Category menu fenor 1996 – diary of a parish

Jan 21 2014

The Stations

Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish Community

“The Stations”

[ Note: These Stations are not the Stations of the Cross. – Comms Team.]

“The Stations” were a big part of Irish religious life in earlier times. They are said to go back to the Penal times when Mass was prohibited and priests “on the run” visited a parish once or twice a year. Up to fifty years ago, the stations were held in the houses of each locality. Now they take place in the church. Twice a year, in Lent and October, one house in each townland hosted the stations. Householders took turns so that no house had the stations oftener than every five or six years. The cleaning and whitewashing that went on, inside and out, for weeks beforehand, had to be seen to be believed, and the baking and preparation of food caused many a sleepless night to the woman of the house.

The station Mass was a morning Mass and both priests usually visited as well as a priest’s boy (to lay out the altar). Confessions were heard above in the room (parlour) and Mass was celebrated and Holy Communion received by all. The house would be thronged by all the neighbours, and children of the townland would get the day off school to attend their station. After Mass the head of each household paid the dues or station money to the parish priest and the name and amount was written down by the priest’s “boy” (usually, a man well on in his years). Breakfast was then had by all. The priests and male householders were served in the parlour and the women and children in the kitchen. The fuss and fluster was great and what a relief to the woman of the house when all were fed and happy. When the priest had said his “goodbyes” and gone on his way, a party, or sometimes a house dance, followed the stations.

Jan 21 2014

Ash Wednesday

Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish Community

“Ash Wednesday”

19th February, 1996

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. In our grandparents’ time it was the beginning of forty days of black fast and abstinence. All over seven years of age and under seventy were obliged to fast and abstain from animal products (milk, butter, meat and eggs). Fish was allowed. Two collations (small meals of black tea and dry bread or porridge and black tea) were allowed each day and for the main meal, potatoes and salt or potatoes and fish with a white sauce were the usual fare. Because milk or buttermilk was prohibited, a barm was made by adding oatmeal to water and allowing it to stand for a day or two. This produced a whitish drink which was also used to whiten the tea.

For people who lived near the strand there was a supply of fish or shell fish. Salt ling or Landers fish (Newfoundlander fish) was bought by the slab. It was dried and salted and was as hard as a board. It had to be soaked overnight before cooking and then boiled with onions. It was very salty. Dances were prohibited during the forty days of Lent, as were card games and all sorts of frivolity. Smoking and alcohol were usually given up for Lent by the men and sweets and sugar by the ladies. By the end of World War II, the black fast was not as rigid as it had been. Milk and eggs were allowed, abstinence from meat was obligatory only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and children were not obliged to fast.

The one island in this sea of deprivation was St. Patrick’s Day when the fast was suspended and everyone could eat and have their fill. Was it any wonder that people indulged above and beyond the normal on that day?

On Ash Wednesday this year [1996], ashes were blessed and distributed as usual in Fenor Church. The ashes which were used were got from the burning of the blessed palms left over after Palm Sunday the previous year.

[ In many diocese in Ireland it was stipulated that a collation should comprise tea and a biscuit. In the 1950s, bakers in Cork produced giant-sized biscuits to get around this rule. The biscuits were affectionately known as Connie Dodgers after Cornelius Lucey, the bishop of Cork and Ross at the time, who was legendary for his austere interpretations of Catholic teaching.
And do you remember the catechism question about days of abstinence? We were to abstain from meat or soups made from meat on Fridays (unless one fell on a holy day of obligation), the Wednesdays of Lent (unless one fell on a Friday), the Four Vigils (unless one fell on a Sunday) and the Ember Days. And the next question was? – Comms Team.]

Jan 21 2014

Christmas Eve, 1995

Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish Community

 “Christmas Eve, 1995”

24th December, 1995

Fenor Crib

The Vigil Mass was celebrated by candlelight at 8 p.m. in Fenor Church tonight. The new crib, designed and made last year by Hugh Kerley, was erected by Dan Cowman and Michael Flynn, and in the window over the crib stood a traditional red Christmas candle. The candle was held in a beautiful bog oak stand, made from a root which came from a local bog. It has been cleaned and polished by Michael Flynn. It is truly a work of art.

The cottage was floodlit and the giant Christmas tree placed beside the garden was festooned with hundreds of tiny white lights. The community joined the choir of schoolchildren and Fr. O’Brien in the singing of the Mass and Christmas carols. Traditional carols were played by the Byrne family of Ballyscanlon with Mrs. R. Byrne N.T. on the organ.

christmas-candle_big

One of the most beautiful of our Irish customs is the lighting of the Christmas candle in the kitchen window on Christmas eve. This was done in honour of the Holy Family which sought shelter on the first Christmas night and was refused. The light was also a beacon for the lonely and the homeless and signified that there was a bed for them beside the fire. The candle was lit by the oldest and youngest members of the family at nightfall.

On this night the farm animals were given an extra ration of feed because they also celebrate the birth of Our Saviour. Only the ass and the cows know the moment of Christ’s birth and, at this moment on Christmas night, they kneel down in adoration of the new-born King.

Jan 21 2014

Dedication

Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish Community

“Dedication”

During the course of a Sale Of Work meeting in late 1995, a suggestion was made that a year book, recording the life of the parish, would be an interesting and worthwhile addition to the two books on the parish published in 1994.

The year 1996 was an ideal year to begin this project. In this year the present National School is 50 years old and the original school in the village opened its doors 170 years ago. Fenor Development Committee, which organised the first Sale of Work as a fund raiser, is 25 years in existence and this Sale of Work is now one of the longest-running and most successful in the South-East.

The Gymkhana Committee held its 22nd Equestrian event in the parish and Fenor Macra na Feirma, this year, celebrates its 21st year in existence. Fenor G.A.A. has started the second phase of its building project and, by the end of the year, the new dressing rooms will be well underway.

For some parishioners this was “the best of years”. For others it was “the worst of years”. For most of us it has been a year we will always remember.

We dedicate this book to the memory of John O’Mahony, James Chapman, Mary Barry, Ann Hynes, Conor O’Grady, Johnny Flynn, Eddie Murphy, Paddy Hayes, and Jack O’Sullivan.

 

May the light of heaven shine on them all.

Jan 21 2014

Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish

Parish Life in the Past

Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish Community

pencil-paper

The events recorded here and listed in the menu on the left first appeared in the book “Fenor 1996 – Diary of a Parish Community“. Other events appear in the book that are not recorded here. We have selected these particular events because they relate in some way to the religious life of the community. Anyone wishing to see the full diary is advised to obtain a copy of the book.

The reason for the choice of 1996 as the diary year is set out in the book’s dedication, which is the first item in the menu. We hope that you enjoy reading our selection.

Jan 21 2014

Parish Life In The Past

Parish Life in the Past

Spinning

The Way It Was

This photo of a woman spinning was taken around the time our two churches were built – about 1890. How on earth did she get by without a mobile phone or a tablet?
Young people are often amazed when they hear how different parish life was when their parents and grandparents were young. So much has changed in the practice of religion. Of course, many religious practices were not religious at all but were merely superstitions, and many of them were driven off by the Archangel Solas – the electric light. Even grannies and granddads forget how it was until they are reminded.

Sore head
For instance, do you remember that characteristic “bonk!” sound that was heard from time to time during Mass when the head of a fainting child banged into the bench in front? Of course you do, but you haven’t heard it for a long time, have you? Not since the rule about fasting from midnight was relaxed.

Writing

Now is your chance to remind us all of the way it was. Why not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and write out a wee something. Post it or hand it in to the parish office or e-mail it to the communications team. You will find contact details on the Contact Us page. It doesn’t have to be a 10,000-word opus. Little things are also important and if you think your story is interesting or humorous, we will too. So send it in to us and we will let everyone enjoy it.

Writing

To encourage you we have published a few stories which were, mostly, reproduced from books on Fenor, including the latest book, ‘Fenor 2010 – Growing and Changing’. They are available from the menu on the left of this page. Stories from Dunhill and some new stories are on the way.
We hereby exhort you grannies and granddads to compel your offspring to read these stories. It will do them good and let them see what a tough life you had and how easy it is for them now, and how ungrateful they are, and how they should appreciate you more, and … you know the routine!