6th August, 2023

Adamstown Parish Newsletter

Weekend of Sat 5th & Sun 6th August 2023 

Volume 22.   Number 29 

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ADAMSTOWN LOTTO

The next draw in the Adamstown Lotto takes place this Tuesday 8th August  (due to Bank Holiday) in the Community Centre for a Jackpot of €15,000. Do buy a ticket and be in with a chance.

Please leave books back in Cullen’s by 6pm on draw night.

Thank you for your continued support.

ATHLETIC CLUB NEWS

Well done to Ciara 5th in the National Senior 5k race walk and Joe 4th in the National Senior 10k walk lowering his pb to 42m 40sec. A well-deserved break earned.

However James may take down his shot putt shoes again – news just in James has been selected by Athletics Ireland to take part with the Irish team at the AAA games in England at the end of August.  Great news best of luck James!

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Lar Power, B.E., MBA, who has just been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Kilkenny County Council. He leaves a similar role in Leitrim Co. Council, which he held for five years.  Prior to that Lar held the post of Deputy Chief Executive and Director of economics Development and Planning with Waterford County Council

We wish him every success in his new job.

COMMUNITY GAMES ROUNDERS

Huge congratulations to the U13 Girls Raheen-Adamstown-Newbawn Community Games team who got silver in the Leinster Rounders Final in Clonbroney, Co. Longford last weekend, they were defeated by Clonbroney.

The girls played a superb game, displaying some excellent fielding & batting. We are all immensely proud of you as it is a huge achievement to reach a Leinster Final!

The team was; Captain Mary-Kate Sinnott, Aoibhinn Curtis, Grace White, Emma Furlong, Aoife Dillon, Lily O’Callaghan, Lauren Moran, Hayley Longergan, Aoibhinn McDonald, Kate Furlong, Ella Murphy, Lily Shannon. Well done to Joanne Murphy who has trained the team all summer.

Thanks to Raheen Frc who sponsored the jerseys & Emerald Diamond International who sponsored our training equipment.

Boys U-13 Rounders win:

Huge congratulations to the Raheen-Adamstown-Newbawn U-13 Boys team who defeated Clonbroney in the semi-final & went on to beat Bagenalstown in the final with a result of 15-6.  Well done to Dylan and the boys on a wonderful win.

WORLD YOUTH DAY 2023 IN LISBON

Pope Francis will gather with 500,000 young people who are expected to travel to Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day 2023.  Among this huge gathering will be Dara Furlong, Knockreigh and we wish him well and what a wonderful experience it will be for him and all the young people there.

A BIT OF HISTORY –

Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands – Pacific Ocean

The Pitcarin Islands are made up of Pitcarin, Henderson, Ducie & Oeno Islands, but the only inhabited one is Pitcarin, which has Adamstown as its capital of the Pitcarin Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is the only settlement on the Pitcarin Islands, and only British Overseas Territory that is located in the Pacific Ocean. As on January 2020, Adamstown has a population of 47, which is the entire population of the Pitcarin Islands. Adamstown is where most residents live, while they grow food in other areas of the island. Adamstown is the second smallest capital in the world by population. It has access to television, satellite internet, and a telephone, however, the main means of communication remains ham radio.

The “Hill of Difficulty” connects the island’s jetty to the town.

The history of the Pitcarin Islands begins with the settlement of the islands by Polynesians in the 11th century. The Polynesians established a culture that flourished for four centuries and then vanished. Pitcarin was settled again in 1790 by a group of British mutineers on HMS Bounty and

Tahitians. Adamstown is named after the last surviving mutineer, John Adams. The settlement is located on the centre-north side of the island of Pitcairn, facing the Pacific Ocean and close to Bounty Bay, the only seaport of the island. Adamstown has a tropical rainforest climate. The hamlet features a wet, very warm climate averaging 60.74 inches of rain a year. The wettest month is December and temperatures do not vary significantly throughout the year.

The fertile soil produces a wide variety of fruits, bananas, plums, pineapples, mangoes, coconuts & vegetables carrots, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, peas & beans, sugar cane and arrowroot are grown to produce flour.

Tourism plays a major role in Pitcairn, small groups come by charter vessel and stay with local families, providing accommodation is a growing source of income. In 1998 the UK funded a programme training beekeepers for honey production, which they now export to New Zealand & United Kingdom and also coffee beans, sugar cane, vegetable & fruit. The people of the island are not starving or living in poverty. Hunger is no struggle for them, they have created sustainable agriculture and fishing practices, the people thrive on the island. The small community has figured out their own survival system on the island that has worked and still works today.

The Island is approximately 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. 

Elevation 1,089 ft.

Footnote: what a way to live on a tiny rocky island in the middle of the ocean – there is probably a lot we could learn about sustainability from our Adamstown island people.

A SMILE

Mother: “Paddy stop stretching across the table, you have a tongue in your head.”

Paddy: “Me tongue isn’t that long!”

CHURCH NOTICES

IN MEMORIAM

Sat 5th Aug – Bob Barron, The Leap (A)

Also –     M.J. Booth, Adamstown (A)

Sun 6th – People of the Parish.

Sat 12th – Tom (Tiddler) Byrne, Kellystown (A)

Sun 13th – Padraigh & Susan O’Gorman, Kellystown (A)

Pray for Walter and Annie Kent, Adamstown (A)

Fri 11th 9.30am – James, Ellen, Tommy, Mary, Eileen &

Ned O’Shea (A) also Jimmy who died recently.

And Sean Hayes (son of Eileen) who died last week.

May they rest in peace.

READERS OF THE LITURGY

Sat 5th Aug – Family Mass.   Sun 6th – Neasa Cloney

Sat 12th – Liam Whelan          Sun 13th – Ann Ryan

Sat 19th – Cáit Bradley           Sun 20th – Callie Doyle

Sat 26th – T. J. McDonald      Sun 27th – Kathleen O’Connor

Morning Mass each weekday at 9.30am.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday from 10.00am – 1.00pm.

PRAYER FOR GOOD WEATHER – Bishop’s House

Bishop Ger has expressed his support and compassion to those in the farming community who are experiencing difficulties because of the recent spell of poor weather.

He asks everyone in the Diocese of Ferns to join with him in praying for favourable weather and also in praying for all whose work or livelihoods depend on the weather conditions.

“God our loving Father, we know that you care deeply for us. We ask you to bless us with the good weather we so badly need at this time.

Bless the work and efforts of all your people so that their endeavours may produce the results they need.

Grant success to the work of our hands.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen”

CAPUCHIN DAY CENTRE FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE

Everyday The Capuchin Day Care Centre in Dublin provides 1,000 hot meals for people who are homeless and each week 1,400 Food Parcels for those on the poverty threshold.

Help Fr. Kevin Kiernan continue providing this caring service. Fr. Kevin or Monica at 01 8720770  or

www.capushindaycentre.ie

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK

You Welcome Everyone!

Lord, how you welcome us!

You welcome everyone, everywhere,

from every race, every culture, every language.

You want to share with us all,

to be part of our lives, to share our hopes and dreams,

and share our sorrows too.

Lord, may I always welcome you into my heart as you welcomed me.  Amen.

I was a stranger and you welcomed me. (Mt 25)

FR. EDWARD FLANAGAN

(Fr. Vincent Sherlock, Notebook, Irish Catholic)

I was at the premier of a new film that is being released on

the life story and work of Fr. Edward J. Flanagan. A native of Ballymoe and past pupil of Summerhill College, Sligo. He emigrated to the US in the early 1900’s and was ordained a priest. His ministry brought him to a deepened awareness of how easily young people can be misunderstood. “There is no such thing as a bad boy”, he famously said and, rooted in that belief he set up Boys’Town. He travelled far and wide to promote peace and inclusion and is remembered as one who made a life-changing contribution to the world.

His cause for sainthood is in motion and his story is well worth hearing. Keep an eye out for Heart of a Servant – The Father Flanagan Story.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK-

Evening Primrose.

The evening primrose never fails to amaze me. In their season, the flowers open up about half an hour before sunset, and when they do it’s like watching time-lapse photography, a nature documentary on fast-forward.

The bud suddenly splits open and the petals unfurl in minutes, before your eyes.

But this flower has a short life. Twenty-four hours later it will be withering and dying. Just one day of life – one day that may be lived in glorious sunshine or in fog, rain, wind, or storm. Just one day, to give delight and to release its seed upon the earth. It gives me courage to live my rather longer human life with that kind of trustful surrender. Some of us get a life in the sunshine of love, security, happiness, health, and success. Others struggle with sickness, poverty, failure, disappointment and never get a glimpse of happiness.

 Yet every life matters and leaves a little seed.

We can’t change the weather of our circumstances.

We can only shape the seed that our lives pass on to those who come after us.

(Margaret Silf – Compass Points)

SYMPATHY

We extend our deepest sympathy to Kathleen & Pat Lawlor, and family Knockreigh on the death of Kathleen’s brother, Frank (Skipper) Morris, Liam Mellows Park, Wexford.

Our sympathy also to his wife Kathleen, sons Frank and Ala, sisters, extended family, neighbours and friends. His funeral Mass was celebrated on Friday last in The Church of the Annunciation, Clonard followed by burial in St. Ibar’s Cemetery, Crosstown.  May he rest in peace.

THE PRIORY INSTITUTE, Tallagh Village, Dublin

The Priory Institute two week online Summer School on the Gospel of John will run from 14th – 28th August. The course includes eight recorded presentations and two on-line zoom discussions and is very flexible as it is delivered entirely online.

Please visit our website to fine out more and to register

Prioryinstitute.com