Download File - St Paul's Parish Ayrfield

Ayrwaves Issue
Sponsored by St Paul’s Parish Ayrfield
73
December 2008
Parish Mission
December 15th-19th
Christmas
Ceremonies
2009 Calendar
A Very Happy Christmas to all our parishioners!

Editorial
Production Team
Ann Carter Judith Craven
Ines Duffy Margaret Maher
Contact Parish Office 8160984
Email : parishofficeayrfield@eircom.net
Welcome to the Christmas edition of Ayrwaves.
We hope you enjoy our new look! It is hard to believe
that Ayrwaves is ten years old this month.
Looking back on that first edition of December
1998 we have to agree with the sentiments expressed
that this was a brave venture.
The function of the newsletter back then
was and still is- to disseminate information and
news within the local community. We would love
to get some feedback from you the readers and
are delighted that Jimmy Kelly has become a
regulator contributor!
We thank all the organisations and groups
for their on going contributions and ask your support
for our sponsors and advertisers. We thank
all those who voluntarily collate and distribute our
newsletter. We thank Declan our printer for his cooperation
with meeting deadlines.
The Team would like to ensure that all the
talent for news and views is harnessed in the best
possible way in each edition of the Ayrwaves.
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas
and a Peaceful New Year.
Acknowledgement
Dorrie Burke and family, would like to thank most
sincerely all those who sympathised with them in
their recent bereavement, all the kind neighbours
and friends, those who attended the removal and
Funeral Mass, all those who sent Mass Cards and
Sympathy Cards and for the donations to Beaumont
Hospital Foundation.
A special word of thanks to Fr. Colreavy and Mai
Cass for the lovely ceremonies.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered for
all your intentions.
Coffee Morning
Margaret Hennessy would like to acknowledge
with thanks her family, friends and neighbours for
all their kind help with organising a Coffee Morning
held at 3 Limewood Road, on Thursday 22nd September
and this was evident with the amount of
donations and raffle tickets which brought to a
total of €2,007 raised for St. Francis Hospice.
Well done to Sheela Wise, who won the 32” LCD
TV donated by Northwood Technology on the day
and to Una for selling tickets.
What is Mission?
Parish Missions were common place in most parishes
sometime ago. These Missions were
preached by religious orders such as the Redemptorists,
Passionists, Vincentians or Dominican Fathers.
They often lasted for two weeks. This
rarely happens now. These orders have fewer
vocations and many of the priests have passed
away or have grown old. Most groups now giving
Missions are made up of priests and lay people or
lay people only. Such is the group who are coming
to our parish for our Parish Mission in December.
St. Patrick’s Community consists of five people,
three men and two girls. They are based in Carrick-on
Shannon, Co. Leitrim. Their leader is John
Pridmore. John, who was born and raised in East
London, once led the life of a vicious criminal from
the age of 15 years until he was 27. By God’s
grace he changed his life and is now a Catholic
Evangelist - a man with a mission. That mission is
preaching and witnessing to God’s love and
mercy. Soon John and his team will be bringing
that message to St. Paul’s Ayrfield.
This is an opportune time during the period of Advent,
which is a time of preparation for the great
feast of Christmas - the birth of Jesus. Jesus
came into our world to bring us his love and
mercy, the same message that John Pridmore and
his team brings to us.
We must respond to this message of love and
mercy. How can we do this? We can do this by
accepting God’s message ”Come to me all you
who labour and are overburdened and I will
give you rest”. “ If today we hear God’s voice
harden not your hearts”.
This mission is just for 5 days. It is an ideal preparation
for Christmas, so let us put God back in
Christmas.
With every copy of Ayrwaves there is a personal
invitation to everyone to come to the Mission. It
will have powerful preaching from the Mission
Team and personal testimonies. During the Mission
there will be a night for Reconciliation. We
will have many priests available on that night so
don’t worry about how long you may have been
away from the Church or Sacraments - better be a
mile away and coming back, than a small distance
away and going away.
So please come to our Mission. God is never outdone
in generosity. He will bless you and yours
with a lovely peaceful and happy Christmas.
Come home to God

PARISH MISSION
St. Patrick’s Community is a
team of lay people, living in
Gowel, County Leitrim, who
work to promote the Gospel in
parishes and schools throughout
Ireland. Their aim is to give
John Pridmore
people an opportunity to experience
the presence and love of Christ in their ordinary
lives.
Our Parish Mission, which will be given by St.
Patrick’s Community, will commence on Monday
15th December and end on Friday 19th. On the
weekend 13th/14th December a member of the
team will speak at all Masses inviting parishioners
to the Mission.
After each of the 10 am morning Masses (Monday
-Thursday) a member of the team will be sharing
their testimony. Each night (7.30 pm) will have a
different theme with testimonies from the group
with prayer, music and a lot more.
Confession will be available throughout the week.
During the week the team will visit our schools and
are available to visit the secondary schools in our
area and this will be arranged. The team will be at
our disposal during the days of the Mission to visit
the sick or house bound. This Mission is a “great
opportunity to find meaning in our lives” and
we encourage you to come to all five nights to get
the most out of the Mission.
132 Bayside-Scouting Ireland
The Lion Cub Pack meets on Saturdays from 3 -5
pm in Mid-Sutton Community Centre. We have a
hike or another type of outing such as cinema,
bowing, ice skating, swimming etc. once a month.
We also do overnight stays in hostels about 3
times a year.
For a week in July each year, we go on our annual
camp. This year we were in County Clare and in
2009 we are off to Bispham Hall Scout Estate in
Billinge, Greater Manchester. We were there in
2007 and did archery, shooting, canoeing, abseiling
along with an indoor programme of table tennis,
bowling, crafts, quiz, bingo, talent show and
disco. Next year we intend to visit a safari park, a
theme park similar to Alton Towers and have other
activities as on our last visit.
At present we have a few vacancies for boys and
girls between the ages of 8 and 10. Any parent
wishing to inquire about a child joining should telephone
0873149554
Unicare O’Riada
44 Tonlegee Road
Coolock
Phone 8470101/8470388
Christmas Opening Hours- for your convenience
Monday
22nd December
Tuesday
23rd December
Christmas Eve
24th December
Christmas Day
25th December
Saturday
27th December
Sunday
28th December
New Years Eve
31st December
New Years Day
1st January
Merry Christmas to all our customers
9 am-10 pm
9 am-10 pm
9 am- 6 pm
Closed
9 am-10 pm
9 am-10 pm
9 am- 6 pm
10 am-6 pm

Sacrament of Baptism
Just a reminder that the Sacrament
of Baptism takes
place on the 1st and 3rd Saturday
of every month at 12
o’clock.
Preparation Night is on the
last Wednesday of the month at 7.30 pm in the
Pastoral Centre.
Forms and bookings for Baptism can be had in
the Parish Office - 8160984 or the Sacristy -
8160981.
Baptism Team contacts: Mary - 8483666
Kay - 8670360
The Feast of Our Lord’s Baptism is on Sunday
11th January 2009 and on that day all babies
who have been baptised since January 2008 are
specially invited with their families to the Family
Mass at 10 am, with refreshments afterwards.
We look forward to welcoming everybody and
renewing acquaintances.
Baptism Team
Preparation for First Holy Communion
Do This In Memory is a parish based programme
of preparation for children who are preparing for
their First Holy Communion next May.
Our programme is continuing with a special
Mass on one Sunday in every month, which
takes place at the Family Mass which is at 10
am every Sunday. Our Mass for November is on
Sunday 23rd, the December Mass will be on
Sunday 21st.
All the children and their families are most welcome
at these Masses and also to the Family
Mass every Sunday.
We must always remember the Lord’s words
“Suffer the little children to come unto Me for
theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”
Do This In Memory Team
The Legion of Mary
The members participate in the life of the parish through
visitation of families, the sick, both in their homes and in
hospitals.
Would you like to
• Spread Our Lord’s message of love?
• Lead people to prayer?
• Cheer people that are hurt?
• Lighten the load on your parish priest?
You are the very person the Legion would like to meet!
We meet every Wednesday at 10.30 am
in the Pastoral Centre
St. Pio’s Corner
In a great deal of his letters, Padre
Pio especially at this time of year,
would commence with
“May the Infant Jesus always reign
in your heart and may He confirm
His importance within you more and more”
He made great emphasis in presenting Jesus as
the Baby in Bethlehem. God in His goodness
chose to present His Son in human form in the
manger that first Christmas night to provoke our
love towards Him with confidence, enabling us to
use the loving condition of a child to confide in
Him.
Stay very close to the crib of this beautiful child,
especially during these days of His birth. If you
love riches here you will find the gold the Kings
left Him.
If you love the smoke of honours here, you will
find that of incense. And if you love the delicacy
of the senses, you will smell the perfumed myrrh
which perfumes the entire holy stable. Padre
Pio advises us to have a great love for this heavenly
Child who will with certainty draw us even
closer to our God.
The beauty and attraction of the crib is not
merely for children but is an annual reminder of
the love of our God. The life, death and resurrection
of Jesus resulted in our redemption and
salvation and won for us a place in the Kingdom
of Heaven. When we look at the image of the
crib in St. Paul’s Ayrfield this year, let us remember
what it means to each and every one of us.
Have faith and trust in the Lord
Councillor Tom Brabazon FF
75 Gratton Lodge Dublin 13
Wishes all Ayrwaves readers a
very Happy Christmas and a
Peaceful New Year
Beannachtai na Nollag agus
Athbhlian Fe Mhaise
Mobile 086 8092944
Fax 8532434
Answering Machine 8673940
Email
cllr_tom.Brabazon@dublincity.ie
Practising Solicitor equivalent to a
Commissioner for Oaths and can
arrange the signing and witnessing of
legal documents/passports etc. for you

Ayrfield Utd FC
We are progressing nicely in the
league, currently third in premier
B AUL and still in two cup
competitions and speaking of
cup games we travelled to New
Ross Co Wexford to play New
Ross Celtic in the Leinster Junior
Cup on 9/11/08 and after a
fantastic game which went into
extra time we won on penalties.
We would like to thank New Ross Celtic for their
sportsmanship and their hospitality shown to Ayrfield
Utd on the day.
We have had some fantastic performances from
players so far this season, the likes of Oisin Kenny
John O’Byrne and Jay Keating, Stephen Broughan
just to name a few, have all been brilliant and
have stepped up to the mark no problem and if we
can maintain our current form in Premier B we
could be in contention for promotion to the elite
Premier A please God.
As part of our progress we have invested a substantial
amount of money in getting the showers in
the community centre working and replacing the
water tank on the roof. We also have just taken
delivery of forty track suits and tee shirts with the
Ayrfield Utd logo and name on the back for
both Premier B and our very progressive DIV 2
Sunday side. Speaking of which had an excellent
result against the Div 2 leaders East Meath Utd
on 9/11/08 wining the game four goals to two. So
well done to Richard Carrick and Al Kelly and all
the lads in the DIV 2 Sunday side.
Our Premier B side has been drawn against Pre
mier A side Portmarnock FC in the next round
of the Nivea for Men cup to be played on 30/11/08
at home at the Community Centre, kick off at
11am and we look forward to seeing you all there
to support the lads.
Finally, if there are any companies or individuals
who are willing to sponsor any of our teams we
would be very grateful, you can contact me at
0860565315 to discuss same.
Yours in sport Pat O’Connell
M&S TILING
NO JOB TOO BIG OR TOO
SMALL
Contact Mark :
8473483 087 7497044
HOME ALARMS
WE SUPPPLY AND FIT
HOME ALARM SYSTEMS
SECURITY LIGHTING
OLDER ALARMS REPAIRED &
UPDATED & BROUGHT TO
INSURANCE STANDARDS
For free estimates
Telephone
Damien at 8481415
Entertainment in O’Toole’s Clubhouse
St. Stephen’s Night 26th December-Desire
Saturdays Sundays
13th December
The Culprits
20th December
The Covers
27th December
Y2K
New Years Eve-DNA Band
Tickets go on sale 1st December-€12
Baldoyle Auto Centre Ltd
Unit 138 Baldoyle Idustrial Estate
Baldoyle Dublin 13
Phone: 8394250 / 8321045
Fax: 8326669
E-mail: baldoyleautocentre@gmail.com
SERVICING OF ALL MAKES
• BRAKES
• NCT FAILS
• TYRES
• BATTERIES
14th December
DNA Dave
21st December
The Foggy Dew
28th December
Billy Sullivan

The Adoration Team providing
Gardening for the Soul
I read somewhere that the Moso is a bamboo
plant that grows in China and the Far East. After
the Moso is planted, no visible growth occurs for
up to five years - not even under ideal conditions!
It appears to just sit there without growth, then as
if by magic it suddenly begins to grow at the rate
of two and a half feet per day reaching a full height
of ninety feet within just six weeks. The Moso's
rapid growth is due to the miles of roots it developed
over these first five years, then it can withstand
the tough seasonal weather typical of the
Far East.
The story of the Moso bamboo can also help us.
The plant sinks it’s roots deep into the soil and
searches hard for the nutrients it requires for
growth. When the root system is prepared, it then
grows. As Christians, we are called to put our
roots deep into God’s word so we can find the nutrients
we need for our spiritual growth. Often
there seems to be very little visible growth, but we
all know if we take the journey seriously, there is a
lot of interior preparation work happening. We are
preparing our root system. We are called to put
our root system deep into the soil of God. It is
there we will receive the required strength to endure
all things. It is there we will become a disciple
of Christ. Then like the bamboo, we will be able to
bend with the troubles of our life without breaking.
Then we will be firmly planted in the Lords soil.
For this to happen, we need to spend some time
with Him. We start the process with the celebration
of the Eucharist each Sunday and then commit
to spending some time with Him during our
week in prayer. From my own personal experience,
let me assure you that if we pray, our lives
become different, we realise energy we did not
know we had. If we commit to just a few minutes
of prayer every day, the Lord will fill us and we will
be genuinely blessed. To grow spiritually is to be
like the bamboo in bad weather - able to sway and
bend but not break.
May we deepen our roots in Gods soil.
Hours of Adoration are:
Monday- Friday 9.30-10 am
Monday & Wednesday
9.30 - 12 noon & 7- 9 pm
Saturday 5- 6 pm
Scripture Study, Wednesday at
10.45 in Pastoral Centre.
Foxhill Residents Association
We would like to thank the Gardai from Coolock in
making Halloween pass by with little disruption to
our neighbours. Thanks to DCC for their continuous
removal of all unwanted rubbish left within our
estate. We hope you have noticed the increase in
Garda presence in the estate which is helping to
keep anti-social behaviour at bay. There has
been a lot of graffiti within our estate and Streamville
Park. The committee have always phoned
the graffiti help line who come to remove same.
This may take a couple of days, as the department
in DCC is kept busy. If you or any other resident
notice graffiti within the estate please ring
(01) 2221000 and they will gladly remove it.
The entrance into Streamville Park has been
moved back to it’s original place as requested by
residents in the hope of stopping anti-social behaviour
around the old entrance and improving the
condition of the football pitches which were being
destroyed by people walking across the grass
area. The pruning of the trees is still an on going
issue.
Everybody has received the Foxhill flyer through
their letterbox regarding the arrival of Santa on
December 20th between 5.30 and 7 pm. We
would appreciate the return form with details by
25th November.
We look forward to seeing as many residents as
possible at the AGM as this is your estate and
want you to have your say and would appreciate
your views and ideas for 2009 and onwards.
We take this opportunity to wish all Foxhill
Residents a happy and peaceful Christmas.
Anchor Childcare Centre
Racecourse Shopping Centre
Grange Road, Baldoyle
PROVIDING A
COMPREHENSIVE QUALITY
CHILDCARE SERVICE
Full Time & Part Time
Places Available
Playschool ▪ Montessori ▪ Afterschool
Call in to discuss

Update on Parish Plan
On November 3rd 2008, the Parish Pastoral
Council concluded its deliberations on the parish
pastoral plan and approved its progress to the
next stage where it goes back to the people for
input and final approval.
The plan has four key areas of activity based on
the consultations with the parish in September.
These areas are:
• Spiritual growth and development
We seek to encourage and facilitate spiritual
growth through full and active participation in
quality liturgies, prayer life and the sacraments
of the parish.
• Joyful Worship and Celebration
To create a faith community known for being
joyful and welcoming, full attendance at Sunday
Masses
• Outreach to the community
We seek to extend a hand of welcome to
those on the outside of our parish community
and to those who are vulnerable in our parish
and in our wider society.
• Young people
To be a parish where young people feel welcome,
and are encouraged to be involved in
the preparation, participation and celebration
of Mass.
To manage the implementation of the plan, the
pastoral council has divided into four teams to
work on developing these key areas. These
teams along with the pastoral worker will be incorporating
existing parish groups under these headings
and importantly will be looking to co-opt volunteers
to work on these areas from the parish.
The plan will be presented to the parish at an assembly
gathering on provisionally set for January
14th for all interested parties.
Training Evenings for Ministries
Following the success of the recent parish workshop
on the Word and on the Eucharist the parish
is now planning to offer a workshop on Liturgy for
the Music Ministry.
TRAINING WORKSHOP
Liturgy and the Music Ministry:
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Young Adult Mass
The next mass aimed at reaching out to young
adults and young parents within our community
will take place on Saturday December 6th 2008.
All parishioners young and not so young are most
welcome to attend!
Update on Music Ministry
Jonathan Davies has joined the music ministry
team at St Paul’s Parish.
Jonathan has considerable
experience as an organist
and musical director. Before
coming to Dublin he was
based in Cashel and Clonmel
Church and was responsible
for forming their gospel
choir which achieved first
and second place in various
competitions throughout Ireland.
Jonathan is helping to
coordinate the Christmas
concert and carol service
and has added considerably his musical talent and
experience to the various groups in the parish. A
big thank you Jonathan for your efforts!
Altar Servers Wanted
If your son or daughter is interested
in serving at Mass,
the parish is looking for new
recruits. Altar servers assist
the priest at Sunday Mass.
They arrive a half hour before
Mass begins and help set up.
During Mass, the servers join
in the entrance procession,
are seated with the priest and assist him with various
tasks during the liturgy.
There will be a training afternoon scheduled for
early January and the local schools will also be
encouraged to part take. Please forward any interested
candidate names to Shane at the Parish
Office.

The Cool Side of God Club and
Ayrfield Youth Club
The last month has seen very exciting developments
in all aspects of both clubs which are held
on Thursdays from 7.00 p.m. on alternate weeks.
Because of the success and growth of both clubs,
it was decided at our annual A.G.M. to try a new
strategy for this term and have each club on alternate
weeks. At the same time we are managing to
keep both choirs rehearsing weekly. An exciting
new development in our musical scene took place
when Jonathan Davies offered his services to us
to assist with musical direction and accompaniment.
Jonathan has had wide experience in music
ministry as well as the distinction of directing an
award winning Gospel Choir in Clonmel.
Our Parish Pastoral Worker Shane has become
involved with the youth Club and we have begun a
Young Christian Workers programme of faith development
for the club members. The most ambitious
of our projects to date has been embarked
upon and we plan to bring 25 of our members to
Lourdes on the Children’s Diocesan Pilgrimage
next Easter. We have begun a fund raising campaign,
to assist with financing the pilgrimage, starting
with two events at Clare Hall. Tesco invited us
to get involved with Santa’s Arrival on
Nov. 22nd where we will help create a Christmas
atmosphere by singing carols and Christmas
songs. Our other fundraising event will be packing
bags for customers at the Tesco Re-Launch on
Monday Nov. 24th. XTRA VISION has kindly offered
us some very valuable prizes to raffle. The
raffle is scheduled for the New Year. Don’t miss
your chance to buy some tickets…Our prizes, in
this bumper raffle will include a TV a DVD and a
games console.
Membership numbers have mushroomed and the
Youth Club has reached capacity for now. We encourage
you to bring your family to Our Family
Mass at 10.00a.m. on Sundays, in particular for
the Sundays of Advent beginning on Sunday Nov
30th, we will be focusing on preparation for the
birth of Jesus ‘The reason for the Season’.
We would like to congratulate one of our cofounders
Fr. Pádraig O’Cochláin who will be installed
as Parish Priest in St. Canice’s parish Finglas
on Saturday Nov.29th at 7p.m.Mass.
We would be very grateful if you would keep in
mind our Lourdes fund raising ventures over the
next few months and we will keep you informed of
any new developments in our plans.
Phil Buckley Secretary.
Ayrfield Community Association
It's that time of year again when you say to yourself
where has 2008 gone. I would remind anyone
who wants tickets for St. Stephen's night or
New Year's Eve Night to put your order in now as
tickets are going very fast. Tickets are available
from the Bar. St. Stephen's Night is €10 and New
Year's Eve is €20 and this includes a buffet.
Again I would remind everyone about Wednesday
Night's Quiz Night - and Sunday Night music - I
would like to thank all our regular patrons for the
loyalty and support they have given to the Centre
over the past year. I would say a very special
thanks to John Courage who sells tickets every
Sunday Night. Again a special thanks to Robert
Hedderman our Chairperson who organises all the
prizes for our Big Night. When the money has not
been won over a couple of weeks and it reaches
€500 we then have a big night and this has affectionately
become known as "The Holly and Ivy
Night" This is the night when there is at least
€500 in one of the envelopes for the "Take your
Pick" and very good prizes in the remaining l9 envelopes.
This night is most successful and great
fun.
I would remind you all our Christmas Raffle tickets
are available at the Bar and I would ask you to
support this raffle and thank you for your support
of it over the years. The Prizes are a Hamper of
Spirits, Hamper of Wine, Turkey, Ham, and lots of
other prizes.
So I wish all our Members and Friends a very
happy and peaceful Christmas.
Secretary Bridie Corcoran

Máire Ni Mhaolalaí – Reports on St Paul’s
Senior School Activities
This year we welcome back Ms Hackett to our
staff. Unfortunately Ms. Fallon has taken up a
teaching position in another school. We wish her
well. We also say farewell to Breda Barry who has
been a Special Needs Assistant in our school for
the past four years.
Fundraising this year will go towards providing a
new floor in the school hall. Two very successful
cake sales were held recently at which nearly
€1,000 was raised. “Thank you” to all who baked
or bought cakes at these sales. Thanks also to
Superquinn Northside and Sutton who donated
cakes and bread. A special thanks to the members
of the Parents’ Association, without whom the
cake sale would not have been possible.
A very successful Halloween Art Competition was
held in the school. Prizes were donated by the
Parents’ Association. The prize winning art can
be seen outside Room 3 in the Senior School.
Ayrfield Credit Union has set up a Savings Club in
our school. This is in operation every Tuesday
morning. It is great to see so many children learning
the importance of saving money. A big “thank
you” is due to Patricia O’Brien and Deirdre Clarke
from the Credit Union and to the parents from our
Parents’ Association who give of their time every
Tuesday morning for the benefit of the children of
St. Paul’s S.N.S.
Confirmation this school year will be held on Friday
1 st May 2009 at 11.00 a.m. in St. Paul’s
Church. The celebrant will be Bishop Raymond
Field. In preparation, there was a meeting for parents
of confirmation children in St. Paul’s Church
on Thursday 20 th November at 7.30 pm A Parish
Team, under the direction of Shane Halpin, has
been doing meditation with the 6 th classes every
week to prepare them to receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation. The children and staff are very appreciative
of the work being done by the
team. There will be four special Saturday night
Masses in January, February, March and April to
which children making their confirmation and their
parents and families will be invited. This will help
to prepare the children to receive the Holy
Spirit. Details will be given to the children after
Christmas.
St. Laurence O’Tooles G.A.C
As Christmas is upon us again
and another season of G.A.A. and
championship has come and
gone, everyone can take a deserved
rest over the Christmas
season and reflect on a great year
gone by. I thank all players, mentors,
volunteers and parents for their hard work
and effort with each team and with their time that
they have put in to the club for the past year, because
without everybody O’Toole’s would not
have been able to give over 300 boys and girls the
opportunity to take part in our National Games.
Any G.A.A. Club that can offer children the opportunity
to make new friends, enjoy being part of a
team and a club year in year out, is guaranteed
that every year will be a success no matter what
the results on the field.
O’Toole’s Cubs Club for boys and girls age 4-8
years will take it’s Christmas break on Saturday
13th December, with their Christmas party and we
have been lucky again this year that Santa will
make a guest appearance. Our Cubs Club will
resume in the New Year and everyone will be contacted.
New children are always welcome to our
G.A.A. Nursery, so if interested please call me on
087-9136374.
Successful year on the Field-2008 has been a
successful year on the field of play for all our underage
teams, for the Boys Camáint Wins in Hurling
our U12’s, Hurling Shield win for the U13’s
Football Féile and Canavan Title’s for the U14
Footballers and Championship Hurling win for the
U16’s and for the Girls the U10’s completed a historic
league and championship double while the
U14 Girls won the Canavan Tournament. All our
U9’s, U10’s and U11’s competed excellent
throughout the year in both Hurling and Football
and our new U8’s have settled in to Go Games
like ducks to water. A special mention to all mentors
for their time, effort and commitment on and
off the field throughout the year.
Finally I would like to thank everyone for their help
and effort through the year in the club and in all
the local schools. I look forward to working with
everybody in the New Year and to another season
of championship.
Wishing everybody a Happy Christmas and a
wonderful New Year. Niall Williams
(Games Promotion Officer)
P.S. Westmeath for SAM 2009!!!!!!

St. Paul’s Junior School
Síle Chuinneagáin reports
Interactive White Boards
We are delighted to report that following
the successful inaugural
Witches’ Walk the children raised
€5,752.00 in sponsorship. This
sum, along with €4,000.00 raised by the Parents’
Association, has enabled us to purchase two interactive
white boards. The boards are now fully operational
in rooms 5 and 8 and both teachers and
pupils are working enthusiastically with them.
Halloween Activities
Our thanks to the parents who organised fantastic
Hallow’een activities for the children. Following a
walk around the school environs we had a parade
of the classes in the hall concluding with Hallo’ween
songs and poems from each class. It was
a great success, we hardly knew the children in
their costumes!
Calendar
The parents’ association have a wonderful calendar
with class photos for sale as a fundraiser for
the school. The cost of a calendar is €5.00 for
one or €10.00 for three.
Dublin City Council
It was a great honour to win the best school award
in the Dublin City North Central Area Neighbourhood
competition and to be part of the Pride of
Place award as a participating school. We congratulate
the Residents’ Association on their successes
in all categories.
School Garden
Bulbs were purchased with the prize money received
as best school and our Green Team has
planted them in our garden. We look forward to
having lots of spring flowers in a couple of months.
Do This in Memory of Me Programme
The next Mass of the “Do This in Memory of Me”
programme will take place on Sunday 23rd November
at 10.00 am in St. Paul’s Church. The
children gain a great deal from their participation
in this programme in preparing for their First Holy
Communion and it provides a good link between
the parish and the school.
Walk to School
We had a visit from Catherine Poxon, of an
Taisce, to raise children’s awareness of the transport
theme and to encourage them to walk to
school, even just once a week. In addition, all the
teachers completed a class survey on the children’s
modes of transport to and from school.
This is part of the preliminary work necessary to
gain our fourth green flag.
Rainbows
There are 22 children in the Rainbows programme
from the Junior and Senior Schools. This programme
supports children who have had a bereavement
or separation in their lives and we
know that it benefits them to have the opportunity
to discuss their loss in a safe setting.
Campaign to rescind Education Cuts
We ask that you continue to challenge the politicians
on the decision to increase the pupil teacher
ratio which is going to impact seriously on St.
Paul’s Junior School with the loss of a teacher.
AYRFIELD CREDIT UNION LIMITED Christmas Holiday Arrangements
Blunden Drive. Dublin 13.
Phone: 8670509
Fax: 8672251 Email: ayrfieldcu@iol.ie
Annual Report 2008
Notice 0f 28th Annual
General Meeting
which will take place in
Ayrfield Credit Union
Tuesday 9th December
at 8 pm
Tuesday
23rd December
Wednesday
24th December
Thursday
25th
Friday
26th
Tuesday
30th December
Wednesday 31st
December
Thursday
1st January
Friday
2nd January
Tuesday
6th January
10 am-12 noon
4 pm-8 pm
Closed
Closed
Closed
10 am-12 noon
10 am-12 noon
Closed
Closed
10 am-12 noon

Christmas is Coming…. Jimmy Kelly relates
And it appears to come earlier every year. Already
the big tree is up in O’Connell St. and is there for
two reasons: one to remind us that the great day
is approaching and secondly, that the shops in
town badly need our money. But even though the
very thought of Christmas strikes terror into the
hearts of a lot of parents, very few of us dislike the
period and festivities around it. It does give us the
feel-good factor; it is the one time of the year
when we suspend reality and while the lady of the
house usually has to put in the extra effort, she
can be sure, when the day is done that she has
made her family happy one more time.
So how will this Christmas differ from the festive
seasons of my young days? Well, for one thing we
were practically guaranteed snow and black ice.
For another, we didn’t have the choice of presents
the kids and teenagers have now. There were no
mobile phones, no i-pods, no televisions and very
few radios, or wirelesses, as they were then
called; any that did exist had to have two batteries,
one dry and one wet. The wet one was great
crack; it had to be charged at the local garage,
how often depended on how much the wireless
was used. Most homes kept a fully-charged spare
in case the original went dead in the middle of an
exciting programme.
The one big event was Mass on Christmas Day
and it wasn’t just one Mass: it was three, one after
the other and said by the same priest! Looking
back, (yes, it was the last century), one couldn’t
but feel sorry for the poor P.P. He had to do everything:
distribute Holy Communion, on his own, to a
Church packed to the rafters, with neither sight nor
sound of a Minister of the Eucharist; they were
well into the future. The Celebrant also had to
read the Lesson, no help from the congregation
there either and, of course, the Ceremony, including
the hymns, was in Latin. Compared to then,
priests of to-day have a handy number!
But for me, several lovely memories of those
Christmas Days remain. I particularly enjoyed the
pageantry of it all. The procession, with all available
altar-boys in their soutanes and crisp-white
surplices along with the Celebrant, would start a
short distance away at the Parochial House and
make its way to a beautifully decorated Church
festooned with ivy-covered wooden crosses to the
Altar embellished with berried holly. The choir,
schoolchildren and adults, made a special effort,
we would be practising for weeks beforehand and
the Latin hymns had a mystery all their own which
turned the occasion into a great theatrical spectacle.
On the day almost everyone had something new
to wear, a new suit, a new pair of shoes, jacket,
shirt or whatever. My dad had a struggle with the
studs in his shirt-collar, especially if it was new.
‘Och, sure my oul’ shirt will do me, who’ll be looking
at me anyway?’ He was probably right, it was
the middle of the night, the first of the three
Masses started at eight o’clock and we had a
three mile walk, but the women in our house, four
sisters and my mum, saw to it that he and the rest
of us would leave home well dressed and properly
presented. It was always nice to see again friends
and acquaintances home for the festive season,
they brought a liveliness not apparent for the rest
of the year; some brought cars, a scarce enough
commodity in a small Tyrone village, some even
new girl and boyfriends and some had more than
a hint of an English accent despite being only a
short time away. The first time I saw a wrist watch
was on the arm of a friend home from Birmingham,
it looked like an alarm clock with leather
straps but without the bells.
Presents? Oh yes, we got presents. I remember
getting Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and a pack of
playing cards. More often we got oranges or apples
and a few clods of turf stuffed into our stockings.
As a special treat the Christmas after her
husband died, my wife’s Mam hired a car to take
them all to Mass, a practise she kept up for many
years afterwards. What a lovely thrill for her three
children and what a typical motherly generous
gesture to compensate, however briefly, for the
pain of the loss of their father. The country was full
of mothers like that and thankfully still is.
Wishing everyone a happy Christmas I will finish
off with this familiar ditty:
Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat
Could you please put a penny in the old
man’s hat?
If you haven’t got a penny sure a halfpenny will do
And if you haven’t got a halfpenny,
then God Bless You!
Carol Service/Concert
With Church & School Choirs
In St. Paul’s Church
Tuesday 9th December at 7.30 pm

St Vincent de Paul Ayrfield
Annual Christmas Appeal
13th/14th December in
St. Paul’s Church
This collection will replace the SHARE collection
Donation envelopes will be delivered to all homes
in the parish prior to this weekend. These can be
returned to St. Paul’s Church at anytime or given to
your Outdoor Collector.
This year more help is needed, but the level of help
we can give depends on your generosity.
We wish you a joyful Christmas and
peaceful New Year
Tuesday
9th December
Monday
15th December
Tuesday
16th December
Wednesday
17th December
Thursday
18th December
Friday 19th
December
Wednesday
24th December
Christmas Eve
Thursday
25th December
Christmas Day
Included in this issue of Ayrwaves you will find our
Parish Calendar, Mission Flyer and Christmas
Dues Envelopes. These envelopes can be given to
your Outdoor Collector or placed in the boxes provided
in the Church or handed in to the Sacristy or
Parish Office.
We look forward to the annual Supper Dance on
6th December in the Community Centre and hope
you all have a very enjoyable night.
Pastoral Council
TIMETABLE FOR PARISH MISSION AND
CHRISTMAS CEREMONIES IN ST. PAUL’S CHURCH
Carol Service/Concert
With Church & School
Choirs
Mass
God’s Love
The amazing story of
John Pridmore
Mass
God’s Mercy
Mass
God’s Healing
Mass
God’s gift of Mary
Stations of the Cross
Confessions
Masses
Masses
Weekday Masses 26th December- 3rd January will be at 11 am
7.30 pm
10 am
7.30 pm
10 am
7.30 pm
10 am
7.30 pm
10 am
7.30 pm
3 pm
11 am-12 noon
3- 4 pm
6 pm & 9 pm
9 am 10 am
11 am 12 noon
No evening Mass