The Padre

Father Sean O’Leary

Today a large crowd of swimmers and relatives of Ciaran gathered on the beach to remember him. On the 13th November 2022 he drowned while swimming in Bray. There is a perpetual memorial on the beach to him and today there were flowers, painted stones and candles surrounding it. We gathered in a circle and people talked about him warmly. The Padre said some lovely words around being kind to each other, to check on each other and to be mindful of the stresses of others. It was very heartwarming. Ciaran’s relatives erected a small marquee and supplied coffee and buttered scones to a large crowd. The sun came out and it was a very sociable affair. I asked Sean if ok to take a pic and he was delighted.

Then Margaret appeared. On crutches. She is a daily swimmer but we hadn’t seen her for 2 weeks. She had fallen and broken her hip but she didn’t want to miss the ceremony and her daughter drove her down. Anyway Margaret told her buddies how she fell and I don’t want to give details of what happened but suffice to say it was one of the funniest things I have ever heard. So about 10 of us stood around and we laughed and we laughed - and she did too. I haven’t laughed so much in years.

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm

Honestly I think you should all have a belly laugh today. It’s a tonic

I wish you all a fresh air Sunday