Restoring an orchard
The lawing front of the house where I live was once an orchard. Locals tell of getting bags of apples from people like the late Canon Bill Murphy. Unfortunately, one of his successors had the apple trees cut down and […]
First ever history of Desertserges Parish published by retired principal teacher
For all those interested in Enniskeane and Desertserges Parish and its long history and in the history of West Cork: Con McCarthy, former Principal Teacher of Ahiohill National School and respected local historian, has published a comprehensive history of Desertserges […]
Life is an ocean, and the church is a boat
I’ve been doing a lot of twisting and turning in my mind of late, trying to describe accurately what it’s like being a priest in the Irish Catholic Church these days. The scriptures are loaded with images and parables but […]
When sport and faith compete
There are a lot of Sundays at Mass time when some truths may not be spoken out of fear of being devoured on social media or on a radio programme. So we tend to let obvious difficulties just slip by. […]
Enrolling for First Holy Communion means a lot more
On Oct 16th, at Enniskeane Church, fifty-one children were presented to prepare for their First Penance and First Holy Communion. This is the text of my me message to the boys and girls and to their parents at that Mass. […]
“What do you like about being a priest, Father?”
Sometimes — most often at weddings — people ask me what do I like most about being a priest. This puts me in a predicament: because I think they might expect me to say that the nicest part is being […]
The Fehily Family of Ireland and Boston — and the “Castletown Chapel” chalice in Enniskeane Parish
Local accounts in Castletown Kenneigh — of the villages in the parish of Enniskeane and Desertserges, Co Cork, Ireland — suggest that a Fehily family was involved in the building of St. Joseph’s Church, Castletown Kenneigh. Several sources and family […]
Ours is a land where scholars have tread
There’s a small marble plaque on the wall of the parish church at Enniskeane beside the Shrine to Our Lady. Until recently, the writing on it was very faded. (Thanks to Jim McCarthy who has cleaned and repainted the script.) […]