Fr Pat Moore Lovingly Remembered…

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This week was a very special week for people in the Duagh / Lyre parish as we remembered with fondness the late Fr Pat Moore PP whose anniversary was Tuesday 1st May. Fr Pat Moore was a lot more than just a parish priest, he was also a friend with a warm heart and big smile and a welcome for everyone he met. He really brought community spirit into the parish so we decided to honour him for this by erecting a beautiful bench in his honour on the grounds, we would hope people would come and take time to sit and reflect on their fond memories of Fr Pat.

We had a fantastic turnout for our Fr Pat Moore Memorial Evening and the sun was shining bright down upon us. People came from far and wide to remember and celebrate with lots of stories, memories and photographs of how Fr Pat touched their lives. There was a beautiful mass at 7.30pm, which was concelebrated by a number of priests that were friends of the late Fr Pat and then there was a special blessing for the Fr Pat Moore Bench which is located on the church grounds. Over 200 people lit a candle in a glass jar for Fr Pat, which was placed all around the bell tower and they were left lighting beautifully all night. We had a huge marquee set up on the grounds with refreshments and a variety of
entertainment from local musicians and singers from the parish and surrounding areas. Sonny Egan from Lixnaw, Bernadette Faulkiner Duagh recited poems and sang songs they had been written about Fr Pat. Frances Kennedy from Listowel also told us a few stories that really livened up the evening. There was also a photographic slideshow showing various events throughout Fr Pat’s life. The evening came to a finish about 10.30pm. The Duagh Development Association would like like to thank everyone who came and also to the people who donated food for this special occasion.

The DDA would also like to thank Tally Ho & Co Catering for providing a fabulous BBQ with food sponsored from David Power  Butchers Abbeydorney who was also a great friend of Fr Pat. Also we would like to thank everyone that helped out in anyway on the evening to make it a success. The Duagh Development  Association was reformed about 9 months ago and a lot of different fundraising events have been organized in the village to liven up the place and to raise funds for this special event, such as a tractor run, a vintage car, tractor rally, a video race night, Santa’s grotto, Duagh’s 1st ever St Patrick’s Day Parade, raffles etc. All of these events throughout the last 9 months contributed to cost of the memorial bench and the hire of the marquee for the evening. We are sure Fr Pat was smiling down on all of us gathered together and he would have been proud to see community spirit alive in our village.

Group picture: DDA commitee members Emma Batton, Shannon McCormick, Marie Maher, Rita O’Connor, Batsy Maher and Sandra Maher