Canons’ Island in the Shannon estuary is  the largest in a cluster of over twenty islands that occupy the expansive stretch of water formed by the confluence of the Shannon and Fergus estuaries.

The island is the site of a medieval Monastery and a traditional pilgrim site for people on both sides of the estuary. The Canons Regular of St Augustine who lived in the Abbey provided pastoral care for the nearby parishes until its suppression during the rule of Henry VIII.

The island has continued to serve as a place of burial up to the present.  In 1990 the late Fr Michael Hillery, PP revived the tradition of going on pilgrimage to the Canons’ Island   A large number of pilgrims travel to the island each year for the annual Mass.

Mass will be celebrated in the ruins of the old Monastery on the island on Sunday, 3 July 2016. Boats will leave Crovraghan Pier at 3.30pm. All are welcome.

Irish law requires that life jackets be worn – a limited number will be available at the pier.

On Sunday, 22 May 2016 the Parish of Kildysart held our community commemoration of the foundation of our state and a celebration of our culture, language and values. There was a wide representation from the community encompassing all age groups, local musicians, our parish choir, children’s choir and also serving and retired members of our defense forces,

The sacrament of confirmation was celebrated in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart on Pentecost Sunday, 15 May 2016.  We pray that the gift of the Holy Spirit may fill the hearts of the boys and girls who have received the sacrament. We pray also for their parents, teachers and families and all who accompanied them as they prepared to receive the sacrament.

Mass will be celebrated in Kildysart cemetery on Friday, 1 July 2014 at 8pm.

All are welcome to participate in the Mass and to remember and pray for their relatives and friends who are buried there, for the deceased of the parish and for all the faithful.

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Mass will be celebrated in the cemeteries in Coolmeen-Cranny Parish at the following dates and times:

• Kilfiddane cemetery – Friday, 8 July at 8pm;
• Cranny cemetery – Friday, 22 July at 8pm;
• The Cillin, Clondrina – Friday, 12 August at 8pm.

Blessed John Henry Newman’s Prayer for the Departed

May He support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen

and the evening comes,

and the busy world is hushed,

and the fever of life is over,

and our work is done.

Then in His mercy

may He give us a safe lodging,

and a holy rest

and peace at the last.

We congratulate the fifteen children who received Holy Communion for the first time during 11am Mass on Sunday,24 April 2016 in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart.

We pray that the Lord my always be at the centre of their lives and bless and protect them, their parents, families and teachers.

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The year will be an important year for the children in our parish who will receives the Lord for the first time in Holy Communion

on Sunday 24 April 2016 and for their parents and families.

These final months of preparation will involve the families, our school and parish working together for the good of the children. The parish part of our preparation is based on the ‘Do This in Memory’ programme. Our thanks are due to the group of parents who have kindly volunteered to organise our parish programme.

One various Sundays, our parish celebration of the Eucharist will focus on our children who are preparing to receive the sacrament and their families. The list of dates, including the children’s first celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation (confession), is as follows:

• Enrolment Mass                       Sunday 25 October 2015 at 11am;
• Preparation Mass                     Sunday 22 November 2015 at 11am;
• Preparation Mass                     Sunday 13 December 2015 at 11am;
• Preparation Mass                     Sunday 14 February 2016 at 11am;
• Sacrament of Reconciliation  Wednesday 9 March 2016 at 7.00pm;
• First Holy Communion           Sunday 24 April 2016 at 11am.

A meeting for the parents of children who are preparing to receive Holy Communion for the first time this year took place in the Community Centre, Kildysart at 8.30pm on Tuesday, 6 October 2015. Our gathering was led by Joanne O’Brien and Cora Ginnane.

The Rosary, 22 May 2013

During May, the month of Our Lady, the rosary is prayed each Wednesday evening at 8pm at the Marian Grotto on the Ennis Road. All welcome.

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The rosary is a powerful spiritual tool for meditation. The gentle repetition of its prayers makes it an excellent means to moving into deeper meditation. It gives us an opportunity to open ourselves to God’s word, to refine our interior gaze by turning our minds to the life of Christ.

By focusing on the lives of Christ and Mary through meditation on the mysteries, we learn about ourselves in relation to God. Mary herself is the model for the daily practice of meditation. She received the word of God through Gabriel. She pondered God’s word in her heart. She took in the events around her, capturing them internally and carrying them within her like a treasure. This is the essence of meditation—receiving God’s word and making it our treasure.

The financial report for our parish for the year ending 31 December 2015 may be viewed by clicking here Kildysart Accounts 2015

The Parish Finance Council wish to thank you for your generous support of the work of the parish during 2015. The Council also wishes to encourage as many members of our parish as possible to use the parish collection envelopes and to j0in the tax refund scheme.

We wish to thank all the members of our parish for their unfailing generosity and our parish finance council for their work.

We pray for the young people in our parish who are preparing to receive sacraments this year and also for their parents, trachers and families. Our parish programme of preparation includes the following:

First Holy Communion and Reconciliation.

• Enrolment Mass                       Sunday 25 October 2015 at 11am;
• Preparation Mass                     Sunday 22 November 2015 at 11am;
• Preparation Mass                     Sunday 13 December 2015 at 11am;
• Preparation Mass                     Sunday 14 February 2016 at 11am;
• Sacrament of Reconciliation    Wednesday 9 March 2016 at 7.00pm;
• First Holy Communion             Sunday 24 April 2016 at 11am.

Confimation

• Enrolment Mass Sunday 15 November 2015 at 11am;
• Ceremony of Light Tuesday 1 March 2016 at 7pm;
• Confirmation Pentecost Sunday (15 May), 2016.

Killaloe Diocesan Holy Year Pilgrimage to Rome

1 August – 6 August 2016

Pope Francis has called an extraordinary Jubilee that is to have the mercy of God at its heart. In the Pope’s words ‘It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (cf. Lk 6:36)”’

This Holy Year will begin on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (8 December, 2015) and will end on 20 November, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. During this time the Holy Doors in St Peter’s Basilica and the other Papal Basilicas, which are usually bricked-up, will be opened.

Holy Year logo.

Pope Francis adds that the Holy Year is ‘a new stage in the journey of the Church on its mission to bring to every person the Gospel of mercy. I am convinced that the whole Church will find in this Jubilee the joy needed to rediscover and make fruitful the mercy of God, with which all of us are called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time.’

The Diocese of Killaloe is organising a pilgrimage to Rome during the Holy Year from 1 August to 6 August 2016. Accommodation will be at the Pontifical Irish College in the city centre. There will be an opportunity to attend a liturgy with Pope Francis and to walk through the holy doors in all four Papal Basilicas. The pilgrimage is being organised by Kieran Troy and a guide will be available through-out. Attached please find a copy of the itinerary and booking form. For further information Telephone 057 9355050 (mornings only) or e mail info@culturalconnections.eu

NEW ITINERARY aug 1-6   BOOKING FORM 2016    general insurance declaration 2016

Holy Week and Easter in Kildysart

Tuesday 22 March

• Service of Reconciliation – 8pm

Palm Sunday (20 March 2016)

• Blessing of palms in the Square and procession to the Church followed by Mass  – 11am

Holy Thursday (24 March) 

• Mass of the Lord’s Supper – 8.30pm
• The Church will remain open until 10.30pm to allow people pray at the altar of repose

Good Friday (25  March)

• The Lord’s Passion 4.30pm

Holy Saturday (26 March)

• Blessing of the Easter fire in the Square, followed by candle lit procession to the Church where we will continue our celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord – 9.30pm

Easter Sunday 27 March

• Easter Day Mass – 11am

For details of the Holy Week and Easter ceremonies in Coolmeen-Cranny parish please click here

The feast of our national patron, St Patrick will be celebrated on Thursday, 17 March. It is a Holy Day of obligation. The vigil Mass will be celebrated  on Wednesday in St Mary’s Church, Cranny at 7pm. On the morning of the feast, Mass will be celebrated in St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen at 9.45am, and in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart at 11am.

Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ in breadth, Christ in length,

Christ in height,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,

 Christ in every eye that sees me,

 Christ in every ear that hears me.

(Prayer in the tradition of St Patrick)

The Holy Year of Mercy in Our Parishes: To help us prepare for Easter to celebrate this Holy Year of Mercy we have invited three speakers to reflect with us on the final three Friday of Lent:

Friday, 4 March, 8pm St Michael’s Church, Kildysart – Fr Billy Swan, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford ‘Mercy and Joy’;

Friday 11 March, 7pm St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen – Ms Cora Guinnane, Clarecastle ‘Hope and Compassion – A story of mercy for our time’;

Friday 18 March, 7pm St Mary’s Church, Cranny – Fr Vincent Sherlock, Kilmovee, Co Mayo ‘The splinters that we carry, finding peace in the shadow of Calvary’.

Wednesday next is the feast of the epiphany of the Lord (Little Christmas Day).

In Kildysart and Cranny Coolmeen parishes we will have the following Mass schedule.

Vigil Mass (Tuesday 6 January) St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen 7pm

St Mary’s Church, Cranny Wednesday, 9.45am

St Michael’s Church, Kildysart Wednesday, 11am

The Feast of the Epiphany (the word means “manifestation”) celebrates the making known of God the Son as a human being in   Jesus Christ. The feast commemorates the visit of the Three Kings (the Magi) to the Baby Jesus and the revelation Jesus’ birth beyond the Jewish world. The Kings brought gifts of gold (for a king), frankincense (for worship) and myrrh (for embalming, since Christ was to die for us). In Italy and other countries children receive gifts on this day. Traditionally in Ireland, the day was known as ‘Nollaig na mBan’ as it was the day when women celebrated Christmas.