Kerry Earth Week 2011

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Catholic parishes throughout the diocese of Kerry took part in Diocesan Earth Week 2011, which ran this year from 25th September to 4th October, coinciding with the end of Creation Time.

Kerry Earth Week is one of the Diocesan Justice, Peace & Creation Committee’s efforts to continue to green the diocese by encouraging people to make the link between their faith and concern for the natural world.

Events included harvest masses, blessing of animals services, litter picks and planting of spring bulbs.

IMG_5994Trócaire’s new climate change campaign, It’s Up To Us, was launched in Killarney; a parish workshop on social justice was also held there.

A harvest mass was celebrated in Tralee where the sanctuary Volunteer Day pics & Ava walking 131steps were decorated with fruits of the earth; a sacred space was also created. The next day there was a blessing of pets.

At Lixnaw an outdoor Harvest Mass was celebrated followed by Volunteer Day pics & Ava walking 117blessing of pets. Harvest masses were also celebrated Volunteer Day pics & Ava walking 126atVolunteer Day pics & Ava walking 119Ballymacelligott, Derrinagree and Dromagh. Fruit trees were also planted at the latter.

Killorglin held an earth vigil and bulbs were planted in the grounds of the Star of the Sea Church, Cromane.

Fr. Gerard O’Connell spoke about Earth Week to the children in the school at Irremore.

Kerry Astronomy Club gave “Just a Thought” on Radio Kerry and Paddy Stack gave a presentation entitled “The Night Sky” at Ardfert Retreat Centre.

In Duagh/Lyre people dug a large crop of potatoes, which they had planted in the “Gairdin Glas” and Castleisland parishioners took part in a walk to the source of the Blackwater River and to a wind farm.

Listowel marked Kerry Earth Week by holding a mass in the famine graveyard, Teampall Bán. Mass was celebrated by Canon Declan O’Connor and the music was provided by John Kinsilla, helped by some members of the Listowel Choir.
A good crowd attended and the weather held up well. John Pierce, a local historian, gave a talk on the history of the graveyard which dates from 1850. John’s book on the famine in North Kerry, which will include the full history of Teampall Bán and the surrounding area, is due to be published in early 2012

A circular “tree seat” created by Kerry Parent & Friends trainees was also unveiled on the day. This complements the two existing seats outside the Oratory, which were also created by Kerry Parent & Friends trainees.

Earth Week was celebrated in Gneeveguilla/Rathmore Parish with the traditional making of butter. Gareth Kennedy –an artist employed by Kerry Co. Council staged the event along with local people. A Gneeveguilla man, Martin Ashe, re-crafted a butter churn and firkin from two wooden tables.

Celebrating the wealth of lore surrounding butter and its social, cultural and economic history, people from two years of age to 85 came to spin the churn, under the watchful eye of “Bean an Tí” Eileen Fleming, to help produce a large pat of butter. This was packed into the firkin and paraded through the village and then taken to the Moving Bog where it was ceremonially buried with song, speeches and music to become Bog Butter, celebrating the continuity of people and place. This event was also filmed.

St. Mary’s parish, Ballyheigue, celebrated a harvest mass in conjunction with Kerry Earth Week. It is the second year that the parish of Ballyheigue has offered mass in thanksgiving for the harvests that were gathered in this year; namely the harvest gathered from the fruits of the land, and the harvest netted from the fruits of the sea. The liturgy group was instrumental in organising all aspects of the mass along with PP Fr Tom Leane.

A presentation was set up in front of the altar table evoking different scenes from nature, portraying the richness and variety of God’s creation. In essence this was a thanksgiving mass for all that had been received this year from the abundance of God’s creation.

“Ballyheigue as a parish community depends very much on the fruits of these two harvests,” says Martin MacEgan, who gave “Just a Thought” on Radio Kerry during Earth Week. “The natural beauty of creation to be seen in Ballyheigue draws in a “third” harvest for us, in those who visit and holiday in our parish. It proves a livelihood and much needed income for those who work in the tourism industry, for which we are much grateful.

“An event like Kerry Earth Week reminds us how important our environment is, and how dependable we are upon it. In Ballyheigue I believe that the message of Kerry Earth Week is put into practice, year by year: we have a clean-up of our local beach and the entire parish locality and its environs. We also have a recycling area close to our beach and the parish has its own tidy towns committee.”