The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE Shannon Apostolic Work Society held its final display at St Patrick’s Comprehensive last weekend.
Mai Farrell was involved with the organisation right throughout its 33 year existence.
“We started it in 1989, it was Father Pat Mulcahy who started us off actually, he was here in Shannon at that time.”
Speaking about the activities over the years, she said, “We raised money for the missions, we made vestments, we did knitting and crochet, we got people to donate sacred vessels, which we would send to the Missions. They could be dedicated to the dead or the living, if they liked. We’ve done all of that over the years.”
She says it doesn’t seem like 33 years since they first got started.
“When you look back it seems like no length of time, but it is a long time.”
While most of the work was done alone, the members still came together quite regularly.
“Everybody worked at home, but we would meet up once a month for so many months of the year. Once the display was over (usually around the start of May), we’d relax until we’d start back again in September. In the winter a lot of people would be doing embroidery at home and sewing and knitting and crochet.”
As well as the support for the Missions, she said it provided a very good social outlet.
“There is a gang of us who became the best of friends who didn’t even know each other beforehand. We’re all more or less the same age group, most of us are in our 80s, we meet up now on a regular basis and we still will. We’ll still be doing little bits for the Missions I’d say.”
She says that throughout the Killaloe Diocese Apostolic Work has declined quite a bit due to the pandemic.
“After Covid there are a lot of branches that will be finishing. We had 45 or 46 branches in the Diocese. I’d say this year if we have 20 displays that’s as many as we’ll have.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
