Fr John's Corner
'September' comes from the Latin word 'Septem' meaning seven or 'septimus' seventh, so if September is the ninth month how come '7' September was in fact the seventh month of the Roman calendar until the calendar reform of 153BC. It is always associated with the beginning of the academic year.
I remember as a garsun how my heart sank when the parish priest announced in solemn tones on the first Sunday of September that 'Knockaderry and Firies schools will reopen on tomorrow Monday' an end to freedom and back to the dreary grind of algebra, geography, history and such things, worse when a boarder in St. Brendan's College, Killarney one had to face the discipline of early morning rising, food that was not 'haute cuisine' and irregular Latin and Greek verbs as a daily diet.
'No gain without pain' and I am thankful to all those noble men and women who dedicated themselves to my education and that of my contemporaries in an Ireland that had no resources after centuries of foreign rule where the welfare of the indigenous was never high on the rulers' priorities. It is sad that so many good men and women are forgotten about in the wake of the aggrieved and presumed aggrieved. An Ireland without the contributions of Blessed Edmund Rice, Nano Nagle and Catherine McAuley and their followers would indeed have been much the poorer. Cubs of Celtic Tiger please take note!
We wish all our young pupils in primary and secondary schools, students in colleges and universities and all who exercise the noble vocation of teacher a happy and fruitful year.
The Day the Music Died -The Last of the Irish Rover
One of our great entertainers, the inimitable Ronnie Drew of the gravelly voice and the larger than life stage persona has passed to his eternal reward. Ronnie R.I.P. was the quintessential Dubliner.
In an age of fakery, from tans to hair colouring, from wigs to accents Ronnie stood out as the genuine article. He was living proof of the dictum that if you want to be at home in another's culture first be at home in your own. I first heard him and the wonderful group he had gathered round him (Ciaran Bourke, Luke Kelly, Barney McKenna and John Sheahan) in the old CYMS hall in Tralee back in 1964 and from then on was hooked on his brand of entertainment, witty and lighthearted when called for and deep and reflective as the mood changed.
Ronnie was true to all he stood for; an Irishman that retained the age old values of Faith, Fidelity and Hospitality, true to his family, he gave great testimony to the fact that fame does not necessarily mean abandoning what the neo liberals regard as 'old hat'; most of them would be more at home singing 'Change your Partners' than 'Dublin in the Rare Old Times'! I am sure that if God has lost His smile at the mess His creation can make Ronnie will put it back on His face. Thanks for the memories Ronnie Drew cultural icon, true Irishman and true Dub. Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann.
Sickening prejudice
I read a story in the Observer Magazine of August 17th concerning the deaths of two Romany children Cristina Djeordsevic 13 and her sister Violetta 11 in a drowning accident on a Naples beach. Their washed up bodies were covered in beach towels totally ignored as people realizing their ethnic background, dismissed them to carry on with their games and picnics. The incident evoked the following statement from the Neopolian Cardinal Crezencio Sepe -"Cristina and Violetta faced nothing but prejudice in life and indifference in death; an unforgivable truth". We don't have to go to Naples to encounter such attitudes; here at home we find it at every street corner, 'those people' ,'non-nationals', 'benefit spongers' etc. A recent incident in Borris Co.Carlow would give credence to the assertion that we Irish are among the worst when it comes to discrimination on the basis of background. We need to take stock; a world divided is a world that will never be at peace with itself
Harvest time
What a dreadful summer we have had weather-wise! As a consequence of the inclement weather farmers and all who work in food production are not looking forward to a bumper harvest; no doubt we will see the effects in soaring food prices in the shops and stores.
October Mass in Gaelic
We resume the monthly celebration of Mass in Gaelic on Sunday October 12th at 3pm.
Venue St. Mary of the Angels and St. Clare's Church, Elbow Street, Levenshulme. 'Bigi ann'.
Fr. Pat Keane's (Burnage) Retirement
Although Fr. Pat is making steady progress he has decided to retire from active ministry. A Farewell Mass will be celebrated on Friday September 12th at 7.30pm in St. Bernard's. We wish him a happy retirement with his family in Ballybunnion, Co. Kerry.
Tragic Deaths
In the past two weeks I have been involved with the tragic deaths of two young people. First, there was Susan Spilling a young mother who was very involved in parish life in St. Mary's prior to her move to Reddish. Susan will be sadly missed by her husband Tony and children Jennifer and Vincent and indeed by all who knew her. Her generous ebullient nature endeared her to all.
The second was a young man from Causeway, Co. Kerry who had only been 3 days in Manchester. Enda Barry, a 23 year old recently qualified engineer, died as a result of a tragic accident following a night out with friends in central Manchester. The grief of his family was palpable.
Eamonn Kennedy Funeral Director and the Kerry Association are to be commended for their care and attention during the sad time; the Barry family are most appreciative. Ar Dheis lamh De go Raibh Susan and Enda
Developments around St. Mary's, Levenshulme
After years of discussions with the relevant people Irish Anglo Properties, owners of a considerable plot of land at the back of St. Mary's parish grounds were able to present proposals for redevelopment to the community at large. The reactions were in the main positive. It would be great to see the mess that is central Levenshulme being cleared up and a regeneration of the area initiated. Capital investment is as welcome in Levenshulme as it is in Eastlands.
In any development nobody gets all they are hoping for so it is a matter of compromise and accepting what overall will benefit the locality and community. We await development with excited anticipation.
Sports Scene
Well done to the Irish boxers on rescuing some bit of national pride at the recent Olympic Games. Boxing is not a spectacle I enjoy, I can't see any sport in a discipline where two men are intent on beating one another into submission, usually the participants are from socially deprived backgrounds and at the professional end of it 'fat cats' use their 'gladiators' enrich themselves, but then if it is a sport I accede to the tastes of others and congratulate the young men. One of them comes from an ethnic background that is not totally Irish, nice to see people who otherwise would doubt his right to be in Ireland acclaiming him as Irish when it suits1
Gaelic Games
The Gaelic football and hurling All Ireland finals are upon us. The long awaited replay of the 'Rooney O' final of 1957 is about to take place. Kilkenny, who won that one, and near neighbours Waterford, are the protagonists. Waterford will be everyone's, except Kilkenny people's, favourite to win. I can't see the supremos from the marble county lose. They are the team of all talents and should procure their '3 in a row'. A measure of the strength of hurling in Kilkenny is that they are favourites to win all grades from minor through to senior. Waterford can't be dismissed Davy Fitzgerald has galvanized them since his arrival and the McGraths; Shannahan, Eoin Kelly and Co. will not go down without a fight.
In football it's the other K -Kerry against Tyrone, both have dominated the scene in this millennium winning a total of 6 titles between them Kerry (4) Tyrone (2) but interestingly Tyrone have conquered Kerry in both of their triumphs. This will be Kerry's fifth final on the trot, their 8th in ten years - no mean achievement. Both have come through the back door, both have different styles so it will be interesting to see Kerry's 'old and new' v Tyrone's 'new and newer'. It should be a great final.
Highlights of the year have been:
In hurling:
Kilkenny's skill; the Cork and Galway epic; Waterford's Lazarus act; Joe Canning and Eoin Kelly.
In football:
Wexford's odyssey; Michael Meehan's display against Kerry; Tyrone's re-emergence and their minors; the Mayo minors; Kerry sending Cork through the trap door, having come in the back door themselves; red cards, yellow cards, suspensions; Cork's ability to change the colour of the cards, referee's who know the rules but did not know the game. I could go on!
In soccer:
We have had Wasteland turned into Middleeastlands, neo Arabs in turbans around the City. Monopoly as transfer deadline closed in; Paul Scholes doing a Maradonna, but no hint that he cheated, but then he is not an Argentinean -my old teacher was right-
Nach ait an rud an saol - life is funny.
Go dti an cead uair eile
Beannacht De ort.
Fr. John Ahern
September 2008