Moycarkey Borris Pastoral Group is reaching out to the general public with series of talks

By Noel Dundon
Published 29th Jan 2021, 14:00 GMT
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“We have a very diverse group of people in our line-up and we are delighted to be reaching out to the community with this project." - Philip Kinane.

The Moycarkey Borris Parish Pastoral Council is reaching out to the general public with a week long series of talks entitled – “Covid Reflections – a Vaccine of Hope.”

The talks will be streamed live from St Kevin's Church, Littleton from Monday February 1- 6 at 7:00pm each evening and will touch on various themes in a bid to reconnect people and stimulate debate and discussion amongst the community.

The Pastoral Council, led by Chairman Philip Kinane has assembled a fantastic line up of speakers including well known Portlaoise priest, Fr Paddy Byrne; former Tipperary hurling All-Star John Leahy; the retired Governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Lonergan; Alix Noonan, a student from the parish of Moycarkey Borris and Irish Dominican Priest, Fr. John Harris.

“We have a very diverse group of people in our line-up and we are delighted to be reaching out to the community with this project.

“Our group here in Moycarkey Borris emerged out of the Archdiocesan Listening Process and we have come up with many suggestions as to what we can do to bring the Church out into the community. The pandemic has forced us all to find new ways of doing things and this is just one of the things that we came up with her ein this parish. But this is not just for our parish - this is for anybody who wishes to log on share the experience,” Philip said.

St Kevin's Church in Littleton had live streaming in place before Covid-19 and it has been a phenomenal success, reaching 90 countries and 284,006 people so far. And, many other parishes having followed suit with great help coming from PP Fr Tom Fogarty and the Parish Pastoral Council.

The talks will touch on very relevant topics and will be interesting, informative and accessible to all.

Fr. Paddy Byrne, who will kick start the series of talks on Monday evening on the theme of 'Where do we go from here? is the Parish Priest of Abbeyleix in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin. He writes a column in the Carlow Nationalist newspaper and has a blog as a way for parishioners and others to read and comment on the themes discussed there. His regular contributions entertain, educate, and provide insight and hope. He is known as a prodigious tweeter, blogger and social justice campaigner who hopes that his twitter account (@frpaddybyrne) will be a source of encouragement and reflection for people.placeholder image
Fr. Paddy Byrne, who will kick start the series of talks on Monday evening on the theme of 'Where do we go from here? is the Parish Priest of Abbeyleix in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin. He writes a column in the Carlow Nationalist newspaper and has a blog as a way for parishioners and others to read and comment on the themes discussed there. His regular contributions entertain, educate, and provide insight and hope. He is known as a prodigious tweeter, blogger and social justice campaigner who hopes that his twitter account (@frpaddybyrne) will be a source of encouragement and reflection for people.

Fr Paddy Byrne

On Tuesday evening, Alix Noonan, who is from the parish of Moycarkey, will speak on 'Coping with the pandemic – a student perspective.' She is a past student at the Ursuline Secondary School and is now in her first year studying Applied Psychology in University College Cork. She was awarded a Gold Medal for her work with the Pope John Paul group in October 2017 and the following year she received the Papal Cross Award.placeholder image
On Tuesday evening, Alix Noonan, who is from the parish of Moycarkey, will speak on 'Coping with the pandemic – a student perspective.' She is a past student at the Ursuline Secondary School and is now in her first year studying Applied Psychology in University College Cork. She was awarded a Gold Medal for her work with the Pope John Paul group in October 2017 and the following year she received the Papal Cross Award.

Alix Noonan

Alix will be followed on Wednesday evening by well known John Lonergan, the former Governor of Mountjoy Prison. A native of Bansha in Tipperary, John entered the prison service in 1968 and was Governor for 24 years. He spent 42 years in the service. During those years he saw human nature at its worst – and often, at its best. He developed a deep understanding both of human nature and of Irish society. Since his retirement John has given numerous talks in schools and in parishes and he will be speaking on 'Staying calm in a time of anxiety.'

Thursday evening will see the well known TV and radio presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin from Navan in County Meath speak on 'The Vaccine of Laughter'. He is known for his work on The Haunting of Hell House (1999), Knocking on Death's Door (1999) and Hanging with Hector (2004).

He presented The Sunday Sitting Room on Today FM and previously presented Breakfast with Hector on weekday mornings on RTÉ 2fm. Hector first came to the attention of Irish viewers with his travelogue programme Amú on TG4. placeholder image
He presented The Sunday Sitting Room on Today FM and previously presented Breakfast with Hector on weekday mornings on RTÉ 2fm. Hector first came to the attention of Irish viewers with his travelogue programme Amú on TG4. 

Hector

'Managing Addiction during the Pandemic' will be the topic for former Tipperary hurling All Star John Leahy to discuss. John, a former dual star won five Munster Hurling titles, three Senior Hurling All Irelands, three All Star Awards and four National Hurling League medals. He is a Drug Education Officer with the Health Service Executive (HSE).placeholder image
'Managing Addiction during the Pandemic' will be the topic for former Tipperary hurling All Star John Leahy to discuss. John, a former dual star won five Munster Hurling titles, three Senior Hurling All Irelands, three All Star Awards and four National Hurling League medals. He is a Drug Education Officer with the Health Service Executive (HSE).

John Leahy

The final speaker on Saturday evening will be Dominican Fr John Harris, OP. He has a doctorate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome (Angelicum) and has taught Dogmatic and Moral Theology in the Dominican Studium in Dublin.  Fr. John  has delivered numerous talks especially at the Summer E-Festival Weekend of Youth 2000 and he will speak on the topic 'What Makes us Fully Alive Today?placeholder image
The final speaker on Saturday evening will be Dominican Fr John Harris, OP. He has a doctorate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome (Angelicum) and has taught Dogmatic and Moral Theology in the Dominican Studium in Dublin.  Fr. John  has delivered numerous talks especially at the Summer E-Festival Weekend of Youth 2000 and he will speak on the topic 'What Makes us Fully Alive Today?

Fr John Harris

“We are delighted that the speakers have agreed to come to us and we are really looking forward to bringing them to the people of our parish and much further afield. We encourage anybody who wants to log on to do so,” Philip Kinane said.

The talks are free to anyone to log onto to by simply clicking on the link https://moycarkey borris.ie/live-feed/

Related topics:churchvaccineTipperary
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