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Vacancy for a Parish Secretary – Star of the Sea Parish, SandymountStar of the Sea Parish has a vacancy for a part-time Parish Secretary (15 hours per week). If you are interested in this position, please post your letter of application and current CV to Fr. John McDonagh, 15 Oswald Road, Sandymount or by email to johnmcdonagh68@gmail.com. Closing date 5.00pm on Friday, November 19th 2021.
Please click on Link below to review Church Secretary Job Description
November Matches at Aviva
The November series of matches at the Aviva will be exciting for many but it brings considerable difficulty to us at times of liturgy when parking becomes virtually impossible.
It might be important to note the schedule of matches this month. Thursday Nov 11th, Ireland v Portugal at 7.45pm Saturday Nov 13th, Ireland v New Zealand at 3.15p.m. and Sunday Nov 28th, Ireland v Argentina at 2.15PM. It will be difficult to find parking for the 6pm Mass on Saturday Nov 13th while the same will apply to parking for 12 Mass on Sunday 28th and the Scheduled Baptism celebration that day at 1.30pm. We may have to consult with all concerned intending a baptism celebration that day.
The COP26 Meeting in Glasgow
At their recent Autumn meeting in Maynooth, the Irish Bishops encouraged the public to support a global campaign ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’, which seeks to encourage political leaders to take strong action on climate change at the COP 15 gathering on Biodiversity that was held from 11 – 24 October and at the COP26 meeting on Climate Change in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November.
The ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’ petition, which has been endorsed by the Vatican, calls for a joined up, just response to the COVID 19, climate and biodiversity crises, see www.healthyplanetandpeople.org. Guidelines for completion of the petition are available by contacting Brenda Drumm on bdrumm@catholicbishops.ie or
Sacramental Preparation for children in non-Catholic schools
The preparation for the sacraments in Catholic schools takes place over two years, both for First Communion and Confirmation. Correspondingly, children in non-Catholic schools are asked to complete a two year preparation programme also, although their classes are held only once a week. Parents of children in the non-Catholic schools should accordingly contact the parish 2 years in advance if they wish their child to prepare for the sacraments.
Well Deserved
Many of our parishioners over the years have merited a ‘well done’ accolade. We are in debt to all who voluntarily commit themselves to serve the parish community in a host of different ways.
When Paddy Kavanagh reluctantly, and with doctor’s direction, reached a time to ‘step back,’ it brought to a close a service which Paddy had given over a span of seventy years. Apart from a short time spent outside his parish, Paddy was altar server, church collector, assistant sacristan and latterly assisted at every Baptism in the parish. Anxious to mark his long years of service the pastoral council decided to petition the Benemerenti Medal for him. Bob Harewood has been our wonderful sacristan since the death of a great servant of the parish, Margaret O’Doherty, nine years ago but over many years, like Paddy, he has been consistently present to help, counting and banking Sunday collections and ready to stand in whenever and wherever there was a need. We greatly appreciate Bob’s great commitment to the parish in a totally voluntary capacity with kindly cheerful disposition. We readily sought that he also should be honoured with the Benemerenti Medal. It’s a Pontifical medal requested by the Archbishop on behalf of each recipient and a limited number are awarded yearly. We are delighted that both Bob and Paddy have been honoured and were presented with Benemerenti Medals at the end of the 12 o’clock Mass on Sunday, 9th June. 
Under our GDPR Policy a request for Baptism certs must be accompanied by a completed form either by the adult person requesting his or her own Baptism cert or by the parent requesting a son or daughter’s Baptism certificate. Parents of children preparing for First Communion and for Confirmation will accordingly need to complete that form when seeking , as is required, their child’s certification of Baptism. This applies to every parish in the Diocese.
The Iris Charles CentreIRIS CHARLES CENTRE MAP
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RCN: 20016166
Welcome to St. Mary's Star of the Sea, Sandymount
A warm welcome to the website of St Mary’s, Star of the Sea Parish, Sandymount. Our parish was constituted in 1851 to meet the needs of a growing population in Sandymount – Irishtown. The foundation stone of a new church was laid in that year and in August 1853 the church was officially opened. Designed by J.J. McCarthy, of the Pugin neo-Gothic school, Star of the Sea has served the people well in Sandymount and Irishtown over the years and they in turn have looked after it in its beauty and prayerful atmosphere. The gatherings for the liturgy are creative of a community in touch with God and with each other. We hope you’ll find our website interesting and helpful. Don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of any further assistance to you. Yours sincerely, Fr. John Mc Donagh P.P 
Mass and Confession Times:
Sunday
9:00 a.m. 10.30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Weekday 7:30.a.m. 10.00 a.m. Saturdays: 10.00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Vigil First Fridays: 10.00 a.m. Confessions Saturdays: After 10.00 a.m Mass (Suspended for now due to Covid Restrictions) And at 5.30 p.m (Suspended for now due to Covid Restrictions) Open Hours: Weekdays: 7:15am to 5:30pm Saturday: 9:15am to 7:00pm Sunday: 8:45am to 7:00pm Sacrament of Marriage: Please contact the Parish Office at 668-3316. 
ExplorersThe Explorers are an informal ecumenical group with the aim of reading scriptures together. All are welcome. This year all presentations will again take place on Zoom. Rev. Dr Katie Heffelfinger, a bible scholar, will lead their four autumn sessions on ‘Poetry and imagination in the Hebrew Bible’. The next monthly meetings are set for 15th November and 13th or 20th December, 2021 (to be decided).
Those who are interested to participate and are not yet on the Explorers address list, please, send your e-mail address or postal address and telephone number to Anngret Simms at her e-mail address: Anngret.Simms@ucd.ie.
Registration for sacraments in 2022We ask all parents preparing for the celebration of a child’s Confirmation or First Communion in 2022 to register with us formally in the parish asap. Application forms are available in the Parish Office. Until preparation classes are up and running for children attending non-Catholic schools and until transmission of the virus is better controlled we cannot be sure as yet of the date(s) of Confirmation and the other sacraments.
Click on the blue buttons below for more information
The ‘Flourish’ RSE Programme
Parents should also be aware that the Bishops have approved and published a resource programme for all Catholic Primary Schools, outlining the RSE (Relationship and Sex Education) component of the Primary School SPHE programme. You can view the programme entitled ‘Flourish’ and its outline of classes from junior infants to 6th class on the CPSMA (Catholic Primary School Managers Association) website. The ethos of a Catholic School is protected in law and the Flourish programme upholds that ethos while delivering the RSE programme. It is the prescribed RSE programme for all Catholic Schools both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland and has emerged through consultation over a long time with principals, teachers and parents of Catholic schools.
There may be a Primary School Teacher in our community who would like to be involved in the classes for children attending St Matthew's School and preparing for First Penance, First Communion and Confirmation. Classes are held on Thursdays, from around 3.45 to 5.15. If so, please contact the Parish Office or Fr John.
A Jesuit Publication for your homeWhy not have a look at one issue. You might find it’s like a spiritual “Readers Digest”. There’s something for everyone: chatty articles, accessible theology, out-loud thinking on spiritual questions and serious issues, comforting news, art appreciation, a kid’s page (with puzzles and jokes) gardening hints, seasonal recipes and a challenging crossword.
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General Data Protection Regulation
The new European Data Protection law, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), is being introduced on 25th May 2018. This new law applies to any organisation, including our parish that manages and processes people’s personal information. We are now working on ways of ensuring that what we do with your information is compliant with this new law. It is a work in progress and over the next few months we will keep you informed through the parish website and in the newsletter as policies are put in place. Click on the Button below to view the Parish Data Privacy Notice: