Latest news from Castletown Community

The Castletown Community has enjoyed another busy month with the highlights being a very enjoyable Brothers’ Retreat and a successful Cemetery Day.

Castletown Retreat

A well-attended Retreat with all the Brothers in Castletown present took place in Castletown from Tuesday July 2nd to Friday July 5th.

Brothers Ben, Brother Saviour Gatt from Malta and Michael Curran joined us for the four days giving us an update on the District on the Friday.

Br. Chris Patiño from the Motherhouse gave us two reflective talks each day and Fr. Joe Walsh O.F.M. (our chaplain in Miguel House) celebrated the Eucharist at midday. Br. Chris was most accommodating as he fitted in our Retreat despite his very busy schedule.

Cemetery Day

Cemetery Day in Castletown was held on Saturday July 6th and it certainly was a day to be remembered.

Contacting the relatives of the deceased Brothers was entering the unknown as we had not a great number of contact phone numbers or emails at hand. To the amazement of all, some 230 turned up for the 2pm Mass with Fr. Joe Walsh O.F.M. being the chief celebrant. Everyone in Castletown was at hand to assist in the smooth running of events - car parking, making sandwiches, chatting with relatives, and offering cups of tea as people arrived.

Mass was in the Novitiate Chapel and for the first time in ages, it was packed to the rafters. Only one heavy shower fell during Mass despite the dire predictions of Met Éireann.

Everyone assembled after Mass at the well-manicured cemetery for some prayers and blessings for the deceased. By 4pm everyone was safely back in the dining room for a feast of freshly made sandwiches, delicacies and piping hot soup.

**Ciarán & Gobnait (Murphy) Tracey sitting on Brother Mike Murphy’s memorial seat**

Everyone had got a special Mass booklet beautifully prepared by Brother John McDermott which included an insert for families of Brothers to update their contact details for future reference. Everyone was in awe at the efficiency and welcome extended.

Over the meal was the perfect opportunity to have a chat with the relatives. All were loud in praise of the welcome they received. Both communities and staff on the compound the deserve great credit in organising the Day and as a result Cemetery Day will be an annual event from now on - always the first Saturday of July.

Part of the large attendance at the Cemetery Day Mass

Anointing Fire Catholic Ministry

A group of 33 High School students (whose parents would have come from Kerala in South India) from various parts of Ireland attended this Anointing Fire Catholic Ministry Retreat.

Fr. Joseph O. Carm along with five adults looked after everything. Daily Mass, Confessions, Rosaries and Adoration were the order of the day with spiritual reflections. The silence, demeanour and reverence of these students was something to behold. The organisation was phenomenal with groups on hand to do the wash up after meals. This group will receive a warm welcome on their return next year.

Australian visitor

On Monday, 8th July, Peter Holohan paid us a visit and stayed the night. He is currently Principal of De La Salle College, Marrickville, Melbourne, State of Victoria, Australia. The all-boys school has an enrolment of some 900 and is one of our two Colleges in that city.

Peter has been to Ireland on a few occasions looking up ancestral connections in Co. Clare and elsewhere. He plans to bring to Ireland next year a team of footballers who will play a number of games mainly against our Lasallian schools, but they have already sourced some opposition in other parts of Ireland as well. The group will be based in our Centre here in Castletown for much of their trip in April 2025. They will play a mix of both GAA and Australian Rules Football.

Mná na hÉireann

From Friday 12th to Sunday 14th July a new group of 20 women mainly from a 50km radius of Castletown arrived for a three day Retreat. Carmel Minogue was the efficient organiser. It was a wonderful occasion with lots of prayer, reflection, reading, chatting and meals together.

Most of the group were either vegans or vegetarians and they were very pleased with the food prepared by our chef, Billy Moloney. The list of dishes requested by participants is very varied depending on the group.

All were loud of their praise for our Pastoral Centre - the quiet ambiance, cleanliness of the compound, accommodation and meals. The lovely well-kept grounds had them all in cloud nine and cannot wait to be back again.

The welcome they received during their stay was the high point of their conversation. They were a very friendly group and they felt fully refreshed when returning home and long for their next visit to Castletown.

Ruach Ministry Portlaoise

Margaret Healy is the chief organiser of this group of 60 adults who visited from Tuesday July 23rd to Thursday 25th. It was a special time for prayer and reflection with Fr. Prince SJ on hand as Retreat facilitator. It is their first time here and they have two further Retreats planned in the following two weeks and, so far, the numbers look very promising. We look forward to their stay.

Renovations

The community hopes to begin relocating to the renovated section over the kitchen area during the month of August. It has been much slower (and costlier!) than originally planned, but it is hoped that when completed, it will be worth both the efforts and expenses