Lorrha/Dorrha
 

Lorrha Notes

The Lorrha Junior B camogie team who are through to the County Final and are awaiting a date, time and venue.  Photo Rose Mannion.

Late Jim Larkin.

The peaceful death took place on Sunday 31st October in University Hospital Limerick following the kind care of the staff of Ennis Road Care facility, of James Larkin Clonmacken, Limerick and formerly Rathcabbin.Born in Rathcabbin in 1932, Seamus, as he was known to all, was the third eldest in a family of seven. After he completed his primary education in the local village, he attended the Christian Brothers secondary school in Birr and while there he hurled with Birr minor team and also with the Offaly hurling team. After leaving school, he got an apprenticeship in Mulrooney’s Drapery shop in John’s Place in Birr until he emigrated to London in 1952. On the death of his mother in 1954, he returned to Ireland for a short while, but it wasn’t long before he returning to London. Unable to settle back into work and the Londay life, he emigrated to Canada where he spent the following fifteen years. It was while in Canada that he met and married his wife Christine and they went on to raise a family of five girls. He returned to Ireland in 1970 with his young family and took up a position with Irish Merchants Ltd in Galvone, Limerick and continued to work there until his retirement in 1997. His hobbies included golf and he was a member of the Shannon golf club.
Predeceased by his brothers John Joe and Stephen and his sisters Mary and Annie (Coughlan), he is survived by his wife Christine, daughters Erin, Kathy, Tina, Patty and Michelle, his brothers Frank and Kieran, his sons-in-law, daughters partners, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren, relatives and friends to whom sympathy is offered. After funeral Mass in Christ the King Church, Caherdavin on Friday Nov. 5th  burial took place in  Castlemungret Cemetery, Limerick. May he rest in peace.

North Tipp Ploughing.

At a recent meeting of the North Tipp Ploughing, Chairman Ray Clancy congratulated all competitors who competed in the ‘very quiet and different’ All Ireland championships last September and said it was great to have three coming in fourth position and one came in fifth. The weather was good for the event and everything went well. Due to the current ongoing Covid -19 numbers increasing, it was unanimously agreed to postpone the AGM for another ‘safer’ time and come back in the new year when it is hoped that matters will be back to more normality than what is happening right now. It was also unanimously agreed to defer the social end of year gathering given the risk involved at the present time. A minutes silence was observed for families in the area who last family since the club last met. RIP.
The committee are looking for a suitable site to hold the championships next March. If anyone can help here with a site or know of where there might be a suitable site, please contact Denis on (087) 7793719.

Good Luck.

Best of luck to the U15 girls who are though to a county final V St. Pats. Date, time and venue to be decided. We also wish the Junior B girls the best of luck in their county final. Time, venue and date to be decided.  And the best of luck to the senior lads when they play Burgess on Saturday 13th in the relegation final at 1.30pm in Nenagh.

The Wait Continues.

Everyone in the parish and surrounding areas are waiting to see how our Lorrha family perform on the popular RTE series ‘Ireland’s Fittest Family’. Set in the vast estate of Kilruddery in Bray, County Wicklow, each individual event takes place in a different area of the estate. We got a brief look at the family in the first episode and were waiting for Sunday night last to see them in action. But, alas, we must wait one more week to see how they perform under the guidance of Irish rugby hero Donncha O’Callaghan who will put them through a grueling pace. Donnacha has already lost two families after the first two episodes so he will be pushing the McIntyre foursome to their limits. Will they make it past the first round?  Or will they be crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family and take the prize of €15,000 back to Lorrha? We must wait to see the outcome on Sunday coming the 14th.   Ireland’s Fittest Family is on Sunday evening at 6.30pm on RTE 1.

Churches Now Fully Open.

Fr’s Tom, Michael and Pat are delighted to welcome everyone to our church services. We’ve missed you and we know it takes courage to come back to gathering again. There’s loads of room for everyone to be kept safe. Stewards have kindly agreed to remain in place at a very low-key level to help in any way they can.
The Pastoral Council of our three parishes are unanimous that it is safest to keep the following precautions in place in our churches due to the continuing high numbers of Covid 19 for the safety of everyone especially of the most vulnerable. 1. Social distancing particularly while receiving Holy Communion and at points of entry and exits. Mask Wearing is deemed to be vital for protections.  Hand hygiene is essential.  These remain both HSE and diocesan guidelines.
Mass Times: Monday Mornings at 9.30am in Lorrha Church (except Bank Holidays). Every Saturday evening at 6.30pm in Lorrha Church. Every Sunday morning at 11.30am in Rathcabbin Church. Borrisokane 7pm Saturday. Kilbarron: 8pm Saturday.  Terryglass: 9.30am Sunday. Borrisokane 10.30am Sunday. Please wear face masks in the Church.
The Rosary will continue to be recited before both masses each weekend.
Anyone wishing to book anniversary masses please contact the church sacristans, Agnes Slevin in Lorrha, and Mary Cleary in Rathcabbin.
During the month of November people are invited to place their petitions for their departed relatives in boxes provided in both Lorrha & Rathcabbin churches.

75th Anniversary.

St. Flannan’s N.S. Rathcabbin plan on celebrating the 75th anniversary of the school next year. They are hoping to produce a book about the school since the building opened in 1946. Help is required for this project, sourcing material like photographs, stories, and accounts of things from school days. Anyone wishing to help out is asked to contact the Principal Conor Darcy on (086) 4140102 or email rathcabbinns75@gmail.com. All help welcome.

GAA News.

There was No Winner of this weeks lotto jackpot of €8,400. The numbers drawn on 8 November were: 22-25-30-31. No Match 3.  Lucky Dips: L&M Gleeson, Chrissie Hough, Tommy Deely, Noreen Houlihan. Promoters: Martin Hough, John McLeish, Internet.
Next Monday’s jackpot is €8500 with Team 1 in charge of the draw. Thank you for your continued support.

Senior Hurling: Our hurlers take on Burgess this Saturday at 1.30pm in Nenagh in the Seamus O Riain relegation final. It is a huge game for the club, and we would encourage all supporters to travel to the game to support the lads. Tickets are to be ordered online on the Tipperary GAA website, rather than through the secretary. It is through the online system that tickets for all games are to be purchased in the future.

Tipperary GAA Clubs Draw: The draw for November was a successful one for Lorrha as we won on the treble. Congrats to our juvenile club chairman Colm Kennedy (won €1000) and Secretary Kathleen Gleeson (won €2000) on their wins. Kathleen’s mother Margaret also won €200 in what was a great draw for Lorrha. Karma certainly had a huge part to play, given the work the Gleeson family have done over the years in promoting the draw in our parish and the work Colm has done with our juveniles.

Farming biodiversity project: A biodiversity project is available for local farmers. Contact Mary Coen for more details: 087 2601413, mary.coen@hotmail.com.

Birds and the Bees.

A new Irish company aims to raise happiness levels by introducing the birds and the bees to Tipperary households.

Studies have shown that using bird feeders and growing wildflowers increases people’s connection to nature, leading to feelings of wellness.

Using their combination of bird and wildflower expertise, Connecting To Nature will enable people to give a gift of wellness to loved ones by creating a bird feeding oasis and native flowers in spaces as small as an apartment balcony.

The firm is the brainchild of Julie Power, whose Waterford-based family has been in the seed business for six generations.

“You don’t have to be in the countryside to connect with nature, all you have to do is create an environment that consistently attracts birds and bees,” said Ms Power.

“After lockdown, we now have a new awareness of the mental health benefits of connecting to nature, a renewed interest in our living world and improving our gardens for the benefit and love of wildlife.

“However, many people are unaware of the correct way to feed birds year-round and how they need different food at different times, or to successfully cultivate a wild garden.”

Studies have shown that greater bird biodiversity can make people more joyful.

“The World Economic Forum has published research that the happiest Europeans are those who see the most bird species in their day-to-day life,” said Patrick Croke, Technical Officer, Connecting to Nature.

“Being connected with nature is about feeling close to the wider natural world. Research shows that being connected with – rather than simply being exposed to – nature is more important for our mental wellbeing,” he said.

“Feeding birds is a very good way of feeling closer to nature and bringing wildlife closer to you, and Ireland has a wonderful array of small wild birds that you can feed.”

Connecting to Nature specialises in different types of food depending on the time of year, so that now, as we are heading into winter, Patrick recommends peanut and suet-based products, such as suet covered oat flakes.

“The birds’ diet changed in recent months from one that was predominately insects to eating more seeds and fruit as autumn arrived and our range reflected that at the time.

“However now we will soon enter the Hungry Gap, the most challenging time of year for birds when natural food sources are at their lowest.

“Berries, seeds and grains that were plentiful during the autumn and early winter have been depleted.

“New plants and insects will not begin to emerge until early spring, and the ground is often frozen which eliminates their access to worms, all of which means that until the middle of March, birds are at an increased threat of starvation.

“Our Hi-Energy No Mess mix is an essential foodstuff during these colder months. It contains both Peanuts and Peeled Sunflower seeds, which means that birds expend no energy removing the shells.

Julie’s great, great, great grandfather William Power opened his first nursery, florist, and seed merchant business in Waterford in 1859 and the Power family has operated a successful agricultural seed business since then.

She has already developed a huge following with the Blooming Native wildflower seeds business, which has been the inspiration for combining bird feed and flower seed.

“Sowing wildflower seeds provides a habitat for pollinators such as bees and butterflies, seeds for wild birds, supports biodiversity, and brings us joy,” said Ms Power.

“I have a passion for the environment and I saw this as an opportunity to share how wildflower seeds can play their part in biodiversity and reveal the joy of native wildflowers in our ecosystem.

“I also found that the demand for native wildflower seeds continues to outstrip their supply.

“We produce our seeds on our own sites in Faithlegg, Co Waterford, and our mixtures are curated to provide both food for wildlife and colour throughout the year.

“It is very easy to get this right, with a bit of instruction. Through our platforms we aim to educate people on how to very simply sow and cultivate the gardens that they want.”

See connectingtonature.ie for more details.

Take some time to Smile.