Parish Choir
The Parish Choir is open to all adults who are confident singers and wish to use their talents in praise and worship in church activities and celebrations, especially the weekend Mass. The Parish Choir normally sing at the 11:30am Sunday Mass in St. Mary's Church. Periodically they are called upon to sing at funeral Masses and some other Parish based liturgical events, such as the Christmas Carol Service and the Corpus Christi Procession. The Choir practice on the first Monday of the month from 7:15pm to 8:30pm in the Parish Church. The Leader of the Parish Choir is Susan O' Keeffe and the organist is Lil O' Toole.
Folk Group (St. Mary's Church)
The Folk Group in St. Mary's Church is comprised primarily of Primary School and Secondary School children. There are three adults who accompany the children with leadership and instruments; Jean Fitzgerald, Susanne Hynes and Anne Lawless. This Folk Group participates in the Vigil Mass on Saturday evenings at 6:30pm for the months October to May. They practice during this period on Tuesday evenings in St. Mary's Church from 7pm to 8pm.
Folk Group (Lisgriffin Church)
This Folk Group sing for the Christmas Vigil Mass and for the Easter Sunday morning Mass. It is composed of adults and children. There are a variety of instruments played to accompany the Group. The Leader of this Folk Group is Ger Vowles.
Lectors (Readers)
The Parish welcomes the involvement of children and adults to the Ministry of Lector. All Lectors agree to follow a rota which allows them to schedule their Mass well in advance and to provide for subs in the event that they are missing for the Mass. New Lectors are always welcome and will be given direction and guidance on voice projection and pronunciation.
Eucharistic Ministers
The Ministry of helpers with the distribution of Holy Communion in our Parish is a vital component in the involvement of the People of God in active serve. Echoing the scriptural references to the Deacons who helped with the daily distribution of bread (Acts of the Apostles), Eucharistic Ministers share in a hugely positive way to the smooth and efficient distribution of Holy Communion at all Parish Masses.
Altar Servers
The Ministry of Altar Server facilitates the involvement of our younger parishioners. Generally, Servers begin their involvement when they enter Third Class in Primary School and have the option to continue into their teens, though many choose to discontinue when they begin Secondary School. The Parish is very proud of the high standard achieved by all who are trained as Servers for both churches of the Parish. The Parish Priest ensures that all the standards for safeguarding children are uphold to the highest standard for all engaged in this important Ministry.
St. Vincent De Paul Society
The local branch of the St. Vincent de Paul is known as the St. Francis' Conference and was established in the Parish in July 1983.The founding members were: Fr. Vincent O' Donoghue, Fr. Liam Ryan, Sr. Patrick, Joan O' Connell, Eileen Harrington, Ned Thornton, Tom Blake, Billy Nagle, Jack Mulvey, Leonie Ward and Michael O' Keeffe.
After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley-slaves, St. Vincent de Paul became leader of the Vincentians. He organised confraternities for the spiritual and physical relief of the poor and sick of each parish. From these, with the help of St. Louise de Marillac, came the Sisters of Charity. St. Vincent organised the rich women of Paris to collect funds which enabled him to found several hospitals, to relieve the victims of war and to ransom over 1200 galley-slaves from North Africa. Pope Leo XIII made him patron of all charitable societies.
As we know it, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 by Frederick Ozanam, an admirer of St. Vincent de Paul.
The Present Conference meet once a fortnight to discuss the many appeals that have come through the dedicated phone service. Funds are collected after Masses at the weekend and those in need of help are assisted. Long experience has taught members of the Society to recognise genuine need. The phone number to contact a member of the Conference to make an appeal for assistance is 086/0209477.
Eucharistic Adoration
The Blessed Sacrament is exposed for Adoration in the Parish Church (St. Mary's) on the second Friday of each month from after the 10am Mass until 12 noon concluding with Benediction.
Complimenting Eucharistic Adoration is the Holy Hour. This hour of guided prayer and meditation is held in the Parish Church on the first Wednesday of the month October to May. The hour is accompanied by hymns and inspirational music. The church is prepared specially to lend itself to an ambience of peace and relaxation.
Pastoral Council
Working together the Parish Pastoral Council aims include: building good relationships; developing a spirit of prayer; listening carefully to the needs of the people of the parish; planning and deciding on a way forward; encouraging people to become involved; facilitating ongoing formation and training; communicating well; reviewing its work regularly and striving to being the eyes, the ears and the heart of the Parish.
Working together for this mission will require effective structures of co-ordination of all pastoral activities within the Parish. The Parish Pastoral Council is at the service of mission and evangelisation. It should facilitate the co-ordination of Parish services. It must also provide leadership in reaching out to young people and engaging them in their questioning about faith. Together we launch out into the deep, even if it gets us at times out of our depth and even into deep water
Together we can make our Parish a family with a unifying spirit; a family of God which is a welcoming home for all; a place where everyone can say "I belong here".
The Present Pastoral Council Committee membership includes: Chairperson: Finbarr Whelan, Secretary: Maura O' Connor, Members: Fr. Eugene Baker, Donie Carroll, Denis Cole, Kathleen Collins, Mary Corbett, Peggy Duggan, Dr. Michael Kennedy, Joyce Moynihan, Liam O' Keeffe, Lil O' Toole.
These members were elected during March 2016 and will serve a term of five years.