Feast of St James, Baile Chláir, 25th July 2013
No ordinary Thursday
A month long heatwave
Thawing our hearts and sun starved bones,
Quieter and half anaesthetised we gather
In our Church of St James.
Mostly on foot from all corners of the parish
We could have been in Spain
Wearing our mantillas, as some of us did!
Sadly they too pilgrimaged last evening
Eighty plus killed and a hundred plus injured
In a train disaster en route to Santiago de Compostila.
Fr Ian remembered and we prayed in unison
No doubt St James will welcome them home
Trí geataí flaitheais Dé
So how lucky we we in Baile Chláir;
Crinniú sa Séipéal
Triúr sagart i solas Dé
Athair Ian, Seamus Nohilly and our own David.
Corp Chriost go Cathair Gamhain
siúl, siúl, agus run o.
síos bóthar Muintioch
suas go garraí Johnny Casserly
go paircín na h-Áltóra;
Carraig an Aifrinn in a mbun,
Iseall i scáth na gcrainn,
Sean ballaí clochair taoibh thuas
Aoibhneass agus cuimhneas
Ceol na n-éan agus teas na gréine
Thugamar féin an samhradh linn.
Three hundred years since the last gathering
Barefooted, cold and hungry
Fearful, watchful
Persecution of priests and banishment to Van Demon’s land.
“An raibh tú ar an gcarraig
Nó a bhfaca tú fhéin mo ghrá”
It was a moment in time
In the hollow of paircín na h-altóra.
Three priests celebrating what they
ordained to do without fear or favour;
David poured blessed water into a
natural font in the low Mass Rock.
A Rock uncovered in his uncle’s field,
Sprinkled all present young and old
Firm and infirm and new babes in arm.
We thought especially of all the ancestors
Who gathered here from near and far
—Casserlys, Lenihans, Morans, Hughes
To name but a few,
Their faith survived hell and highwater
Fire and brimstone, Faith of our fathers
Garraí geal, Gort Dhaithí, Gort Chormac,
Gort Thaidg agus Paircín na h-Altora
Buíochas a Johnny agus an ciste
A chuir tús leis an ócaid seo.
It was a privilege to be present,
Carrying our cares & joys, hopes & dreams
Our faith is our life’s blood,
Without it we are an empty shell
No ordinary Thursday in extraordinary times.
Imeoigh mise agus tusa ón áit seo
Ach ní imeoigh an grásta Ó Dhia
Go mbeímid beo air an am seo aríst.
Solás na flathais dóibh
A d’imigh uainn i rith na bliana.
by Maura Kavanagh, Cregboy
Nóta beag
Lest we forget many hands helped to make it possible, even provided chairs for the aged—a special thanks to our two Councillors Malachy and Jim Cuddy for transporting some of us not fit to walk—entertaining us en route with stories of olden days and hidden passages in Cahergowan, not to mention hearing our confessions and spiritually and physically uplifting us in and out of the minibus.
For more photos from the celebration, check out this album on facebook.
