NEWSLETTER December 2018

Meeting: No meeting this month! Instead, come join your fellow ICS members on our usual day, the second Sunday of the month (December 9th this year) at 1:30pmfor our annual Christmas dinner, an afternoon of friendship, fun and good food, at the Outback Restaurant on I-10 at De Zavala. The reservation form for the dinner is included again this month in the newsletter, for you to fill out and mail (along with your check) to our social chair (Ethna) whose address is included on the form.Please don't wait too long if you plan on attending, as we need to give the restaurant three days notice of the meal choices so they will be prepared for us to dine with them on December 9th.

Membership: Kay plans to call or email everyone who is on the current roster but has not renewed for the 2018-2019 year, to ask them to please commit to either sending in their renewal dues or tell her they do not with to be members any longer... not what we want to hear, but we do want to finish the roster without constantly adding or deleting names. So if you get a call or email, please do take care of it as soon as possible or at least let her know your plans.

Upcoming Birthdays: In December please wish a Happy Birthday to Mary Molina (19th), David Ciarrocchi (26th) and Jerry McKenna(28th). Also, before we meet again on January 13th, these ICS members will be celebrating birthdays in the first month of 2019: Carolyn Walton (6th), and Brenda Tobey (11th). Please give them all your warm wishes for a wonderful day.

Sunshine and Shadow: Some of our members, like Lucille Lindsey, Moya and JimMurtagh, and Mary Sweeney, have been dealing with health issues this year and it might be nice if we send them Christmas cards individually so they would know we are thinking of them. It makes their day.

Christmas in Killarney: The Story behind the Song. Down in the Southwest cornerof Ireland, not far from Tralee and Killorglin and Cahirciveen, is the picturesque town of Killarney. Spring is greener there and summer is lovelier, the residents say,just because it's Killarney. And in Killarney Christmas is more Christmasy, agree the writers of this song, John Redmond, James Cavanaugh and Frank Weldon (Irishmen all). Dennis Day, the Irish tenor whose voice is compounded of the greenest shamrocks, introduced this lyrical ballad in 1951 with a recording that quickly became a best-seller. (With very little prompting, I think we could get Lou to lead us in a rollicking rendition of the song.) The holly green, the ivy green, The prettiest picture you've ever seen Is Christmas in Killarney With all of the folks at home. It's nice you know, to kiss your beau While cuddling under the mistletoe, And Santa Claus you know, of course, Is one of the boys from home. The door is always open; The neighbors pay a call; And Father John before he's gone Will bless the house and all. How grand it feels to click your heels And join in the fun of the jigs and reels; I'm handing you no blarney, The likes you've never known Is Christmas in Killarney With all of the folks at home.(From The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook, 1982.)

Upcoming Events: Celtic Nights will be coming to the Laurie Auditorium on March 7, a Thursday evening at 7:30pm. For more information please visit artssa.org.

Celtic Woman Ancient Land Tour will be at the Majestic Theater on April 30th, a Tuesday, at 7pm. The tickets run from $49.50 to $154.50.

The annual ICS Christmas dinner will be held on December 9th this year. A flyer isattached with all the pertinent information for making your reservation. We hope tosee you there!

St. Patrick's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The parish was founded in 1843 and the present church was opened in 1885. It is registered as a Provincial Heritage Building and is currently served by the Society of Jesus. The first Masses were held in a local stable on the corner of Gerrishand Göttingen streets. Two years later, in 1845, the parish moved toa former chapel that was previously an Anglican Garrison Chapel. In 1851, this was extended when a spire with a bell was added. In 1857, a school was opened in the basement of the church. In 1867 the school was moved to a separate building.

With the congregation growing in number, plans were drawn up to rebuild the church so that it would have a larger capacity. A local architect, Henry Peters, was chosen to design the church. He also designed St Matthew's Church in the city. Peters, who is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery was a well known local builder. He built the South Street Poor House, an Irish Catholic Institution in the Victoria Era.The last Mass in the old church was said on 2 April 1883. On 8 August 1883, the Archbishop of Halifax, Cornelius O'Brien laid the cornerstone of the new church. The first Mass in the new church was said in the basement on 22 December 1883. On 27 December 1885, the church was opened to the congregation and the first Mass was said on the main altar

From 1898 to 1903, stained windows were installed in the church. In 1922, those windows were replaced with ones from Franz Mayer & Co., after all but 5 of the original windows had been blown out in the December 6, 1917 Halifax explosion. That year, St Patrick's Boys School was opened opposite the church. On the same street was St Patrick's Girl School. In 1954 the schools were merged when a new school was built on Quinpool Road.In 1946, work was carried out to repaint and maintain the church. In the 1960s and 1970s, following the Second Vatican Council, the altar rail was removed, some statues taken away and a small table altar placed before the old high altar. In 2005, the Jesuits moved into the area and started to serve as parish priests later that decade.

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