 1607 O'Neill and O'Donnell sailed out of Rathmullen for the continent. A day could not do justice to a theme so expansive. The speakers were excellent, treating the topics in a manner that all understood. It amazed me that it was not better attended. Where were the 'leaders' of the Irish Community, the chairpersons of the various associations? Years ago a very eminent visitor asked me, are Irish centres anything other than watering holes? I thought the question harsh then, but on the evidence of Saturday September 29th at Cheetham Hill I see the relevance of the question. One further observation how come that the Irish language film festival clashed with the day? Where was the coordination?

Don't Miss it

A not to be missed show will take place at the Lowry Theatre in late October. I saw it in Dublin, it tells the story of the South Atlantic South Pole expedition that Tom Crean of Lispole, Co. Kerry was part of. It is a magnificent show. Check the dates or look up manchesterirish.com for further details.

November Masses

In most parishes there will be Masses celebrated for our dear departed during the month of November (Saturday 10th at 11am in St. Mary's, Levenshulme). The Revival of Mass in Gaelic also takes place on Sunday November 18th at St. Mary's, Levenshulme at 3pm; the deceased members of the Irish Community will be remembered.

Sporting Scene

John Mitchell's of Liverpool were crowned Lancashire Senior Football Champions on Sunday September 30th. The final against St. Peter's was one of the best I have seen in the last 20 years. The final score of 1-16 to 2-12 bears witness to this. John Mitchell's were deserving winners. St. Peter's can be proud of their effort, with a little luck they could have drawn or even won. Both clubs deserve great credit for providing us with such an entertaining game. Well done to referee and officials they did a thankless job well.

All Irelands 2007

It is as you were the 2K's rule supreme. Kilkenny in hurling and Kerry in football came out on top again. The finals were disappointing. Kilkenny had an unassailable lead after 10 minutes against Limerick and were always more than one step ahead. It was a team effort but E. Brennan gave a great display to earn man of the match.

Kerry really steam-rolled neighbours Cork into submission in the football counterpart. Again teamwork prevailed but in Cooper, the O'Ses, O'Mahony, Donaghy and Young, Kerry have players that stand shoulder to shoulder with stars of any era.

A lot can happen in a year but it will take special teams to dethrone either of the two in 2008 -a double 3 in a row is very much on the cards.

Rugby

Ireland performed dismally in the World Cup. Perhaps this team has run its race. They have done well. The treatment of coach Eddie O'Sullivan is typical of what we do to our heroes of yesterday, great when you win, a 'pat on the back' but hopeless when you lose - a 'kick in the derriere'.

I must say I was disappointed that the team shunned the Irish National Anthem in favour of the wishy washy 'Oirland's' call. Why do we have to give up our heritage to be acceptable? Stand for nothing and you'll fall for anything.

Deaths of Greats

One of my childhood heroes the great Eamonn Mongey of Mayo passed away recently. Eamonn was a star on the team of the 50s. I remember him in the 1951 semi final against Kerry as my neighbour John Joe Sheehan was captain of the defeated Kerry team 2-4 to 1-5 was the score; Mick Flanagan scored the two goals for Mayo.

At the relatively young age of 53 Mick Holden of Dublin died. Mick was full back in 1979 against 'the Bomber' Liston. Off the field Mick was a gentleman. I met him on several occasions; he was always good for a laugh and a joke. At the other end of the scale Dan Keating died in Kerry. Dan lived to the ripe old age of 105. He was a veteran of the War of Independence, a staunch Republican all his life. He was gifted with a great memory and retained the capacity to tell the story right up to the end. A keen football follower his beloved Kerry won all of their 35 titles in his lifetime.

Ar Dheis De go raibh a n-amamacha

Do dti an cead uair eile go dte tu slan.