Author: Fr Ed

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A tour of Ireland in Dance, Music & Song

Compánach “A Tour of Ireland in Dance, Music & Song”

 Compánach, which is hosted by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Luxembourg, is a music, song & dance show combining a live performance with a slide show that takes you on a traditional music tour of Ireland. The line-up includes Gerry O’Connor (fiddle), Fintan Vallely (flute), Tiarnán Ó Duinnchin (uilleann pipes), Sibéal Davitt (dance) and singer Karan Casey.

 This spectacular event, which will take place in the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg on 9 June 2016, is an occasion to experience Ireland’s culture at its best.

 Should you or any of your colleagues, family or friends be interested in attending please let us know and we will reserve tickets for you.

(for more information please see flyer or visit https://comhaltas.lu/ ).

 

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Model railway enthusiasts?

For 50 years, I have been enthused by, and engaged with, model railways. If you have no interest in model railways, there is no need to read further — you will just be perplexed or annoyed.

My first train set featured locomotive 00-gauge Mallard, with passenger coaches. More recently, due to the demands of frequent relocation, I have been more engaged with n-gauge.

I have 2 locos, rolling stock, and am replenishing my virtually non-existent stock of track.

Are you a model railway enthusiast? Could you offer advice/participate in a little project? That is to have one or more layouts in our parish, to involve others (especially children/young adults) in periodic get-togethers to help design and fabricate layouts, and join in the running of the trains?

I confess that although I have huge enthusiasm, I have little knowledge or informed experience. This is possibly one of the strangest appeals I have posted on our parish website, but it just might be the beginning of something!

Thanks for persevering to the end of this appeal!

Fr Ed

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Refugee Aid: Volunteers needed

Members of our community have been involved in the refugee centre in Gasperich for several months now, serving meals and helping in other ways. More volunteers are now needed.

We need volunteers to:

  • distribute meals (see below)
  • help residents learn French, English, Luxembourgish, German… (see below)
  • accompany residents to cultural and social activities
  • help residents to integrate into life in Luxembourg
  • provide tuition in skills from carpentry to coding.

Our volunteers make a significant contribution to the running of the Gasperich centre (and in other locations too), and they are making a great difference to the lives of so many in need. More volunteers are needed: could you help? You can find more details on the Refugee Aid section on this page of our website.

On behalf of our parish community, sincere thanks to those who already serve in this capacity — you are truly witnessing to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Fr Ed

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Nepal update

In April last year (2015) our parish responded to the appeal for urgent help subsequent to the earthquake in Nepal. We sent a donation of €1.500 for emergency relief, channeling it through Ita Sheehan, who lives and works in Nepal (Ita is the sister of Ann Sheehan-Schmidt of our parish).

Below are three emails: one received shortly after we transferred the funds, the second a couple of months later, and the third just received (most recent email first). Below the emails are some photos.

Thank you for your continuing generosity to those in need.

Fr Ed

“Hi all,
Apologies for the delay in updating you on how the rest of the money raised for Nepal was spent.  We sent the second installment over six months ago but due to festival time and India closing its borders with Nepal, the prices of everything rocketed so we decided to wait until things settled down so we could get the most value for your money.

On top of the initial €2,750 sent, we managed to raise a further €2,500, with particular thanks to fund raising efforts by the International Church in Luxembourg (where my sister Anne attends) and Manor House School.  So in total we raised an amazing €5,250!!
With the second batch of money we decided to join forces with UNICEF and help rebuild a school in Darechowk village, near Mugling, which was badly damaged by the earthquake.  Dinesh’s mother and Aunt Paru personally gave the money to the school which involved a three hour trek up the mountains after getting a bus to Mugling – attached are photos from the day.
Once again a big thank you to everyone for all your generous donations, it was extremely overwhelming.  One year on, the country is slowly starting the recovery.
Ekdam denybhat!!
Ita and Dinesh.
On Fri, Jun 26, 2015 at 3:20 PM, Ita Sheehan <itashe@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their very kind donations to the Earthquake relief in Nepal, we were overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity.  Thanks to you we have managed to raise an amazing €3,340 and are still receiving more money every week!
Due to the urgency of the situation, we sent €2,750 to Dinesh’s family over a month ago and are planning to send the remainder in the next couple of months.  In the end, we decided not to support Ghorkha and Dhading as originally planned, as those regions are close to the epicenters of the quakes and as a result are receiving a lot of aid from other organizations.  Instead we decided to use the money to help the village of Dahakhani in Chitwan (3 hours from Dinesh’s family home), which was also badly affected but as yet has not received any aid.  With your money, we bought 30 kg rice, 4 kg beaten rice, 2 ltr oil, 4 kg lentil and salt for 70-75 families (approximately 2-3 months supply of food per family) and mosquito nets as they are still sleeping outside due to their homes being destroyed.  So last week, Dinesh’s family and neighbours brought the food and supplies to the village hall where the affected families came to collect it.  Attached are photos from the day and a picture of me from the mini-marathon, just to prove I actually did it!
Again a HUGE thank you for all your support, it has meant a lot to Dinesh, his family and the people of Dahakhani.
Ekdam denybhat!!
Ita and Dinesh.
On Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 3:05 PM, Ita Sheehan <itashe@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all the kind messages of support over the last few days, it has really meant a lot to us.  Thankfully Dinesh’s family are all ok (some damage to property), but sadly some of his friends and friend’s family were not so fortunate.  Currently his family are still living and sleeping outside for fear of after shocks and are getting concerned about food and water supplies as transportation is still bad.
So we have decided to set up a relief fund (and I am doing the mini-marathon) in aid of Nepal as we would like to get the money to the people who need it in the province where Dinesh is from.  Based on latest reports from Chitwan, a number of homes / buildings are badly damaged, the roads are impassable and a hospital was destroyed.  So if you would like to donate / sponsor me, let us know – every little helps as a euro goes a long way in Nepal.
Also a candle-light vigil is being held this evening (Tuesday 28 April) from 7pm at the Spire, if anyone would like to join us.
Thanks again for all your support.
Denyabhat.
Ita and Dinesh.