My Jimdo Geocities Lifeboat
==============================
If you take three meals of nettles between old May Day and
New May Day you wont be sick for the year. You must not use nettle from under trees, they are bad and you must not use them when they are in flower. The flowering nettle is bad also. You must give them two (separate) boilings before you may use them with meat. They are not then "strong"
(Denis Lyons, Croom)
(Query? When is Old May Day? Is it the 20th of April? D.O.C.)
Location: Croom, Co. Limerick Teacher; Dáithí Ó Ceanntabhail
Collector- Dáithí Ó Ceanntabhail - Occupation Múinteoir
Informant P. Dore Age 56
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922036/4921062?HighlightText=nettles&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga
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Ruins of an Old Chapel; Location: Aillebrack, Co. Galway
In the graveyard around the Chapel are two large tomb-stones also. The inscriptions on them are almost obliterated. It is said that when Aillebrack school was being built, limestone slabs were brought from Inishmore, Aran Islands, for the window-sills, corner stones, +c.
Canon Lynskey, who was Manager then, detected the inscription on one of the window-sills, so he had it taken down and removed to the old grave-yard one night.
Collector A. M. Kennelly
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Sunday Firesides: To Have It, You Must Be Able to Do Without It
Brett & Kate McKay • July 27, 2024
Some people have experienced an interesting phenomenon: when they were actively and eagerly looking for a romantic partner, they couldn’t find one; then, once they stopped looking, someone came into their lives.
One of the paradoxes of life is that the more you desire something, the less suited you can be to have it.
A man with an overweening desire for a significant other not only evinces a desperation that’s unattractive to the opposite sex, but, should he manage to land a girlfriend anyway, will seek to hold onto her at any cost, engaging in the kind of subservient behaviors that will curdle the relationship in the end.
A man who must be a success falls prey to making ethically questionable decisions or implementing cringe-inducing strategies that, though they generate short-term gains, will doom his efforts in the long run.
A man who has an immoderate longing to make a friend betrays a neediness that repels the very companions with whom he hopes to connect.
To win and secure the thing you seek, your desire must be potent enough to energize and animate, but not so all-consuming it smothers and corrupts. You must want it, but not need it.
A man is most likely to attract a partner when he already finds his own company companionable.
A man is in the best position to succeed when he can still be happy and whole if he fails.
A man is only fit to have a friend when he can live contentedly without one.
Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!
==========================
Joseph Pronechen Travel
July 28, 2024
Photographing all 193 cathedrals and 93 basilicas across the United States seems like a daunting project for anyone. But 10 years ago, Andrew Masi determined to visit and photograph each one — from east to west, north to south.
On Sunday, July 21, Masi headed back to the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where his idea became firmly planted. He considered this visit a “homecoming” to the place where he decided to begin this quest as a “spiritual pilgrimage to visit and photograph all the Catholic cathedrals and basilicas in the United States,” he told the Register. “I just celebrated my 10th anniversary this past April.”
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Exercise for energy
As much as you may want to spend your first day of vacation lounging in your cozy hotel bed, it’s better to get up and move, says Emily Schmitt, who runs the Circadian Rhythm and Exercise Research Lab at the University of Wyoming.
On your first morning in a new time zone, do 20 minutes of activity, she suggests. “It doesn’t have to be an all-out sprint or a hard CrossFit workout," she says. "It could simply be wandering down to your local coffee shop.” Anything that gets you up and out of bed in the morning will help your body perk up and adjust to its new surroundings, she says. It may also help your digestion get back to normal.
https://time.com/7001547/how-to-avoid-jet-lag/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-gb
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O Connor artwork
https://listowelconnection.com/michael-oconnor-of-no-24-the-square-listowel/
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English reflection
https://youtu.be/-35RJne0Hqk?si=SoRziic7Yhi_MqrT
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PYTHON: The mother-of-four had gone missing Thursday night and failed to return home, forcing a search effort, village head Suardi Rosi told AFP. ----------------------------------
Reports of humans being killed by pythons are extremely rare but several people have died in Indonesia in recent years after being swallowed whole by pythons.
Last year, residents in Southeast Sulawesi's Tinanggea district killed an eight-meter python, which was found strangling and eating one of the farmers in a village.
In 2022, a woman in Indonesia's Jambi province was killed and swallowed whole by a python, the BBC reported, citing local media.
In 2018, a woman was found dead inside a seven-meter python in Southeast Sulawesi's Muna town.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/python-swallows-woman-whole-indonesia/
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DISH Washing; If by-hand dishwashers switched from the running tap to the two-basin method, they could reduce associated greenhouse gas emissions by about two-thirds.
https://news.umich.edu/fighting-climate-change-at-the-sink-a-guide-to-greener-dishwashing/
----------------------
By Chris Baraniuk
23rd February 2024
From Australia to Ontario, cities are taking up unnecessary stretches of concrete and asphalt, allowing nature to take hold in their place.
On a hot July day, Katherine Rose picked up a sturdy metal pole and jammed it under the tempting lip of a pre-cut concrete slab. Rose, communications and engagement director at Depave, a non-profit in Portland, Oregon, was sweating in the heat – but she was going to win this fight.
The grubby, rectangular section of urban crust in front of her was about to move. Pushing down on her metal bar, applying it like a lever, she eased the concrete covering up and away. Now sunlight could fall once again on the ground below. A mess of gravel and dirt that was, to Rose, just bursting with potential.
==================================
Sampson Stawell (1741-1819), 1768, Kilbrittain, m. Hester Bernard, Castle Bernard, Bandon. Freeman of Cork 1768.Probably Timothy
Timothy Deasy The Elder (c 1739-), 1793, Barry’s Hall, Timoleague, 1793, Son Timothy and Ann Donovan m Honoria O’Donovan d Cornelius 1759, she had been housekeeper to her brother Rev. Daniel O’Donovn Parish Priest of Clonakilty their grandfather was Daniel O’Donovn of Glandore Castle who in the reign of King James 2 was an MP for Baltimore. His father held lands at Aghamonister, Lissycremin in the Parish of Lislee under the Earl of Shannon, when he was convicted of possessing arms around 1745 and jailed at the South Gate Prison in Cork. His lease was forfeit and the family moved to Clonakilty. Shown 1788 as owner of Pookeen townland, Parish of Drimoleague, adjoining lands Carbery Estate map of Sir John Freke, Bart. Listed supporter of Act of Union, 1799 Son Morgan Deasy Doctor of Physic joint owner of brewery concern with brother Richard his executor Dr. James Donovan M.D. Barry Hall. First Catholics to be J.P.s since the Treaty of Limerick. Family fortune is reputed to be based on smuggling. Daughter Ann married Dr. James Donovan son of Alexander of Squince head of the Clann Lochlann branch second in seniority to the Clann Cathal Sept. Founded brewery in 1807 at Shannon Square, Clonakilty. Superseded 1810-30. Author unpublished memoir re atrocities in Clonakilty in 1798 in particular Captain Hungerford of The Island, Clonakilty.. Son Timothy the Younger 1792 party of pre marriage deed with Anna Maria Barry of Leamara, Tim Deasy, the younger of London and Barry's Hall, witness Charles McCarthy, Gortnascreena. Related to O'Donovans of Squince, Skibbereen, O'Donovans, O'Donovan's Cove, Durrus
Rickard Deasy, Superseded 1822, Clonakilty, Brewing family. Deasy, Rickart, Esq., of Clonakilty, to Miss Cotter, at Millstreet – (CMC 8/9/1802). Father Collins, PP Bantry evidence to Parliamentary Enquiry that he had £2,000 per annum when half pay Protestant Officers on £40 per annum were preferred for Quarter Assizes Juries in Bantry. 1828 seeking reform of the House of Commons. Reinstatement supported by Dr John Richard Elmore, Clonakilty. 1822 local fishery committee. 1822 insisted that inquest be held into the killing of Patrick Buckley on a poteen raid commanded by Lieutenant Hungerford of Clonakilty later Yeomanry Sergeant acquitted. 1822 with Dr. Elmore and John Molony seeking Chief Secretary; support for harbour works for poor relief at Ring. Attending dinner Devonshire Arms Hotel for Daniel O’Connell 1839 listed as J.P. Chairman of meeting of Independent Liberal Electors thanking electoral personnel for Impartiality in 1835 elections. The Reformers of the West Riding of Cork to Daniel O'Connell MP to Dinner in Bandon, Co Cork, with 200 Liberals in attendance including, Francis Bernard Beamish MP (1802-1868), Rickard Deasy (1766-1852) Brewer Clonakilty, James Clugston Allman Distiller Bandon, James Redmond Barry J.P., Commissioner for Fisheries, Edward O'Brien, Masonic Lodge Bandon, John Hurley Brewer, Major E. Broderick, Henry Owen Beecher Townsend (1775-1847), Major Mathew Scott J.P. (1779-1844), Philip Harding, Carrigafooka, Macroom, Richard Dowden (1794-1861) Unitarian, Frances Coppinger Esq., Parkview, Bandon. 1849 Dunmanway Union publicly notified that he did not avail of a grant under Land Improvement and Drainage Act 1847 to improve his townlands at Pookeen, Gurrane, Inch and Cilleraine with over 200 paupers.
1812. All forgotten. One of a Group Including the Earl of Bandon Offering a Reward for the Apprehension of Those Responsible for House Burnings at Desertserges.
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Switchgrass: An Old Grass Gets a New Use
The perennial prairie grass used to cover large swaths of the American Midwest, creating vibrant ecosystems where birds, butterflies, and bison roamed.
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This, of course, means swerving processed foods, which have been subject to a latest study, of almost 45,000 middle-aged people, that found a clear link between death and ultra-processed foods including burgers, pizzas, biscuits and cakes. “Sugar, refined carbs, trans fats are the problems in the food supply that we need to cut back on,” Prof Mente says.
Alarmingly for those who have adopted a vegan diet for health reasons, lots of meat substitutes can actually be higher in sodium than the real thing. According to campaign group Action on Salt, based at Queen Mary University of London, some vegan products were found to be “saltier than seawater”.
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If the thought of washing dozens of dirty dishes to make one meal is too much for your soul to handle, you’ve come to the right place. These recipes are designed to provide maximum flavor and satisfaction with minimal cleanup. There’s a vegetarian skillet lasagna that relies on no-cook noodles, a sheet pan salad niçoise with fish that feels restaurant-level fancy, and a one-pot shrimp-and-sausage jambalaya that can feed a crowd. Dig in!
https://getpocket.com/collections/20-one-pot-or-pan-meals
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Then he takes out a leaflet and affixes it to the windscreen. “Attention – your gas guzzler kills” is the headline. It goes on to state that “SUVs are the second-largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade – more than the entire aviation industry” and that studies show that SUV drivers “are more likely to take risks on the road”. It is signed “The Tyre Extinguishers”.
The whole process takes less than a minute.
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From animatronic cowboys to hungry alligators, there is nothing quite so creepy as a derelict funfair
by Emma Beddington
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Autopsies reveal that most people who die in old age have some kind of brain pathology that impairs cognition, from traces of stroke to the amyloid plaques that characterize Alzheimer’s. Not everyone who has these anatomical markers of neurodegeneration experiences memory problems, but “the more of these things you have in your brain, the more likely you are to manifest dementia,” says Bryan James, an epidemiologist at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, who was not involved in this research. If someone does experience problems like forgetting who family members are, or getting lost while walking familiar paths, a combination of cognitive tests, brain scans, blood work, or a spinal tap can pinpoint the cause of their dementia.
Diagnosing mild cognitive impairment is much trickier. People might notice that something is off, but they’re still able to function independently. Most are seen by primary care physicians, not researchers in specialized memory care clinics. Because these doctors don’t see many dementia patients, their confidence in giving someone a potentially life-shattering diagnosis can be low. “They don’t want to make a mistake,” says Sarah Kremen, a neurologist at the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders, who was not involved in this research.
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FLOODS in Ghana:
Some displaced residents “have found shelter in ‘safe havens,’ established by the government in schools and churches in the districts of Central Tongu and North Tongu,” CRS said. Mumuni said these havens were offering victims of the floods “some relief.”
“But the longer families are removed from their homes, the longer their children are missing school, and the larger the impact gets on their lives,” he pointed out.
The flooding has disrupted “water and power supplies, health services, and education,” CRS said. Further risks were present from “waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.”
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Poetry
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/30676399/posts/6554
https://poetrybreakfast.com/poetry-submissions/
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By: Jasna Hodžić- September 7, 2023
First Appeared on Big Think
The icon indicates free access to the linked research on JSTOR.
A little after midnight in the late summer of 1859, campers dozing beneath the night sky in the Colorado Rockies woke to a display of auroral light “so bright one could easily read common print.” In their account of the event, published in the Rocky Mountain News, the party recalled that “some insisted it was daylight and began the preparation of breakfast.”
Thousands of miles away, crowds gathered in the streets of San Francisco with eyes turned skyward. “The whole sky appeared to undulate something like a field of grain in a high wind; the waters of the Bay reflected the brilliant hues of the Aurora,” wrote one journalist in the San Francisco Herald on September 5, 1859. “Nothing could exceed the grandeur and beauty of the sight; the effect was almost bewildering and was witnessed with mingled feelings of awe and delight by thousands.” City dwellers around the world shared this experience.
https://daily.jstor.org/the-carrington-event-of-1859-disrupted-telegraph-lines/
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Cork History
https://irishdeedsindex.net/mem.php?memorial=573588
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ7-G9RF-P?i=69&cat=185720
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Kilrush History
https://www.facebook.com/KDHSCountyClare
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The Ordeal of Armenian Victims of Azerbaijan’s Blockade
Weaponizing Food
After more than 250 days of blockade, which also involves a ban on civilian entry and exit, the humanitarian crisis has already taken hold over the region. This reality was communicated by Gev Iskajyan, head of the Artsakh branch of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), an advocacy organization for the Armenian community in the U.S., in a telephone interview with the Register. Trapped on the territory himself, he reported numerous shortages of food, medicine and fuel, accompanied by cuts in electricity, gas and fiber-optic access to the internet.
On social networks in recent weeks, human-rights activists and local journalists have been sharing images of the human tragedies experienced by the population on a daily basis to alert the world.
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Climate change
United Nations
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, mainly caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels.
Medieval Warm Period - Geologic Evidence Of Recurring Climate Cycles - Past Is The Key To The Future
https://youtu.be/NVA2nnmNE6k?si=CZH239y2ZTSSb6hq
https://clivebest.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/41kyr100kyrcycles.png
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Nature
Five years ago, a group of scientists stumbled upon 20,000 pearl octopuses brooding their eggs near the base of an extinct volcano, 80 miles off of the Monterey coast.
They had discovered the largest known “Octopus Garden” on the planet. But for years a question eluded Jim Barry and his team at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: “What the heck are they doing there?”
The scientists have their answer: Warmer water helped their eggs hatch faster.
The octopuses, lined up like a string of shiny beads, are planting themselves in the crevices of a hydrothermal spring, where warmer water reduces the time they spend incubating their eggs, from five to eight years in colder water to two years or less.
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WASTE: A record number of farmers – 525 in total – travelled to Listowel, Co. Kerry, with their hazardous waste last Saturday (November 4).
Speaking to AgriLand, the EPA’s Shane Colgan stated that 200 would have been a good number at a collection; 300 would be very busy; but 525 was a record.
The resource efficiency manager added that 20t of engine oil and a full lorry of veterinary medicines were collected on the day.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/lorry-full-of-vet-meds-collected-at-listowel-waste-collection/
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OLDER:
Feel weird about getting older? You are not alone.
The tone of the message around aging from advertisers has shifted over the years. Throughout much of the 20th century, it was delivered with a hammer, a warning — always to women — that the man in your life won’t love you as you age. God forbid your husband appear younger than you do. In recent years, the message has come more in the form of an enthusiastic but ultimately empty hug. As Amanda Hess outlined in the New York Times magazine in 2017, it’s no longer so much packaged as hiding wrinkles but instead is cloaked in language about radiant, brighter, healthier-looking skin. It’s not about denying the passage of time but defying it. You’re supposed to feel empowered to look your best at any age.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2022/7/28/23219258/anti-aging-cream-expensive-scam
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Flying to Ireland to inhale the seaside air as you drive a golf ball into the scenic distance. Crossing the country to reach your enormous yacht, which is ready for your
Hudson River pleasure cruise. Hosting a governor’s wife on your very own aircraft. These are only a few of the joys that the richest Americans have experienced in recent years through their
private jets. And what made them all the sweeter is that they came with a tax write-off. ------------------------------
two planes netted them a tax deduction of $14 million.
Tony Alvarez in 2008 Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo
Last August, their Gulfstream V took off from Westchester County Airport in New York state for Ireland. About an hour later, their Gulfstream IV left for the same destination, a small airport in County Kerry near their club. Both planes can comfortably seat over a dozen passengers, but flight records don’t show who was on board. Over the coming month and a half, the two planes crisscrossed the Atlantic several times.
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Four landmark ‘Fit for 55’ climate laws were approved at the European Parliament today: the Emissions Trading System (ETS), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, Social Climate Fund, and ETS for Aviation. Green MEPs Ciaran Cuffe and Grace O’Sullivan welcomed the result, while emphasising that vulnerable households must receive particular support to move away from fossil fuels,
https://www.greenparty.ie/news/new-suite-eu-climate-laws-approved-parliament
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All things bright and beautiful
Biodiversity – what did it ever do for us.
Éanna Ní Lamhna continues her series for Intercom.
We are well into Spring. Six weeks before and six weeks after the Vernal
Equinox, which this year falls on the 20th March, is when the season of
Spring is – no matter what anyone says about it starting on the first day of
March. The lengthening days are not affected by global climate change
and February 1st is the first day of Spring regardless of what the
thermometer reads. Nature is inexorably stirring. The fact that the days
are lengthening is noted by many of our wild animals. The pineal gland
that almost all vertebrate species, including ourselves have, registers the
increasing duration of daylight and affects behaviour. Our plants are
reacting too. The saying ‘Spring is the time when the sap rises in the trees
and young men’s thoughts turn to love’, is not wrong, but are we still
noticing as many species of plants and animals this year as in other years
and are the number of each species as great as before, for that is what
biodiversity means. This word was only coined in the 1980s and is a
combination of two perfectly understandably words – bio meaning life and
diversity meaning variation.
Biodiversity is the variety of all living things; the different plants, animals
and microorganisms, the genetic information they contain and the
ecosystems they form. So, the greater the number of different species of
creatures and plants that we see around us, the better is the biodiversity in
our area, but
does it matter? In the great scheme of things does it really matter if only
three species of birds come to our feeding station instead of ten? If there
are only one or two species of trees and bushes in the hedges around the
field instead of fifteen? How is it going to affect us? It goes back to the
whole idea of the food chain. Plants are the only producers of food on
earth. They do this by photosynthesis – turning the carbon part of the
carbon dioxide in the air into carbon sugars such as glucose, while using
sunlight for energy. These simple sugars are then modified in plants into
more complicated sugars and starches as well as proteins and oils. Thus,
the plants feed all the animal life in the world including ourselves, either
directly as vegetable food or further along the food chain, as food for
animals then eaten by others. The more variation there is in plants, then
the greater variety of animal life that can be supported. This can be very
obvious in our gardens in the Spring. Queen bumble bees come out of
hibernation now and set about building a nest, laying eggs and founding a
new colony;
there must be food to enable her to do this –nectar to feed herself and
pollen to feed the little baby bees when they hatch out. Lots of different
species of plants in the area means that many of the early ones will be in
flower and contain the vital nectar and pollen that she needs, but not if
the garden is full of daffodils and early tulips. These flowers, so beloved of
gardeners, are entirely propagated by bulbs. They contain neither pollen
nor nectar useful for insects – they form no seeds. Native spring flowers
such as dandelions, primroses, bluebells, hazel and willow catkins are
great sources of food – even garden flowers such as crocuses, grape
hyacinths and snowdrops have useful food too. Bumble bees are not the
only insects to depend on nectar in their adult stages either – so less
nectar-bearing flower species mean fewer insect species.
There is no biodiversity in humans. We are the most vertebrate species on
earth – all eight billion of us now, but we are all the same species. There is
very little biodiversity in our food either, since we stopped being hunter
gatherers ten thousand years ago and came to depend on farming to feed
us. Three quarters of the world’s food supply depends on just twelve plant
species. In fact, more than half of our food worldwide comes from just
three plants – wheat, rice and maize. In order to grow the great quantities
of those that we needed, areas with great biodiversity of plants and
animals are swept clear. The monoculture is planted and kept free from
any animal and insect predator by the use of pesticides. Even in Ireland,
fifty per cent of our land is given over to growing grass – and only one or
two species at that - which are the most nourishing for the livestock that
eat it. There is not much biodiversity in that half of Ireland, but does it
matter as long as we have enough to eat? Of course, it does. Clearly, land
for agriculture destroys the natural ecosystems that were there before. In
order to have great biodiversity of plant and animal species, there must be
great biodiversity of ecosystems too.
By reducing the native deciduous woodlands in Ireland from 80% cover,
when humans came here first, to about 2% covering at the beginning of the
last century, we made extinct here a great deal of plants, insects, birds and
mammals that depended on these areas in order to live. It will be the
same when we finally burn and drain the last of our bogs. Biodiverse
ecosystems buffer us from natural disasters such as floods and storms,
filter our water and protect our soils.
Seeing Your Life Through The Lens of The Gospel
John Byrne OSA
A long story, like the one we have today, provides many different points of
entry for prayer. Read the story and stay with what resonates with you.
Some possible points of entry are:
1.The blind man was healed. Can you recall occasions when some
blindness of yours was taken away and you could see in a new way?
What was that experience like for you?
2. The Pharisees claimed to be the ones who could see, who knew where
God was to be found, when in fact they were blind. It was the man born
blind who showed himself open to see the hand of God at work in what
happened. There can be some of each in us. What has helped you to be
open to seeing the hand of God at work in your life? Who have been the
Jesus people who have led you to this point?
3. The Pharisees seem to have had a collective blindness that blocked them
from seeing what God was doing in Jesus. Perhaps in today’s world you
can see examples of collective blindness when people want to avoid an
awkward truth, e.g. about the damage being done to our planet by human
activity.
4. There are many characters in the story: Jesus, the blind beggar, the
disciples, the neighbours, the blind man’s parents, and the Pharisees. Put
yourself in the position of each one and see what you learn from
identifying with them.
Thought for the Day: Bearers of Light: Intercom, March 2023.
Samuel was amazed that God would choose the youngest of Jesse’s sons,
David, to be God’s messenger, the bearer of God’s light. We are being
reminded that God’s light can come to us through unexpected people.
Indeed, each one of us is called by the Lord to be the bearer of his light to
others. In the words of that second reading, this is what the Lord wants of
us. We are always being called to be the bearers of the light of the Lord’s
loving presence to one another, to shepherd one another, reviving each
other’s drooping spirit. (Martin Hogan, Reflections for the Year of
Matthew, (Veritas Publications) in Intercom Magazine, March 2023
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Our two types of evidence offer different answers regarding the Earth’s temperature trend over the 6,000 years before modern global warming. Natural archives generally show that Earth’s average temperature roughly 6,000 years ago was warmer by about 0.7 C (1.3 F) compared with the 19th century median, and then cooled gradually until the Industrial Revolution. We found that most evidence points to this result.
Meanwhile, climate models generally show a slight warming trend, corresponding to a gradual increase in carbon dioxide as agriculture-based societies developed during the millennia after ice sheets retreated in the Northern Hemisphere.
How to improve climate forecasts
Our assessment highlights some ways to improve climate forecasts.
For example, we found that models would be more powerful if they more fully represented certain climate feedbacks. One climate model experiment that included increased vegetation cover in some regions 6,000 years ago was able to simulate the global temperature peak we see in proxy records, unlike most other model simulations, which don’t include this expanded vegetation.
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Energy Master Plan for the West Kerry dairy farmers sustainable energy community containing these recommendations will be published on www.dinglepeninsula2030.com
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
Sunday afternoon will be remembered for a long time in the parish as the day we said “Happy Retirement” to Dr. Kieran Murphy. A large crowd gathered in the Memorial Hall for tea and chat and an opportunity to show how much he was appreciated for all the great work he had done in the parish over the years. On a beautiful day, and after being confined by Covid for so long, it was great to see people gathering together in a happy mood. There was music, song, poetry, speeches, presentations and of course plenty of “goodies” to eat. A beautiful portrait of Kieran was unveiled and it will hang on the wall as a reminder to future generations of how much he was loved by the people of Athea. Thanks to Athea Community Council for organising the event with Damien Ahern and his hardworking sub-committee leaving no stone unturned to ensure that everything was right on the day. Thanks, Kieran for all you have done for us and have a long and happy retirement.
The weather patterns throughout the world are a great cause for concern. The footage coming out of Pakistan is horrific showing men, women and children being swept away by the unusually high floods due to the monsoon. Millions have been left homeless and destitute after this as well as all those that have died. This is just as bad as if they had been invaded and there was a war going on like there is in Ukraine. The authorities in Pakistan have appealed to the world for assistance to deal with the catastrophe and they deserve our help. They are not looking for much, just the basic items like tents to shelter those who are exposed to the elements. This type of flooding also brings disease due to the contaminated water so things are going to get worse for those unfortunate people before they get better. On the opposite side of the coin, China is running out of water. This is hard to imagine but when you look at the size of the population and how much water is used domestically, industry and in hydro-electric stations I suppose it was inevitable that this would happen. Water is a commodity that we take for granted but it is probably the most valuable source on earth. We all need it to survive as well as all the plants and other animals. When I was young we didn’t have taps to turn on for water so it was something that was valued. Water for drinking and making the tea was drawn from wells that could be found in certain areas. These are underground springs that had, at the time, the purest of water. Not every field was capable of producing a well. A water diviner had to be called in discover where to dig. He did this by walking the land with a hazel rod, in the shape of a fork, which he held in both hands with the base facing forward. When he walked over a spring, the rod would point to the earth indicating, by the strength of the gravity pull, how strong the likelihood of finding water near the surface was. We were lucky in that sense because our field was full of springs producing a great supply of water. In the height of the summer, when water was getting low everywhere else, our well rose higher which they say is a great sign of a good spring. All the neighbours came to our well with their buckets and gallons and, during the turf cutting season, most of those going to the bog called for a supply as well. They were more than welcome as there was plenty to go around. This water would only be used for drinking and making tea so other means of getting water for washing etc had to be devised. Roofs on all houses and sheds had channels and chutes that captured rainwater and filled barrels and concrete troughs that were built at the corner of the house. There was also the “spout”. This was a pipe through a ditch that connected with a drain inside the ditch bringing a constant stream of water to the roadside. There was one in front of our neighbour’s house, just across the road and some of them used that spout to wash themselves. One of our jobs on a Monday was to draw many buckets of water from the spout so that my mother could do the washing. This water had to be boiled in a big black pot over the open fire and then poured into a tin bath where the individual items of clothing were washed by hand. Everything that time was labour intensive. The water in many of the streams and rivers was pure as well; it must have been because we swallowed enough of it while swimming in the river at the bottom of Phil’s field. That river and many of the bigger streams were full of trout, sprats, eels, frogs and other forms of life that needed the water to survive. Today, the river is dead; not a sign of life in it. This is due to the pollution caused by the changes in farming and the amount of septic tanks in the countryside. The biggest pollutant is slurry which finds its way through the ground to the streams and ends up in the rivers poisoning all the wild life in its path. We all have water on tap nowadays but, every so often we are warned to boil the water before using it. It is hard to believe but there are still areas in the country where raw sewage is being dumped into rivers and seas. Irish Water was set up to deal with the supply of water and, though they have good plans, they are playing catch-up with thousands of leaks in water systems due to old piping breaking down. I get my water pumped into the house from the old well we had but when I got it tested a few years ago I found out it was just borderline ok so I had to install a purifying system, iron filter and a blue light to zap the e-coli and such, so it is perfect now. Water is a commodity we can no longer take for granted. What is happening in China could happen to us in the future. As they say “you’ll never miss the water ‘til the well runs dry”.
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BREXIT Adjustment Reserve fund of EU. The reserve has a total budget of €5.4bn.
The Irish government will receive €361.5m in 2021, €276.7m in 2022 and €282.2m in 2023.
Videos of Irish Farming Life
https://www.facebook.com/Irishfarmingvideos
DAIRY Sale; The 2021 Black and White dairy sale took place on Saturday, December 3, at Borderway Mart in Carlisle, England. The majority of sellers came from the UK.
Tim and Lauren Fitzmaurice from the Leagh Holstein herd based in Cloghan, Ballyduff, Tralee, Co. Kerry, were the Irish sellers present at the sale. Leagh Holstein had three lots on offer at the sale.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/8500gns-achieved-by-kerry-breeders-at-black-and-white-sale/
TOURISM: Fáilte Ireland has given details of its €50million Tourism Business Continuity Programme for 2022 at a virtual event attended by over 2,500 tourism and hospitality providers.
Here is just a partial list of the things, short of death rates, we know are affected by air pollution. GDP, with a 10 per cent increase in pollution reducing output by almost a full percentage point, according to an OECD report last year. Cognitive performance, with a study showing that cutting Chinese pollution to the standards required in the US would improve the average student’s ranking in verbal tests by 26 per cent and in maths by 13 per cent. In Los Angeles, after $700 air purifiers were installed in schools, student performance improved almost as much as it would if class sizes were reduced by a third. Heart disease is more common in polluted air, as are many types of cancer, and acute and chronic respiratory diseases like asthma, and strokes. The incidence of Alzheimer’s can triple: in Choked, Beth Gardiner cites a study which found early markers of Alzheimer’s in 40 per cent of autopsies conducted on those in high-pollution areas and in none of those outside them. Rates of other sorts of dementia increase too, as does Parkinson’s. Air pollution has also been linked to mental illness of all kinds – with a recent paper in the British Journal of Psychiatry showing that even small increases in local pollution raise the need for treatment by a third and for hospitalisation by a fifth – and to worse memory, attention and vocabulary, as well as ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. Pollution has been shown to damage the development of neurons in the brain, and proximity to a coal plant can deform a baby’s DNA in the womb. It even accelerates the degeneration of the eyesight.
https://lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n23/david-wallace-wells/ten-million-a-year
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Glin Development: were disappointed recently to have to postpone the unveiling of the Ring Fort Native Tree Planting event at the Knights Walk. It was to have been a day of educational fun for the children of Glin and Ballyguiltenane National Schools. Some native Irish Oaks were to be planted at the site of what remains of an old Ring Fort located at the loop section of the walk. Catherine Fitzgerald of Glin Castle was to plant the first tree and tell the school children about the organisation, Bugs Bees and Native Trees. This organisation is dedicated to the importance of the protection of our environment, biodiversity and climate change through tree planting and other community initiatives. An Interpretative Board was to be placed at the entrance to the site, giving historical information about Ring Forts and the importance of preserving our history. Glin Development had also asked local man, Pat McSweeney, to create a Fairy House out of the stump of an old tree adjacent to the site. Pat has been working over the past few months, to create what is now a superb specimen of a Fairy House. It has magical qualities and you could indeed believe that the fairies have already taken up residence.
We were all disappointed the project did not go ahead as planned, but we look forward to rescheduling the event with the children of Glin and Ballyguiltenane National Schools in the coming months. We would encourage parents to take their children up to see the Fairy House, at the top of Lissy Highe (beginning of the loop) at the Knights Walk. We would also like to sincerely thank Pat McSweeny for creating a wonderful imaginative fairy house, and thank him for his time and excellent craftsmanship.
https://glin.info/2021/11/12/parish-newsletter-13th-14th-november-2021/
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JTA) — President Joe Biden has had four children of his own, but he is clearly impressed by mothers who raise more.
In a meeting with Israel’s outgoing president Reuven Rivlin at the White House on Monday, Biden knelt before Rivlin’s bureau chief, a haredi Orthodox woman named Rivka Ravitz, in deference to the fact that she has 12 children.
https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/biden-kneels-before-haredi-orthodox-mother-of-12-who-works-as-key-adviser-to-israels-president
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https://youtu.be/iSgoSGlAwbQ
Filename
Cows Flowers bailing hedgehog.wmv
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Video link
https://youtu.be/AVjS93x88EY
Filename
Open Countryside June 2021.mp4
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Farming Listowel
https://www.agriland.ie/?s=listowel
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BIRDWATCH Ireland
https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/curlew/
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Jennifer De Burca
Jan 7, 2021
featured
An Dreoilín agus An Commedia dell’Arte Leis An tAthar Tomás Ó hIceadha
By Fr. Tom Hickey DISTRICT DIRECTOR: Micheal O Coileain / EDITOR: MICHEAL O COILEAIN
Ón Leabhar Órchiste Nollag, Máirín Uí Shé a thiomsaigh agus a chuir in eagar.
Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne a d’fhoilsigh é i 2020
In this short piece the author, Fr. Tom Hickey, himself a renowned director of theatre, makes the comparisons between the characters of Commedia dell’Arte in Italy and those found in the Wran Boys of the Irish Tradition. Once widespread throughout the country, the Wran is now continued in few locations, but survives strongly in West Kerry. Commedia Dell’Arte was an early form of theatre originating in Italy in the 16th century. It is characterised by masked ‘types’ and can be either scripted or improvised. Generally, these troupes of players travelled between towns entertaining people. The origins of the Wran tradition is certainly more ancient and may well go back to pre-Christian times as part of a mid-winter festival.
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Storied Kerry
Jennifer De Burca
Jan 29, 2021
featured
58 YEARS OF STORIES ON KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK
9 to 11am Saturday Supplement Radio Kerry 30 January 2021
On the Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry from 9 to 11am next Saturday (30 January 2021) Frank Lewis hears 58 years of stories from Killarney National Park from Dan Kelliher, 38 years from 1963 Killarney National Park Superintendent, Padruig O’Sullivan conservation ranger since 1981 and Seamus Hassett in charge since 2018. Stories of
the ‘all ins’ and high walls commercial fruit and veg growing stopped – without telling head office Park and gardens were over run by fourteen hundred sheep a day’s deer-stalking cost five pounds .. but you could walk the deer forests from dawn to dusk and not see a deer .. the uproar at plans to turn Muckross House into a training centre and a hotel More uproar when rhododendron was first being cleared you could then cut black alder blocking the views .. but not now the special experience of the Park at night A very sick Parliamentary Secretary Henry Kenny’s comment on Killarney, a few weeks before he died, .. “if Heaven is half as nice I’m quite happy to go” ..
Join Frank Lewis on the Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry from 9 to 11am next Saturday (January 30) with 58 years of stories from Killarney National Park .. all within five kilometers of home.