Rotary News - December 15 - January 16

December 2015 / January 2016 • Issue 006

CARRICKFERGUSPRESENTSINTERACTCHARTER

KILKENNYSCOOPSNATIONALAWARD

See page 4 See page 7

YOUNG CHEFWINNER

See page 15

Rotarian Sydney ReportsOn India TripCarrickfergus Rotarian Sydney Johnston is one of a group ofjust six people who make up the United Grace MissionNorthern Ireland.

Rotarian Sydney , alongwith John Boyd and theirwives have just returnedfrom an annual visit to Indiato support, oversee andadvance the work of themission there. The mission works largely inremote rural areas estab-lishing small churches andeducation centres andsupporting locally recruitedpastors and personnel toadvance their work in thecare, education and personaldevelopment of disadvan-taged young people.He reported on the Mission’splans for a new homecomplete with hydro poolspecifically designed for chil-dren with cerebral palsy. It isthe first of its kind in Indiaand is being sited in a univer-

sity campus in Kerala at acost of £150,000 raisedentirely through the volun-tary efforts of the sixmembers of United GraceMission NI.Rotarian Sydney describedtheir visit to a leprosy colonyand (thanks to BritishAirways allowance of anextra 48 kilograms ofluggage) the gifts they wereable to bring which includedfood, medicines, spectaclesand clothing. He alsoexplained how they used theopportunity to teach craftskills to the members of thecolony.He painted a vivid picture ofIndia as a place of colour,chaos, smells and noise.Carrickfergus Rotary ClubPresident Brenda Houstonexpressed the pride andadmiration of the Club forSydney’s work and congratu-lated him on an excellentpresentation.

On the weekend of 2nd-4th October 2015, The Rotary Club,Dublin, hosted some fifty Rotarians from Belgium, Cyprus,France, Germany, Sweden and the UK. The event was brilliantlyorganised by Past President Paul Loughlin and his hard-workingteam of supporters. At the official opening on Friday evening, the visitors werewarmly welcomed by Paschal Donohoe T.D. , Minister forTransport, Tourism and Sport. Afterwards they were home-hosted by Dublin club members. On Saturday evening a GalaDinner was held in the historic Slane Castle.The 2015 Euromeeting Award of €2,000 was presented to ‘TheDining Room’ a recently established Dun Laoghaire charity thatprovides meals for upwards of ninety poor, homeless and lonelypeople four times a week.

Euromeeting 2015A Great Success

Rotarian Donald Gordon President Rotary Club, Dublin makes a presen-tation to Minister Paschal Donohoe T.D.

Some of the Euromeeting Guests from Jonkoping Rotary Club inSweden at the Gala Dinner in Slane Castle.

Dun Lughaidh student AnnieMcAleer pipped her rivals at thepost during the Dundalk RotaryYouth Leadership De-velopmentCompetition.The 17 year from Castlebel-linghamwon the title, spon-sored by theBallymascanlon Hotel and Dundalk

Credit Union, after her wide rangeof leadership experience wasacknowledged.Annie was confirmed as the localwinner at the schools lunch in theBallymascanlon on Monday.The mid Louth teen de-scribed howher involvement in a range of initia-

tives give her an insight into leader-ship roles.‘During Transition Year I took partin the Pope John Paul II award andin doing so got involved in my localparish as a Minister of the Word.Along with reading at mass, I havealso helped out with the annual St.

Vincent De Paul Christmas hamperappeal.’Annie was also a speaker at theSoroptomist International publicspeaking competition, and wasawarded the Mary Barrettperpetual trophy for communica-tion. ‘I competed in the Trinitycollege debating team where I wasthrilled to have ranked highly as anindividual, and during the summermonths I helped out at a petition

sign-ing that sought to reverse thecuts made to the lone parentsallowance.Annie was also a project co-ordi-nator for the St. Vin-cent De PaulYouth for Justice project, and actedas public relations manager for alocal group. Delighted to have beencrowned the Dundalk Rotary youthleader, Annie now goes forward tothe regional com-petition whichtakes place this year in Drogheda.

Talented Teen Wins In Dundalk

Brenda Houston, President of the Rotary Club of Carrickfergus withRotarian Sydney Johnston on his return from India

It is almost regarded with amusementand certainly with no level of expectation.I refer of course to the fact that the goodworks the world’s Rotarians happilyachieve are rarely reported as a globalnews story. Not so this month, for we see a report onCNBC’s website showing The RotaryFoundation to be included in the list oftop 10 charities which have changed theworld in 2015, No. 5 to be precise.This is a welcome accolade for a projectwhose importance is often overlooked.Foundation is Rotary’s own charity, aptlynamed for as all buildings rely on a solidfoundation for strength and stability, sodoes Rotary. What we call The RotaryFoundation today was initiated in 1917

by RI president Arch C Klumph with aninitial deposit of $26.50 and made it’sfirst contribution of $500 in 1929 to theInternational Society for CrippledChildren.Since then the Foundation has growndramatically …1947: The Foundation established its firstprogram, Fellowships for Advance Study,later known as AmbassadorialScholarships. 1965-66: Three programswere launched: Group Study Exchange,Awards for Technical Training, andGrants for Activities in Keeping with theObjective of The Rotary Foundation,

which was later called Matching Grants.1978: Rotary introduced the Health,Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants. Thefirst 3-H Grant funded a project to immu-nize 6 million Philippine children againstpolio.1985: The PolioPlus program waslaunched to eradicate polio worldwide.1987-88: The first peace forums wereheld, leading to Rotary PeaceFellowships. 2013: New district, global,and packaged grants enable Rotariansaround the world to respond to theworld’s greatest needs. Since that firstdonation of $26.50 in 1917, theFoundation has received contributionstotalling more than $1 billion, a trulysolid Foundation.

By Dale Orr - Editor

The Rotary Foundation is one of the best!

HAS YOUR CLUB BEEN MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE? Send your club news today: Tel: 01-8400200 • email: [email protected]

ROTARY NEWS02 December 2015 / January 2016

Rotary Newsreserves the right to decline, omit, suspend oralter any advertisement in the newspaper or toterminate any contract and will not be heldresponsible for any loss caused thereby. No liability is accepted for any loss causedthereby. No liability is accepted for any loss ordamage caused by an error in the printing of anyadvertisement. No liability is accepted for any lossor damage alleged to arise through delay inforwarding copy. All advertisements placed inRotary News appear online in our digital formats.

ADVERTISERS:please note terms and conditions

AdvertisingTel: 01 8400 [email protected]: Gerry Fitzmaurice

Leader House,North Street, SwordsTel: 8 400 200

Contact Us:

NewsdeskTel: 01 8400 [email protected]: Dale OrrNewsdesk: Aoife ReadManaging Editor: Gerry Fitzmaurice

PublishersElse Newspapers Ltd.

PrinterKerry’s Eye

Reaching All Rotary MembersThroughout The Island Of Ireland

Reasons to Join Rotary201. Friendship: In an increasingly complex world, Rotaryprovides one of the most basic of human needs: the need forfriendship and fellowship.

2. Business Development: The second original reason forRotary’s beginning is business development. Everyone needsto network. Rotary consists of a cross section of every businesscommunity. Its members come from all walks of life. Rotarianshelp each other.

3. Personal Growth and Development: Membership in Rotarycontinues one’s growth and education in human relations andpersonal development.

4. Leadership Development: Rotary is an organisation ofleaders and successful people. Serving in Rotary positions islike a college education. Leadership: learning how to motivate,influence and lead leaders.

5. Citizenship in the Community: Membership in a Rotary clubmakes one a better community citizen. The average Rotary clubconsists of the most active citizens of any community.

6. Continuing Education: Each week at Rotary there is aprogram designed to keep one informed about what is goingon in the community, the country, and the world. Meetingsprovide an opportunity to listen to different speakers and avariety of timely topics.

7. Fun: Rotary is fun, a lot of fun. Each meeting is fun. The clubprojects are fun. Social activities are fun. The service is fun.

8. Public Speaking Skills: Many individuals who joined Rotarywere afraid to speak in public. Rotary develops confidence andskill in public communication and the opportunity to practiceand perfect these skills.

9. Citizenship in the World: Every Rotarian wears a pin thatsays _Rotary International. There are few places on the globethat do not have a Rotary club. Every Rotarian is welcome —even encouraged — to attend any club in any nation andgeographical region. This means instant friends in both one’sown community and in the world community.

10. Assistance when Travelling: Because there are Rotary clubseverywhere, many a Rotarian in need of a doctor, lawyer, hotel,dentist, advice, etc., while travelling has found assistancethrough Rotary.

11. Entertainment: Every Rotary club and district has partiesand activities that provide diversion in one’s life. Rotary holdsconferences, conventions, assemblies, and institutes thatprovide entertainment in addition to Rotary information,education, and service.

12. The Development of Social Skills: Every week and atvarious events and functions, Rotary develops one’s person-ality, social skills, and people skills. Rotary is for people wholike people.

13. Family Programs: Rotary provides one of the world’s largestyouth exchange programs; high school and college clubs forfuture Rotarians; opportunities for spouse involvement; and ahost of activities designed to help family members in growthand the development of family values.

14. Vocational Skills: Every Rotarian is expected to take part inthe growth and development of his or her own profession orvocation, to serve on committees, and to teach youth aboutone’s job or vocation. Rotary helps to make one a better person.

15. The Development of Ethics: Rotarians practice a 4-Way Testthat governs one’s ethical standards. Rotarians are expected tobe ethical in business and personal relationships.

16. Cultural Awareness: Around the world, practically every reli-gion, country, culture, race, creed, political persuasion,language, colour, and ethnic identity is found in Rotary. It is across section of the world’s citizens from every background.Rotarians become aware of their cultures and learn to love andwork with people everywhere. They become better citizens oftheir countries in the process.

17. Prestige: Rotary members are prominent people who areleaders in all disciplines. Rotary is the oldest and most presti-gious service club in the world. Rotarians are people who makedecisions and influence policy.

18. Nice People: Rotarians above all are nice people — thenicest people on the face of the earth. They are importantpeople who follow the policy of it is nice to be important but itis important to be nice.

19. The Absence of an “Official Creed”: Rotary has no secrethandshake, no secret policy, no official creed, no secretmeeting, or rituals. It is an open society of men and women whosimply believe in helping others.

20. The Opportunity to Serve: Rotary is a service club. Its busi-ness is humankind. Its product is service. Rotarians providecommunity service to both local and international communities.This is perhaps the best reason for becoming a Rotarian: thechance to do something for somebody else; to sense the self-fulfilment that comes in the process; and the return of thatsatisfaction to one’s own life. It is richly rewarding.

For more information on joining your localRotary see the box below

- Club Stamp / Label -

YOUR LOCALROTARY CLUB

IS

http://facebook.com/rotarynews.ie

http://twitter.com/IrishRotaryNews

www.rotarynews.ie

Please attach label herewith details of your clubbefore delivering to local

libraries, waiting rooms etcthroughout your community

ROTARY NEWS 03


December 2015 / January 2016

Canon Michael Parker presented a cheque for £3000 to President CampbellWhyte of North Down Rotary Club. In attendance was District Governor, DeclanTyner of the Rotary Club of Cork Bishopstown and also Past-President BarryPatterson, the club's International Convenor. The money was raised by St Gall'sChurch in Bangor to support the campaign to supply Shelterboxes to disastersites around the world.

Presentation Of Cheque For Shelterbox AppealRotarian John Woodcock of the Kilkenny Rotary Club has received a "PaulHarris" award in recognition of his contribution to rotary and its involvement inthe local community over the years. Paul Harris was one of the founders of Rotary in 1905 and this award is one of the most prestigious awards gifted by rotary. Pictured above Rotary District Governor Declan Tyner presenting theaward to John and KIlkenny President Anslem Molloy

Paul Harris Award For Kilkenny Rotarian

Martin Hamilton, founder and MD of Mash Direct, spokeat a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of North Downabout the story of the company. He began by detailing theimpact on arable farmers of the entry of the big supermar-kets into Northern Ireland in the 1990s. As a producer ofvegetables on a 200 acre farm in Co. Down he experiencedan immediate reduction in the profitability of the farm tothe extent that, by the turn of the century, he was contem-plating leaving the business. One alternative he exploredwas a golf based scheme that ran foul of the planners.By 2003 the picture was looking very grim and it was thenthat he hit on the idea of processing the vegetables he grewon the farm into ready to heat and eat form. With the helpof the then Northern Bank (now Danske) and advice fromentrepreneurial friends he took the plunge and created afactory on his farm for steaming vegetables. Beginning

with the staple potato resulted in the name Mash Direct,but the range immediately expanded to include othervegetables and has continued to expand every year sincesuch that he now farms 1400 acres and takes in producefrom a number of other farms both local and in GB.As the business grew it was necessary to create a moreformal business structure with a board of directors,including non executives, but at the same time at heart itremained a family enterprise. Martin’s wife Tracy andtheir sons Lance and Jack are major contributors to thesuccess of the business which has now grown to employaround 200 people, 20 on the farm and around 180 in theproduction side. Martin emphasised the importance to himand his team of the development of product and the devel-opment of people.The range of products has increased year on year because

the inventiveness of everyone involved is encouraged. Allemployees are invited to produce ideas for new products orother ways in which the business can be improved. As aresult two or three new products are being added each yearand the total is now 40. Martin is convinced of the merits ofa company putting real effort into development of thepeople who work for it and has consistently encouragedemployees to learn new skills which enable them to makeprogress within the company. A number of those employedare from Eastern Europe and their success in developingcareers within the organisation is a source of particularpride.Mash Direct has been the recipient of many awards in its12 years of existence and is going from strength to strengthin terms of opening up new opportunities in new markets.Expressing the thanks of the Club for a fascinating talk,Past President Barry Patterson congratulated Martin ondemonstrating just how good ideas well executed can resultin a real success story.

Mash Direct: A Vegetable Success Story

New member of the Dublin Fingal Rotary Club, Stephen Boggs iswelcomed by President Michael Kennedy

Rotarians in Ireland are aware of thefantastic support given to the area ofRombo, Kenya over the last few years.With help from Rotary and my charity‘Light of Maasai’, we have changedthousands of lives in this area forever.We have water where previously therewas none, where women walked manykilometers to access dirty water from astream. We have clinics where previ-ously women and children walked forhours to access health care and wehave hundreds of desks so that childrenno longer have to sit on the ground intheir classrooms. I know that with international projects

it is often difficult to know whether thesupport given has truly made animpact. I would like to invite allRotarians to come to Rombo to see foryourself where your hard earned

money has been spent. We have apurpose built house which can houseup to 8 visitors at a time in comfort.The house situated in Rombo itself isopen 12 months of the year to visitorswhere we provide a full board accom-modation for the duration of your stay.The rooms are small and basic but verycomfortable, meals are of a high stan-dard and (electricity permitting) weeven have hot water showers. This is“5 star bush accommodation”. Whilestaying with us in Rombo you can visitthe projects funded by Rotary. You canexperience the Maasai culture andenjoy the beautiful view of MountKilimanjaro. So that your trip is not all work we canarrange for you to have a safari inAmboseli National Park and/or TsavoWest National Park where you can

enjoy “real 5 star” accommodation for afew days while looking for the Big Five. We feel that a trip to Rombo is a mustfor Rotarians as so many of you havebeen an important part of changing thelives of people here. A stay in ourvisitor’s house will give you the oppor-tunity to understand how importantinternational projects are and in partic-ular the difference you are making inthis area. Many have already come and have said it was “an experi-ence of a lifetime”. Click onwww.lightofmaasai.org and click on“vol quotes” to see what otherRotarians said about their visit toRombo. If you are interested please contactMatt Porter, Rotary club of DublinCentral ([email protected]), orDavid Sands ([email protected])Trustee of Light of Maasai. You cancome for a short few days or a long fewmonths, but we urge you to make thedecision and visit us during 2016. Aswe say in Swahili language KARIBUSANA (VERY WELCOME).

Invitation To All RotariansAnd Their Friends



Elegant ladies and a sprinkling of dapper gents satdown to enjoy annual Killarney Rotary Club’s afternoontea in the exquisite setting The Malton’s GardenRestaurant in October. A fashion blitz and exciting raffle also formed part ofthe event, which generated cash for a very deservinglocal cause, the Killarney branch of the Society of StVincent de Paul. In November, Margaret Cremin andJim Cronin of the Society were presented with a chequeby Killarney Rotary President John O’Sullivan and hisfellow Rotarian and afternoon tea organiser CiaraIrwin-Foley. Guests arrived from across Kerry and Ireland and evenfrom as far afield as Seattle for the delectable seventh

annual afternoon tea, which also featured a fashionblitz.Clodagh Irwin-Owens, who won the sought-after titleKerry Fashion Designer of the Year 2012 at KerryFashion Weekend, displayed her latest designs, whileautumn/winter fashion courtesy of Paco, at theKillarney Outlet Centre, also took centre stage on thecatwalk, as did jewellery by Brian De Staic.Killian Foley volunteered his time and expertise as DJ,

with the models also all volunteering their time. “TheKillarney Rotary Afternoon Tea at The Malton was, asalways, a sell-out success,” said organiser Ciara Irwin-Foley of Killarney Rotary Club. “We would like to thankall the ladies who supported the event. It was great tosee so many people returning this year and also towelcome new faces that we hope to see again next year.All the raffle prizes are donated and we would like tothank all involved for their generosity.”Killarney Rotary President John O’Sullivan, Rotary Ireland assistant governor Teresa O’Brien andMargaret Cremin and her team from the Killarneybranch of St Vincent de Paul were also key to the event.Killarney Rotary president John O’Sullivan said: “Thetheme in Rotary this year is to be a Gift to the World.Today the gift is to a very good local charity, as theevent will benefit St Vincent de Paul, guaranteeing anymoney made today will stay locally.”

Killarney RotaryBrews Up SupportFor St Vincent DePaul Killarney

Despite being one of the smaller Rotary clubs inIreland, Letterkenny members are very activewithin the community as well as supporting RotaryInternational.Many of our members are also involved in othercharity work, and therefore Letterkenny Rotary clubis actively involved in supporting the work of theRNLI, St. Vincent De Paul, and the Irish CancerSociety, to name but a few. Several members of the Club hold executive posi-tions on the Relay for Life Donegal Board which hasraised just under one million Euro for the IrishCancer Society over the past three years, while theClub as a whole participates in their various activi-ties.Locally, our social evenings at the Letterkenny‘Young at Heart Club’ are very rewarding, as areour visits to nursing homes to sing carols and bringgifts at Christmas time.

Our support for Letterkenny Tidy Towns doesn’tstop at financing a thriving Flower Garden but seesRotarians out every week physically picking uplitter.We are also proud to support the Bikes for Africaappeal and the members who visited LoughlinHouse earlier this year thoroughly enjoyed the expe-rience of seeing the work carried out there firsthand; as well as hearing of the wonderful successstories of the Bikes being taken to schools in TheGambia and of how Rotary continues to make a realdifference to the lives of children living in Africa.Our President’s Ball was a magnificent event thisyear, hosted by President Ena Barrett. We werehonoured to have Daniel O’Donnell and his wife,Majella along with many family and friends attendto receive Paul Harris Fellowships in recognition oftheir long outstanding service to the community inCo. Donegal, in Ireland and worldwide.

LetterkennyRotary ClubIs Hard At Work

The Rotary Club of NorthDown visited the PresidentialResidence Aras anUachtarain in Dublin. Theparty was warmly welcomedto the residence by CorporalHamilton of the Irish DefenceForces who showed themaround the state rooms in amost relaxed and informativemanner. He explained that, asPresident Higgins was flyingthat day to New York, he wasunable to greet them inperson. The party was fortu-nate that they were able tosee the beautiful gardens inbright sunshine and, they alsogot to meet the PresidentialBurmese Mountain dog.

North Down Visit Aras An UachtarainNorth Down Visit Aras An UachtarainNorth Down Visit Aras An UachtarainNorth Down Visit Aras An UachtarainNorth Down Visit Aras An Uachtarain

President Brenda Houston presents the Interact Charter certificate to the Founding President Erin Tweedie watched by Rotarian Jim Dunlop,Youth Activities Convenor, Founding Treasurer Emma Jefferson and Downshire School Principal Mrs Jackie Stewart.

Carrickfergus President Brenda Presents Charter CertificatePresident Brenda and Youth Activities Convenor JimDunlop were welcomed to Downshire School by PrincipalMrs Jackie Stewart to hand over the Charter Certificate tothe newly formed Interact Club.In presenting the Charter, President Brenda emphasisedthe opportunities Interact membership presented for thedevelopment of leadership, organizational, teamwork andcitizenship skills. She congratulated them on forming another Interact Club inthe town, and said that she looked forward to the RotaryClub members working with them and learning from theiryouthful creativity.

Rotarian Jim Dunlop (Youth Activities Convenor), President BrendaHouston and Downshire School Principal Mrs Jackie Stewart picturedwith the members of Downshire Interact Club.

President Elect Colin McCarthy welcomes Ken Patterson to AssociateMembership of the Carrickfergus Club.

Associate Member Hilary McGavock pictured with President Brendaand her sponsor Rotarian Jim Dunlop.

ROTARY NEWS 05



The Rotary club of Lisburn's 7th annual golf eventwas held at Lisburn golf club in September, the eventraised £18k which will be distributed between theCancer Fund for Children, Mencap and the RotaryFoundation.The event was supported by many local businessesincluding Donnelly Brothers, PRM Group, MooreBranniff, Andrew Morris, Coyle Agencies, ShannonJewellers, CWS Design and Noblett's of North Street.The event concluded with a prize giving dinner in thegolf club compared by gene fitzpatrick with represen-tatives from the charities in attendance.This annual event is the jewel in Lisburn’s crown asit encourages participation from many of the club’s 48members. Each year local businesses and members ofthe local community look forward the Septemberevent to enjoy a great day of competitive golf andsocial celebrations.

Seventh AnnualGolf Event ForLisburn

Since initiating a pilot Associate Membership scheme atthe start of this Rotary Year, President Brenda and the members of the CarrickfergusClub are delighted to welcome Ken Patterson andHilary McGavock to Associate membership of the Club. Ken’s background is in Financial Services while Hilary

is a Medical Practice Manager. The scheme allows thosewho are interested in Rotary to attend Club & Councilmeetings, actively engage in and support Club activitiesand experience what Rotary is about before committingto full membership. Recently a third person hasexpressed interest in joining

Carrickfergus Club Welcomes Two New Members

Rotary ClubBrings SpectreTo Waterford.The Rotary Club ofWaterford were proud topresent a special PremiereSequel screening of thelatest Bond movie Spectreat Waterford Omniplex(former Regina) on Patrick Street on Tuesday October27th.Nora Widger, President of the Rotary Club ofWaterford said, We at Waterford Rotary were delightedto return with another film night, and what a film! TheBond series is always exciting and popular and we wereplease such a large number attended this film night.The Rotary Club of Waterford raised approximately€30,000 for charities in 2014, including local charitiessuch as Waterford Hospice. Waterford Rotary Club isbest known locally for the annual Memorial ChristmasTree in John Roberts Square.

Waterford Rotary President Nora Widger and Rotarian and eventsponsor David M. Breen

Hope GuatemalaEddie Dieckmann from Hope Guatemala was presentat The Dingle Rotary meeting on Monday 2nd.November. President Brian de Staic presented himwith a cheque for €600, the proceeds of our FoodFestival pancake day.He expressed his gratitude on behalf of his committee.

His book,The Children of Finca Florencia was releasedon 11th November and the Dingle Rotary is very proudto be associated with it. Hope Guatemala is a small Irish registered charitythat has been active at a grassroots level inGuatemala. The organisation is comprised of volun-teers only, with no management or administrationcosts. Activities are funded solely through the efforts ofvolunteers and there is no International Organisationor Government funding involved.

History repeated itself at the localKilkenny Rotary Club's presidentialhandover day when Anselm Molloy,son of past president, thelate, Mr Pat Molloy, tookover the role of club presi-dent from Joe Mulhall. Itwas the first time in theclubs 36 year history thatthe role of club presidentmoved through the gener-ations of the same familyand a very proud day forAnselm, his wife Mary andtheir extended families. Pat Molloy, late ofArdabawn, Tullaroan wasone of the foundingmembers of the Kilkennyclub and remained so forthe following 29 yearsduring which he was avery popular and activeclub member, fulfilling therole of club president inthe 1984/85 Rotary year.Outgoing president for thepast year, Joe Mulhall, said "Thispast year as president has been anhonour and privilege to represent

this club, one of the largest in thedistrict. Future years will judge ifmy year as president made any

lasting impression on the club or ourcommunity, but if in some small wayit has, it can only have been because

of the support and hard work of youall, the membership, on all of theprojects and initiatives weembarked on". Joe went on to wish Anselm and hiscouncil team every success for theirplans for the coming year and incontinuing the clubs major annualfundraising event, "TheRemembrance Tree" at Christmasin aid of the Carlow Kilkenny

Homecare team. In his first official speech asclub president Anselm said "Iam honoured to have beeninvited by Joe to be yourpresident for this coming yearand I am greatly lookingforward to it". In reflecting onJoe's year as president,Anselm said, "what can I sayabout Joe and his year, thedifficulty is not finding whatto say, but trying to choosewhat to leave out, Joe's workethic is second to none and hehas laid out a superb blue-print for the clubs annualactivities which will sustainthe club long into the future".Anselm concluded by saying"It is said that for anyapprentice to properly learn,you need to learn your trade from a master

craftsman and I feel that workingwith Joe for this past year I havebeen lucky to do that".

History RepeatsItself In Kilkenny

Incoming president Anselm Molloy (left) presenting outgoing presi-dent Joe Mulhall with his 'Past President's Pin'



Left to Right are President Billy Nott, Rotary Club of Athlone presenting a historic book on Athlone and theClub pennant to Catherine Hadron, President of the Rotary Club of Chateaubriant. Catherine in returnpresented Billy with a framed painting of Chateaubriant as well as their pennant.

Following on from the incrediblysuccessful Lisburn Rotary Golf Daywhich seen the club raise in excess of£18000 it was felt that an invi-tation to lunch should be extended to allthose who supported the day as a gestureof our thanks.Once the date for lunch was agreed, thespirit of Rotary was ignited and ideas forthe day grew resulting in lunch turningin to a Rotary Information Day. Invitations were extended to 47 guestswith 37 guests responding positively.Unfortunately not all could attend butthose that couldn’t expressed a genuineinterest to attend on another occasion.The next Rotary Information Day now inthe making!The day enabled us to showcase our good

work to the wider community whilstgiving those in attendance the opportu-nity to experience what its like to make adifference. What started out as a thank you has leadto membership information beingprovided to those that attended with 11expressing a genuine interest inmembership and 2 guests confirmingthat they would be delighted to partici-pate as Speakers at future meetings.We believe that the Rotary InformationDay projected the spirit of Rotary withthe majority of our members being inattendance on the day extending a warmRotary welcome and demonstrating thefellowship that unquestionably runsthrough our club. All in all a resoundingsuccess!

Lisburn Information Day

Bangor Rotarians marked Armistice Day with a special Remembrance Service at theSomme Heritage Centre near Newtownards in County Down.More than sixty Rotarians and guests paid a moving tribute to all those who losttheir lives in the two World Wars and other conflicts.The Service of Remembrance was opened by the President of the Club Paul Hattywho welcomed everyone by saying:-“We do not come here out of some nationalisticpride or triumphalism, nor do we come to glorify the process of war. We come tohonour those who through the service of their country gave the ultimate sacrifice,specifically in the First and Second world Wars but also those who continue to do soin conflicts all over the world”.A passage of scripture was then read by Past President John Birch before the Wordsof Remembrance were spoken by Morrell Murphy, a World War Two veteran.As a young rating Morrell served on HMS Exeter during the Battle of the RiverPlate off the coast of South America in 1939 when the much feared German pocketbattle ship, the Graf Spee, was so severely damaged that it had to run for cover intothe river estuary and was eventually ordered to be scuttled by its captain. In 1944 he was on board HMS Capel when it was hit by a German torpedo and sankin the English Channel. His family in Lisburn received a telegram and a letterfrom the King to say that he was lost at sea but much to the surprise of his newwife, mother and father he turned up safe a well a few weeks later. In fact Morrellhad been rescued from the water by an American vessel and brought to hospital inCherbourg .Before the two minutes silence the Last Post was sounded by Bugler Brian Hall.After the Act of Remembrance had concluded Trevor Parkhill, now retired from thePublic Records Office, gave a talk on the life of Emma Duffin, a Belfast VoluntaryAid Attachment Nurse during the First World War.Using her own words from her diaries he gave a moving account of the time shehad spent nursing both British and German soldiers in hospitals in Egypt andnorthern France.

Bangor Rotarians Remember

Bangor Rotary Club President Paul Hatty (right) along with Trevor Parkhill (left) the guest speaker at theRotary Remembrance Service, World War Two Veteran, Morrell Murphy, and the Club’s Past President,Bill Aiken, who organised the Service take their places behind a World War One Vickers Machine Gun.

End PolioNow As part of its programme of speakers, theRotary Club of Kilkenny throughPresident AnselmMolloy, welcomedDeirdre Clune MEP as guest speaker atits meeting of the 20th of July in theClub House Hotel. Deirdre had been incorrespondence with the Rotary Club ofKilkenny earlier in the year on thematter of support at EU level for theworldwide programme for polio eradica-tion and was thanked at the meeting by

President Anselm on behalf of RotaryIreland for her support. Deirdre acceptedan invitation to speak at the club on thesubject of how the European Parliamentactually made a difference to the 1million plus constituents in the IrelandSouth European ParliamentConstituency that Deirdre representswith 3 other MEPs.The meeting was well attended byRotarians and guests. The Mayor ofKilkenny City, Councillor Joe Malonewelcomed Deirdre Clune MEP on behalfof all the citizens of Kilkenny and otherguests included Councillor DavidFitzgerald and former Senator MichaelLanigan as well as many other guests ofKilkenny Rotarians including a visitingWaterford Rotarian.

(Left To right) Councillor David Fitzgerald, Councillor Joe Malone Mayor of Kilkenny City, Deirdre CluneMEP ,Rotary Club of Kilkenny President Anselm Molloy and Immediate Past President Joe Mulhall

Carlow Fashion ShowAgain this year Carlow Club ran a very successful Fashion show in aid of local char-ities. President Eamon thanked all involved in making the night a success andparticularly Pat Bramley who chaired the committee for over 30 years. Pat’s job hasnow been taken over by Eileen Brophy who put in a huge amount of work this year.Proceeds have not yet been finalised but as soon as that has been done ,cheques willbe presented to Eist Cancer Support, St Laserians School, Delta Centre and CarlowKilkenny Homecare team.Again this year the Delta players put on a show duringthe fashion interval which brought the house down and full credit to Noreen Farrellwho coaches the learners from Delta to such a high level.

ROTARY NEWS 07



To date Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland fromaround 200 clubs in 20 districts have commissioned 31dams in Kenya, nine also include food security througha five year agriculture project. We have also triggeredUK Government funding for six dams with 13 agricul-ture programmes alongside our dams.The first dam, involving the Rotary Foundation wascompleted in 2010. A follow-up global grant came to theattention of RIBI and in January 2012 Drew Hughesand Kevin Pitt, then members of the RIBIInternational Service Committee, travelled to Kenya toevaluate whether Sand Dams were needed andsustainable. They met with the local NGO the AfricaSand Dam Foundation (ASDF), which works closely

with Excellent Development, to help community self-help groups in the drylands to build sand dams anddevelop their agriculture for the benefit of the wholelocal community.In July 2013 Drew and Kevin were joined by MikeParry, James Onions and Matt Porter to see maturedams and those under construction funded by Rotary. They also met with ten Kenyan Rotary clubs to estab-lish relations and in particular develop potential grantpartners. They were able to visit completed damsfinanced by Rotary Clubs which were completed in2012, and already back-filled with sand and holdingwater which tasted very good. We met with the communities and understood the

value they were gaining. They told us of the hugeimpact the Dams had, providing them with clean waterwhich meant people were no longer sick or dying fromwater borne disease.In the drylands, the people there are isolated and poor.They live on less than $1 a day. The dams which servethese communities about £10,000, which is around £10per person to provide water for life. Rotarians haveprovided funds for farming and the communities aregrowing sorghum, tomatoes, cabbages, kale andmangos which are helping to feed them and providesthem with a small income. They are also planting treesaplings which prevent soil erosion and provide shadefor animals and kindling for cooking.These dams are making a real difference to the qualityof life of people in the drylands and their gratitude toRotary for its role in supporting them was very muchappreciated.

Sand Dams For Dry Lands

Sarah Walker was presented with the Alf Buchanan Trophy byPresident Robert McIlveen

Thursday 5th November 2015 saw the annualpresentation of the Alf Buchanan Trophy by themembers of The Rotary Club of Donaghadee. Thetrophy was donated in memory of Past President AlfBuchanan who sadly died in 2000. Alf had workedall his life with young people.The trophy is awarded to the winner of theDonaghadee heat of The Rotary Youth Leadershipcompetition. The winner this year was Sarah Walkera pupil at Glenola Collegiate Girls School Bangor.Sarah was accompanied by her parents and 6th formteacher Marc Harding.Sarah said that she was pleased to be at the meetingand considered it an honour to represent the club inthe competition. She added that if successful in thefurther heats she would send a postcard fromStrasbourg. (The winners of the competition visit theEuropean Parliament in Strasbourg).President Robert McIlveen then presented Sarahwith a cheque for herself and one for her school.Robert wished her well in the zone final.

Presentation Of TheAle Buchanan Trophy

The Four Way Test... of the things we say and do:

Is it the TRUTH?

Is it FAIR to all concerned?

Will it build GOOD WILL andBETTER FRIENDSHIP?

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned

Pictured Top: Rotary District Governor Declan Tyner and his wife Patpictured with the President and members of the Rotary Club ofCarrickfergus.(Left – Right) Derek Coles, Michael McCune, John Turner, Kim Lindsay,Pat Tyner (wife of the DG), Jim Kelso, Doreen Dobbs, Anna Craig,Declan Tyner (District Governor), Brenda Houston (Carrickfergus ClubPresident), Jim Dunlop, Mary Sinnamon, Denis Hession, Sam Crowe,Colin de Fleury and Colin McCarthy.

President Brenda and the Club members warmlywelcomed D G Declan Tyner and his wife Pat to the Club. D G Declan demonstrated his familiarity with the historyof Carrickfergus and his knowledge of the activities of theCarrickfergus Club. He praised the membership for theirengagement with local and international projects, high-lighting among many activities, the long standing supportfor Carrickfergus Senior Gateway, for Rotary Foundation,polio eradication and the expansion of opportunities foryouth activities in the Carrickfergus area through theYouth Leadership programme, Young Writer and YoungPhotographer. He and Carrickfergus Club President Brenda Houstonexchanged banners and gifts to mark his visit.

Rotary District Governor Visits Carrickfergus Club

Rotary District Governor Declan Tyner and Pat Tyner pictured withPresident Brenda Houston on the occasion of their visit to theCarrickfergus Club.

Rotary KilkennyScoops NationalAwardThe Rotary Club of Kilkenny was recognised with a prestigious nationalaward from Rotary Ireland at the Rotary Ireland annual conferenceheld in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Douglas in Cork recently.The George Sloane Memorial Trophy is awarded for reaching out to thelocal community. Kilkenny won this award for its focus on the localcommunity through various projects including the RotaryRemembrance Tree (in aid of the Carlow Kilkenny Homecare Team),The Rotary Youth Leadership Award Scheme run in all the city andmany county secondary schools, and a Rotary open day held in RotheHouse to help tell the people of Kilkenny about the club and what itdoes.President Anselm Molloy accepted the award on behalf of the club fromRotary Ireland’s Immediate Past District Governor Philip Beggs at theRotary Ireland Conference held in September. Kilkenny has the uniquehonour of being the only Rotary Club in the country that has won thisaward twice (1997 & 2015).

Anselm Molloy, President of the Rotary Club of Kilkennywith the George Sloane Memorial Trophy



Rotary ClubMallow Paysrespects The Rotary Club of Mallow was recently very shockedand saddened to hear of the sudden death of one ofour most active members Stephanie Hartnett.Stephanie was enjoying the holiday of a lifetime inVietnam when she succumbed to a freak wave whilein the sea. Stephanie had been one of the more promi-nent members of the Rotary Club of Mallow. She waspresident in 2013 when we celebrated the 40thanniversary of our charter at Longueville HouseMallow.Following her presidential year she became verymuch involved in promoting and retaining member-ship. Just in the last year she had begun to expandher contribution to district level. A large crowd ,including District Governor Declan Tyner and pastDGs Tom Murphy and Verity Swan attended thefuneral services At Stephanie's funeral ,members ofthe Rotary Club of Mallow distributed crocus bulbs tothe mourners for people to plant in her memory andalso to mark her great interest in the drive to eradi-cate polio from the world.

The Rotary Club of Belfast is delighted to have helpedat Youth Action NI’s latest GET SET to Go Day,Thursday 5 November. 45 young unemployed peopletook part in a range of employability workshops - goalsetting, interview skills and entrepreneurial skillsmodelled on 'the apprentice' andÊled by 12 RotaryClub of Belfast members together with other GETSET business partners from Coca Cola, PWC, SlackPress and Barclay Telecom. It was all round a very

successful day with feedback from YouthActionworkers and the young people who attended beingvery positive.The latest GET SET to GO Day was attended byPresident Ronnie Porter, Hon. Secretary AlvinMcKinley, Past Presidents Derek Baxter, BrianClements, Trevor Hinds, Ronnie McLean, GordonMillington, Ken Morrison members Ken Nixon,Walter Rader, Eric Rainey and Chris Warnock.

Tackling Youth Unemployment

Pictured: Club members from left Hon. Secretary Alvin McKinley, Past President Ronnie McLean, Walter Rader and Eric Rainey withYouthAction NI's GET SET Placement mentor Tracy O'Hare

Rotary Club of Dublin Fingal held their annual bucket collections for local St. Vincent de Paul and otherlocal charities in Supevalu, Swords Pavilions last Friday.Pictured collecting on the day were are Rotarians Eugene Haines (left) and Dave Murray (right) withmembers of the 164th Brackenstown Scout Group, Mario and Cloe.

Bangor Rotary Club has raised morethan £3,200 for charity at its annualbreakfast.Over 230 business men and womenturned up at the 24th annual eventto hear the guest speaker TomMcGrath CBE, Chief CharityCommissioner for Northern Ireland.Welcoming the guests to theClandeboye Lodge, Club PresidentPaul Hatty, told them that theirpresence was vital if Rotary was tocontinue its support for a range ofworthy causes both at home andabroad.He said the designated local charitythis year would be the Croft

Community which provides residen-tial and supported living for adultswith learning disabilities. “We are keen to support them intheir drive to provide increasedrespite care for families in NorthDown”, he said.President Paul added that the chosenworldwide charity was RotaryFoundation which contributestowards many international initia-tives including the ongoing battle toeradicate polio.The Mayor of Ards and North Down,Alderman Alan Graham, paid tributeto the work of Rotary and added hiswelcome to everyone present.

Bangor Rotary CharityBreakfast Raises Over £3000

Killarney Rotarians Push The Boat Out For CharityMembers of KillarneyRotary Club just couldn’tresist trying it for sizewhen Killarney WaterRescue unveiled a boatoutside The MaltonHotel, Killarney, afterthe weekly Rotary lunch. It was the launch of theclubs 12th annualEvening of Wine & Art.Killarney Water Rescuewill be the main benefi-ciary of this years event,

which took place in TheMalton Hotel onThursday, November 26. As always the event waspacked with art and winelovers and socialites of allages. The event is held inassociation with sponsorDaly’s SuperValu,Killarney, and is organ-ised in aid of deservinglocal charities andcommunity projects, saidKillarney Rotary presi-

dent John O’Sullivan. So what’s the secret ofthe nights success? Well,the fact that there isalways the chance tosnap up some wonderfullocally produced artworkor crafts (the perfectChristmas present!) isone reason why the eventis a must-attend. Whilemany attend year in yearout as they love the wayit gives them the oppor-

tunity to mingle whilesampling some of thebest wine and beeraround as well astempting festive nibblesand speciality cheeses. Another highlight of thenight is the exciting

charity auction ofartwork. Meanwhile, members ofboth the Kerry HospiceFoundation and theKillarney branch of theIrish Kidney Associationwere on hand to sellcharity Christmas cards. The raffle, alwayseagerly anticipated, wasco-ordinated by the IrishPilgrimage Trust and theproceeds of the cloakroomwill support the KerryStars Special Olympics

Club. The main benefi-ciary this year isKillarney Water Rescue,who are in existence for21 years,Amongst the other chari-ties and communityprojects being supportedby this years KillarneyRotary Evening of Wine& Art the Order of Malta,St Brendan’s Microtrack,Gaelscoil Faithleann,Coolick National Schooland Killarney AthleticSoccer Club.

ROTARY NEWS 09



Declan Tyner

Ian and Andrea Parker, Literacy in a Box Trust with Matt Porter, Dublin Central

Eleanor Dunne Sean Dunne Daphne Wright and David Wright

Gerry McElvogue Maria McGilly and Gary Corkin Declan Tyner Gary Corkin Wendy Corkin and Pat Tyner

Brenda Houston Archie Ralston Gerry McElvogue Gwen Croan and Nancy Ralston

Heather Burns and KathyMackenzie Gwen Croan and Nancy Ralston

Jim Boylan, Brian Cockooft, Brenda Caher and Brian Jamieson from Ballycastle club

Dave Murray, Tom Murphy and Dale Orr all from the foundingcommittee of Rotary News examine the latest edition on the first

anniversary of the paper.

Rotary District Conference 2015Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork

Rotary Governor;Looking Back Coming into the last month of the year sees a time for retrospect. We allbegin to think about what we have done over the last year and what we havemanaged to achieve. It is also a time for looking forward and planning newventures for the year ahead. We spoke to outgoing District Governor, Declan Tyner about what it waslike for him as Governor and who, he would like to thank for their contribu-tion to his work as Governor. “It’s hectic and very satisfying. Hard but in a good way. I promised to visitevery club, as early as I could. We have 70 clubs, and to date I havemanaged to visit 70 of the 72 which is a unique achievement. I feel that mypriority is the club. To me that most important. To keep our motto of serviceabove self is very important and I think in order to make things happen youhave to start with the hierarchy down. That’s how things get done.” He saidof his feelings toward the role of Governor. He went on to talk to us about Conference 2015; “The conference was ahuge success, we had over 400 members at it half of those were fromNorthern Ireland. It was a fun and lively conference this year. We had excel-lent speakers, a huge amount of tours and all sorts of things happening onthe Friday night. On the last night of the conference we even had a sing songthat went on until 2 in the morning.” He then went on to express his thanksfor certain people and their efforts in the planning of the event; “With theconference you have to pick some key people, a district trainer, Howard Caskey, a district secretary, Kevin O’Dwyer and a conferencechairperson, Joe O’Shea. The three of those made it very easy for me theywere just superb.”We asked him was there anything that stood out for him about Rotaryduring his time as Governor, he told us about some of the amazing work thatsome of the clubs are doing at the moment; “So many of our clubs do greatwork. We have the Jole Riders, which is, bikes for Africa. This is fromLoughlan House Prison. Bikes are disassembled and sent to Africa forsecondary school children and we have sent over 5000 bikes so far.” He spoke about some individual clubs and what they have been up to;“Waterford rotary were the first to bring about the rotary memorial tree,which is now in place in over 40 clubs, and to date since its start, we haveraised in excess of 3 million euro from this.” “All the clubs are autonomous. I don’t tell them what to do. I encouragethem to do what they think they need to do for their own areas.”We then asked him what he had taken from his time as District Governor;“What I have taken from this is that rotary is a networking organisation andmany other organisations have stepped on our toes a bit, and in the past weall tended to be Gentlemen about it, and I mean that in a bad way, becausewe would never bring focus to what we were doing. Now we have loads ofwomen working with us. Two fifths of our members are women and that isthe way it should be. It means that we always have the best possible personin place for every job. I think now it is time that we started to give the recog-nition to the clubs that are doing such extraordinary work for their localcommunities and of course for the global community. Personally it wasgreat for me, as I had always worked in a very solitary way. I was a lecturerwhich is something you do by yourself and then I was an architect beforethat, where I rented a studio and had a very small business so I was alwaysused to being by myself. Working with rotary has been a fantastic opportu-nity for me. It’s such a great thing to be sitting at a lunch with a crowd ofother people from all kinds of walks of life, some with totally different opin-ions to you and some with ideas that you never would have thought of your-self. It opens you up totally to other people and different situations.”He ended by saying that; “It has been a great experience for me, I havemade lifelong friends in the process of this venture.”



Jenny McCrea and Dale Orr Joe Mulhall Sarah Mulhall Mary Molloy and Anselm Molloy

Cork Rose Aoife Murphy (centre, in red dress) with Patricia Coughlan, Grainne Bagnall, DHartnett, James Byrne and RIBI President's Representative

Kenny Jocobs, Chief Marketing Officer of Ryanair was guest speaker atRotary Ireland's 90th Annual Conference, hosted by Cork Bishopstown

Rotary Club at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork recently.

Paul Hutchinson MBE Peter King Di King and Garth Arnold Coleraine Club members Peter Fitzgerald, Heather Burns, Ray Robinson, Cliodhna Rae, SMichael and Gillian Staunton pictured

with David Thomas, Mallow Club (centre)

Norman Adams, Seamus and Fiona Walsh, Elaine Adams all from the Dungannon club with Jim Briggs fromBallymena and Derek Clements also from Dungannon

Monica Robertson (Dublin Central), Nial Rock and Eddie Breen (Wexford), Niamh Mullholland and Aisling Drummond (Dublin Centtral)

Dublin North members, Pat Larragy with Desmond and Margaret Kelly

James Byrne, Patricia Coughlan, Margaret Desmond and Stephanie Hartnett from Mallow Club


Cork Hosts A MemorabOn Thursday 24th September thisyear Rotarians from near and farstarted to gather for RotaryIreland’s annual conference. The 3 day event commenced thefollowing day and was attended by over 400 Rotarians and friends.Over the course of the weekend we were educated, entertainedand treated to a selection of Ireland’s finest scenery and hospi-tality. Conference, for Rotarians, is all about networking. It’s theplatform that is used to connect with like-minded souls and shareideas, to report on progress made while learning of new excitingprojects. Before the serious business of conference commencedmany keen golfing Rotarians assembled at the splendid DouglasGolf Course. A great day was had by all enjoying that magical mixof a superb course and the finest of weather.Past conferences have been highlighted by a wealth of high profileguest speakers and this year was no exception. On Friday theConference was officially opened by President of CorkBishopstown, Ger Kilcommons, who introduced this years DistrictGovernor, Declan Tyner, accompanied by his family.Representatives’ from Rotary International and Rotary GreatBritain and Ireland, David Palmer and Peter King completed theofficial Rotary business. Rounding up the afternoon session welistened to entertaining and informative accounts from 3 dynamicand diverse speakers. Firstly there was Anne Doherty, the Chief

By Dale Orr - Editor

ROTARY NEWS 11



gnall, District Governor Declan Tyner, Stephanieentative Peter King

Dublin Fingal President MichaelKennedy poses a question to

Kenny Jacobs, chief marketingofficer, Ryanair

a Rae, Susan MacLoughlin and Kathy MacKenzie

Peter King

Uschi Kuhn and Ger Kilcommons

Vicky Libunao and husband Sean

Pat Tyner and Heather Burns John and Hazel McIlroy

Declan Tyner with grandchildren Lillie Ellie and Bobbie and their parents Leanne and Robert

Dale Orr, District PR and Communications Chairwith Grainne Bagnal, District Youth Service Chair

do some preparation before Conference starts Kathy Hanna and Avril Suckling

Gerry McElvogue Maria Mcgilly and Peter Croan John Coulter and Helen Coulter

Sarah Mulhall and Mary Molloy

Pat Tyner David Palmer and Declan Tyner

Uschi Kuhn

John Stevenson Anne Stevenson and Verity Swan


able District Conference

e.

d-eegdsx

eekt.teecf

Executive of Cork City Council. Next we listened to Rear AdmiralMark Mellet DSM Phd and finally, Dr Michael Murphy,President of University College Cork, entertained us with a welltold mix of history and account of current affairs.The highlight of the weekend for me, in terms of conferencespeakers, was getting the rare opportunity to observe a presen-tation by the Chief Marketing Officer of Ryanair, KennyJacobs. Kenny entertained us with an account of where thecompany has come from, how it is currently placed and what hebelieves the future has in store for Ryanair. I believed this to bean honest and fair story told in a way that kept us waiting inanticipation. The measure of a successful speaker can begauged by the amount audience participation and feedback, forKenny this was not in short supply. A well run conference can be summed up in one word, enjoyment!In all events of this nature, much credit should be paid to theorganisers for leaving no stone unturned, ensuring delegatesenjoy the time they have generously given up. Whether it’s thequality of the speakers or the content of the presentations. Fromthe evening fellowship events to the activities such as playinggolf or visiting Kinsale. All were designed to ensure the experience of our annual conference was to be enjoyed and so itwas. Well done to District Governor Declan and his team for amemorable weekend.



Barney Callaghan, Cork with Niamh Mullholland,

Dublin CentralHelen Coulter Sandra McCabe and Caroline Mawhinney

Kevin O’Dwyer and Ivan Conner

Dorothy Heaphy and Grainne Bagnall

George Christy and Dale Orr

Brenda Houston John Houston and Brian Jamison

Derek Griffith and Ethna Fitzgerald Gary Corkin and Peter King

Declan Tyner Rear Admiral Mark Mellet DSM Phd and Ger Kilcommons

Monica Robertson (centre), Dublin Central with Dublin Fingal presi-dent Michael Kennedy and Dave Murray also Dublin Fingal

Dawn McIlveen Alistair Johnston Eileen Johnston Elma Porter Esther Kennedy James Kennedy and Robert McIlveen

Declan Tyner and Ger Kilcommons

Declan Tyner and Peter Croan

William Cross from Larne Clubwith his daughter Margaret Dianna


Looking ToThe FutureAfter a period of reflection there should always come a timewhere we begin look foraward. With this in mind we spoke toGerry Kierans, the incoming District Governor about his hopesfor the future of rotary and his plans for Conference next year. He began by expressing his gratitude; “I am very honoured tobe district governor 2016/2017. With that honour is the oppor-tunity for the rotary club of Newbridge to host the annualconference in September 2016. I look forward to welcoming youto co. Kildare the thorough bred county and the fabulousKeadeen hotel.”He told us about his plans for Conference next year, explainingthat; “We in co. Kildare know how to enjoy ourselves and thathas been key in our conference planning. We have developed aprogramme that promises three important aspects. One; toinform, two; to be of interest, and three; to entertain you andyour partner.”He told us how he hopes to hear from Rotary clubs about theirfuture plans, and said that “Rotary speakers will highlight

their activities for the last yearand their future plans.”He went on to express his hopethat the Guest speakers willbring a new vantage point toclub members saying that;“Our guest speakers will giveus an insight into the worldoutside rotary.”He concluded by saying; “Welook forward to welcoming youon the last day of Septemberand the first two days ofOctober 2016.”

Liam Leonard, Ronan Rose-Roberts and Seamus Parle, Wiclow Club

ROTARY NEWS 13



Lurgan Rotary Club is heavily involvedin supporting charities and worthycauses at local, national and interna-tional level.This year they decided that they wantedto support a national project but prefer-ably one with local connections. Withthat in mind they approached BishopKen Clarke, SAMS Mission Director,who had visited their club on a couple ofoccasions as a guest speaker.He quickly identified La SentisimaTinidad School as being suited to thecriteria for support from Rotary. Anapplication was made for a DistrictGrant to provide computer facilities and

educational resources. The applicationhas now been approved and a generousgrant received. Financial support hasalso been secured from both LurganRotary Club and Strabane-LiffordRotary Club.In addition donations have also beenobtained from a number of local privatesources, an American donor, ShankillParish Church (Lurgan) and SAMS.This is an exciting project which clearlyindicates what can be achieved whenRotary Clubs and organisations/indi-vidual people collaborate to provide forthe educational needs of deprived chil-dren.

La Sentisima Trinidad (Holy Trinity) School Lima – Peru

Paul HarrisFellow – Award orRecognition? A Paul Harris Fellow is not anaward but recognition ofoutstanding commitment toRotary, the local or interna-tional community.The Paul Harris Fellow is named for Paul Harris, who foundedRotary over 100 years ago. It was established in his honour in1957 to express appreciation and recognition for a contributionto the Rotary Foundation. In some parts of the world a Paul Harris Fellow can be acquiredfor a personal donation of $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation.However on this side of the Atlantic a Paul Harris Fellow isusually awarded by a Rotary Club to a worthy recipient and theclub makes the appropriate donation to the Rotary Foundation.A Paul Harris Fellow can be given to Rotarians or to non-

Rotarians, to national figures such as themost recent District 1160 recipients, MEPsMairead McGuiness and Gay Mitchell andinternational figures including MotherTeresa, Princess Anne, President JimmyCarter, Bill Gates and President BorisYeltsin or to worthy people in our owncommunities.Whether it is a world leader, a Rotarian or amember of the local community whoreceives a Paul Harris Fellow it is the samepin and certificate that is presented. This

identifies the Paul Harris Fellow as an advocate of RotaryFoundation’s goals of world peace, international and commu-nity understanding.One of the wonderful things about presenting a Paul HarrisFellow is element of excitement in the club when organising aspecial event and the surprise of the recipient. I will neverforget the day when I was presented with my Paul HarrisFellow at PDG Martin Molony’s Conference in 2005 – It wasthe only time I have ever been rendered speechless.A Paul Harris Fellow is a wonderful way to acknowledge excep-tional service and I urge Rotary Clubs to seek out worthy recipi-ents in your Clubs and local communities.

Lisburn ContinuesSupport For SickChildrenThe Rotary Club of Lisburn continues to support thecancer fund for children by treating three familieswho have had a family member effected by cancer toa Disney on Ice performance at the SSE arenaBelfast on 16th November.Lisburn Rotarian Philip Morrow, Managing Directorof the PRM Group gave the Rotary club the use of aVIP box for the families and provided a snack for theguests at the interval.This event has been a fixture in the Rotary club’scalendar for a number of years as it gives families ofcancer suffers a superb afternoons entertainment inthe run up to the Christmas period.

Be A Gift To CrumlinThe Be A Gift to Crumlin project was launched atconference and is gathering a lot of momentum behindit and lots of clubs from all over the country, North andSouth, have pledged support or are thinking about it.The project originated from the Monaghan Club.The aim of the project is to reach out to as many clubsas possible who will pledge a donation towards the costof renovating the Parents Accommodation Unit inOLCHC Crumlin. Clubs will effectively sponsor therenovation costs of a single room on the unit and theintention would be to match 1 club to each of the 49rooms. The aims are simple; support a really good causeand; get the Rotary brand out there for the parents tosee! The hospitals are fully onboard and delighted tohave Rotary working with them.Works are due to start on the PAU early next yearsubject to funding and there will be a ‘RotaryVolunteer’ day on site prior to this. The primary aim fornow is to keep the initiative going, make it a RotaryCommunity project and basically, turn the ParentsUnit into something that is fit for purpose.Rotarians/Clubs should get in touch if;- They have had an experience of Crumlin Hospital thatthey could share- Would like to support us in driving and promoting thisproject- Would like to help out as part of a volunteer day- Will bring this to the attention of their club and poten-tially pledge sponsorship for a roomemail: [email protected]

Aoife O’Carroll from LoretoSecondary School Kilkenny hasbeen selected to represent the SouthRegion at a special YouthParliament in the EU Parliamentchamber in Strasbourg next year.Aoife came through the local heatswhich involved 8 schools from thecity and county with 24 students

overall. She then participated in thefinals held Wexford on the 16thNovember 2015.Siobhan Collier, Kilkenny RotaryYouth Leadership Co-ordinatordescribed the competition as one ofRotary’s longest running youthprojects and she thanked all partici-pating schools and the local

Rotarians for their assistance inrunning interviews to selectstudents showing promisingcommunication and leadershipskills. Siobhan said that their was avery high standard amongst all ofthe students this year and that shewished all every success in theirfuture academic careers.

Loreto Success At Regional Youth Leadership

Athlone RotaryClub SupportSt Hilda’sThe Rotary Club of Athlone recently organised an“Evening of Song” in aid of St Hilda’s Services, at theRadisson Blu Hotel, Athlone. The concert featured localartists lyric Baritone Darren O’Hara and SopranoBreda O’Connor accompanied by Lupe Alvarez DeToledo. Special guests were the award winning choralgroup Athlone A Cappela.St Hilda’s is a voluntary organisation that provides acomprehensive quality service to adults and childrenwith mild, moderate and severe/profound intellectualdisabilities. Based in Athlone, St Hilda’s Servicessupport 150 adults and children and their families inthe wider Midlands area. Darren O’Hara and Breda O’Connor have both trainedin the Bella Canto style of Opera with celebrated vocal

coach and soprano Dr Veronica Dunne in the RoyalAcademy of Music. Darren has given many thrillingrecitals paying tribute to world renowned Athlone tenorJohn Count McCormack. The concert was a huge success attracting more than300 patrons. In a candlelight setting the audience wasentertained to a medley of Irish songs and numbersfrom opera and musical theatre. The ladies of Athlone ACappella, who hold the title of number one All IrelandNational Female Chorus, thrilled the audience withtheir four part harmony singing. Subsequent to the concert the Athlone Rotary Clubpresented St Hilda’s with a cheque for €4000 in supportof their services.“We are delighted to be supported by Rotary once

again, they have been a real friend to our services inevery way” said Sheila Buckley Byrne CEO St Hilda’s.“This year fundraising activity has been targeted at thetransport service. All funds raised by the concert will godirectly to our main fundraising venture in 2015 whichis replacing St Hilda’s main bus.” As a result of the success of the concert, Athlone Rotaryare considering organising similar concerts as charityfund-raising events.

By PDG Tom Murphy Tom Murphy



Blind Child GetsTo See His Friends

How many presents did youget for your 50th birthday?Well, when Rotarian DonaldAdegbesan turned 50, he gotno presents. Rather he asked each of his friends to restorethe eyesight of another human being in Africa, as theirbirthday gift to him.Donald is a member of the Rotary Club of Dublin Centraland we are proud to have him on-board. For each donationDonald gave to Sightsavers, they restored the eyesight of ablind person in Africa. How much, you might ask, does it costto restore a person’s eyesight? 100,000 euro, 10,000 euro,1,000 euro, 100 euro?. No, a mere 36 euro. Donald is originally from Africa. He knows that there are39million blind people in the world, 80% of cases are avoid-able, 2/3’s of them are women and most shockingly, within 2years of becoming blind 50% of children die. Donald alsoknows that when Rotary work with clever people likeSightsavers, Rotary is formidable in getting problems solved.Noel from Sighsavers said; “What a uniquely fantastic ideaDonald had. To change people’s lives by giving them yourbirthday presents. Thinking about others less well-off is trulyService Above Self. If only we could get more people doingthat, we could transform thousands of lives. From all atSightsavers, we say thank you on behalf of people that maynever get a chance to meet you, but from people that willnever forget you.”

MonaghanFashion ShowMonaghan Rotary Club’s Fashion Show last Thursday evening,was a huge success, taking in€3232.50, proceeds going to localcharities. There was up on 200 people in attendance in theHillgrove Hotel’s da’Vinci Suite. Each guest was treated to a stun-ning Italian necklace, with a retail value of €20. Considering thetickets were €12, it was a great value, fun and fabulous evening.Dea Kids from Glaslough Street in Monaghan started the show offwith an array of funky and fun children’s outfits, modeled by someof the cutest kids on the planet!! This was followed by stunningladies wear attire from the Dea of Italy Collection, elegantlymodeled by some of Monaghan’s finest ladies, complimented bybeautiful headpieces by Hats Off Ally, Castleblayney. The ladieswere closely followed by some super hot guys (including RotarianMichael Liddle), modeling gorgeous menswear from EtiquetteMonaghan. The evening was excellently compered by Mother andDaughter Team, Siobhan and Grainne O’Connor and Lighting andSound was provided by Gary Landers and Alo from Develish DJ’s.Giant lit letters were sponsored by Nice Pics, the Grange, Armagh.The venue was sponsored by the Hillgrove Hotel, Leisure & Spaand the advertising was sponsored by the Northern Standard.There were lots of happy winners of the hugely successful Raffle,which took in nearly €900 of the above amount. There were alsosome cash donations handed in on the night. Monaghan Rotary Club Member, Audri Herron, who organised theevent, would like to sincerely thank Breffni, Stefano,Pamela,Hilary, Eileen and Maureen from Dea Boutique and all the otherswho helped and contributed to the night. A massive thank you toall the sponsors of all the fabulous raffle prizes and to everyonewho attended, making the night an outstanding success. Pleasewatch our Facebook page Rotary Club of Monaghan, to see us givethis money to worthwhile charities over the coming months.

ON 22ND November at an eveningmeeting in the Lodge Hotel,Coleraine three new members wereinducted. Dr Mairin Walsh consul-tant psychiatrist from CausewayHospital and Siobhan Flynn andOluwadara Asinobi lecturers fromIT Dept. at University in Coleraine.Guests in attendance included JoanConnolly from Department ofEducation and Learning. VincentFox and two colleagues StephenMurray and Linda Harris fromJobs and Benefits Office were alsopresent.Joan Connolly was introduced byVocational Chair from Coleraine,Anne Cummings. Details weregiven of the partnership betweenJobClub and Rotary. Rotarianswere thanked for the contributionbeing made at JobClub. Cliodhna

Rae asked President Liam Hickeyto pass on the Club’s thanks toJoan Connolly. Mention was madeof the first early steps in the part-nership and how fully clubmembers were embracing thescheme and it is the intention toextend the JobClub to other RotaryClubs. The partnership is now inits fourth year and is improvingevery month since the first trainingsession in Coleraine library when Iwas given a fortune cookie byVincent Fox saying “ No job is toosmall “ !JobClub gives Rotary an opportu-nity to connect directly with thecommunity more than any otheractivity which is presently under-taken by the clubs. It also keepsRotary in touch with the grimreality of the worsening employ-

ment opportunities in the area.President Glenn Reilly fromLimavady thanked Coleraine forthe invitation to the evening andhoped that JobClub could be intro-duced to Limavady in the nearfuture. Maria McGilly from DistrictVocational praised Coleraine forhosting a joint club meeting andA.G. William Cross expressed hisdelight in sharing the excitementand energy of the evening.President John Dempsey fromBallymoney enjoyed the jokes andfunny stories while PP AngelaBonnar from Ballycastle lookedforward to starting JobClub in herarea.I emphasised that it was one of theeasiest projects I had undertakenand this was due to the co-opera-tion of club members. The projecthas also strengthen our club as it ismeaningful and worthwhile , givingmembers a very relevant connec-tion with our community. We aresorry to seeVincent leaving his post for a newjob in the private sector, he hasbeen an inspiration to work withand I am delighted to say he hasagreed to join our Rotary Club.Onwards and upwards ...

Joint Meeting Of VocationalChairs From Coleraine,Ballymoney, BallycastleAnd Limavady

By Matt Porter

Itibo from Uganda who had his sight restored in both eyes

JobClub began in Coleraine as a local initiative in August2012. It is run by the Jobs and Benefits Office with supportand assistance provided by the Department of Employmentand Learning. JobClub’s mission statement is to helpunemployed individuals (aged 18+ ) into employment : tofind the best possible job in the shortest possible time.Coincidently at this time Coleraine Rotary Club wereexploring ways of using members vocational skills tosupport community initiatives. A meeting was set upbetween the vocational chair of Rotary and the civil servantwho was spearheading JobClub. This meeting establishedthe Rotary and JobClub partnership.Initially Coleraine Rotarians volunteered to attend thetraining sessions at JobClub.These sessions run in four week cycles for two hours twice aweek. 70% of members from Coleraine Rotary Clubattended one or more training sessions over a two yearperiod.At JobClub the following topics are covered :Job searchIntroducing attendees to the concept of transferable skillsfrom both work and home life experience and allowingthem to realise that they have the experience to apply for awider range of work than they initially considered. We thenlook at different places to look for work.; social media andonline presence.The CVProviding our jobseekers with the skills and knowledge toidentify how a good CV should read, what information toinclude and leave out, and also introducing the concept of acover letter. Each JobClub participant leaves JobClub witha CV.The Application FormThis session shows the JobClub participant how to “readbetween the lines “ of vacancies to identify exactly what theemployer is looking for. Identifying common applicationform errors and showing the correct way to fill themout.Bringing together everything they have learned fromthe previous sessions to complete the best application formthey can. Time is also spent looking at online, telephone andspeculative applications.The InterviewLooking at preparation and presentation for job interviews.Discussing interview styles and techniques.Examining thedifferent types of interviews ( group, criterion based and 1: 1) Common interview questions are answered and finallymock interviews are arranged. On average , over 40% of

JobClub participants gain full time employment within 4months of completing the sessions.In 2012-2013 88 people found work ( out of 123 attendees )70%In 2013-2014 135 people found work (out of 217 attendees)63%In 2014-2015 160 people found work ( out of 297 attendees )54%So far in 2015-2016 71 people found work ( out of 173 atten-dees ) 41%Coleraine JobClub has built a reputation for excellencewithin the district and region of Northern Ireland. ColeraineRotary Club has made a significant contribution to thesuccess of JobClub. Rotarians use their vocational skills andas experienced employers give guidance , support and infor-mation to JobSeekers.Rotary Club has been instrumental in the supply of relevantexperienced professionals to give advice and support toJobSeekers from all walks of life , educational backgroundsand employment needs. Rotarians take part in monthly “mock interview “ sessions which has helped ColeraineJobClub achieve the gold standard for this region. OtherJobClubs are observing the Coleraine model and have askedfor Rotary involvement to be extended to their sessions.Currently 70% of Coleraine Rotary Club have participatedin JobClub. Our Rotary Club has gained 10 new membersin the last 2 years , participation among new members is100%. Rotary contribution requires the ongoing commit-ment from Rotarians of one morning a month for “ mockinterviews “ with one to one JobSeeker and Rotarianparticipation. 300 JobSeekers have benefitted annuallyfrom JobClub/Rotary partnership. We are now in our 4thyear.Rotarians are well placed to participate in JobClub and byusing the skills we have gained in our professional andbusiness lives we can make a real difference to the lives ofyoung unemployed people in our communities.. The dedica-tion , knowledge , input and support given by Rotarians hasbeen acknowledged by the Department of Education andLearning as contributing to the success of the scheme.Initial steps have been taken to extend the Rotary , JobClubpartnership to other areas. There was a recent joint meetingof Vocational Chairs from Ballymoney, Limavady ,Ballycastle and Coleraine Rotary Clubs with the serviceproviders from Jobs and Benefits. Rotary involvement isneither onerous nor time consuming but hugely rewarding.Be a Gift to Your Community

JobClub Success For Coleraine

ROTARY NEWS 15



There’s been plenty of activity sofar this month to keep ComberRotary Club members busy. Guest speaker Lady Hermon MPrevealed some of the secrets ofWestminster, including the bestplaces to enjoy a quiet cuppa awayfrom the hubbub in the House.She played down the travellingshe has to do to keep on top ofparliamentary business. After all,she said, many MPs have to getfrom the most remote places in GBwhile she can be in and out ofLondon in a day. “Yes, it’s a busy

life but there’s nothing better thangetting home to sort out localconstituents’ problems.”Another guest, Richard Yarr,talked about his work as seniormusic producer at the BBC. Aswell as mounting annual eventssuch as Proms in the Park, hesupplies Ulster Orchestra piecesto Radio 3, oversees two weeklyprogrammes on Radio Ulster andall the station’s music output. Healso organises competitions foryoung organists and singers. Kevin McAlpin, the club’s environ-

ment chair, has won the all-Ireland Rotary trophy for thesecond year running for his workwith local schools, mostly buildingbarn owl boxes. We couldn’t have asked for betterweather for the club’s outing alongthe newly reconstructed Gobbinscliff path on Islandmagee.Everyone agreed the walk waswell worth the effort, hard hatsand all. There were such spectacular viewsand we received such a warmwelcome in the visitors centre.

Busy Month For Comber

Members on the Gobbins path, Islandmagee.

Pic attached: L-R Adam, Danny, Rachel with teacher Sharon McKee.

This year’s winner of the club’s YoungChef competition was Adam Morrison, 14and runner up was Rachel Marks also 14.Both are students at Down High Schooland live in Killyleagh. Adam’s menu included a starter of pea andasparagus soup with parmesan shavings,followed by fennel and herb crustedsalmon with a garlic potato stack served

with lemon and horseradish crème fraîche.Runner-up Rachel produced the dish of theday with her raspberry and apple crumbleserved with fresh custard. Judge Danny Miller, chef/director forBalloo Inns, commented: “I never cease tobe impressed how inventive youngaspiring chefs can be. Adam and Rachelwere exceptional.”

Adam Is Young Chef Winner

Making ADifferenceThe Belfast Club, in response to specificrequests have over the years presentedspecial equipment to children's units.These have been provided to make adifference through a special Club Fund -contributed to weekly by members at themeetings - and used to make life easierfor children in hospital in the Belfastarea or in special care units with closeties to hospitals. Several donations havebeen made over recent years carefullytargeted at areas where it really does"make a difference" and it is difficult toexplain just how much these gifts meanto the children. The most striking thingwe have found is that while the hospitalsare almost always excellent in providing

purely medical care, they sometimesseem to overlook the more personal prob-lems. They seem to be able to spendmillions of pounds in certain areas butstruggle and delay to find small amountsin others.Recently the Club presented three AppleI-Pad Mini 3's complete with protectivecases and screen protectors to The UlsterHospital, Acute Child HealthDepartment - PaediatricOutpatients/Rapid Response Unit. Theward sister in charge of the unit, KarenOrr, requesting them explained that therange of games now available on tabletscan keep the children amused for hoursand even the youngest patients areexperts!The Club earlier this year also handedover a special piece of outdoor playequipment designed for children withdisabilities to Mitchell House School inBelfast

Youth Leadership Development Competition Regional FinalThe South East’s youngest leaders trav-elled to Wexford on Monday November16th to compete in the Regional Final ofthe Rotary’s Youth LeadershipDevelopment Competition.Following selections at the respectiveschool and club stages of the competi-tions, the chosen representatives for the

Rotary clubs of Carlow, Kilkenny,Thurles, Wexford and Youghal wereinterviewed by a panel of judges, who hadthe unenviable task of selecting justthree of the finalists to participate in theRotary’s Leadership DevelopmentProgramme. The LeadershipDevelopment Programme, which will

take place from February 2nd -6th 2016,will see the 24 finalists from acrossIreland, visit Dil ƒireann in Dublin,Stormont in Belfast and the EuropeanParliament in Strasbourg.The quintet of female finalists were AoifeO’Sullivan (Carlow), Aoife O’Carroll(Kilkenny), Aoife Shanahan (Thurles),Katie Stone (Wexford) and CiaraMcArdle (Youghal).Speaking at the awards ceremony, Mr.Karl Fitzpatrick, chairperson of NewGenerations Projects in the Rotary Clubof Wexford, said “The five girls here todayare all self assured, confident and person-able individuals, who have demonstratedexemplary leadership qualities through abroad range of initiatives and activities.It is fair to say, that the future of ourcountry is in safe hands.”Mr. Fitzpatrick then announced Aoife

Shanahan and Katie Stone as theRegional Final runners up and that CiaraMcArdle, Aoife O’Carroll and AoifeO’Sullivan had been selected to partici-pate in the Leadership DevelopmentCompetition.President Elect of the Rotary Club ofWexford, Eddie Breen, said “The RotaryClub of Wexford was honoured to host theRegional Final of the Youth LeadershipDevelopment Competition this year, aninitiative that duly recognises theachievements and potential of our nextgeneration of leaders.” “I congratulate each of the five finalistson reaching this stage of the competitionand I hope that the three regional repre-sentatives will enjoy the unique experi-ences that the Leadership DevelopmentProgramme will present” added Mr.Breen.

Pat O’Dwyer, Assistant Governor of Rotary Ireland, Ciara McArdle, representing The Rotary Club of Youghal,Katie Stone, representing The Rotary Club of Wexford, Aoife O’Sullivan representing The Rotary Club ofCarlow, Aoife Shanahan representing The Rotary Club of Thurles, Aoife O’Carroll representing The RotaryClub of Kilkenny and Eddie Breen, President Elect of



An update on the progress of ProjectCiara. The pipe work has now reachedover three quarters to the final destina-tion. There are only 3 remaining kiosksto be erected and it is expected that thepipe work to these will finish in the next2 weeks (rains permitting). Elaine Bannon our friend on the groundis very happy to see the complete Kioskshave been made in such away that will take all theexcess water away. While on site recentlyElaine met with some ofthe community, one ladytold her; "We are so happywith the project, do youknow water is so far andwhen we reach it isrationed so we can onlytake one drum per day of20 litre and when we gethome we have to decidewho can shower as the

most of the water mustbe used for washingutensils and cooking". Itis comments like thisthat make Rotary'sWater projects so worth-while.The community recentlyheld elections and a newcommittee and chairmanare continuing to givetheir full support to theproject Ciara.

It is expected that that all the work willbe complete by mid December and aformal launch will be held early in thenew year. If a Rotarian would like to visit Elainewould be delighted to host you here inthe house. You can contact Elaine atwww.lightofmaasai.org

Project Ciara Update

Drillcon and LOM on site

Water pipes beaing laid

Every year, Rotary inIreland runs a competi-tion to find the youngleaders of tomorrow.Schools put forwardtheir best students’,each of whom is inter-viewed for 15 minutesby a panel of Rotarians. Comber’s winner thisyear is Down HighSchool’s Ross Connollyfrom Killyleagh with hiswide knowledge ofRotary’s activities, hiswork experience anddebating skills. Ross will soon competein the area final againstother local finalists forthe prize of a visit to theEuropean Parliament inStrasbourg alongside 23others from all overIreland. Previouswinners whose firstinterview was withComber Rotary includeDavid Small, also fromDown High, whodescribed his time inStrasbourg this summeras “unforgettable, thetrip of a lifetime”.

YouthLeadership

Winner; Ross Connolly

Antrim Focus On CrocusThe Antrim Rotary Club had a 'focus on crocus' planting day with local children from jolly tots nursery schoolwho also took part. In the photo is the mayor Thomas hogg Antrim and newtownabby council presidentheather Montgomery and members of the rotary club of Antrim, pr Geoffrey irons.Pictured: Mayor Thomas hogg Antrim and newtownabby council president heather Montgomery andmembers of the rotary club of Antrim.

Paul Harris Fellowship For Lisburn ManLisburn businessmanDermot Johnson,Managing Director ofJohnson's Coffee wasawarded a Paul Harrisfellowship by the Rotary

Club of Lisburn for hissupport given to the cluband the local communityover the last number ofyears. Rotary clubmember and past presi-

dent Trevor Stewart, whois part of Johnson'sCoffee’s senior manage-ment team, is grateful onbehalf of the club for thesupport given by

Johnson’s Coffee, espe-cially with regards to theJOLE rider bikes forAfrica project. Johnson'sCoffee have providedtransport for the move-ment of the bicycles toLoughan House openprison in County Cavanfor refurbishment prior totheir dispatch to Africa.Over the years MrJohnson has generouslyoffered his resources tomany other fund raising

events organised by theRotary club of Lisburn,the annual Gala GolfEvent and recenthandbag sale to name buta few. Lisburn, like all otherRotary clubs is mindful ofhow vitally importantsupport from the localbusiness community is indelivering the benefits ofservice projects. To thisend the club is humbledby Mr Johnson’s supportand delighted to be ableto bestow the Paul HarrisFellowship in recognitionof his services.

Probus SpeakerPrudential were delighted to receive the Company ofThe Year accolade last week and they are keen to notonly enhance the awareness of their services but toprovide talks on suitable subject matter to interestedorganisations and individuals. They are keen to establish if this would be of interest toProbus (appreciating that each club will make indi-vidual decisions) and if so, how should they progress. Please contact 07833 441354. for further information.

Stephen Melia receives a standing ovation and round of applause ashe is announced as The Argus/Fairways Hotel Sport Star of the Yearfor 2015.

ROTARY NEWS 17



Can VisioningAssist YourClub ?Club Visioning is a highly specific strategycustomised to the requirements of Rotary by PastDistrict Governor Steve Wilcox, from the UnitedStates. Visioning is available to all clubs in District1160 and is a unique and innovative way to allowclubs the opportunity to examine themselves andmost importantly for every single club member tohave an equal input into the future direction of theirclub. Club Visioning has been tried and tested in theUnited States, Australia and New Zealand where theresults have been overwhelmingly positive.Through a process of facilitation club members work

together with a team of Visioning Facilitators to helpdefine a vision for their Rotary Club. This processhelps to generate commitment and creates a frame-work to establish goals & objectives. Every Rotary Club is unique and to a certain extentautonomous in the way they organise themselves; theprojects they support, the events they organise andhow they interact with their local community. Visioning is a useful model where club may have lostfocus or find themselves in a state of inertia withoutlong term goals or a driving force. However,Visioning is also useful for clubs that may want tostrengthen and reinforce what they already have inplace.In simple terms Club Visioning can:-• Support continuity, enable consistency and lead toconsensus within the membership. • Create a multi-year coordinated plan and ensureclubs are not caught in an annual cycle of “re-inventing the wheel”. • Make the task of Club President less daunting andencourage new leaders to step forward.Visioning is NOT• Visioning is not compulsory.• Visioning is not only for Clubs experiencing difficul-ties.• Visioning facilitators are not there to influence youin any particular direction.• District, RIBI and Rotary International cannotimpose any direction for Visioning.Although Visioning requires the attendance of clubofficers, once the process starts, every member’s voiceand opinion is equally valued. Visioning can be amad fun experience, as we discovered when wevisited the Rotary Club of Lagan Valley. Onceeveryone relaxes and accepts the three hour timecommitment then the meeting just flies by.Having facilitated Visioning at a number of RotaryClubs in District 1160, I have found them to be posi-tive and rewarding experiences, certainly for me andhopefully for the clubs involved.

Rotary Club of DungannonPresident’s Night 2015The Rotary Club ofDungannon held theirPresident’s Dinner Dancein Dungannon Golf Club.It was a night with adifference because four oftheir members werepresented with PaulHarris Awards.

Jim Anderson, joined theClub in 2000 and he intro-duced the ModelEngineering Exhibition toDungannon FurtherEducation College in 2011.He then went on todevelop the AnnualTechnology Tournament

which has been rolled outthroughout Ireland. Heconstructed the vehicle forthe Gannon Ball Run andcontinues to bring hisprofessionalism and love ofengineering to the fore.Sean T Hughes, also joinedthe club in 2000 and he hasbeen a professional influ-ence and ambassador forthe Club. He made a hugecontribution to Rotaryrecruitment and intro-duced ladies to the Club in2003. Sean T has been astalwart at the RotaryClub of St Andrew’sInternational GolfTournament. He has beensuccessful to gain his placeon the Irish Team and withhis participation the Irishteam have won for nineyears.Joan Gormley, joinedRotary in 2003 and becamefirst lady President in

2009. Joan currently is theShelterbox co coordinatorin The North of Ireland.She continues to raiseawareness about theShelterbox,.Joan was veryinvolved in The Bikes forAfrica Appeal, and theSwimathon in 2006. Herinput secured the purchaseof a Wheelchair accessiblevehicle in 2011, which wasdonated to the localHospice. Seamus Walsh, joinedRotary in 2006. He haspromoted and led theYouth ExchangeProgramme's. He is theCommunity District Chairin District 1160, whichcovers all Ireland. He iscurrently running a projectto raise funds for OurLadies Children’s HospitalCrumlin. This is the onlyunit in all Irelandproviding pediatric heart

surgery and the fundsraised will equip a parentsunit, to date 150 childrenfrom Northern Irelandhave been treated there. William Cross theAssistant DistrictGovernor was special guestwith his wife Tedi and hepresented the 4 awards. Itwas initially planned thattwo members Pat Boyle

and Gerry Hopkins wouldbe presented with theirHonorary Membershipcertificates but due tounforeseen circumstancesneither were able toattend, so this will takeplace at a later date.The guest Comedian on thenight was Gary Wilson anddancing to Crush ended avery successful evening.

President Derek Clements and his wife Maureen.

Paul Harris fellows from Dungannon Club Seamus Walsh, Hugh Cullen, Joan Gormley, Raymond McCleary, Tom Givans, Sean T Hughes, JimAnderson, are pictured here with ADG William Cross and President Derek Clements. Absent from the photograph are Peter Dolan PHF and JohnKIdd PHF.

Assistant District Governor William Cross, Dungannon President Derek Clements and the Club members who were awarded the Paul HarrisFellowships. Seamus Walsh, Joan Gormley, Sean T Hughes and Jim Anderson.

For further information on Club Visioning or contactDistrict Visioning Chair, PDG Tom Murphy

at Email: [email protected]



Local schoolchildren receive crocus bulbs from the Rotary Club of Donaghadee to raise awareness of the campaign to End Polio Now. Clockwisefrom top left: Grey Abbey; Towerview, Bangor; St Anne's, Donaghadee; Millisle; Carrowdore; Strangford College; Donaghadee and Ballyvester.

A BloomingGood IdeaNine schools in North Down and Ards have been taking part in aninitiative by Donaghadee Rotary Club to raise awareness about thecampaign to rid the world of the crippling disease of Polio.Each of the schools received hundreds of purple crocus bulbs, thesymbol adopted by Rotary for their End Polio Now campaign torepresent the purple dye used to mark the little finger, or pinkie, ofchildren receiving the vaccine. Nine schools and one day-nurserytook part in the campaign, and next spring their grounds should bebursting with colour as the crocuses come into flower. ,Rotary hasbeen engaged in the battle for a Polio-free world since 1985. At thattime 350,000 new cases of Polio occurred each year in many partsof the world, including most of Africa and India. Today there arefewer than 300 new cases a year, and only three countries remainwhere the wild Polio virus is endemic. “We are on the verge ofvictory over Polio, a disease which once saw many thousands ofchildren crippled each year, and also resulted in a number ofdeaths in the most severe cases,” explained Donaghadee RotarianValerie Goodchild, who spearheaded the campaign with schools.“The idea of our campaign was to make children, their teachersand parents aware of how Polio is still affecting children in Nigeria,Afghanistan and Pakistan. Only when these last remaining coun-tries are free from Polio can we really say that this disease ishistory” she said. Some of the schools taking part in the campaignhave made donations, or are planning to raise funds, to help Rotaryin its work in buying vaccine and equipment, and carrying outimmunisation programmes. The schools participating in thecampaign were: Ballyvester; Ballywalter; Carrowdore;Donaghadee; Grey Abbey; Millisle; St Anne’s, Donaghadee andTowerview, Bangor Primary Schools; Strangford College,Carrowdore and Little Seedlings Day Nursery, Bangor.

Rotary will recognize Ireland for its support of a Polio-free world

Receiving the Paul Harris Fellow award from Judith Diment (RIBI)and Kris Tsu Advocacy Specialist Polio Plus, Mairead McGuinnessMEP

Receiving the Paul Harris Fellow award from Judith Diment (RIBI)and Kris Tsu Advocacy Specialist Polio Plus, Joe Costello TD

Receiving the Paul Harris Fellow award from Judith Diment (RIBI)and Kris Tsu Advocacy Specialist Polio Plus, Chiedza McClean

Receiving the Paul Harris Fellow award from Judith Diment (RIBI)and Kris Tsu Advocacy Specialist PolioPlus, former MEP GayMitchell

DUBLIN, (30 Nov. 2015) — Rotary will recognize several Irish governmentofficials today for the country’s longstanding dedication to ending polio, a para-lyzing disease on the brink of global eradication. With a commitment of morethan €25.5 million (US$27.2 million) to polio eradication, Ireland has played asignificant role in reducing the annual number of polio cases from 350,000 in1988 to less than 60 in 2015.“Each of these honorees has played a key part in our end game strategy,” said,Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force Chair Judith Diment. “Their hardwork, dedication and support have put Rotary closer to our goal of eliminatingpolio from the face of the earth.”The Irish government has supported the Global Polio Eradication Initiative(GPEI) – a worldwide effort to end this disease led by Rotary, the World HealthOrganization (WHO), UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The honorees include:• Joe Costello, MP: facilitated Ireland’s multi-year commitment of EUR €5million, announced at the 2013 Vaccine Summit.• Diarmuid McClean, development attache, Irish Embassy in Mozambique:encouraged Ireland’s early commitments to the GPEI.• Gay Mitchell, former member of the European Parliament: helped raise theprofile of polio eradication among his peers in the European Parliament. In2014, he co-sponsored the first parliamentary briefing on polio eradication.• Mairead McGuiness, member of the European Parliament: encouraged thesupport of Irish and European members of the European Parliament for aparliamentary declaration to the European Commission calling for increasedEU funding (€200 million for 2015-2019) for global polio eradication. The decla-ration was signed by more than 400 Members of the European Parliamentrepresenting every EU member state. Rotary made polio eradication its topphilanthropic goal in 1985. As the volunteer arm of the Global PolioEradication Initiative, Rotary has contributed more than €1.4 billion (US$1.5billion) to ending polio. This includes more than €939,000 (US$1 million)contributed by the more than 2000 members of 72 Rotary clubs in Ireland. Todate, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against the para-lyzing and sometimes deadly poliovirus. In addition to donating to the globaleffort to end polio, Irish Rotary members travel abroad at their own expense toimmunize children against polio in endemic and high-risk countries. About RotaryRotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tack-ling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries andgeographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and interna-tional levels, from helping families in need in their own communities toworking toward a polio-free world. Visit rotary.org and endpolio.org for moreabout Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio. Video and still images will beavailable on The NewsMarket. Contacts: Monica Fahmy, +41443877116, [email protected] Williams, +1 847-866-3466, [email protected]

ROTARY NEWS 19



Frequently Asked Questions ByNew Or Potential MembersQ1 WHAT IS ROTARY? What does it do?Rotary is a worldwide service organisation(non-political and non-religious) of professional and retiredpeople who join together with community leaders to servethe communities locally, nationally and globally. Alsoencouraging high ethical standard in all vocations andworking towards world understanding and peace. Under the motto is “Service Above Self” members volun-tarily give some of their time and expertise to help towardsraising money for charitable purposes and to deal withissues such as poverty, health & sanitation, job training andeducation within the community. Hands-on involvement isalso important.

Q2 HOW DOES ROTARY MEET THESE NEEDS?Typically Rotarians are in the forefront of providing andorganising aid after disasters such as floods, earthquakes,tsunamis and volcanic eruptions by providing medicalsupplies, clean water and food, temporary shelters andfinancing rebuilding work. Rotary finances the provision of a wide variety of educa-tional opportunities as well as contributing significantamounts of money towards long-term projects, for examplethe ongoing worldwide campaign to eradicate polio and therestoration of sight for thousands of people every year.Locally Burntisland&KInghorn Rotary Club concentrates itsefforts on helping and funding both individuals' and commu-nity projects, various charitable institutions and specialneeds organisations.

Q3 HOW DOES BURNT ISLAND & KING HORNROTARY CLUB RAISE ITS MONEY?In Burntisland&Kinghorn over the last few years we haveestablished several popular events that, with the public’sgenerous participation, raise around £10,000 each year todistribute to worthy causes. Rotarians will tell you thatalthough raising money for charitable purposes oftenrequires considerable time and effort, they wouldn’t put thetime and effort in unless it was done with a degree of funand enjoyment.

Q4 ARE ALL ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON RAISINGFUNDS?No. Rotary is also about fellowship, hence the meetingsbeing held around mealtimes. Rotarians often worktogether on a variety of events and projects. _In addition to the weekly meetings the club organisescultural and social events for the enjoyment of the membersand their partners who are always welcome at the weeklymeetings as well. Weekly dinner meetings include a review of Rotary activitiesand a guest speaker covering many different subjects, theobject being to widen the experience and knowledge of ourmembers and guests.

Q5 WHO JOINS A ROTARY CLUB?Rotary is a dual gender organisation.Membership is open tothose in their communities who align themselves withRotary’s core principle “Service above Self”’. Rotary clubsaim for its members to reflect its community with regard toprofessional and business classifications, gender, age, reli-gion, and ethnicity.Members are often in local business and trades, the profes-sions, local administration and all other walks of life. Rotarylooks for prospective members who feel they want tocontribute to or be involved in their local community in someway, whilst also enjoying a range of social activities. Businesses can support a Rotary Club through nominatedstaff members who fill the role as Corporate Members.

Q6 WHAT’S THE COMMITMENT?Currently, Burntisland&Kinghorn Rotary Club meets everyTuesday for an informal dinner at 6.45 pm. The one-coursemeal with coffee from a choice of menu costs £12. At the first meeting of each month members discuss theclub’s business, make decisions and plan activities. At theother meetings there is less emphasis on the club’s busi-ness and instead members enjoy an after dinner talk givenby a guest speaker. In order to enable the club to fulfill its dual function of friend-ship and community service Rotarians are expected to

attend at least 50 % of all weekly meetings and participateactively in the clubs programmes and the administrativework necessary. Members can achieve this commitment targetby attendingsome of their own club meetings in addition to visiting otherclubs in the world and supporting club activities.Rotarians can attend Rotary meetings anywhere in theworld, providing a group of friends wherever you are on thisglobe.This has at times been shown to be a valuable sourceof support during emergencies when far away from home.

Q7 WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT BEING AMEMBER?Apart from needing to attend a minimum number of meet-ings, members are expected to support most social eventsand help with the club’s fundraising projects. Once assignedto a club committee, new members can become activelyinvolved with the committee’s projects and should be avail-able to help their chairman in whatever way they can. There is no dress code although smart casual is acceptable.

Q8 HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ROTARY TOSEE IF I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN?You are welcome to attend one of our meetings and join usfor dinner (free, as our guest) to see how the club functionsand what we are involved with. Contact our MembershipOfficer, John Minhinick on 07917602484. John will take yourdetails, book you a meal at the next most convenientmeeting and will arrange to have someone look after youwhen you arrive.

Q9 WHAT IS THE MEMBERSHIP PROCESS?We recognise that people come to Rotary for many differentreasons and that choosing the right club is essential to getthe most out of Rotary.It’s also important for each club tohave as wide a cross section of professions as possible inits membership. In consequence membership is by invita-tion for women and men.Due to Rotary’s unique combination of friendship amongstthe club members and the service activities they undertakeit is essential that both the candidate and the existingmembers are comfortable with each other. Each prospectivemember is asked to attend a number of club meetingsbefore being invited to join. This gives the prospectivemember a chance to liaise with other members, get a feelfor the Club and get acquainted with the activities under-taken by the members and the commitment expected.The Club’s Membership Chairman will support and assistthe applicant throughout the process, outlining the respon-sibilities and privileges that come with being a Rotarian. Applications are reviewed by the Membership Committeeand the committee makes their recommendation to the ClubCouncil.This stage is followed by a formal notification circu-lated to all Club members for their early comment. If noobjection is received, the applicant is considered to beelected and is notified.

Q10 ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FORMEMBERSHIP?No. Rotarians have achieved a level of career experiencethat enables them to bring a specialisation to their club, andstudents haven’t yet reached a level in their professionaland personal lives that allows them to fulfill all aspects ofRotary club membership. But undergraduate and graduatestudents, as well as other young adults, may becomemembers of Rotaract clubs.

Q11 IS THERE A WAY FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS TOGET INVOLVED?Yes. Interact a Rotary-sponsored service club for thoseages 12 to 18. Interact clubs give young people an opportu-nity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects whiledeveloping leadership skil ls and meeting newfriends._Rotakids is a similar club structure for youngerstudents at primary school level.

Q12 IF I’M NOT A ROTARY CLUB MEMBER, CAN ISTILL HELP OUT WITH SERVICE PROJECTS?Yes. You can offer to assist any Rotary club with its localprojectsor bybecoming a “Friend of Rotary” or an“AssociateMember”.

COURTESY OF DISTRICT 1010

Armagh RotaryClub ActivitiesIn October andNovemberA number of Fund raisers and awareness exercises werecarried out in the past two months. These included A firesideQuiz, a Coffee Morning, a “Guess the Score” for the Ireland –Argentina game, a Table Quiz, and a stall at the wetGeorgian Day.These enabled the President Amanda Boyd to make dona-tions to three charities.Firstly, at the end of October the Club was delighted tosupport the efforts of a group from the Sixth Form of theRoyal School in Armagh, by making a substantial donationto the ASHA Charity which supports and enhances the livesof children and young people in the slums in New Delhi. Thestudents, all in their final year, raised upwards of £4000 togo directly to the charity, and then funded themselves for atrip to the sub-continent where they stayed for a week in thecapital working with the children directly. Except for one daywhen they visited the Taj Mahal, the group lived and workeddaily in the slums, mainly teaching English and helping withschool work, but also running games and dancing classes. Tosee the impact of their fundraising, visit the ASHA website.Early November there was a talk from a young man calledMark Boyce who gave an account of his donation of a kidneyto a close friend. Live kidney donors are rare as the matchingprocess is rigorous, and not everyone would be fit enough tolose one of their kidneys. Basically Mark’s actions didn’t justincrease his friend’s quality of life, but saved it. The case wassimilar to that of the great All Black Jonah Lomu who hadhad a kidney transplant after years of dialysis, but diedrecently. There is no cure for most kinds of kidney disease,just dialysis or a transplant. Mark was speaking on behalf ofthe Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund ( NIKRF )which is a charity devoted to supporting and promotingresearch into the causes, prevention and possible cures of thedisease. It also provides specialised equipment for researchand treatment not readily available on the National Health,and raises public awareness as well as promoting theNational Donor Register. The Armagh Club are making adonation to this charity.There was also a visit from an extraordinary young mancalled Steven McGeown. He had just completed a project,which raised in excess of £30,000 for the “Rainbow” and the“Cash for Kids” charities. This involved running one hundredmarathons in one hundred consecutive days. He embarkedon this with a friend who dropped out half way along, butSteven completed towards the end of September. His aston-ishing feat was helped by runners all over Ireland North andSouth, who joined him at various points along the way. Notcontent with that, Steven is intending an even moredemanding feat next year when he hopes to run sixty ultra-marathons in sixty days. An ultra-marathon is really anydistance over the 26.2 miles of a normal marathon. Stevenintends to run 50 miles each day. His designated charity was Autism Ireland which covers thewhole island – some may have heard of the MiddletownAutism Centre in South Armagh which is a North/Southinitiative and is partly funded by the charity which weintend to support.

President Amanda with Steven McGeown



Newgrange Business Park,Donore Road, Drogheda, Co. LouthGPS COORDINATES Lat: 53.70148 Long: -6.38575Tel: +353 (41) 9843700 www.fireplacesdirect.ie

Opening Hours: Mon - Friday 9am - 6pm Sat 10am - 5.30pm Sunday: 2pm - 6pm

ChristmasDeals ForRotariansAnd TheirFamilies

FIREPLACES AND STOVES DIRECT BelfastNewry

DundalkDrogheda

WicklowKildare

Navan

All OfDublin

Supplying

€695

€1295Only

Only

21KW MULTI FUELBOILER STOVE

MULTI FUEL 5KW INSET STOVE

Heats up to12 Radiators

RRP €1795

Sale Price...

RRP €1695

Sale Price...

RRP €1295

Sale Price...

€1,195 €895One Only

€1,195One Only€995One Only

One Only

San Remo25KW Boiler Stove

Saey SordoWood Burning InsetStove

Heats up to8 Radiators

RRP €1800

Sale Price...

Hunter Herald 8Multi Fuel Boiler Stove

West Fire Uniq 5Wood Burning Stove

€795Only

STUNNING 7.5KWCREAM ENAMEL STOVE

Only

6KW MULTI FUELFREE STANDING STOVE

€595

Wolf Bavaria 8kwMulti Fuel StoveRRP €5000 / Sale Price....

€1,700One Only

Date post:	26-Jul-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	rotary-news
View:	238 times
Download:	6 times

Rotary News - December 15 - January 16

Documents