Moate Matters

Heritage Week: Heritage Week takes place this year from Saturday, August 22 until Sunday August 30. Moate Museum and Historical Society have a number of activities planned for the week and would welcome your support. The Museum at the Courthouse will be open from 3pm to 6pm, from Sunday August 23rd until Sunday August 30th with late opening on Tuesday night. The Museum has over 1,000 artefacts covering the Folk History of the town and the surrounding countryside in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Displays include farm tools and equipment, an old farm kitchen, church and school through the years, a jail room, an archaeology room, the Old Forge, Tradesmen's Tools and a documents archive. On Tuesday evening August 25, the museum will re-open from 7.30pm till late, to facilitate a get together in the kitchen area of the museum to facilitate discussion on what day to day living was like in the early 1900s in comparison to today and to outline the uses for the various items on display in the Kitchen of Moate Museum. Everyone is welcome. Moate Town Walk A town walk, to be led by Fr. Jimmy Murray, O. Carm., will be held on Monday evening August 24th. Commencing at the Courthouse at 7pm, the walk will take in all places of historical interest along the street from the Gap House to the Turnpike. Fr Murray has done this walk with local schoolchildren and it is a mine of information which would be particularly informative for new residents of the town. Auld Shebeen Golf Society Match play quarter final draw: John Reynolds v Dave Aspell; Phil Behan v Val Reynolds; Paddy Fox v Kenneth Buckley; Liam Claffey v Seamus Cassidy. The next two rounds are to be completed before the Society Captains' Prize on Friday, September 11 in Mount Temple Golf Club. The final to be played at Society Captains' Prize (Paddy Fox) day. The winners of the Portumna Outing were (1) Jimmy Bradley 37pts; (2) Michael Kelly 36pts; (3) Paddy Fox 35pts. Carmelite Notes 'This may be a wicked age, but your lives should redeem it.' Paul's advice to the Ephesians recognises two fundamental aspects of the calling of Christians in every time and place. There is the obligation to be prudent in discerning the forms under which evil exists and thrives in our society and in our own lives while, at the same time, understanding that our primary responsibility is not to be critics or analysts of what is wrong but exemplars and witnesses of what is right. Only in this way can we possibly share in that mission of 'redeeming' a troubled and broken world. This truth underlies the call to holiness which is made to each one of us, whatever our state or condition of life. Holiness in our daily living is the way the Kingdom of God will grow within us. Our vocation in life - be it priest, lay or religious - is no more elaborate than this, yet we can easily complicate it in such a way that we become distracted from both its simplicity and its demands. Our own thinking, especially our eagerness to hold on to our own self-justifying reasoning, can be the drug we use to avoid the directness of Paul's challenge. We are each prone to so many forms of sinfulness, especially those which indulge ourselves and appear to provide a passing remedy for inner pain. What we consume, for nourishment or entertainment, so often promises relief and happiness but delivers neither. Knowing well this tendency of men and women to seek succour in the wrong places, the Book of Proverbs called the chosen people to a better kind of life. The bread and wine of wise and holy living would neither delude nor disappoint. We may struggle a lot, in practice, to implement this wisdom on a daily basis but, surely, we would be very foolish to disregard it. All Ireland Tickets The minor board are running a draw for two tickets to this year's All Ireland Football Final, tickets are €2 each and can be purchased from any underage mentors or in various shops in the town. Tidy Towns Photography Exhibition The Tidy Towns Photography Exhibition, featuring pictures taken in Moate on May 23rd is taking place in Moate Library and will run until Friday August 21st. The prizes will be presented on Thursday August 20th at 7pm. Heritage Week at Moate Library August is a busy time at Moate Library but despite this Lorna has organized some activities in association with Heritage Week which takes place this year from Saturday, August 22 until Sunday August 30. The Photography exhibition finishes on Friday evening and on Monday the library will host an exhibition of Moate Through the Ages and will run until Thursday August 27. Local Arts group Cois na Tine will hold an exhibition of their work in the library from 7pm on Thursday August 27th. All the Heritage week activities are free of charge and all are welcome. Birthday Greetings Despite many promises Colin Bracken has escaped photo free on the occasion of his eighteenth birthday, so we will just have to send him best wishes on the happy occasion. Another happy occasion which must pass without pictorial evidence is the half century achieved by Peter Guinan. Peter can be assured that his loyal family did not let him down but others might be able to help, its never too late as they say. Vera Hughes was also celebrating a birthday last weekend and I would like to add my greeting to this lady who has an energy level which I always envy. Chesty Duffy was the victim of a surprise 40th on Friday night last in Bo Allen's, the pictorial evidence is plentiful from what was a most enjoyable night. Congratulations Congratulations to the students who sat their Leaving Cert in Moate Community School where some very high marks were achieved. I hope they all received the offer they were looking for in the first round of placements. Thank you to the teachers in the school who take such a great interest in their pupils. I know many pupils were contacted by their teachers when the results came out and this was much appreciated. Well done Moate GAA Hogan Park on Sunday evening was packed with supporters who appreciated the organisation on an evening where the place was teeming with stewards and car parking helpers. The very large attendance were impressed with the match programmes, well printed team listings, and also thank you to the clubs who lined out the players as listed in the programme which did help the enjoyment of the spectators. The painting of the old dressing room gable end and the welcome to Hogan Park message is another nice touch and part of what appears to be ongoing improvements at the ground.