9th March, 2000
Notice
Board
WATCH
THIS SPACE
Here are some events worth looking for in the month of March:
March 13th: 1st quarter of Moon @ 06.58.
March 20th: Equinox @ 07.34. This is when the Sun is at one point
of the two points where it's path around the sky crosses the
celestial equator. Day and night are of equal length everywhere.
The vernal equinox (March) marks the start of the Spring in the
Nothern Hemisphere.
March 20th: Full moon @ 04.43
March 28th: Last quarter of Moon @ 01.20.
FASHION
SHOW
The Transition year students of Regina Mundi are holding a
Fashion Show at the Imperial Hotel on 15th March. All are welcome
!
HOME
DESIGN 2000 WINNERS
Winners of the door prizes at the Home Design 200 Exhibition: :
Maher Sports £1000 worth of Sports Equipment:
Martha Kealy, Maryborough, Douglas, Cork.
Corrin Wood - £1000 worth of furniture:
Ian Slattery, Freemount, Co. Cork.
Weekend in Galway Bay Hotel:
Fiacra Gibbons, Ovens, Co. Cork.
CLUB
CUPLA FOCAL
Two distinguished Gaelgoiri visited the Club Cupla Focal in the
Carrigaline GAA Pavilion on Thursday last. Both Padraig
O'Cuainahain and An tAthair Tomas O'Murchu are well known
promoters of the Irish language all their lives. Padraig
O'Cuainahain who runs Gael Taca was instrumental in setting up
Gael Scoil Charraig Ui Leighin and several others in Co. Cork.
While An tAthair O'Murchu promotes Gaeilge from Colaiste
Fionnbarra, Farranferris.
The weekly Thursday night gathering from 8pm - 10pm is proving to
be a great social outing. Many of those attending are fluent and
appreciate the opportunity to meet and speak in their native
tongue. Others with just a cupla focal are improving and are
pleased with the encouragement they get. Newcomers are always
welcome.
DO YOU
WANT TO LEARN HOW TO DANCE?
You can learn to set dance at the Owenabue Valley Traditional
Group's 4th Annual Set Dance Workshop Weekend, in Carrigaline GAA
Pavilion, on March 10th, 11th and 12th. The tutor, Pat Murphy
(Toss the Feathers) is renowned throughout the world as the best,
by both beginners and improvers.
Friday 10th is the gathering night with a traditional music
session in the lounge followed by a Ceili Mor with the Tadhg
Kearney Ceili Band. On Saturday 11th registration is at 10.00 am,
with the workshop from 10.30 am to 5.00 pm, breaking for lunch
from 1.00 pm - 2.00 pm. The Ceili Mor is from 9.30 pm - 1.30am
with a break for tea, sandwiches and scones, music by the Michael
Sexton Ceili Band.
Sunday morning Aifreann as Gaeilge is in the Church of Our Lady
& St. John at 10.00 am. Back to the GAA for the morning
workshop from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm, followed by an afternoon ceili
from 2.30 pm. to 5.30 pm, ceol by Michael Sexton. It promises to
be a great weekend with many inquiries received from at home and
abroad. The organisers are sparing no effort to make everyone
welcome, especially beginners and improvers.
ENTERTAINMENT
CENTRE
The Mardyke Entertainment Centre reopened with Phase 1 of its new
operation in the East Wing of the building - The Mardyke Snooker
Club. This is the first leisure centre to open in Cork in the
last ten years.
It's over 18 months since the devastating fire that left the
historic building destroyed. Phase 1 consists of 11 Tournament
Snooker tables in a new look snooker hall that has a radically
different feel and look while maintaining traditional Snooker
features. This is definitely Snooker for the 21st century.
The East Wing also house's 9 brand new SAM American Pool tables
the first of their kind in Ireland. These 9' tables are the
"real thing" with speed cloth for a fast and exciting
game. Also there are the very latest Video and interactive games.
Phase 1 has now been up and running since the end of January.
Phase 2 will open at the end of May with Bowling, Internet Café,
Restaurant, American Pool, and Video Games. The entire centre is
a must for all game players, so why not call in and see for
yourself.
COFFEE
MORNING
There is to be a Coffee Morning at St. Mary's Hall, Marmullane,
Passage West on Saturday 11th March, 2000 from 10.30am to
12.30pm. All proceeds are in aid of Marymount Hospice and the
morning will include a super raffle and various stalls. All are
welcome and admission is £1 (including tea/coffee and scones).
RUSSIA
2000
...continued from last week
Caritas in Sweden through Moscow-Caritas has been of great
assistance in this mission. Together, with her husband Viadislaw,
she helps to buy foods and clothes for prisoners whose families
request such help. A lot of my own time in Penza is concerned
with helping prisoners to post letters or contact their families
or relatives in various countries around the world. Every week I
receive about 30 letters which is about 2 days work alone.
Helping me via the Internet I have friends in the USA, Nigeria,
England and Germany. They graciously help to contact and advice
the relatives and friends of the prisoners in Russia.
Early in 1999 we asked the city authorities in Penza to allocate
us some land in the centre of the city so that we could build a
small church. All our efforts to restore the old church building
were in vain. and maybe just as well, as the cost of restoring it
would have been immense. The chief city architect however,
refused us land saying that the community was too insignificant
and that the Orthodox Church in Penza was against. Therefore in
the summer months we began negotiations about the purchase of a
building in the city centre. In August we found a small house
which we bought and now serves as our parish centre. The first
floor is now our chapel. the basement floor is equipped with a
small kitchen. office area and parish library. At the moment this
is sufficient but in the near future it will be necessary to
build a church. In the next few months we will start negotiations
for a plot of land again.
Although the parish is still small, the parishioners in the
parish represent the intelligentia, which suggests the important
mission which we can have in provincial Russian society. Most of
the people can speak a second language and one Sunday when we had
an American guest, of ten people who stayed for tea afterwards,
eight could speak English.
In Syzran 270 kms east of Penza, the parish has become more
stable and independent. One of our great difficulties here is
heating the building in winter. Accordingly, over the last two
months w have been busy trying to insulate the chapel. Early in
the year we purchased half of a small house next door, a purchase
which was feasible due to the fall of the rouble and which has
provided us with the possibility to receive guests. At the moment
we are in negotiation about obtaining the house on the other side
of the parish. In this way we will be able to hold retreats and
offer parishioners from afar the necessary hospitality. Another
development in the Syzran parish is the generous allocation of
land to the parish for a Catholic graveyard. The plot, a little
outside the city is at the edge of one of the graveyards and
overlooks the mile wide Volga which flows 500 yards below it. If
God wills. we hope to place a large Cross overlooking the Volga.
The second part of the year has been marked by problems with the
re-registration of the parish under the new Russian law of the
freedom of conscience and religious organisations. Unexpectedly,
and unlike the authorities in other regions, the department of
Justice in Samara region (within which Syzran is located)
insisted on changes to the parish charters, changes which would
cut out the bishop and reallocate his authority to a parish
council or to the civil authorities. Thanks to international
political and diplomatic support from the Vatican, the USA and
from Ireland. the governor of Samara, Konstantin Titov, a
presidential candidate, backed down from supporting the
Department of Justice. However, the Justice people did not
co-operate. It was necessary to complain them to the State
Attorney. Whereupon they changed their demands to more paperwork,
some of which went beyond the law. At the moment the question has
been brought before the General State Attorney's office in
Moscow. Hopefully by the end of February we should have a
positive answer.
CALLING
ALL TRADITIONAL MUSICIANS
A traditional music session is on Friday night 10th March, in the
Carrigaline GAA Club from 8.30pm - 10.30 pm. It's the gathering
night for the Owenabue Valley Traditional Group set-dance
workshop weekend. All traditional musicians are welcome.
Following the session, Tadhg Kearney will play for the Ceili Mor
until 1am.
