CHURCH NEWS
A big thank you to all who helped in any way during Holy Week and the Easter ceremonies. It is a very busy week in the Church’s calendar and so it was wonderful to see people offer their time and talents to help. A big thank you to all the readers, Eucharistic ministers and all who helped with the ceremonies. Our church looked beautiful as always. Beautiful flower arrangements adorned the church porch, windows and altar. These were lovingly arranged by Joan Cheasty and what a gift she has. The bright display of colour reminded us of the joy and light of the Easter season. A big thank you must go to our fantastic sacristan Ann Nolan who works tirelessly in our church every day of the year. She takes care of the church like her own home, and it gleams from top to bottom. We thank her for taking such pride in her work and we ask the Lord to reward her dedication with good health and happiness.
The Easter collection for the support of the priests of the parish is continuing and you can still drop your envelope into the weekly collection basket.
If you would like to book a weekend anniversary mass for a loved one during the months of May and June, there are still some dates available. To book a mass please contact Linda Spillane on 087 9838392.
FAITH CONVERSATIONS
Pope Francis has called the whole church to focus attention on what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church around the world. Inter parish meetings called “Faith Conversations” will take place at different locations around the Diocese. All ages are welcome to attend. You can be a regular mass goer or someone who goes occasionally, all are welcome to attend and speak and listen. The venue for Ballyduff and Portlaw is the Glor na Mara school, Tramore at 7.30pm on Wednesday May 4th. The other parishes attending this venue are Tramore, Dunhill, Killea, Newtown and Kilmacthomas.
Easter Sunday.
Although the weather was horrible on Easter Sunday morning, people still gathered after the morning mass to remember our history and those gone before us at our lovely 1916 Commemoration plaque. As the Proclamation was read by Dermot Dooley, the tricolour was raised and then everyone joined together to sing our National Anthem. This was played beautifully on the pipes by the very talented piper Tommy Kiely who stood proudly in his piper attire. It was a fantastic proud moment as we all left with great pride in our hearts and headed off to what we now know was a great Deise win
HAMPER WIN
The Ballyduff Community Hall Redevelopment Committee would like to thank everyone who supported their recent Easter hamper raffle. They had a fantastic hamper up for grabs full of lots of Easter treats to eat and drink. Congratulations to local young man Finn Doyle who was the lucky winner and I’m sure he shared his treats with his parents and his sister Hannah.
ROUNDERS CLUB
The Ballyduff Lower GAA pitch will be the venue for an introductory training session and a reminder of the rules for Ballyduff’s new rounders team. This is open to all adults of all fitness levels and abilities. This will be the only mixed adult team in Waterford which will automatically make them County Champions!! Come along and join in the fun on Sunday May 1st from 12pm to 2pm. Rounders has been part of all our lives growing up, it has been played at many a family gathering, school playground etc so why not go along and join the fun.
GALA RENOVATIONS
Congratulations and good luck to Damien and Majella Hennessy at Gala Kilmeaden who have been making some fantastic changes to their store. With just another few small bits to go it is already looking very impressive. We wish them every success and look forward to checking out their new facilities.