Community
Ireland is an island on the west coast of Europe It is divided into thirty two counties. Our county which is called County Offaly is in the centre of the island.  The county of Offaly is divided into parishes. Our parish is one of the smallest parishes in the country and is called the parish of Seir Kieran. Some people call it Clareen
    The biggest town nearest to Seir Kieran is Birr. The town of Birr is 5 miles west of us. The centre of the village is marked by a crossroads. At the crossroads there is a grocery shop. Our primary shop is situated on a hill south east of the shop. The Catholic Church is situated on a hill known as Bellhill. There is an ancient Monastic site south of the shop

       A game called hurling which is played with a ball and a stick is the key sport played in the parish .The field and the dressing rooms are located north - east of the shop .

       The parish hall where all parishioners assemble for meetings and other parish activities is situated beside the school.

        The population of the parish is about 450 and the majority of the adult population are involved in farming . The majority of mothers work outside the home as two wages are required to run homes in the 1990s. Children from the ages 4- 12 attend the only school in the parish which is called Seri Keirans National School. The majority of pupils from ages 13 -18 attend St Brendan's Community School in the nearby town of Birr. There are no state exams in the National School.  There is two state  exams in the Community School  the Junior cert and the  Leaving Cert . There is no Kindergarten or play school in the parish. Children must travel to the neighbouring parish of Kinnity if they wish to attend Kindergarten
                       The majority of the population are Roman Catholics and Sunday mass is a big event in the lives of the people of the parish. A vigil mass is also said on a Saturday. After mass people come together to chat about the events of of the week. Hurling matches are great social events where people get together. The largest organisation in the parish is the G.A.A Gaelic Athletic Association . Other organisations are the I.C.A is the Irish Country Women Association and the Drama Group. All these associations help greatly the people of the parish to interact and communicate. All their functions are great social events for the people of the parish.

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