Dia is Mhuire dióbh go léir a cairde and welcome to my Report.
Welcome to the lovely month of July. It came in breezy and damp but still visitors from other climes think we have the best weather of them all. So let us be grateful for what we have.
The Willie Neenan 5mile road race is a very special event every year and even though he is gone a few years now, he is remembered annually and his love of running is passed on the our young people for them to pass it on again. Walkers, wheelchair people, runners are all invited to take part with prizes given to for each category. That one day gives an unbelievable lift to our own Fr. Paddy O’Byrne. When they were all young he and Willie and lots more young fellows took part in athletics all over the south of Ireland. Means of travel were not as easy as they are now and there was little help from any club or group to plan their itinary. A lad lucky enough to have a bike took another one on the bar. Tyres and tubes left a lot to be desired so a repair kit was a must on every bike. People were expert at fixing punctures, they had to be or they would miss out. It must have been a heartrending decision for young Paddy O Byrne to leave his family home at the West End where he was surrounded by young friends who were as keen on sport as he was to answer God’s call to join the priesthood. There was an older man called Paddy Hennessy living in the street and he was their mentor. They could all meet at his place and thrash out their plans, enjoy recalling their successes and planning to do better the next time when they lost. But join he did and when ordained he was sent to far away Nebraska to mission there. Funnily enough, his older neighbour across the road Fr. Joe Murphy, was also working in Nebraska, but it’s a very big place and they were miles apart. Needless to say he found it very different and his Irish accent was no help. After the first sermon he gave, he said to his congregation that he hoped he hadn’t gone on too long, but they assured him that it wasn’t a problem because they didn’t understand a word he said anyway. He soon settled into his new life, but he never forgot his love for athletics and soon went into the schools where he organised groups of young people, both boys and girls according to their age and ability and got them out on the sports fields to train. He always regarded weight lifting to be a vital part of training and he pushed his subjects to unbelievable heights. Up the very long ladder, step by step. His great boast today is that for one of the girls in his team to beat the Russians. A first. A wonderful first for the lad from Millstreet who played with Willie Neenan and the others down the lawn and wherever they could. Is it any wonder that today when the Willie Neenan 5M Race Day comes round, that he is filled with jizz at the thought of it all and who can blame him.
[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 2nd July”
