the December 2012 Parish Magazine online

Transcription

Drumbo and Carryduff
Parish Magazine
December 2012 Eighth Edition
gan and
Davis, Claire Gilli
left to right Jean
Margaret Boyle
A Word From
The Communications
Committee
left to right Edmund Collins, Terence Henry,
Brian Heaton (Missing: Paul Benedict)
We are delighted to present the eighth edition of our Parish Magazine during the 10th
anniversary of our new parish church.
Drumbo and Carryduff is a joyous parish and when you browse these pages you will come
across several stories that demonstrate the life of!this community in its fullness. Stories overlap
and blur and one story may be part of another, but all of them have an underlying message:!
Our parish is vibrant!!
This magazine is a documented celebration of local talents and skills. There are interesting
stories, such as Fr. Martin’s insightful!parish vision, the exciting experience of the Eucharistic
Congress, parishioners’ views on life in this parish, as well as several reports!
from our schools and groups. The articles are illustrated with photographs that capture some of
the golden moments in the life of this!parish. Let those photographs evoke memories and
emotions.
Thanks to all who have made a contribution to this year’s magazine.
We wish you joy and peace for Christmas and the New Year.
mittee
m
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The Commun
Contact Details
Services
Masses
SUNDAYS:
Holy days:
Weekdays:
Saturday:
First Friday:
6:00pm (Vigil), 9:00am, 10:30am, 12:00noon
7:30pm (Vigil), 9:30am, 7:30pm
Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri 9:30am, Mon & Thurs 7:30pm
10:00am
Friday Mass at 7.30pm
Confessions
Saturday after 10:00am Mass, 5:00pm-5:45pm
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Saturday:
10:00am
Perpetual Novena to Our Lady
Saturday:
10:00am
Baptisms
Sunday:
1:00pm by appointment
Marriages
3 months notice is required
House Blessing
If you would like to have your house blessed,
please contact one of the priests.
Rev Martin Kelly PP
Parochial House, 546 Saintfield Road, Carryduff BT8 8EU
Rev Brian Watters CC
79 Ivanhoe Avenue, Carryduff BT8 8BW
Parish Secretary
Parish Office, Parochial House
Mon-Fri. 9am - 1pm
www.drumbocarryduff.ie
[email protected]
Sacristy
T: 9081 2238
St Joseph’s Primary School
Principal Mr Dominic Donnelly
8 Knockbracken Drive, Carryduff BT8 8EX
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.stjosephscarryduff.ik.org
T: 9081 3523
F: 9081 2423
St Joseph’s Nursery Unit (Head Mrs Hester Graham)
T: 9081 7208
T: 9081 2238
T: 9081 2238
T: 9081 2238
Board of Governors of St Joseph’s Primary School
Trustees: Very Rev Fr Martin Kelly; Mrs Patricia Neeson (Chairperson);
Mr Gerry Adams (Vice Chairperson); Mrs Claire Tunney
Principal: Mr Dominic Donnelly
Dept of Education Rep: Mr Maurice Dowling
SEELB Reps: Mrs Mairead Doherty; Mrs Maureen Hanna
Teacher Rep: Mrs Mary Early; Parent Rep: Mrs Sue Cunningham
Co-opted Member: Miss Sheila Maginn
St Ita’s Primary School
Principal Mrs Joanne Browne
4 Alderwood Hill, Belfast, BT8 6YY
Email:
[email protected] (Principal)
[email protected] (Office)
T: 9079 8811
F: 9070 2277
St Ita’s Nursery Unit (Head Mrs Vera Mongan)
T: 9079 8811
Board of Governors of St Ita’s Primary School
Trustees: Mrs Suzanne Eastwood (Vice Chairperson); Fr Brian Watters;
Mrs Rosemary Bergin (Secretary); Mrs Una Boyd
Principal: Mrs Joanne Browne
Dept of Education Rep: Mr James Toolan
SEELB Reps: Mrs Rosemarie McGirr (Chairperson); Mr Francis Duffy
Teacher Rep: Mr Oliver McKee; Parent Rep: Mr Mal Johnston
PARISH OF DRUMBO AND CARRYDUFF
2
A word from our Parish Priest
People who visit our parish comment
on its vibrancy . . . .
People who visit our parish comment
on its vibrancy and on the number of
young families who attend Mass. Thank
God for all the effort and commitment
by many parishioners that has gone into
making the parish what it is from the
time of Fr. Dan McFerran, in the early
1940s, to the present day. We have a
living church with 100s of people
involved.
We, the present generation of
parishioners, cannot rest on our laurels
however. There are many challenges to
be faced.
There are between 8-10,000 parishioners.
About 1800 attend Mass every weekend. That means that between 6-8,000
have little involvement with the life of
the parish. Many may go to their home
parishes to attend Mass or to other
parishes. Again many may have
stopped going to Church on a regular
basis. We don’t know. The result seems
to be that between 20 and 25% are
actively involved in the life of the
parish. About the same percentage
contribute to the upkeep of the parish.
There is planning permission for 2,000
more houses. This will put extra strain
on parish resources when they come on
line.
In 3-5 years, if not sooner, there will be
only one priest in the parish. In the near
future there will not be a priest available
to say prayers at funerals. For the past
few years in the Liverpool Diocese there
is one Mass celebrated per month for all
who died during that month. Priests
will be really missed when there is not
one available to say a funeral Mass for
one’s father or mother. This is the reality
we are facing in the next few years.
The demand for such services is not
going to decrease, however, even
though many younger people have a
lesser attachment and commitment to
the Catholic Church, parish life and
maintenance of parish life.
Many younger people may favour a
more private and individualistic
approach to spirituality but they may
wish to dip in and use the parish for
funerals, First Holy Communion,
Confirmation etc in the future and so
expect to have the full services of the
parish available for them.
A drawback in our parish area is that
we don’t have a Main Street of a Town
Centre. The parish is largely a
dormitory area. The result is that it’s
difficult to have a sense of community
or parish. Often, because of economic
pressures, both husband and wife have
to work and after they have picked up
the child or children in the evening
there is little time for community or
parish involvement unless they are
willing to make a special effort. There
are many couples, who come from the
country, where there is a strong sense of
community, that regret the absence of
community and local parish
involvement.
In order to build up a sense of
community in the parish area we have
started the Welcoming Ministry. The
parish has been divided into 15 clusters
to form a sense of community and
welcome. Members of the Knights of
Columbanus have worked hard at
knocking on doors in order to get
people involved in every street. We owe
them a large debt of gratitude. But
there is much work to be done. We will
probably need to employ a person full
time to develop this outreach. A
communications networking scheme
needs to be established. A newsletter to
go into every home in the parish may
need to be started.
That’s just part of the outreach that is
needed. Youth development and Adult
Faith Development are seen as priorities
as well. There is an urgency about the
need for Adult Faith Development and
Youth involvement. Pope Benedict in
designating this year as the Year of
Faith emphasises the urgency of the
above outreach. We will certainly need
the attention of a suitable full time
person to promote the above.
Engaging a person or persons full time
is going to cost money. The maximum a
priest is allowed is £1,350 per month
which is £16,200 per year. If a parish, in
the blue monthly envelopes, contributes
more than is required for the priests, the
excess is handed over to support priests
in poor parishes to bring their salaries
up to the diocesan standard.
If lay people are going to be employed
and given a reasonable salary, parish
income will have to increase. We are
grateful to the number of parishioners
who contribute generously and
regularly. Others may consider
increasing their contributions. We will
also have to encourage parishioners
who are not involved in parish life or
who do not attend church but who may
wish to avail of parish services in the
future, to start contributing.
The restructuring of parish life is going
to take place over the next few years.
There are nine students, over a seven
year period, preparing for the
priesthood at present. That means that
in the next 7 years we may have 2 or 3
newly ordained priests. On average
every year 4 priests retire, get sick or
die. Within 7 years there will be 28
priests less in our diocese.
The diocese has set up the Living
Church Office to help plan the way
forward. The first stage is to prepare
ourselves for the radical changes
needed.
I will be 72 next February. I have 3 years
left, please God, before I retire. I am
hoping that over the next few years we
can build on the vibrancy that is evident
in our parish life at present and ensure
that it continues for the next generation.
Fr Martin Kelly
3
THE OLD and THE NEW
Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Parish
of Drumbo and Carryduff
In the autumn of 1943 Fr Daniel McFerran was appointed as the first Parish Priest of Drumbo. At that
time Drumbo had no church, no school and no parochial house. There were few parishioners. Undeterred,
Fr McFerran appealed to every parish in the Diocese to raise funds for a new church. His strenuous efforts
were rewarded when Bishop Mageean blessed and laid the foundation stone of the new church on 2nd May
1945. The new church was dedicated under the invocation “The Immaculate Heart of Mary,” the first in
Ireland to be dedicated under this title.
Bishop Mageean
at the blessing of
the foundation
stone, looked on
by Fr Daniel
McFerran.
By 1986, when Fr Felix McGuckin arrived, the
catholic population had risen from an estimated
100 in 1946 to 2,500. The church which was built
to accommodate 200+ persons had been
outgrown. The use of St Joseph’s Hall for later
Masses on a Sunday eased the situation but there
was relief in 1993 when Fr McGuckin
successfully negotiated the purchase of land
adjoining the school grounds. During the
following 8 to 9 years progress was slow but, one
by one, obstacles were overcome. It was a proud
day for the priests and people of Drumbo when
on the 10th November 2002 the Most Rev. Patrick
Walsh, Bishop of Down and Connor presided
over the solemn dedication of our new church.
4
Solemn Dedication on Sunday
the 10th November 2002
Flight into Egypt (Matt. 2-13)
It is hard to believe that our new church has been opened for 10 years. The
10th Anniversary Mass was celebrated on the 12th of November 2012 by
Bishop Patrick Walsh and concelebrated by Frs Felix McGuckin, Feargal
McGrady, Martin Kelly and Brian Watters. Afterwards we enjoyed a
wonderful get-together in the parish centre and were able to view pictures of
the opening of the church from 10 years ago.
5
The Reminiscences of Paddy Proctor
From the building of the first chapel
in Drumbo, until the present day
On 4-6th August 2012 Fr Martin Kelly, PP
Drumbo and Carryduff, interviewed
Paddy Proctor in order to record his
memories since coming to the parish as a
young man. Paddy is one of the oldest
parishioners in our parish. He knew every
parish priest and curate that served in the
parish. Paddy is blessed with a great
memory. The following is an account of
his memories.
Paddy was born on March 1st 1925 in the
Parish of Faughanvale, Co. Derry. He
came to Purdysburn Hospital on 10th June
1946 to enrol as a student nurse. At that
time it was called Belfast Mental Hospital.
It wasn’t until the establishment of the
health service in 1948 that it became
known as Purdysburn Hospital. Paddy’s
sister, Maureen was already working as a
domestic in the hospital. As a student
nurse his salary was 5 pounds 2 shillings
and 6 pence per month. There were 2000
patients in Purdysburn. Each of the villas
was built to hold 50 but there were 75 in
each, the place was seriously overcrowded.
Paddy and Bernadette have been happily
married for 62 years. Paddy first met
Bernadette on the occasion of the wedding
of his friend, Peter McBride, in Derry.
Peter was the brother of Patrick McBride
who was married to Paddy’s sister,
6
Maureen. The wedding took place in St
Columba’s church in the Waterside, Derry.
It was at 9am, because at that time you
had to fast from 12 midnight if you wished
to receive Holy Communion the next day.
Paddy lodged with the bridegroom, Peter,
the night before the wedding in Mrs Annie
McLoughlin’s in the heart of the Bogside.
That night a girl called Bernadette
McCallion from Newtowncunningham
happened to visit with a present for Peter,
the bridegroom. Paddy fancied her
straight away but never spoke to her. That
was on 26th October 1947.
That year is known as the year of the Big
Snow, but by October the snow had all
melted like Paddy did when he clapped
eyes on Bernadette.
In May 1948 Paddy went to see Peter
McBride who was now living in Frederick
St, St Patrick’s Parish, Belfast. Peter had
been working as a groundsman in
Mackey’s on the Springfield Road. He
was off work with a broken ankle. You are
not going to believe this but Bernadette
happened to be visiting at the same time.
They chatted but he was too shy to ask her
out. Peter later said to Bernadette that
Paddy was interested. She agreed to go
out with him. They met the next evening
at the Bank Buildings. They took the bus
from Castle Street to go to the Clonard
Novena. Paddy and his mate James
Brown from Loughguile had been doing
the Novena for success in their nursing
examinations. Bernadette was working as
a waitress for Stevenson’s in Derry City, a
bakery and catering company.
They were married in St Eugene’s
Cathedral in Derry on 6th June 1950, the
Holy Year. During their courtship of two
years, they had met about 7 or 8 times.
Travelling was not easy. During his
holidays Paddy’s mother had plenty of
work for him, saving the turf and the hay
or mending a few fences. They wrote to
each other once a fortnight. They still have
the letters and read them now and again
especially at Christmas time. Their six
children, 3 boys and 3 girls, Patrick,
William, Bernadette, Ann, Malachy and
Dympna love to read the letters.
Paddy and his friend, James Brown, used
to go to Ballycastle usually on a Sunday.
They went to 9am mass in St Malachy’s
and then took the train from the LMS
station in York Street (- the London,
Midland and Scotch Railway). Paddy used
to send a card from Ballycastle to
Bernadette. She still has the cards.
In June 1950 the newly married couple got
a flat at 109 Ormeau Road. Paddy had
passed his exams in 1949 and was then a
RMN, a Registered Mental Nurse. In
October 1950, Paddy bought a bungalow at
10 Commons Brae in Carryduff for £1250.
The deposit was £95. The mortgage was
six pounds, five shillings and four pence
each month for 25 years. Paddy’s salary at
that time was £29 per month. He
borrowed the money from the Abbey
National Building Society. The house was
unfinished as the contractor had gone bust.
chapel about 1948. Timber was scarce after
the second world war and there wasn’t
sufficient used in the roof. After a number
of years the side of the roof facing the
chapel began to sag and leak. Dr
Cunningham had to get half of the roof
replaced – new timber and slates – in the
early 1960s.
The Abbey National had to get another
contractor to finish off the work. The
young couple did not move in until June
1952.
The Parish of Drumbo and Carryduff was
known as the Parish of Drumbo at that
time. When Paddy came to Purdysburn
on 10th June 1946, the church was almost
finished and being completed by Walls, the
Builders. The church was opened on the
29th June 1946, the feast of St Peter and
Paul. Fr Cathal Daly, later Cardinal Daly,
preached the sermon and Bishop Paddy
Walsh was one of the mass servers.
with black mantillas. They stood during
most of the mass which the locals found
unusual.
There was a 9:15am mass every Sunday
morning in the chapel in the grounds of
Purdysburn Hospital. It is still there but is
no longer used. The chapel was packed
with patients, who walked from the
various units supervised by the nursing
staff. There was also a church next door
for the Protestant patients. This service
was conducted by the Church of Ireland,
Presbyterian or Methodist chaplain. Both
services finished about the same time.
Fr Dan McFerran who was stationed at
Whitehouse had been appointed Parish
Priest in the early 40s of the yet nonexistent Parish of Drumbo. He was asked
by Bishop Mageean to go around all the
parishes in the Diocese to look for
contributions for the building of a church.
A newly ordained priest, Fr Joe Campbell,
celebrated his Sunday Masses for him in
Whitehouse. Fr Joe was later to become
Parish Priest of Drumbo. Fr Dan went
around all the Parishes. Each contribution,
whether it was a tanner, a shilling, or a half
crown, was written down in meticulous
handwriting in ledgers which are kept in
the Parochial House at the present time.
There were about 20 Catholic families in
the Parish in 1946. Fr Dan McFerran had
come to live at Saintfield Road. The house
was later bought by Tommy McClean.
One of the 20 families was the Mallons.
Paddy Mallon had given the land, about
an acre, for the church site as a gift. The
Walls family, who built the church, also
lived in the Parish. There were some
Catholic families living in shacks, old
wooden structures, on the front of the
Saintfield Road beside Fr McFerran’s
house not far from the site of the old
Church. Two of these families were the
Rices and the Tiers. Evacuees from Malta,
mostly women, were housed on the site of
the industrial estate which is opposite the
church. They used to come to the 9am
mass each morning dressed all in black
There was no collection in the chapel but
one of the ward sisters (Kate Connolly
from Monaghan or Molly Quinn from
Donegal) used to lift a collection for the
Parish from the female staff monthly and
Tommy Bryce collected from the male staff.
Ward sisters used to contribute £1 per
month and junior staff, male and female, 2
shillings and six pence or five shillings per
month. Tommy Bryce from outside
Downpatrick used to bring the money up
to Fr McFerran and later to Fr McPhillips.
Tommy used to serve mass each Sunday
and on his Sunday off, Paddy Proctor
served.
Most of the ward sisters and junior female
staff lived in rooms in the various villas.
There were usually five staff in each villa,
sometimes seven. Most of the male charge
nurses lived outside the hospital, the rest
of the male staff lived in.
Nearly all the nursing staff were Catholics
from all over Ireland. Those from the
Republic had to have a Residence Permit.
Dr Norman Graham, the Resident Medical
Superintendant, appointed the staff. He
was a strict but fair man. Those who
applied and were qualified were accepted
and Dr Graham organised the residence
permit at the local RUC station. Every
member of staff had to complete three
months’ probation.
The Parochial House at 546 Saintfield
Road, was built a few years after the
The building of St Joseph’s Primary School
was started in late 1953 and was opened
on the 15th January 1955. Fr McPhillips
had a lot of difficulty getting permission
for the school. He had to visit Stormont
many times and fight his corner. The only
one that backed him was the Minister of
Home Affairs, WB (Brian) McGuinness.
There were 51 students in the first year.
John McNamee was the first principal and
a great parish man. The assistant teacher
was Miss Gallagher. When John retired,
she came back from England for his
presentation.
Paddy and Bernadette’s sixth child,
Dympna was born in 1964. Paddy devoted
himself to the family. Bernadette was a
great manager in the home. There were
times when she stayed up until 2am to knit
jumpers for the family. Money was scarce
of course. Paddy worked as a gardener
during his days off to earn a few extra
shillings in order to bring the family on
holidays to Glenarm or Newcastle or
Castlerock or Donegal. When the older
children grew up and moved on, Paddy,
Bernadette and Dympna toured the South
of Ireland. These holidays created great
memories for the family. For years they
had walked to mass each Sunday from
Commons Brae all the way up the
Saintfield Road.
In the early 2000s Fr Felix McGuckin
planned the building of the new chapel of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A
committee was formed to raise money
through a parish draw. There were about
70 collectors. Paddy undertook to canvass
around Drumbo and visited all the houses
in that area even if they were in Lisburn
Parish. Paddy canvassed every year for 45 years and collected about £4600 each
year. Each participant signed up to pay
£100 per year. There was a parish draw
every month. The Big Draw took place at
the end of the year at a dinner dance.
Willy McDonald took over Paddy’s section
at Drumbo. Paddy joined up with Charlie
Clarke to canvass houses that weren’t in
the Draw. There were a few refusals but
they were generally successful.
The new chapel was opened on 10th
November 2002. It is beautiful and a credit
to Fr McGuckin, to the committee, to the
collectors and to all who contributed. It
was paid off fully a few years after it was
finished.
7
Down and Connor
Pilgrimage to Fatima 2012
by James O’Hare
Bridget, Maura and I were
honoured and privileged
to take part in the first
Diocesan Pilgrimage
from Down and Connor
to Fatima.!
On the 15th August, we met our fellow
pilgrims at Jurys Inn Hotel and boarded the
bus to Dublin airport. On the journey down
we said the joyful mysteries of the Rosary.
After a flight of 21⁄2 hours, we boarded a bus
for Fatima, where we recited the remaining
mysteries of the Rosary. We stayed at the
Avenida Hotel.
On our first evening, we went to the
sanctuary to attend Mass in the Chapel of
the Holy Trinity, concelebrated by Bishop
N. Treanor, Fr G. McCloskey and Fr S.
Gilmore, which set the tone for the rest of
the week.
The Sanctuary, which is long and
rectangular, is now dominated by two
Basilicas, the Basilica of the Holy Rosary on
the right and the Basilica of the Holy
Trinity on the left. In front of the Holy
Trinity stands a very large statue of Blessed
John Paul II. In between the two Basilicas is
the chapel of the apparitions (the
Capelinha), which is the heartbeat of
Fatima. It was here that Our Lady appeared
to three little children, Lucia and her two
cousins, Francisco and Jacinta.
The apparitions took place here on 13th of
every month from May 1917!until October
1917, with the exception of August where
Our Lady appeared on the 19th August at
Valinhos. The reason for this was that the
children were being held captive on the
13th August.!
8
During the apparitions Our Lady requested
the saying of the Rosary every day. On July
13th she asked that after each mystery of
the Rosary they say “O my Jesus forgive us
our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead
all souls to heaven especially those in most
need of your mercy.” On the final
apparition she told the children she was
Our Lady of the Rosary.
Over the next six days we participated in all
the practices associated with a visit to
Fatima. We went to the parish church,
where the visionaries were baptised, and a
Mass, which was concelebrated by Fathers
Gilmore and McCloskey. We then went to
Valinhos, where the vision took place. We
visited Calbeco, where the Angel of
Portugal appeared to the children in 1916.
The Angel taught them this prayer:“My God I believe, I adore, I hope and I
love you. I ask pardon for those who do not
believe, do not adore, do not hope and do
not love you. Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, I adore you most
profoundly and I offer you the most
precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of
the world in reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges and indifference by which he
himself is offended and by the infinite
merits of his sacred heart and the
immaculate heart of Mary, I beg the
conversion of poor sinners.”!
Next stop was the village where the
children lived. We visited their homes,
which have remained unchanged since
1917, as indeed has the whole village.
Every day we went to the Capelinha for
Mass at either 9:30am or 3:30pm. The
Rosary is said every night at 9:30pm
followed by a candlelight procession
around the sanctuary, during which a
Fatima statue is carried by groups of men. I
had the honour of doing this on the
Saturday night. Sunday the 19th was
different in the sense that we walked from
the Capelinha to Valinhos, on the 95th
anniversary to the day of the apparition
here. Saying the Rosary en route was a great
spiritual experience.
On Monday night it was our group’s night
to say the English decade of the Rosary. It
was a great privilege for Bridget and Maura
to accompany Fr Gerry for the recitation of
the fourth Joyful mystery of the Rosary.
On the following day, we did the
Hungarian Stations of the Cross. There is a
considerable distance between each station,
which enabled us to say rosaries as well as
the stations. A great religious experience on
a very hot summer’s morning. We visited
the tombs of Blesseds Jacinta and Francisco
and Sr Lucia in the Basilica of the Holy
Rosary .It would be impossible to write
how wonderful is the whole experience of
Fatima.
The pilgrimage was organised by Fr
McCloskey and Fr Gilmore, who were
exemplary. Joe Catney, who was at
everybody’s beck and call, was very helpful
to everyone who needed his help and for
whom no problem was insurmountable.
The tour guides Corrina, Elise and Anna
were extremely knowledgeable. A word of
thanks to Ann Murray and Eilish Walls who
helped us when we were there.
On Wednesday 22 August 2012 after 6:30am
Mass in the Capelinha, we said goodbye to
Fatima, with our spiritual batteries
recharged awaiting the Year of Faith.
The message of Fatima is to spread the
saying of the Rosary every day. It is to be
noted that the Legion of Mary in Belfast has
over 25 statues in circulation. If you would
like to have one in your home for a week,
please contact your parish.
What made
Milwaukee
famous?
The Open Arts Community
Choir (OACC) is a choir for
anyone aged 16 or over,
regardless of disability, race,
gender or past musical
experience.
It has been running for 10 years now, with 30 members, and an
eclectic repertoire from Gospel to Pop and World to Cabaret.
'Inclusive' best describes the Choir. It features people with disabilities
and those without, from every section of the community. The age
range is extensive, from sixteen to over sixty, and members are united
in their love of singing. Our new CD ‘Going Global’ was the
inspiration for our participation in the huge festival of Irish culture
in Milwaukee.
We headed off on August 14th after a huge amount of planning and
preparation. Beverley Whyte, our Music Director, hounded local
politicians, asking their advice. One of these politicians was Basil
McCrea, MLA for Lagan Valley, who was very helpful, made contacts
and supported us all the way, literally, because he came with us! We
sent off a promotional DVD and that was that. It was an opportunity
we couldn’t miss. A few weeks before the trip, Basil arranged a “meet
and greet” evening in Parliament Buildings with the Irish Fest Choir.
We exchanged songs and stories and even sang Irish rebel songs
together on the balcony of Parliament Buildings.
Milwaukee Irish Fest is an annual ethnic festival held on the shores
of Lake Michigan. More than 130,000 people attend the four-day
festival in downtown Milwaukee, and it is the largest celebration of
Irish culture in the world. Festival highlights include performances
from local Milwaukee Irish Dance troupes, music from around the
world, sung in English and Irish (as we did too), stages for Céilí
dancing and celebrations of Irish sport and culture. It was amazing.
There were many highlights for me. Singing to audiences of up to
1000 people. Being introduced to many different genres of music
including Donegal’s “The Henry Girls” and “The Fox Hunt” from
West Virginia. Attending the Mass for Peace and Justice held in the
Marcus Amphitheater on Sunday morning with 12,000 people was a
wonderful experience.
The closing event is “the Scattering”, a gathering of many of the
festival’s musicians playing together in one combined session before
heading homewards.
So, we discovered during our stay that “What made Milwaukee
famous?” was Schlink beer and it was the ruin of many a visitor. For
us, Milwaukee was the culmination of our “Going Global” dream
and a wonderful experience and achievement. The beer might be
good, I’ve no idea, but the warmth of the welcome, the spirit of the
place, the vastness of the scenery, the celebration of music, that’s
“what made Milwaukee famous” for us in OACC.
If you would like to find out more about the OACC or book us for an
event, visit our website http://openartscommunitychoir.com/.
Breege Corr
9
Reflections on the
50th International
Eucharistic Congress
The 50th International Eucharistic
Congress took place between the 10th
and 17th of June this year (2012) and the
Church is now preparing for the next
one in Cebu in the Philippines. In fact
there was a large contingent from the
Philippines over for the Congress and,
as always, their faith was most
impressive. I was one of the lucky
parishioners who was able to spend the
full week in Dublin and experience the
Congress at first hand. The week began
with an Opening Mass in the RDS
attended by some 12,000 people.
In his homily during the Mass, the Papal
Legate, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, told the
congregation that “the Holy Eucharist is
the treasure of the Church, which is
essential to her life”. “Every Sunday and
every special feast day, we go to Church
to meet the risen Lord, to strengthen our
bond of love with Him by partaking in
the Holy Eucharist. It may seem in the
world’s eyes that we gather for social
reasons or according to our cultural and
religious traditions, but in fact, we are
called together by the Lord Himself, the
Lord of the new and eternal covenant
who wants us to be one body with Him
in a real and faithful covenant of love.”
Cardinal Marc Ouellet issued a warm
welcome to his fellow bishops and
priests, consecrated men and women
and to the many faithful from Ireland
and from around the world who
gathered in their thousands to attend the
Congress. “How fitting it is,” he said,
“that, in God’s providence, this
gathering takes place here in Ireland.
This is a country known for its natural
beauty, its hospitality and its rich
culture, but most especially for its long
tradition of fidelity to the Catholic faith.
Ireland’s strong history of faithfulness
has enriched not only these shores, but
has, through her missionary sons and
daughters, helped to bring the Gospel to
many other, far-distant shores.” The
Papal Legate acknowledged that, “the
Church in Ireland is suffering and faces
many new and serious challenges to the
faith. Well aware of these challenges, we
turn to Our Lord, who renews, heals and
strengthens the faith of His people”.
The main events during the Congress
took place in the RDS which had a real
1 0
festival atmosphere. I was delighted to
see that many of the new congregations
and communities had come and their
presence actually encouraged those
attending, many of whom were unaware
that religious life is more vibrant in the
Church today than it ever was. Despite
what the secularistic media say, the
Church is alive and kicking!
One of the highlights for me was the
special and holy unveiling in the RDS
Prayer Space of a unique handmade
manuscript of the Gospel of Saint John,
Chapter 6, produced by the Sisters of St
John, Derry. The book, which weighs 5
kilograms, had one verse every two
pages – with one page in Irish and one
in English. The manuscript included
incredible detail on water colour paper
soaked in red wine, with purple
pigment and acrylic ink, and it required
more than 8 months to complete. The
Sisters hoped the manuscript would
help people savour the richness and
depth of the Word of God.
On entering Simmonscourt, after
winding its way around Anglesey Road
and Merrion Road, the immense size of
Thursday’s Eucharistic Procession
became apparent. From my position,
beside Hall 8, I could see thousands of
pilgrims, with flags from India,
Lebanon, Cuba, Portugal and Angola,
just to mention a few, along with the
numerous papal flags. Despite the range
of nationalities, the universality of our
faith was illustrated with what can only
be described as an eruption of praise
towards the end of Benediction, with
Tantum Ergo resounding throughout the
vast area.
Attending these RDS events was like
being renewed. The Eucharist is the
centre of my life. My greatest desire is
that every person in the world would
come to appreciate the love of Jesus in
the Eucharist. Every day when I go to
Mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist,
I feel closer to all the people in the
world because we are truly in
communion with Christ and with one
another. This week made me realise
even more the true value of the
Eucharist.
There were also many wonderful
speakers during the Congress, one of
whom was the new Bishop of
Shrewsbury in England, Bishop Mark
Davies, who gave a remarkable speech
on the need to promote the spirit of
evangelisation in today’s world. Bishop
Donal McKeown from our own Diocese
of Down and Connor delivered a
Catechesis on Reconciliation in the
Youth Space in the RDS. He explained
to the young people that we need to
remember that everyone is unique and
is made in the image of God. The love of
God was revealed through Jesus living
and dying for us and for our salvation.
The Resurrection of Jesus is an
extremely important message because it
proves that all the hate and evil in the
world cannot destroy Him, and on the
last day we will be raised up with Jesus.
The world is facing many troubling
times right now, but it is very important
to remember that there is far more grace
in this world than hate.
Bishop Donal continued that confession
is not only a place for confessing your
sins, it is also a way for everyone to
realise how much God loves them, no
matter what I have done wrong, God
still loves me; and how, after we are
reconciled, we are pure again. He
explained that he finds it amazing that
people would prefer to go and pay a
counsellor or go onto national television
to talk to someone about problems,
rather than go to confession. He believes
that not only is there a deep human
need for confession, but also, if people
regularly attend confession, there would
be less need for counsellors. In the
question and answer session that
followed, Bishop Donal gave us the
priest’s view of confession as a
privilege, rather than a burden,
emphasising that the Lord is longing to forgive whatever we confess
and are sorry for, and that we should never leave anything out – because
God can handle it.
The Eucharistic procession was a great success and, despite all the fears
of protests, turned out to be a very dignified and respectful event
honouring Christ who wishes to be at the centre of our daily life. On
Sunday 17th June a bus load of parishioners from Carryduff joined those
of us who were already there for the Statio Orbis. It was a very well
organised finale to the week-long Congress and despite the rumours
that there would be a very poor turnout, around 80,000 came to take
part in this celebration of our Catholic faith – the highlight being Pope
Benedict’s message. He gave a clear reason for having a Eucharistic
Congress in the first place and at the end bestowed an Apostolic
blessing. Here is an extract from his message:
The Eucharistic Congress has a very important aim.! Here we wish to
encounter the Risen Lord.! We ask him to touch us deeply.! May he who
breathed on the Apostles at Easter, communicating his Spirit to them,
likewise bestow upon us his breath, the power of the Holy Spirit, and so
help us to become true witnesses to his love, witnesses to the truth.! His
truth is love.! Christ’s love is truth.
My dear brothers and sisters, I pray that the Congress will be for each of
you a spiritually fruitful experience of communion with Christ and his
Church.! At the same time, I would like to invite you to join me in
praying for God’s blessing upon the next
International Eucharistic Congress, which will take
place in 2016 in the city of Cebu.! To the people of
the Philippines, I send warm greetings and an
assurance of my closeness in prayer during the
period of preparation for this great ecclesial
gathering.! I am confident that it will bring lasting
spiritual renewal not only to them but to all the
participants from across the globe.! In the
meantime, I commend everyone taking part in the
present Congress to the loving protection of Mary,
Mother of God, and to Saint Patrick, the great
patron of Ireland; and, as a token of joy and peace
in the Lord, I willingly impart my Apostolic
Blessing.
Lastly, here are some comments our own parishioners made at the
end of that final Mass. There was such a beautiful atmosphere
throughout that I just wished more people could have been here.
It made you feel proud that you were part of a truly
Christian community.
I wasn’t going to go in the first place because of all
the negativity surrounding the Congress, but I’m truly
glad I went. What a wonderful experience.
It was a memorable moment to share with my fellow
parishioners. Maybe we’ll organise a trip to the
Philippines for the next Congress.
1 1
Members of the Assumption Grammar School’s Habitat for Humanity 2012 Team
MALAWI 2012
SIX PARISHIONERS PARTICIPATE IN ASSUMPTION GRAMMAR SCHOOL’S
COLLABORATION WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IN MALAWI by Monica Lewis
After months of planning and preparation, on the 27th of June the Assumption 2012
Habitat for Humanity team finally met at Belfast City Airport.
We had a number of hours travelling ahead of
us. However, we knew that it would be worth it
once we finally reached our destination. On the
29th the team arrived at Kara O’Mula Lodge in
Mulanje, Southern Malawi, where we would be
spending our next week. The lodge was a lot
nicer than many of the team had anticipated
and the perfect place to relax in preparation for
the hard work ahead.
The following day began with an early start as
we had to be ready to leave for the work site at
8.00am. On the short bus journey to the site
everyone was excited about the day ahead.
When the bus began to turn into Nyalugwe
village the team was surprised by the welcome
we received. The local women and children
began to follow the bus and when we
disembarked we were met by a group of
women who began to sing and dance. It was
very moving to see the effort they had made to
make us feel welcome in the village and it was
clear that the work we would do over the next
week would mean a lot to them. The team
1 2
were then given a briefing on what we would
be doing for the next week and shown how to
lay the bricks of the house. We were also
introduced to the two families that would be
living in the two houses that we would help to
build. – two ladies in their late 50s, caring for
their grandchildren whose parents had died.
The next day was a Sunday and so the group
had a day off from the work site and we took
this opportunity to attend a traditional African
Catholic Mass at St. Paul’s church. The service
was very different from our traditional Mass; it
lasted for three hours and there was a lot of
enthusiastic dancing and singing, the
congregation even dedicated a song to us!
After the service we met the parish priest and
a few members of the local parish. Later that
day, after we had all changed into more
suitable clothes and footwear we climbed up
part of Mount Mulanje. Much to the relief of a
number of the team members we didn’t climb
all the way to the top but stopped half way at a
beautiful waterfall where we ate our lunch.
In the remaining 5 days we made a lot of
progress on the outer walls of the house and
before long we were putting in the window
frames. It was very satisfying to see day by day
the progress we were making and eventually
the walls were getting so high that the
scaffolding had to be put up. By the Thursday
of that week the walls of the house were
almost complete and the house being built on
the second site had already begun filling in the
floor, using broken bricks.
A highlight of our days at the site was definitely
interacting and spending time with the local
children who lived in the village. It was amazing
to see their reaction to the toys we brought
them. The children were easily pleased and
occupied with colouring books, skipping ropes
and bubbles - things that many children back
home would not appreciate as much. In
particular the children loved the nail varnish we
brought out to the site and they were all so
eager to get their finger and toe nails painted,
often wanting more than one colour.
On our final day at the site, we joined the people of Nyalugwe in a
house dedication and farewell celebration. Our own songs and dances
contrasted with the traditional African dancing accompanied by
drums. Despite the different styles there was a real sense of
celebration and community. Later the local village women cooked us a
rich meal and with so little to spare this was a very kind gesture that
everyone really appreciated. After the meal we handed over the
houses and speeches were given. The local chiefs, the new
homeowners and the representatives of Habitat for Humanity Malawi
expressed their gratitude and everyone on the team was honoured.
Not only had we been accepted: we felt like fully fledged members of
the village.
We left the site early that day and it was hard not to be able to say
‘mawa’ meaning ‘tomorrow’ to the children that followed us. There were
very few dry eyes. Although we have been back for a while I can safely
say most of the group left their heads and their hearts in Africa.
1 3
Poetry
The Word Made Flesh
He is
black, brown, white, all shades
smooth-skinned, acne(d), scarred, wrinkled,
blonde, brunette, auburn, red, flaxen, grey,
tinted, crimped, cropped, dreadlocked,
but without sin.
He is
conservative, liberal, labour,
republican, nationalist, unionist,
rich, poor, server, served,
leader, led, on the barricades,
but without sin.
He is
Michelangelo, da Vinci, Matisse,
Picasso, Rouault, Rembrandt,
Yeats, Kavanagh, Heaney,
Joyce, O’Flaherty, Wilde,
But without sin.
He is
priest, bishop, cardinal, pope,
Benedict, Bernard, Francis, Dominic,
Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun,
Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill,
But without sin.
He is
Adam, Aristotle, Aquinas,
Socrates, Seneca, Homer, Horace.
Rebekah, Rachel, Joshua, Jacob,
Johnny, Mick, Paddy, Gertie, Louise,
But without sin.
He is
Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saens,
Paganini, Puccini, Rossini,
Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Bizet,
Vivaldi, Verdi, Dvorak, Donizetti,
But without sin.
He is
Aborted, abused, abandoned, a victim,
Starved, handicapped, maimed, enslaved,
Adroit, hard working, generous, upright,
Bright, comfortable, confident, competent,
But without sin.
He is
exploited, cheated, humiliated,
Mugged, stabbed, robbed, disfigured,
Degraded, mocked, ridiculed, rejected,
Imprisoned, tortured, racked, raped,
But without sin.
He is
Elizabeth gasping with cancerous lungs,
Stephen with a stroke learning to walk,
Expectant mother, traumatised orphan,
Nurse, physio, doctor, carer, chaplain,
But without sin.
The Word is flesh, but without sin.
Martin Kelly
1 4
Humour in the Church
Church Bulletin Humour
Announcement in the church bulletin for a
National PRAYER & FASTING Conference:
"The cost for attending the Fasting and
Prayer conference includes meals."
Remember in prayer the many
who are sick of our church.
This afternoon services will be held at the
north and south ends of the church.
Children will be baptized at both ends.
This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs.
Lewis to come forward and lay an egg
on the altar.
The Senior Choir invites any member
of the congregation who enjoys sinning
to join the choir.
Our youth basketball team is back in action
Wednesday at 8 pm in the recreation hall.
Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
The sermon this morning:
"Jesus Walks on the Water".
The sermon tonight:
"Searching for Jesus"
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for
the choir. They need all the help they can
get.
Our Parish Priest will preach his farewell
message after which the choir will sing
"Break Forth into Joy”.
"Remember in prayer the many
who are sick of our community.
Don't let worry kill you off let the Church help.
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 p.m.
(Please use large double door
at the side entrance.)
ATTENTION:
very large.
Our collection basket isn't
that can be
Please fill it with something
folded. Thanks.
ld be:
Without GOD, our week wou
Wasteday,
Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday,
rday.
Thirstday, Fightday & Shatte
T GOD
OU
TH
WI
s
Remember seven day
makes One WEAK!!
1 5
Saphara
2012
By Aisling Kelly
I travelled to India with seventeen
other Lower 6th pupils and four
leaders in July. The eighteen pupils
were from Aquinas, Sullivan and
Methody. We stayed in India for
sixteen days teaching English to
children from marginalised
communities, in three different
schools.
The full team and the children and teachers from Donk Primary School.
My class from SNEHA School.
My class from Kaplani High School.
We arrived in India on Friday the 6th of July. During
the first weekend we learnt about Indian culture
and got accustomed to the craziness of everyday
Indian life. We bought traditional Indian clothes to
fit with Indian culture and we visited the Taj Mahal
and learnt a lot about Indian history.
We spent our first week 7,000 feet up in the
foothills of the Himalayas in a rural village called
Mussoorie, teaching in a school called Kaplani
High School. For me, that first week teaching in
Kaplani was the highlight of my trip. The classes
were small, so we got to know each individual in
our class, which I really enjoyed. Saphara funds
teachers’ salaries, has built toilet blocks and
science labs, and continues to help out with any
projects the school undertakes.
After teaching in Kaplani for four days we trekked
two hours down a mountain to a tiny rural village
called Donk where we taught in a two-classroom
primary school for the day. The children there were
tiny, some barely able to speak. At lunch we
watched as the children collected their tin plates
and lined up ready to get their mid-day meal.
Saphara set up this ‘Mid-Day Meal’ Scheme in the
past year since previously the children walked two
hours to school and two hours home without
getting anything to eat. The scheme employs local
women from the village to cook the lunch and so
provides women with an income, something that is
not common in rural India.
1 6
We spent our second week in the city of Dehradun
teaching English in a school called SNEHA, which
provides am education for children from
marginalised communities. Teaching in SNEHA
was completely different from teaching in Kaplani.
There were classes of 50 rather than 8, and the
children were more confident and street smart
than the shy children we had previously taught.
However, we just tweaked our teaching methods
and class plans to suit – mainly songs, games and
interactive learning with the main goal of teaching
English.
My experience of India is one that I will never
forget. It was truly life changing. It opened my eyes
immensely to the extent of poverty that exists
today and how fortunate we are here. I have some
life long memories and made amazing friends who
I hopefully will know for a long time. Although
seeing extreme poverty first hand was very
difficult, we thought about how the work we were
doing was helping the children we taught, and
giving them a better opportunity at reaching
higher education and getting a good job.
Saphara is a hardworking charity led by the truly
inspirational Dr. Christine Burnett who organises
all the trips to India each year and stays with the
groups throughout the duration of their stay.
Getting Henna Tattoos from the older female students
from SNEHA
Without Christine, Saphara wouldn’t be possible
and so I just want to say thank you to her for all the
amazing work that she does.
Finally thank you all so much for supporting our
coffee morning in our parish where we raised an
amazing £1100. All of this money went towards
supporting the education of children from
marginalised communities in India.
The Aquinas Team including me, Joni, Mark and Aine
who are part of the Parish
1 7
Just some of the Aquinas Junior Fundraisers with Fairtrade goods for sale. From left to right: Fiona Houston, Emma Norris, Niamh Cunningham and Caitlin Lavery
Local Parishioners Raising Awareness and
Raising Funds In Aquinas By Emma Norris.
During lunchtime on Mondays and
Tuesdays, since the start of term, around
25 students from Year 8 to Year 11 have
formed the Aquinas Junior School
Fundraising Committee, including
members from the Parish of Drumbo and
Carryduff. As part of our commitment to
promoting Developing World issues, we
have begun to sell Fairtrade goods made
by the Uzima project in Uganda.
Fairtrade is all about better prices, decent
working
conditions
and
local
sustainability for workers in the
developing world. All the Fairtrade
products we sell are made in the slums of
rural areas around Uganda. Aquinas sells
their products, ranging from jewellery to
handbags, puppets to keyrings, and all
the money goes directly back to the
Uzima Project in order for the people
there to earn money and create a
sustainable life.
At a recent Parent Teacher Meeting, the
fundraising groups sold many goods to
those attending. The group have also
sold to other pupils within Aquinas
during Friday lunch times. The money
will go into helping and supporting the
Uzima project and Fairtrade in general.
Aquinas is aiming to gain Fairtrade
status very soon. The next big event for
the Junior Fundraising Committee is on
The co-ordinator for our group is Mrs
McCrossan, a Home Economics teacher
who is an inspired fundraiser. She is the
one that established the group and it is
growing from strength to strength.
Carryduff is represented by Fiona
Houston, Niamh Cunnigham, Caitlin
Lavery and myself. All of us attended St
Joseph’s Primary School, leaving in 2009
and 2010.
Praise the LORD
Knowing God
A kindergarten teacher was observing her
classroom of children while they drew.
She would occasionally walk around to see each
child's artwork. As she came to one little girl
who was working diligently, she asked what
the drawing was.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."
The teacher paused and said,
"But no one knows what God looks like."
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her
drawing the girl replied, "They will in a minute."
the 10th December when a Mass will be
held at The Good Shepherd Church at
exactly the same time as a Mass held in
Bar Kwach, Uganda. This will be a
special evening and we will be selling
and promoting Fairtrade here too.
1 8
A preacher trained his horse to go when he said
"Praise the Lord "
and to stop when he said "Amen "
The preacher mounted the horse and said
"Praise the Lord" and went for a ride.
When he wanted to stop for lunch, he said "Amen."
He took off again saying "Praise the Lord"
The horse started going toward the edge of a cliff.
The preacher got exited and said "whoa whoa!"
Then he remembered and said "Amen" and the
horse stopped at the edge of the cliff.
The preacher was so relieved and grateful that he
looked up to heaven and said "Praise the Lord !"
A Young Widow
Today for the first time I thought that all the pain of
cancer, caring for my dear husband in the final months
of his life and now the desperate pain of grief and loss it is all worth it. I truly love my husband and he adored
me. We were happy - ordinary. We have the gift of our
little girl who has a smile just like her daddy’s and she
brings so much joy into our home every day.
For a New Beginning
My husband told me as he faced his untimely
death that our daughter and I made his life
worthwhile. Today I suddenly realised that he
makes my life worthwhile. As the fog lifts - I am
starting my second year without him - there is
desperate pain but moments of clarity. He could
see the beauty in our life even more so in his time
of suffering. In my suffering there is still beauty.
by John O'Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
1 9
2 0
Parish Pastoral Council Report
Prayer, reflective discussion and some decent
pots of tea have fuelled our deliberations as a
Pastoral Council this year.
problematic and it was decided that an indoor autumn event
would be more sensible. The 10th anniversary of the building of
the ‘new’ church could provide a perfect opportunity for a gettogether and members decided that a céilí/supper evening would
be a popular format.
In what has been a very busy, perhaps even crucial, year for
the Church at diocesan and national levels, we have tried to
find ways of informing and supporting our fellow
parishioners on the journey of faith.
But the issue which the Pastoral Council pondered more than most
– and which has no doubt exercised the minds of almost every
parish in the country – was how to involve young people in the life
of the Church. A sub-committee examined a possible format,
particularly the Search and New Day initiatives which have
proved successful in other parishes, and pondered what kind of
programme might suit our needs. The need to make the John Paul
II Awards Scheme of benefit to our parish was recognised. As we
go into this Year of Faith, more than ever there is a need for lay
people to show witness to that faith and the living presence of
Jesus in Word and Eucharist.
The year began with two major themes at the forefront – the
(then) fast approaching International Eucharistic Congress
in Dublin and the new Living Church initiative in Down
and Connor. The eagerly awaited report of the Bishop’s
‘listening’ team was summarised by PPC members at
Masses and key phrases like lay participation, openness, coresponsibility and reaching out to young people would
provide the agenda for Parish Pastoral Councils throughout
Down and Connor. Living Church was the result of the
report – a beautiful phrase but a major challenge to all of us.
The two priorities agreed by the Drumbo & Carryduff
delegation at an introductory meeting were Lay
Participation and Handing on the Faith.
In January, PPC members were among a strong
representation from the parish at the annual Church Unity
service in Knockbreda Church of Ireland, showing our
commitment to dialogue and understanding with our
neighbouring Christian communities. Drumbo will host
next year’s service.
Through the spring, our emphasis was on promoting the
forthcoming Eucharistic Congress. Leaflets, book-markers,
websites and banners heralded the historic gathering. The
weekly ‘countdown’ notice in the Parish bulletin raised
awareness for Mass-goers that places on Charlie Clarke’s
bus would be going like ‘hot-cakes’ – and so it proved. The
Parish was well represented at the Statio Orbis Mass and Fr
Brian’s blog kept us informed and entertained on the week’s
events.
The Parish Groups Open Day was a project which emerged
from discussion of ways to involve more people. We were
fortunate to have numerous parish societies with many
energetic members and yet some felt they were closed
groups – nothing could be further from the truth! That myth
was dispelled when a fair number of parishioners came
along after Masses on April 21st/22nd to see what was ‘on
offer’. A number of societies benefited from an intake of new
members.
The possibility of a parish barbeque or summer social
gathering was something which members were keen to
explore. Health and safety concerns made the former too
G. McNamee
Parish Finance Report
Having received our financial
accounts back from the Diocesan
office, and completed our annual
audit,
the
Parish
Finance
Committee felt this would be a
good opportunity to share with
fellow parishioners the current
state of the parish finances. As can
be seen from the accompanying
profit and loss account, the parish
made an overall surplus in the last
financial year of £91,383. We the
committee, along with Fr Martin
and Fr Brian, would like to thank
you for the contribution which you
have made to this. This surplus
continues to reduce the significant
overdraft created in recent years by
investment in our church and
parish hall. Without your financial
support, we would not have the
wonderful surroundings provided
by our church, nor the fantastic
parish hall which is enjoyed on a
weekly basis by so many of our
parishioners, young and old.
Over two thirds of our income
comes from weekly collections.
Without your week by week
contributions, we would be faced
with a very different financial
picture.
We calculate that on
average
each
Mass-going
parishioner (approx. 1,800 adults)
contributes approximately £2.30
per week.
Whilst we greatly
appreciate this, and understand
that the current economic climate is
difficult, just a little extra would
make a big difference! If each adult
were to give just £1 extra per week,
our annual surplus would increase
by almost £100,000 and that would
enable us to clear our debts and to
resume investing in the future of
our parish.
It is also worth
mentioning that that there are an
estimated
8,000
to
10,000
parishioners in our parish, most of
whom do not attend Mass on a
weekly basis yet use the church for
weddings, funerals, school events
etc., while contributing nothing to
the parish finances week by week.
So again, to those of you who do,
we say “Thank you!”
Our parish continues to require
significant investment. Examples
include major structural work
required to the wall at the front of
the parochial house and ongoing
improvements to the Church
which is now in its eleventh year.
Changes to how our parishes are
being run are also likely to create
increased costs for us in the future.
The continuing fall in the number
of priests in our diocese will in
future necessitate the employment
of lay people to manage and
administer our parishes. Such
future costs require us as a parish
to begin planning and saving now.
It is essential that we clear our
current overdraft and start to build
up a reserve.
I would ask each of you to
consider two things. The first is
setting up a standing order or
direct debit, the forms for which
can be obtained from the sacristy.
Not only would this save you from
having to remember your
envelope each week, but it would
also give us some consistency and
reliability in our collections. The
second, which can go hand in
hand with the first but is also
available to those using our
envelopes, is Gift Aid. Gift Aid
last year equated to half of our
surplus and 14% of income, but it
could be higher. Using your
envelopes or standing orders and
ensuring you are registered with
us for Gift Aid would give us at
least an extra 25p in each pound
which you give. Not availing of
this is simply giving more money
to the government instead of the
parish.
Finally, as a committee we would
once again like to thank each of
you for your continued financial
support to the parish. We in turn
promise to ensure that the money
is
spent
and
invested
appropriately and wisely. Should
you have any queries or comments
regarding finances, please do not
hesitate to contact the parish office
by email or letter marked for our
attention.
James Woods
Chairman, Parish Finance
Committee
2 2
Parish of Drumbo
Income & Expenditure Account
Year Ended 31 December 2011
Income
Collections & Grants
Gift Aid
Other receipts and Donations
Graves
Insurance Claims
Legacies etc.
258,516
46,191
12,453
8,250
5194
500
331,104
Expenditure
Wages, Stipends, Welfare
and Honoraria payments
Church Supplies
Heat, Light, Power and Insurance
Telephone, Postage,
Printing & Stationery
Property costs,
Repairs & Maintenance
Professional Fees
Bank Charges & Interest
Diocesan Payments
and Provident Fund
Parish Centre Expenses
and School Payments
Deprecation
69,684
22,828
13,431
8,642
51,247
2,276
9,181
17,894
9,517
35,021
(239,721)
Surplus for the year
91,383
Parish Bank Account Overdrawn
as at 31 December 2011
(323,422)
A Parishioner's Return
By Brian Heaton
The author reflects on changes
in the parish since he left it
nearly half a century ago and
contrasts it with other
parishes he has known.
My, how you’ve grown. This summer, I
returned to live in Carryduff after
several decades away. I first lived in the
area in the 1960’s, when the parish was
simply Drumbo. I have returned on
occasion, usually for the heartbreak of
burial, the joy of a family baptism, or to
pay respects at a graveside. But coming
back to live here, I see the parish with
fresh eyes.
In the 1960’s, I perceived Drumbo as a
small country church, intimate and
dignified. To my teenage mind, catching
the bus to the city was more interesting
– whether attending Mass at Holy
Rosary, sitting in the gallery seats at St
Malachy’s in Alfred Street, or later
passing Supermac to Rosetta’s
impressive new St Bernadette’s, built as
a chapel of ease for Holy Rosary.
Drumbo church in comparison seemed
like a bit of a backwater.
Since then, I have lived in England and
Europe and spent time in many parishes
in London, Kent, Sussex, France, Poland,
Germany and Northern Ireland,
including attending Mass regularly at
three cathedrals.
Part of the fascination of attending
different churches is seeing how
parishes vary widely in character:
church, facilities, congregation and
community life.
From the humble twelfth-century chapel
of Saint-Pierre de Réveillon, in a
Normandy forest, where Mass is now
celebrated only once a year, to the
sombre vastness of Westminster
Cathedral, churches and parishes are
diverse. Many are constrained by the
site and have zero room for expansion.
Rouen Cathedral in France, for example,
where we attended a beautiful sung
Mass last Pentecost Sunday, was built
between the 12th and 16th centuries and
is famous from Monet’s paintings, but
can offer almost no public car parking
within its stone-walled grounds.
Services too, vary greatly. In our old
central London local parish, St
Etheldreda’s, my wife and I, with a
The Saint Pierre de Réveillon chapel in Normandy,
France is decorated by 16th-century wall paintings.
congregation of a few dozen regulars,
would attend a sung Latin Mass, with a
professional choir, on Sundays. Built on
the site of the former palace of the
Bishops of Ely, the church and its tiny
garden are now hemmed in by office
buildings and the mediaeval crypt is
hired to a nearby restaurant for private
functions. Serving as it does mostly City
of London commuters, with no
parochial hall and a tiny Catholic
resident population, there is scant
opportunity there for parish community
life.
As populations change and cities
develop, many parishes have the
problems of decline. People move away,
perhaps from crowded city centre to
suburb, and the church is left with too
few resident parishioners to be viable.
Or conversely, the local population
grows, but growth brings eye-watering
land costs, and a small church can’t
afford to provide the facilities that the
parish would aspire to. This we might
call the paradox of growth.
Cover of autumn 2012 choral programme for 11
a.m. Sunday Latin Mass in St Etheldreda’s, Ely
Place, London EC1.
have never seen anywhere – even based
in cathedrals.
Anyone looking for a model modern
parish, with a living Catholic
community, would go a long way to
find as good an example as Drumbo and
Carryduff. To all who have worked to
build what we now have, I say:
“Well done!”.
So, what of the Drumbo and Carryduff
parish today? For me, four aspects stand
out. First, the church itself: I find it
modern, light, open, spacious, with
good acoustics, clear views of the altar
from all seats, and a pleasing ambience.
Second, the parish facilities: two schools,
a hall, meetings rooms and – rare in
cities nowadays – a cemetery, extensive
car parking, playing fields and sports
facilities.
Third, Mass attendance from all parts of
the Catholic community: parents,
children and young as well as the
middle-aged and retired who make up
the loyal backbone of many
congregations. Fourth, parish life: active
community groups on a scale which I
The author’s wife trudges through snow to attend
Mass in St. Antonius church, in Brandenburg,
Germany.
2 3
Report by Peter O!Hara - HOPE03 Chairman
2012 was a busy
and successful year
for HOPE03 in
their fundraising
activities.
Again our attention was focused on our
ongoing projects in the Philippines. As
the parishioners are very well aware, this
project is divided between the Education
Program and the Medical Centre project.
With regards to the Education project, we
are still helping to provide 285 ‘Street’
children with an education, thereby
giving them a chance in life and helping
them to escape the poverty trap.
Whilst the Medical Centre has been open
now for a few years and provides much
needed medical care for the 14,000 ‘Street
& Alley’ people in the Malate district,
HOPE03 is continuing to provide the
necessary funds for equipment and
supplies. This is ongoing and needs
continued support.
We would like to take this opportunity to
thank all the parishioners for their very
generous support through the collections
after all Masses on the weekend of 23rd
& 24th June 2012 for the Philippines
projects. The total collected was £3,200.
At the third effort of trying due to the
2 4
inclement weather this year, HOPE03
held a Golf Classic at Rockmount Golf
Club on 28th September to raise funds for
the Welcome Organisation based in
Belfast who work to alleviate the distress
caused by homelessness and rough
sleeping. They do this by giving practical
support, advice, information and access
to a range of health and well being
services to people living in the city. They
aim to bring a little dignity and warmth
to lives that do not have the “luxury” of a
home. Their Drop In Support Centre
provides basic needs such as food,
showers and laundry services.
The total raised by the Golf Classic was
£4,300.
Another of HOPE’s charitable efforts this
year was providing financial assistance to
St Bakhita’s Youth centre, which is
situated in the town of Mazabuka in the
southern province of Zambia, Central
Africa. It has a population of over 240,000
and the HIV/Aids rate is 17% of the
population. 46% of the children do not go
to school, 31% because of lack of funds.
Income is generally £70-£100 per month.
The youth centre was officially opened in
April 2011 to provide a safe environment
for the youth of the area, is the only such
facility in the town. Educational and
Pictured above are HOPE03 committee member
Frank McCourt and HOPE03 Chairman Peter
O’Hara presenting a cheque for £500 to Kay Shortt
from the West Belfast Children’s Club.
recreational opportunities in the form of
workshops, retreats, table tennis, and
pool, cultural and social events take place
at the centre. Funding for the
construction of the building came from
Italian and Irish donations.
Sr Mary De Largy, a Mercy Sister who has
been working with vulnerable youth in
Mazabuka for the past six years offers
one to one counselling at the centre and
provides some sponsorship for needy
youth. HOPE03 donated £1,000 to this
project.
HOPE03 also donated £500 to a West
Belfast Breakfast Club organised by SVP
and also to Sure Start in East Belfast to
assist their Breakfast Club.
Again, HOPE03 would like to thank all
our parishioners for their generous
support over the last 10 years.
HOPE03 is committed to supporting
projects both locally and internationally.
100% of all donations goes directly to the
various projects.
Please log onto www.hope03.org.uk for
more information.
AN
ACTIVE
FAITH
By Rosemary Grant
Members of this parish often speak with
local members of the Apostolic Workers
to find out more about the important
work this group is doing
on our behalf.
Originally the main role of Apostolic Workers was to
provide vestments and Mass kits for missionaries
abroad. ! In recent times our work has evolved to have
much more to do with fundraising to support missionaries
involved in medical, food, educational and clean water
projects in the developing world. !Historically, because a lot
of the work used to involve the making of vestments and
altar cloths, it tended to be women who had the necessary
skills, but nowadays there is no reason that men cannot be
involved – indeed many men do currently help out at
functions.
Visiting priests and serving council members. The current Diocesan
President is Margaret Buckle, one of our own parishioners.
If you would like to be more involved, please
phone Rosemary on 07522921297. Or come to one
of our meetings. !We meet on the first Monday of
each month at 8.00 pm in one of the small rooms
off the church porch
Apostolic Workers are unique because they provide an
opportunity for ordinary Catholics to join the work of the
missions. ! We differ from the likes of Trocaire and Concern
in that our work is not connected with government
schemes and we will fund smaller food, medical,
educational and clean water projects that the big
organizations would not consider. !In our parish, funds are
raised mainly through two annual cake sales at Easter and
Christmas, by raffles and in our Annual Fundraising
Appeals weekend in September. ! All Apostolic Workers’
financial dealings are overseen by the diocese and all
funding requests are first authorized by local bishops on
the ground. ! The accompanying photograph taken in our
church is of priests who visited here on Mission Sunday
last 21st October.!They came to say ‘thank you’ and to share
with us news of the things they are able to achieve with our
help.
Our Apostolic group here in Drumbo & Carryduff is
extremely grateful for the generosity of the parishioners
who support us so consistently. ! However, anyone who
wishes to do more could consider either joining as an active
member or becoming an honorary member (helping out at
events, promising to pray for the missions, giving
occasional financial donations). !
2 5
Peter, who was in the passenger seat, was more interested
in the strange looking screen that sat on top of the
dashboard.
“Looks like a Sat Nav” said Peter.
“It’s strange that the screen’s all lit up, Peter? I know that
2012 must stand for the year but what does Altmin mean?”
asked Sarah, who knew that when it came to words, Peter
was the expert.
“Well” answered Peter, “Altmin must be this area and the
letters of the alphabet there at the top of the screen must be
how you change the place. But I’m not sure how the
numbers change.”
Suddenly Sarah turned the steering wheel to the left and
immediately the numbers on the screen decreased. Sarah
stopped when the screen reached 30 and the two friends
looked out in disbelief. Their houses had disappeared and
the whole area was replaced with a forest.
“Peter!” screamed Sarah, “How come we’re in a forest and
we haven’t moved?”
“I think we’re back in time Sarah. This is what Ireland was
like nearly two thousand years ago. Let me see if I can
input a place where there might have been people.”
“Try Galilee,” suggested Sarah, “Isn’t that where Jesus and
his friends were?”
Peter typed ‘Galilee’ into the Sat Nav and as soon as he
pressed ‘enter’ the scene around them changed again. They
were now beside a beautiful blue lake, the sun was shining
and a crowd of people were surrounding a man in white
robes who was standing at the side of the lake talking to
the crowd.
“That’s Jesus,” whispered Sarah in amazement.
The Old Car
by Therese Andrews
A story for children, but adults can read it too.
It was Sarah who found it first. Where the car had come from,
nobody knew. Who had left it there, nobody knew. It just
appeared one day in the overgrown patch of ground behind
Sarah’s house just off Newton Park in the Four Winds area. An
old, battered looking, red Volkswagen, with the engine in the
back and an empty boot at the front and no wheels. It didn’t
even have a registration number. But Sarah just couldn’t wait to
tell the news to Peter. They were both ten years old, lived next
door to each other in semi-detached houses and even though
Sarah went to St Ita’s and Peter to St Joseph’s, they were the best
of friends. Both were in P6 classes and both helped each other
with homeworks. Peter was great at English and Sarah loved
Maths and when things got too difficult they helped each other
out. Homework was boring though compared to the exciting
appearance of a strange car practically in your back garden. After
homework and after tea, the two of them went out to have a
closer look at the new arrival. The doors opened easily enough
and inside Sarah marvelled at the white leather upholstery, the
cloth covered steering wheel and the mahogany dashboard.
2 6
Peter and Sarah jumped out of the car and ran towards the
crowd but, as they got nearer, two fierce looking men
stopped them. They spoke in a strange language but both
friends knew that these men were stopping them from
getting any closer to Jesus. Suddenly, a gentle voice in
English spoke. It was Jesus.
“Andrew, James don’t stop those children. They’re friends
of mine from Carryduff. Bring them over to me.”
The crowd moved back and James and Andrew led the two
children over to Jesus who smiled and reached out his arms
to them.
“Sarah, Peter it’s good to see you here.”
“But how do you know our names?” asked Peter.
“Sure I’ve known you for years and I’m with you all the
time. Don’t you come to meet me every Sunday in a
special way in that beautiful church of yours in Carryduff?
I’m always so delighted to see you. It’s great that you two
are helping me to build up my Father’s kingdom. And do
you know next year my Holy Spirit is going to give you the
strength to be even greater workers for the kingdom. So
before you go back to your own time input 2062 into that
Sat Nav of yours and see what the people of Carryduff are
like then. You might get a surprise.”
Humour in the Church
Five things you may never
hear in the church:
"
"Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew!
Jesus then gave the two children a special blessing and
asked James and Andrew to lead them back to the
Volkswagen. When they arrived back in the car Peter
typed ‘Carryduff GAA pitch’ into the Sat Nav and Sarah
turned the steering wheel to the right until the screen
showed 2062.
Immediately they found themselves in the middle of the
Carryduff GAA pitch surrounded by a crowd of people
who were smiling and dancing with joy.
“What’s going on?” asked Peter as the two of them got
out of the car.
“Have you not heard the news?” shouted a boy, about the
same age as Peter and Sarah. “Antrim have won the All
Ireland!”
"I was so enthralled, I never even noticed
your sermon went 25 minutes overtime."
"I'll volunteer to be the permanent
leader of the Parish Youth Club”
"I love it when we sing hymns
I've never heard before."
"Since we're all here, let's
start the service early!"
A Million Pounds
Joe climbs to the
top of Mount Sina
i
to talk to God.
Looking up, he asks
the Lord.
“Who did they beat?” asked Sarah.
"God, what does
a million years
mean to you?"
“Leitrim!” was the reply, “but there was only one point in
it.”
The Lord replies,
"A minute."
The two children were amazed as they looked around at
everyone celebrating.
“But are the Down supporters not upset that they didn’t
win?” asked Peter now really puzzled at the way
everybody seemed so happy.
“Not at all,” answered the boy, “Sure this is 2062. We
don’t fight or steal or bully any more. We all help and
support each other. The children way back in 2013 got
together and formed God’s Kingdom Workers (GKW) and
now the GKW looks after the whole world. They brought
peace and joy to the world by following Jesus more
closely. Sure look at that match over there.”
For the first time Peter and Sarah looked up at the sky
and saw children with what looked like rucksacks on
their backs floating about the sky kicking a hydrogen
balloon.
“That’s Skyball they’re playing,” explained the boy. “The
rucksack is an airpack that keeps you in the air. We can
even travel to Forestside with it. That match going on is
St Ita’s versus St Joseph’s and it’s 1 – 1 at the moment.
You score by kicking the balloon over the top of the
Gaelic posts. Good game, isn’t it?”
“Seems fun,” agreed Sarah so delighted to see how
wonderful the world was in the future.
“Come on,” said Peter. “We better get back in to this car.
We have a lot of work to do Sarah.”
The two children got back into the Volkswagen. Peter put
‘Altmin’ into the Sat Nav and as Sarah turned the steering
wheel back to 2012, the two children realised that it was
now up to them to change the world.
Joe asks,
"And what does a
million pounds
mean to you?"
The Lord replies,
"A penny."
Joe asks
"Can I have a pe
nny?"
The Lord replies,
"In a minute."
Praying Grace
ng Sunday
Little Johnny and his family were havi
yone was
dinner at his Grandmother’s house. Ever
being
was
food
seated around the table as the
his plate,
served. When Little Johnny received
he started eating right away.
prayer.’
‘Johnny! Please wait until we say our
said his mother.
‘I don’t need to,’ the boy replied.
ted.
‘Of course, you do,’ his mother insis
ng
‘We always say a prayer before eati
e,’
hous
our
at
t’s
at our house.’ ‘Tha
Johnny explained.
‘But this is Grandma’s house and
she knows how to cook!’
2 7
At the beginning of July this year a number of parishioners set out to
walk the Way of St James – the famous Camino de Santiago.
Parishioners Walk the Camino....
by Patricia Flynn
The Camino is a network of routes across
Europe that lead to Santiago de Compostela
(Way of Saint James). The most developed
routes are in Spain and France, but historic
routes, some of which you can still follow
today, start as far away as Eastern Europe
or even Scandinavia. However, when most
people talk about the Camino de Santiago,
they usually mean the Camino Francés, a
route that leads walkers, cyclists and others
across northern Spain, from Saint-JeanPied-de-Port, on the French side of the
border, to Santiago de Compostela in Spain,
where the Apostle Saint James (Santiago) is
said to be buried. The modern Camino
Francés more or less follows a medieval
pilgrimage route across Spain to Santiago.
Our intrepid parishioners decided to
embark on the last stage from Sarria to
Santiago, a distance of 120 kilometres.
Over the last few years and, indeed, since
the release of the Martin Sheen film, “The
Way”, the Camino has become more
popular with people who, like their
medieval counterparts, walk it for a variety
of reasons, religious, spiritual, sport,
historical or cultural, or for another reason
entirely. There are a lot of! refugios! or
pilgrim refuges with dorm accommodation
along the route, but it is possible to find
2 8
hotel accommodation, some even with ensuite rooms. Food and drink is also easy to
find along the way. As one of those intrepid
parishioners, I can truthfully say that
walking the Camino was … an experience!
Togged out in my walking shoes, walking
socks, back pack, glucose tablets and
walking sticks, I walked the first hill out of
Sarria and, after reaching the top, thought it
would be a good idea to walk back down
the hill again and find the nearest hospital.
However, that’s when the spiritual side
came into play and I prayed – “Please God
help me!” The prayer was answered
because, almost immediately, the path
levelled out and we made our way easily to
our first night’s rest in Portomarin.
It’s amazing how during the course of the
five days’ walking we came to recognise
and converse with fellow pilgrims from all
over the world – Peru, Denmark, Canada,
Spain, Germany, even China – all with their
own stories and reasons for walking the
Camino. A Peruvian couple were walking
to
celebrate
their
40th
wedding
anniversary, a group of teachers from Sligo
were walking to recover from a year of
stress at school and a young Danish man
was walking to thank God for overcoming
an addiction. As you walk along quiet
country lanes and tracks and cross gently
rolling hills along paths that wind through
forests, ancient villages and farming
communities, you can easily understand
how such a trek can relieve stress and bring
peace to a troubled mind. For me the
Camino was an answer to a prayer, a
Weight-watcher’s dream. Since most of the
food along the way consists of eggs and I
have an aversion to eggs, by the end of the
walk I had lost half a stone! As I walked into
Santiago I felt a special sense of
achievement. Four long years at Weightwatchers was equivalent to five days on the
Camino. Every step of “The Way” had been
worth it.
Luckily, our walk ended on the Sunday in
time for the 12 o’clock Mass in Santiago
Cathedral where we witnessed the famous
swinging of the thurible, a sight that many
of the pilgrims had walked hundreds of
kilometres to see. I’m afraid I wasn’t all that
impressed with the spectacle but I was
impressed with the hundreds of people
from all walks of life and all ages who, for
whatever reason, felt the urge to walk the
way of Saint James and gather together in
the Cathedral to be in communion with
Christ and with one another.
St Ignatius & St Joseph!s Bowling Clubs January 2011
Bowling Club
St Joseph’s bowling club has 20 members. We meet on a Tuesday night from 8pm until 10pm in St Joseph’s hall. New members
are most welcome and coaching will be provided. We play club competitions and club friendlies with other churches in the
Carryduff area. The club has been runners up in some of the major tournaments in the club zones. So why not come along and
give it a try. It is good fun and good craic.
Bethany Bereavement Support Group has been active in the
Parish for almost a year now. It takes its name from the town
where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and where he
offered comfort to Martha and Mary.
The team provides the bereaved with an opportunity, once a
month, to talk in confidence to a trained listener, either in their
own home or in a special area set aside in the Church.
BETHANY BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP
Bethany Bereavement group came to our Diocese in 2011
when Bishop Farquhar commissioned 24 volunteers, 7 of
whom were from our Parish. The organisation has been active
in the Republic since the late 1980s and there are over 90
groups in the Dublin Diocese alone. The success of the
organisation in the Republic has been so great that each group
receives a Government grant to assist with its work. This
unfortunately does not happen in Northern Ireland and we
are very much dependent on our Parish for assistance.
The team holds a coffee morning once a month in the Church
where anyone who has been bereaved can come along and
chat. Bethany also has a confidential phone where a member
of the team can be contacted at any time.
Bethany does not wait to be asked. A team member will
initiate contact with the bereaved and a visit will be made
within two months Every person is visited irrespective of
religion, nationality or cause of death. The spiritual dimension
of death is always recognised and the purpose of the visit is to
assure the person that they are not alone.
The System
I nail Christ on Calvary,
one of many men.
Same sound
of hammer on nails –
it echoes in my head
during the night.
Same colour of blood,
same spurting,
same congealing
on my arm,
washes off in the bucket
in the same way,
drips from the feet
like the heart thumping,
mixes with others’
beneath the crosses,
dogs lap it up,
ravens finish it off,
back to the eco system.
I keep guard
at the guillotine,
I’m a dog-handler
in Buchenwald,
I see Dresden burn,
I man a gun in Helmand
I’m part of the system,
God help me.
Martin Kelly, 10 March 2010.
2 9
Knights of St. Columbanus 2012
The Knights of St. Columbanus in Carryduff have some 30
members who are drawn from all walks of life with one common goal –
“To Restore All Things in Christ”.
Our aims are:
• To promote by personal and group action the extension of
practical Christianity in all phases of life;
• To maintain a fraternal society of Catholic lay leadership
• To honour the faith
• To prepare its membership for the apostolate
The aim of the Knights is to maintain our country Christian in
outlook, thought and action. To achieve this end we are guided
by two principles of action:
• The Law of Charity and
• The Law of Justice
Photographed are some of the parish group which attended the
annual pilgrimage to Lough Derg on Sun 2nd Sept organised by
the Knights of St. Columbanus, Carryduff
Roy receiving the Noel Eastwood Memorial
Trophy from Sean Davis. This year’s charity was
in support of Prostrate Cancer and in memory of
the Society’s friend Sean Crummey.
3 0
To bring these aims and principles into action we undertake
projects, study our faith and support the clergy in a variety of
ways. Our projects can be:
• Community-based, e.g. mock interviews for local
secondary/grammar schools, coordinating the
Welcome Ministry
• Charity Focussed, e.g. supporting parishioners to
participate on a Lourdes pilgrimage;
• Practical in Nature, e.g. cleaning up the parish cemetery in
advance of the annual Blessing of the Graves, providing
ushers at Christmas vigil masses
• Faith Development, e.g. attending pilgrimages such as to
Knock, the St. Oliver Plunkett pilgrimage in Drogheda and
our own annual pilgrimage to Lough Derg.
This year, under the Captaincy of Roy
Armstrong, the Society made its
traditional start on St. Patrick’s Day
with a tee-off at Rockmount Golf Club
and members playing for the Brendan
Sloan Memorial Trophy. In April we
played Whitehead and Ardglass. May
saw us playing Allen Park, Antrim for
the first time. June at Edenmore was
washed out (like a lot of the summer!).
July took us to our traditional outing at
Ormeau where a good day was had by
all who played. August and September
outings again proved casualties of the
summer weather. Our last outing in
October was the Captain’s Charity Day
at Mourne Golf Club in Newcastle.
This provided the best weather and
playing conditions of the season. It
also proved to be the closest result,
with the Captain Roy Armstrong
winning at his final 30ft putt on the
last in a count back with two others.
New members are always welcome.
Anyone interested in joining Drumbo
Golf Society: please contact the
secretary via
[email protected] or via the
Website at www.drumbogolf.co.uk
Summer Renewal Program
By Seaneen, Ellie, Cara-Beth and Darragh Diamond
Under fantastic leadership and
dedication, the summer renewal
programme entered its third successive
year. It ran from Monday 30th July until
Friday 3rd August each evening from
6.30pm until 8.30pm. This year proved to
be its most popular in regards to
attendance. From Year One up to Year
Seven we had almost two hundred
children in both the church and the parish
hall. The success of the programme from
the last few years led to children from
secondary level education wanting to stay
involved. These children wonderfully led
the prayer service each evening.
We were very fortunate again this year to
have Fr. Ciaran Dallat with us, who led
the prayer service each night. He is an
inspiration to all of the young children
who thoroughly enjoyed his singing and
messages each evening. We were equally
blessed to have Fr. Martin join us each
evening and the children loved his
participation.
The theme for this year was The
Olympics. Each night the children had a
common theme that was developed by
the many parent helpers. The children
had the opportunity to play games
ranging from parachute games to blindman’s buff. They planted seeds, made
buns, made unleavened bread for Holy
Communion, played blind football,
All in all it was another amazing and
extremely successful year of the
programme. All of this would not be
possible without the hard work and
dedication of all the parent helpers who
demonstrate a strong parish community.
A big thank you to all who were involved
and we look forward to meeting more
children next summer.
completed many art masterpieces and
always kept God at the centre of their
focus each night.
I liked the fact that we were able to
get together with our friends and
classmates before starting back to
school. My favourite part of the whole
week was playing blind football
because it gave me the opportunity to
experience how paralympians compete
at the Paralympic games. I loved the
way the mimes were in the theme of
the Olympics and it made Jesus very
present with us today.
By Ellie Diamond
I loved the Summer Renewal
Programme because I missed my
friends. My favourite bit was when we
played the cat and mouse games with
the parachute, it was really funny. I
had wet knees because the grass was
a bit wet.
By Cara-Beth Diamond
I made a bun that looked really yummy
but I dropped it on the way to my car
so I couldn’t eat it, I was very sad. I
loved standing on the altar to do the
mime, it was lots of fun and my
mummy and daddy were so proud of
me.
By Darragh Diamond.
3 1
This is a Rejoicing Parish
– A proposal to bring in
‘the Laughing Jesus’
I like the humour in our
parish church. In addition to
the meaningful liturgy, short
and snappy sermons, the
spiritual leadership,
the grand organ performances, the vibrant
social activities, I sincerely like Fr Martin’s
county Cavan-related outbursts and Fr
Brian’s GAA-related newsbytes; they add
a bit of laughter every
Sunday (although I do
not
understand
them fully every time,
I just laugh). This
community is never
afraid of laughter,
although Jesus,
the man of
agony
and
sorrow,
is
always stern
and serious
above the altar. I
think we should
bring
in
the
laughing Jesus to
our parish soon.
Would Jesus like this? I think he would.
Although the New Testament says that
Jesus wept (John 11:35), it does not
mention that he laughed or even smiled.
Does this mean he didn’t? To suggest that
Jesus never laughed would imply that he
suffered some type of psychological
illness. Psalm 2:4 indicates that His Father,
‘He who is enthroned in the heavens
laughs’, and as Jesus is like his father, he
must have laughed. Some evidence does
exist in the New Testament. For example,
His usual way of saying ‘Hi’ to his disciples
is ‘Rejoice’, and he must have said this
with a smile. In fact, ‘Rejoice and be glad’
is his usual advice (Matthew 5:12). I could
not imagine Jesus saying these words
with a gloomy face. In John 15:11 he
3 2
explains to his disciples, "I have told you
this so that my joy may be in you and that
your joy may be complete." Could our
joyfulness be complete without laughter?
The children loved him (Matthew 19:1315), and they are never attracted to a sad
and gloomy person; they must have
seen the sparkle in Jesus' eyes, his
welcoming smile, his ready laugh, his
simplicity and charisma. When Jesus
said: "Let the children come to me, and
don't hinder them" (Matthew 14:19),
probably he must be indicating his
playfulness. When seeing Zacchaeus, the
tax collector on a sycamore fig tree (Luke
19:1-10), and when listening to the
seventy-two returned with joy and said,
"Lord, even the demons submit to us in
your name" (LK 10:17), he must have
surely laughed.
Paul, a playful parishioner
and brought joy to those who were on the
periphery. He was truly very extraordinary,
but only in his ordinary-ness, his
extraordinary-ness shone through. His
humanity - which included playfulness,
smiles and laughter, was so pure and
spotless, that people of His time could see
his divinity spontaneously. They could see
that He was so human that only God
could be like him. There is no reason why
we shouldn’t see that ordinariness in his
divinity today. This means, it could be
argued, that the ability to laugh, to smile,
to have keen sense of humour, to be
playful, to be ordinary, and to see the
funny side of things are both human and
divine – as Jesus demonstrated in his life.
I think we should bring back this ordinary
Jesus to our parish to legitimise the
laughter we enjoy every Sunday in this
parish.
But where can we find him? How might
He look like? Have you seen a picture of
laughing Jesus anywhere? In fact, a group
The First Supper - Figure 1
© www.miat.org.au.2012, Used with permission.
In truth, Jesus appears to be a jolly good
human being, who loves partying: he did
his first miracle in a wedding party (Jn 2:111) and he frequently called for mega
parties too, in the story of The Prodigal
Son (Lk 15: 11-32), for example. We find
him as the One who enjoyed good food,
wine, laughter, and friendship, where two
or three are gathered. This is not to
suggest that he was simplistic, and
childish, but rather he was child-like and
simple in his substance and style. He lived
among ordinary people, like one of them,
of Australian scholars have recently
started a journey across the world to
search and find artists who captured this
ordinariness of Jesus. They were able to
find several artworks that depict Jesus,
laughing and loving, in many developing
countries. For those of us who are familiar
with a rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed,
domesticated, western white male form of
Jesus, who is always meek, humble, and
sorrowful, imagining Him as laughing and
ordinary may be difficult. For example,
consider, an Indian artist who conceived
God made us
Jesus having his first supper (Figure 1), or
an Indonesian artist who captures Jesus’
smile after His resurrection, when he
confronted Thomas to come, see, and
believe in Him - (Figure 2).
A little girl was sitting on her
grandfather's lap as he read her a
bedtime story. From time to time,
she would take her eyes off the
book and reach up to touch his
wrinkled cheek. She was
alternately stroking her own cheek,
then his again. Finally she spoke up,
"Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he answered,
"God made me a long time ago."
"Oh," she paused, "Grandpa, did
God make me too?" "Yes, indeed,
honey," he said, "God made you
just a little while ago."
Feeling their respective faces
again, she observed, "God's getting
better at it, isn't he?"
Loving Jesus - Figure 4
Come, See and Believe - Figure 2
On the other hand, a Mangolian artist
imaginatively sees Jesus sharing His Word
at a position of having his elbow on the
ground - (Figure 3). Being lower than
others, the artist beautifully captures His
humility. It is refreshing to see him so
relaxed and in harmony with nature and
those boys. A Pakistani artist further
captures Jesus’ love for children. As an
ordinary Punjabi young man (i.e. who lives
in Punjab province and speaks Punjabi
language), Jesus is seen (see Figure 4) to
have his Punjabi dress, fully incarnating
himself in that culture, and hugging
children with a smile.
In the same line of thought, a Papua New
Guinean artist sees Jesus as a very
ordinary labourer, who works like an
ordinary Papua New Guinean and shares
their struggles (Figure 5).
All these examples (and many more that
can be found in www.miat.org.au)
celebrate Jesus’ another side of humanity
– His ordinary side, with an ability to laugh,
and smile and his ability to be with one
among us, as one of us. And that is why, I
thought of proposing in the 10th year of
our parish church, that we should find a
smiling Irish Jesus (of course, living in the
north of Ireland) and bring him in whatever
form. He should be the reminder for all of
us that laughing, and seeing the funny side
of things is equally divine. Until then, when
you hear Fr Martin and Fr Brian bring
humour to our community celebrations,
just laugh.
PS. If you do not make out what I am
referring to in this article, please come to
our church; there is promise of eternal life
at the altar, and good cup of coffee, after
that.
Relaxing with New Friends - Figure 3
Figure 5. The Labourer
Reflections
Belonging
Everything had its beginning in
possibility. Before anything ever
was, it had to be dreamed. If a
thing had never been thought of,
it could never be.
We are children of earths
dreaming. Sometimes we are unable
to decide what reality is
and what a dream is.
We rush through our days in such
stress and intensity as if the world
depended on us. We worry, we
grow anxious. Yet all the time we
worry that we are just temporary
sojourners on the surface of
planet earth spinning slowly in the
infinite night of the cosmos.
Anything can happen to any one
of us at any time,
yet every heart is infused with
that dream of belonging.
Belonging is the heart and warmth
of intimacy. The most intimate
belonging is self -belonging. It is a
total gift which every moment of
your life endeavours to receive.
Our bodies know that they belong.
It is our minds that make our lives
so empty and homeless. When we
are in rhythm with our own nature
things flow and balance naturally
to stabilise once again the wisdom
and rhythm of life.
John A Kelly (01/11/2002)
3 3
St. Joseph’s Parish Centre has a range of facilities suitable for
a wide range of activities ranging from small children’s parties
up to quite large concerts. The main facilities are: The Carryduff Hall, which
can accommodate up to 350
people and can be used for
concerts and other large
functions
and
various
sporting and cultural events.
Health and Safety issues have been high on the agenda over
the last year or so. In order to improve safety in the centre, the
management have run a series of Fire Awareness/Warden and
First Aid training courses. The courses were generally well
received, as Billy Kelly of Carryduff GAC commented:
“This update on Fire awareness/warden training was of a high standard. A clear,
concise and effective presentation was followed by fire management demonstration
and hands-on practice across a number of potential hazards. Awareness of the
physical environment associated with the Parish Centre was covered and an
excellent manual complemented the overall content of the programme.”
The Drumbo Hall can
accommodate up to 50
people and can be used for
smaller
functions
and
children’s parties. The hall
has a small tea room and a
large kitchen.
Committee Room 1 can be
used for small groups or
committee meetings of up to
10 people.
In light of the fatal accidents, which were reported in the news
recently, as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, the
management of the centre have installed carbon monoxide
detectors in the boiler rooms which are linked to the fire alarm.
Further First Aid courses will take place in December 2012 and
each person will receive a three year certificate.
Going Green. In order to reduce our carbon footprint and
energy costs, the management have taken a number of steps. A
wood chip boiler has been commissioned in an attempt to
reduce our gas costs and work has begun to evaluate light
emitting diode (LED) technology lights around the centre, as
these lights consume approximately 80% less energy than
older lighting technologies.
Child Protection facilities have been upgraded in the last year
with the installation of access controls and intercoms.
St. Ita’s Hall can be used for
sporting or cultural activities
with up to 100 people.
Conference Rooms 2 and 3 can be used for group meetings of
up to 20 people either in a formal or informal layout. Each
conference room is equipped with a large computer screen.
Internet Access. BT Infinity Broadband and network facilities
are available throughout the centre.
St. Agnes’ Choral Society staged a concert “Music from the
Shows” in November 2011. This was the first concert in a
number of years and it was so well received that this year we
have invited the Fortwilliam Musical Society to give a concert
on 25th November 2012 and we hope to run other events in the
future.
3 4
Committee Members:
Charlie Clarke
Kevin Coyle
Paula Beattie
Michael Campbell
Eamon Duffin
Raymond Price
Donal Rooney
Margot Kennedy
Pat Polin
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
Vice Treasurer
Booking Secretary
Making a Booking. To book a hall or a room in the centre,
contact our booking secretary either by phoning or sending an
email to the centre. The contact details are given below.
CENTRE HIRE RATES
Room
Hourly Rate
Carryduff Hall
£15.00
Drumbo Hall
£10.00
Conference Room 1
£5.00
Kitchen (with facilities gas cooker) £10.00
Kitchen without facilities)
£5.00
St. Ita’s Hall
£15.00
Conference Room 2
£10.00
Major Functions (Féis etc) Agreed price on Booking
The above prices are valid until 31st August 2013.
Groups who use the Centre
123 Club
29th Belfast Scout Group
5 a Side
Apostolic Group
Junior Badminton
Badminton P Fitzpatrick
Bowls
Bridge Club
Carryduff GAC
Irish Dancing A Norney
Irish Dancing Mrs Murray
Karate Club
Kick-Off 4 Kidz
Play Group
Set Dancing
Speech and Drama
St Joseph’s Primary School
Tai Chi
Youth Club
Pilates Group
Kick-Off 4 Kidz is an activity class to help develop your child's (aged 2-5) football and
athletic skills. If you want to give your boy or girl an athletic kickstart and introduce
regular structured exercise, Kick-Off 4 Kidz is the perfect opportunity. Classes have been
running for 4 years, every Saturday morning. There are two classes: 2 years - 3 years:
9am - 9.45am & 4 years - 5 years: 10am - 10.45am. To reserve a place for your child at one
of the classes, please visit www.kickoff4kidz.com or call Mark McCann on 07593 333023.
The 29th Belfast Scout Group is the biggest Scout Group in Down and Connor and one
of the largest in Northern Ireland with some 200 youth members ranging in age from 621 years divided into 5 sections.
• Beaver Scouts: 61⁄2-8yrs
• Cub Scouts: 8-11yrs
• Scouts: 11-15yrs
• Venture Scouts: 15-18yrs
• Rover Scouts: 18+ yrs
What we do in Scouting
In Scouting, young people learn by doing. Activities, run using the Scout Method, are
the way scouts take their personal journey. The ONE Programme involves a variety of
activities and events, such as weekly meetings, regular hikes, sail training, monthly
overnights, periodic longer duration overnights and ceremonies to mark specific events.
It also involves challenges such as Adventure Skills, Special Interest Badges and the
Chief Scout Award which links with the Duke of Edinburgh and Gaisce Award Schemes.
Where we meet.
All meetings take place in St Ita’s Hall at the Parish Centre.
Contact
Section
Beaver Scouts
Beaver Scouts
Cub Scouts
Cub Scouts
Scouts
Scouts
Venture Scouts
Rover Scouts
Meet
Tuesday
Wednesday
Monday
Thursday
Monday
Tuesday
Sunday
Sunday
6.30-7.40pm
6.40-7.50pm
6.30-8.00pm
6.30-8.00pm
8.00-9.30pm
8.00-9.30pm
7.30-9.30pm
7.30-9.30pm
Contact
Siobhan Laverty 90812047*
Jerome Dawson 07899894471
Orla Meehan 07739384102
Jackie Dodds 07764766803
Seamus Napier 07730811916
Joe McGrady 07948270965
Pat Polin 07771794366
Pat Polin 07771794366
*Please direct ALL new member/waiting list enquiries Siobhan Laverty.
St. Joseph’s Bowling Club meets on a Tuesday evening from 8pm until 10pm. in St. Joseph’s Parish Centre. We have about 20
members and new members are most welcome. We play friendly matches with other churches in the Carryduff area. We play in a
great hall with great facilities. Contact Raymond McConvey, club secretary 028 9070 3242.
The Norney School of Irish Dancing meets in the Parish Centre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. All new members are
welcome.
Our aim is to promote and foster the culture of Irish dancing within our community.
Watch out for our Adult Ceili Class coming soon!
Contact Alison Norney on 07766001376.
The Adult Badminton Club has been in existence for around 30 years, and is open to anyone over 18, male and female. It offers
the opportunity to keep fit in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Although we do not play in a badminton league, you can still expect
to enjoy some very competitive games. We would encourage everyone to come along, even if your badminton skills are somewhat
rusty. We have about 12-14 people per night on average, so you can enjoy lots of games! The cost per night is £3, with no joining
fee, so why not come along any Monday evening 8pm to 10pm and join in the fun! If you wish you can contact Patsy on 90812640
or Jean on 90702739.
Carryduff Karate Club is part of the Ulster Karate Association and the World Karate Confederation. Carryduff has 25 members
aged 5-12yrs and meets every Tuesday 7-8pm. The club is growing each week and we are always looking for new members. We
also wish to start an adult class. Club instructor is Terry Boyle who is a wkc 6th dan black belt with nearly 40yrs experience and
is a world championship referee. Ulster Karate Association has trained Irish, British, European and World Champions both at
senior and junior levels. Anyone wishing information on the Karate Club or wants to start please contact Terry Boyle on 028 9087
7800.
3 5
The aim of the playgroup is to develop the children’s social,
personal and emotional capabilities and skills. The playgroup
has a range of activities for the children to avail of such as
water, sand, paint, puzzles etc, as well as a climbing frame,
bicycles, scooters, balls and hoops to develop their physical
skills. We ensure the children are happy, secure and safe in this
environment. If you require any further information please
contact Colette Murray on 07894903985 or alternatively at
[email protected].
St. Joseph’s Primary School
avails of the Parish Centre for
a variety of activities during
the school day as well as for
after-school activities. It is a
wonderful facility for the
children of our parish and is
much appreciated by both
staff and parents.
Coaching is provided for
Gaelic football, hurling and
soccer. From time to time,
other external groups use the
Parish Hall to support the
children in their learning as
evident in the Activ-8
Olympic Challenge! Pupils
enjoyed a number of physical activities including the zip line.
These were organised by Activ 8 as part of their Olympic
challenge.
St Joseph’s Playgroup was
opened in 1984 by a group of
parents within the Parish and
was the only pre-school
setting within the area at that
time. Initially the playgroup
catered for 50 children in their
pre-school
year.
The
Playgroup has been extremely successful throughout this time
and continues to be in great demand. It now caters for children
slightly younger than pre-school age.
Are you an expectant mother and
looking for private antenatal care?
Dr. Priscilla Devaseelan
M.D., DNB, MRCOG
Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist –
from the Parish of Drumbo & Carryduff
Services offered:
• Private antenatal care
• Pre-pregnancy counselling
• Early pregnancy scans
• Nuchal scans
• 3D/4D scans
• Anomaly scans/ growth scans
• Gynaecology consultations
Call:
028 9073 5200 / 028 9073 5233
www.priscillacares.com
3 6
You can deliver
your baby either at
the Royal Jubilee
Maternity Hospital
or the Mater
Hospital
What some Groups think of the Centre
Mark McCann, Kick-Off 4 Kidz.
“St Joseph's Parish Centre is a fantastic facility for enabling
classes of young children to undertake sporting activities. The
main hall is clean, spacious and has a great acoustic balance for
coaching. The recent upgrade of safety features is a real benefit
for a group which is attended by young children.”
Terry Boyle, Carryduff Karate Club.
“The club is very pleased to be using the good facilities in St
Joseph’s Parish Centre.”
Patsy Fitzpatrick, The Adult Badminton Club.
“Our Parish Centre provides excellent facilities and a very
pleasant environment to play badminton, and we are extremely
fortunate to have three courts at our disposal. This means you
are guaranteed plenty of healthy exercise, regardless of your
level of expertise.”
Could you
not watch
one hour
with me?
Eucharistic
Adoration
My soul is sad, my heart is breaking tonight
Could you not watch and comfort me until light?
Am I alone, surrounded only by night?
Could you not watch one hour with me?
Could you not keep awake for one hour with me?
Is it so hard that you should do this for me?
I die for you that you might always be free.
And so I weep, and there is no-one to hear
I am in pain; will no-one witness my tears?
I am your God, and as my passion draws near
(Francesca Leftley)
Matthew 26:36-38
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a
place called Gethsemane, and he said to
them, "Sit here while I go over there and
pray." He took Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee along with him, and he began
to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he
said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed
with sorrow to the point of death. Stay
here and keep watch with me."
We can follow the example of Peter and
keep watch with Jesus by participating
in Eucharistic Adoration. The
advantages and benefits of this devotion
are endless.
First of all, we get to realise that indeed
the Lord is Himself present in the
Blessed Sacrament. Our relationship
with Jesus becomes a more profound
relationship, where we can find strength
and comfort.
Second, we get to love the Eucharist and
all that is related to it: adoration and its
celebration in the parish community or
in a religious community. We get to
realise how truly the Eucharist is the
source and summit of Christian life.
From this we gain the strength to spread
and live the word of God.
Third, we gain not only partial or
plenary indulgences but we obtain
much spiritual insight and wisdom from
our prayers in Eucharistic adoration.
Fourth, by our practice of Eucharistic
adoration, we join with millions of
Catholics all over the world who pray
for the Catholic Church and its
institutions. We are therefore able to
pass on the faith to our children and to
others.
Fifth, it is true that by spending this
peaceful time with our Lord, our
families, our parish, our country, and the
world will benefit. We believe this
devotion is the answer to the need for
more vocations to the priesthood.
We pray also for the Church and for all
of us during all the stages of lives and
for our personal petitions.
Finally, there are for certain many other
benefits and advantages to practising
Eucharistic adoration in our Catholic
lives. We cannot put them all in this
article but we know that there are many
such blessings and graces that can be
wrought from the practice of this classic
spiritual exercise in our Catholic
tradition.
We strive to promote devotion to the
Holy Eucharist beyond Mass, by visiting
the Real Presence of Our Lord in the
Holy Eucharist. We enlist parishioners to
commit to one hour to sit with our Lord,
on Tuesdays from 10am to 7.00 pm or
Saturdays from 10.30am to 5.45pm.
Jo Anne McCourt
Epiphany
Three Kings seeking,
May we seek and journey, O God,
journeying in the dark
following the light
follow the light of a star. until we find
meaning in the manger
Three Kings kneeling
and fall on our knees.
find
richness in poverty
Martin Kelly
power in weakness
wisdom in dependence
majesty in a manger.
3 7
Wednesday Beavers
29th Belfast
Scout Group,
Carryduff
The Carryduff Scout Group continues to
go from strength to strength. With over
200 youth members, it’s one of the
biggest scout groups in Northern Ireland.
The Group is part of Scouting Ireland, a
multi-denominational, co-educational
youth association whose stated aim is to
encourage the development of young
people through:
• Use of the outdoors
• Working in small groups
• Learning by doing
• Commitment to a set of values
There are five main age groupings in
Scouting:
• Beaver Scouts 6-8 years
• Cub Scouts 8-11 years
• Scouts 11-15 years
The Wednesday Night Beavers
We in the 29th Beavers
believe that you can have
fun doing anything. And
from our experience the
Beavers get to have a lot of
fun!
We run a varied
programme which includes
overnight camps, first aid,
games, hiking, camp songs
and many more worthwhile
yet exciting activities. These
activities
are
always
rewarded through their
badge work and the badge
work leads us to many
exciting places – Australia,
China, America and France.
And loads more activities…
… in Viking ships
• Venture Scouts 15-18 years
• Rover Scouts 18-21 years
Above all, scouting is about having fun
and making new friends. Below is a
selection of photographs taken at some of
the activities undertaken by our members
over the last year.
… on bouncy castles
If you’re interested in youth or adult
membership, visit our website
www.29thbelfastscoutgroup.btck.co.uk
and find out a bit more about what
Scouting can offer you.
stains!
… and making grass
Joe McGrady, Group Leader
Group Photo with the Chief Scout, October 2012
… around the camp fire
… on slumber nights
3 8
The Beaver leaders have had nearly as
much fun and we have loved every
minute of it!
Tuesday Beaver Scouts –
Our Motto “Be Prepared”
Another new Scout Year began on 6
September 2011. Thirteen new beaver
scouts joined our colony just in time to
experience our Circus Group Camp at
Ardnavalley Scout Centre. October was
a spooky month with the Beavers
dressing up for their Halloween Party
and going to the County Ghost and
Witches Trip in Downpatrick – it was
spooktacular!
On the night of the
Halloween Party, the St. John Ambulance
Staff came to demonstrate how to treat
minor cuts/bruises/splinters.
St John’s Ambulance Staff give advice on vampire bites!!
In November, The Fire Brigade visited
the Scout Den and the Beaver Scouts
were allowed to use the hose and dress
up as a fireman as well as finding out
about different emergency services and
how to get help.
We decided to crank it up a gear and
challenged the parents to a “Are you
smarter than a Beaver Scout Quiz”. It
was a narrow victory to the parents who
were delighted with their prizes of
sweets, sweets and more sweets.
The now traditional annual picture of
Beaver Leader Seamus with the Panto
Dame!!
Beaver Scouts with Aladdin
On 6 December our new Beaver Scouts were invested. They received their Group
Scarf and Woggle and recited their promise “I promise to do my best, to be a good
beaver scout, to love God and to love one another”. December ended with the annual
Group Panto at the Waterfront to see Aladdin and yes, Jafar was a real baddie.
We introduced the Hillwalking Badge in February and organised a walk to Divis
Mountain. We explored Map Skills, Distress Signals, Survival Kits, Orienteering,
Camp clothes, How to pack a rucksack etc. “Bring it on” said the Beaver Scouts. One
Beaver Scout even gave up going to a party to attend the Divis Mountain Walk. Wow!
Beaver Leader Siobhan also celebrated a
very special birthday on the night of the
party.
For the first time in the history of Scouting, Scouting Ireland introduced overnights for
Beaver Scouts so we had a test run with a Slumber Night in the Scout Hall in April. It
was so successful; we decided to run the first ever Beaver Summer Camp. This was a
joint venture with the Cub Scouts at Ballyhornan Scout Centre. The Camp theme was
the Olympics, complete with a genuine Olympic torch which one of our Scouts, Aoife
Taggart, had carried during the official Olympic Torch journey to London 2012. We
commemorated this with every one of the nineteen Beaver Scouts receiving a T-Shirt
saying “My First Beaver Scout Camp”, and yes, the leaders got one too!
Proud Beavers with their “My First Beaver Scout Camp” T-shirts.
Beavers with the Olympic torch
3 9
Cub Scouts
Cub Scouts offers a fun filled educational
programme for both boys and girls. The
programme is designed to contribute to
the personal development of the young
person, encouraging them to make a
positive contribution to their community.
29th Belfast Scout Group has two Cub
Sections or “Packs”. One meets on
Monday evenings, the other on
Thursday evenings. The packs join up
for camps and outdoor activities.
We entered two teams into the County Dodgeball tournament in March, giving the
Cubs a chance to compete against other Scout Groups. The Cubs did themselves
proud, getting to the final.
As Summer approached, attention turned to the outdoors again. We had an evening
hike from Shaw’s Bridge and then spent our evenings practising our camping skills.
This year the Cubs had two camps. County Cub Camp was held in Tollymore Forest
Park in May, and allowed us to meet up again with St Michael’s Scout Group. Our
own Summer Camp was held in Ballyhornan in June, with an Olympic theme.
Our scouting year started back in
September and the first big event was
Group Camp in Ardnavalley. The theme
was the Circus and we were once again
very lucky with fine weather. The Cubs
enjoyed a variety of activities including
lessons from the circus school, acrobatics
and a petting zoo.
The annual County Cub Hike has held in
Castlewellan Forest Park on a very, very
wet Saturday in October. Our map
reading skills were tested when our
guide got lost! But all of our Cubs
completed the hike in good form. It was
agreed that if anyone was keeping a log
book, this should be recorded as two
hikes.
During the dark winter evenings when
the Cubs can’t get into the outdoors, our
theme was Film and Drama. The Cubs
worked very hard over a number of
weeks
planning,
scripting,
choreographing, auditioning, acting out
and filming short sketches. It gave the
Cubs a great opportunity to try some
new skills, but above all, it was great fun.
It all finished off with a cinema night in
the Scout Hall to screen the productions
while eating too much popcorn.
Followed by an “Oscars” ceremony.
Speeches were kept short and tears were
banned!
Our well equipped kitchen
Our campsite as the Cubs prepare for a
tent inspection.
Cubs learning to work as a team.
Cubs with the Olympic Torch
Some of the Oscar winners
4 0
Breakfast time on County Camp
The Olympic Medal winners
Scouts
The Scouts had a fabulous Scouting Year, starting with Group
Camp themed on Circus School at Ardnavalley for all the Beavers,
Cubs, Scouts and Ventures. We hadn’t time to pack our rucksacks
away and we were off for Halloween Camp and what a surprise
after our hike to end up back in the Hall!! A crisp November
Saturday found us hiking in the Mournes which we ended with
“I’m a Scout, get me out of here” at the old school house - cobwebs
and all. During the winter months, 25 of us took part in a crosscommunity project with East Belfast scouts. We had several
weekends away and a final hike in the Mournes.
The Scouts enjoyed the traditional trip to the Panto to see Aladdin.
Some of our Scouts with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine
(Smiley Happy Faces).
The enterprising Scouts find that
harnessing the power of the wind in
a sail saves on the rowing efforts.
The Scouts quickly find
their sea legs (even
though it’s a lake!)
Easter found us at Castlewellan canoeing, camping and pioneering. Those knots are
definitely getting better!
Our Scouts took part in a number of demanding Mountain Pursuit Challenges during
the year, hiking and wild-camping in the Mournes. They braved wild weather and
rough terrain to achieve their awards. A smaller hike in May by bus and rail to
Crawfordsburn proved very successful. And no-one saw Joe or Seamus hiding at the
train station. And no-one saw the girls with hiking boots and makeup on the bus! It
was the double-decker bus that stopped on the Saintfield Rd and the 30 scouts
tumbling out for Mass with rucksacks on back that proved quite a spectacle.
Walking the Causeway Coast – sunshine
in Summer 2012!!
The only hot Saturday in June found us hiking along the causeway coast from the
Giant’s Causeway to Ballintoy helping a group of stranded OAPS along the way. We
did manage a dip in Whitepark Bay.
Beacon Fell on
Summer Camp,
August 2012
Scouts on the Giant’s Causeway
Sunshine turned to rain and our new
scouts’ bivvy ended up in a hut with
curried chips.
However, we did
welcome the new scouts with climbing
walls, freshly baked scones and a few
pancakes!! (no bribery). We hoped for
sunshine for our Summer Camp in
August and that was what we got. We
accompanied 100 other Scouts from
Down and Connor to Blackpool. Isle of
Man, here we come Summer 2013!!
Pioneering at Summer Camp
Summer Camp Group Picture
4 1
Venture Scouts
Sept 2011 started another Venture Scout year, and it promised
to be as exciting and challenging as all the previous ones. In
Venture Scouts it is the responsibility of the young people to
plan all their activities which in turn helps to develop their
leadership and organisational skills. Our first camp was held
deep in the forested woodlands of Castlewellan Forest Park.
This camp set the tone for the scouting year ahead with each
small group being totally self-sufficient for a weekend, away
from the comforts of modern living and central heating. They
learned how to cook meals over open fires and how to build
sleeping shelters made from fallen trees.
Over the next few months everyone improved their cooking
and camping skills to the point where it became normal to Pat and the Venture Scouts at the Giant’s Causeway
prepare full meals with nothing more than an open fire and
some basic ingredients.
Later in the year, as part of a long term cross-community
project with a local Scout group from East Belfast, both groups
travelled together to London and visited the Houses of
Parliament. This is a cross-community, equality and diversity
programme sponsored by Castlereagh Council’s DPP and all
Venture Scouts are encouraged to participate as part of their
community social responsibility.
One of the highlights of the year was the annual ascent of one
of the four highest peaks in the British Isles and this year it was
the turn of Scafell Pike in England. The climb was magnificent 29th Belfast and 37th Belfast Group
and the difference from the dry base camp, to thick heavy
snow at the summit couldn’t have been more of a contrast.
Edinburgh was the venue for Easter camp and a whirlwind
tour of the city’s highlights proved a hit with all who attended.
During the months of May/June, Venture Scouts tend to go
into exam hibernation but this is a short lull and soon
everyone was ready for the annual Summer Camp to France
where they took part in many scouting activities and of course
visited EuroDisney. Overall, it was a great year, packed full of
activities and great memories. We wish our best to those who
left us in the Summer of 2012 to start their new lives outside of
scouting. Finally, a word of thanks to our Leader team of Pat
Polin, Eamonn McKnight and Lauren Hinds for their
invaluable support throughout the year.
Venture Scouts climbing on Snowdon, the
highest mountain in Wales
4 2
29th Belfast and 37th Belfast on Tower Bridge
Carryduff Venture Scouts at Edinburgh Castle
CHIEF SCOUT COMES TO CARRYDUFF
The Chief Scout made the long trip North on Sunday 21
October to join the 29th Belfast in celebrating the end of
a week of investitures and to take part in the Group Mass
Parade. What many of those present didn’t know was
that the Chief had another (secret) reason to come to
Carryduff.
At a reception in the Scout Hall after Mass three of our
leaders received well-earned rewards for their long
commitment and dedication to Scouting in Down and
Connor.
The Chief addressed a packed Scout Hall, outlining his
vision for Scouting Ireland in the coming years and
thanked the whole leader team for their service. He then
joined us for a Group photograph and was presented
with a 29th Belfast neckerchief and badge as a memento
of the visit.
with his
tion Leader is presented
Pat Polin, Venture Sec
Silver Merit Award.
Jerome Dawson, Beaver Section Leader and County
Chairman is awarded the Order of Cuchulainn and 30
Year Service Award
Siobhan Laverty, Group Sec
retary and Beaver Section
Leader receives her Silver
Merit and 20 Year Service
awards.
4 3
4 4
St Joseph!s Primary School and
Nursery Unit
Silver Award for St Joseph's Eco Committee
Congratulations to Mrs Downard and the Eco-committee who have achieved both the Silver and Bronze Awards for St Joseph’s.
This award is given by the Eco-School international programme in recognition of the school’s achievement in working towards a
sustainable lifestyle. The Eco-committee was delighted to receive these awards and is already working towards the next stage of
the programme and the achievement of a Green Flag in the near future.
Mrs Downard and
members of the Ecocommittee who won
the Bronze Award for
St Joseph’s
Primary 1 pupils Ben and
John help to weed the
vegetable garden.
As well as herbs, we are
also growing tomatoes,
onions, carrots
and potatoes
St Joseph’s wins
‘Youth Speak Challenge’
Grace and Lucy stepped up to the podium in style when they represented our school
in the Environmental Youth Speak Challenge at Castlereagh Borough Council! Their
presentations were lively and informative and they both spoke most persuasively
on the topic of ‘Shrink your bin…one less bag to landfill.’
Congratulations to Grace who was chosen as the overall winner of the Castlereagh
Borough Council area. She fought off stiff competition from other primary schools in
the area and went on to proudly represent St Joseph’s in the Northern Ireland Final.
Grace and Lucy with Mr Jim
White ( Mayor of Castlereagh)
Walk to School Month’ at St Joseph’s
Congratulations to all our Pupils and Parents who participated in the
‘International Walk to School Month’. The aim of this initiative was to
encourage our children to take more daily exercise and develop a
healthier lifestyle. In fact it was also an exercise in further developing
our social skills as children had the opportunity to meet up with their
friends and have a chat on the way to school! Approximately 80 pupils
took part in our walk to school and as you can see from the
photographs they thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience!
The Walking Bus operated each Friday in October starting in
Baronscourt Road, proceeding down the Manse Road ,Ivanhoe Avenue
and then on into school in time for the bell!
A big thank you to all our Parent volunteers who supervised the
children during the walk!
Parents and pupils enjoy walking to school each morning
Katie Taylor
Mo Farah
Watch Katie Taylor’s story unfold.
This is how she got her gold!
As you run the lengthy race
You have an amazingly fast pace.
As she is fighting in the ring,
She throws a deadly, punishing swing!
You knew you had to go for wins
For your new little unborn twins.
As she dodges from left to right,
She is desperate to win her gold medal fight!
A great big ambition has just come true
How lucky it is to be you!
You hear the roar of the screaming crowd,
You know her father Peter will be proud.
You came from Somalia having this dream
To win a gold medal and hear the crowd scream.
Travelling triumphantly back to Bray.
With her gold medal shining hip hip hooray!!!
All the medals will come and go!
But don’t let your family ever slip away ‘MO’.
Anna Quinn P7, St Joseph’s
Rebecca Cullen P7, St Joseph’s
4 5
St Joseph!s Primary School and Nursery Unit
Northern Ireland Dance Champions 2012
Once again the pupils of St Joseph’s Primary School Carryduff
have achieved the status of Northern Ireland dancing
champions. The team of twenty girls danced their way through
stiff competition on Saturday 10th March to win first prize in the
Northern
Ireland
Creative
Movement
& Aerobic
Championships. The girls have worked tirelessly with the
school’s dance coach Mrs Alanna
Wasson to reach this standard of
expertise. It was smiles all around
when the girls took to the floor with
their colourful costumes and makeup. The atmosphere of the event
was electric and winning the
competition proved to be the icing
on the cake!
Dancers from St Joseph’s who performed a prizewinning routine in the NICMAC championship
Ellen Erne performing
with the winning team
St Joseph’s Gaelic Team win the De La
Salle Tournament
Joseph and Conor with the shield won by
St Joseph’s Gaelic team
Congratulations to the Primary Six Gaelic football team who were victorious
in the annual De La Salle P6 tournament. The boys played games against Our
Lady’s and St Patrick’s, Downpatrick, Legamaddy and St Patrick’s, Saul in the
group stages of the competition. The semi-final was an intensely competitive
game with St Mary’s, Newcastle. The grand final was held in Downpatrick
against St Bridget’s who provided a stern test in the first period of the game.
However our defence was resolute throughout the final with St Bridget’s being
held scoreless and the victory was secured with a flurry of points in the latter
part of the game.
Team captain Joseph Tunney (P6 Mrs Donaghy) received the trophy on behalf
of the team and expressed gratitude to Mr Gilchrist (Our Lady’s and St
Patrick’s) and Br Christopher (De La Salle) for their efforts in organising the
tournament. He also offered commiserations and ‘Three Cheers’ for gallant
losers St Bridget’s.
Mr Donnelly - Marathon Man!
Primary Seven cross runners were keen to chat to Mr
Donnelly about his successful completion of the Belfast
Marathon. They were keen to learn about all the
preparations necessary to run a marathon including his
training regime.
The P7 cross
country runners
admire Mr
Donnelly’s
Marathon
medal
Spring is in the air for St
Joseph’s young musicians
A most appreciative audience of family and friends enjoyed a
programme of superb music performed by St. Joseph’s young
musicians which was held on Thursday 29th March.
Members of the school orchestra, choir, woodwind, recorder
group and brass band demonstrated their outstanding musical
talent in a most entertaining evening. It was a great tribute to
our music department including our teachers and peripatetic
tutors, all of whom helped to ensure the success of this
wonderful event.
Musicians tune up for St Joseph’s Annual
Spring Concert.
4 6
Young Medics in our Primary
Two A&E department!
Catholic Schools’ Week
Mr Ryan pictured
with Primary
seven pupils and
guest speaker Mr
Collins during
Catholic Schools’
week.
Primary 2 children
enjoy role play in
our hospital,
further developing
their language
skills and medical
expertise!
Grandparents’ Day in St. Joseph’s
Jack Collins and
his
grandparents,
Mr Seamus and
Mrs Bernie Rice
from Newcastle
who
participated in
Grandparents’
day at
St Joseph’s.
As part of Catholic Schools’ Week , Primary 4 pupils invited
their grandparents to a special Mass followed by refreshments
in the school hall. This was an extremely enjoyable event for all
involved and grandparents had the opportunity to view our
new school and meet the teachers! Many of our Grandparents
also went into the classrooms to share memories of their
childhood with the pupils. To the delight of their
grandchildren they also demonstrated skills and crafts which
they learned when they were at school which are not so
fashionable today, such as crochet, knitting, and baking soda
bread.
A programme of events was organised for all classes in St.
Joseph’s Primary School to celebrate Catholic Schools’ Week
(29th January – 3rd February 2012). A special assembly was held
in school on Monday 30th January to launch a week of prayer
and reflection within the whole school community.
The theme this year was ‘Christ’s Living Body Active in This
World’ based on the prayer written by St Teresa of Avila.
‘Christ has no body now on earth, but yours,
No hands but yours, no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks out
Christ’s compassion to the world.
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good
And yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now’
St Teresa of Avila
These words help us to understand what it means when we say
we are the Body of Christ. During this week we made a special
effort to show that Christ is active in our world through us.
Our guest speaker was Mr Edmund Collins who spoke to the
KS2 children about the life of St Teresa of Avila and about the
different forms of ‘Maturities’ - physical, emotional, intellectual
and spiritual all which we try to nurture in our children as they
progress through the school.
Donncha raises money for charity with his calendar!
It was a proud day for Primary 4’s budding photographer Donncha Campbell as his very own
calendar launched St Joseph’s Christmas appeal in aid of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Salvation
Army. Donncha’s calendar features a wonderful collection of photos inspired by the world of
nature. Ever since he received his first camera from Santa in Primary 2, Donncha has proven
himself to be a natural behind the lens. A keen photographer he has always enjoyed taking snaps
on every school trip and on family holidays. Now he has really put his skills to the test and
produced a fantastic calendar in aid of an extremely worthy cause!
Double Success for St Joseph’s!
Winners of the Olympic Handball Competition
It was a double success for St Joseph’s when the Primary 6 boys’ and girls’ handball teams
both emerged victorious in their respective sections! They competed in the handball event
as part of the South East Primary School Games Competitions. The competition was held
in Lough Moss Leisure Centre. There were participating teams from neighbouring schools
including Cairnshill, Loughview, St.Ita’s and Millenium.
The girls were unbeaten throughout all of their qualifying games. Their consistent success
was due to fantastic teamwork. They played at a fast pace with superb passing and
movement. The toughest game of the tournament was the final against Millenium, which
they clinched with great determination.
Likewise, the boys’ team demonstrated superb skill and determination through all the heats
and emerged victorious in the final game.
Their coach Mrs Rogan was justifiably proud of both teams’ performances!
4 7
Mrs Quinn retires
Good bye Mrs Malone!
Mrs Malone retired after 25 years
teaching in St Joseph’s and Mrs Quinn
retired after 17 years! Presentations
were made on behalf of the Board of
Governors, Principal and Staff .
We wish both teachers health and
happiness in their retirement!
Mrs Brownlee presents Mrs Malone with a
bouquet on her last day in St Joseph’s
Mrs Neeson and Fr Martin
present Mrs Quinn with a gift
on her retirement
Soccer Success for P7 Boys at St Colman’s
Olympians of the
future developing
their skills in
gymnastics!
Young gymnasts using the new
equipment in the school hall
Caolán, Adam, Simon, Conor, Jamie, Paul, Lorcán, Jack R, Rory, James, Jack L
Our Primary Seven Soccer team won the St Colman’s Tournament in Ballynahinch.
This was the inaugural 7-a-side soccer tournament on their spectacular new 2-G pitch
and the boys came top of their group with 4 wins and a draw. A total of 12 schools
participated in this Sporting event.
Proud team captain, Rory was presented with the cup by event organiser Mr Shane
Lawlor. The P.E. department of St Colman’s congratulated the boys on a steady
performance throughout the day and commended them on their magnificent team
work.
St Joseph’s teachers completed
training on the safe and effective use of
the PE equipment in our new school.
As can be seen from the photograph
the children are really benefiting from
this as they demonstrate their newly
acquired skills on the wall bars,
benches and ropes.
Finalists in Cumann na mBunscol hurling blitz !
The boys played St Mary’s, Dechomet, St
Mary’s, Aughlisnafin and St Dallan’s,
Warrenpoint in the group stages and won
all three matches. Their skilful play was
matched by their level of endeavour. St
Joseph’s qualified to play St Malachy’s,
Castlewellan
in
the
final
but
unfortunately lost out in a thrilling final
game.
Many of the team are P6 pupils and they
are already looking forward to playing in
the competition again next year and
hopefully, going one better!!
St Joseph’s hurling team which competed
in the Cumann na mBunscol hurling blitz
in Annesborough.
4 8
Rana’s Ballet
World Book Day in St. Joseph’s
Primary One pupils enjoyed dressing up
for World Book Day
Pupils from Nursery to Primary Seven
celebrated World Book Day in style! The
children dressed up as their favourite
book character including Harry Potter,
The Mad Hatter, Snow White and Sister
Brigid!
Young ballerinas warm up before their
performance in the school hall
r
Mrs Early as Siste
Brigid
Eva as The Mad
Hatter
P6 visit NI War Memorial
Euan, Ryan and Dylan try on soldier and
air raid warden uniforms
As part of their ‘World Around Us’ topic
for World War 2, the Primary 6 children
visited the NI War Memorial Museum in
Belfast. As well as dressing up in
uniforms from that era, they learnt about
the Blitz and how people coped with
rationing and how they had to “make do
and mend.” The pupils thoroughly
enjoyed the visit which gave them a
great insight into the war- time
experience.
On Tuesday 26th June a spectacular
ballet show was presented by pupils
from St Joseph’s in the school hall.
Scintillating performances by all of the
ballerinas were greeted with rapturous
applause from a most appreciative
audience of parents and children. All
pupils attend the ‘Royal Academy of
Dance’ and enjoy weekly ballet lessons
with their teacher, Rana.
Primary Three Reading Callenge
Dancers put their best foot forward!
“All the children completed a reading
challenge during Lent.
We read lots of books and rated each one
with stars and then recommended them
to our friends. Mr. Donnelly came in and
presented us with lovely bookmarks and
we got to choose three books each to
keep. We had a wonderful time!!”
by Jessica
Visit from EasyJet
Pilot
Mr Donnelly with P3 pupils who enjoyed
the reading challenge
St Joseph’s Morning Club
Meet Mrs. Brennan, Mrs. Murray, and
Mrs. Millar at the Morning Club in St.
Joseph’s Primary School! The Morning
Club is open from 8am to 8.45am every
school day. The children are kept busy
with lots of art and craft activities. There
are also lots of desk top games to play
and books to read. If you would like
more information about our Morning
Club contact St. Joseph’s school office
on 90813523.
Keelan and Conor with their father Mr
Doran who is a pilot with Easyjet
‘Keelan’s daddy came to visit us in
Primary One. He told us all about his job
as a pilot and answered all our questions.
We found out so much, like the fact that
planes have a horn to beep just like cars
do!’
4 9
We settled very well
We enjoy planting in nursery and
experimenting with plants. We planted a
wide variety of seeds – nasturtiums,
sunflowers, pumpkins, carrots and broad
beans. The children observed their plants
and took their nasturtiums home to plant
them in their gardens at home. We
planted sunflowers and broad beans in
our nursery garden. We also planted our
pumpkin plants in pots.The carrot plants
are growing in a root–vue container.
and were busy in our
Nursery garden.
^
“I’m digging in the soil with the spade to
put a plant in. I like plants because they
grow flowers and my mummy loves
flowers and my daddy loves flowers but
he doesn’t love daisies in the grass!
Flowers need water and sun to make
them grow. My mummy and me and
daddy bought new plants and they’re
starting to grow. We planted carrots and
pumpkins and sunflowers in nursery.”
Michael
Sophie and Janey plant out their
sunflowers in the Nursery garden
^
The children arrived in September to see
a wonderful crop of apples on our apple
tree. We observed the changes in our
apple tree in autumn and winter. In
spring our apple tree had a great display
of apple blossom and again the children
enjoyed discussing the cycle of the apple
tree.
Happy Anniversary
Fr Martin!
Christmas Blessings
and every
good wish
For the New Year
From
The Principal,
Staff and Pupils of
St Joseph’s Primary
School and Nursery
Miss Wynne and Isa from St. Joseph’s
Nursery congratulate Fr. Martin on his
46th anniversary as a priest
Siofra with her painting of the apple tree
5 0
Michael prepares the soil for planting
“I’m holding my painting of the apple
tree beside the apple tree. You can pick
the apples off the apple trees when
they’re ready. Look how many apples are
on my apple tree painting! There’s little
pink flowers on the apple tree and there
will be apples later. Trees are good. They
take away the bad air and give us the
good air. Apples and bananas grow on
trees and you can eat them. Animals live
in trees, squirrels, and birds make nests.
Wood’s from trees and paper’s made of
wood. You need to recycle so you don’t
lose all the trees.”
Siofra
^
into our new Nursery
Sophia, Alana and Emma were perfect angels in
the Nursery Christmas concert.
Sacraments - St Joseph’s First Holy Communion
Mrs Mc Loughlin’s
Primary 4 class
celebrating their First
Holy Conmmunion
mary 4
Mr Gilmore’s Pri
their First
class celebrating
n
Holy Communio
St Joseph’s Sacrament of Confirmation
Bishop Noel Treanor, Fr Martin and Fr Brian with Mr Ryan’s
P7 class as they celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation
Bishop Noel Treanor, Fr Martin and Fr Brian with Mrs Early’s
P7 class as they celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.
5 1
St Ita’ s Primary School and Nursery Unit
St. Ita’ s Cross Country Team Grows from
Strength to Strength
St. Ita’ s Pupil is Finalist –
‘ Primary School Musician of Year’
Phillip performing at the Final of Primary School
Musician of the Year
Cliona and David participate in the Tesco Great Fun Run
with Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton and World Record Holder,
Colin Jackson
St. Ita’s Cross Country Team is growing
rapidly from very quiet beginnings. In
May this year 30 children from
Primary 7 took part in the Tesco Great
Fun Run at Stormont. This event was
an attempt to encourage physical
activity and make children aware of
the upcoming Olympic Games. The
pupils and Mrs Kavanagh got to meet
Colin Jackson, former 110m hurdles
World Champion and World Record
holder. Although it was a fun race, a
group of 100 children competed in an
elite event. This event proved to be
very successful for St. Ita’s with
Timmy Scott finishing 2nd, Owen
McMahon 3rd and Orla Swail 4th (Orla
Tim Scott finishes second in was the 1st girl finished). What a
the Elite Cross Country Race fantastic performance by all three
pupils!
Timmy Scott, Owen McMahon and Niamh Farnan were chosen in February
to represent Co. Down in the Ulster Primary Schools Cross Country
Championship. The team also competed in the Castlereagh Borough Council
Cross Country Challenge. Timmy Scott ran brilliantly to win the boys’ race
with Owen McMahon finishing 4th. Strong finishes by the rest of the boys
lead to the team finishing in 4th place. Orla Swail finished in 6th place in
the girls’ race with Niamh Farnan finishing in the top 20.
This year St. Ita’s has again entered the Primary School’s Cross Country
League. Round One in Crossgar saw a stout performance from the team with
three girls finishing in the top ten. The team is now training twice a week
with coach, Mrs Scott and has its sights set on building on last year’s
achievements.
Rachel Scott from P6 recently competed in the Northern Ireland and Ulster
Cross Country Championships and was placed 3rd in the Under 10’s girls’
race. Congratulations to Rachel and all of our amazing athletes.
5 2
Last May, St. Ita’s pupils competed in the North Down Rotary Club Primary
School Musician of the Year. This prestigious competition attracts musicians from
all over Northern Ireland. St. Ita’s pupils were all commended for the very high
standard of their music. Phillip Stewart played brilliantly in his heat and reached
the final. Congratulations to Phillip and all of our other musicians who
represented St. Ita’s so well.
Music tuition in St. Ita’s continues to grow. This year our ABRSM Music Exams
were held over two days. A 100% success rate was achieved once again by our
talented and hard working musicians. Congratulations to all 46 musicians! Thank
you to our music tutors for their devotion and dedication.
St. Ita’s School Choir perform at the Annual Music Recital
Castlereagh Golf
Challenge Cup
St. Ita’s Golf Team enjoy
Castlereagh Golf Challenge Day
Last spring St. Ita’s sent a team of P7’s
to take part in the Castlereagh
Challenge Cup at Castlereagh Hill Golf
Course. This fabulous whole day event
encouraged a holistic approach to sport
through a series of fun workshops
which promoted exercise, healthy
eating and the basics of golf. The day
was completed with a golf competition
in perfect weather conditions. St. Ita’s
put together a great team score and
finished 4th overall. Congratulations to
our golfers for such a great effort.
Many thanks must go to Mr. Lavery
who looked after our golfers on the
day.
A Fantastic Community Day Spring Fair – a Big Hit, Well Done to St. Ita’ s PTFA
Maureen, Peter and James enjoy a
leisurely afternoon at St. Ita’s
Spring Fair
St Ita’s pupils enjoy the PTFA Halloween Fancy Dress Disco
Matthew enjoys the face painting stall
at the PTFA Spring Fair
The PTFA Spring Fair at the end of April proved a massive success. Families and friends came along
in huge numbers and supported this great afternoon. The weather even stayed fine. There was
something for everyone with the candyfloss stand by far the most popular! The PTFA would like
to thank everyone who attended and supported the day, those who donated prizes for the Tombola
and Ballot and to all the extra helpers who gave up their time to assist in making the day such a
memorable occasion.
The PTFA has worked tirelessly throughout the year to enrich the life of our school community
and raise valuable funds for new resources.
In June the PTFA presented a cheque for £4,000 to St. Ita’s which was used to purchase a new
handwriting scheme and the ongoing replenishment of reading material. Thank you to everyone
who gave their time to support the school during the many events throughout the year.
Maria outwits the Magician
St. Ita’ s Link with Forestside
- Spooky Moos
The ‘Moos on the Mall’ is an exciting schools and community
art project from Forestside Shopping Centre. St. Ita’s has been
chosen as one of three schools to take part in this ongoing
project. The project involves life size models of a cow and a calf.
The project’s first theme was ‘Spooky Moos’. Mrs Malone’s P1
boys and girls painted the calf and P6 pupils painted the cow
in spooky Halloween themes. The finished models were then
mooo-ved to Forestside Mall to graze alongside the Moos from
other schools. The public were asked to vote for their favourites
by making a small donation in their chosen Mini-Moos’
collecting box. All funds went to Barnados NI. The Moos will
now be returned to their original plain white colour in
preparation for the spring theme. Everyone in St. Ita’s is very
much looking forward to that next challenge and can’t wait to
add to the beautiful artwork already on display in the entrance Sophia, Sean, Olivia and Ben with the Spooky Moos decorated
adjacent to Marks and Spencer.
by Primary 1 and Primary 6 pupils
5 3
Sports Talk Evening A Big Winner
Sports Stars visit St Ita’s and inspire the audience with their
success and love of sport
St. Ita's held a Charity Sports Talk Evening in October. Pupils, parents,
grandparents and friends came along to hear a panel of stars answer questions
about their sporting lives and experiences filled with wit and humour. The
evening ended with a raffle of generously donated sporting memorabilia. A big
thank you to all of our guests - Noleen Lennon, Sean McGuinness, John Breen,
Neil McManus, Trevor Ringland and James McCartan . The evening was superbly
compered by the BBC’s Thomas Kane. A special word of thanks must go to
Kevin Blaney for organising this fabulous event and also to Anthony Kieran for
his generous sponsorship. Over £1,000 was raised on the evening which was
shared between St. Vincent de Paul and St. Ita's Sport’s Fund. Thank you to
everyone who attended, those who volunteered on the evening and everyone
who supported this event and helped to develop the profile of sport within St.
Ita's.
St. Ita’ s Commitment to Helping Others
At the heart of St.Ita’s is a genuine passion to help others in our community
and in the wider world. The school community has come together to raise
funds for numerous charities and causes over the past year.
Last December our families did not disappoint with their generosity and
wholeheartedly supported the parish Christmas St.Vincent de Paul Hamper
Appeal.
The Lenten Campaign in March 2012 raised an amazing £2,687 for Trocaire to
help alleviate poverty for rural communities in Uganda. This money was raised
by a movie day and a non-uniform day in the school.
In May St Ita’s held a non-uniform day for UNICEF and raised £350.
In June pupils and teachers wore their hats and shades to school to raise
awareness of the importance of taking care in the sun. Their donations raised
£313 to support the local children’s charity NI Cancer Fund for Children.
Miss Kettle’s P2 class enthusiastically raised an amazing £746 for Maurice
and Joanne Dowling to take to Rangsit Babies Home in Thailand
St. Ita’ s Link with Glenveagh and Taughmonagh
St Ita’s Primary 7 pupils were invited to take part in a cross community art project with
Glenveagh School and Taughmonagh Primary School. The project’s aim was to foster
relationships with children who have special needs and with children from a different religious
background. The project was led by artist Dawn Aston and the theme was linked to the World
Around Us. The project lasted for thirteen weeks and the children produced four mosaics
representing images from the seasons. The finished mosaics now adorn the outside wall of our
nursery school. All the primary seven children from St Ita’s had the opportunity to partake in
the project. There were 115 children from the three schools involved which has left a legacy
of friendship and understanding for our P7 pupils. Thank you to Glenveagh for hosting this
wonderful project.
Grace and Jack help to present the cheque to
Trocaire
Action Cancer provided an entertaining and educational
puppet show for P3’s and P4’s covering key messages in
a fun and interactive way. £100 was donated to Action
Cancer.
The first fundraising day in St Ita’s this school year was
the Jeans for Gene’s Day on 5th October. Teachers and
Pupils wore their jeans to school and donated £815.15
to support families whose lives are affected by genetic
disorders.
Two staff Coffee Mornings raised £276 for McMillan
Cancer Support and £170 for Action Cancer. We would
like to say a heart felt thanks to everyone who helped
St. Ita’s Charity fund raising in the past year.
5 4
William works alongsid
e a pupil from
Glenveagh on their mo
saic project
pture a
Glenveagh ca
The smiles at
ds
thousand wor
St. Ita’ s Pupils and Staff Embrace the Olympics
This summer’s Olympic Games created a real buzz around St. Ita’s. In May St. Ita’s received a
visit from a host of Irish Olympians. Dr Stephen Martin, Gold Medallist and Chief Executive of
the Olympic Council of Ireland was accompanied by boxers Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlon
along with Lisa Kearney from the Irish Judo Team. Pupils heard all about the preparations for
the games and had a chance to speak with the Olympians.
In June some of our parents, who had been involved in the Olympic Torch Relay, visited St.
Ita’s with their Olympic Torch. These visits along with St. Ita’s participation in the Olympic ‘Get
Set Network’ ensured that pupils were very much looking forward to London 2012.
St Ita’s pupils
join in the
Olympic Torch
Journey
Proud Olympians visit St Ita’s Assembly and
present Pupil of the Week Certificates
St. Ita’ s Rising Judo Star
One of the most popular after school activities in St. Ita’s is Judo with both boys and girls attending.
The activity is led by Cushla from The Ward School of Judo (Yamakwai). Aiobhinn Dougan from Mr
Treanor’s P4 class competed in the Leinster Open Under 24kg Judo Tournament in Dublin. It was a
very competitive tournament but Aiobhinn beat all the competition and was crowned champion.
What an achievement! Well done Aiobhinn.
Aiobhinn, Judo
Champion,
displays her judo
skills with Ruby
St. Ita’ s P7’ s are Top Scientists
St. Ita’s Primary 7 team won the SEELB heat of the 2012 Primary Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Challenge (STEM). This automatically
placed the team into the Primary STEM Challenge Final which was held in the
Odyssey on the 19th June. Alma Mc Dowell, Ryan Doherty and Emma
McKeown were faced with the task of designing a state of the art long jump
for the 2012 London Olympics using basic materials such as card, tin foil and
masking tape. They then had to create a working circuit that included a switch,
bulb and buzzer and attach it to their design. The team competed against 25
other teams from different schools across N.I. After designing and constructing
their model for two hours, they had to carry out a demonstration and give a
presentation. The judges were greatly impressed with their technical creations
and scientific explanations. The pupils and staff are very proud of their success!
Gaelic Games in St. Ita’ s
Gaelic Games in St. Ita’s are now well established and pupils participate in regular
league fixtures and organised tournaments. The support of our Parish Club and
Bredagh GAC has helped participation levels increase.
A recent visit by Down players continued to raise the profile of Gaelic football and
hurling. Pupils had an opportunity to meet county stars such as Ambrose Rodgers
and Benny Coulter. Mr Close, Mr Treanor and Miss McQuaid play a major role in the
development of Gaelic Games in St. Ita’s. The additional support from Castlereagh
Council and the Ulster Council with experienced coaches helps to drive home the
importance of physical activity. The continued support from the PTFA and the parents
of St. Ita’s means that the sporting future of St. Ita’s looks very bright.
5 5
Anna with the
fluffy barn owl
TACT visit St.
Ita’s Nursery
with a long
slithery snake
Celebrating Learning
in
St. Ita’ s Nursery Unit
Niamh and Noah waiting for Santa
5 6
Fiona Kettle, St Ita’ s Primary School
Northern Ireland Teacher
of the
Year 2012
This award is the most prestigious of all awards in
the field of education. Fiona was nominated for the
Pearson Teaching Awards after receiving numerous
thank you endorsements from pupils and parents.
Fiona, a parishioner of Drumbo and Carryduff,
graduated in July 2005 and was immediately
appointed on to the staff of St Ita’s where she is
now entering her eighth year of teaching. Fiona
was appointed Head of Religion in 2008 and in
March 2012 was successfully appointed as Head of
Foundation on the Senior Leadership Team.
Fiona was presented with her award at a ceremony
in the House of Commons in July 2012. Following
this, on Sunday 12th October, Fiona attended the
Teaching Awards Ceremony at the Victoria Palace
Theatre, London, accompanied by her family,
friends and teaching colleagues. This event was
televised by BBC and was aired on Sunday 28th
October. Fiona was shortlisted from a record
number of 20,000 nominations. A judging panel
came and observed Fiona teaching for a full
morning and interviewed her Principal, Governors,
teaching colleagues, parents and pupils.
On 20th June Fiona
Kettle was announced
as the Northern
Ireland Winner of
Teacher of the Year
2012.
Fiona with her proud parents,
Geraldine and Paul
Celebrating in style with colleagues after the
Victoria Palace Presentation
What makes Miss Kettle
stand out as ‘ Teacher of the
Year’ ?
The criteria for Northern Ireland Teacher of the Year
are very clear and objective. Evidence was
collected through observations, discussions and
data which had to show that Miss Kettle met all the
following assessment criteria• Create a climate for learning in the classroom
that is characterised by enthusiasm for teaching
and learning
• Draw creatively on a wide range of teaching
and learning approaches, high expectations and
outstanding results • Actively monitor the experience and progress
of each pupil and adjust their approach to take
account of the needs of individual pupils and
the class as a whole • Engage others in supporting pupils' learning
and development, including colleagues, parents
and other professionals • Contribute beyond the classroom to the life of
the school and show a continuing commitment
to their own professional learning and personal
development “Miss Kettle makes each lesson memorable and
fun-packed. She has a gift for finding ways to
capture the children's attention and develop and
challenge their creative thinking skills. Miss Kettle
always goes that extra mile!”
Miss Kettle met this all criteria with flying colours
and consequently became the overall winner of
Teacher of the Year in Northern Ireland. The judges
were simply in awe of her unique and outstanding
teaching qualities.
“Fiona Kettle is a creative, vibrant and dedicated
teacher with a dynamic and innovative teaching
style, who shares her love for learning with her
pupils, inspiring each child to reach their maximum
potential and always going 'that extra mile' to
Miss Kettle
celebrates with her
thrilled P2 class
This is what the judges and others
had to say about Fiona……
“Pupils, parents, staff and governors never cease
to be amazed by the innovative and dynamic
teaching style of Miss Kettle; her attention to each
child's needs and the sharing of her zest for
learning is contagious.”
make a difference. She is 100% aware of the
needs of each and every child and adapts her
teaching strategies appropriately. She facilitates
each group of learners with challenging,
appropriately differentiated activities to meet
individual needs thus ensuring each pupil is secure
and confident and feels that they can succeed.”
“Fiona is admired and adored by her whole
community, from her colleagues, senior
colleagues, parents, governors and of course her
pupils. Her classroom is described as a haven for
learning and every single inch of space is taken up
with stimulating and motivating displays.
Colleagues say she is an inspiration to everyone
with whom she comes into contact and describe
her as the ultimate role model for any young
teacher embarking on their journey in education.”
WELL DONE MISS KETTLE!
5 7
Sacraments
P3 pupils celebrated
the Sacrament of
Reconciliation on
Thursday 22nd
March 2012
Mr Treanor’s Primary 4 class celebrating their First Holy Communion
Ruby East wood reflecting on the Sacrament
of Reconciliation
I really enjoyed making my First Confession this
year. It was a very special day for me and my
whole family. My favourite memory is when my
Godmother Natalie came to see me in the Church.
During my First Confession I said “sorry” to God
for not showing love and he forgave me. We all
got a beautiful cross. I liked it when my friends
and I went onto the altar and Fr Martin blessed all
our crosses. When I was in Church I also prayed
for all the people I love.
P4 pupils celebrated the Sacrament of the
Eucharist on Saturday 19th May 2012
Kirsty Giffen-McGrath reflecting on her
First Communion Day
I was so excited when I woke up. My Mum and
Dad had decorated our house for the celebration
with lots of balloons and posters. I couldn’t wait
to wear my dress because my Nana and Mummy
helped me to pick a really beautiful one.
My Mummy, Daddy, Nana, Granda, Jim, Veronica,
Cathy and my cousin Ciarán came to the church.
My uncle Jim is special because he is my Godfather
and he was at my Christening. When I got to the
church, I saw my teacher and friends. I felt proud
when I saw the flowers I had planted with Sheila
and my class in our ‘First Communion Flower Bed.’
Fr Martin and Fr Brian were both there and looked
really happy. My parents were all biz that I was
making my First Communion. I really liked the
service. My class had to go onto the altar to mime
and sing the ‘Our Father.’ I really liked our actions.
When I received Jesus for the first time, I felt really
close to him. When I go to Mass now I feel bigger
and I understand how important Mass is. I will
always remember my First Communion Day and
how supportive my family were.
5 8
Miss Fitzpatrick’s Primary 4 class celebrating their First Holy Communion
P7 pupils celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation on
Monday 12th March 2012
Tim Scott reflecting on the Sacrament of
Confirmation
On 12th March 2012 I made my Confirmation. It
was a very exciting day. It was the first time we
were going to meet Bishop Treanor. We had
worked very hard with Mrs Kavanagh to learn
about the Sacraments and all the hymns we were
going to sing.
On the day we got out of school early because the
Confirmation Mass was at 3pm. We met my
grandparents at the church. My sponsor was late
so I thought my dad was going to do it. But after
10 minutes Paddy arrived. We all sat in rows with
our class and our sponsors sat in rows behind us.
Bishop Treanor was very nice. He spoke to us
about the meaning of Confirmation and explained
how we can use the gifts and fruits of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. Then he confirmed us. I took the
name Patrick for my Confirmation name. The Mass
was very long. After 2 hours we went to the Parish
Hall for juice and buns. I got my photo taken with
the Bishop and my family and with Mrs Kavanagh
and my friends. After the Parish hall we went to
Villa Italia for a family meal. Ben was there too. I
got pizza and a fudge nut sundae to eat. It was a
lovely day that I will always remember.
Mrs Gillespie’s
Primary 4 class
rst
celebrating their Fi
Holy Communion
Bishop Noel Trea
nor, Fr
Martin and Fr Br
ian
with Ms Flanna
gan’s
Primary 7 class
as they
celebrate the Sacr
ament
of Confirmation
eanor, Fr
Bishop Noel Tr
Brian
Martin and Fr
anagh’s
with Mrs Kav
s as they
Primary 7 clas
crament
celebrate the Sa
n
of Confirmatio
5 9
!he norney school of irish dancing
By Alison Norney
The pupils from the Norney School of Irish Dancing have enjoyed yet another
successful year. !One of the highlights was winning their first World title in April
2012 at the World Dancing Championships held in the City West Hotel,
Dublin. !Six of the dancers were also lucky enough to be selected by Adare
Productions in Dublin to compete in TG4's 'An Jig Gig' and won their way
through to the Final Show. !Congratulations to everyone.
BELFAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
Back row (l-r): Sinead Turner, Phillip Stewart, Niamh Gorman.
Front row: Lucy Franklin & Emer Maguire
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012
(l-r) !Emer Maguire (4th place in Under 13 Girls C'Ship),
Niamh Gorman (1st place gold medal winner),
Bronagh Maguire (1st place gold medal
winner), Amy Foy (5th place in Under 15 Girls C'Ship)
Amy Foy pictured with Father Martin Kelly. !Amy
won the Under 15 Championship at the Belfast
Regional Branch Open Feis held in St Joseph's
Parish Centre in February 2012.
6 0
ULSTER CHAMPIONS 2011 - Winners of the
Under 16 4 Hand Dance and Under
16 Ceili Championship and Amy Foy 3rd place winner in
Under 15 Girls
Championship Back row (l-r) Clare Boyd, Shona Galway,
Niamh Gorman,
Caitlin Galway !Front row (l-r) Aine Barbour,
Emma Neilan, Amy Foy,
Katie Magorrian & Emily Connor.
The Quarter Final
Celtic Feet perform the “Wizard of Oz”
WORLD CHAMPIONS 2012
Back row (l-r) Eve McKernan, Emer McElroy,
Ruth Toner, Father Martin
Kelly, Beth McKernan, Emer Maguire, Lucy Franklin
Front row (l-r) KateNeilan, Caoimhe Gorman, Tara Robinson,
Chloe Magee & Olivia Meehan
The Semi-Final Celtic Feet perform “Shrek”
ULSTER CHAMPIONS 2011
The Senior Girls also won the Senior Ceili Dance and Invented Dance at
the Belfast Regional Branch Championships 2012.
Back row (l-r) Rebecca Darragh, Caoimhe Holly, Katie Gorman, Aoife
Turner, Emma Darragh, Niamh Gorman Front row (l-r) Aine Barbour, Nicola
Henderson, Sinead Turner & Caitlin Galway.
The Final Show of An Jig Gig
Celtic Feet perform “Grease”
Pupils from the
Norney School
of Irish
Dancing
perform at the
Indian
Community’s
Christmas
party in
Dunmurry,
2011.
Celtic Feet (Norney School of Irish Dancing) perform
“Cinderella” in the first live show of TG4’s An Jig Gig.
6 1
GAA
Daichead bliain ag tabhairt chuig an Phobail
Forty Years of Contribution to the Community
It has been another great
year for Carryduff Gaels as
the club celebrated 40 years
of contribution to the local
community.
The
Anniversary
was
formally
celebrated with a Gala Dinner Dance
held in October in the prestigious Titanic
Building. Club stalwart, Barney Clarke
was inaugurated into the club's hall of
fame to a standing ovation from all
present, a fitting recognition of the
CarryduffGAC Strictly Come Dancing competitors at the Launch Event Jan 2012
Barney Clarke (Left) inaugurated into
Carryduff GAC Hall of Fame receives his
award from Club Chairman Paddy Love
Gala Dinner Dance 13.10.2012
In January the launch of Carryduff’s
Strictly Come Dancing matched off 8
pairs of dancers to compete for the
champions’ title at the event held in the
La Mon House Hotel on the 13th April.
The event was an unprecedented success
and went right to the wire before Eugene
McNicholl and Mary Early were crowned
champions.
contribution this colourful character and
founder member has made over the 40
years of the club's history. The audience
were captivated by the screening of a
commemorative DVD produced by
Declan Keeney of Echo Productions.
The May Festival Weekend was a great
success, including a historical walk
hosted!by Carryduff GAC and Carryduff
Historical Society and a music session
and a Cór Carryduff recital in the large
marquee at the club grounds.
The children (and adults!) who attended
thoroughly enjoyed the club’s August
Summer Activity Days.
Ladies Football
participating by invitation in the Antrim
Minor League, won the title. The ladies
were unfortunate to come runners-up in
the St.Gall’s Sevens competition, losing to
the hosts in the final. Carryduff Senior
Ladies were also very unfortunate not to
complete a historic double. The Ladies
secured the Senior League title after a
very competitive campaign but were
disappointed to lose the Senior
Championship Final to Bryansford in a
very competitive and sporting final. Best
The club was delighted that Erin
Robinson and Jessica Foy collected
Ladies Football Colleges All-Stars
awards and the competitive season got
off to a bright start as Carryduff Minors,
Carryduff GAC Ladies Colleges All-Stars
Jessica Foy and Erin Robinson with the
All-Ireland Colleges Shield
6 2
Strictly Come dancing Winners
Eugene Mc Nicholl & Mary Early
Minor Ladies Antrim League
of luck next year girls! The Junior Ladies
competed well in their league but lost in
the Championship to a very strong
Ballymartin outfit.
Emma Norris, Sarah Tunney, Kerry
McGowan, Olivia Ferrin, Ellen Maguire
and Oonagh Lavery resented Down
Under 14s in the Ulster Under 14 B final.
Down lost to Cavan in the final but the
girls had the experience of competing too
in the All-Ireland Blitz.
Carryduff Ladies Senior Championship Final Panel
Football
Carryduff senior footballers experienced
considerable pressure as a consequence
of injury and loss of a number players
through work commitments. The Seniors
maintained Division II status but fell to
neighbours Bredagh in the Intermediate
Championship
and
the
seconds
maintained their ACPRL Division I
status.
The thirds fulfilled all fixtures in the East
Down Reserve League. Sean McGonigle
and Donal McKeever represented Down
in
the
Ulster
Minor
Football
Championship and both lads have
another year at this grade. The under-12
Football squads completed a remarkable
and historic double when on 11
November they brought the East Down
Year 9 ‘A’ and ‘C’ Championship titles to
Carryduff. The lads also won the
Ballyholland tournament and St. Teresa’s
Tournament ‘A’ squad claimed the East
Down Under-12 League title. The Under14 ‘A’ Team lost the East Down A Under14 Championship Final to Saul.
Carryduff Year 9 'A' Team - winners of the East Down
Year 9 'A' Championship Trophy
Donal McKeever (left) and
Sean McGonigle Carryduff
GAC's County Minor duo
Carryduff Year 9 B Team - winners of the East Down Year 9 'C' Championship Trophy
Carryduff U-12
Winners of the
East Down
Section A
Football
League with
East Down
Chairperson
Sean Mac
Caisin
Carryduff
Under 12s winners of the
Ballyholland
Tournament
Carryduff Squad U-14
Championship Final v
Saul at Ballykinlar
6 3
Down star
Kalum King
with the
victorious
Carryduff
under 8 squad
Carryduff
Under-8
Tournament
The Inaugural Peter Cassidy Under-10 Memorial Tournament, the Terry Lawlor
Under-12 Memorial Tournament and the Under-8 tournament when Down star Kalum
King was on hand to present the trophies and medals to participants were all
resounding successes.
Carryduff Captain Dermot Donaldson
accepts the Lakeside Autos Cup from
Catriona Conor and Mrs Roisin Cassidy
Peter Cassidy Tournament
Despite the Minor ‘A’ footballers losing to Burren in the All-County Minor
Championship, success came the way of the Minor B squad who collected the AllCounty Minor C Championship title at the expense of Drumgath.
Terry Lawlor under-12 Memorial Tournament
Minor C Championship final
Hurling
The Hurling Year started
brightly for the club with the
announcement that
Seán Ó Callaghan
had been given captaincy
of the County Minor Hurling
Squad. What a great year it
turned out to be as Sean
captained Down Minors to Ulster Minor Hurling
Championship success for the first time in 19
years and was assisted by club-mates Conor
O’Neill, Conor McCormick and Ciaran Goodwin
as Down secured a superb victory over Antrim.
Later in the year Sean, Ciaran, Gareth and Conor
returned to club colours to help Carryduff lift their
second County minor club title in succession –
this time the 2012 County Minor ‘B’
Championship.
The Under-14 Hurling squad completed a
remarkable treble in 2012. The lads became the
first team from the club to capture a Down Féile
title in May 2012 and went on further to annex the
Ulster Féile title beside it. The lads then went on
to claim the All-County Under-14 Hurling
Championship title in September. Eight of the
6 4
Victorious Carryduff U14 County Hurling Champions
panel were selected for the county development
squad with Donal Og Rooney having the honour
of captaining the county team.
Sterling work continued at other levels. The
Seniors reached the Betsy Gray Cup final and
also represented Down in the All Ireland Junior
Sevens in September, qualifying for the quarter
final stages. The Under-16s found it tough at the
top playing at A grade this year – however one U16 player - Ciaran O'Callaghan- became an All-
Ireland winner with Down. Our U-16 manager
Peter Murray was also involved in County
management.
Club members also contributes significantly to
success in Our Lady’s and St. Patrick’s Knock –
seven club players were involved in the Leopold
Cup (Year 11) victory and six assisted the school
win the BT McFarland Cup (3rd year Hurling) and
five were in the O'Mahony Cup (Year 8) winning
squad.
Cultúr agus Teanga Culture and
Language
The club continues to promote
participation in Scór na nÓg and
Scór Sinsear and promotes the
Irish Language through its Senior
and Junior Irish Classes. The club
awards its own Gaeltacht Scholarships to assist
those who have not obtained scholarships from
Féis An Dún or other sources. Cór Ceathrú
Aodha Dhuibh (Carryduff Choir) was instigated
this year and Niall Dynan who won the Whistle
Slow Airs (Foinn Mhalla Feadóg) in the age 1215 years category at the Fleadh Cheoil na
hÉireann 2012 in Cavan. Niall also won the Ulster
Title in Dungiven at the end of July. A fantastic
achievement for a very talented young musician.
Comhghairdeas do.
First Senior Hurling Challenge 2008
A Decade of Hurling in Carryduff
Its not just the church of Immaculate Heart of Mary
that celebrates its tenth anniversary this year;Hurling in Carryduff is ten years old.
Just prior to Christmas 2002, a group of
enthusiasts came together at the behest
of the club committee to promote hurling
in Carryduff GAC. The first competitive
game took place in May 2003. What a
decade its been - hurling has gone from
strength to strength in the Parish,
building on our already successful
football reputation, making Carryduff a
renowned ‘dual’ Club in Down and
beyond.
2013 will be the year of ‘The Gathering’
- we want to bring together all those who
have played or helped out in those ten
years. Just as important, plans are also
being put in place for our next ten years.
To make progress into the future, we will
need more players, coaches and
helpers – perhaps you have moved into
the Parish recently and want to stay
involved in hurling; perhaps you have
played for Carryduff before but have not
been involved lately; perhaps you have
‘no previous experience’ – whatever
your background, you can make a
contribution to taking hurling forward
and building on the successes of our
first ten years.
Those successes have included the following
milestones:
• First game played on 3 May 2003 ( v. Darragh
Cross Under 13s)
• A first Under 16 County league title in 2006
• Establishment of an adult hurling team in 2008
• Winning the Down Minor Hurling Championship in
2011 – the first club to ever take the MHC title out
of the Ards peninsula- and the ‘B’ MHC in 2012
• Winning the Down Junior Hurling Championship,
also in 2011
• Representing Down at All Ireland Feile in both
2011 (in Galway) and 2012 (in Dublin)
• Winning the 2012 Down Under 14 League,
Championship and Feile titles
• Representing Down in the All Ireland Sevens in
Dublin (2012)
• Selection of our players at all levels on Down
County teams
It has certainly been a decade of success but hurling
in Carryduff is about more than just winning titles. It is
about enjoyment and participation and any players
–old or new- will be made most welcome. if you can
help in any way and want to contribute to our next
decade, contact Mickey on 07871058832 or any
committee member.
Under 14 Hurlers 2007
Victorious Junior Hurling Champions 2011
Under 15 Hurlers 2008
Carryduff All-County Minor Hurling Champions 2011
6 5
Baptisms:
Baptisms: November 2011 – November 2012
Erin Katharine Kelly
Nicole Mary Flynn
Brandon Martin Brady
Emily Rose Kerr
Olivia Claire Mc Keown
Ella Rachel Craig
Helena Eve Woods
Adam Conor Currie
Sophie Lily McDonnell
Evie Mona Wallace
Benjamin Michael Farry
Anna Catherine Murray
Zac Arthur Kelly
Sienna Mary Brennan
Arrianna Rose Brennan
Aidan Patrick O’Callaghan
Cillian Anthony Forsythe
12th Nov
13th Nov
13th Nov
13th Nov
20th Nov
27th Nov
27th Nov
27th Nov
4th Dec
11th Dec
11th Dec
11th Dec
11th Dec
11th Dec
11th Dec
17th Dec
18th Dec
2012
Aidan Francis Lau
Eabha Mairead Houston
Júlia Donnelly Fargas
Martin Francis Keenan
Shay Andrew Baírre Smith
Patrick Joseph Preston
Conall James Race
Daniel John Clarke
Dillon Stephen Payne
Caolan Paul Fitzpatrick
Anna Maureen O’Kane
Joseph ryan Michael Conway
Kitione Cormac Thomson
Alexandra McCleary
Ben Harold David Murray
Leo Conor Curran
Leah Michelle McCord
Charlie William Cleland
Seán Michael Holland
Shea Anthony Byrne
Saoirse Alexis McNeachtain
Penny Mary Larsen
Catherine Margaret McCrossan
Thomas James Mooney
Eva Maria Gallagher
Sarah Rose O’Sullivan
Amelia Rose Dean
Aidan Patrick Lenehan
Cara Catherine Toner
Erin Rose Collins
1st Jan
1st Jan
1st Jan
8th Jan
14th Jan
22nd Jan
22nd Jan
28th Jan
29th Jan
29th Jan
29th Jan
29th Jan
5th Feb
9th Feb
12th Feb
12th Feb
12th Feb
12th Feb
19th Feb
19th Feb
19th Feb
19th Feb
19th Feb
26th Feb
26th Feb
26th Feb
26th Feb
4th Mar
4th Mar
4th Mar
6 6
Caitlin Rose McTiernan
Kathleen Isobel Donaldson
Samuel Joseph Bowman
Alex Charles McKenna
Sháy Hillan
Chloe Olivia O’Neill
Cillian Samuel Fitzpatrick
Amélie Jane Mitchell
Ellie Cleland
Joseph Brian Loughran
Eva Mary Williams
Sienna Hope McClure
Zac Dakota McClure
Conal Patrick Jude Miskelly
Luke Henry Fox
Dara Gerard McHugh
James Gerard Breen
Orla Mary Fitzsimmons
Austin Paul O’Neill
Laura Mary Cunningham
Emma Cunningham
James Gerard Hanna
Emily Ellen Toner
Jonah Michael Slevin
Enda Ó Loingsigh
Maria Aoife Loughlin
Eimear Kathleen Foley
Aidan Liam O’Hagan
Tóla Eabhann McKee
Conor Patrick Guinness
Zachariah Goodman
Amelia Elizabeth Woods
Harry Thomas James West
Conal Anthony Michael Corsar
Ella Grace Harvey
Lianna Sarah Fearon
Eva Clifton
Meadow Lily Watters
Beth Sarah Burke
James Gerard Dolaghan Smyth
Niall Conor Murphy
Matthew John McCourt
Ella-Faith Hanna Sloan
Felix Kieran
Tessa Caroline Rocks
Holly Kate Coey
Jeorge David Mauricio Villela
Niamh Anne Reilly
Ava Marie Dooher
10th Mar
11th Mar
11th Mar
18th Mar
18th Mar
18th Mar
25th Mar
25th Mar
25th Mar
1st April
1st April
1st April
1st April
7th April
15th April
15th April
15th April
22nd April
22nd April
29th April
29th April
29th April
29th April
29th April
29th April
5th May
6th May
6th May
20th May
27th May
4th June
16th June
16th June
17th June
17th June
17th June
24th June
24th June
1st July
1st July
1st July
8th July
8th July
8th July
8th July
22nd July
22nd July
22nd July
28th July
Baptisms:
Cara Mary Haughey
Grace Erin Neeson
Patrick Thomas Michael Conway
Oliver Patrick Prenter
Jessica Mairead Garvin
Aidan Arthur Patrick O’Driscoll
Daniel Craig
Daniel James Barr
Matthew Joe Palienko
Amelia Rose Lavery
Marley Riker Minnette McGrath
Odhran Cillian McConaghy
Megan Louise Peel
Joseph Alexander Curran
Lorcán Herbert Martin Gardner
Sophie Veronica Laight
Emma Ann Alice Hodkinson
John Joseph Leonard
Corey Lowey
Conor Eamonn Neal
Theo Nicholas Boyle
Emily Claire O’Reilly
Eadaoin Napier
Rose Mona Mc Cartan
Faye Maria Johnston
Lorcan Patrick Conway
Eoin Cahal Neeson
Odhran Anthony Moohan
Katherine Sarah Corbett
Ruby Tracey Rybnikar
Dylan James Campbell
Oran Daniel Lunny
Eimear Grace Donnelly
Aimee Elizabeth Ward
Cali Feliza Margo Mc Mullan
Corrah Jane Milne
Erin Mary Scullion
Grace Maria Magee
Alanna Katherine Bunting
Blake James Loughlin
Davin Samuel Mc Aleese
Charlie Paul Grimes
Chloe Isabella Townsend
Luca Francis Duggan
Chloe Colette Colton
Nicole Mc Keown
Peter John Cunningham
Oisin Thomas Mullen
Eleanor Ann Heaney
29th July
29th July
29th July
29th July
5th August
5th August
5th August
5th August
12th Aug
12th Aug
19th Aug
19th Aug
19th Aug
26th Aug
26th Aug
2nd Sept
2nd Sept
9th Sept
9th Sept
15th Sept
16th Sept
16th Sept
16th Sept
23rd Sept
23rd Sept
23rd Sept
30th Sept
30th Sept
30th Sept
30th Sept
7th Oct
7th Oct
7th Oct
7th Oct
14th Oct
14th Oct
14th Oct
28th Oct
28th Oct
28th Oct
28th Oct
4th Nov
4th Nov
4th Nov
4th Nov
11th Nov
11th Nov
11th Nov
11th Nov
Marriages:
Marriages: January - October 2012
Ursula Graham & Gilbert Lysaght
27th Jan
Laura Sumington & Martyn Watters
24th Feb
Maeve Mc Donald & Warren Boyd
21st Apr
Maria Maguire & Adam Woodside
19th May
Sinead Owens & Colin Wasson
25th May
Catherine Doherty & Arthur Mc Nally
2nd June
Emma Mc Grattam & David Mc Court
30th June
Deirdre Conlon & Paul Devine
19th July
Lucy Hunter & Ciaran Toal
10th Aug
Kelly Mc Allister & Christopher Magee
18th Aug
Mary Clare Bradley & Conor Reilly
23rd Aug
Caroline Copeland & Paul Bannister
30th Aug
Ciara Allen & Conor Mc Greevy
3rd Sept
Caroline Crawley & Patrick Durkin
20th Sept
Louise Mc Elvenna & Michael Monan
28th Sept
Gemma Mc Alinney & Walter Mc Bride
29th Sept
Maeve Turner & Robert Mc Grady
18th Oct
6 7
Autumn Poem
The whistling day of Autumn
The leaves floating to the ground
They are swirling round
and round
They’re changing to red,
orange and gold
The wind is whistling
in my ears
The leaves are hovering everywhere
They are twirling as fast
as they can
They are swaying side to side
They crunch when you walk
on them
The animals are hibernating
The leaves are dancing everywhere
The leaves finally falling
to the ground.
Rory Cunningham P4
St Ita!s
Resurrection Prayer
Most merciful Father, we commend
our departed into your hands. We
are filled with the sure hope that
our departed will rise again on the
Last Day with all who have died in
Christ. We thank you for all the
good things you have given during
our departed's earthly life.
O Father, in your great mercy,
accept our prayer that the Gates of
Paradise may be opened for your
servant. In our turn, may we too be
comforted by the words of faith
until we greet Christ in glory and
are united with you
and our departed.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
6 8
Deaths:
December 2011- present
Mary Tully
Edward Cunningham
James Mc Mullan
Malachy Austin
Alice Mc Mahon
Eileen Quinn
Paddy O’Hare
Peter Mc Conville
Mary O’Neill
Noreen Fahy
Kathleen Maguire
Ernest Shimmin
Kathleen Gargan
Susan Armstrong
Baby Gisele Jasmine Magada
Michael O’Reilly
Baby Carney Maisie Murphy
Jim Mullan
Josephine Traynor
Tom Healy
Michael Duffy
Sheila Ward
Phylis Mc Kenna
Jackie Burke
David Sutherland
Rose Mc Closkey
Paul O’Neill

the December 2012 Parish Magazine online

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