"Dan Davin is quite important in the short story scene in New Zealand. He was quite unique, in that his stories were semi-autobiographical," said Rebecca Amundsen the chairwoman of The Dan Davin Literary Foundation.

"He mainly wrote about the life of Irish Catholic people in semi-provincial towns in New Zealand, so they've got good historical value, without being actual history," Amundsen said.

Keynote speakers included literary scholar Janet Wilson, and writers Tracey Slaughter, Owen Marshall, and Dame Fiona Kidman.

Amundsen said the idea to the host the conference came as a suggestion from writer and former New Zealand Poet Laureate Vincent O'Sullivan.

"He said to me there hasn't been a conference on the New Zealand short story ever, he believed, and because we have the connection with Dan Davin, who's quite renowned for his short stories, that we should be the ones to host it."

Born in Invercargill in 1913, Davin spent most of his career in Oxford, where he first went after receiving a Rhodes Scholarship to the university in 1935.

In his fiction works, he wrote most often about New Zealand and also wrote the official history of New Zealand's war in Crete (where he had served during World War II).

He died in 1990 in Oxford.

Source

• Stuff
• Stuff
• Image: Facebook

"Aukland(sic) holds the distinction of holding the first St Patrick's Day party, since midnight on March 17 reaches New Zealand's largest city before anywhere else."

"It is also the farthest celebration away from Ireland, almost exactly the opposite end of the world at a massive 11,290 miles away from Dublin."

"Naturally, Auckland's 1,076-foot Sky Tower is lit with the Irish Tricolor for the day."

Compared to some of the other places on the list, Auckland's celebration seems, to a New Zealander at least, to be pretty unexceptional.

The Parade, which has become an annual event in Queen Street, was probably the first in the world, this year at least, because the Hugh Green Group Parade took place on Sunday the 15th. Watch Video.

It was competing for attention with the cricket, The Eagles, Pasifika Festival, the Volvo Ocean Race, and an approaching hurricane.

The annual Emerald Ball was held on Friday 13th.

The ball was billed as "an opportunity to savour the delights of Irish hospitality and culture."

"A guaranteed fun night out with traditional music and dancing, delicious food and Irish craic, a night that will be remembered long after the event."

According to the promoters the Ball is a "premier event attended by many high-profile dignitaries and personalities from both the Irish and New Zealand communities."

The ticket price was $2250+ GST for a table of 10.

That included a 3 course Irish inspired meal with accompanying wine, Guinness, and Baileys.

Source

• St Patrick's Festival Auckland
• Irish Central
• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Eventfinder.co.nz

But, across the Irish Sea, the archdiocese of Liverpool is preparing to have lay people conduct funeral services and committals at the graveside when no priest is available.

The Irish Catholic report said the Catholic bishops were drawing up "radical new plans" for lay-led Sunday services "as more-and-more communities are set to be left without a priest for the first time".

But a statement from the Catholic Communications Office said the report was incorrect.

"Rather, over the last number of years, in relation to weekday liturgy when Mass is not celebrated, bishops have been discussing this important issue," a spokesman said.

"In these discussions there is a distinction between the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist on a Sunday, and Eucharist celebrated on a weekday," he said.

The spokesman said bishops were "always concerned to ensure the adequate provision of opportunities for communities to gather for worship, especially in the aftermath of this year's International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland and [given] the centrality of the Eucharist to the Catholic faith".

"In the absence of a priest to preside at the celebration of the Mass, the church still gathers to worship God," he added.

The Irish Catholic article also said that a spokeswoman for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin had confirmed to the newspaper that the archbishop had not given permission for a nun to lead a Communion service in a County Wicklow parish the previous weekend.

It cited listeners to a RTÉ Radio One programme, who said that parishioners who turned up as usual for Sunday evening Mass in Blessington were led by a religious sister who led a liturgy, preached a homily and distributed Holy Communion "when no priest turned up".

The newspaper quoted a spokeswoman for Archbishop Martin as saying the incident was "unprecedented" and a "one-off event".

Sources:

Irish Times

Irish Catholic

The Tablet

Image: St Senan's Parish