It was great to meet and catch up with former schoolmates, neighbours, relatives and friends after many years apart, at the recently held Conna Gathering. The many visitors from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. etc., who had Conna ancestors, also enjoyed themselves. Jim Hagarty’s recent letter in The Avondhu (August 15th edition), amply illustrates this.

The Gathering kicked off on Thursday evening with the inaugural Conna 5k Road Race in conjunction with St Catherine’s Athletics Club. The weather was wet but that did not deter the 192 runners who left the village and headed out the Tallow Road.

Meanwhile, the Muintir na Tire hall hosted the Gathering opening ceremonies preceded by a photographic display by Conna Camera Club and an art exhibition by local artists. Lorna MacDonald launched her two calendars to mark the occasion. Sheila O’Leary had her magnificent Conna Gathering tapestry on display. President of Muintir na Tire, John Hogan and Cork County Mayor, Cllr. Noel O’Connor, spoke on the benefits of the Gathering. Jim Hagarty of Canada, who travelled with his extended family group, then entertained everybody with his humorous anecdotes.

This was followed with a PowerPoint presentation of a brief history of Conna. This was a comprehensive narration of events in Conna on a timeline from 1169 to the present day. The presentation was narrated by local historians, Tom Finn and Pa Barry. The evening was rounded off by some great tall stories by our local seanachi Peter Barry.

FANCY DRESS TIME

On Friday afternoon there was a conducted tour of Conna Castle at 3 o’clock. There was a big crowd present, which included members of the Hagarty family. The tour was conducted by Christy Roche, Tom Finn and Gerard O’Mahony.

Friday evening was very showery but miraculously the weather brightened for the fancy dress parade with Castlelyons Pipe Band and the Fermoy branch of the United Nations Veterans’ Association leading the parade. For many it brought back memories of times past at Conna carnivals. Most local clubs and organisations were represented.

The spotlight next moved to Gallagher’s field for terrier racing, fun tug-of-war and wheel barrow races.

On Saturday evening a great programme was arranged for the Social Centre and its grounds. Outdoor Mass and music was planned, to be followed with an arts and crafts fair and concert and food from the Social Centre. The heavy rain curtailed much of this, but there was still food, music and craic!

RENEWING VOWS

The Mass celebrated on Sunday morning was a special occasion for a group of American visitors. Ed Hogan and his wife Joan from South Dakota and extended family of 32, were there to renew their golden wedding vows. Ed’s grandfather, Patrick, was baptised in St Catherine’s Church in 1878.

In a very moving ceremony, accompanied by beautiful music and singing, Fr. Billy O’Donovan P.P. facilitated the renewal of their vows and afterwards, presented them with a framed papal blessing. The singers were Frank Ryan and his sister Sinead and Sally O’Leary. The Hogans later had lunch in the Social Centre, visited the castle and finished the day with an evening meal in The Fisherman’s Rest.

In the sports field on Sunday, Valley Rangers organised an Over-30s married V Under-30s single football match, refereed by Derry O’Leary. While, back in the village it was a family fun day with music, games, crafts and coffee in the hall. Later there was welly throwing, wheelbarrow races, busking and fancy dress crazy football on the streets. In Aghern, the Harps Tug-of-War Club hosted four pulls as part of the festival events.

FAREWELL BREAKFAST

On Monday morning there was a farewell breakfast in the Social Centre for everyone. It was a lovely morning with a carnival atmosphere around the place. At 11.30am, a large crowd assembled at the new cemetery for a conducted tour of Conna Castle by Tom Finn.

Gallagher’s field was later the venue for the school sports, followed by a gun dog display by Patsy McCarthy, his son Vincent and grandson. Next was the inter-county sheep racing, complete with fences, which provided great amusement for the spectators. The donkey derbies were also a huge hit with the crowd and provided some of the funniest incidents of the entire weekend – Willie Kearney’s commentary added to the enjoyment.

A new bowling club that has recently been re-formed, after a lapse of 30 years, held two scores on Monday evening. The route was from Conna Bridge up to Ballybride and back again.

One comment on Facebook neatly sums up the weekend: “What a fab weekend we had at the Gathering. Conna still has a great community spirit. A big thank you to all the people who made it such a great event. We really enjoyed meeting old and new friends. I am so pleased I was part of the Conna Gathering”.