Askea Parish celebrates 50th Golden Anniversary
SUNBURN, the Sam McGuire and community spirit were the order of the day on Sunday 21 June when the Church of the Holy Family in Askea celebrated its golden jubilee with a special Mass and field day. There was a full house for the Mass, which was led by bishop Denis Nulty and attended by 12 celebrants. The Askea, Bennekerry and Tinryland choir also sang at the Mass.
The parish includes 95 estates, five national schools, two secondary schools and Askea Day Care Centre. After the ceremony, a video was played of Bishop Patrick Lennon opening the church in 1976 and there were photos of the building of the church on display throughout the church. There were around 50 people in the congregation who were there on the day it opened, 50 years ago.
The crowd of over 1,000 people then spilled out onto the lawns around Askea church for a field day in the 25 degree weather. For children and adults alike, there were refreshments, bouncy castles, loads of games, face painting, a science show, and prizes and hampers to be won. For nearly two hours, the Horahan Brothers and Helter Skelter provided musical entertainment and people got up dancing. Fr Tom Little and Bishop Nulty acted as stewards for the kids’ sack race and the Sam McGuire cup made a special appearance for an hour or so.
There was a great sense of community in the weeks leading up to the event, with people helping each other. It was an extraordinary day, a great celebration!
Thank you to the organising committee, volunteers, priests from near and far, Bishop Denis Nulty and all our parishioners for making this day such a great success.
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