A short time ago a lady pensioner of this Parish answered a knock on her back door to find a well dressed 10 year old distressed child looking for a kite he said he had lost.She said she didn't know him,to which he replied he had just moved in to a house down the road.She left the door open and went into the garden to help him find the kite.As soon as she was away from the door a well dressed man in his thirties ran in the back door,robbed her handbag and jewellery and both scarpered.
What have we come to?
Is this the inhuman face of austerity and absence of moral foundation?
No religion condones this thuggery,so where does it come from?
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Dunderry Exile Team ,American Division
Tracey Coogan
Joanne Mc Cormack (Can) Gary Coogan Golly Newman
Jack Fagan Brian Newman T,Garry
Donie Mc Gourty Gerry Coogan
Eamonn Garry Joe Higgins (Can) Pat Conway
Lalit Gaur (Can) Lorna Garry Johnny Higgins (Can)
Joanne Mc Cormack (Can) Gary Coogan Golly Newman
Jack Fagan Brian Newman T,Garry
Donie Mc Gourty Gerry Coogan
Eamonn Garry Joe Higgins (Can) Pat Conway
Lalit Gaur (Can) Lorna Garry Johnny Higgins (Can)
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Lynham's legacy lives on.
Malachy Lynham deceased ended his days in this Parish,having spent over 40 years of his life spreading the word of God in Peru.He was a huge friend of mine and I admired him greatly .He exuded holiness and a humility that was contagious.A native of Rosemount in Westmeath he was a fierce dedicated GAA man and was the sort of man you would like in your corner if the odds were against you and courage was needed.
His father fought on the Republican side in the civil war and he felt that the victors kept down the vanquished out of spite for far too long.Many Republicans emigrated to South America from his area,he used say ,to get away from the hassle experienced daily.
He was his own man ,very much so ,and despised those priests and others who perpetrated such indignities on children.
His innocent upbringing can be deduced from a true story he told me about the time of his first Confession.In the run up to his first Communion he and his brother,who were separated in age by less than a year,were sure that a Confession they made in the school two weeks before the due date for Communion was the real thing and confessed all known sins up to that point in time.
However within a few days they were told that it was only a trial run and that the real job would be one week hence.Convinced that a number of new sins would be needed for the real job they got more stressed each day trying to conjure them up.Time was rapidly running out when the light shone through.
His brother said "Malachy do as I do."With that he led them to a lined well that was used as a water source for cattle.The brother leaned over the side of the well and started to roar "Sh t",P ss ","F ck"into the well repeatedly .Malachy followed suit .And so they clocked up their quota.
His courage under pressure can be gauged by his appearance.Anyone who remembers him in his old age would remember a black quiff of hair on his forehead surrounded by a silver mane.His hair turned from black to silver overnight such was the fear he suffered while giving shelter to persons on the run, while under watch from a murder gang who knew where their quarry was.By God's grace they did not break into the house and murder him and his guests.But his hair changed colour there and then and the black spot was a permanent reminder of that night.
In his time in Peru he grew very fond of a local tea,which he found very calming.It was later banned as being too close to the "real thing",much to his disappointment.
For years he graced us every Sunday for dinner in our house ,showing his appreciation by gifting us a huge jar of coffee every Christmas.Like myself he had a great appetite,eating until he was tired.
Anyhow i digress.
He was more or less given the free run of the sub parish of Kilbride by the PP of Dunderry,that is the Kilbride near Trim not the one near the Dublin border.He always gave a great sermon and I often wonder if they have been saved for posterity as he kept them on computer.He was well liked ,particularly in Kilbride,so much so that when he could no longer drive his car,his nearest neighbour and friend Dinny Gogarty drove him around,assisted in emergencies by Tom o Neill.
Anyhow hit on the idea of having the Vigil Mass at 6.00 p.m. every Saturday,which as far as I know is the earliest Vigil mass in Meath.
It caught on and within a short time it was standing room only every Saturday.Not only do the Kilbride parishioners attend but a liberal sprinkling of Dunderry,Robinstown ,Trim ,Athboy ,Kildalkey and people from further afield attend.
I went last Saturday after a long absence from that Church.
IT was 95% full ,unusually not 100%, due I suspect to Meath's game in Tyrone as I missed the fanatical GAA men from the Church (think Billy Bligh and his buddies).The attendance represented both genders with a wide spread of ages.
I met that former football warrior of Moymet,Dunderry and Meath fame Dinny Gogarty,looking as good as ever,George O Neill ,whose father Tom is recovering well from surgery,Paddy Gorey ,Bernie Flanagan,Mickey and Rose Daly,Andy Halton,Liam O Farrell,Pat Conroy,Fidelma Bligh and an tusualTomas O Chonaire o Laimbe,to name a few.
Mass was served by two alter boys and it took father Hornick and two lay Ministers of the Eucharist to attend to the Communicants.
The people who go to Mass here must wonder at the veracity of the oft quoted fall in Mass attendance.Doesn't apply here.
Maybe Malachy is inspiring a revival from this most magical and humble of places.(Which he often said was no place for a white man,as he was always cold,his blood having been acclimatised to the heat of Peru ).
I like to think so.
Me thinks I heard the howling of a husky as I made my way to the car in the dusk.Ringo ?
His father fought on the Republican side in the civil war and he felt that the victors kept down the vanquished out of spite for far too long.Many Republicans emigrated to South America from his area,he used say ,to get away from the hassle experienced daily.
He was his own man ,very much so ,and despised those priests and others who perpetrated such indignities on children.
His innocent upbringing can be deduced from a true story he told me about the time of his first Confession.In the run up to his first Communion he and his brother,who were separated in age by less than a year,were sure that a Confession they made in the school two weeks before the due date for Communion was the real thing and confessed all known sins up to that point in time.
However within a few days they were told that it was only a trial run and that the real job would be one week hence.Convinced that a number of new sins would be needed for the real job they got more stressed each day trying to conjure them up.Time was rapidly running out when the light shone through.
His brother said "Malachy do as I do."With that he led them to a lined well that was used as a water source for cattle.The brother leaned over the side of the well and started to roar "Sh t",P ss ","F ck"into the well repeatedly .Malachy followed suit .And so they clocked up their quota.
His courage under pressure can be gauged by his appearance.Anyone who remembers him in his old age would remember a black quiff of hair on his forehead surrounded by a silver mane.His hair turned from black to silver overnight such was the fear he suffered while giving shelter to persons on the run, while under watch from a murder gang who knew where their quarry was.By God's grace they did not break into the house and murder him and his guests.But his hair changed colour there and then and the black spot was a permanent reminder of that night.
In his time in Peru he grew very fond of a local tea,which he found very calming.It was later banned as being too close to the "real thing",much to his disappointment.
For years he graced us every Sunday for dinner in our house ,showing his appreciation by gifting us a huge jar of coffee every Christmas.Like myself he had a great appetite,eating until he was tired.
Anyhow i digress.
He was more or less given the free run of the sub parish of Kilbride by the PP of Dunderry,that is the Kilbride near Trim not the one near the Dublin border.He always gave a great sermon and I often wonder if they have been saved for posterity as he kept them on computer.He was well liked ,particularly in Kilbride,so much so that when he could no longer drive his car,his nearest neighbour and friend Dinny Gogarty drove him around,assisted in emergencies by Tom o Neill.
Anyhow hit on the idea of having the Vigil Mass at 6.00 p.m. every Saturday,which as far as I know is the earliest Vigil mass in Meath.
It caught on and within a short time it was standing room only every Saturday.Not only do the Kilbride parishioners attend but a liberal sprinkling of Dunderry,Robinstown ,Trim ,Athboy ,Kildalkey and people from further afield attend.
I went last Saturday after a long absence from that Church.
IT was 95% full ,unusually not 100%, due I suspect to Meath's game in Tyrone as I missed the fanatical GAA men from the Church (think Billy Bligh and his buddies).The attendance represented both genders with a wide spread of ages.
I met that former football warrior of Moymet,Dunderry and Meath fame Dinny Gogarty,looking as good as ever,George O Neill ,whose father Tom is recovering well from surgery,Paddy Gorey ,Bernie Flanagan,Mickey and Rose Daly,Andy Halton,Liam O Farrell,Pat Conroy,Fidelma Bligh and an tusualTomas O Chonaire o Laimbe,to name a few.
Mass was served by two alter boys and it took father Hornick and two lay Ministers of the Eucharist to attend to the Communicants.
The people who go to Mass here must wonder at the veracity of the oft quoted fall in Mass attendance.Doesn't apply here.
Maybe Malachy is inspiring a revival from this most magical and humble of places.(Which he often said was no place for a white man,as he was always cold,his blood having been acclimatised to the heat of Peru ).
I like to think so.
Me thinks I heard the howling of a husky as I made my way to the car in the dusk.Ringo ?
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Saint Patrick WAS a RURAL man.
Rumour has that St.Patrick first introduced the shamrock at the hill of Tara ,which is only an asses roar from this parish.There is a fair chance he passed through this parish on his travels,though there is no evidence of this.Certainly the parish is dotted with Christian antiquities like the Black Church and the remains of churches in Churchtown,Retaine and Moymet.More likely than not Irish was the spoken language then.It is unlikely that Latin was widely spoken and English was not even invented.
Patrick was brought here as a slave and put to work as a shepherd on a mountainside.He must have liked it as he returned unbidden to spread the Word of God.
He was therefor a Rural man in every sense of the word and spoke Irish.We know that the Kevin Mearses and the Gwen's twomens of this world despise the Irish language,.the Catholic Church and regard the real rural dwellers as little more than muck savages to be discriminated against by penalising them for their independence and regulating them into emigration ,depression ,despair or suicide.
Methinks that maybe the Saint is sowing the green shoots of hope in rural Ireland in general and this parish in particular.
The third musketeer Leo asked me to give a hand with the Conradh Na Gaeilge collection after 11 Mass on Patrick's Day .Glad to help Leo I turned up at 10.30.at which stage the Dunderry Fair people had begun to assemble for guest appearances in Athboy and Navan parades.
First to appear was Dessie Coffey,towing the horses dray complete with creels and full of turf which brother Peter would be showing in the parades to signify rural anger at being debarred from our own bogs .
Surrounded by a gaggle of his own kids and young Smiths ,Keenan's and Coffey's ,all in period dress,with young Owen on a high Nellie and a brace of Bonds cycling a tandem in perfect symmetry,his flowing locks took on a life of their own. .Other exhibits were arriving but I headed into Mass,wher a violinist I don't know excelled ,drawing a round of applause at the end of Mass.
After Mass I headed to Athboy to see the parade.The place was choc a block.Loads of spectators and huge numbers of exhibitors.
Clanna Gael GAA Club,soccer clubs,karate clubs,gun clubs ,Irish dancing schools,assorted charities ,rugby clubs, the autism society,CCE,Rathcairn Irish speaking clubs ,vintage clubs for tractors ,combines ,all sorts of machinery,commecrcial floats,and thousands of children all doing their things with unbridled joy.
Then the rain started .Cold ,persistent ,unrelenting and peppered with hailstones.It soaked to the shin.For peg leg here there was no escape .I was sopping in minutes and so were all the uncovered exhibitors.Those spectators that could dashed for cover to the pubs and shops .Its an ill wind.Shopkeepers and publicans smiled quietly.But the show went on and the exhibitors stood their ground.Soaked to the skin,thousands of kids followed the example of their elders and displayed the fortitude they will need in rural Ireland to survive.The blue jean queen was really blue and the dry cleaners were smiling.Doctors were bracing their shoulders and rubbing their hands at the anticipated surge in visits from possible pneumatic patients on the morrow.
The Dunderry floats were last.Led by the kids on vintage bikes and fronted by Catherine Foley, a lady Norman, Owen Smith the lord mayor in all his sodden finery and overseen by Mac Kenna, the Chairman of the Board. Old Drudge and young Drudge were followed by a vintage tractor driven by a tamed (almost )Hatchet and it stopped to invite me on board the covered float to relieve my obvious discomfort.Fair dues Mac Kenna and Co..
Safely loaded the show progressed.That honorary Dunderry man ,Willie Fay the dealer,had the mike and did a running commentary ,earning the future revenge of every husband whose pub progress he halted by accurately ratting to his missus.He is genuinely witty .
He has his finger on the pulse."Jack Newman here is coming 60.He has 3 acres coming and no woman.There is a want in him .Any takers?"And a butchette rises to the occasion.Want satisfied.?Time will tell.
And then there was Ian the Sec.shepherding the animals with a clatter of Brogans and Martin's ,and Wicklow men with goats and Camogie players and comely maidens giving out free brown bread and no tay and lollipops .And the Black Crow leading Peter's horse pulling a jog of hand cut turf making the point that we will not be run from our bogs.Lifetime ago the Crow's uncle Pat was thought to have lost it when he was seen between the shafts of an asses cart pulling a full load of turf with the ass hitched to the back of the cart.Not a bother on Pat though.On the icy road his hob nails gave better traction than than the ass.Perfectly logical and practical.He was better equipped than the ass.
And the ass pulling the cart with the jacks surrounded by green docks and furze making the point that rather than be bullied on the issue of septic tanks we will give up using them altogether.
"Septic tanks with no flushes,
Just green docks and furze bushes."
And Mickey the butcher with the grandkids in the vintage Model T.Aand the mobile Cottage .And Gus and Olive and Tom with ewes and lambs and minature horses.The show rolls on.Everybody is drowned.
Mickey Daly Senior stops to carry me back to my car.Then his son John and Mairtin's son ,the image of Seamin invite me in for gargle.Our Helen spots and drags me in for tay and heat.And our Finn and Aoife and Padraig and Emily and Mags and Niamh meet and compare miseries and we head for the hills.
And back in Dundery the whole menagerie is at the parish hall,drying out,changing clothes ,drinking tay and bracing for the Navan parade to repeat the dose.And they do.
And to Delvin tomorrow.
Our people won't shite on the traces.Rehn and Union and Government take note.
Later rural Ireland produced two matches of passion,from the heart in our Croker..Resilient Crossmaglen.,stubborn Garrycastle,gritty Loughgeil,and persevering Cooldoire demonstrated the real meaning of place and warmed the cockle's of the heart.Our people.
And the paid professionals on the rugby field swallowed it.
Today in Cork at half time lifelong protagonists Cork and Kerry united during the double bill to leave the Union and its handmaidens in no doubt that we wont tolerate any further humiliations of our heritage in rural schools.
Hon the culchies and Naom Padraig pray for us.You the man.
Happy Patricks Day to all the Irish everywhere.
Patrick was brought here as a slave and put to work as a shepherd on a mountainside.He must have liked it as he returned unbidden to spread the Word of God.
He was therefor a Rural man in every sense of the word and spoke Irish.We know that the Kevin Mearses and the Gwen's twomens of this world despise the Irish language,.the Catholic Church and regard the real rural dwellers as little more than muck savages to be discriminated against by penalising them for their independence and regulating them into emigration ,depression ,despair or suicide.
Methinks that maybe the Saint is sowing the green shoots of hope in rural Ireland in general and this parish in particular.
The third musketeer Leo asked me to give a hand with the Conradh Na Gaeilge collection after 11 Mass on Patrick's Day .Glad to help Leo I turned up at 10.30.at which stage the Dunderry Fair people had begun to assemble for guest appearances in Athboy and Navan parades.
First to appear was Dessie Coffey,towing the horses dray complete with creels and full of turf which brother Peter would be showing in the parades to signify rural anger at being debarred from our own bogs .
Surrounded by a gaggle of his own kids and young Smiths ,Keenan's and Coffey's ,all in period dress,with young Owen on a high Nellie and a brace of Bonds cycling a tandem in perfect symmetry,his flowing locks took on a life of their own. .Other exhibits were arriving but I headed into Mass,wher a violinist I don't know excelled ,drawing a round of applause at the end of Mass.
After Mass I headed to Athboy to see the parade.The place was choc a block.Loads of spectators and huge numbers of exhibitors.
Clanna Gael GAA Club,soccer clubs,karate clubs,gun clubs ,Irish dancing schools,assorted charities ,rugby clubs, the autism society,CCE,Rathcairn Irish speaking clubs ,vintage clubs for tractors ,combines ,all sorts of machinery,commecrcial floats,and thousands of children all doing their things with unbridled joy.
Then the rain started .Cold ,persistent ,unrelenting and peppered with hailstones.It soaked to the shin.For peg leg here there was no escape .I was sopping in minutes and so were all the uncovered exhibitors.Those spectators that could dashed for cover to the pubs and shops .Its an ill wind.Shopkeepers and publicans smiled quietly.But the show went on and the exhibitors stood their ground.Soaked to the skin,thousands of kids followed the example of their elders and displayed the fortitude they will need in rural Ireland to survive.The blue jean queen was really blue and the dry cleaners were smiling.Doctors were bracing their shoulders and rubbing their hands at the anticipated surge in visits from possible pneumatic patients on the morrow.
The Dunderry floats were last.Led by the kids on vintage bikes and fronted by Catherine Foley, a lady Norman, Owen Smith the lord mayor in all his sodden finery and overseen by Mac Kenna, the Chairman of the Board. Old Drudge and young Drudge were followed by a vintage tractor driven by a tamed (almost )Hatchet and it stopped to invite me on board the covered float to relieve my obvious discomfort.Fair dues Mac Kenna and Co..
Safely loaded the show progressed.That honorary Dunderry man ,Willie Fay the dealer,had the mike and did a running commentary ,earning the future revenge of every husband whose pub progress he halted by accurately ratting to his missus.He is genuinely witty .
He has his finger on the pulse."Jack Newman here is coming 60.He has 3 acres coming and no woman.There is a want in him .Any takers?"And a butchette rises to the occasion.Want satisfied.?Time will tell.
And then there was Ian the Sec.shepherding the animals with a clatter of Brogans and Martin's ,and Wicklow men with goats and Camogie players and comely maidens giving out free brown bread and no tay and lollipops .And the Black Crow leading Peter's horse pulling a jog of hand cut turf making the point that we will not be run from our bogs.Lifetime ago the Crow's uncle Pat was thought to have lost it when he was seen between the shafts of an asses cart pulling a full load of turf with the ass hitched to the back of the cart.Not a bother on Pat though.On the icy road his hob nails gave better traction than than the ass.Perfectly logical and practical.He was better equipped than the ass.
And the ass pulling the cart with the jacks surrounded by green docks and furze making the point that rather than be bullied on the issue of septic tanks we will give up using them altogether.
"Septic tanks with no flushes,
Just green docks and furze bushes."
And Mickey the butcher with the grandkids in the vintage Model T.Aand the mobile Cottage .And Gus and Olive and Tom with ewes and lambs and minature horses.The show rolls on.Everybody is drowned.
Mickey Daly Senior stops to carry me back to my car.Then his son John and Mairtin's son ,the image of Seamin invite me in for gargle.Our Helen spots and drags me in for tay and heat.And our Finn and Aoife and Padraig and Emily and Mags and Niamh meet and compare miseries and we head for the hills.
And back in Dundery the whole menagerie is at the parish hall,drying out,changing clothes ,drinking tay and bracing for the Navan parade to repeat the dose.And they do.
And to Delvin tomorrow.
Our people won't shite on the traces.Rehn and Union and Government take note.
Later rural Ireland produced two matches of passion,from the heart in our Croker..Resilient Crossmaglen.,stubborn Garrycastle,gritty Loughgeil,and persevering Cooldoire demonstrated the real meaning of place and warmed the cockle's of the heart.Our people.
And the paid professionals on the rugby field swallowed it.
Today in Cork at half time lifelong protagonists Cork and Kerry united during the double bill to leave the Union and its handmaidens in no doubt that we wont tolerate any further humiliations of our heritage in rural schools.
Hon the culchies and Naom Padraig pray for us.You the man.
Happy Patricks Day to all the Irish everywhere.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Honohan sows despair.
The present governor of the Central Bank,that august institution that stood idly by when the banks for which it had responsibility loaned out money hand over fist to those foolish enough to take it,and which failed utterly to behave in a responsible manner ,is now sowing utter despair in the hearts of those who who acted in good faith ,worked extremely hard and put money aside for the rainy day.I would say that the very mention of his name causes a chill to run down the spine of a substantial number of decent people who did the right thing and now find themselves demonised by him.
Our Paudi is one of them.Since the age of 16 he has worked 18 hours per day.Always been self employed he was told that were he to get sick or fail to provide for himself and his family ,he would get no State support.He has given employment to many hundreds of people over the years He has paid hundreds of thousands to employees and collected and remitted huge sums to the Government in taxes.He long since decided that house property was the best security he could get to ensure a reasonable income for his old age.Over the years he invested in house property for income.Not only did his bank encourage him ,but assorted managers actually fought with each other to give him credit,when they saw that his net rental income from letting the two houses he had let was tasty.They effectively arm wrestled for his favour when they discovered that he had accumulated E100,000.00 after 25 years hard work and guaranteed him a million loan for property investment.These salesmen were on a bonus of E,25,000.00 if they could reel him in.He wasn't educated to the level of these heads,never mind the economists and financial wizards headed the lending houses who were throwing the money at him.He smelt a rat and only borrowed half the amount and got two modest repairable houses for letting .The bank took as security a charge over his family home as well as the houses he was letting.
Then the shit hit the fan .The economists ,the financial wizards,the banks and the regulators made a hames of it and his tenants couldn't pay the rent.Now the rents didn't meet the repayments because the depression caused by regulatory failure and financial institutional greed caused over 600,000 to either emigrate or suffer the indignity of unemployment .His work also dried up and yes,the State gives him no support.The Vincent de Paul do.The banks are harassing him unmercifully and he is put to the pin of his collar to pay interest only.Half his family have emigrated,the further away the better as far as they are concerned ,because they have seen what false prophets have done to their father who worked himself to the bone .He is a broken man.His is net worth is surely minus E500.000.00.The salesman who sold him the money won't be giving his bonus back.
He is one of that unique band who must pay reparation to those who destroyed him (i.e.Taxpayers) unto the third generation,if they stay in this country.
And Patrick Honohan wants the Banks to repossess his properties and totally destroy him.
This is indeed a quare country .Those who caused the misery have money thrown at them.Those they destroyed are driven over the abyss.
Paidi is losing it.He swears that he dreams each night that he has died and is in the spirit world.He dreams that there is a weighing scales there that weighs common decency and compassion in the spirits present..He says that there is a big queue of spirits there who fail to register on the scales.Trevallion is one.Honohan refuses to stand on it so far.But his day will come.
Our Paudi is one of them.Since the age of 16 he has worked 18 hours per day.Always been self employed he was told that were he to get sick or fail to provide for himself and his family ,he would get no State support.He has given employment to many hundreds of people over the years He has paid hundreds of thousands to employees and collected and remitted huge sums to the Government in taxes.He long since decided that house property was the best security he could get to ensure a reasonable income for his old age.Over the years he invested in house property for income.Not only did his bank encourage him ,but assorted managers actually fought with each other to give him credit,when they saw that his net rental income from letting the two houses he had let was tasty.They effectively arm wrestled for his favour when they discovered that he had accumulated E100,000.00 after 25 years hard work and guaranteed him a million loan for property investment.These salesmen were on a bonus of E,25,000.00 if they could reel him in.He wasn't educated to the level of these heads,never mind the economists and financial wizards headed the lending houses who were throwing the money at him.He smelt a rat and only borrowed half the amount and got two modest repairable houses for letting .The bank took as security a charge over his family home as well as the houses he was letting.
Then the shit hit the fan .The economists ,the financial wizards,the banks and the regulators made a hames of it and his tenants couldn't pay the rent.Now the rents didn't meet the repayments because the depression caused by regulatory failure and financial institutional greed caused over 600,000 to either emigrate or suffer the indignity of unemployment .His work also dried up and yes,the State gives him no support.The Vincent de Paul do.The banks are harassing him unmercifully and he is put to the pin of his collar to pay interest only.Half his family have emigrated,the further away the better as far as they are concerned ,because they have seen what false prophets have done to their father who worked himself to the bone .He is a broken man.His is net worth is surely minus E500.000.00.The salesman who sold him the money won't be giving his bonus back.
He is one of that unique band who must pay reparation to those who destroyed him (i.e.Taxpayers) unto the third generation,if they stay in this country.
And Patrick Honohan wants the Banks to repossess his properties and totally destroy him.
This is indeed a quare country .Those who caused the misery have money thrown at them.Those they destroyed are driven over the abyss.
Paidi is losing it.He swears that he dreams each night that he has died and is in the spirit world.He dreams that there is a weighing scales there that weighs common decency and compassion in the spirits present..He says that there is a big queue of spirits there who fail to register on the scales.Trevallion is one.Honohan refuses to stand on it so far.But his day will come.
Monday, March 12, 2012
High time for specialist hurling referees
Having played ,managed,mentored and in latter years attentively watched both hurling,football and camogie matches,I have come to the conclusion that it is high time that the refereeing of hurling and camogie matches be confined to specialist referees, preferably past players of the craft.
This is because the differing games have differing skills ,tempos,physicality ,mindsets ,ethos and etiquettes.Because in hurling each contestant has under his control a potentially lethal weapon ,the scope for bullying is less,the necessity to exercise restraint and the rewards for courage are greater and the scope for skill under danger is higher, one must have either played the game or else been reared on its finesse to understand the mindset of its proponents.
Dual players especially,including myself ,know full well that there are huge differences between the games of football and hurling and that differing skillets and attributes apply.For example a player who may easily be intimidated by a bigger and stronger opponent on the football field can often feel that positions are more equalised in hurling ,where mutual respect of the hurl and its potential for retribution is a real deal breaker.
That there is a fine line between a manly pull and a mean one is indisputable and is a fine call.A hurling man knows the difference.The sneaky holding of an opponents hurley is quickly detected by a hurling man,not so a football man.Purists understand that one is entitled to pull on a free ball and that if an opponent is foolish enough to try to simultaneously kick such a ball and suffer a belt from the hurley it should be a lesson dearly learned and not a foul.
Hurlers take their accidental belts and get on with it more readily than footballers ,who are sometimes influenced by the soccer actors who go into casualty mode for little reason.
What brought this to mind is that I watched Stephen Masterson referee Dunderry V Kilmssan last Saturday.Twas a good ,competitive hard and fair game with no prisoners taken or given .A manly encounter between two teams who wanted to win.
Masterson a hurler himself knew his job and kept it flowing.The players too recognised that he knew his job and was not to be trifled with.No mouthing.Always a good sign.I would say that this is also important when players graduate to inter county teams.If they are too mollycoddled by hybrid referees in club matches,they must get a huge shock when exposed to those teams who are subject to the more manly ministrations of the more successful counties in the code.
Time to specialise I say.
This is because the differing games have differing skills ,tempos,physicality ,mindsets ,ethos and etiquettes.Because in hurling each contestant has under his control a potentially lethal weapon ,the scope for bullying is less,the necessity to exercise restraint and the rewards for courage are greater and the scope for skill under danger is higher, one must have either played the game or else been reared on its finesse to understand the mindset of its proponents.
Dual players especially,including myself ,know full well that there are huge differences between the games of football and hurling and that differing skillets and attributes apply.For example a player who may easily be intimidated by a bigger and stronger opponent on the football field can often feel that positions are more equalised in hurling ,where mutual respect of the hurl and its potential for retribution is a real deal breaker.
That there is a fine line between a manly pull and a mean one is indisputable and is a fine call.A hurling man knows the difference.The sneaky holding of an opponents hurley is quickly detected by a hurling man,not so a football man.Purists understand that one is entitled to pull on a free ball and that if an opponent is foolish enough to try to simultaneously kick such a ball and suffer a belt from the hurley it should be a lesson dearly learned and not a foul.
Hurlers take their accidental belts and get on with it more readily than footballers ,who are sometimes influenced by the soccer actors who go into casualty mode for little reason.
What brought this to mind is that I watched Stephen Masterson referee Dunderry V Kilmssan last Saturday.Twas a good ,competitive hard and fair game with no prisoners taken or given .A manly encounter between two teams who wanted to win.
Masterson a hurler himself knew his job and kept it flowing.The players too recognised that he knew his job and was not to be trifled with.No mouthing.Always a good sign.I would say that this is also important when players graduate to inter county teams.If they are too mollycoddled by hybrid referees in club matches,they must get a huge shock when exposed to those teams who are subject to the more manly ministrations of the more successful counties in the code.
Time to specialise I say.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Nell Gough and Padre PIo's glove.
Nell is making a miraculous recovery,has fully regained her senses,is out of the coma and is well recovered physically.She is out of intensive treatment.At 82 years old her family cannot understand her rapid recovery ,from death's door to as near full health as one could only hope for.
A devout family ,they ascribe it to the power of prayer and the glove of Padre Pio ,which was brought to her in the hospital.I have no difficulty in believing this as I am a believer from profound personal experience and know a local family whose child made a similar miraculous recovery.
Good woman Nell and fair dues Padre.
A devout family ,they ascribe it to the power of prayer and the glove of Padre Pio ,which was brought to her in the hospital.I have no difficulty in believing this as I am a believer from profound personal experience and know a local family whose child made a similar miraculous recovery.
Good woman Nell and fair dues Padre.
Two Muskateers and a Proxy
At 6.00 myself ,Liam and Leo (proxy for Carmel),showed and prayed.We now bring candles.
Unlike the panellists on T.V.3,the supposed third Irish Channel ,who this morning sneered and jeered at the Irish Language (it being seachtain na gaeilge) and whose witty reposts included such hilarious gems as "Sean O Sausage "and similar ,we said a decade of the Rosary as Gaelige.No doubt these " 3"witty linguists much prefer the culture and language of the British soaps( the staple diet of the station ),which they rebroadcast, to their own heritage.
In deference to Leo ,who is local Chairman of Conradh na Gaeilge,we decided by unanimous vote to henceforth say a decade as Gaeilge as well as the usual prayers.
And lest any readers think that we are Holy Joe's and Josephine's ,I have no hesitation of telling those "3" presenters to "Pog mo Thoin" and then soap out their mouths of the "Sean O Sausages"they gleefully quote with such gay abandon.
Unlike the panellists on T.V.3,the supposed third Irish Channel ,who this morning sneered and jeered at the Irish Language (it being seachtain na gaeilge) and whose witty reposts included such hilarious gems as "Sean O Sausage "and similar ,we said a decade of the Rosary as Gaelige.No doubt these " 3"witty linguists much prefer the culture and language of the British soaps( the staple diet of the station ),which they rebroadcast, to their own heritage.
In deference to Leo ,who is local Chairman of Conradh na Gaeilge,we decided by unanimous vote to henceforth say a decade as Gaeilge as well as the usual prayers.
And lest any readers think that we are Holy Joe's and Josephine's ,I have no hesitation of telling those "3" presenters to "Pog mo Thoin" and then soap out their mouths of the "Sean O Sausages"they gleefully quote with such gay abandon.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Austerity by Numbers,
1.The family of the Bear Garry and Monica.Son T.J.took the lonely plane to Australia yesterday to join his brother Martin.
2.Michael Garry and Monica now have two sons in Australia.Next door his brother Tommy has two children abroad,Thomas and Lorna in the U.S.A.Peppi Clarke has two sons in Aus,Noel and David.
My brother Martin has one daughter in England and another on the way.Gerry Coogan and Tracy Coogan are in the USA.
Korea Mc Donagh ,a native of Rathcarn our neighbours, was held captive by the Koreans for seven years,while serving in the Armed Forces of the USA.Two of his grandsons T.J.Garry and Joe Mc Donagh left together for Australia this week.
James Higgins and Gordon Weldon of this Parish got Australia Citizenship lately.The first of many?
Paddy Conway has two children,a son and daughter in the USA.
3.Razor Fagan ,Kenny Fagan and Sinead Fagan,children of Dessie and Marion are in exile in Australia and England.To get work they must go there.
Kenny was married there recently.The marriage took place in England.Clearly the expenses were incurred in England and the economic benefit associated with this accrued to the English Exchequer.
We congratulate himself and his new wife.My brother Cecil has two sons in Aus and a daughter in England.
4.The number of Churches either torched or desecrated this last twelve months.
5.The five sons of Mickey Daley in exile.The number of middle aged men ,who happened to be self employed who tragically cut short their lives within a five mile radius of here in recent times.
6.The number of nephews and nieces of mine in exile.The sentence in years a man got for smuggling garlic into the country.Yes that most addictive of drugs,garlic.Rumour has it that there are a preponderance of vampires in the judiciary.Proof positive that even the judiciary have lost the plot.No wonder that there is a desperation to get as far away as possible from this country.
7.The number of days in the week that heart broken parents fret for their exiled children and those unemployed at home.
8 and 9.The number of businesses closed in this neighbourhood this last three years.
10.The number of Commandments God handed down.Simple encompassing rules for good living.
11.In thousands this number of broken and humiliated people who turned up for jobs expo, fora in Dublin,and Cork,desperate for work anywhere to retain their dignity.
So many turned up that many thousand had to be turned away.
12.The number of months an Irishman ,who I know and who is the great grandson of a man who fought for Ireland's freedom ,has been left destitute by Joan Burton's Dept.Advised by a genuine staff member to go to England to improve his situation.Has been given the huge sum of E.80 for the entire year to keep himself.Dependant totally on the goodwill of his neighbours for survival he is treated worse than an animal by our State.Not even a statistic.
13.And rising.The number of months one of the three pubs in the Parish has been closed.Ditto the Post Office.
14.%.The unemployment rate,
50.The age at which many Irish would emigrate if they could.
270.The number of boxes to tick in the jobs initiative,
300.the approximate number of offences which motorists can be penalised for.Also the I.Q.level you would need to remember them,
2,500.The number of voluntary GAA clubs the Government,via its Revenue arm ,is risking destroying
.
70,000 and rising.The number of our children who emigrate each year.
1,300.000.Number of smokers treated as lepers by our vindictive medical fanatics who are so intent on bullying them in hospitals by denying them the chance to have a smoke in the hospital grounds while they are indisposed..That a medic took a woman's ring as security for fees is indicative of the disdain with which some medics regard their patients.When will this blatant bullying stop.
Too many .Plummy voiced apologists decrying negativity on the part of people who have nothing.
Too much.The amount of bank debt we the citizens are paying.Not a red penny is about the correct amount.Ask Leo Varadaker.
2.Michael Garry and Monica now have two sons in Australia.Next door his brother Tommy has two children abroad,Thomas and Lorna in the U.S.A.Peppi Clarke has two sons in Aus,Noel and David.
My brother Martin has one daughter in England and another on the way.Gerry Coogan and Tracy Coogan are in the USA.
Korea Mc Donagh ,a native of Rathcarn our neighbours, was held captive by the Koreans for seven years,while serving in the Armed Forces of the USA.Two of his grandsons T.J.Garry and Joe Mc Donagh left together for Australia this week.
James Higgins and Gordon Weldon of this Parish got Australia Citizenship lately.The first of many?
Paddy Conway has two children,a son and daughter in the USA.
3.Razor Fagan ,Kenny Fagan and Sinead Fagan,children of Dessie and Marion are in exile in Australia and England.To get work they must go there.
Kenny was married there recently.The marriage took place in England.Clearly the expenses were incurred in England and the economic benefit associated with this accrued to the English Exchequer.
We congratulate himself and his new wife.My brother Cecil has two sons in Aus and a daughter in England.
4.The number of Churches either torched or desecrated this last twelve months.
5.The five sons of Mickey Daley in exile.The number of middle aged men ,who happened to be self employed who tragically cut short their lives within a five mile radius of here in recent times.
6.The number of nephews and nieces of mine in exile.The sentence in years a man got for smuggling garlic into the country.Yes that most addictive of drugs,garlic.Rumour has it that there are a preponderance of vampires in the judiciary.Proof positive that even the judiciary have lost the plot.No wonder that there is a desperation to get as far away as possible from this country.
7.The number of days in the week that heart broken parents fret for their exiled children and those unemployed at home.
8 and 9.The number of businesses closed in this neighbourhood this last three years.
10.The number of Commandments God handed down.Simple encompassing rules for good living.
11.In thousands this number of broken and humiliated people who turned up for jobs expo, fora in Dublin,and Cork,desperate for work anywhere to retain their dignity.
So many turned up that many thousand had to be turned away.
12.The number of months an Irishman ,who I know and who is the great grandson of a man who fought for Ireland's freedom ,has been left destitute by Joan Burton's Dept.Advised by a genuine staff member to go to England to improve his situation.Has been given the huge sum of E.80 for the entire year to keep himself.Dependant totally on the goodwill of his neighbours for survival he is treated worse than an animal by our State.Not even a statistic.
13.And rising.The number of months one of the three pubs in the Parish has been closed.Ditto the Post Office.
14.%.The unemployment rate,
50.The age at which many Irish would emigrate if they could.
270.The number of boxes to tick in the jobs initiative,
300.the approximate number of offences which motorists can be penalised for.Also the I.Q.level you would need to remember them,
2,500.The number of voluntary GAA clubs the Government,via its Revenue arm ,is risking destroying
.
70,000 and rising.The number of our children who emigrate each year.
1,300.000.Number of smokers treated as lepers by our vindictive medical fanatics who are so intent on bullying them in hospitals by denying them the chance to have a smoke in the hospital grounds while they are indisposed..That a medic took a woman's ring as security for fees is indicative of the disdain with which some medics regard their patients.When will this blatant bullying stop.
Too many .Plummy voiced apologists decrying negativity on the part of people who have nothing.
Too much.The amount of bank debt we the citizens are paying.Not a red penny is about the correct amount.Ask Leo Varadaker.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Dunderry Exile Team.Australian Division.
Padraic Carroll
Stephen Mitchell James Higggins Gordon Weldon
Barry Conaty Noel Clarke Davy Clarke
Gerry Murray T.J.Garry
Razor Fagan Martin Garry David Bray
Daniel Stephens Owen Stephens Mark Stephens.
The Stephens clan and Bray qualify on the grandparentage rule.
Stephen Mitchell James Higggins Gordon Weldon
Barry Conaty Noel Clarke Davy Clarke
Gerry Murray T.J.Garry
Razor Fagan Martin Garry David Bray
Daniel Stephens Owen Stephens Mark Stephens.
The Stephens clan and Bray qualify on the grandparentage rule.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Jesus haters in ascendancy.
The latest outrage promulgated against Christianity,the theft of the heart of Laurence O Toole from Christ Church Cathedral was entirely predictable and follows the theft of a relic of the true Cross from Holy Cross , the desecration of Saint Oliver Plunkett's remains in Drogheda and the torching of a Church in Dublin's Liberties.
The political climate that encourages this evil stems .in my view,from the denigration of Christian prayer by anti religion Senators and T.D.s ,sneering media commentators and a secular Government ,egged on by an anti religious European Community.
As sure as night follows day the closure of the Vatican embassy will accelerate more such desecration.
Again this does not surprise me.Any Government which so actively participates in the persecution of smokers addicted to a legitimate product like tobacco to the extent of practically torturing sick people with this habit,while in hospitals, is capable of any thing.,It better behoves these healthy fascists to properly look after the medical needs of the patients than persecute them.
Today Christians ,Smokers ,Rural Communities and the GAA.Who next?
The political climate that encourages this evil stems .in my view,from the denigration of Christian prayer by anti religion Senators and T.D.s ,sneering media commentators and a secular Government ,egged on by an anti religious European Community.
As sure as night follows day the closure of the Vatican embassy will accelerate more such desecration.
Again this does not surprise me.Any Government which so actively participates in the persecution of smokers addicted to a legitimate product like tobacco to the extent of practically torturing sick people with this habit,while in hospitals, is capable of any thing.,It better behoves these healthy fascists to properly look after the medical needs of the patients than persecute them.
Today Christians ,Smokers ,Rural Communities and the GAA.Who next?
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Three muskateers continue Vigil
Myself,Carmel and Liam continued our pray -in for divine intervention and fair play on Friday at 6.00.Aside from the Vigil entirely ,you couldn't be in better company.News has reached me of the death of Vera Clarke's sister on Friday.Both Vera and Vincie her husband are true blue Dubs in exile in Dunderry and sometimes attend the Vigil.We hear that she was Vera's last sister and we extend our condolonces to Vera and her family.
Another neighbour and friend for three lifetimes,Nell Gough is not well and we pray for her recovery.
Tonight the month's mind of (Metal) Mick Wimsey,who so tragically expired recently,will be held in Dunderry Church.
Last night I prayed that the authorities might start taking seriously the factors that drive so many decent and life loving people to premature and tragic death.
Maybe Young Dev's long overdue statements of the bleeding obvious is a baby step in the right direction.
Back to the grindstone next Friday.
Another neighbour and friend for three lifetimes,Nell Gough is not well and we pray for her recovery.
Tonight the month's mind of (Metal) Mick Wimsey,who so tragically expired recently,will be held in Dunderry Church.
Last night I prayed that the authorities might start taking seriously the factors that drive so many decent and life loving people to premature and tragic death.
Maybe Young Dev's long overdue statements of the bleeding obvious is a baby step in the right direction.
Back to the grindstone next Friday.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
O Cuiv the Man
Eamonn O Cuiv,grandson of Eamonn De Valera ,one of the founders of Fianna Fail is the sole Parliamentry repository of the values of public service which once abounded in the membership of that organisation.He alone of that party ,has his finger on the pulse of the people who would flock in droves to any party he would lead.He is a decent ,honest and upright man of probity and all right thinking people think this .Not for him the false furrow of concern manufactured for T.V. by the chancers who are masquerading as serious politicians,nor the incessant blinking to disguise the blatant untruths being mouthed by the serial abusers of truth ,nor the dramatic arm and hand waving and posing by wannabe political actors to distract attention from the falsehoods they spout.
He will never make my Fear Breaga list.And believe me the stage is set for the greatest display of the species in living memory in the run up to the constitutional vote..
What a pity that he feels honour bound to stay in the Party founded by his grandfather,a Party that since his grandfather's demise has gone out of its way to keep the DeValeras down for fear that they would attain the prominence they so clearly deserve.
If memory serves right he threw up a valid bequest of a farm made top him by a grateful constituent.Do you think that any of the corruption tribunals would have been necessary had he or any of his family control of the Fianna Fail Party these last years.You could bet your bottom dollar that such chicanery would not be tolerated.The pygmies took over from the giants of integrity and we see the results daily.#
He is the only politician of stature who really gives a shite about the ordinary people of this country ,its traditions and our proud tradition of sovereignty .Like his grandfather he is not amenable to bullying and even though I formerly lamented his non participation in the Presidential election ,I am now glad that he didn't run ,as he would have succeeded and would be politically neutered for life,
He can provide a much more vital service for the country by bringing the bleeding obvious to the attention of the electorate and ensuring that the Empire of Angel and Nick is brought to its senses ,just as his grandfather did the the then greatest empire the world had ever seen.
I just fear that ship jumping is not in his genes ,as is so blatantly present in some who have morphed to suit their ambitions to the detriment of the ships they have abandoned ,and that hen may be slapped down again by the pygmies who captain the Fianna Fail ship which is indistinguishable from the government parties and is heading for electoral Armageddon unless it changes tack.
Listen Dev.now is the time.Hit the sliotar on the run and land the laurels.In a very few years you will be too old.
He will never make my Fear Breaga list.And believe me the stage is set for the greatest display of the species in living memory in the run up to the constitutional vote..
What a pity that he feels honour bound to stay in the Party founded by his grandfather,a Party that since his grandfather's demise has gone out of its way to keep the DeValeras down for fear that they would attain the prominence they so clearly deserve.
If memory serves right he threw up a valid bequest of a farm made top him by a grateful constituent.Do you think that any of the corruption tribunals would have been necessary had he or any of his family control of the Fianna Fail Party these last years.You could bet your bottom dollar that such chicanery would not be tolerated.The pygmies took over from the giants of integrity and we see the results daily.#
He is the only politician of stature who really gives a shite about the ordinary people of this country ,its traditions and our proud tradition of sovereignty .Like his grandfather he is not amenable to bullying and even though I formerly lamented his non participation in the Presidential election ,I am now glad that he didn't run ,as he would have succeeded and would be politically neutered for life,
He can provide a much more vital service for the country by bringing the bleeding obvious to the attention of the electorate and ensuring that the Empire of Angel and Nick is brought to its senses ,just as his grandfather did the the then greatest empire the world had ever seen.
I just fear that ship jumping is not in his genes ,as is so blatantly present in some who have morphed to suit their ambitions to the detriment of the ships they have abandoned ,and that hen may be slapped down again by the pygmies who captain the Fianna Fail ship which is indistinguishable from the government parties and is heading for electoral Armageddon unless it changes tack.
Listen Dev.now is the time.Hit the sliotar on the run and land the laurels.In a very few years you will be too old.
Pissed off?
Pray- in tomorrow evening (Friday)in Dunderry Church 6.00 to 6.30 p.m.No lectures ,just pray ,contemplate or savour the moment.No pressure.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Death of Phil Carolan
One of nature's gentlemen and a long time friend of my own people ,the Mac Cormack's of Churchtown ,passed to his eternal reward on the 19th February 2012 .I met the man on the way into Dunderry Mass only recently and was surprised how well he looked for a man of his age.As far as I know he was in his 89th year and he was in great form that evening.He admitted to talking the farming side of life less seriously these past few years.His farm nearly mearned my people's land and never a cross word passed between the two families over two lifetimes.
He was a native of Rathmore and his brother Johnny often sheared sheep for my uncles in days of yore. He was as cracked about football as my uncles were and many's the conversation they had about times gone,when I think Rathmore had a football team.I know Johnny played but am unsure whether Phil and Paddy did.
They all had the reputation of being fierce hard workers and as decent as the day is long,a reputation that was well deserved.Anyone who lived on or near the bog were well used to hardship and ordinary work was a doddle by comparison.A very good friend recently recounted a true story about the sort of hard workers the Carolans were.Forty years ago a friend of mine while putting up a hayshed for one of their neighbours ,set the steel pillars in concrete and went off for a week to complete other works.The neighbour was admant that the pillars had to be a certain height but no higher.It was agreed that when my friend returned the matter could be resolved by cutting back any excess height with tools made for the job.He returned ahead of schedule to witness Johnny cutting through the last pillar with a hacksaw.Can you imagine the sweat and energy expended in this task.Try one pillar yourself and see how long it takes.The height was guaged by measuring how high Johnny could throw up a forkful of hay with a pitchfork as Johnny always threw up the hihger forkfulls..
I had the very great pleasure of drinking with Johnny,Paddy and Tommy Mac Cormack in Athboy a number of years ago.It was one of the most memorable and pleasant nights of my life as the breath of knowledge ,experience and pure goodness that emerged that night was awesome.Tghey were very well read and had huge experience of life's foibles.
I never drank with Phil and don't know if he did drink.Rumour has it that himself and his wife used slip up to a certain Navan establishment of a Saturday for a dance and a bottle of stout.This I cannot confirm but suspect it is true. I never saw him in a public house and strongly suspect that he imbibed very little ,if at all..He did however defy medical science in another way as he reached that great age having smoked 40 fags a day since the age of fourteen,as far as I know.
To pass the yard would give you an idea of the type of farmer he was.The round bales in the hay shed would be stored in absolute symmetry.Every thing in its place.He was a man who did not carry much weight and no grudges.I have a fair idea that a bull of mine went walkabouts a number of years ago and left his calling card with a few of his heifirs.Not a word from him about it .I hope the progeny did well for him.He was a good bull.
I would say that he hadn't an enemy in the world .
He will be sadly missed by his sons Hubert and Phil and daughters Deirdre and Mary and his very loving and distraught wife Eileen,his grandchildren ,nephews and nieces ,neighbours ,a wide circle of friends and the wider community.
His son Hubert would be well known to the Gaels of Meath as a former umpire for his neighbour Paddy Kavanagh and older Dunderry residents would remember his daughter Deirdre (Smtyh) well.
His grandson Alan Watters is a well respected member of Dunderry GAA club,having recently arrived from Simonstown.
The Church in Boyerstown was overflowing for his funeral and I believe that the house of his son Hubert ,where he was waked, was full to capacity at all times when he was in repose.
Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam dilis.
He was a native of Rathmore and his brother Johnny often sheared sheep for my uncles in days of yore. He was as cracked about football as my uncles were and many's the conversation they had about times gone,when I think Rathmore had a football team.I know Johnny played but am unsure whether Phil and Paddy did.
They all had the reputation of being fierce hard workers and as decent as the day is long,a reputation that was well deserved.Anyone who lived on or near the bog were well used to hardship and ordinary work was a doddle by comparison.A very good friend recently recounted a true story about the sort of hard workers the Carolans were.Forty years ago a friend of mine while putting up a hayshed for one of their neighbours ,set the steel pillars in concrete and went off for a week to complete other works.The neighbour was admant that the pillars had to be a certain height but no higher.It was agreed that when my friend returned the matter could be resolved by cutting back any excess height with tools made for the job.He returned ahead of schedule to witness Johnny cutting through the last pillar with a hacksaw.Can you imagine the sweat and energy expended in this task.Try one pillar yourself and see how long it takes.The height was guaged by measuring how high Johnny could throw up a forkful of hay with a pitchfork as Johnny always threw up the hihger forkfulls..
I had the very great pleasure of drinking with Johnny,Paddy and Tommy Mac Cormack in Athboy a number of years ago.It was one of the most memorable and pleasant nights of my life as the breath of knowledge ,experience and pure goodness that emerged that night was awesome.Tghey were very well read and had huge experience of life's foibles.
I never drank with Phil and don't know if he did drink.Rumour has it that himself and his wife used slip up to a certain Navan establishment of a Saturday for a dance and a bottle of stout.This I cannot confirm but suspect it is true. I never saw him in a public house and strongly suspect that he imbibed very little ,if at all..He did however defy medical science in another way as he reached that great age having smoked 40 fags a day since the age of fourteen,as far as I know.
To pass the yard would give you an idea of the type of farmer he was.The round bales in the hay shed would be stored in absolute symmetry.Every thing in its place.He was a man who did not carry much weight and no grudges.I have a fair idea that a bull of mine went walkabouts a number of years ago and left his calling card with a few of his heifirs.Not a word from him about it .I hope the progeny did well for him.He was a good bull.
I would say that he hadn't an enemy in the world .
He will be sadly missed by his sons Hubert and Phil and daughters Deirdre and Mary and his very loving and distraught wife Eileen,his grandchildren ,nephews and nieces ,neighbours ,a wide circle of friends and the wider community.
His son Hubert would be well known to the Gaels of Meath as a former umpire for his neighbour Paddy Kavanagh and older Dunderry residents would remember his daughter Deirdre (Smtyh) well.
His grandson Alan Watters is a well respected member of Dunderry GAA club,having recently arrived from Simonstown.
The Church in Boyerstown was overflowing for his funeral and I believe that the house of his son Hubert ,where he was waked, was full to capacity at all times when he was in repose.
Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam dilis.
Solution to stop destruction of Gaa
Next week the Drumbeats are playing the Bohermeen Bruisers.In hurling.Both teams are gentlemen and wouldn't foul the opposition,despite a healthy rivalry stretching back 100 years.Believe that you will believe anything.To ensure fair play Paddy the Gom has agreed to do fair play man.|At great personal risk to himself and his family.These amateurs are involved for the love of the game.Unlike the Rugby and Soccer heads who are paid professionals.
As a gesture of gratitude each player on each side voluntarily donates E1.50 to the fair play man,This is a gift to him.He has no entitlement to it.Even if the player plays each weekend for 30 years he will not exceed the threshold that attracts tax.
Any attempt to identify a multiplicity of donors of E1.50 per week to a fair play man over his life would be futile even the world of the Stanhope Screecher (former) who has perverted the idea of "love your neighbour" to "shop your neighbour."
Any State Organ or Government who refuses to accept this proposition can only be assumed to be actively hostile to voluntarism and clearly have very little to do.
I rest my case.
As a gesture of gratitude each player on each side voluntarily donates E1.50 to the fair play man,This is a gift to him.He has no entitlement to it.Even if the player plays each weekend for 30 years he will not exceed the threshold that attracts tax.
Any attempt to identify a multiplicity of donors of E1.50 per week to a fair play man over his life would be futile even the world of the Stanhope Screecher (former) who has perverted the idea of "love your neighbour" to "shop your neighbour."
Any State Organ or Government who refuses to accept this proposition can only be assumed to be actively hostile to voluntarism and clearly have very little to do.
I rest my case.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Government to decommission GAA
Having decommissioned the Irish language,humiliated the Catholic Church ,stripped rural Ireland of its youth ,decimated small business,destroyed the pub trade ,starved the unemployed into emigration, driven the suicide rate into the stratosphere ,and while selling off the family silver (State Assets),this Government is now hell bent on completing the job by destroying the GAA.
See my earlier article "Is GAA now a tout for Revenue."
Yep this would remove the last beacon of hope for rural and urban Ireland.
And you know what ,they will succeed.The GAA has been infiltrated by enough Government supporters to sign its own death warrant and roll over.
See my earlier article "Is GAA now a tout for Revenue."
Yep this would remove the last beacon of hope for rural and urban Ireland.
And you know what ,they will succeed.The GAA has been infiltrated by enough Government supporters to sign its own death warrant and roll over.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Hit the old where it hurts.
The older one gets the more one hopes that medical attention will be forthcoming if needed.Some politicians have made their reputations on the promise of improving local hospital services.
I have heard a harrowing story lately,which I have checked out to my own satisfaction and I am happy it is true,
One recent Sunday a local octogenarian urgently needed medical assistance.As the person's G.P.does not work on Sunday,Doctor on Call had to be called.Approximately four hours elapsed between first notification of the call and attendance on the patient in the family home.I am told this is not unusual as sometimes only one doctor is on call and is often overwhelmed .Another person informed me that if you attend the Doctor on Call and he/she is called out on urgent business you just have to wait as long as it takes.In any event when the Doctor did call out he/she was first class and allayed the main fears of the patient.However an X Ray was needed.Navan seemingly don't do rays on weekends and the patient had to be brought by Ambulance to Drogheda.
The patient hit Drogheda at approx.6.P.M.Got a E.C.G. fairly promptly (to ensure no heart attack I assume) and lay on a trolley until 3.A.M.the next morning,when the family had to return to their respective homes.As far as they can gather the patient did not receive the X Ray until 5 or 6 A.M, later that morning.The parking fees for the stay was E.28.00
One family member who accompanied the patient at all times from the initial call to the Doctor on Call informed me that the waiting arena in Drogheda was like Vietnam during the War at its worst.It was totally understaffed and bedlam reigned .People in obvious pain were walking around with flapping limbs,Mothers with children with vomiting sickness were at their wit's end minding those children and maybe other children they had to bring with them because they had nobody else to mind them.Seemingly Drogheda had to deal concurrently with all emergencies in the Louth /Meath area. The family member who told me this is by no means squeamish and swore that he never saw the likes of it.
I ran in last election mainly to highlight the fact that Navan Hospital had not until 2010 ever stocked the blood thinner that can dissolve the clots that cause stroke.I found this unbelievable and have often wondered since how many avoidable deaths and unnecessary disabilities were caused by such woeful neglect.Of course the thinner must be administered within a few hours of the stroke and only to patients who have a clot and not a bleed ,as naturally thinner would only worsen the bleed.To discern if a clot is present an X ray is necessary and A Radiologist must examine the X Ray .
Given that X Rays can not be taken in Navan on Sundays and maybe Saturdays (I am not sure ) is it a fact that things have now reverted to the pre 2010 position for weekends and presumably Bank Holidays and maybe after 6 in the evening.
If this is the case then God help anyone from the catchment area who falls seriously ill.
Now those politicians who made their reputations on the back of providing a reasonable level health of service must surely know what gives and the Government T.D.s must deliver.
It is just not good enough to treat any person,particularly an elderly one in a fashion that if a farmer applied to an animal,would be prosecuted for cruelty.
There again this may be the secular way.
My use of medical jargon is deficient I know and some assumptions I make may be off.If they are I will gladly correct them.
I have heard a harrowing story lately,which I have checked out to my own satisfaction and I am happy it is true,
One recent Sunday a local octogenarian urgently needed medical assistance.As the person's G.P.does not work on Sunday,Doctor on Call had to be called.Approximately four hours elapsed between first notification of the call and attendance on the patient in the family home.I am told this is not unusual as sometimes only one doctor is on call and is often overwhelmed .Another person informed me that if you attend the Doctor on Call and he/she is called out on urgent business you just have to wait as long as it takes.In any event when the Doctor did call out he/she was first class and allayed the main fears of the patient.However an X Ray was needed.Navan seemingly don't do rays on weekends and the patient had to be brought by Ambulance to Drogheda.
The patient hit Drogheda at approx.6.P.M.Got a E.C.G. fairly promptly (to ensure no heart attack I assume) and lay on a trolley until 3.A.M.the next morning,when the family had to return to their respective homes.As far as they can gather the patient did not receive the X Ray until 5 or 6 A.M, later that morning.The parking fees for the stay was E.28.00
One family member who accompanied the patient at all times from the initial call to the Doctor on Call informed me that the waiting arena in Drogheda was like Vietnam during the War at its worst.It was totally understaffed and bedlam reigned .People in obvious pain were walking around with flapping limbs,Mothers with children with vomiting sickness were at their wit's end minding those children and maybe other children they had to bring with them because they had nobody else to mind them.Seemingly Drogheda had to deal concurrently with all emergencies in the Louth /Meath area. The family member who told me this is by no means squeamish and swore that he never saw the likes of it.
I ran in last election mainly to highlight the fact that Navan Hospital had not until 2010 ever stocked the blood thinner that can dissolve the clots that cause stroke.I found this unbelievable and have often wondered since how many avoidable deaths and unnecessary disabilities were caused by such woeful neglect.Of course the thinner must be administered within a few hours of the stroke and only to patients who have a clot and not a bleed ,as naturally thinner would only worsen the bleed.To discern if a clot is present an X ray is necessary and A Radiologist must examine the X Ray .
Given that X Rays can not be taken in Navan on Sundays and maybe Saturdays (I am not sure ) is it a fact that things have now reverted to the pre 2010 position for weekends and presumably Bank Holidays and maybe after 6 in the evening.
If this is the case then God help anyone from the catchment area who falls seriously ill.
Now those politicians who made their reputations on the back of providing a reasonable level health of service must surely know what gives and the Government T.D.s must deliver.
It is just not good enough to treat any person,particularly an elderly one in a fashion that if a farmer applied to an animal,would be prosecuted for cruelty.
There again this may be the secular way.
My use of medical jargon is deficient I know and some assumptions I make may be off.If they are I will gladly correct them.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Railway Cups for Dunderry?
Didn't see matches last week but heard the competitions being talked down by everybody bar the players,who are mad about it.And why wouldn't they be.It is some honour to represent your province.Seemingly they are attracting only small attendances.
Well we here in Dunderry are confident we can solve this.Three years ago we hosted a challenge her on the Fair Day between Meath and Mayo in the month of May.A few thousand attended at six in the evening.
Let us host the finals May twelve months and I guarantee that we will produce a spectacular day's outing between the Fair and the Games.
I am confident that all in the Parish would burst themselves to ensue a success and no stone would be left unturned to produce a historic novelty.
TOWID.
Well we here in Dunderry are confident we can solve this.Three years ago we hosted a challenge her on the Fair Day between Meath and Mayo in the month of May.A few thousand attended at six in the evening.
Let us host the finals May twelve months and I guarantee that we will produce a spectacular day's outing between the Fair and the Games.
I am confident that all in the Parish would burst themselves to ensue a success and no stone would be left unturned to produce a historic novelty.
TOWID.
Is GAA now a tout for Government?
Those of us concerned with the continued intrusiveness of the nanny state into all aspects of our lives and the increased snooping of the organs of the State into the minutiae of our existence must be extremely alarmed at the reported requirements of the proposals on amateurism currently under consideration.And one must wonder if the soul of the organisation is being sold,.as the Country has been, for the few shekels thrown the way of the GAA by the money men,in the form of grants .
According to an article by Colm Keys in the Irish Independent today February 22nd.2012 Option 2 of Padraic Duffy's Report on Amateurism is the Option favoured by the stronger counties.This involves :-
1.The establishment of a registration and audit board in Croke Park.
2.This committee have to be supplied with the RSI Number or the Northern Ireland equivalent of every manager and selector who wants to get involved with a club or county team.
3.Prospective managers,selectors and all backroom members must submit their names ,addresses and dates of birth and RSI numbers to Croke Park for inspection by November 30th.(For County Teams seemingly).
4.Clubs have to do likewise for local committees before 30th January.
5.Heavy fines and/or suspensionwill be imposed for inaccurate information.
A number of questions of the most serious nature arise.
(a)Why in the name of God would you give details of your RSI Number to anyone else in a situation where you were not obliged to so do by law is beyond me.It is more important than your Bank PIN number and should only be disclosed in either a job situation or a Social Welfare situation.
(b)Has this proposal evolved as a result or in conjunction with the recent headlines concerning Revenue's intention to crack down on under the counter payments.
(3)Will Revenue have the right of inspection of this information?(My informed opinion is that it would)
(4) To what extent do these proposals reflect the requirements of Revenue.
(5) What legally enforceable guarantee is there that this information will not be shared with anyone else and do all members of the GAA having access to the information have to swear an oath similar to the Official Secrets Act (which Civil Servants having access to such information swear) that they will not disclose the information to anyone else.
(6) In the event that it is disclosed who do you sue.
Will the GAA shop you to Revenue if irregularities come to light and is the Association inculcating an informer culture as Government Departments are so actively doing these days.
Would you be utterly brain dead to volunteer for any position in the Gaa either local or at County level if it involved supplying this most secret and personal information ,which could easily ruin you.
Remember the word "audit" is used as a threat in most Revenue documents and anyone who has been subject to one will never forget it.
It is no secret that Government and its services have destroyed the most important thing entrusted to it, ,the Country .Are you willing to allow like minded autocrats and bureaucrats to take over the Association and ruin it also.
Is it not enough that our amateurs have submitted to the humiliation of dope testing in order to be good boys I assume.
I am fully aware that many legislators owe their popularity to the exploits ,either on or off the field .of themselves or their relatives.Many current legislators and civil servants have dual roles in the Gaa and the State. You can only serve one master however.
Which master is being served here.
How this proceeds has the capacity to destroy the GAA at worst,or at best make it into a vassal for the Government of the day.
Finally how long until the RSI Numbers of stewards and referees will be demanded and passed on.
According to an article by Colm Keys in the Irish Independent today February 22nd.2012 Option 2 of Padraic Duffy's Report on Amateurism is the Option favoured by the stronger counties.This involves :-
1.The establishment of a registration and audit board in Croke Park.
2.This committee have to be supplied with the RSI Number or the Northern Ireland equivalent of every manager and selector who wants to get involved with a club or county team.
3.Prospective managers,selectors and all backroom members must submit their names ,addresses and dates of birth and RSI numbers to Croke Park for inspection by November 30th.(For County Teams seemingly).
4.Clubs have to do likewise for local committees before 30th January.
5.Heavy fines and/or suspensionwill be imposed for inaccurate information.
A number of questions of the most serious nature arise.
(a)Why in the name of God would you give details of your RSI Number to anyone else in a situation where you were not obliged to so do by law is beyond me.It is more important than your Bank PIN number and should only be disclosed in either a job situation or a Social Welfare situation.
(b)Has this proposal evolved as a result or in conjunction with the recent headlines concerning Revenue's intention to crack down on under the counter payments.
(3)Will Revenue have the right of inspection of this information?(My informed opinion is that it would)
(4) To what extent do these proposals reflect the requirements of Revenue.
(5) What legally enforceable guarantee is there that this information will not be shared with anyone else and do all members of the GAA having access to the information have to swear an oath similar to the Official Secrets Act (which Civil Servants having access to such information swear) that they will not disclose the information to anyone else.
(6) In the event that it is disclosed who do you sue.
Will the GAA shop you to Revenue if irregularities come to light and is the Association inculcating an informer culture as Government Departments are so actively doing these days.
Would you be utterly brain dead to volunteer for any position in the Gaa either local or at County level if it involved supplying this most secret and personal information ,which could easily ruin you.
Remember the word "audit" is used as a threat in most Revenue documents and anyone who has been subject to one will never forget it.
It is no secret that Government and its services have destroyed the most important thing entrusted to it, ,the Country .Are you willing to allow like minded autocrats and bureaucrats to take over the Association and ruin it also.
Is it not enough that our amateurs have submitted to the humiliation of dope testing in order to be good boys I assume.
I am fully aware that many legislators owe their popularity to the exploits ,either on or off the field .of themselves or their relatives.Many current legislators and civil servants have dual roles in the Gaa and the State. You can only serve one master however.
Which master is being served here.
How this proceeds has the capacity to destroy the GAA at worst,or at best make it into a vassal for the Government of the day.
Finally how long until the RSI Numbers of stewards and referees will be demanded and passed on.
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