News from the Castletown Community
It has been a busy time for the Castletown Community over the past few weeks and the highlights have included the refurbishment of the clock, visits from various groups and a celebration in the local graveyard.
1. BIG BEN CLOCK: In Castletown we have our own Big Ben Clock with two faces - one faces the village and the other faces the High Field. For many years Big Ben fell silent and nobody seemed to have a minute to ponder the problem. It was the unanimous opinion of all and sundry that this state of affairs could not continue.
Bro. Kevin McEvoy got down to brass tacks and located a real Corkman living in Kinsale who has a clock business in Cork City. By the end of July 2022, Big Ben's face was smiling at the Castletown folk as he surveyed the village green and the River Nore. He kept perfect time and didn't waste a minute. His twin brother who faced the High Field had to have major surgery and it was only by early May 2023 that he received a new face and hasn't wasted a single second in keeping all in Castletown up to speed. Consideration for all and sundry it was felt wise to have Big Ben do his job silently and not disturb anybody, be they human, animal, bird or else with those chimes. Next time you call to Castletown take note of the time. It is rumoured that Dail Eireann may consult us for the correct time. Our Clock man is none other than Philip Stokes who lives in Kinsale and has his business premises in Cork City.
2. SALESIAN SISTERS: They are frequent visitors to our Pastoral Centre and Community. On Saturday 27th May some 43 Sisters, including their Superior General from Rome and one of the Councillors from the Philippines had a very important meeting here. All the stops were pulled out for a Gala Dinner that rounded off the proceedings. Even a huge iced cake was centre place in the dining room and all the Sisters made their way home that evening with a nice piece of the Celebration Cake.
3. Churchtown Graveyard in Castletown: Do you know that this graveyard lies only one field away from our High Field? In 1888 a Brother Thomas Aquinas was interred there. Then in 1895 another Brother plus a Junior Novice called Credo were interred there in the ruins of a very old church.
On Friday, 2nd June 2023, our Parish Priest, Fr. Brian Griffin said Mass there in the presence of a huge number of parishioners. The old section of the Graveyard plus the new section were spotless. The evening was a real summer's day and each grave that had relatives present were blessed with Holy Water. Brothers Kevin, Frank and Albert attended and the ceremony was very touching with singing and religious decorum.
When I get information on this lovely small graveyard which is now the main burial place for Castletown Parish and beyond, I will fill our readers in on some details from 1888.
4. Meitheal Youth Leadership Programme: Castletown has been working overtime with four Meitheal groups occupying the campus. This is a four-week session for future youth leaders in the Diocese of Kildare and Loughlin. Each week a group ranging from 60 - 75 participants arrive. The trainee leaders come from a number of Secondary Colleges in the diocese and follow a very well organised course guided by 15 trained leaders for each week. The overall organiser of this annual event for the past 26 years is a Dublin man called Robbie Norton and he is superb. The trainee leaders will be 6th Year Students in September and will act as mentors to the new 1st Years along with helping the teachers in identifying any problem areas such as bullying, loneliness etc. On Thursday,15th June, Bishop Denis Nulty of the diocese said the Mass and presided over the Commissioning Ceremony. Lots of the family members were present and enjoyed a cuppa and chat before motoring home. The core Scripture message of the programme in a nutshell is : "Act Justly, Love Tenderly and Walk Humbly with your God".
5. Cloud burst: We enjoyed real Canary Island type weather for most of June and the nearby Nore River was a rendezvous for the youth of all ages. This fairytale weather came to an abrupt end at 3pm on Monday 19th June when severe thunder and lightning brought people back to stern reality in Castletown. We had a massive cloud burst which lasted half an hour. The normal rainfall for June fell in thirty minutes. The water cascaded through the kitchen ceiling and in no time we resembled the aftermath of the dam disaster in the Ukraine. People in Castletown village never remembered the like in their whole lives. Daily watering of begonias by Jennifer Masterson came to an end and many hands helped in the mopping up. To be able to swim on such occasions would be a bonus.
6. New Chef: Billy Maloney, who lives in Castletown but hails from Tallaght in Dublin is our new chef since beginning of June. He is a great cook and enjoys a bit of rod fishing for relaxation be it the Nore River or seaside in West Cork.
Br. Albert O'Driscoll