ple a Give Young P eo mission… Enable them!
Pray er Ideas… Retreats at ex to cope with am times str Counselling f ess! or ing with Men those coptal Health Issues Provide more he homeless peop lp for le
s Hopes & Dream
Community
- peace - happiness - security
Family
You don’t have to go to mass to be faithful...
What C we f hallenges do a Churc ce in the h toda y? Inequ ality, of d lack iv accep ersity and tance ...
8th, 9th, 10th April
March 2016 Issue No.8
Church should have... More Youth Activities & Involvement Better Liturgies More inclusion & diversity More roles for women More Priests like Chris!!!
This year’s Anois Programme was bigger and better than ever. We had more schools, more students, more leaders and more mushrooms than we’ve ever had before. We also had some new schools and were delighted to welcome students from Salesian Secondary School Pallaskenry, St. Nessan’s Community College and Desmond College, Newcastle West. This year also saw the safe return of the Alien from the ceiling of St Pat’s and the reappearance of Jade and Darragh on week 3 of the programme (they just couldn’t stay away!) This year was also the last year in St Patrick’s College Thurles. It’s been the home of the Anois Programme since 2005 and I have so many happy memories of our time there. The college campus is being taken over by Mary Immaculate College and there will no doubt be many changes there over the year ahead. We are delighted though that Fr Tom Fogarty’s hard work to raise the profile of St Pat’s and the courses there has reaped such rewards and that the future for the college is bright. I for one will look back fondly at our time in St Pat’s and the various students and leaders who have been part of the programme in Thurles. I remember in particular my first year in Thurles - I think I had to wake Jason Sheehy every morning! And of course we remember Lydia Conmy too and her gymnastic expertise. I also remember Sile and Jimmy Moynihan thinking they were gifted in the gymnastic arena too! (Ahem Ahem!) Then there was the “lift” incident… You know who you are! I also remember Paul Carey being terrified because of a Soutane someone had left hanging in his doorway and Dave O’Sullivan Glynn frightening the living life out of me when he jumped out from behind my curtains one night. Who can forget Mike Kirby’s “Thriller” dance or my trip to the clinic in Nenagh with Aine Hogan or the bean-bag tower? I also remember collapsing with laughter on the floor of Cost-Cutter in Thurles town. I’m fairly sure Brinora Brett was behind that!! One of my most lasting memories of Thurles however will always be from my first Anois Programme. I was new to the job and to the Diocese and didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was that Éamonn Fitzgibbon and Edel Dullea had said that the Anois programme had the potential to transform people and make a difference in the lives of those who took part in it. To be honest I thought they were a bit mad but I was willing to give it my best shot just in case. Then low and behold on my first week I found myself in a room with about 40 people for night prayer. There used to be a common room on the second floor with a piano and nice comfy chairs where we would gather. Jason had organised prayer that night and played two songs on the CD player, Sarah McLachlan’s “In the arms of an angel” and U2’s “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”. It was the last night prayer of the week and we’d been having a lovely sing-song and everyone was just sitting around completely comfortable with one another, in community with one another and to be in that room praying together seemed the most natural thing in the world. I think that was the moment when the penny dropped for me and I realised what Éamonn and Edel had been talking about. Anois does have the potential to transform and to make a difference and we’ve been blessed to have had such a wonderful venue over the last 12 years in which to do it. Don’t worry though we have already found a new venue for next year and we are looking forward to creating many more new memories with students and leaders in the years ahead but for now we have to say a huge thanks to Fr. Tom, Seamus, Kay, Marion, Ruth, Marie and all the staff in St Pats and of course to the leaders and students who took part in the programme who make it all worthwhile. On that note we have compiled a ”Leaders Hall of Fame” which is a list of leaders who have been leaders on the programme for three weeks or more since 2005. If your name appears on this list then please call into the pastoral centre to sign our “Hall of Fame Photo”. We recently had a lovely night with this year’s leaders. Among ANOIS LEADER’S HALL OF FAME the group we had nine people who have been leaders three Aine Hogan (3) Kathleen Quirke (4) times and so they were the first to sign our photo frame! I Anne Marie O’Keeffe (3) Killian Shortt (3) know we say this a lot but that’s because it’s true—we have Aoife Moloney (3) Liam Mullane (3) the most wonderful leaders and we are so grateful for all the Brian Curtin (3) Lorna Murphy (4) time and energy they give to the programme and for the joy, Cathal McCarthy (3) Maeve Barry (3) laughter and love they bring with them. Thank you x x x Ciara Power (3) Mai Burke Hayes (3) Ciara Synnott (3) Mary O’Brien (4) Claire Bowman (3) Michelle Nicholas (3) Darragh Kirwan (3) Mike Kirby (4) David O’Sullivan Glynn (3) Niall Histon (3) Diarmaid Bucke (4) Niamh Lannigan (3) Eimear McCartney (3) Owen Butler (4) Erica Hennigar (3) Paul McNamara (6) Graham McNamara (3) Sadhbh McCoy (5) James Deegan (3) Sarah Toomey (4) James Malone (6.5) Timmy O’Sullivan Glynn (3) Josie Kelleher (3) Vicky Ryan (3) Kate Bulfin (3)
There is always a bit of controversy about which week of Anois was the best week. From our perspective they were all the best and we don’t have any favourites but those who took part on Week 2 of the Programme have a different perspective and they are all in complete agreement that Week was officially the best week. Gerard O’Byrne from St Clement’s College tells us why… From the 11th to the 15th of January in St Patricks College, Thurles I participated in possibly the best week in my life, Anois 2016. This was as much down to the company as it was the games designed by Chris and Aoife. The schools in Thurles in week 2 were Laurel Hill Coláiste (The Floral Laurels), Catletroy College (The Teal Trojans), St Clements (The Clementines), St Nessans (Jimmy’s Locker Keyz) and Laurel Hill (D’English). The ice breakers were a great way to mix with this unknown group on the Monday but by Friday we were unrecognisable from our former shy selves, mixing with each group with ease. Although some got closer than others (Ahem Ahem Vicky Ahem!). The new friends we made really took our minds off of the mince, mushrooms and mash that we had day after day after day. Each night ended with a captivating dramatic reading by one of our talented leaders, through their reading we felt as if WE were that giraffe that couldn’t dance. Every lunch we were lead by our Spiritual Leader, Liam Mullane with a prayer before meals. In the Anois Olympics we were represented by Team Inferno, Pheasant Island, Team Second Hand Smoke (Silent but Deadly), Team OH MY GAWWWWD and Team Uganda. If you want a lesson in sportsmanship than look no further than Team Second Hand Smoke (Silent but Deadly) who were led by Paul Coffey and Liam Mullane. Need I even mention the scintillating performance from our very own “Anois Queen” at the Anois Idol or the unforgettable performance that made Sister Concepta herself blush. The perfect end to a perfect week finished with time for each of us to sign each others booklets. I am very happy with how my week at Anois went and I know the memories, along with the new friends I made, will be with me for the rest of my life. On behalf of everyone at week 2, I would like to thank Chris and Aoife sincerely for an amazing week.
Before the Olympics
After the Olympics
We had great celebrations in the Pastoral Centre with over 70 young people calling in to see us and have some pancakes! Chris was absolutely worn out from mixing batter, cooking pancakes and squeezing lemons. Not really! He did have a pain in his finger though from pressing all the buttons on the microwave! It was lovely to see so many people though and we hope you’ve all managed to keep your Lenten promises! Especially you two; Michelle Meaney and Cliodhna McCoy!!!
Upcoming Events * Mass Rocks 30th April@ 7pm in St Joseph’s Parish Centre * Muintearas Íosa Exam Mass Rocks 28th May @7pm St Joseph’s Parish Centre * Lourdes Pilgrimage (Lots of Events coming up, check out special Lourdes Page! * World Youth Day July 25th to August 2nd See special World Youth Day Page * Bru Na Graige July 8th to 17th - keep an eye on Facebook for forms.
You don’t have to go to mass to be faithful...
ple a Give Young P eo mission… Enable them!
It’s hard to believe that there’s less than a month to go to before our Diocesan Synod takes place. The process leading to the actual Synod has been ongoing now for just over two years and if Fr. Éamonn hadn’t been grey before it all started he’d definitely be grey now! In fairness though Éamonn, Karen, the delegates, the steering committee and preparatory commission and all those involved have been doing a wonderful job. At this stage of the process the focus is on finalising proposals for delegates to vote on at the Synod. Éamonn wanted to make sure that young people too had a chance to put forward ideas and proposals so he held a gathering at Limerick Youth Service on March 6th. 50 young people attended a workshop run by Lorna Gold from Trócaire where they discussed their hopes and dreams for the future and what challenges they feel are currently facing the Church. They said that their hopes for the future were peace, happiness, security, jobs and a good government! The Ideas … challenges facing the Church in their opinion are inequality and a lack of diversity. They want a modern Church Retre ats at exam times with better liturgies and more involvement. They want equality in the Church with better roles for women and to cope w ith stre ss! priests who are more like Fr Chris! They also think the Church should play a greater role in terms of social outCounse lling fo r thos e copi ng reach and named issues like homelessness, mental health and counselling. They talked about the need for rewith M ental Health Issues treats or other spiritual help around times of stress like exams. They also said that young people want a mis- Provide more help fo r homele sion and that they want to be enabled and empowered. They also said that you don’t have to go to Mass to ss peop le be faithful and gave us a lovely image of our faith journey as being like a long winding road (which tied in perfectly with the Synod Logo!) They said that some people don’t need to take all the turns in the road and What others find more direct routes but ultimately we’re all heading in the same direction and hopefully we’ll all C reach the same goal although some of us may take longer to get there! we f hallenges do a After the gathering we took the ideas and made sure that they were included in the proposals for action Churc ce in the h toda y? which were being brought forward to the Synod day on March 12th. A huge thanks to Limerick Youth Service, Inequ a especially Catherine Kelly, Maurice Walsh and Johnny for the hospitality and to Lorna Gold from Trócaire. of d lity, lac k iv We also have to sincerely thank all the young people who attended and were so engaging and gave up with accep ersity and t ance... precious time to gather with us.
Why is that gorgeous woman taking pictures of me? Maybe I’m being discovered! Oh wait I think she’s with that weirdo in the hat!
On February 29th Chris and I braved the freezing cold Polish winds, rain, sleet, snow and ice to visit Krakow and make sure that our accommodation was up to our usual high standards.
Despite the weather we had a wonderful time and we’re really looking forward to seeing this beautiful city in the heat of summer! There should be lots to do and see and of course we’ll have lots of company with an expected 2 million pilgrims on course to travel to World Youth Day this summer!
Time for some tea and a nice ham sandwich!
The Hostel is very basic but clean, comfortable and very close to all the action. It’s only about 5mins from Market Square and about 20 mins from Blonia Park where a lot of the WYD events will be taking place.
Classic Chris Chat Up lines! “Hey there, my name’s Chris. I put the STUD in Bible Study!”
Beware! There are a lot of stairs in the Hostel so we’ll either be very fit (or dead!) by the end of the week! There is a lovely area upstairs though where we can make tea/coffee etc and chill out during the day. While in Krakow we visited the World Youth Offices and met some lovely people who were happy to tell us all they could about their big plans for this summer! We also met a lovely family, AnnMargaret, Fatima and Martin, volunteers from New Zealand who couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. Thanks guys!
ow! Krak d e y r b Good ng forwa ll i a k u o yo Lo eing ly for e s to Ju n in agai ld Youth W o r ay ! D
If you are traveling to Lourdes with us in June please note the following important Dates!
Date
Gathering
Venue
Time
For Whom
April 16th
Lourdes Newbies
St Joseph’s Parish Centre (O’Connell Ave)
11am – 1pm
May 1st
The Great Limerick Run (optional—sponsorship cards will be posted out to you!) Lourdes Preparatory Meeting
Limerick City
1.30pm
Youth pilgrims travelling to Lourdes for the first time. Youth Pilgrims
St Joseph’s Parish Centre (O’Connell Ave)
2pm-4pm
All pilgrims
May 27th
Lourdes Table Quiz
Mungret GAA Clubhouse
7.30pm
All pilgrims/family/ friends
June 2nd
Parent’s Information Meeting
Pastoral Centre
7.30pm
Parents only
July 2nd
Lourdes Reunion-Repeat St Joseph’s Parish Centre of Closing Ceremony (O’Connell Ave)
7pm
Pilgrims, family and friends
Ma y 21st
As you know Chris loves his celebrity news and he’s been busy this month trying to find some nice quotes for you from his favourite celebrities (Saints!). Pope Francis of course always has something worthwhile to say and this month he announced that Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta will become a saint on September 4th this year. We were delighted to hear this news and those of you who were with us in Madrid for World Youth Day 2008 were lucky enough to see a wonderful exhibition on the life of this amazing woman. So in recognition of her great work we decided to share some of our favourite quotes with you. Enjoy!
Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.
Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not yet come, we have only today. Let us BEGIN! Let us always meet each other with a smile for a smile is the beginning of love.
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Artist Karen Hurley uses buttons for more than simply fastening a coat. The designer recognizes their creative potential, featuring the multi-sized and varicoloured fasteners as her medium of choice. With her keen eye for colour and composition, the Auckland, New Zealand-based artist has constructed some incredibly charming creations that are almost sculptural forms of pointillism. Each of her pieces crowd buttons of all shapes and sizes, mixing all different tones together, resulting in a feast for the eyes.
This issue’s Le er to God is answered by Dermot Cowhey, originally from Belfield Gardens in Limerick, he is one of the assistant principals in the Crescent College Comprehensive. He is an English and History teacher and a past pupil of the school. He was the second lay headmaster at the Comprehensive from 2003 to 2008. He has played an important role in maintaining the ethos of the school and has been very involved with the Kairos retreat programme. He is a very popular teacher who has been a great role model and inspira*on for so many students. He gives a very honest response to this le er from someone who is struggling to cope with loss.
I don’t believe in God anymore because one of my really good friends died. But the thing is he was only 16. Why would God kill someone so young? He was such a nice person why would he put someone through such pain. Why would he make a mother bury a son at just sixteen; a little brother only thirteen had to say goodbye to his idol. Why would God make someone shoot another person? Stab another person? Why would he make someone get so sick they want to die? I miss my friend. RIP
Dear 13 Year Old, At the outset, ‘13 Year Old from Limerick City’, may I say that I have read many tributes about people who have died. Your simple “I miss my friend” touched me deeply for its simplicity – I hope someday someone will say that about me. I’m not sure why I chose to reply to your le er because I don’t have any answers for you and I won’t pretend I have. And you are so right when you say that if God is supposed to be so nice then why would he put someone through such pain and make a mother bury her son at just sixteen. I’m not a priest or a wise man, just an ordinary person like you though a lot older, looking for answers. My dad died when I was ten and I have spent nearly thirty five years being angry with God, keeping Him out of my way and, while I s*ll get angry with Him regularly, I now realise that He was, is and always will be with me. My story would take too long to tell but let’s say I am convinced He has a plan – a plan I have never been able to figure out but I know He has a plan. How do I know this? Because He put me through some really terrible *mes in the past and He might have some more terrible *mes for me in the future but it’s in the terrible *mes that He made me into the person I am and I like the person I am despite all my faults. I have not turned into the person I wanted to be but God turned me into the person I need to be. I am so grateful for this. I believe that we truly grow as people, that we truly learn to be good and loyal friends in such terrible *mes. It’s in these terrible *mes that He is making us the best of people who will give and not always take, people who will give and not count the cost. And believe me, we need these kinds of people today more than ever. So where does that leave you? I think that you are a very good friend because you feel deeply for people –that’s so obvious. Maybe God has given you these ques*ons so that you can be a comfort and a friend to those around you who need you. Someone once said that you must reach your hand into darkness in order to pull another hand into light. You have felt pain, now you can help people who may be experiencing pain. I don’t have answers to your ques*ons but I believe God does things for a reason and the reason, I believe, is that in your grief you have learned something which you can give back. People rarely remember what you say or do but people always remember how you made them feel. So, what are you going to do? How can you turn this awful experience and make it work for you? What about the nice person of sixteen, now dead, would he want you to be angry with God for the rest of your life? What a waste of *me and energy! Don’t feed the anger, starve it. You can’t change the passing of your friend so what can you change? I repeat, I don’t know what His plan is but what’s yours? Some*mes it’s easier to give in rather than get up and fight, what’s your plan? Maybe we’re sent the terrible *me to see how tough we are. How tough are you? Take care ‘13 Year Old from Limerick City’ and when you get to talk to God tell Him I’m a li le annoyed with him too! Dermot
Congratulations to Ms. Ciara Synnott and Mr. David Hayes!! Dave finally popped the questions! Brian Curtin is devastated but he’ll get over it I’m sure. Also Diarmaid Bucke has received his “Servers” License so you should be sure to book him now. Liam Mullane has to repeat his last exam though he said Thuribles were a breed of cattle and didn’t know what to do with the Pyx. (Amateur!) Anyway I couldn’t be happier for you and I wish you all the best for the future! I thought it might be a good idea to take this opportunity to share with you some of Dave Hayes’ personal favourite chat up lines. (Obviously he won’t be needing them anymore!) Thankfully Dave is a believer in good clean fun and his chat up lines are all in keeping with our Catholic ethos so feel free to use them in the discotheque or after Mass!!
I’m not usually very prophetic but I can see us together.
Is it hot in here or is that just the Holy Spirit burning inside of you? So last night I was reading the book of Numbers and I realised I don’t have yours.
I would leave 99 sheep to come and find you… and then I
You float my ark!
would carry you home joyfully on my shoulder!
I believe one of my ribs belongs to you. Is it a sin that you stole my heart?
I didn’t know angels
Is this the Transfiguration?
flew this low.
Because you are glowing!
Congrats to Maria Murphy, Evan O’Donnoghue, Aoife Daly, James Deegan, Emma Downes and Eimear Kiely for passing their driving tests. In theory this means that you should be a little safer to drive in the Kilmallock, Cappagh, Kilcornan, Abbeyfeale, Dooradoyle and Kildimo areas!
Congratulations to the following people... ⇒
Darragh Ranahan won the West limerick Minor A player of the year award!
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Michael and Peter Casey, Ronan Lynch, Adrian Breen, Josh O’Halloran and Mark Buckley (former Anois and Lourdes participants) on following up their county success with Na Piarsaigh by winning a Munster hurling title and then an All Ireland Club hurling title. Congrats on a great year!
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David Brosnan won a city U21 football title with Mungret
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Shane Kiely, Jack Owens and Dylan Conway won an U21East football title with Ballybricken
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Girls from Scoil Na Tríonóide Naofa, Doon on winning All-Ireland Senior B Colleges Camogie Final. Oran Collins, Paul Maher, Michael Mann, Michael Mulvihill and Shane O’Connor for winning an U21 county football title for Adare with a victory over Na Piarsaigh.
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To Áebfhinn Bourke (who won her 4th Senior Cup) Áine Ryan, Jane Kirby, and Ciara Cowhey on their senior cup success. They then went on to host the All Ireland Kate Russell tournament and they were undefeated and finished Runner Up, only missing out on goal difference. ⇒
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To Paraic O Loughlin, Peter Casey, Ronan Connolly and Cian Moriarty for winning the Harty Cup and making it to the All Ireland final.
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To Micheal O’Loughlin for winning a Fitzgibbon Cup Medal with Mary I and commiserations to Michael Casey
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To Niamh Ryan for winning the Ashbourne cup with UL.
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To Caroline Hickey for making it to the All Ireland colleges football final with Mary I.
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To Tommy Walsh, Dylan O’Dwyer and Emett Browne for beating Limerick Lions to win the u18 North Munster League in Basketball.
Congrats to Paul McNamara who followed his victory in Limerick’s got Talent with earning a spot in the all Ireland finals of spoken word poetry in Belfast. He survived difficult elimination rounds to go on and win 2nd place (in the whole friggin country!) Also in case he would get bored Paul wrote a play called ‘Searching for Rusty’ that was performed (to great acclaim!) in Mary I in March. Congratulations to the Anois students and all the transition year students of Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh's Luimnigh who performed their original drama 'Mobsters' Paradise' in LIT Millennium Theatre over three nights in March. We were disappointed that we couldn’t attend but we hear that it was great.
Well done to our very our David Bracken who whose recently published book “The End of all Things Earthly—Faith Profiles of the 1916 Leaders” had a wonderful launch in Mary I last week. Comhghairdeas Dáithí! Congrats to Johanna O’Brien & Paddy Dennehy and their musicians for their sterling performance on the Late Late Show. As a band they are called ‘Paddy Dennehy and the Red Herring’ and we wish them every success and we hope to see them in Dolan’s in May!
Congrats to Issey Fenton for her dramatic performance in the following short film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm3CX-ldeM&feature=youtube Congrats to Muireann Hogan who similarly featured with Issey in the following short film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQKB_UeGoA To Chris Ward for setting up ‘Chris Ward Music’ on Facebook and recording his very own song https://www.facebook.com/881332251975191/videos/885997431508673/?fref=nf
Congratulations also goes to the Anois students and all their friends from Salesian Secondary School Pallaskenry who starred in a great production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in the Lime Tree Theatre. One of our Anois legends, Sadhbh McCoy, McCoy produced the show and so congrats to Sadhbh as well.
Congrats to our very own David Boyce who was nominated as one of the top 20 youngsters in Ireland! We were not surprised by the nomination and we would probably say that David could be nominated as one of the top 20 youngsters in the World, not just Ireland! Congrats to Melissa Lynch for bravely walking on coals in King John’s Castle as part of an event to raise money for Childline. Congrats to James Deegan for being re-elected as the President of the Student Union in Mary I. Commiserations to Eimhin O’Meara who also ran for president. Tony Hayes, Hayes our Lourdes Legendary Leader turned 30 and our other Lourdes Legendary Leader, James McMahon opened a pub with his brother Michael McMahon on the top of Denmark St called Mother Macs. Macs We wish them the very best of luck with this venture. Another Lourdes legend, Joanne Mohally celebrates a significant birthday on Good Friday of all days! Happy Birthday also to Cliodhna McCoy and Ciara Bennett who recently turned 21!
Congratulations to Kieran Normoyle from Ocean Survivor who was crowned the Overall Winner of the 13th annual Inter Trade Ireland Seedcorn competition, winning a cash prize of €100,000 at the grand final held at Clontarf Castle. Ocean Survivor manufactures a range of safety equipment aimed primarily at the off-shore oil industry. The company is currently developing a simple to use technology that mitigates the effects of hypothermia, while promoting comfort and mental well-being in a survival situation. I’m sure Kieran’s experience constructing towers from straws and pins and building egg transporters helped him win this prize!
Congrats to Paraic Aherne for the stunning video he made of the Cliffs of Moher. It has gone viral and got shared on Newstalk & joe.ie http:// www.newstalk.com/reader/47.339/68278/0/
Congrats to Cathal O’Reilly & Trisha Sheehan and Ciara Synnott & Dave Sarah McInerney had a baby boy Hayes who recently got engaged! called Isaac! Congrats Sarah!!
Congrats to Martin Cuddihy for passing out – which does not mean he collapsed! Instead it means that he completed his army course in style! A proud day for Martin, Aoife, Sean and all the family! Congrats to the wonderful Anna (Banana) Culhane & James Scully on their recent Marriage. A beautiful couple!
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the following people. Unfortunately the following people have lost their grannies. Claire Treacy, Eddie and Sean McMahon, Paraic Ahearne, Joanne and Ronan Tierney, Mary O’Brien and Padraig and Ciara Synnott. Unfortunately the following people have lost their grandfathers. Paul McNamara, Sarah and Kate Ryan, Mike Kirby and Joanne Horgan. We also extend our deepest sympathies to Barry Carey on the death of his uncle Peter. Finally we would like to extend our sympathies to Pearce Ahearn and his family on the death of his Dad.