2012 July - September
The Super-Owl
Generation
2 SDB
July - September / Iúil - Meán Fómhair 2012
© SALESIAN BULLETIN, 2012
Vol.73, No. 3 - ISSN 0790-1216
Editor & Design: Fr Pat Egan SDB
Salesian College, Celbridge, Co. Kildare.
E-mail: frpegan@iol.ie
Web: http://homepage.eircom.net/~sdbmedia
For Subscriber CHANGE OF ADDRESS contact:
Fr Dan Devitt SDB, Salesian Missions Office
Tel: 061 393 223
THE SALESIAN BULLETIN is published by
the Salesians of Don Bosco as a means of com-
munication and information about their work,
especially for the young, at home and on the
missions. It also contributes ideas to the reli-
gious and social issues of our times. Founded
by St John Bosco in 1877, it is published in 57
different editions throughout the world, in a
total of 31 languages.
Contributions: We depend on the generosity
of our readers. Your help with covering the
costs of printing and postage and furthering
our work will be most gratefully received. We
suggest an annual offering of €15 for THE
SALESIAN BULLETIN and the full-colour
DON BOSCO CALENDAR. Offering to:
Fr Dan Devitt SDB, Salesian Missions,
P.O. Box 50, Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick.
Tel: 061 393 223
Donations to Salesian Sisters Missions:
Sr Anne O’Reilly FMA
Mission Office, P.O. Box 5925, Dublin 4.
Sr Margo Beggan FMA
Salesian Convent, Fernbank, N.C.R., Limerick.
Printed by Walsh Colour Print, Castleisland,
Co. Kerry. Tel: 1800 613 111.
Attending the 50th International Eucharistic
Congress in Dublin, two Salesian Cardinals
paid a visit and celebrated Mass with their fel-
low Salesians on 12 June in Crumlin.
Photo 1. (L-r) Fr Michael Ross SDB (Rector,
Crumlin), retired Cardinal Joseph Zeh Kiun Zen
SDB (Hong Kong), Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez
Maradiaga SDB (Honduras), Fr Michael Casey
SDB (Provincial, Ireland).
Photo 2. Group of Salesians with Cardinal
Rodríguez Maradiaga.
Photo 3. (L-r) Bro. Paul Trần Xuân Bình and Bro.
Dominic Nguyễn Việt Bình with the Cardinal.
1
2
3
Dragon Invests in Mark’s Game p.4
Fr John Horan on Temperance p.6
My Time in South Africa p.8
The Super-Owl Generation p.16
Toby’s Children’s Page p.19
Elizabeth McArdle on Grasses p.22
Front cover: Shutterstock/Daniel White
New Website Launched - salesiansireland.ie
SDB 3
The Salesians of the Irish Province officiallylaunched their new website on 24 May, feast ofMary Help of Christians. The new site –
www.salesiansireland.ie – represents the face of the
Irish Province on the internet. Besides offering a history
of the Congregation and its founder, it has several multi-
media sections where resources, photographs, video and
podcasts can be seen and shared. News about activities
carried out has its own section and is also highlighted on
the home page.
The section devoted to Salesian spirituality is of partic-
ular importance. It offers not only material for reflection
and prayer but also useful information on retreats, initia-
tives and proposals. Of similar importance is the section
regarding possibilities of commitment for site visitors,
which gives an overview of the many forms available:
Volunteering, missionary activities, NGO activities,
Salesian Youth Movement and religious life.
“This is an historical and important pedagogical and
pastoral event in our Province,” said Provincial Fr
Michael Casey, “as we launch out into the new continent
called the Digital World. Social Communication... is a
significant field of activity which constitutes one of the
apostolic priorities of the Salesian mission.”
Special thanks go to the Youth Pastoral Team, which
worked so long on the project and succeeded in setting
the site up in perfect running order and on time; also to
Michael Byrne and Bernard Hennessy, of “ACTON BV”,
for their technical and editing support.
4 SDB
Mark O’Callaghan is set for arags-to-riches story afterhis soccer board game was
snapped up on RTE’s Dragons’ Den.
A former resident of Don Bosco
House in Clontarf in the mid 1980s,
Dubliner Mark (41), grew up in fos-
ter care and ended up sleeping
rough as a teenager, and is now
poised for tycoon success with his
board game, Tactico.
The game is now on sale at €24.99
in toy stores such as Smyths and he
has joined forces with Dragon Gavin
Duffy, who gave him an investment
of €50,000 for a 40% share of his
business.
Gavin was so impressed by
Mark’s story – which he only got to
know after the show – that he
offered to forego his stake in the
company. Mark thanked Gavin but
politely refused, saying he preferred
to earn his way by work.
Mark is also devising spin-off
board games for rugby, cricket and
American football for the interna-
tional market.
According to Fr Val Collier, direc-
tor of Don Bosco House up to 2010,
Mark’s achievement is all the more
remarkable, when you look at the
start he had in life and the adversi-
ties he had to overcome as a young-
ster.
On one of his recent visits to
Dublin from London, where he lives
and works, Mark visited Don Bosco
House in Clontarf and shared his
story with a gathering of current res-
idents and care staff from the vari-
ous care homes which this service
provides.
Through tragic circumstances his
parents were unable to care for him
Dragon Invests
in Mark’s Game
SDB 5
or for his brother and three sisters
from an early age and consequently
they were all placed in care. “Some
of the orphanages and hostels where
he stayed were very rough places,”
Fr Val said.
However at St Clare’s, Harold’s
Cross, Dublin, he and his siblings
were placed under the care of Sr
Francis a nun who was to have a
remarkable impact on his life. “I am
here because of her, it’s as simple as
that,” said Mark. “She was loved by
everybody. My God, every kid in
the home called her ‘Mother’.”
Mark moved into Don Bosco
House at 14 years of age and stayed
for about two years. He is remem-
bered as a likeable outgoing teenag-
er with a strong will of his own and
a steely determination. Although he
was a bright young man, he strug-
gled in the school setting at that
time.
Later on he went through a diffi-
cult patch where he experienced
homelessness. It was then that
Mother Francis helped him out big
time, getting him the Orphan’s
Pension, which made it possible for
him to get a flat. She enabled him to
go to private school in central
Dublin and convinced the nuns to
pay the substantial school fees.
Sr Francis played such a huge part
in his life, Mark is now hoping to
have Dublin Corporation erect a
plaque in her memory in Harold’s
Cross Park and also a park bench to
her memory where orphans can feel
they have a sense of place.
After his Leaving Cert and with
unemployment rampant in Ireland
and university unavailable, Mark
went to France and then to Germany
where he worked for 5 years.
He lived for the first year in a tent
and moved into proper accommoda-
tion when he could afford it.
Following a tip off from his broth-
er that third level education in the
UK was free, Mark joined his broth-
er in London and took an Electronic
Imaging Science Degree at
Westminster University, after which
he worked for a time in the film spe-
cial effects industry.
Subsequently he joined his brother
working on the new Wembley
Stadium as an Electrician’s Mate. It
was there walking around the hal-
lowed turf that the idea for Tactico
popped into his head. “I just
thought, ‘nobody has invented a
board game based around football’.”
There followed 18 months of hard
work, trying out mock-ups of the
game with workmates and later
with focus groups before he came
up with the final version of Tactico.
MOC Games was then formed to
take the game into full production.
Experienced game manufacturers
were found in the USA and China to
deliver the metal, plastic and lami-
nate parts needed to ensure a quality
product.
Finally in late 2010, Tactico –
Football Edition arrived on Irish and
British shores from Hong Kong.
In recent weeks Mark appeared on
TV and radio a number of times to
tell his extraordinary story, and one
cannot but be struck by the fine per-
son he has become and the spirit of
generosity and gratitude he exudes.
On these occasions he has gone out
of his way to publicly thank Mother
Francis and the care he received
both at St Clare’s and at Don Bosco
House. At Clontarf we were at the
receiving end of Mark’s kindness
and generosity when he told his
story to our young people and
engaged them with empathy and
sensitivity and gave them many rea-
sons to have hope in their lives. He
also left some sets of Tactico which
have provided the present residents
of Don Bosco House with endless
hours of entertainment. <
A resident of Don Bosco House, in
the 1980s, Tactico creator Mark
O’Callaghan (above left) tells his
story to current residents, as Fr
Val Collier looks on.
In gratitude to Sr Francis for the
huge part she played in his life,
Mark is now hoping to have
Dublin Corporation erect a plaque
in her memory in Harold’s Cross
Park and also a park bench to her
memory where orphans can feel
they have a sense of place.
If you would like to help him
achieve his goal, click on:
http://www.ipetitions.com/peti-
tion/mother-francis-memorial-in-
harolds-cross-park/
6 SDB
There is the story told of apreacher who was completinga sermon on temperance and,
with great expression, he said: “If I
had all the beer in the world, I’d take
it and throw it into the river.”
With even greater emphasis he
said, “And if I had all the wine in
the world, I’d take it and throw it
into the river.”
And then finally, he said, “And if I
had all the whiskey in the world, I’d
take it and throw it into the river.”
He sat down. The Leader of the
choir stood up and very cautiously
announced with a smile, “For our
closing song, let us sing hymn num-
ber 365: “Shall We Gather at the
River.”
MUCH BROADER CONCEPT
The story humourously ties temper-
ance to alcohol but it is a much
broader concept than that. It’s about
how we order our lives and cope
with our desires. Temperance
applies to ‘any hunger or desire in our
lives which is out of control or occupies
a disproportionate amount of our time to
the detriment of other necessary areas’.
Put more simply it can be described
as the willingness to give up what
we want in order to have what we
need. This idea gets a bad rap in our
consumer culture where profit is the
goal and ‘more’ is seen as good or
even necessary. Furthermore, in our
first world cultures moderation or
temperance is associated with
repression. But these are two very
different concepts.
Temperance, however, does have
a lot to say about the abuse of alco-
hol. We know only too well that lack
of temperance in the use of alcohol
can cause enormous and varied suf-
fering to individuals, families and
relationships. Likewise, the lack of
temperance in this area has huge
negative effects on the country’s
economy in terms of absenteeism
and health care costs. In February of
this year (2012) the British Prime
Minister, David Cameron, said that
binge drinking and alcohol abuse
cost the NHS in Britain £2.7 billion a
year.
NANNY STATE
The response to the lack of temper-
ance in society nearly always results
in the by-passing of personal
responsibility and a call on
Governments to bring in new legis-
lation to ‘make’ us act more temper-
ately. This applies not only in the
area of alcohol and drugs but also in
a clutch of other areas as well, for
example, fast foods, fizzy drinks,
speeding. When temperance goes
missing the ‘nanny’ state has to fill
the void.
We in Ireland know only too well
the extraordinary suffering that an
age of intemperance can bring. It
was the reckless extravagance and
the absence of temperance during
the Celtic Tigers years, especially,
Temperance
Fr John Horan reflects on
PH
OT
O:
SH
UT
TE
RS
TO
CK
/L
IN
CO
LN
R
OG
ER
S
SDB 7
but not only, in our banks that have
enabled the Troika to be our masters
now. The intemperance of those
years casts a long shadow in the
lives of many people.
WISDOM OF THE AGES
It isn’t as if we hadn’t been warned
by the wisdom of the ages.
Temperance has always been part of
the wisdom of all great original
thinkers like Confucius, Lao Tse,
Buddha, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Augustine, and Aquinas. They all
had temperance as one of their
essential and indispensable virtues
not only for the well–being of the
individual but also for the well-
being of society or the state. Our
Christian faith has temperance as
one of the four great ‘cardinal’
virtues - Prudence, Justice, Fortitude
and Temperance.
In recent times two American psy-
chologists Peterson and Seligman
examined many different cultures,
religions and traditions to find the
virtues believed to be the most
essential for living well in all cul-
tures. Their aim was to find a con-
sensus. The virtues had to be univer-
sally accepted. That proved well-
nigh impossible but the six that kept
turning up again and again were:
temperance, justice, humaneness,
wisdom, courage and transcen-
dence. Transcendence is not a virtue,
rather a belief in something beyond,
but it kept turning up as an essential
element in people’s list of attitudes
for living well.
Temperance does not rank highly
in our modern consumer culture.
Advertising continually tries to con-
vince us that our fulfillment and
happiness lies in purchasing the
products they are selling. It tries to
convince us, and obviously fre-
quently succeeds, that the more
‘things’ we have the happier, health-
ier and younger looking we’ll be.
Good advertisements subtly per-
suade us that their products have
almost some ‘magical’ properties
and if we only had them our lives
would be better. They tap into our
need for instant gratification and
soon we’re caught in a spiral of buy-
ing. We know the consequences of
that.
Temperance is not something
imposed upon us as a killjoy. It’s a
paradoxical wisdom that leads to
happiness. Learning to set limits on
our desires is the beginning of free-
dom. Knowing what we can live
without and indeed need to live
without, can be liberating.
Our own experience tells us that
intemperance affects all areas of our
lives from a multitude of illnesses to
broken relationships, empty bank
accounts and negative equity.
If we want to live well, nourishing
healthy individuals and societies –
then temperance is not an optional
extra. It might be a word without
currency in our consumer culture,
but in the long term it is our best
friend. Temperance is part of our
humanness and despite appearances
to the contrary it leads to happiness.
As with most things and in this,
we ignore the wisdom of the ages at
our peril. <
The author Fr John Horan is at
Salesian House, Milford Grange,
Castletroy, Limerick.
Salesians and their lay volunteers
minister among the young in 131
countries. Interested? Contact one
of the following:
Salesians:
Fr Eunan McDonnell SDB
St Catherine’s Hostel, Maynooth.
Tel: (01) 6286 111/490
Email: sdbmaynooth@iol.ie
Salesian Sisters:
Sr Frances Beggan FMA
Dún Íde, Lr Shelbourne Road,
Limerick. Tel: (061) 454 511
Salesian Cooperators:
c/o Fr Joe Harrington SDB
Salesian Hostel, Milford Grange,
Co. Limerick. Tel: (061) 330 268
Salesian Past Pupils:
Bernard Fitzpatrick
7 Riverview Apts
Tower Hill, Portlaoise, Co. Laois.
Tel: (057) 866 1267
SAVIO Salesian Volunteers:
Fr Dan Carroll SDB
Salesians, Celbridge, Co. Kildare.
Tel: (01) 627 5060
Email: carroll.danfr@gmail.com
VIDES International Volunteers:
Sr Dympna Clancy FMA
3 Oakton Road, Westbury,
Corbally, Limerick.
Tel: (061) 348 510
Email: dymclan@eircom.net
8 SDB
It was sometime before Christmas(2010) when I decided I wantedto go volunteering in Africa. I
had received an email from one of
the teachers in my college giving me
some information on Vides and the
work they did with the Salesian
Sisters. I found it all very interesting
but I didn’t honestly think I would
be able to go. It has always been
something I’d imagined doing but
never thought it would be possible. I
was very fortunate for this opportu-
nity. Everyone was so helpful and it
didn’t feel like work at all.
SETTLING IN
I left Ireland for South Africa on 2
April 2011 along with another vol-
unteer called Martina Fahey. The
journey was long and when we
landed we went straight to bed.
Over the next few days we were
very well looked after by Sr Therese,
Sr Margaret and Sr Mary John. They
showed us around Finetown, the
community we would be working
with over the following weeks and
months.
As I look back now, I can’t believe
how quickly I settled in. The first
few days were slightly overwhelm-
ing but as the days went by, it felt
like I had always been there.
The first week or two after we
arrived were school holidays for the
children so instead of teaching, we
used to play games with the local
children for a few hours and after-
wards we would distribute food to
them. It was usually along the lines
of stew or soup. It was something
simple and easy to cook and hand
out.
SCHOOL
Our first day at school was very
strange for me. I felt very out of
place and was afraid I wouldn’t be
able to work with the children but
after I had gotten to know my seven
students I had no fear and I was
looking forward to my next day at
school.
The teachers at the school were
lovely and I became very good
friends with Mpho and Mandala.
They were so friendly and helpful
and also great fun to be around.
Mpho especially looked after me
when Martina returned home to
Ireland. She introduced me to her
family and brought me to Soweto to
meet her cousins and experience
some real South African living. It
was incredibly interesting to see
how local people lived around that
Martina Burke,
a VIDES volunteer
from Co. Mayo
My Time
in
South Africa
SDB 9
area. Soweto is like a city inside the
city of Johannesburg. It started off as
a simple township and has just
grown and grown every year.
I was very lucky during my time
there as I got to travel a lot more
than I had ever imagined I would. I
got to go on a safari; I visited Cape
Town and Lesotho and also got to
see the tourist spots such as Sun City
and Gold Reef City.
WEEKENDS
But it wasn’t all travelling. I spent a
lot of time with the children.
Monday to Friday I would work at
the school from 8:30 until 2 o’clock.
Saturdays would be spent at the
school doing oratory with the chil-
dren from around Finetown. This
would just involve playing games
and saying prayers.
Sundays, we would go to an early
Mass which would last from about
one hour up to two and a half hours.
After Mass we’d have a lovely
Sunday lunch before Sr Margaret
would bring us down to the
Finetown Youth Group.
THE DIVIDE
We were given a tour of Finetown
by Esther, the social worker in the
school. She brought us around and
took us into one or two of the
shacks. It was tough to see the
incredible poverty these people suf-
fer on a daily basis. It makes you
wonder, how can there be such a
divide between the rich and the
poor. That was one of my major
problems during my time there. I
could not get my head around this
situation and I felt that it was so
unfair and unjust that people had to
live like this. I kept thinking of all
the opportunities handed to us at
home in Ireland and how we take so
much for granted. The most impor-
tant thing I had to remember was
that not one person can change this
situation. It’s frustrating but we can
only do a small bit at a time and
hopefully in the future, it will slowly
start to change.
LESSONS LEARNED
Since I have returned home, my
main problem has been missing the
children. They had incredible
warmth about them and treated me
like family. Any homesickness I felt
was easily dealt with because the
children would keep you on your
feet and make you laugh and smile.
I will never forget that feeling of
arriving at school in the morning
and having the children run up
shouting, “Sista! Sista!” looking to
be hugged and played with.
As a volunteer there, I soon felt
that it is not only the children who
benefit from the experience but also
the volunteer. In fact, some days I
felt selfish because I was loving the
time I was spending with them but I
knew I would have to leave them
and then I’d feel so guilty. When I
first arrived I really wanted them all
to like me but as it got closer to leav-
ing I was hoping they’d quickly for-
get me. It was a very strange feeling.
Looking back it’s still hard to adjust
to being at home. I am looking for-
ward to going back again in the
future. I made friends with some
pretty incredible people and it
showed me just how strong people
can be. It was the best experience of
my life and I would go back again in
the morning! Everyone was so good
to me; I could never forget that. <
If interested in volunteering,
contact: Sr Dympna Clancy,
Oakton Road, Westbury, Limerick
061 348510.
10 SDB
Our "good fortune" in having
Don Rua is due to Don Bosco
and total involvement in the
works he promoted. Without
Don Bosco we would not have
had Don Rua, but without
Don Rua’s extensive and
decisive contribution, Don
Bosco would not have been
able to accomplish all he did.
We limit ourselves tothe 22 years he spent
as scrupulous “Prefect
General” overseeing the
entire economic-adminis-
trative running of the
Salesian Society, managing
relations with civil and
church authorities, moni-
toring the progress of
Salesians and their works.
HIS OWN INPUT
Assimilating and transmit-
ting Don Bosco’s customs
in a personal way, he made
his own particular contri-
bution to the creation and
consolidation of Salesian
practice. He also enriched
what was laid down in the
Constitutions with other
dimensions and character-
istics.
ABSORBED BOSCO
As a prudent administrator
Don Rua assimilated the
religious fervour of the
founder, his dedication to
the cause of young people,
his spiritual traits, his
entire patrimony of piety
and religion, which he
learned, lived and then
transmitted with a more
rigorous and extensive
application.
In fact, he felt a strong
desire to help Don Bosco
give the newborn Salesian
organisation, with its
rather impromptu and
unprepared staff, a tone of
seriousness, regularity and
responsibility, with credi-
ble directives and authori-
tative and well-prepared
regulations.
QUALITIES
He was an intelligent and
prudent intermediary
between Salesians, who
were often his peers, and
yet he was their superior
with full powers.
He was realistic and
tenacious and wanted to
build communities with a
vigorous spiritual life
while open to the kind of
education of young people
typical of the founder. His
intention was to provide
young Salesians with a
solid inner formation for
the work that awaited
them, and to see they had a
cultural and solid Salesian
religious approach that
was more concerned with
doing than with spouting
high principles.
IN THE SHADE
Despite shifting heavy bur-
dens off Don Bosco’s
strong shoulders onto his
own lighter shoulders, the
slender Don Rua was left
in the shade by the spot-
light on Don Bosco. But it
is not far from the truth to
say he was happy to stay in
his shadow, on the side-
lines, and to integrate what
was already implemented
by the founder, to humbly
sacrifice himself for Don
Bosco and his work.
SYMBIOSIS
The mutually enriching
interaction between the
“father” and the artistically
produced “child” was com-
plete, but this did not rule
out their having differing
views on the measures to
be taken, the choices to be
made, and the projects to
be implemented. It would
be unrealistic to think oth-
erwise, considering their
different ages, family histo-
ry, temperament, sensitivi-
ty, education and way of
dealing with people. They
were different personalities
who in fact complemented
each other in thought and
action. The Salesian Society
Don Bosco left in 1888 in
the hands of the fifty-one
year old Don Rua was the
result of their joint action,
and the austere thirty-year
internship at the founder’s
side had prepared him to
become a great superior of
a religious society that was
expanding in a prodigious
way, solid but still needing
to be organised in many
ways. This was to be his
priority task. Historical
studies underway in the
centenary of his death have
really highlighted this. æ
Don Rua - Don Bosco
Reflections by Fr Francesco Motto of the Salesian Historical Institute, Rome.
SDB 11
The first time I met theSalesians was at the SalesianOratory. Living with the
Salesians, especially with the mis-
sionaries during my pre-aspirantate
and aspirantate for six years, was a
wonderful and unforgettable experi-
ence for me. I believe the Lord has
revealed to me his face and his love
through the witness of the tireless
work of Salesian missionaries, their
presence among us and their gener-
ous spirit. I am convinced that they
were mediators of God’s love for our
people and our country especially
for young people. It was this experi-
ence that gave birth to my mission-
ary vocation.
After my practical training, while I
was in Jakarta (Indonesia), I had the
opportunity to reflect more about
my missionary life. After a long
period of discernment and dialogue
with my Provincial, I expressed my
desire to be a missionary by writing
my application to the Rector Major
and was asked to go to Argentina. I
attended the Course for new mis-
sionaries in Rome and Turin in
September 2008 and received the
missionary cross from the hands of
Fr Pascual Chávez at the Basilica of
Mary Help of Christians. I arrived in
Argentina on 1 October 2008, the
feast of Saint Thérèse, patroness of
the missions.
In Patagonia, I learnt the lan-
guage and local culture, and I
had my first pastoral experi-
ence among the youth of the
parish. It was a very beautiful
experience of fraternal and
apostolic life, in particular with
the natives of Patagonia
Plateau Gangan, Trelew,
Chubut. It cannot be denied
that the first few months cost
me a lot because of the lan-
guage, climate and culture
shock. The temperature is very
different from that in Indonesia and
Timor. Here it is extremely cold in
winter. I am grateful that so far I
have not had any problems and at
the moment my health is fine. I am
happy as a missionary in Patagonia,
the land dreamt of by our father
Don Bosco.
I thank God for my family who
taught and transmitted to me the
values of the Gospel and for the gift
of my Salesian and missionary voca-
tion. Thanks to them I am here today
among the confreres in Patagonia. I
am also grateful to the Salesians of
East Timor who have accompanied
me in my formation. During my ini-
tial introduction into this new cul-
ture and new people I felt comfort-
able, guided, supported and loved
by my Salesian community. My
community has always been my
support. Now I know that young
people of this land sincerely accept
me as a friend and brother.
Timorese Bro. Natalino Venancio
Freitas de Jesus,
Missionary in Patagonia-Argentina.
The life witness
of the
Salesian
missionaries
in East Timor
is the foundation of
my missionary
vocation
12 SDB
Pilgrimage of Casket
with Relic of
Don Bosco
IRELAND
23 February - 7 March
2013
Learn about the Saint
whose relic comes on pilgrimage to
Ireland in 2013
by reading what he wrote himself!
The young John Bosco
aspired to be a priest... so
as to be a father to young
people, especially those in
need.
“How often I would have
liked to talk to them [the
superiors of the seminary],
ask their advice, or resolve
a doubt, and could not...
this only served to inflame
my heart to become a
priest as quickly as I could
so that I could associate
with young people, help
them, and meet their every
need.” Don Bosco, Memoirs
of the Oratory, p. 80.
In this passage from his
Memoirs, we see that
young John Bosco longed
for what he had missed
out on from childhood.
He felt the lack of a close
relationship with his
father, who had died when
John was only two and a
half years old. And he
wanted to fill that gap in
the lives of others.
ORDER from:
SDB MEDIA,
Salesians, Celbridge,
Co. Kildare:
Price: €10.00 (incl. P&P)
Please send me ...... copies of the Memoirs of the Oratory.
I enclose €................
..................................................................................................
..................................................................................................
..................................................................................................
BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE
SDB 13
Zinc cover 1.5mm Sealed with Zinc screws
Epoxy resin
Plastic hands
Plaster in acrylic resin
The case is placed
inside the sculpture
The Cover is topped with a document
and Vatican Seal
The sculptured face is
made with Don Bosco’s
own death mask – the
mould made on his face
right after his death
WEIGHT
Urn 570 Kg [over half a ton]
Base 280 Kg [over quarter of a ton]
The Base represents a bridge
supporting 4 pillars
“Da mihi animas,
caetera tolle” – Don
Bosco’s Motto
2015
Bicentenary of
Don Bosco’s Birth
1815
Don
Bosco’s
birth
1 metre
[3.28 ft]
1.32 metres [4.33 ft]
2.5 metres [8.2 ft]
The right hand of Don Bosco
which was carefully preserved
is placed inside a special case
et
ch
Clear glass plate
Bas Reliefs of
Faces of Youth
found in five
continents
Map of Europe
(other end, map of
the whole world)
14 SDB
EUROPEAN FINALISTS
In Citi Bank, North Wall, Dublin, on
3 May, Transition Year students
from Salesian Secondary College,
Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick won the
Company of the Year Award at the
National Finals of Junior
Achievement with their mini-com-
pany, Sign4Life. The girls, Fiona
Mangan, Caoimhe O’Neill, Colleen
Mullane and Ciara Reidy will now
represent Ireland in the European
Finals in Bucharest this July. The
inspiration for their idea came while
doing work experience as part of
their Transition Year programme in
Mid West School for Hearing
Impaired Children in Rosbrien,
Limerick and seeing first-hand the
difficulties young deaf people go
through.
The product made by the girls is a
Sign Language App currently avail-
able on the Android Market
designed to bridge the gap between
the hearing and deaf communities. It
uses video technology through the
smartphone to teach users Irish Sign
Language in everyday categories
such as foods, numbers, sports, cal-
endar, colours, family and animals.
It is truly a European product as the
template can be adapted to any lan-
guage worldwide.
Two children each week are born
deaf in Ireland and 90% of them are
born to hearing parents. Sign
Language is different in every coun-
try, even between English-speaking
ones.
Teen Scene
Sign4Life: Caoimhe O’Neill, Colleen Mullane, Fiona Mangan, Ciara Reidy.
Student of the Year at Salesian College, Celbridge, Lucasz Kopytko (centre)
with (from left) Principal Brenda Kearns, 6th Year Head Paddy McGovern,
his mother Beata, sister Alicja, father Krzysztof and Deputy Principal
Dominic McEvoy. From Poland and in Ireland for the last eight years,
Lucasz was overwhelming choice of staff and fellow students for the title.
SDB 15
This year’s annual retreat set aprecedent for the Salesians: onthe second day of the five day
encounter with the Lord at Milford
the retreatants embarked on the first
station of what is to become a pil-
grimage to all the Don Bosco pres-
ences in Ireland. No more fitting
place to begin with than where the
Salesians first came to Ireland, to
Copsewood, Pallaskenry, Co.
Limerick, in 1919. This journey is of
special significance for the Salesians
as they prepare for the bicentenary
(2015) of the birth of their Founder.
The pilgrimage will also encompass
the visit of Don Bosco’s relic to
Ireland next February.
Thus on Tuesday 5 June, the
retreatants were conveyed from
Milford to their Irish ‘mother-
house’, now a flourishing secondary
school and an equally renowned
agricultural college at Copsewood.
They were welcomed by the Rector,
Fr Martin Loftus and introduced to
the facilitator for the day, John
Doherty.
“John kept us to a tight schedule
of input by the retreat Director, Fr
John Roche SDB from Berkeley,
California,” writes Fr Laurence
Essery, “and to discussion in groups
using the ‘World Café’ format.”
Fr John spoke around former
Rector Major Fr Juan Vecchi’s vision
of the Salesian in relation to his/her
life pilgrimage of working with the
young.
After a typical Salesian festive
lunch Fr Martin Loftus prayerfully
introduced the pilgrims in the mag-
nificent college church of Mary Help
of Christians to the history of the
Pallaskenry foundation. It was then
the turn of those responsible for par-
ticular community apostolates: Fr
Martin (rector) spoke on
Copsewood’s early history; Fr Dan
Devitt (Director, Missions Office)
spoke on the mission his office car-
ries out; Mr John McCarthy
(Principal) detailed the situation of
the agricultural college, Bro. Pádraig
McDonald gave an overview of the
work he does for youth in Limerick
city; and Mr Paddy O’Neill (princi-
pal) spoke enthusiastically about the
work of the secondary school.
There was a
display of pho-
tos and items of
historical inter-
est, that includ-
ed the black
vestment used
at the Requiem
Mass for Fr
A l o y s i u s
S u t h e r l a n d
(first rector,
who died in
1958); recently bound volumes of the
House chronicles of the early years
of Copsewood, and the solid silver
trowel used by Fr Tozzi (then
Provincial) at the laying of the
chapel’s foundation stone in 1937.
Before the return journey to
Milford the retreatants visited the
Salesian cemetery where Fr Martin
blessed the graves of deceased
Salesians to whom many of those
present owed much on their individ-
ual Salesian journeys. <
First Station in Irish Salesian Pilgrimage Journey
Fr Martin Loftus (second from left)
blesses the graves of Salesians
buried in Copsewood Cemetery. Silver Trowel
16 SDB
Researchers and experts havesounded the alarm bell onsleep. On average, teenagers
get three hours less sleep at night.
Blame it on mobile phones, Internet
and video games. Children used to
have a fixed bedtime. Now, between
text messages, iPods, Internet, video
games and unending TV, their day
never seems to end. They are getting
less sleep than previous generations.
According to one study, the techno-
logical effort not only steals time
from sleep, but also causes biologi-
cal damage: “Any stimulus of white
light emanating from the screen kills
melatonin, the hormone that facili-
tates sleep.” James E. Gangwisch, a
psychiatrist at Columbia University
Medical Centre in New York, says
he is certain that putting bedtime
back too much can lead to depres-
sion. Not only that. According to
Luke Bernard, chief of pediatrics at
Milan’s Fatebenefratelli, “Sleep
deprivation makes people more irri-
table, decreases school performance,
promotes the use of stimulants and
aggressive behaviour.” Sleep is a
basic need. Lack of sleep causes irri-
tability, moodiness, and obesity. It
prevents concentration, wipes out
short-term memory, slows down
creative thinking – symptoms many
teachers encounter every morning
when they see students come to
class tired and listless. We can sug-
gest some remedies.
1. “Go to sleep” always means to
separate yourself and stay on your
own. The child has to leave its par-
ents and find within itself the
resources necessary to overcome
loneliness and fears of the night.
When a child has difficulty falling
asleep, it is usually because the sepa-
ration is badly dealt with. For this
The
Super-Owl
Generation
Bruno Ferrero offers ten
suggestions for children
to get a good night’s sleep
PH
OT
O:
SH
UT
TE
RS
TO
CK
/D
AN
IE
L
W
H
IT
E
SDB 17
reason parents are always advised to
“bring” not “send” their children to
bed and stay next to them until they
fall asleep.
2. The principle applies in every
case: the last hours of the day must
be the most beautiful and as far as
possible unforgettable. The evening
is always the end of something: a
fragile moment in which the child
relives the difficult episodes of the
day. That is why he or she usually
looks for a contact, someone who
will listen, reassure and calm them
down.
3. Parents are encouraged to devise
“Good Night” rituals: games, sto-
ries, little things done together.
4. An out-of-school time that is too
filled up with physical and cultural
activities and games brings on a
mental and physical hyperactivity,
that prevents the child relaxing and
falling asleep. A nine year old
child’s programme cannot be as
packed as that of the President of the
Republic. The best way to ensure a
happy adult life is to provide a
happy childhood, full of love, music,
games, laughter ...
5. Sometimes, without knowing it,
we put too much pressure on chil-
dren and pile useless expectations
on them to perform and achieve.
This can produce night-time anxi-
eties, the expression of concerns
repressed during the day. A creep-
ing competitiveness causes neurosis
and compulsive attitudes.
6. Sleep times and patterns are very
personal and vary from person to
person. Children need to be helped
to find their own. An infant in its
first days of life sleeps an average of
about twenty hours. There are chil-
dren of school age who can manage
with just six or seven hours sleep,
and there are others of the same age
who are shattered if they get less
than twelve hours sleep. Only par-
ents are the experts in this. In the
educational field, saying “that’s
what others do” is usually idiotic.
You are letting yourself in for trou-
ble if you insist on a timetable: bat-
tles always worsen the situation and
never solve anything.
7. Let us turn off all screens. At
times children would even go to
sleep, but television and computer
hypnotize them, and keep them
away from bed. It is up to parents to
decide what programmes or games
are brain-numbing, and annihilating
them from the cultural point of
view: you can even think of doing
without these. It is not a question of
eliminating the TV or computer, but
you have to know how to use them,
and most of all to switch them off at
a certain time. Their constant intru-
sion cannot be tolerated and that
goes for adults and even more so for
children.
8. Parents are called to set a good
example. It is important that dinner-
time is not too late, even if you often
get home late because of work. The
correct habits should be taught with
patience when the children are still
small. The parent who leaves a light
on in case the child is afraid of the
dark, gives the child the idea that
the darkness is a source of anxiety
rather than of rest.
9. The desire to experience every-
thing and at once is typical of ado-
lescence. Night is seen as a time for
“adults” and an alternative space to
experience many rites of passage.
Parents must not “abandon” their
children to the night, but must deci-
sively, with affection and attention,
assert the bond they have with their
children and their responsibilities.
10. In Don Bosco's educational sys-
tem there is a “Good night” talk
everyday, a few affectionate words
from the “father” that help young
people and adults regain the centre
and unity of life. <
18 SDB
MAMMA MARGARET’S CAUSE
On 23 April, at the parish church in
Capriglio (Asti) an evening was held
to promote the beatification of Don
Bosco’s mother, the Venerable
Margaret Occhiena.
Among those taking part were
Mgr Francesco Ravinale of Asti; the
mayor and parish priest of
Capriglio, Mamma Margaret’s birth-
place; the mayor and parish priest of
Castelnuovo Don Bosco; the mayor
of Montafia; and a large group of the
Salesian Family from Colle Don
Bosco.
Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, Postulator
General of the Causes of Saints of
the Salesian Family, was invited to
give a fresh impetus to devotion to
Mamma Margaret and he empha-
sised the importance of increasing
knowledge about her and insistent
prayer both as individuals and as
Christian communities and groups
so as to obtain the miracle required
for her beatification. He also spoke
about the relevance of Mamma
Margaret in the context of today’s
families, with their positive and neg-
ative aspects. Don Bosco’s mother
provides one of the most significant
examples of spiritual motherhood
with regard to priests.
Mgr Ravinale said he was very
pleased with the evening, declaring
that Mamma Margaret “had
warmed his heart” and he spoke
about the commitment of the dio-
cese of Asti to promoting her cause
for beatification, giving fresh atten-
tion to the family apostolate, and to
the places associated with Mamma
Margaret the bicentenary of whose
marriage to Francesco Bosco
occurred this year (6 June 1812).
The evening ended in the local
library where a new website dedi-
cated to Mamma Margaret was pre-
sented. Diego Occhiena, President of
the Association of the Friends of the
Mamma Margaret Museum is respon-
sible for the site.
http://mammamargherita.comune.
capriglio.at.it/
MARY MAZZARELLO ON THE
BIG SCREEN
On its 140th anniversary of founda-
tion, the International Institute of the
Salesian Sisters and Multidea
released a new film on Co-
Foundress Mother Mary Mazzarello
(1837-1881) with the world premiere
of Maín, The House of Happiness, in
Parco della Musica Auditorium,
Rome, on 4 May.
This was followed by showings at
Mornese, where Mary was born,
lived and worked; and Nizza
Monferrato, where she lived the last
years of her life (13 May); and
Turin’s Cinema Massimo in the
Museo del Cinema (14 May). From
15 May the film has been in Italian
cinemas, especially parish cinemas.
Produced by Simone Spada, the
film draws its title from Maín, the
name Mary’s family and local
friends called her, and is the fruit of
a communication project wanted by
the Institute and made possible by
contributions from all the Salesian
Sisters’ Provinces. The film makes
use of professional actors and
actresses and professional technical
expertise such as that of Alessandro
Pesci, winner of the Silver Ribbon in
2011, who directed the photography.
During the production of the film
Salesian Sister Cangia observed:
“Mother General and her Council
made a brave decision... the request
for a new film seems to have come
from people who live in close con-
tact with us, who share our educa-
tive mission and who love Mary
Mazzarello. Today we have to use
cinema, the language people under-
stand best, to show we are safe-
guarding an extraordinary charism
that has to be spelled out with the
help of today’s media.”
The first film on Mary Mazzarello,
Shoots from a fertile soil, was made in
1969 by Rolfilm and directed by
Giuseppe Rolando. The new film
will be available on DVD and will be
dubbed into several languages,
including English, French, German,
Spanish, Portuguese, Polish,
Japanese and Vietnamese. It will be
also subtitled in other languages.
Further information and trailer:
www.multideafilm.com
The Smartphone is a fabulous invention. Iget a great kick out of it. And there are
about a million apps available for it. A
friend of mine has created a new app called
Shake & Pray. It works on the two kinds of
phone – iPhone and Android.
It’s based on the very popular Swatch &
Pray. It changes your Smartphone into a
prayer book! Isn’t that cool!
It offers 60 screens with a thought, a
graphic, and a prayer on each screen.
You can use Shake & Pray in two ways.
You can shake the Smartphone and get any
screen at random – isn’t that animal! – or go
to the Contents screen and choose your
favourite prayer.
And where can you get it? For the iPhone
app you need to go to the iTunes Store,
while the Android app is available on the
Google Play site.
I’ll be spending a lot of time shaking and
praying during my summer holidays. I
hope you enjoy your holidays too. Be safe.
For our competition this time, you have tosolve the six clues. Write the answer to
clue 1 in line 1, and so on. Spell out the six-
letter word made by the letters in the shad-
ed boxes and send your entry in by 24
August to:
Toby’s Competition No. 38,
Salesian Bulletin,
Celbridge, Co. Kildare.
Toby’s Competition No. 37 Winners:
Ruby Durnin, Reigate, Surrey, UK
David O’Connor, Kiskeam, Co. Cork
Niall McCarthy, Ardfert, Co. Kerry
Lorraine Kelly, Assumption Place, Kilkenny
Aoibhe Murphy, Kilkolgan, Co. Galway
Each receives a Marzipan 87 piece Art Set. Congratulations!
SDB 19
Answer:
Most people
like to eat:
.........................
FILL IN THE
SQUARES
Fill in all the
squares with
the help of the
clues and find in
the shaded
areas something
most people
like to eat.
Clues
1. The holy ...... of Turin.
2. Stockholm is its capital city.
3. The photographer might ask you to say this.
4. Greek is spoken in this country.
5. Two multiplied by ten.
6. Game played with rackets on lawn.
Born: Date:........... Month:............. Year:................
Name.........................................................................
Address.....................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
An under-8 and under-13 winner will be chosen.
1
3
4
5
6
2
Answer to
Competition
No. 37
No. 4 and
No 10 were
identical.
Now
get going
on
Competition
No. 38 !
20 SDB
NGLAND: GOLDEN JUBILEE
Ordained in Melchet Court, near
Salisbury (England) on 17 March
1962 by the late Rt Rev Joseph
Rudderham, Bishop of Clifton, Frs
Seán (above, left) and Aidan Murray
marked the golden jubilee of their
ordination in St Peter’s Church,
Gloucester, on 15 April 2012 with a
host of Past Pupils of Salesian
School, Blaisdon Hall, 1935-1993.
Both Irish Salesians, the Murrays
work in England, Fr Seán in Bootle
and Fr Aidan in Our Lady of
Lourdes parish in Newent (Glos).
SWAZILAND:
SAVIO
VOLUNTEER
From Toomore,
Foxford, in Co.
Galway, Engineer
Martin Healy (32)
is a manager with
Boston Scientific,
Ballybrit, Galway,
who specialise in less invasive surgi-
cal technologies. Having built up a
month’s holiday time, on 30 April,
Martin left Dublin for Manzini
(Swaziland) to spend that month
working as a volunteer with the
Salesians. Martin is a cousin of Fr
Gerry O’Shaugnessy SDB, parish
priest in Bootle (England) and had
for a long time nourished the idea of
going abroad as a volunteer.
He began his preparation with
SAVIO staff, Fr Dan Carroll and Jane
Mellett, back in January, which
included insurance, reflecting on
motivations, looking at what can be
gained from volunteering (as
opposed to volunteer tourism),
adapting to another culture, the kind
of work to be undertaken, Don
Bosco’s story and way, initiative to
go out and meet young people,
engage with them, and what
returned volunteers can contribute
to cultivating resources for projects
in the third world. We hope to hear
of Martin’s experience later.
KOREA:
PROTECTING HIS NAME
Trained as a medical officer, John
Tae-Seok Lee from Korea joined the
Salesians in 1991, was ordained in
2001 and volunteered as a mission-
ary to the Salesian Mission of
Southern Sudan in Africa. He exer-
cised his ministry by offering medi-
cal services at the poorly equipped
clinic run by the mission of the place
and treated those afflicted by
Hansen’s disease living in the sur-
rounding area. He died of cancer in
2010 at the age of 48. He came to be
called ‘the saint of Sudan’.
Now, however, according to
Korean Provincial Fr Stephen Nam,
“the life and spirituality of Fr Lee is
being sacrificed to business interests.
The study of his roots and founda-
tion is omitted and a one-sided frag-
mentary appraisal is put forward.
Through exaggerations and by mak-
ing him a secular hero his life and
spirituality are being distorted.”
To counteract this, Fr Nam has
issued a formal statement on behalf
of the Korean Province pointing out
that a number of public bodies have
gone ahead with films, broadcasts,
pamphlets and the like, all without
consultation and certainly without
permission of the Salesians. He
states that John Lee was in the very
first instance a “priest of the
Catholic Church and a religious of
the Salesian Society”.
He also makes clear “that all the
corporate entities and groups that
have come into existence after Fr
Lee’s death, on 14 January 2010, and
are using Fr Lee’s name, were nei-
ther intended by him nor have any
association with him. The commem-
orative activities in his name were
never approved by Fr Lee nor have
any of their activities ever had the
consent of the Salesian Society. The
Salesians of St John Bosco have no
connection whatsoever with the
Anseo is
Ansiúd
SDB 21
planning and execution of these
activities, especially those activities
of collecting money”. All such
groups, says Fr Nam, should obtain
the proper permission and authori-
sation from the Society of St Francis
de Sales.
CELBRIDGE
SALESIANS
SUPPORT
PAST PUPIL
OLYMPIAN
During lunch
break, on 25
May, Salesian
Past Pupil Mark Kenneally, Ireland's
first marathon runner to qualify for
the London Olympics, visited his
alma mater Salesian College,
Celbridge, where he was presented
with a specially inscribed bowl to
mark his historic achievement. The
inscription reads: “Mark Kenneally,
Salesian Olympian 2012,
Congratulations” and includes the
school’s crest. Mark was also pre-
sented with two cheques, one for
€500.00 from the School’s Parents’
Association and one for €1000.00
from the school to help with his
expenses. He has also received a
grant of €12,000.00 from the
National Sports Council.
Mark was chosen to carry the
Olympic Torch on its tour into
Dublin on 6 June. Meanwhile, anoth-
er Past Pupil Fiach O'Rourke (2001 -
2007) who completed a degree in
Sport, Health and PE in 2010 in
Bangor University (Wales) and has
been working in Bangor since that
time, was chosen to carry the
Olympic torch on 28 May in Bangor.
ART HEALS
Paul Campbell from Newry is a for-
mer student of Limerick Art College
with an MA in computers and
design in the University of Limerick.
During the past year he spent two
hours every Tuesday night sharing
his artistic talent with the women
and girls in Thomond House
(Limerick) and two hours every
Friday with the men in St Patrick’s
Hostel, Dublin Road, Limerick. Fruit
of this labour was the Voices from the
Streets Exhibition in Limerick’s
Augustinian Church, 9-10 June. The
exhibition was a good example of
how art heals and helps people inte-
grate into society, discovering their
gifts and gaining in self confidence.
PAST PUPILS CHARITY RUN
60 runners took part in the 2nd
Annual Salesian Past Pupils Road
Race, 19 May at Salesian College,
Celbridge. All received a medal and
there were numerous spot prizes.
Organised by past pupil Damien
Donegan and his team of dedicated
volunteers, the race was over 4.2 km
with a mixture of serious and fun
runners. €1,100.00 was raised in
support of the local ACRE eco-horti-
cultural project and Our Lady’s
Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.
(Left to right) Sports Master Kevin
Malone, School Principal Brenda
Kearns, Salesian Past Pupil Olympian
Mark Kenneally, Sports Master Paddy
McGovern.
A 2007 photo with Fiach O’Rourke
(first left, back row) and the winning
Badminton Team he tutored.
Our photo shows Paul (second, right)
with his family who drove from Newry
to be present at this unique exhibition.
Road Race Winners (l-r): Jamie Griffin,
Eddie Garry, Robbie McGonnell.
22 SDB
Icould not imagine our Irish land-scape without the presence ofgrasses. As our early farming
ancestors cleared the forests, grasses
appeared in abundance and were
later named with wonderful names
such as foxtail, sweet vernal, cock’s
foot and floating sweet grass to
mention a few. Not only do they
cover part of our earth with fragrant
sweetness but when wind is present,
they provide graceful movement
and the most subtle of sounds.
As far as most of us are concerned,
grasses are the great forgotten mem-
bers of the plant kingdom. They are
the home of 70% of the crops we
grow and cereal grains, such as
wheat, rice and maize, provide us
with half the calories we eat. For this
reason, we will take a minute to look
at this often trampled and under-
appreciated green treasure.
Some of us consider grasses to be
unattractive and uninteresting
because they lack variety of colour.
Yes, there are greens and yellows
and browns in grasses, but essential-
ly, to the human eye they appear
monochrome. The reason for their
apparent lack of colour is that grass-
es are pollinated by the wind. This
means they do not need the brilliant
reds, yellows, blues and whites
which insect-pollinated plants
require to attract pollinators.
As the summer advances, and the
grasses mature, a special trip outside
to appreciate them would be well
worthwhile. Any excuse to become
‘enraptured in a web of fabulous
grass’ as Patrick Kavanagh refers to
it would be just lovely. The experi-
ence would evoke images of being
swathed in God’s eternal love and
for a brief while, all the anguish and
pain of life would be forgotten and
harmony and peace would be ours
for a golden moment. <
Elizabeth McArdle
may be contacted at:
Flemingstown,
Balrath, Navan,
Co. Meath.
God’s
Green Beauty:
Grasses
PH
OT
O:
SH
UT
TE
RS
TO
CK
/G
AY
VO
RO
N
SK
AY
A_
YA
N
A
OBITUARY LIST
Gone before us,
marked with the sign of faith
SDB 23
Michael (Mick) O'Meara
Carriganaah, Ardcroney, Nenagh,
Co. Tipperary.
Fr Ciaran McDonnell PP
Hexham and Newcastle Diocese
Brother of Fr Eunan McDonnell SDB.
Gerry McDonnell
Ashgrove Park, Strabane, Co. Tyrone
Father of Fr Eunan McDonnell SDB.
Rose O’Riordan
New Jersey, USA
Sister of Fr Des O’Riordan SDB.
Peg Jones
Captain’s Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12
Cousin of Fr Pat Egan SDB.
John Browne
4 Merlyn Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Margaret Lanigan
Yellow Rd, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny.
Gretta O’Rourke
Mountmahon, Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick.
Mark Moloney
Ballyshonick, Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick.
Art McCormick
St Annes, Blackwater, Co. Clare.
Nellie O’Sullivan
Lakeside, Chapel Street, Dunmanway, Co.Cork.
James Benson
Mountirvin, Gurteen, Ballymote, Co. Sligo.
Catherine Haran
2 Wine Street, Sligo.
Martin Breheny
Rushestown, Newbridge,
Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
Fr David Browne
Parochial House, Ardpatrick, Co. Limerick.
Francis Coleman
Main St, Buttevant, Co. Cork.
Kathleen O’Connor
73 Tullow St, Carlow.
Nellie Finnegan
Secongloss, Mountcollins,
Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick.
Jack McCarthy
Kilmeedy, Co. Limerick.
Elizabeth Moran
Kanespark, Frenchpark,
Castlerea, Co. Roscommon.
Joseph O’Sullivan
Gurranreigh, Lissarda, Co. Cork.
Fr Laurence Byrne SDB
Died (89) at Oakland, California.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh siad!
PH
OT
O:
SH
UT
TE
RS
TO
CK
Salesians and their lay volunteers
work as missionaries among the
young in 131 different nations.
Our Founder Don Bosco used to
say: “To help the young and the
poor I have only my good will. I
rely on your charity for the means.”
------------------------------------------------
Here is my gift for your work.
Use it where it will do most good.
1€5 1€10 1€20 1........
Name
Send to:
Fr Dan Devitt SDB,
Salesian Missions Office,
P.O.Box 50,
Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick.
Tel: 061 393 233
Address
Ioften wonder what it would havebeen like not to have been theeldest boy. I mean if my brother
had lived. His was a rough birth, I’m
told, having to be hauled out eventu-
ally by the leg. Needless to say, the
battering did him no good and four
days later, ‘having refused to play
ball with the authorities’, he was sent
to the back of the class in the Angels’
Plot in Glasnevin.
He couldn’t cry, my mother said,
though my parents made up for that
with their own tears. I think of him
mischievously, being interrogated by
the medical staff but refusing to com-
ply; a baby dissident, an infant
behind the lines.
Maybe four days is enough to get
your point across, to deliver the mes-
sage, to make the connection. Still I
wonder what it would have been like
to have had him to look up to. Maybe
I could have dodged some of the
responsibility that attends the first-
born girl and boy.
In her poem, ’Annunciation’, Anna
Kamienska has a line which says
‘nobody can know what loneliness
looks like when the angel is gone’.
She is talking about Mary’s strange
meeting with the angel Gabriel who
tells her that she will give birth to a
baby named Jesus who is the
Messiah. Then he leaves her. In that
moment she is every woman who has
ever known the piercing loneliness of
having held an angel in her arms and
then lost him.
— Fr Hugh O’Donnell
72 Sean MacDermott Street, Dublin 1.
Songs for the Slow Lane
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/VLADIMIR KONOVALOV
