Search Results for 'Christchurch'

A charity concert will be held in Monroe’s on Wednesday March 23 at 9pm in order to raise funds for those affected by the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.

A Galway man caught up in the New Zealand earthquake which devastated the city of Christchurch and surrounding areas has spoken of the shock and sheer bewilderment still felt by tourists and by residents, many of whom have lost their homes and livelihoods.

At 4.35am on Saturday an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale rocked Canterbury. The quake, which was centred about 40km west of Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city, was comparable to the Haiti quake in January.

Last Easter Sunday, I was privileged to attend a dawn Mass, near Cong, on the Lough Corrib shore. About 300 people stood close to a blazing fire, as daybreak slowly lifted the darkness revealing the wide expanse of water, its wooded islands, and in the distance, the mountains of the Maam valley. It was perfectly silent and peaceful. Fr Ray Flaherty welcomed us with these opening words: ‘It was here many saints like Meldon, Fursey, Brendan and Feichin made their homes of peace and prayer. There are many sanctuaries scattered today in ruins along the shores of this lake, silent ruins where the soft tones of bells and the church’s solemn chant floated over the waves...’