28th January, 2023

Adamstown Parish Newsletter

Weekend of Sat 27th & Sun 28th January 2023 

Volume 24.  Number 4

ADAMSTOWN LOTTO

The next draw in the Adamstown Lotto takes place this Monday 29th January in the Community Centre for a Jackpot of €8,400. Do keep on buying the tickets – it could be your lucky day!  Please leave books back in Cullen’s by 8pm on draw night. Thanks for your continued support.

COMMUNITY CENTRE CHRISTMAS DRAW WINNERS

Many thanks to those who supported our Christmas Raffle.

A special mention to our sponsors: Sensible Safety, Cullen’s Gala, Adamstown Pharmacy, ABS Construction, Adamstown AFC & Mary J. Furlong.

Winners: Furlong Family, Mistycourt; Liam Bradley, Templenacrow; John Murphy, Templeshelin, Mary Kirwan, Adamstown, Callum Martin, Adamstown, Beth Malone & Mairead Foley, Wexford; Conor Scallan, Wexford.

Adamstown National School NOW ENROLLINGFor further information please phone or e-mail 053 9240694 scoilabbain@gmail.com

ADAMSTOWN SOCCER CLUB

Congratulations to Eva O’Gorman and wishing her best of luck a she joins CK United, (Carlow / Kilkenny) for the 2024 season.

Our U-12 girls continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 win away to Ballymurn Celtic. Grace White & Ruby Whelan both got on the score sheet. Great win & well done to coaches Noel & Liz and all the players.

THURSDAY NIGHT CARD GAME

The weekly Thursday night Card Game in the Community Centre will resume on Thursday 1st February at 8.30pm.

POEM – WINTER by Cillian O’Shea age 12

An amazing white blanket covers the ground,

I step on the snow, beautiful sound,

The scent of wildflowers whistles on the wind,

It makes me recall all the times I have sinned,

I watch as a fox trots through the snow,

The colour of his fur, it seems to glow,

His tail how it flows in the tousled breeze,

The sight of him makes my body seize,

I gently retreat to my place of dwelling,

The sight I had seen, forever compelling.

DID YOU KNOW?

The phrase ‘sleep tight’ originated when mattresses were set upon ropes woven through the bed frame. To remedy sagging ropes, one would use a bed key to tighten the rope.

ST. BRIGID’S DAY – Spring Days and Christian festivals

Many of our Christian feast days were built upon earlier Pagan/pre-Christian traditions and St. Brigid’s Day is no exception. The 1st of February marks the start of spring or “lmbolc” as it is being referred to a lot of late. The placing of Christian importance on older calendar dates is found throughout the year and we have the same for Bealtaine, the start of summer, also known as ‘Our Lady’s Month’ where the May Altar took over from the previous May Bush tradition. The making of crosses was central to the celebration of St. Brigid’s Day in many counties and was much stronger in other part of Ireland compared to us in Wexford. The common practice is to put up the crosses in the home and the outhouses, while also making extra crosses and giving them to neighbours, especially older ones. From talking to many older people over the years in Wexford, I learned that they don’t remember making crosses in their youth. There is also very little evidence of tradition in our Schools’ Folklore Collection from 1937/38, in comparison to other counties. It appears that the tradition of making a cross out of rushes or wood did exist, but not on the same scale as in Donegal or Clare, for example. I think the credit for spreading the tradition of making St. Brigid’s crosses in Wexford lies on the laps of our primary school teachers in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. The use of the St. Brigid’s Cross as a logo for RTE, when it started in 1960, also had a huge influence and this style of cross became the most popular design now found around the country.

Red Flannel and Brigid’s Cloak

On the eve of St. Brigid’s Day, the Bratach Bhríde (Brigid’s cloak, blanket, flag, rag) was left out for Brigid to bless as she passed by. This was, and is still, done in Wexford. In some parts of the country people used blue, more white and many used red. In saying that, I have seen Traveller women in Bunclody leave their scarves out to be blessed while I know a woman from Donegal called Brigid Tunny who told me that the children’s clothes would be left out to be blessed. The idea of the scarves is great, as the blessing is believed to protect the throat. In the past, red flannel was also popular as it is associated with St. Blaise and his day is the 3rd February. There appears to be a lot of crossover in St. Brigid’s Day, Candlemas Day and St. Blaise’s Day, in relation to the coming of Spring and the protection of chests and throats as we head into the often cold months of February and March. A lot of the older generation always kept a piece of red flannel in their home, as it was used for cures and also for protection, where it was attached to a vest or undergarments to protect against chest infections. Pieces were also stitched into children’s clothes, or pinned onto the cots and prams of babies, for luck and “to stop overlooking or wishing bad luck”.

(Folklore of Wexford – Michael Fortune)

Old saying from above book:

“If Candlemas Day be fair and clear,

There’ll be two winters in the year”

CHURCH NOTICES

IN MEMORIAM

Sat 27th – Lizzy Byrne & deceased members of the Byrne family, Tomgarrow (A)

Also – Robert & Margaret Furlong, Misterin (A)

Breda Kelly, Ballyvergin (Month’s Mind)

Sun 28th – Mogue & Mary Kealy, Ellen, Johnny, Jim & Sonny Kehoe, also Tom & Liz Murphy, Rathurtin & The Leap  (A) and John Dunne, Ballybrennan and his mother

Mary Ann Dunne (A)

Sat 3rd Feb – Margaret Comerford, Oldcourt (A)

Also               Kathleen Furlong, Raheenduff (A)

Sun 4th – Paddy,Statia, & Eileen Doyle, Templeshelin (A)

May they rest in peace.

Thurs Feb 1st – Feast of St.BrigidFriday Feb 2nd – Presentation of the Lord – Candlemas Day. Candles for Church and Home use will be blessed at 9.30am Mass.Sat Feb 3rd – Feast of St. Blaise – Blessing of Throats will take place on Sat & Sun following Masses.

Mass each weekday morning at 9.30am

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

READERS OF THE LITURGY

Sat 3rd Feb – Cáit Bradley, Sun 4th – Sheelagh Delaney.

Sat 10th – T.J. McDonald.   Sun 11th – Neasa Cloney

Sat 17th – Anthony McGee.  Sun 18th – Kathleen O’Connor

CHURCH ALTARS & DECORATION

Thanks to the ladies from Adamstown for looking after the Church & Altars for the month of January. It is now the turn of parishioners from Newtown/The Leap for the month of February.

SYMPATHY

We extend our sympathy to the Nugent, Martin & Pyne families on the death of Catherine (Kit) Nugent, Southknock, New Ross on 18th January. Her funeral Mass took place in The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Rosbercon, followed by burial in St. Stephen’s Cemetery.

May she rest in peace.

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK – Pope Francis

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe

and in the smallest of your creatures,

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists,

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

That we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one. Amen.

ST. BRIGID SERVICE

An evening of Songs, Poetry, and Prayer

Sunday 4th February, 2024 in Clonard Church, Wexford

at 7pm. All Welcome.

THANK YOU

As we begin a New Year, let us not forget to give thanks:

We sincerely thank all who give of their time in a voluntary way as part of a Church ministry or who carry out various essential tasks that are part of Church life. To the Church choirs, Mass Readers, Sacristan & Ministers of the Eucharist, Adoration groups, newsletter production, those who open and lock the Church, look after altar linen, flowers for the Altars, Church cleaners, Car-parking stewards at funerals. To all who helped put up the crib, and decorated the Church for Christmas. The Parish & Cemetery Committees, those who take care of the Cemetery and Church grounds. Your ongoing commitment in all of these areas is greatly appreciated and benefits us all. And thank you to all for your ongoing generosity in supporting the collections throughout the year in support of the Church and priest. The Saviour’s birth reminds us of how much we depend on each other on the journey of life.

 May the peace of Christ be in your lives in the year ahead.

Go raibh maith agaibh go léir. – Fr. Robert.

Weekly Envelope Contributions

A word of thanks to all who have made contributions in support of the Church over the past year. For those who wish to make a monthly or yearly donation by way of Direct Debit to the Church Account;
Bank details: IE04 BOFI 9066 6276 8462 48

CONTRADICTIONS

On Newstalk Breakfast (Thursday) Labour Leader Ivana Bacik was speaking about her party’s ‘Reproductive Health Related Leave Bill’ when she gave the game away:  “pregnancy is not sickness” So, if it’s not a sickness, or an illness, why is so much Dept of Health money being spent on it? Not to enhance the health of mother and baby when sometimes sickness becomes an issue, but to end the very life of the baby – €46 million spent since abortion was legalised. And yet some who are really ill struggle to get treatment. We have so many such contradictions, ironies, even hypocrisies in our approach to public policy. We pass a children rights referendum, then another to take away their right to be born; we have well regarded campaigns against suicide, then at the same time assisted suicide is promoted; we have a drug problem and seek to decriminalise drugs, thus making them more readily available and therefore used more often. We have a notorious drink problem, and yet the Government is planning longer opening hours for pubs. This issue was discussed on Today with Claire Byrne (RTE Radio 1 Thursday) with Dr. Sheila Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland and Patrick Costello, Green Party TD and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee.  I thought Ms. Gilheany

made sense, with her ‘wealth of evidence’ showing a strong link between extended opening hours and increased alcohol related harms including road deaths and assaults, especially in rural areas. I wasn’t impressed by Deputy Costello’s defence of the plans. Asked for the benefits, he said that it would improve the “night time economy” and that the nightclub and disc jockey sector wanted it. Not exactly a slam-dunk.    (Brendan O’Regan – Irish Catholic 25th Jan)