The Holy Family Unit of the 9th & 10th Troop Scouts, Cubs,

Venturers, Rovers and Adult members met at the scout den at

8:30am on St. Patrick’s morning. The sections formed up outside

the den and were joined by the Colour Party. The command was

given by Parade Marshall, Ben McGarry and the unit marched

off to celebrate mass at 9:00am in the parish church.

Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Clarke pp. who paid tribute

to the unit in its 70th year. After mass Monsignor Clarke blessed

the shamrock and it was distributed by the leaders to the scouts

and the rest of the congregation.

Back at the den, a number of presentations were made. The first

was in recognition of the Jubilee badge design competition win

by scout Sarah Tucker and cub Cal Smyth. The badge can be

seen below. Members from each section who completed the

Jubilee Badge Challenge received certificates in recognition.

Colman Cearbhail and Brendan Halpin were on hand to present

service medals to unit scouters. Whilst Group Leader Kiernan

Gildea presented special Scout Association Awards to Mr & Mrs.

Ron Bolger and to the Burgess family both of whom are our

neighbours at the cabin, Glendale Lodge.

The annual Leaders V Venturers St. Patrick’s Day Challenge was

won by the ten pin bowling experts – the Leaders. The Challenge

Cup was presented at the April Group Council. Unfortunately,

the Venturer’s did not turn up on the day and it was the first walk-

over ever recorded in the Unit’s history. Perhaps the Leaders may

offer a second bite at the cherry on Whit Camp this year so the

Venturers may set the record straight?

As an indication of how events like the St. Patrick’s Day Church

Parade change very little over the years this months ‘Scouting

Memories’ is worth a read! Surely a case of ‘if it’s not broken…’

Parading the colours

Inside This Issue

1 Parading the Colours

2 Times Past

3 Scouting Memories

4 Whit Camp 2007

4 No. 45 celebrates 31 years

4 Cub Pack update

4 Photo of the Month

Mass was celebrated

by Monsignor Clarke

pp. who paid tribute

to the unit in its 70th

year

APRIL 2007 AUGHRIM STREET SCOUT UNIT – CELEBRATING 70 YEARS

PAGE 2 JUBILEE TIMES

‘Celbridge, Co. Kildare, is picturesque village on the River

Liffey (three miles from Lucan, Co. Dublin) where Esther

Vanhomrigh, the ill fated ‘Vanessa’ of Swift had her home.

Castletown, Celbridge is a very large estate belonging to

Lord Carew and is used by the Castletown Equestrian and

Hunter Trials Society. Here riders are trained for the

Olympic Three-Day Event.’ ‘The quietness of Celbridge was shattered last Saturday 20th. April as the 9th & 10th Troops of Catholic Boy Scouts of

Ireland arrived to take part in the first Unit Training Course. The Course was under the direction of Joseph Monahan S/m (9th) with many leaders from both troops to help him. The Course opened at 5 o’clock with prayers and the hoisting of the flag (CBSI). There were 25 members present (excluding leaders).After tea; J. Monahan S/M gave a short talk on Camp Hygiene, Cooking and Camp craft. At ten o’clock the rosary was said and the flag was taken down.’ ‘On Sunday morning at 6.30 the trainees arose. The weather was not too good and rain was falling lightly. At 7.30 the trainees and some of the leaders marched to 8

o’clock Mass in Celbridge. The rest of the leaders were asleep as they had attended Midnight Mass and received Holy Communion.’ ‘Coming out of the Church at 8.40 it was raining very heavy. It continued to rain during the day and this upset the programme. Rev. Fr. O’Higgins CC, UC. arrived during

the morning. As well as J. Madden (9th) A/S/M, F. Hudson (9th) Assistant Cub master and J. Mooney KN.’ ‘Rev. Fr. O’Higgins spoke to the lads on leadership. This talk took place in what used to be a wine cellar, as the weather was very bad and the cellar was big and dry. J.

Madden gave a talk on Compass and Mapping and showed the scouts how to use a compass and draw a map. F. Hudson explained Semaphore to the trainees. At tea-time J. Treacy S/M (10th) arrived. He spent a brief short time telling the lads about the Patrol System and Knife and Axe.’ ‘Monday was a lovely day and the tents were able to dry out. An Obstacle Race was held and plenty of water and soap was used afterwards. Inspection of Tents and Kitchens were held. N. McNaboe A/S/M (10th) gave a talk on Estimation.’ ‘At 4 o’clock the Camp finished. As the full programme

could not be carried out owing to bad weather a training hike was held the following Sunday. The attendance for

the Training Hike was bad as over ten trainees were

missing. J. Treacy S/M explained tent pitching and

N.McNaboe did knotting and lashings. The weather today

was bad too but the spirit of the lads was good. ‘

Joe Monahan

Times Past – Training course, Easter weekend 1957

The followings are a list of

trainees who took part.

St. Patrick’s: T.Caren PL, J.Nelson, T.Fleming, S. Colbert, A.O’Neill

St. Kevin’s: L.Ginnetty PL,

T.Syms, A.Caren, J.Kearns, E.Murphy

St. Brendan’s: E.Sythes PL, C.Halpin PL, J.Heffernan, G.O’Reilly, G.Judge

St. Colmcille: S.Heffernan PL M.McNamara, F.Morris, W.Buckley, R.Simpson,

St. Ciarans: C.Mulhall PL, S.Mimnagh, J.Keating, T. Treacy

Attendance included:

Fr. O’Higgins CC, J.Monahan SM, J.Treacy SM, F.Kirwan MM, N.McNaboe ASM, J.Madden ASM, F. Hudson ASM, J.O’Brien ASM. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Unit Council minutes

5th April 1982 'Committee requests advance notice of (leaders attending) training courses. Den should be swept after meetings. Joe Madden outlines Committee's role (after outburst from Ya Moran). M.Rooney succeeds R.McCabe as Regional

Delegate. P.Casey and P. Campbell go to Monday Cubs. Susan Buggy goes to Weds. Cubs.' KG

PAGE 3 JUBILEE TIMES

Hail Glorious St. Patrick….. The Unit St. Patrick’s Day parade in Aughrim Street always for me marked the real start of the Scout outdoor season. It was an opportunity for all members of the Unit to regroup after the winter

and to show ourselves off to the rest of the Parish. As a Scout and then a young leader, the pomp and ceremony of the morning and the usual frenzy of scouting activity during the rest of the day left me

with many lasting memories. I remember meeting at the Den at 08.45, “full and complete

uniform”, with cubs and scouts buzzing around the place with excitement, some unfortunate’s beret being thrown around the hall like a frisbee, some other unfortunate being scolded that black runners with white stripes do not a uniform make! Moving outside to Ben Edair Road at 09.10 to line up, “paráid dhein trí líne”, and standing to attention while the colour party, resplendent and silent

under Richard Armstrong, marches past us to the head of the parade. Just before the off, leaders and clan members take their places behind the colour party, bemedalled and bejewelled (with the advent of female leaders). With a shout of “de réir an clé go mear marsháil” from the parade marshall, we are away up Ben Edair

Road, providing a colourful spectacle for those parishioners whose houses we pass on our procession to the Church in Aughrim Street.

The Church is packed, with the Unit taking up the first five seats on both sides of the main aisle. Colour party takes up position around the altar “flag bearers, have a good breakfast before the Mass,

otherwise….”. The Unit Chaplain arrives on the altar, flanked by two altar boys in Scout uniform, to the accompaniment of a brave rendition of ‘Dóchas Linn Naomh Pádraig”. Chaplain during the homily praises the role of Scouting in the Parish, cue surge of pride in the breasts of the Leaders. Cubs bring up the offertory procession – cub hats, pictures, tent pegs, blue neckerchiefs…... At the end of the

Mass Scouts lead the congregation in “Hail Glorious Saint Patrick”. Then the chaplain blesses the shamrock, purchased earlier by Mick Gildea, “our help is in the name of the Lord”, and it is distributed to all in the church, including the many parents of cubs and scouts, “I know your mother. Give us a bit with no muck on it!”

Line up again outside the church to take the scenic route back to the Den, via Manor Street, Manor Place and Oxmantown Road. Scouts and Scouters proud as peacocks, old soldiers saluting us as we pass their front doors, stirring their own distant memories. Turn onto Ben Edair Road, Den comes into sight, flags flying strongly from

the roof. Presentations inside the Den, cups of teas, furtive smokes, reminiscences by ex Scouters, “is so and so still alive?”, more frisbee berets. Parade dismissed, cups washed, flags rolled, medals put away for another year. And that was just St. Patrick’s morning! After this we rushed into the

big parade in town (with an interlude in Eoin Maguire’s for some), which preceded that afternoon’s annihilation by the leaders of the Venturers in the Phoenix Park soccer match, which in turn preceded that night’s Unit fundraiser, often in the Parkside Hotel on the North

Circular Road, where the wilting shamrock would be watered back

to life following the exertions of the day. What a life! Great times, lasting friendships, priceless memories.

Eamonn Moran

was a 9th Trooper,

and he also held

the position of Unit

Leader ten years

ago for our 60th

year Jubilee

Scouting Memories: Eamonn Moran

PAGE 4 JUBILEE TIMES

Keep up to date with the events we’ve planned to

celebrate the Jubilee year:

Scout County Shield April 20th – 22nd

Group Council May 14th

Whit Camp (Straffan) June 1st – 4th

Upcoming Events Contact Details

9th & 10th Dublin Scouts

Ben Edair Road

Dublin 7

Phone: 838 0796

Web site: www.aughrimstreetscouts.ie

It’s the 4th of April 1976. There’s great excitement

in the Aughrim Street Scout Unit. Today will

officially see the opening of the new den at 45b

Ben Edair Road. The President of Ireland,

Cearbhall O’Dalaigh, will be in attendance and

he will cut the ribbon to mark the occasion.

Today sees the culmination of months of toil by

leaders of the unit and other volunteers who

have plied their trades with genius, so that we

may benefit with this great building.

In 2007, we can safely say that this den has

played host to many great Scouting occasions,

too numerous to mention, whether they be the

cub meetings on Monday nights or scouts on a

Tuesday. But one thing remains the same:

standing on the shoulders of the giants in the

photo below we are in the happy position of

having one of the greatest youth assets in the

parish at our disposal.

Photo of the month for April was taken on April 4th

1976 in Power’s Hotel, Kildare Street at a party to

celebrate the opening of the new scout den. The

photo is on permanent display in the Clan Room.

Dermot Kinane, Group Secretary, Editor, Jubilee Times

No. 45b celebrates 31 years Whit Camp 2007

The Unit has been camping in the village of Straffan

Co. Kildare each Whit weekend for over two

decades. For most of that time we have been

privileged to stay on the lands of Mr. Robert Guinness

Esq. Previous to that we camped out at the K-Club

before it was a world-famous golf course.

Each year the cubs, scouts, venturers and leaders

pack their rucksacks and head off to the country side

for what is traditionally the beginning of the camping

season. With the river Liffey flowing by the camp site,

swimming and canoeing form part of the activities.

Volleyball, football and rounders are also enjoyed by

one and all.

This year the Group would like to open the camp up

to parents and former members of the Unit to ‘Camp

Out’ for one night and enjoy a day’s activity as your

child will do (or you have done in the past).

The purpose of this communication is so you can free

up you diary’s for Saturday 2nd June and hopefully

you’ll come along and enjoy the fun and games we

have planned. More details to follow.

Eamonn Moran, Co-Chair, Jubilee Committee

Photo of the Month The cub pack has had a pretty fun packed March; we had training for our St. Patrick’s Day Church Parade which went well. The

build up to Paddy’s Day was crucial, our leader team had to make sure that all the cubs were prepared and all had earned their Arrow Badges. Well done to all the cubs who worked really hard to achieve their Arrow and Jubilee Badges (which Cal Smyth had a hand

in designing). Congrats is also in order to the members of the River Six who won the pointscompetition and received a trophy. We would like to welcome our new leader, Niamh McCarthy, to the section and hope she enjoys her new job!

Gary Oxberry, Cub Leader

Cub Pack update