“Dhá fháid é an lá, tiocfaidh an tráthnóna”. “However long the day, evening will come”.
Lyrics and Vocals: Irish ballad singer, entertainer and songwriter Johnny McEvoy.
Matthew.
Johnny McEvoy.
What are you thinking of Matthew my friend, As you sit in your room all alone. You can see the bright lights in the city below, In the place where you once called your home, And I’m sure you can still hear the laughter and noise, Of your kids as they run and they play, And you thought you were doing the best that you could, But it just didn’t work out that way.
Chorus. Just didn’t work out, just didn’t work out, Just didn’t work out that way. You thought you were doing the best that you could, But it just didn’t work out that way.
And your mother’s long gone and your father is too, And there’s times that you wish you were dead, And this morning the nurse took your whiskey away, When she said you’re not right in the head, And when your wife calls you can’t think of her name, And her visits get shorter each day, And you wish in your heart you could walk out that door, But it just doesn’t work out that way.
Repeat Chorus.
I can see you’ve been thinking again of the past, And the place where the tall cedar grows. You remember the evening you planted that tree, But I’m sure that nobody else does, And it grew to the sky, as the years drifted by, And I’m sure it’s still standing today, But Matthew it’s somebody else’s tree now, Cause it just didn’t work out that way.
Repeat Chorus.
So close your eyes Matthew, say good night to the world, There’s a better one waiting for you. The time here is over, it’s time to move on, There’s nothing here left you can do, But you could have moved mountains and danced on the moon, You could have turned night into day, And you thought you were doing the best that you could, But it just didn’t work out that way.
Lyrics: American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader and activist Ms Emmylou Harris and American songwriter and singer Mr William Thomas Danoff(Starland Vocal Band). Vocals: Irish actress, singer, Laurence Olivier Award winner, three time BAFTA Award winner and an Academy Award nominee, the extremely attractive and talented Ms Jessie Buckley.
Boulder To Birmingham.
[Incidently, the distance between Boulder and Birmingham USA is 1294.8 miles by road.]
Ms Jessie Buckley.
I don’t want to hear a love song. I got on this airplane just to fly, And I know there’s life below me, But all that you could show me, Was the prairie and the sky. And I don’t wanna hear a sad story, Full of heartbreak and desire. Last time I felt like this, I was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire. I stood on the mountain, In the night and I watched it burn, I watched it burn, I watched it burn. I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham. I would hold my life in his saving grace. I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham, If I thought I could see, I could see your face. Well, you really got me this time, And the hardest part is knowin’ I’ll survive. I’ve come to listen for the sounds, Of the trucks as they move down, Out of ninety five, And pretend that it’s the ocean, Runnin’ down to wash me clean, to wash me clean, Baby, don’t you know what I mean? I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham. I would hold my life in his saving grace. I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham, If I thought I could see, I could see your face. I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham, If I thought I could see, I could see your face, If I thought I could see, I could see your face.
If, as the saying goes, “It takes a whole village to rear a child”, then on Sunday last ‘Littletonians’ and those from the wider Moycarkey-Borris Parish, should feel very proud at the presence of Newhill native Bishop Martin Hayes. It was five years ago, on the same exact date (29th June 2020) that Fr Martin had been appointed Bishop of Kilmore, by Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, latter head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State).
Bishop Martin’s diocese of Kilmore today includes parts of five counties divided into nine pastoral areas, same mainly in the Republic of Ireland, with a few parishes in Northern Ireland, same subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh.
At national level Bishop Martin represents the Irish Bishops in promoting care of the environment and has recently put together a two year course for the training of Pastoral Ministers. Many will have known him for his previous work in the Thurles parish and his dedicated work in setting up “Seeds of Hope” which is the plan guiding our local diocese.
Bishop Martin was welcomed, as the chief celebrant of the 2025 Littleton annual Cemetery Mass, by Fr Tom Fogarty P.P., who was assisted by Fr George Bourke A.P. and Fr Joe Ryan A.P., (latter currently on holiday from London, where he is active in the Pax Christi Movement which campaigns against military spending, the arms trade and nuclear spending).
Bishop Martin referred on a number of occasions to his early school days in Littleton and the influence that village life had on him and his family; speaking especially about the local Creamery and business life. “Littleton people were part of our growing up as a family” he stated, “Regarding local housing estates in the area, McDonagh Terrace was then only at construction stage, while Church View and Derrynaflan estates had yet to be designed”.
June 29th is St Peter and St Paul’s Day, annually celebrated by the Catholic Church to honour the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, during the Neronian Persecution, [St Peter by upside downcrucifixion as he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ, and St Paul (Brother Saul of Tarsus) by decapitation (beheading)]. June 29th remains a solemnity, which is the highest rank for a liturgical feast day and a holy day of obligation. In keeping with liturgical law, Bishop Martin therefore wore red vestments to commemorate both apostles, who had died as martyrs for their Christian faith.
In speaking about St Peter and St Paul, Bishop Martin reminded his congregation that “despite our failures or limitations, we can still become leaders”. In this 2025 ‘Jubilee Year of Hope’, around the world (‘Pilgrims of Hope’), he prayed that all would find peace in their hearts, with which to share with others. He spoke remembering many of his friends, now interned within Littleton cemetery, each resting in God’s peace.
Very uplifting hymns were sung by Ms Helen Sullivan, ably accompanied on organ by Ms Stella Quinn and carried across the village on a very professional sound system operated by Mr Tommy Healy.
Prayers were said for world leaders in the hope of achieving, in particular, lasting peace for the long suffering populations of Israel, Gaza, Iran, Russia and Ukraine.
Following the celebration of Mass, a large gathering at the front of the Church for the unveiling of a plaque to Bishop Martin’s memory.
Bishop Martin declared that he was very humbled by the unveiling and thanked all who planned and put same into place. Ms Bridget Hayes, on behalf of the Parish Pastoral Team, prayed for the future success and blessing of Bishop Martin’s future mission. His old class mates Michael Boland, Toddy Welsh and John Hayes were mentioned as friends who had a special influence on him during his early school days.
Special Thanks.
Special thanks are due to Thomas Ryan and Philip Kinane, who organized the seating and to the John Paul Youth Group, who prepared refreshments to readers, sacristans and Ministers of Communion, without whose help the àbove celebration would not have been possible.
Some older ‘Littletonians’ present might have remembered that the current cemetery is where one of the orchards of the former Ballydavid House, then associated with the Power and Russell families, was situated; latter a seasonal target for local youth, to rob a few sweet apples.
The late John Prine (1946–2020), regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation.
Lyrics: American singer and songwriter of country-folk music, the late John Edward Prine(1946–2020). Vocals: American singer-songwriter and producer Brandi Marie Carlile.
I Remember Everything.
I’ve been down this road before, I remember every tree. Every single blade of grass, Holds a special place for me. I remember every town, And every hotel room. Every song I ever sing, On a guitar out of tune. I remember everything, Things I can’t forget, The way you turned and smiled on me, On the night that we first met. I remember every night, Your ocean eyes of blue. How I miss you in the morning light, Like roses miss the dew. I’ve been down this road before, Alone as I can be, Careful not to let my past, Go sneaking up on me. I’ve no future in my happiness, Though regrets are very few. Sometimes a little tenderness, The best that I could do. I remember everything, Things I can’t forget. Swimming pools of butterflies, That dropped through the net. And I remember every night, Your ocean eyes of blue. How I miss you in the morning light, Like roses miss the dew. How I miss you in the morning light, Like roses miss the dew.
Loving him was easier (than anything I’ll ever do again).
Lyrics & Music: American singer, songwriter, and actor, the late Kristoffer (Kris) Kristofferson (1936 – 2024) Vocals: American folk, pop, rock and blues singer, songwriter and author Rosanne Cash.
Loving him was easier (than anything I’ll ever do again).
I have seen the morning burning golden on the mountain in the skies, Aching with the feeling of the freedom of an eagle when she flies. Turning on the world the way he smiled upon my soul as I lay dying. Healing as the colours in the sunshine and the shadows of his eyes. Waking in the morning to the feeling of his fingers on my skin. Wiping out the traces of the people and the places that I’ve been. Teaching me that yesterday was something that I never thought of trying. Talking of tomorrow and the money, love, and time we had to spend. Loving him was easier than anything I’ll ever do again. Coming close together with a feeling that I’ve never known before in my time. He ain’t ashamed to be a man nor afraid to be a friend. And I don’t know the answer to the easy way he opened every door in my mind, But dreaming was as easy as believing it was never gonna end, And loving him was easier than anything I’ll ever do again. Loving him was easier than anything I’ll ever do again.
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