Easter TV  Focus on St. John's              

Tralee is the focus of the national TV audience this Easter with the broadcast of the Easter liturgies live from St. John’s Catholic Church, Castle Street on Good Friday afternoon and Easter Saturday night.  Both broadcasts are preceded by a short introduction on the town and parish which has been pre-recorded. 

St. John's was full to overflowing for The Good Friday Ceremony which included  “The Passion of Christ” a re-enactment of the Good Friday Gospel directed by Fr. Pat Ahern and featuring a cast of twenty people with Noel King as Jesus.  The main celebrant was Fr. Kieran O'Brien, assisted by Fr. Sean Hanafin and Fr. Dan Ahern. A cross brought to Galway for the Papal Visit in 1979 was carried in procession. Children from the parish led prayers of intercession for the town, country, Church and political leaders and non-believers.

During the Easter Vigil  ceremony on Saturday evening  (11 pm) baby Róisín Maria McElligott-Kerins from The Kerries will be christened by Fr. Hanafin. 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Great Sanctuary window in St. John’s, the largest of its kind in Ireland, which is being lit from the rear for the Saturday night ceremony.  

A team of 35 from RTE under director Fr. Dermod McCarthy arrived in Tralee on Wednesday for the broadcasts which are being carried live on both RTE 1 and LW252 Radio, and are also streamed live on the internet at www.rte.ie.

Organist John Jones and "Peter" Seamus Quirke