WILL IT BE A STAYCATION THIS SUMMER

WEEKEND MASS: Last weekend we introduced a 'Card System' to ensure that everyone who came to the church for our weekend masses was guaranteed entry. We did this to ensure no one would be turned away, because the church might be already at its full capacity of fifty. You are most welcome to join us this coming weekend, but be sure to pick up your 'Card' in the church on this Friday evening at 7.00pm Masses on Saturday; Ballingarry ; 10.30 am and 7.00pm. Masses on Sunday; Granagh; 10.30am and 7.00pm BE sure to bring your Card with you and you are guaranteed a seat. Unfortunately when all the cards have been picked up the church seating will be full.

CLOTHES COLLECTION: Don't give away your old clothes ! Please keep them for Granagh NS parents' association, who will hold a collection in Aug/Sept. All donations will be gratefully received.

SIGHTSAVERS: I was recently reading about the above and the unbelievable work they do. There are 36 million people in the world who are blind, but 75% of blindness can be prevented or cured. Naturally it affects the poorest and most vulnerable, which is so unfair. Sightsavers mission is to treat and prevent eye conditions such as cataracts, trachoma and refractive error. They help to fight the five debilitating diseases that affect more than a billion people around the world. They campaign for disability rights so people with disabilities can participate equally in society. In 2017, Sightsavers and Irish Aid launched a five-year collaboration in Cameroon, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone to support communities throughout the region. Donations help to provide screenings which help them reach children in some of the most remote areas of the world. A health worker will check each child's eyes to see if they need treatment. Operations to treat cataracts and trachoma can take less than an hour. If children are not found in time, their condition deteriorates into the more severe trichiasis - which causes the eyelids to turn inwards, so that the eyelashes scrape the eye - causing excruciating pain, as you can well imagine. Your donations can help to train eye doctors and health workers, and pay for sight-saving surgeries. If you would like to donate, see - www.sightsavers.ie/cameroon or call 1850-60-20-20.

LISKENNETT FOREST: The forest car park is getting plenty of use these times, which is great to see. The committee are working away in the background on various improvements, however it will take time as everything has legal implications. Mary O'Brien, Recreation Manager with Coillte visited recently and as a result Liskennett is now up on www.coillte.ie. Under ' our forests' , click on recreational map, find Liskennett there and visit page. There is a map there showing the trails. Joe Power has also generated a download Link for the Liskennett Walks Map, which you can also find under Services on our facebook page. Instructions for Use: Download Google Earth App to your phone first - https://www.google.com/earth/versions/. Then download Map. Switch on Location service on phone and allow G. Earth to access your location and you will be able to see where you are on the Map as you walk. Coillte will be cutting back some vegetation to open up a new walking track replacing the one through the sitka spruce plantation, ending at the middle road. When this is open, we would ask all walkers to use this one instead. Coillte want to protect the Sitka and Oak plantings.

DID YOU KNOW: 6th July, 1885:- Louis Pasteur successfully gives an anti-rabies vaccine to 9-year-old Joseph Meister, saving his life. 7th July, 1990: - Martina Navratilova wins her record 9th Wimbledon singles title. 8th July, 1889: - The Wall Street Journal is first published. 9th July, 1995: - Bill Haley & Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" tops the billboards chart. 10th July,1985: - The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is sunk when French agents plant a bomb on the hull. 11th July, 1960: - "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is first published. 12th July, 1785: - First manned flight by gas balloon in Netherlands. 13th July, 1985: - The Live Aid Concert was held to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, led by Bob Geldoff.