Local & Diocesan items of interest
Local, community and diocesan items of interest for all.
LOCAL:
Wicklow Choral Society will perform a spectacular array of choral favourites in The Holy Rosary Church on 18th Oct. at 7.30 pm. Tickets available from www.gr8events.ie
Music students welcome Kilcoole Music Festival, Nov. 14- 16th and 21st – 23rd Coláiste Chraobh Abhann. Info mary.hanley@kilcoolemusicfestival.ie
GARA Notices:
A total of €2,115.00 was raised for the Wicklow Hospice on Friday last, 26th September.
National Concert Hall for the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society’s production of My Fair Lady. This will take place on Saturday, 15th November, at 2.30pm, for the matinee. We are booking 36 NCH tickets and a 36 seater bus. We need to fill the bus, in order to make the trip viable. Booking can be made each Monday, starting 29th September, at Kilian House before the Chair Yoga class. Bookings will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Cost will be €55 for bus and My Fair Lady ticket. Cheques are preferred if available. If the trip does not go ahead all monies will be refunded. A committee member will be there from 12.45 pm for approximately 20 minutes to collect monies. You must be a GARA Greystones Member in order to travel. Forms will be available at Kilian Centre
For those who have not yet paid your Membership, please do so now so that you can partake in all GARA activities. Kathleen Redmond will be collecting GARA Membership fees of €25, for the year 2025 to 2026, at Kilian House on Mondays from 12.45 – before the Chair Yoga class. Please complete the form and bring the membership fee to Kathleen.
Any cheques should be made payable to Greystones Active Retirement Association.
Regular GARA activities: GARA Greystones is the local active retirement association for the over 55s.
We serve the Greystones, Delgany, Kilcoole and Newcastle areas. All are most welcome to join !!
GARA Greystones activities are now back in action: Activities take place in Kilian House, behind Holy Rosary Church.
Monday 1.15 pm to 2 pm Chair Yoga
This class is aimed at working on maintaining mobility and balance.
Both are vital components of health as we get on in years.
Monday 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm Informal Art Group
Guidance with Art is given by Ann O’Neill.
This is a relaxed group space for every level, from beginner to those with some experience.
Tuesday 10.45 am to 12.45 pm Indoor Short Mat Bowling
Newcomers are most welcome and you will be encouraged to join and learn the ropes.
Leading the way to healthy and happy lives in the years ahead !!
Last Friday of the month
We also have a Coffee Morning with a speaker on the last Friday of the month.
Full details on GARA Greystones and its activities, membership, trips and outings from: 087 2845 465 or garagreystonesplus@gmail.com.
We look forward to a great year with you !!
ANAM CARA
Anam Cara, the charity organisation that supports bereaved parents, will hold its monthly Parent Support Evening on Monday 20th October at 7.30pm in the Parkview Hotel, Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow.
This event is free and open to all bereaved parents regardless of the age your child died, the circumstances of their death, or how recent their death was. You do not need to register in advance.
We also offer an online support group meeting. To find out more call 01 4045378 or email info@anamcara.ie
Anam Cara – supporting parents after bereavement, are hosting an Online Bereavement Information Evening on Thursday 30th October at 7pm.
Breffni McGuinness will be serving as our guest speaker, bringing years of experience with LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice, and his robust background in pastoral care.
Breffni will also take extra time to speak to the experience of parents who may have been carers to their children before their passing. Whether it be due to illness, disability, age, or any other reason, we recognise that grieving a child that one has cared for in this way may bring additional questions, complications, or difficulties. All parents, regardless of the age of their child or circumstances of their passing are, of course, very welcome, but we would like to extend this additional invitation to these families this month.
Parents are also invited to register via this link:
Register here for Online Bereavement Information Evening
DIOCESE-WIDE:
PALESTRINA CHOIR
The Palestrina Choir is travelling to Rome in November. The choir will have the great honour of giving a joint concert with the Cappella Musicale Pontificia – the Sistine Chapel Choir. They will take part in the Jubilee of Choirs, give a concert hosted by the Ambassador to the Holy See Her Excellency Frances Collins, and give a concert in the town of Palestrina as part of Palestrina 500 celebrations. This is a very significant trip: one in which the Palestrina represents Ireland abroad in a special way and it will be extremely educational and inspiring for the boy choristers and everyone who is singing and travelling. We are working to make this affordable for families and are asking for your support in this fundraising concert.
NEWMAN UNIVERSITY CHURCH CONCERT
We are raising funds for a new organ. Tickets are now on sale for Lead, Kindly Light, an evening of music and poetry in aid of the organ project at University Church featuring the Newman Vocare Ensemble, Megan O’Neill, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Mick O’Brien, Oisín Ó Dálaigh, and more! It’s Thursday, October 9, at 7pm (the feast of Saint John Henry Newman). Tickets are on sale on RIAM’s website and all proceeds go towards the new instrument.
#YML
Registration is now open for the second intake of the Diocesan Certificate in Young Adult Ministry – #YML. Running over six Saturdays, the aim of this Diocesan Certificate is to build up the capacity of Youth Ministry and Youth Ministry Leadership throughout the Archdiocese of Dublin. It is a highly practical course where participants are given new experiences and key resources, including gaining vital skills to put into practice in their local context, while also being grounded in key church documents such as Christus Vivit. For more information and to send on any queries, please contact natalie.doherty@dublindiocese.ie. An information session will be announced for November. Registration is open and can be accessed here: https://forms.office.com/e/Et8sXCxNtC
VIVALDI CONCERT
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY
2025 marks 25 years of commemorating October 17 in Dublin – the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Throughout the world and in local communities throughout Ireland, this day is marked through different events and initiatives highlighting the daily, lived reality of poverty.
A special commemoration to mark 25 years of this event in Ireland will take place at the Human Rights and Poverty Stone, Custom House Quays, Dublin 1, on the October 17 this year. It will include testimonies from those with lived experience of poverty, speeches, songs and a creative common gesture. We will have refreshments and a moment to gather afterwards at Sheriff Street Youth Hall. Everyone is welcome.
REQUIEM FOR THE LIVING CONCERT
LUMEN DOMINICAN CENTRE
The Lumen Dominican Centre nestled on the Sion Hill Campus in the heart of Blackrock, Co. Dublin is a hive of educational activity for adults of all ages. Lumen advocates for lifelong learning and human flourishing in a spirit of community through the ethos of the Dominican sisters. It is committed to the dialogue between faith and culture. Classes return in a couple of weeks and run in the daytime (Tuesday to Friday) and one evening a week. Subjects range from ballet, yoga, sacred dance, languages to art history, philosophy and the Bible. In the coming Autumn term Lumen is launching a new choir ‘Cantus Lumen’ (Song of Light). No auditions or experience are necessary, and it will be an opportunity for new and old students to enjoy the benefits and fun of choral singing. To book visit the website lumenop.ie or call the centre at 01-2882075. All are welcome.
MIGHT YOU BE CALLED TO THE PRIESTHOOD?
MARINO INSTITUTE OF FURTHER EDUCATION
Are you looking for food for the mind and oxygen for the soul in the company of fellow travelers? Join the Adult Education Certificate in Spirituality and Human Development Programme. It is open for applications now. For more information, please see the following website HERE.
BALALLY – JOHN MAIN SEMINAR
This November, The World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) hosts the John Main Seminar 2025 at Balally Parish in Dublin, with the theme Integral Christianity: The Vision of Celtic Christianity for the Crisis of the 21st Century. The event will also be available live online, with access to recordings
This year’s Seminar will be enriched by contributions from the key speakers but also from the participants. We want it to be like an immersion in a stream of hope and the remembrance of a living legacy—recovering an inspirational form of Christian faith but for our very present needs today. This will come together as we conclude with a ‘synodal’ experience, sharing in small groups and as a whole what the Spirit has taught us and seeing more clearly where it is leading us.
For full details, visit https://wccm.org/jms2025/.
MANRESA RETREATS
Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality (Clontarf, Dublin) is offering the following course and retreats:
Course: Working with Dreams. Tuesdays, 7 October – 2 December 2025 (8-week course; except Tue, 28 Oct). Would you like to be able to interpret your own dreams? Dream interpretation opens the path to healing, wholeness and creativity. Explore dreams in scripture, learn the symbolic language of dreams and discover the deeper meaning of your life with this eight-week course, led by Paddy Greene SJ and Anne Hession.
Oasis Day. Saturday, 18 October 2025; Saturday, 15 November 2025. Take time to pause with an Oasis Day – a gentle, one-day retreat of reflection and guided prayer, offering quiet space for prayer, rest, and renewal.
Oasis Days
Saturday, 18 October, 15 November, 6 December, or 13 December 2025Take a sacred pause before the year ends. Choose any one of these single-day retreats to rest, pray, and be refreshed in spirit.
Bookings can be made online (manresa.ie), by email at reception@manresa.ie, or by calling +353 1 5529 448.
Visit www.manresa.ie for more details.
GENERAL:
FAMILY DAY IN KNOCK
CISTERCIAN VOCATIONS
Do you feel called to seek God in prayer and contemplation, monastic work and community life? The Cistercian community at St Mary’s Abbey, Glencairn invites single women aged 19 to 40 to our upcoming Monastic Vocations Weekend, October 24 to 27. Contact our Vocation Director, Sister Mairéad, at vocations@glencairnabbey.org.
COME AND SEE
Might God be calling you to religious life with the Carmelite Nuns in New Ross, Co. Wexford? To find out more and get in touch, click here:
MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER
See https://www.marriageencounter.ie/marriage-encounter-weekend for further details.
ACN IRELAND has launched ‘ACN Church Resources DAC’ which will publish and supply much of the material that was once provided by Veritas. From now on, ACN Church Resources may be a one-stop resource for the various publications you will need. See www.acnchurchresources.ie
ABIDE IN HIS LOVE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Abide in His Love Women’s Conference Nov 21-23. The Great Northern Hotel, Bundoran Co. Donegal. An Amazing event for women exploring the beauty & gift of their feminine identity in Christ.
Guest Speakers include Sr. Mary Madeline Todd OP (USA), Megan Madden from ‘A Mother’s Lace’ (USA/UK), Fr. Barry Braum, Fr. Mark Wharton (UK), Fr. Francesco Mary Gavazzi, CFR, the Nashville Dominican sisters, & Mass with Archbishop Eamon Martin. Check out Eventbrite for tickets & more information. Not to be missed!
RADIO MARIA
Radio Maria Ireland is a Catholic Radio Station, and we seek to be of assistance to the parishes as a guide, resource, and tool, encouraging each one of us to keep growing in the faith on a daily basis. We broadcast 24/7 on three pillars being that of Prayer, and Catechesis, Music, and Human Formation.
Radio Maria serves as a valuable guide, resource, and tool for spiritual growth, offering prayers, teachings, and music to deepen one’s faith. We believe that by introducing Radio Maria , we can encourage listeners to discover the spiritual benefits that our programs provide.
To listen, click HERE.
WEEKLY EZINE
Sharing the Good News is the newsletter of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. If you would like receive this weekly ezine, you can do so at https://catholicnews.ie/newsletter/. You are encouraged to invite others to do so too. Send articles and photographs for use in Sharing the Good News to info@catholicbishops.ie.
SUPPORT SERVICES
UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHAPLAINCY
Fr Vasyl Kornitsky is Chaplain to the Ukrainian community and curate in Donnycarney Parish. He can be contacted at 086 2359561 or ugccie@gmail.com. Ukrainian Mass (Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Byzantine rite) is held every Sunday at 1pm in Our Lady of Consolation Church, Donnycarney.
ITALIAN COMMUNITY
Italian Catholic Community Dublin. Masses in Aughrim Street Church on the second Sunday of the month at 12.30pm and fourth Sunday of the month at 5pm (followed by community gathering). Other Activities: Biblical Catechesis (online); Pre-marriage Catechesis: Rosary (online); Book Club (online). Facebook: https://facebook.com/italiani.cattolici.a.dublino/. Contact: Fr Coriolan Muresan. cattolici.dublin@gmail.com / coryolan26@yahoo.it / 012447995.
JIGSAW WICKLOW
Jigsaw offers goal focused brief interventions, maximum eight session, to young people aged 12 to 25 years of age experiencing mild to moderate Mental Health issues.
We offer face to face sessions with young people.
Should you have any queries about our service, please feel free to contact Jigsaw Wicklow on 01 5240796
SUPPORT FOR BIRTH MOTHERS
Information and Support for Birth Mothers whose babies were placed for adoption may be found at www.birthinfo.ie or by calling the relevant section of Tusla at 0818 445500.
TOWARDS PEACE
Towards Peace is a service offering spiritual support for anybody who has been abused, physically emotionally, sexually, spiritually, in a religious/church environment. Towards Peace was established in October 2014 by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Association of Leaders of Missionary & Religious Leaders of Ireland. (AMRI). The Towards Peace office hours are Monday and Tuesday 9am to 4pm and Wednesday 9am to 12noon. For further information phone 01 5053028 or 086 7710533 or visit www.towardspeace.ie or https://www.facebook.com/TowardsPeaceSpiritualSupportService/.
BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT
The Irish Hospice Foundation provides a free Bereavement Support Line. This National Freephone Service is available from 10am to 1pm, Monday to Friday, by calling 1800 807077. Visit www.hospicefoundation.ie for more information.
BETHANY BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT
Bethany Bereavement Support Group is a voluntary community and parish-based service. Our objective is to support the bereaved through the grieving process and our services are totally free of charge and confidential within the law. The name Bethany is derived from the story of Jesus’ friends Martha & Mary who lived in a village called Bethany and grieved over the death of their brother Lazarus. Visit https://bethany.ie/.
AWARE – SUPPORT & SELF CARE GROUPS
If you or those with whom you work wish to connect with people in relation to your mental wellbeing, consider using Aware’s phone-in and Zoom support and self-care groups, support line or support mail. For more information, visit www.aware.ie.
Hearing From You!
We would love to hear from you – what are your doing within the faith community in the Greystones and Kilquade Pastoral Area.
Let us help get the word out there for you! Go tell everyone – but tell us by Tuesday so we can include it for you in the weekend newsletter!
