Rotary News - Issue 3

Launching the Killarney Rotary Young Musician of the Year 2015 were Killarney Rotary President Mike Stack,second from right, and from left, Angela O'Connor, Eve Kelliher, Killarney Advertiser, Sean Treacy and CiaraIrwin Foley.

March / April 2015 • Issue 003

SWISSTALK FOR

SLIGO

HISTORYIN THE

MAKING

NAVANYOUTH

LEADERSee page 13 See page 11See page 11

Lisburn RotarianReceives AccoladeIn House Of Lords

This is the 2nd year of thisprestigious award fromthe Rotary movement inGreat Britain and Ireland,bestowed each year on achosen few who have engi-neered and influencedchanges to the lives ofpeople in genuine need, bethey from the localcommunity or the other

side of the world. Back inApril 2011 at the annualRotary conference inDublin, Trevor firstbecame aware of a projectwhich would change notonly his life but the lives ofthousands of children from

The Gambia in westernAfrica. A guest speaker atthe conference, DavidSwettenham, explained toa packed audience abouthis charity project knownas JOLE Rider, a nameDavid came up in themiddle of a charity cyclefrom John O’Groats toLands End (JOLE). He

went on to explain how inEngland, discarded bikesare collected and sent to alocal prison to be refur-bished and sent on to TheGambia, where childrennow use them to cyclerather than walk the 20mile round trip to school.Trevor instantly embracedthe JOLE Rider project,here was an opportunity toensure the education ofthousands of children andsecure for them a brighterfuture, by simply askingpeople to donate theirunwanted bicycles. Manycould see the short termbenefit of this project but

Trevor had a much largerlong term vision. His planwas to rally the support ofeach and every Rotaryclub in Ireland, and whilecreating this awareness hewould forge a relationshipwith Loughan House openprison in Cavan, for thepurpose securing a refur-bishment centre to ensureall bikes are sent to Africafit for purpose. Trevor, in his modest way,admits this award is reallyabout the dozens of peoplewho have given supportand help along thejourney. For this support,Trevor is humbled. The

recipient of this award canbe described as a winnerbut for Trevor there aremany winners … The chil-dren in Africa who benefitfrom a better education,the prisoners who earnself-esteem by fixing abike, the local folks who bydonating bikes acquireextra room in theirgarages and sheds, thedecision makers who lentsupport and the army offellow Rotarians who roseto the challenge. Winnersall round and all thanks toTrevor Stewart –Champion of Change2015.

On March 17th 2015, the House of Lords in the City of Westminsterhosted events of global importance. Bills were passed, issues werenegotiated and ambassadors from all over the world assembled to dobusiness on this fine St Patrick’s Day. A fitting date and an appropriatevenue for Lisburn Rotarian and past president Trevor Stewart toreceive his award as a Champion of Change.

By Dale Orr - EditorPictured here is Gerry Kierans, Lord Tankeress, Trevor Stewart and Peter King. Tevor was presented with hisChampion of Change award.

Pictured here are Andrea Molloy - President Rotary Club Dublin Fingal, Brigid Quilligan - Director Irishtraveller movement, Norma Smurfit - Change for Charity and Mary O'Rafferty - Rotary Club Dublin andChair of Youth Leadership at the recent breakfast to celebrate International Women's Day.

Special Breakfast For Dublin Fingal Club A great morning was spent by themembers of Dublin Fingal Rotary Cluband just under 100 guests at TheStephen's Green Hibernian Club to cele-brate International Womens' Day -March 8th 2015. In attendance wereguest speakers Ms Norma Smurfit oftenreferred to as the 'doyenne of charityfundraising' along with Ms. BrigidQuilligan, Director at The IrishTraveller Movement.

The atmosphere was amazing, withguests arriving from 7.30am for pre-breakfast networking prior to the mainevents kickoff. After a brief openingfrom Rotarian Ethna Fitzgerald andSheila English, MC for the day MaryO'Rafferty introduced Guest SpeakerNorma Smurfit. Norma expressed herpath from early working years

Continued on page 18See story on page 18

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

ROTARY NEWS02 March / April 2015

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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 organization 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 betterperson.

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 everyreligion, 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 womenwho simply 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 communi-ties. This is perhaps the best reason for becoming a Rotarian:the chance to do something for somebody else; to sense theself-fulfilment that comes in the process; and the return of thatsatisfaction to one’s own life. It is richly rewarding.

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ROTARY NEWS 03


March / April 2015

Pictured here are some of the VIP guests at Sligo Rotary Club's 50th Anniversary celebration. Back Row; L.R. Ken McCrea (Enniskillen), Fergus Quinlivan (Limerick/Thomond), Asst. Governor, MaryQuinlivan, Marjorie Beggs, Jenny McCrea (Enniskillen), Asst. Governor; Paul Hutchinson (Newtownabbey),Past Dist.Governor; Peter Offer(Coventry/Jubilee)Past RIBI President/ Incoming RI Director; Neville Hackett(Ashby-de-la Zouch) Past RIBI President; Marney Hutchinson (Newtownabbey); Arthur McKinney.Front Row; L.R; Mavis Jardine, David M’c Neill (President Sligo Probus Club), Colin Jardine (PresidentOmagh R.C.), Phillip Beggs (Comber), Dist. Governor, Sean Doyle (President Sligo R.C.), Tom McSharry(Mayor of Sligo), Detta Healy (President Inner Wheel Club of Sligo), Angela McKinney (President EnniskillenR.C.), Kate Adams (President PortadownR.C.).

Rotary Club of Coleraine wasdeeply honoured to help PeterFitzgerald – renowned throughoutRotary in Ireland – celebrate his90th birthday with a party at theLodge Hotel Coleraine. Many friends and fellowRotarians turned out to showtheir appreciation. As a specialpresentation, Peter was awardedwith a Paul Harris Sapphire forhis 35 years of service. RotaryInternational President GaryHuang sent his own celebratoryletter and award for Peter’scontinuing service to RotaryInternational.The club also held a rather uniqueRotary Fundraising FashionShow held at Coleraine RugbyClub. Menarys’ Coleraine, BobDress Hire, Dixon’s Coleraine, TSports and Outdoor and CountrySports provided the clothes thatwere beautifully modelled by theRugby Club of Coleraine – Men andWomen teams. Special guest modelsincluded President Derek Sinnamon, PPTom Turner and PP birthday boy, Peter

Fitzgerald. A large crowd of membersand supporters enjoyed the event. Thehighlight was a surprise birthday cakefor the lead model, Peter.

Coleraine RotarianCelebrates LandmarkBirthday

Pictured here is Peter FitzGerald with President of ColeraineRotary Club, Derek Sinnamon.

Monaghan Club OrganisesBlack Tie BallMonaghan Rotary Clubare proud to announcethat tickets are now onsale for their Night atthe Oscars Black TieBall. This fabulousevening of Glamour andFun is being organisedas Audri Herron’sPresident’s Night. Audrihands over her chain toIncoming President PatDeery this June. Night at the Oscarstakes place inMonaghan’s 4 StarHillgrove Hotel onSaturday 25th April2015 at 7pm. There willbe a Red Carpet,Paparazzi and CocktailWelcome, which you canenjoy to tunes of DJDevon Aughey fromSupreme DJ’s. Followedby a delicious very

special four CourseDinner. You will beentertained after dinnerwith Live Music by theHughes Brothers, whoare sure you get you onthe Dancefloor, thenDisco by Gary Landers,Develish DJ’s, so you canboogie the night away.During the evening therewill be a short auctionand a raffle offeringamazing prizes. There will be aPhotobooth on theevening to keep the craicgoing. Dress is Black Tieand Glamourous Dress isrequested, in fitting withthe Oscars. Tickets arepriced at €50 each. AndGuests can book a table ofany size or you can bejoined to another table forthe fun. All this is

arranged on purchase ofticket. Profits from theevening will go toAudri’s two chosenMonaghan Charities,MSPCA (MonaghanSociety for Prevention ofCruelty to Animals) andCROCUS Cancer CareMonaghan, throughMonaghan Rotary Club.Prizes and contributionsto the night will begratefully welcome andmuch appreciated.Many of the contributorsto the evening areoffering their productsand services free ofcharge or at a massivediscount. All will belisted on the order ofservice on the evening.For more details, pleaseemail [email protected].

UK Club Looking To Link WithRotary IrelandThe Titsey and District Rotary club (a suburb of Croydon), are looking to link with anIrish Club. If any Rotary Club around Ireland is interested in twinning with the club,please contact James Chester at: [email protected]

District Governor Phillip and his wifeMarjorie visited Rotary Club of Kilkennyearly this year. They were accompaniedby Assistant Governor Pat O’Dwyer.Phillip gave a presentation that was wellreceived by the members present. TheDistrict Governor talked aboutFoundation, The Sand Dam project,Cooperation with Gorta in Kenya, PolioPlus, Daisy Lodge, Rotary Days, andGrants among a wide range of topics.After the District Governor’s presenta-tion, Joe Mulhall, President of theRotary Club of Kilkenny, made a smallpresentation of locally made craft potteryto Marjorie and presented the DistrictGovernor with a club banner and alocally made hurley as a momento of hisvisit to the ‘Marble City’ and currenthome of the Liam McCarthy Cup.

Special Visitor ForKilkenny Club

Pictured here are Marjorie and Phillip Beggs withJoe Mulhall and Pat O’Dwyer at the Rotary Club ofKilkenny Club House Hotel, Kilkenny.

Northern IrelandAssembly ClerkSpeaks ToBallymoney ClubAt a recent Rotary meeting in BallymoneyRugby Club, the members and friends hadthe pleasure of being addressed by MrTrevor Reaney Chief Executive and Clerkto the Northern Ireland Assembly at

Stormont. A former pupil of BallymenaAcademy, Trevor gave a brief outline of hiscareer path to date. Trevor Reaney wasappointed Clerk to the Assembly/ ChiefExecutive in August 2008. Trevor was bornin Lisburn. He began his career in thehospitality industry and has held anumber of management positions in boththe private and public sectors. Beforejoining the Assembly, Trevor served asChief Executive of the Northern IrelandPolicing Board from January 2004 and,prior to that, he held the post of ChiefExecutive of Craigavon Borough Councilfrom 1996 to 2003.

Special Presenter At RotaryConference 2015Eric Knowles, of Antiques Roadshow fame, is presenting at the annual Rotary confer-ence in Belfast this April. He is a huge supporter of the Rotary Foundation and isvery kindly coming over to talk more about this. It is still possible to attend the Titanic Fork Supper as well, just choose this optionwhen you register. There will be live music, great food and a fantastic exhibition.Please note after registration closes for the 2015 Rotary GB and Ireland Conferenceon the 22nd March the only way to attend is to pay on the day. Join friends and cele-brate Rotary in the city of Belfast at the 90th conference by registering online today.Register here: www.rotarygbi.org/what-we-do/conference



The Rotary Club of Coleraine hashad a very busy year celebratingits 75th anniversary with a seriesof special events – includingbeing honoured by ColeraineMayor Cllr George Duddy forRotary’s years of service to thecommunity. The most public and eye-catchingof these was the unveiling of aphotographic Rotary hoarding atLodge Road. A large group ofsupporters, friends and charitiessupported by Coleraine Rotaryjoined District Governor PhillipBeggs, and the President ofColeraine Derek Sinnamon, tocelebrate the formal unveiling ofthe project.The club has been inundated withmessages of support since theunveiling of the hoarding. Thesign, located on the former site ofTrolan’s Garage, illustratesRotary’s engagement in the localarea and marking some of itsmajor international achieve-ments.

A lot of the work was undertakenwith the help of the ProbationService and Magilligan Prison.

Rotarians extend their sinceregratitude to the site owner PatsyTrolan, and to “Sign It” Coleraine

for the manufacture of theTechnicolor artwork. All clubmembers were actively involvedin the project – especially pastpresidents Robin Smith andMichael Magee.The club continues its work in thecommunity with successfulprojects involving the local jobsclub, the Coleraine BoroughCouncil ‘Adopt-A-Spot’ schemeand the NI Blood TransfusionService. In youth engagement,fantastic local candidates cameforward for the Young Leaderprogramme, and the group’sYoung Chef candidate has beenchosen to go on to the All IrelandFinals. They even have a 75thAnniversary planting at theLodge Road Roundabout inColeraine.Last but by no means least, theirrecruitment drive for newmembers has been verysuccessful with the addition offour new Rotary members in thelast two months. They are looking forward to theirnext 75 years with enthusiasmfor our continued outreach andfellowship.

Coleraine Celebrates 75 Years

Pictured here are Rotary Coleraine PP Michael Magee, Rotary Coleraine Secretary RobinSmith, Rotary Coleraine President Derek Sinnamon, Rotary Ireland District Governor PhilipBeggs, Rotary Ireland AG William Cross (Rotary Club of Larne).

OmaghRotary ClubTurns 60 The busy Omagh RotaryClub will be preparing tomark a big occasion thisyear, as the club willcelebrate its 60thAnniversary in 2015.Previously, they havesupported a number ofprojects, including theJole Rider project, inwhich over 1500 bikeswere refurbished by theIrish Prison Service andwere shipped to TheGambia as part of JoleRyder’s Bikes4Africaproject. The Omagh Rotary Clubalso organised a numberof other events in recentmonths, such as a ‘Wineand Whiskey’ tastingevent, and a CharityGolf Day, which tookplace at Omagh GolfClub. Details of their60th Anniversary cele-brations will beannounced in the comingweeks.

LimerickCelebratesInternationalWomen’sDay To celebrate InternationalWomen’s Day earlier thismonth, the Rotary Clubs ofLimerick and SoroptomistClubs of Limerick andClare joined forces to holda charity luncheon in aid ofthe symptomatic breastcancer unit of theUniversity HospitalLimerick. Membersenjoyed lunch and a glassof Prosecco to celebrateInternational Women’sDay whereby the themethis year was ‘MakingThings Happen.’ Two guest speakers on theday who knew a thing ortwo about making thingshappen were local womenJosephine Feehily chair-person of the new indepen-dent Policing Authorityand Catherine Duffy, GMof Northern Trust andPresident Of LimerickChamber who both spokeon the day. This was awonderful occasion to cele-brate and support a veryworthy cause at theGreenhills Hotel.

Pictured at the Rotary Club of Navan Presidents Night are: D.G. Verity Swan, Rotarian Peter O'Reilly whowas awarded a Paul Harris Award, Sean Lynch, President Rotary Club of Navan and Rotarian SylvesterRowe, who also was awarded a Paul Harris Award.

The Rotary Club of Kilkenny was delighted to welcome District YouthServices Chair Grainne Bagnall to a fundraising table quiz on Thursdaythe 5th of February. Grainne and her partner Herbert travelled all theway from Cork to attend the event which raised over ‚Ç¨1,700 for a localspecial needs school.Pictured are District Officer Grainne presented with a Rotary Club ofKilkenny bannerette by Joe Mulhall, President of the Rotary Club ofKilkenny.

Charity Breakfast ForLimavady Club Limavady Rotary Club recently held their annualCharity Breakfast. This year's breakfast was dedicatedto the late Rotarian, Brian Brown, who founded thecharity breakfast concept 25 years ago! With a recordattendance of over 300 people, this year's breakfast hasbeen the most successful yet. All proceeds to RotaryInternational Charities. Brian's Breakfast raised arecord £1600 towards international charities.

Great NightFor BangorRotarians It was a night to be proud of whenRotary Club of Bangor’s President IanWilson presented Prof Jim Dornan witha cheque for £800 for Tiny Life raised atthe Annual Charity Breakfast, andBangor Grammar School’s LukeMcWatters (winner of the Rotary Club

Young Leaders) gave an account of hisexperience at the EU Parliament.Luke McWatters of Bangor GrammarSchool, delighted the club with hisenthusiastic account of his recent visitto the EU in Strasbourg. Luke was partof the Irish delegation selected byDistrict’s excellent Youth Leadershipcompetition. He was the first suchwinner from the Bangor club for sevenyears. Professor Jim Dornan theeminent obstetrician and co-founder ofthe charity ‘Tiny Life’ was also a guestto receive a cheque for £800 towards thecontinuing work of his charityresearching premature births andsupporting babies and parents thoseaffected.

ROTARY NEWS 05


March / April 2015

The Londonderry Rotary Club has beenas active as ever lately.At one of their recent lunchtime meet-ings, President Helen McDonnellwelcomed District Governor PhillipBeggs (RC Comber), who gave clubmembers a highly interesting insightinto his preparation for his term in officeand the visit to Kenya in March 2014. Phillip visited the Rotary-supportedprojects there and brought back somevery impressive videos of the achieve-ments Rotary D1160 has made there toprovide valuable sources of fresh waterto a sizeable local community.The club also also inducted Tim Hegartyas a new fellow Rotary Club member.Tim has given us already quite a bit ofvoluntary support at the Tree ofRemembrance; the club is lookingforward to his his active input to futureprojects.Also, at an earlier meeting, ClubPresident Helen McDonnell presentedcheques to the chosen three charitiesafter the conclusion of the 2014 Tree of

Remembrance project. The representa-tives from Rotary-Foyle Foodbank(Louise Farren), Paul McLaughlin (Foyle

Search & Rescue) and LeonaMcMenamin (Kinship Care) received thedonations with gratitude, thanking the

Rotary Club for the generosity shown. Allfunds are badly needed and will be put tovery good use by the charities concerned.

No Slowing Down For Londonderry

Pictured here are representatives from Rotary-Foyle Foodbank (Louise Farren), Paul McLaughlin (FoyleSearch & Rescue) and Leona McMenamin (Kinship Care) receiving their donations rasied byLondonderry Rotary Club.

Pictured here is President Helen McDonnell with DistrictGovernor Phillip Beggs and newest Rotary Londonderrymember, Tim Hegarty.

A whopping €25,000 was generated fordeserving local charities and communityprojects who were put in the frame thanks tothe Killarney Rotary Club Evening of Wineand Art. A thousand people converged on TheMalton Hotel, Killarney, for the 11th annualevent, which is held in association with Daly’sSuperValu, at the end of November. On Wednesday, February 18th, KillarneyRotary President Mike Stack presented theproceeds to the beneficiaries, following theweekly Rotary lunch at The Malton.Amongst the charities and communityprojects in Kerry and the greater Killarneyarea being supported by the 2014 KillarneyRotary Evening of Wine and Art are South/East Kerry Rural Recreational Micro TrackLtd (development project); St Oliver’sNational School, Ballycasheen (development

project); Gaelscoil Faithleann Killarney(development project); Irish WheelchairAssociation (Killarney branch); Irish KidneyAssociation. (Killarney branch); CoolickNational School Kilcummin (developmentproject) and Killarney Rugby Football Club(development project).Killarney Rotary President Mike Stack said:“Art sales were significantly up on last yearand we were delighted with the support of theDaly family and SuperValu.” Among thehighlights of the night was the charityauction of artwork and Kerry HospiceFoundation members were also on hand withthe foundation’s charity Christmas cards.The raffle was co-ordinated by the IrishPilgrimage Trust and the proceeds of thecloakroom went to the Kerry Stars SpecialOlympics Club.

Killarney GenerouslyDonates To Local Charities

SOS Bus Northern Ireland (NI) is avolunteer centred charity that is makinga real difference to children, youngpeople and adults on the streets ofBelfast during the night time economyperiod. It offers a unique mobile servicethat can be located wherever it isneeded. A number of Rotarians mainly from theBelfast Club volunteer to man the bus. Recently an appeal to bridge a fundinggap was made and The Rotary Club ofLisburn made a donation, which alongwith support from many others enabledthis service to continue to its vital work.Joe Hyland SOS Bus CEO explained thatfunding cuts imposed by stormont on thePNSI budget in November 2014 had a

major impact on the operation ability ofthe SOS bus.The SOS bus operates around Belfasteach weekend, offering help and supportto people who find themselves in difficul-ties when out and about in the city.President of the Rotary Club of Lisburn,Sam Patterson says the club recognisethe importance of the work and supportoffered by the SOS bus and its volun-teers.SOS Bus NI believes in partnerships andworks with other voluntary organisa-tions, the emergency services and statu-tory bodies to create a safer place foreveryone. It is committed to growing anddelivering this help wherever it isneeded.

Lisburn Gets On BoardSOS Bus Charity

Pictured above are President Rotary Club of Lisburn Sam Patterson and member Leonard Pollock with an SOSbus driver recently visiting SOS bus to apresent donation.

Volunteer WithRotary And MakeA Difference Whether you are volun-teering by helping your localcommunity set up a foodbankor responding to local andinternational disasters, thereis a project or activity to suiteveryone. By volunteeringwith Rotary, you know thatyou will be changing people’slives for the better.Being part of Rotary is morethan just giving back to thecommunity by volunteering.It is also about you bringingyour skills, experience andenthusiasm to help it thrive,whilst making some great

friends along the way. Theclubs all around Ireland arefriendly places which invitespeakers from a wide range ofbackgrounds to share theirknowledge, increasing yoursocial and cultural under-standing. Members alsoshare a common interest infriendship and if you visit anyof our clubs around GreatBritain and Ireland you willimmediately feel the sense ofcamaraderie and fun.Whether you become amember of Rotary or orvolunteer your time and abili-

ties to your local club, youwill be helping to makepeople’s lives better. Thereare many ways to getinvolved with Rotary:You could join your localRotary club or donate to aclub or Rotary initiative. Doyou consider yourself an‘expert’ in any field or have astory or interest you wouldlove to share with others? Ifso, you could volunteer tospeak at a club about a causeor interest. If you are a schoolpupil, you could take part in aRotary competition, or youcould volunteer to help theclub in one of its initiatives,without becoming a Rotarymember. If Rotary sounds like theorganisation for you and youfeel like volunteering some ofyour spare time, they want tohear from you!



Pictured are lady members of Rotary Club of Navan with the Croatian Ambassador Jasna Ognjanovac, L.L.Mwho was guest speaker recently. L to r : Rotarians Audrey Smith, Marie Mullooly, AmbassadorOgnjanovac,Maurice Harlin, President, Fiona Daly-Perez and Sandra Earl.

GussieCalls It A DayPast District Governor Gussie Hynesjoined the Rotary Club of Omagh in 1966and thirty years he was presented with aspecial award for 100 per cent club atten-dance. He was elected District Governorfor the year 1994/95 and in that year, hegot the support of the clubs in Ireland andenough money was collected to send a fullyequipped ambulance to St Petersburg,Russia. Gussie is married to Colette and they livein Omagh, Co. Tyrone - he celebrated his90th birthday last October. In 1996 he wasappointed organiser and fundraiser for theRotary Jaipur Limb Project in Irelandwhich is a Rotary International projectserving unfortunate people in Jaipur,Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ugandawith artificial limbs. These people wereso poor they could not afford artificiallimbs - so this is were Rotary in Irelandand Gussie Hynes play their part. RotaryJaipur Limbs is a registered charity.From 1996 to December 2014 Gussiecollected £120,000 approximately duringthat period - and coupled with matchinggrants from Rotary International, it isbelieved that through Gussie the peopleof Ireland supplied approximately 10,000limbs to poor people in the countriesalready mentioned.Over the years the Rotary Clubs all over

Ireland North and South made verygenerous contributions, individualRotarians, personal friends, office andfactory collections, birthday and anniver-sary parties made financial donationsinstead of present. Unfortunately all good things must cometo an end and in December 2014, Gussiedecided to retire from the project. Rotarywishes Gussie and Colette every happi-ness in the future and no doubt Gussieretires happy in the knowledge thatthousands of people around India, Kenyaetc are now walking around with artifi-cial limbs - no longer need a crutch . The trustees of Rotary Jaipur Limbs inR.I.B.I have asked past DistrictGovernor Gay Berkery, Dundalk toreplace Gussie Hynes as organiser andfundraiser in Ireland. He has acceptedthe offer but he accepts in the knowledgethat Gussie is a very hard act to follow.Gussie Hynes made such a success ofthis project thanks to his sincerity anddedication to the cause,” said Gay.

Athlone Rotary Clubconcluded the fifth Tree ofRemembrance event withan Ecumenical MemorialService back in December,.The service, attended by alarge number of members ofthe public, was conductedby clergy from the localchurches, and wasenhanced by hymn andcarol singing led by AthloneChoral Society members. Club President, DermotNeary, addressed the gath-ering and expressed grati-tude to all persons, who bytheir participation invarious roles, contributed to

Athlone Say Thank You!

Pictured here are Pat Kearney, Limerick Thomond Rotary Club, Mary O’Hora, Tom McDonnell LimerickThomond Rotary Club, Billy Lane Pharmacist, Mary Kennelly, Nurse – at Limerick Thomond Rotary Club BloodPressure Check Up Clinic

Get OnYour BikeFor RotaryRotary in Great Britan and Ireland (RIBI)are delighted to announce that this yearRotary will be officially kicking off theRotary Ride where they invite you to donyour Lycra and get on your bike forprostate cancer.Rotary Ride is a national initiative takingplace on Father’s Day (21st June) in whichRotary clubs across Great Britain andIreland will be hosting a range of cyclerides for all ages and abilities, and we are

inviting Rotarians and members of thepublic alike to take part in their local rideand raise money for one of our four chosenProstate Cancer charities.There will be three types of event to choosefrom, Enthusiast, Fun and Static, meaningwhatever kind of cycling takes your fancy,there will be a ride for you.Why are RIBI doing this? Well, not only isit a great way to help raise money forprostate cancer, a condition that not onlyaffects 250,000 men in the UK and Irelandevery year, but their families as well, but itis also a fantastic way to bring our commu-nity together, and raise awareness ofRotary and the incredible work that ourclubs and members do.If you’re a Rotary member who is organ-ising an event, the link to register your rideis now open on the RIBI website. Officiallyregistering your event as soon as you canwill help to get as many people as possiblechoosing your event to take part in.

Pictured here is Gay Berkery, from Dundalk RotaryClub with Past District Governor Gussie Hynes.

the making of a mostsuccessful project.He thanked the members ofthe public, who by theircontributions, haveprovided much neededfunds for the Rotarysupported local charities,Order of Malta, AthloneUnit; St. Hilda’s Servicesand Midlands SimonCommunity.Thanks were extended to allof the people who gave oftheir time to staff the collec-tions points at AthloneTowncentre; Dunnes Stores,Montree and Irishtown;Smith’s SuperValu,

Monksland; andKilmartin’s N6 Centre,Dublin Road andKilmartin’s Centra,Baylough. He paid special thanks tothe local clergy who,despite the upcomingChristmas ceremonies,found time to attend theEcumenical Service; and tothe members of AthloneChoral Society. He hadspecial thanks for theRotary Club members whohelped with the project andthose who prepared thetree and attached thememorial ribbons.

Recently, members of The Rotary Club ofDonaghadee took part in a quiz held atDonaghadee Golf club in aid of TheLighthouse Trust. That same weekend theRotarians held a collection at BloomfieldShopping Centre for Rotary Charities whichincluded Ebola, Children’s Cancer and Polio.The collection raised £888.Then, at their weekly meeting held in TheStables Groomsport the speaker was TerryEakin accompanied by Ian Wilson Presidentof The Rotary Club of Bangor.

Terry pointed out that although not aRotarian, his father is a Rotarian of 69 yearsstanding.Terry gave an interesting talk on peoplefrom Donaghadee who had made money.These included some who had only visitedthe town, for example Sir Arthur ConanDoyle a friend of Henry Bessington from theWarren Road, Angela Lansbury of MurderShe Wrote fame, Cyril Lord, and CharlieChaplin’s son Eugene whose daughter isworth some £30 million.

Ian Wilson recounted a storey about RobertBurns on a reputed visit to Donaghadee,although he admitted that there was nohistorical record of the visit.Rotarian Mark Brooks in thanking TerryEakin for his talk pointed out that he hadhelped in asserting the right of way at TheCommons.On Saturday the 24th members of theRotary Club joined with members ofDonaghadee Sailing Club for a Burn’sSupper held at The Sailing Club. The Haggis

was piped in. The “Great Chieftain of thePudding Race” was then addressed byRotary President Fraser Menzies in hisnative tongue. An excellent meal wasprovided by Rotarian Mark Brooks. NickButtler the Commodore of The Sailing Clubalthough English made a speech to TheImmortal Memory of Burns. In accordancewith tradition George Aitken Toasted theLassies. This was replied to by CarronAitken in verse worthy of Burns himself.The proceedings were brought to a conclu-sion by the assembled diners linking handsand singing what is probably Burns’ bestknown poem Auld Lang Syne.

Rotarians Briefed On Donaghadee Personalities

ROTARY NEWS 07


March / April 2015

Newbridge SupportsRomania Children’sProjectThe Rotary Club ofNewbridge 2015 interna-tional project's includethe support of a waterproject in a girls rescuecentre outside Nairobiand the provision ofshunts for Romanianchildren born withhydrocephalus.CaraProjects founded byNewbridge club memberPaddy O'Connor isfocused on rescuingvulnerable girls fromstreets in Nairobi. Theavailability of freshwater for the rescued girls hostel Nairobi is beingprovided through the successful drilling of a 300 metrebore hole in February 2015.President Elect of the The Rotary Club of NewbridgeGeorge Kennedy recently visited the children's hospitalin Rumania where the provision of shunts gives hope oflife to children born with hydrocephalus. The RotaryClub of Newbridge partners a German based charityHWKR in providing funding for the operations whichare performed by volunteer doctors.

Pictured here is President ElectGeorge Kennedy with a volunteerdoctor and a beautiful post opera-tive baby in the children's hospitalin Rumania.

Pictured here is Tom, President of The Rotary Club, Dublin and his wife Maura with former rugby international and CEO of EBS Des Fitzgerald and his wife Andrea. Des was the guest speaker on Tom’sPresident Dinner at the National Yacht Club on 27th February.

The members of Portadown Club recently took part in a Samaritansservice in St Ann’s Cathedral in Belfast, and member Ernest Lawson ispictured here with the Dean. Ernest represented the Shelter Boxprogramme on the day. Rotarian John Allen (originally fromPortadown) sent the photograph into us here at Rotary news, and he isnow a member of the Rotary Club of Chilliwack, British Columbia,Canada. “We meet on Fridays for lunch and have a resident band, theRotatians, so any visiting Irish Rotarians would enjoy that aspect, atleast,” John said.

The winner of the Rotary Club of Kilkenny YouthLeadership Awards competition went on to become oneof the regional winners at the regional final hosted bythe Rotary Club of Waterford back in December.Jack was winner out of 35 candidates from nineschools in Kilkenny and naturally the Rotary Club ofKilkenny wished him the very best in his five day tripto the Strasbourg EU Parliament building to getinvolved in debates and workshops with young leadersfrom all across Europe.

Success ForKilkennyRotarian

Jack Kirwan, 5th year from Kilkenny College, one of the regionalwinners of the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Competition withAssistant Governor Pat O’Dwyer and Rotary Club of Waterford Ann-Marie Caulfield

Another Event For LisburnLisburn Rotary Club’s recentevening meeting was wellattended with several guestsjoining the members. Thespeakers for the evening wereReverend Peter O’Reilly of StMichael’s Roman CatholicChurch Enniskillen andReverend Ken Hall of StMcCartins Church of IrelandEnniskillen.They gave members a veryinteresting insight into howthey had built up their rela-tionship over the years andbrought along their flock to allbe supportive of the visit ofHer Majesty the Queen toEnniskillen. It was a veryinteresting talk on advancingcommunity relations in diffi-cult circumstances many yearsafter the EnniskillenRemembrance Sundaybombing. Pictured Rev. Peter O'Reilly, Rev. Ken Hall and Lisburn President Sam Patterson.

North DownPrepares ForMusician of theYear CompetitionThe Rotary Club of NorthDown has begun its searchfor the Primary SchoolMusician of 2015. Thiscompetition, open to allprimary school age pupilswho are at Grade 3 standardor above, is now in its twen-tieth year and in the past hasprovided the opportunity formany of our finest youngmusicians, whether instru-mentalists or singers, to havetheir skills publicly acknowl-edged and rewarded.Anyone who needs moredetails about the competition,how to enter, or how tosupport the competition,through sponsorship of theevent or advertisement in theprogramme, should contactJim Henry, the YouthActivities Convenor, at07972293433.



The Belfast Rotary Club continued theirpartnership with YouthAction NI in itsGET SET for Employment Programme(Gaining Education and Training forSustained Employment and Training)with nine members recently.The programme is a collaborative volun-tary youth and private sector partner-ship which uses a youth work approachto GET young people SET for making apositive and sustained transition intoemployment, mainstream training oreducation based on the unique GET SETto be Hired Resource Pack. This initiative engages young peopleaged 16-24 years who lack employmentexperience and who may not have gainedGCSE qualifications and would benefitfrom support and encouragement inbuilding their confidence, identifying theexperience they already have, improvingtheir communication skills and in havingan opportunity to participate in mockinterviews including receiving feedback.This was the fourth time that the club

have conducted workshops since theprogramme was launched just over ayear ago, and this time the members

conducted 3 'Skills for Jobs' and 3'Interview Skills' workshops all of 1 hourduration each in an extremely busy

morning. Rotary's role as YouthAction'sBusiness partner has led to tremendous,while challenging, opportunities forservice and it is hoped that many of theyoung people have been helped to bothvalue themselves and recognise theirpotential as they seek to move forwardand look to the future. YouthAction NI said they gratefullyappreciate the club's "excellent participa-tion" and thanks its members all fortheir time and efforts in this programme,which makes such a difference to theyoung people.The Resource Pack was jointly developedby the Club, YouthAction NI and theUlster Bank and is supported by theDepartment for Employment andLearning. It is a unique package foryoung people wanting to apply for a jobas it contains the resources to help matchskills to employer requirements, have awell structured CV together with theopportunity to experience an interviewsituation.

Belfast Supports ‘Youth In Action’ Initiative

Pictured here are Some of the Belfast Club members participating in the youth programme - Doris Houstonwith Past Presidents Brian Clements and Trevor Hinds

Pictured here is Ann Marie O'Brien receiving the Paul Harris Fellowship Medal from Paddy Bardon,President Rotary Clonmel (2014), with Mayor Pat English and Joe O'Sullivan.

A delegation of potential young Irishleaders travelled to the EuropeanParliament in Strasbourg at the end oflast year to debate with over 600students from all over the EuropeanUnion, as part of a programme withRotary Ireland.A number of the young Rotarians spoketo national media about their visions forthe future of Ireland and in particularnational news website, Independent.ieasked them what they would do first ifthey became Taoiseach, which resultedin some surprising (and not sosurprising) results. It seems the poten-tial young leaders of this country wantto see big changes happen.Chief amongst things that should bechanged according to the Rotarians is achange in the attitudes to our Irishlanguage. “I’d like to see a change in theattitude towards the Irish language,”said one. “It’s quite negative in the

country at the moment.” “I’d like to see arejuvenation of our young political voicein Ireland,” added another. “Attitudes toyoung people also need to change,”chimed in one Rotarian. “Many justdon’t take the younger population seri-ously enough.”One or two also said that first to gowould be property tax and water charges– “Water is a basic human right that weshouldn’t have to pay for” – and otherssaid that education should be muchhigher on the Government’s priority listthan it is at the moment. Heath care is also something that needsa major overhaul, according to the youngpeople and at least two mentioned thefact that more focus needed to be put onrural areas to ensure these haveworking broadband so that businessesmay thrive in the smaller towns.“We need to see equality for all,” onedetermined Rotarian concluded.

Young Rotarians WantBig Changes For Ireland

Belfast Rotary Club were very excited to induct three new members recently. Charlie Porter, Carl Collins andPatricia Libby are all now members of the Belfast Rotary Club. Shown in the picture are President JohnCarrick, Jill Goodwin (sponsor of Charlie), Charlie Porter, Carl Collins, Patricia Libby and Larry Theye(sponsor of Carl and Patricia).

Dublin NorthTakes OnPeace ForestProjectThe Dublin North Rotary Club has takenon a new project. The Peace ForestIreland project was developed in DublinNorth Rotary Club with Forest FriendsIreland. On the 26th May 2013, Sakugi Tanaka,President Rotary International launchedthe project in Saint Columb's Park,Derry/Londonderry, at a Peace Forum, inDerry’s European City of Culture year.Tree plantings have since taken place inLeitrim/ Fermanagh, Dundalk andNewry and Dowra Co. Cavan. Plans are

underway to plant trees during 2015 Treeweek.The project aims to assist the NorthernIreland peace process, by bringingtogether communities agencies and indi-viduals north and south of the border,providing tree and forest culture educa-tion, developing joint enterprises in horti-culture woodland crafts and manage-ment, creating sustainable jobs, tacklingclimate change, sitting up managementstructures to ensure success, andcreating a linear woodland continuum ofhedgerows, groves, woodlands andforests.The project also intends, depending onthe availability of land, to plant nativeIrish hardwood broadleaf trees based onlocal provenance, maximise biodiversity,utilise local expertise, form linkages withexisting peace forests including theEuropean Peace Forest, and finally, plantcommemorative peace trees for those whodied in the Northern Ireland conflict.

ROTARY NEWS 09


March / April 2015

The Rotary Club of Lisburnlaunched an annual Bursary in2004 to mark the 50th Anniversaryof the founding of the club. ATrust Fund was set up to managethe Bursary awards. This Bursaryis primarily intended for thoseyoung people aged between 18yrsand 30yrs considering taking timeout within a course of study beforegoing to University or joining theworld of work. The Bursary isused to assist these people to helpdisadvantaged people and commu-nities at home or overseas. The top award is worth £500 and afurther £500 may be offered in theform of discretionary awardsbetween ‘runners up, ’ who putforward interesting and worth-while projects.Last year Olivia Brown fromNewtownards received the topBursary award of £500, which sheused to help with her expenses ona 12-month placement with ProjectTrust. She had accepted ateaching post at a secondaryschool, which was situated deep inthe heart of Honduras, CentralAmerica. “I cannot explain to you how muchI love it here. Honduras is anincredibly beautiful country, espe-cially the little town I live in,Trinidad. Trinidad is a very smalltown surrounded by incredibleviews of green mountains all

around,” she said in a recent emailto the club. “The kids have beenloving their English classes, andalthough we don't get to do manycomplicated topics, we feel thathaving someone from a completelydifferent culture and backgroundwill really help to open theirminds. As you can imagine, we arethe only foreigners here in thistiny town, so it's quite strange to

some of the children to see us.” Inprevious years Bursaries havebeen awarded to assist students ona gap year with a 12-month place-ment at a teaching post overseas,others travelled abroad to helpteach children and adults English.Some have used their award tohelp with their medical electiveoverseas and more recently andcloser to home, to establish a foodco-operative for local churches,communities and students. Other successful applicants havebeen shadowing doctors in aNepalese hospital. During 2013 astudent studying for a PhD atQueens University hoped to travelto Nicaragua to help childrenunderstand their rights in thatpart of Central America. Anotherwas heading to Nova Scotia for 12months to help disadvantagedadults in a care home.

Lisburn ClubOrganisesAnnual Bursary

Pictured here are Helen Coulter, Past President Stephen Gilbert and President Elect Gary Corkinfrom the Rotary Club of Lisburn at the launch of their annual Bursary.

Artful Nights ForCastlebar Club Castlebar Rotary Club have been very busy of late,organising and participating in two artistic events.They welcomed John O’Donnell at their paint and sipnight in February. Well done to John on his artwork on recent Paint andSip night in Foxford. There was a good conversa-tional piece in Johnny McHales after the paintingevening,” said the club. Also, the club would like to thank everyone who tookpart in their Paint and Sip evening with artist HarryFeeney in The Foxford lodge in early January.Everyone enjoyed a great evening and went homewith a beautiful original painting.

Dublin ClubWorking WithSightsavers The The Rotary Club of Dublin Central have decided towork with the fantastic organisation Sightsavers aftershocking statistics emerged which said that within twoyears of becoming blind, 50 per cent of children indeveloping countries will die. “Together we restored the eyesight of 35 people, one forevery member of our Rotary club,” said Matt Porter,President of Rotary Club of Dublin Central. “There are39 million people blind in the world, and 246 millionvisually impaired,” he explained. “Eighty per cent of thetime this is avoidable. Ninety per cent of blind peoplelive in developing countries and two thirds of all blindpeople are women.”

Visiting Rotarian Caroline Bisikwa from Muyenga Club, KampalaUganda with Jolie Rider Chairman Dan Mc Donnell and Carlow ClubPresident Karl Mc Donough with some of the bikes donated to theJolie Rider in Carlow on March 7th

Joint Meeting BetweenNorth Down AndMonaghan ClubsThe Rotary Clubs of North Down and Monaghan havehad a close association going back over 20 years whichoriginated through partnership in the TheodoraProject initiated by the Monaghan Club. Through this

project a young person in Bulgaria suffering from arare genetic defect necessitating a special diet wassustained through to adulthood. The two clubscontinue to meet for fellowship on a regular basis andare currently discussing other ways in which theymight collaborate. At a joint meeting held in the Old Inn Crawfordsburnin early March there was a very moving presentationon a new initiative by a young charity called CARED -Caring About Recovery From Eating Disorders - whichis campaigning for dedicated facilities in NorthernIreland for those suffering from an eating disorder.

Given the seriousness ofthis type of mental illnessand the high death ratethat results, there is asignificant gap in provi-sion given the lack even ofa specialist day carecentre.The other topic of discus-sion at the meeting wasthe gender balance inRotary, something onwhich the Monaghan clubhas moved to a greaterextent than has NorthDown. It was an excellentjoint meeting, which oneRotarian described as thebest he had attended forsome considerable time.

Pictured here is President Audri Herron of the Rotary Club of Monaghan standing to the right of PresidentBertie Carson of North Down Club along with some of those who attended the recent joint meeting.



Two Cork Bishopstown Rotary members,Collette O’Neill and Kathleen Cummins,have just returned from India. There theytook part in The National PolioImmunisation Day. Their sense of adventure and concern forthe eradication of polio led them to theircourageous decision to travel so far afieldto India, the only two Rotarians fromIreland. They mingled with 120 othersfrom Europe all of whom put service aboveself and inoculated many children in Dehli

and outlying areas. They combined thisvolunteering with travelling around Indiaand had wonderful experiences of thediversity of culture and lifestyle. Before their departure they organised acheese and wine evening to support thePolio Plus Project to which the clubmembers and friends contributed gener-ously. On their return they will give clubrotarians a presentation and talk, whichthe members say they are greatly lookingforward to.

Pictured here are Cork Bishopstown Rotary members, Collette O'Neill and Kathleen Cummins during theirvisit to India.

Cork RotariansTravel To India

Following local press and radioappeals to the public, and a collec-tion from their members Sligo Clubwas able to deliver 30 second-handbicycles to Loughan House OpenPrison. The Club’s InternationalService Chairman Jimmy Watters,along with Aidan Buckley collectedthe bicycles from the donors: Theywere stored them in Jimmy’s yardpending transfer to LoughanHouse.With additional assistance fromPres. Sean and Past President Desthe bikes were loaded into Jimmy’scattle trailer and then on to the

Prison. Assisted by Residents of thePrison the bikes were unloaded.and they enjoyed a bit of banterwith them. The work shop was opened-up toshow members where the bikes arerefurbished and re-assembled andthey also saw a large number ofbikes they have finished and areready to be shipped first to Englandand then to Gunjur in SouthernGambia.These bikes will make a hugedifference for many children whohave to travel long distances toschool. They will now be able to

cycle rather than have to walkmany miles. Their daily journeyswill accordingly take a muchshorter time.

Sligo Club SupportsBikes 4 Africa Project

Pictured here are Jimmy Waters, AidanBuckley, Club treasurer Des Foley andPresident Sean Doyle from Sligo Rotary Clubassembling their collection of bikes inJimmy Waters shed.

Ken Stewart, accomplished equestrian artist, whospecialises in Irish hunting, racing and sporting art,recently spoke to Carrickfergus Rotarians about hisdevelopment as an artist and how he built his initialinterest into a successful business attracting regularcommissions for his equestrian portraits.Ken has exhibited his work in numerous galleriesthroughout England and Ireland and won many presti-gious awards including the Best Sporting Picture at theU K Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition(2003) and the Horse and Hound Best Racing Picture(2010). He illustrated his talk with samples of his workand an album of pictures of completed commissions.

CarrickfergusClub WelcomesEquestrian Artist

Pictured here is Ken Stewart, equestrian artist, pictured withCarrickfergus Rotary President Sam Crowe.

Ballymoney Club recently held their President's Night at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Pictured on the nightare Left to Right: Front Row: Tedi Cross, Marie McKinney, Irene Robinson, and Cherith McArthur. Middle Row:Sean McKinney President Ballycastle, Brian Thompson, Patricia Lindsay District Foundation Chair, DawnConner, Wilma Laverty, Sean Laverty District Trainer. Back Row: Gordon Robinson President Ballymoney,Ivan Conner District Treasurer, Simon McArthur President Limavady, William Cross Assistant DistrictGovernor.

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

Limerick Rotarians Proud Of Remembrance Tree Though it is a new year,Limerick Rotarians werekeen to highlight the successof their Tree of Remembrancein the festive season justgone. Limerick ThomondRotary Club launched their

first Tree of Remembrance inDecember 2010 using thenatural tree erected byLimerick City Council in thenew pedestrian street,Bedford Row. In January 2013, a member

sent an email to the membersof the club highlighting histhoughts on the benefits andproblems of theRemembrance Tree and casu-ally said that membersshould consider replacing the

natural tree with a purposebuilt metal alternative thatcould be disassembled andreused for many years intothe future.The incoming President likedthe idea and requested asketch and further details ofthe proposed structure, theclub council approved theidea. In June 2013 the searchbegan for materials and amanufacturer to produce thedream tree and the club werevery determined to get theproject sponsored as it wasall in the aid of local chari-ties. The tree measured sevenmeters tall including therotary sign on top. In the past five years approxxxx90k has been collected forlocal charities. Each year thepublic are invited to attendthe service of remembranceheld at the AugustinianChurch, O’Connell Street,Limerick, at which all theribbons are spread across thecentre alter of the Church.Ger Lynch and his colleaguesin Tallybrooke CivilEngineering Ltd, Rathkeale,Co Limerick gave freely oftheir time and expertise toerect and to dismantle theRemembrance Tree.

ROTARY NEWS 11


March / April 2015

Recently, twelve BallycastleIntegrated pupils in the companyof Principal Mrs Diana Evans andschool volunteer, Mrs Millar, madethe trip to City Hall in Belfast.The purpose of their visit, to markthe establishment of the firstRotakids Club in Ireland. Jointly organised by RotaryIreland, the pupils were hosted bythe Mayor, Nichola Mallon, whoexpressed a genuine interest intheir aims and encouragedinvolvement in community life forthe betterment of all. Commentingon their confident manner andattentive behaviour, the Mayorthen proceeded to acknowledge the

occasion by presenting badges toall in attendance. Office bearersreceived special mention, as it isthey, along with Rotary mentorswho will play a large part in deter-mining the future success of theventure.Fortified by a hearty Ulster Fry,the youngsters were treated to amini-tour of the City Hall andmade the most of a chance to expe-rience the Council Chamber,complete with Mayoral Chair – nodoubt giving them grand designson how their own committeeshould function!A short break was quickly followedby a trip across City to StormontBuildings. Here, a question andanswer session served to emphasisthe capabilities of the pupils andthere is no doubt that they were byno means phased by theirsurroundings. Indeed some of thecurrent incumbents could learn athing or two from the manner andstyle by which they conductedthemselves! The whole day was a wonderfulsuccess and hopefully the twelve‘founding members’ will rememberit for a long time to come. Ofcourse these events do not happenserendipitously, and were it not forextended negotiations between twomain individuals, then such recog-nition might not have occurred onsuch a grand scale.“To Grainne Bagnell (YouthServices Chair), a great debt ofgratitude is owed. Having‘ambushed’ Ballycastle memberslast September, she has been aforce of nature and her infectiouspositivity has played no small partin the proceedings. Closer to home,Diana Evans has fortunately hadthe foresight to realise the poten-tial of forming a RotaKids Cluband although much work has beenexpended in getting thus far, as aRotarian in her own right, she willno doubt embrace the task aheadin her own successful and

rewarding manner,” saidthe Ballycastle club. The Rotary Club ofBallycastle areimmensely proud of itsoutstanding success inthe field of YouthServices, to date havinghad two YouthLeadership winners (all-Ireland) and a YoungWriter winner (Britainand Ireland). The estab-lishment of the Island’sfirst Rotakids Club is anachievement which willgive them a special placein the annals of theorganisation but perhapsmore importantly, itprovides the chance foryoung people to recognisethe immense benefits of working together be itfor the local or widercommunity.

History InThe MakingFor Ballycastle‘RotaKids’

Pictured here are newly elected office bearers - President: Amy, President Elect: Conor,Secretary: Lara and Treasurer:James

Sean McKinley(President Ballycastle Rotary Club), Diana Evans (Secretary and Rotakids Co-ordinator)William Cross (Rotary Assistant -Governor) and Grainne Bagnell (Rotary Youth Services Chair) along with 12founding members of Rotakids and Belfast Lord Mayor Nichola Mallon on the stairs of City Hall.

President meets Lord Mayor! Amy receivesher President's badge form Belfast LordMayor, Nichola Mallon.

Katie White won theRotary Club of NavanYouth LeadershipDevelopment competi-tion for 2014.Katie, who is a studentof St.Josephs Convent ofMercy Secondary Schoolin Navan, put in anoutstanding performanceto win the first prize inthe club contest, run bythe Navan Rotary Cluband also qualified as oneof the regional finalists.Katie was presentedwith the Tony RowntreeMemorial Shield and acheque from the NavanCredit Union. The other school winnerswere: Laura Anne Cope,St. Michaels Loreto, andJoseph Curran, St. PatsClassical School, Navan.This year, there were 23participants and thestandard was excellent. Katie says that shefound the interviews very beneficial and the competi-tion challenging. “I never had an interview before. Idid not know what to expect at an interview. It turnsout that the major fear is the fear of the unknown,”she said.Katie went on to represent Navan in the RegionalFinals, held last year.

Katie Is Navan’sYouth LeaderWinner

Pictured here is Katie White,who represented Navan RotaryClub in the Regional Finals of theRotary Youth LeadershipDevelopment competition in 2014.

North Down RotaryGets A Trike ForOliverIn early autumn of 2014 North Down Rotary Clubheard of a pupil, Oliver Rice, who attends CliftonSpecial School in Bangor and who had been recom-mended to use an orthopedic tricycle to help his exer-cise regime and to strengthen his leg muscles. As thiswas not provided through the National Health Servicethe club decided to help. At the annual Quiz Night inOctober held in Helen’s Bay Golf Club and attendedby around 80 people, a raffle was held that succeededin raising sufficient funds for the purchase of thetrike. It was ordered and arrived in time forChristmas. Oliver quickly learned to use it and is nowbenefiting as a result.

Rotaract UpdateDoes your district have a District RotaractRepresentative? Did you know that only 26 percent ofdistricts with active Rotaract clubs have reportedDistrict Rotaract Representatives (DRRs)? Your districtcould be missing out on a Rotaract opportunity. DRRsare Rotaractor leaders elected to promote Rotaract,bring young people together for service, and buildstronger partnerships between Rotaractors andRotarians. It’s not too late to elect — or be elected as —a DRR in your district.



A ThousandWelcomes AwaitCork RotariansA thousand welcomes await delegates at the RotaryDistrict Conference from Friday 25th September toSunday 27th September 2015." At this stage plans arevery well advanced for for a truly memorableConference" says Joe O'Shea, Cork ConferenceChairman from Cork Bishopstown Club. "We alreadyhave in place a line up of stimulating speakers and asuperb social programme - a not to be missed event".The Conference will kick off early in the afternoon ofFriday 25th and finish at noon on Sunday 27th.A golf outing is planned for Thursday 27th and aprogramme of tours has been organised for FridayMorning and Saturday afternoon. Delegates will havean opportunity to experience the city's reputation asthe Food Capital of Ireland by participating in thesocial activities which will include visits to theEnglish Market, Kinsale and Ballymaloe, home of thefamous cookery school. On Friday night a food extrav-aganza in the form of a scrumptious Farmers' Marketstyle dinner will take place at the Rochestown ParkHotel which is the Conference venue. This will befollowed by Pulses of Tradition - a fantastic tradi-tional Irish show featuring internationally renownedsingers, traditional musicians and dancers. TheDistrict Governor's Ball will take place on Saturdayevening with dancing to Dustbusters Light Orchestra.On the business side, the speakers programme willtake place on Friday afternoon and Saturday and willinclude a panel discussion on Ageing and Healthwhich is the theme adopted for the Conference. OnSunday morning there will be an EcumenicalMemorial Service for Past Rotarians followed byDistrict Council Meeting.Very competitive accommodation rates have beennegotiated with Rochestown Park Hotel(ConferenceHotel) and River Lee Hotel ( City Centre). RochestownPark are offering an extra 10 per cent for delegateswho stay for three nights.Registration fees are also competitive with 50 per cent(approx) discount for partners/guests and are inclu-sive of lunch on Friday and Saturday. All in all agreat weekend in Cork is promised to all. So don'tdelay - register today at www.rotaryconference.ie

Rotary KilkennyRaise Funds TowardsPolio CampaignFollowing an event organised and run by the Rotary Club ofKilkenny Foundation Chair John Ryan, where bags ofpurple crocus bulbs were sold in Kilkenny, the sum of €800was raised for the Rotary End Polio Now campaign. The cheque was presented at the District meeting in theLouis Fitzgerald Hotel recently. The worldwide polio eradi-cation campaign is Rotary Internationals main interna-tional drive with Rotary having contributed well over onebillion US dollars to the campaign since the campaign startin the 1980’s. Rotary International is the third largestworldwide donor towards the Polio Eradication programmeafter the US government and the Bill and Melinda Gatesfoundation. The main worldwide focus for polio eradicationis Afghanistan and Pakistan being the two remaining coun-tries where polio is prevalent. The club would like to thankall its Rotary Kilkenny members for their support in thecrocus event, and to John Ryan in particular.

Pictured are District Governor Phillip and District Treasurer Ivanaccept the cheque for End Polio Now from Joe Mulhall-President ofthe Rotary Club of Kilkenny.

Ballymoney Club recently organiseda new initiative, which the clubhopes to make an annual event."The word rotary means ‘takingplace around an axis.’ This axis isBallymoney and most importantlythe community within it.Ballymoney Rotary Club being thelocal wing of Rotary international,is living up to the reputation of thefoundation, established in 1905, asbeing an organisation of ‘people whowork tirelessly to solve some of ourcommunities toughest challenges,"said Ballymoney Rotary PRO,Jimmy Dunlop. Ballymoney Rotary have beenturning their attention to the youthof the area. Youth EngagementActivity (YEA), their newestcommunity scheme, was created

and has ran successfully for itssecond year.The aims and ambitions of theprogram, which benefited from theinclusion of pupils and members ofBallymoney High, Cheers YouthClub, Dalriada and Our Lady ofLourdes, was to bring together thenext generation in a meaningfulway, breaking historic barriers andattitudes to help build on the repu-tation of Ballymoney as a warm,friendly, safe and close knit commu-nity.YEA seeks to educate and bringtogether the youth of the areathrough cross communityInteractive activities such as coast-eering, camping under canvas onthe beautiful North Coast andabseiling down Fairhead to name a

few. The latest programme, whichincluded around 20 participants ranrecently at Ardclinis outdooractivity centre. Feedback from thesun tanned teenagers at the end ofthe weekend was very positive andalthough exhausted and sore theyexpressed a desire to maintaincontact with each other andencourage others to take part infuture projects.This resolve and revolving proposalby Rotary Ballymoney is one of themany positive contributions theybring to the area and with more inthe pipeline they hope to identifycommunity need and aim to fill thegap.The club realised from the start thatwithout dedicated volunteers andongoing support, the project wouldnot get off the ground. BallymoneyRotary Club are most grateful toPolicing and Community SafetyPartnership, Ballymoney BoroughCouncil for the Good RelationsGrant and Community SupportGrant, and the Rotary InternationalFoundation for very generous finan-cial assistance and also the staff ofArdclinis Outdoor Activities for thesmooth running of the weekend.

New InitiativeFor BallymoneyRotary Club

Newtownabbey ProudOf Gambia Project The Rotary Club of Newtownabbey arehonoured and proud to have this 1,500threfurbished bicycle to go to The Gambiabranded with the Club name ofNewtownabbey. In collecting over 200 bicycles, the project,ably led by International Chair DouglasGibson, gave members the opportunity toengage with the communities of both theBorough of Newtownabbey and the city ofBelfast. The marketing strategy by membersinvolved drop-off points at the busy offices oflocal Insurance Brokers, E A Davies Ltd,Glengormley and a vacant shop premises onthe Lisburn Road, Belfast. When necessary,bikes were collected by members as was thecase with the ‘Pink Bicycles’ used by the localcouncil for the Giro d’Italia 2014"This is amazing project involving not justthe Rotary clubs of Ireland but our partners

at Loughan House Open Prison and the Bikes4Africateam in England. All combining to effect huge changein educational standards amongst the youth of TheGambia. It’s project that ticks all the boxes of Rotary’sareas of focus!" Newtownabbey Club said.

Pictured here are: Marney Hutchinson, PDG Paul Hutchinson, President GavinMillar, Jenny Wills (all Newtownabbey club) and President Angela McKinney(Enniskillen club) at Loughan House Open Prison - Bike Shed

Rotary Club of Bangor President Ian Wilson met withRIBI President Peter King while visiting theDonaghadee Rotary Club recently. Peter King is travel-ling round Irish clubs as part of his year’s duties andalso preparing the way for the RIBI Conference inBelfast in April. President Fraser Menzies and theDonaghadee club were delighted to welcome PresidentPeter King ( a High Court judge ) and DistrictGovernor Philip Beggs and Assistant Governor GarthArnold who of course is a Donaghadee member.

Rotarians Enjoy NorthDown Hospitality

Pictured here is Rotary Club of Bangor President Ian Wilson with RIBIPresident Peter King.

ROTARY NEWS 13


March / April 2015

Dingle Rotary Club have been verybusy of late, fundraising for variouslocal charities. Their bonfire night fundraiser in aid ofPieta House and other charitiessupported by Dingle Rotary was heldin Tig Áine, An Ghráig, Ballyferriterrecently, and it was a huge success. Arepresentative from Pieta House, Mary,was presented with a cheque for €2,000at a club meeting. Richard Williamsand Patrick Sheehy attended themeeting to receive a cheque for €600 onbehalf of the Tidy Town's Committee.The funds were raised thanks toProceeds from the Rotary ChristmasTree Appeal. West Kerry Mental Healthrepresentative Máire Treasa Ni

Conchubhair also received a cheque for€600.President Kathy O'Connor and theDingle Rotary Club have been verybusy since the start of the Rotary year.They previously made presentations tovarious other groups, such as: the clubjoined the food trail at the food festivaland made pancakes. Members thenpresented a cheque for €1,000 to EddieDieckmann, founder of HopeGuatemala, all proceeds from TheDingle Food Festival PancakeFundraiser.All the representatives of the variouscharities/committees are deeplygrateful to Dingle Rotary Club for theirgenerosity.

Pictured here are members of Dingle Rotary Club with Richard Williams and Patrick Sheehy receiving acheque for €600 on behalf of the Tidy Town's Committee.

Pictured here are members of Dingle Rotary Club with a representitive from Pieta House, Mary, who waspresented with a cheque for €2,000 at a recent club meeting.

Pictured here are members of Dingle Rotary Club presenting a cheque to West Kerry Mental Health for €600.

Dingle Supports Local Charities

EnniskillenMembersVisit KenyaIn September last year, AngelaMcKinney from the Rotary Club ofEnniskillen made a life changing visit toKenya for the first time. Here is herstory:“In September this year, I visited Kenyafor the first time. I had spent some timein Botswana and South Africa, years agoand thought that I would have noproblem adjusting to Kenya. ‘Cultureshock’ was something other people wouldhave to deal with, not me. I was provedwrong nearly straight upon arrival whenI was struck by all the unfinished build-ings and poor facilities. I put it down tofatigue and looked forward to the nextday. The following day we went to visitthe local health centre. It was interestingbut disappointing to see how much morebasic the health centre was compared towhat I had experienced in Botswana 20years earlier. In the coming days we sawmany schools, some very poor and somequite well off. We also saw Rotary’s waterprojects: the sand dams and ProjectCiara, where it is proposed to install a20km pipeline to bring water to 10,500

people. All around us was a strangemixture of half finished brick houses andmud huts. Some signs of progress, butstill lots to do.The founders of the Light of Maasaicharity ( consisting of an Irish womanElaine, Joseph and Jonathan) guided usthrough our experiences and answeredthe thousands of questions we had fromthem. However it wasn’t until day fourand five that I really started to relax andenjoy the experience. By that time wewere enjoying our third visit to the ‘pub’in Rombo and our surroundings startedto blend into the stunning scenery ofbush-land, hills and Mount Kilimanjaro.Only then did I start to see the beauty ofthe place for real: the number of teachersdoing a great job in very difficult circum-stances, the doctors and nurses workingfor little money and providing such awide ranging service, the women’s groupseducating and bettering a new generationof girls and working to abolish femalegenital mutilation, and all the children soeager for an education and hoping for abetter future.Rotary plays a major role in facilitationall these changes. Providing life’s essen-tials like water, food, healthcare andeducation. What they are doing with thatis up to them, but it is amazing to seehow a little help can go a long way.Looking back, I have definitely enjoyedmy visit, if I ever go back, I will staylonger!”

GuestSpeakerFor NavanNavan Rotary Club weredelighted to have NoelFrench as their guestspeaker on Tuesday 10thMarch 2015.Noel was elected as aMeath County Councillorin May 2014. Is a well-known historian anddirector of the MeathHeritage Centre in Trimwith many books to hiscredit gave a talk entitledDigging up your Roots.“Noel is a very engagingspeaker, both humorousand informative, and gavesome pointers as to how togo about family originsand genealogy in general,”said the club.

Swiss Girl Speaks To Sligo ClubGabriela Hirt, who is studying Spanish and Englishat Zurich University was a recent guest speaker atSligo Rotary Club’s lunch meeting on 12th Januarythis year. She informed members that part of herUniversity coarse is to collect stories from senior citi-zens about their child-hood experiences. Hergrandfather, WernerBasler (an honorarymember of the club),and her grandmother,Kathleen told her tocome to Sligo where shewould meet great story-tellers and she said wasnot disappointed fromthe accounts sherecorded from some ofour members. “Wealways knew we hadthem!” said the club.Pictured above is GabrielaHirt, Sean Doyle (Sligo ClubPresident) with KathleenBasler.

Pictured here is Belfast Fortwilliam Club President Ian McClung andEuan Loughrey (St Malachy's College) who was the winner at the ClubFinal of the Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition.



The Rotary Club of Dundalk held a verysuccessful charity fundraising Breakfastmorning on Shrove Tuesday, 17thFebruary. The function was held in TheCrowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk.The Chief Organiser was PaddyWilliams, who was assisted by a smallcommittee. This is the 15th year insuccession the charity morning has beenheld and the event was another greatsuccess for the club.

Over 200 guests attended and paid €25for their breakfast and enjoyed juice, fullIrish breakfast, pancakes, tea, coffeeand a morning newspaper. All fundscollected will go towards local, nationaland international charities includingSOSAD (a suicide prevention group inthis area), Samaritans, Meals on Wheelsand so on. The Dundalk Clubs nextmajor event was a visit of the GardaBand to Dundalk An Tain Theatre.

Charity Morning ForDundalk Rotarians

Pictured here is Oliver Nixon (centre), President, Rotary Club of Dundalk, with Bill McCarthy and GayBerkery at the Rotary Club's Charity Breakfast held in The Crowne Plaza.

Charity BreakfastFor Larne Club

Larne Rotary Club heldtheir Annual CharityBreakfast on the 26thFebruary. Their guestspeaker was RuanPinnaar theInternational andUlster Rugby Player.Ruan who comes fromSouth Africa, is nowplaying for Ulster andwas accompanied byJohnny Bell a local manwho currently coachesthe ruby players. Over100 people turned up atthe breakfast to hearRuan and Johnny speakthey were presentedwith a cheque for£500.00 for Ruan’schosen Charity ‘TearFund.’Ruan was born inBloemfontein in March1984 and plays either asa scrum-half or fly-halfand has contributedgreatly to the success ofUlster Rugby.

Pictured here are Ruan Pinnaar and Rotrarian Alister Carmichael andhis son.

LisburnCelebratesWomen’s DayIt was an early start at Malone Golf Clubrecently for Rotarians and friends forbreakfast to celebrate InternationalWomen’s Day. A large contingent ofRotarians and Partners from the RotaryClub of Lisburn along with Rotariansfrom many other Clubs, Soroptomists

and friends enjoyed a hearty breakfast.Siobahn McGary of Downtown radio wasMC for the morning and introduced theSpeakers. Caroline Mawhinney a newmember of Rotary explained how andwhy she had come to join Rotary andhow it appealed to her sense of service.The Lord Mayor of Belfast Nicola Mallonwas a special guest and talked about hercareer path in politics and how womenwere still very much in the minority.PP Sandra McCabe who was heavilyinvolved in the organisation of the eventtalked about International Women’s day.The awards were then presented.

Pictured here are: Caroline Mawhinney (New Rotarian),Mary Graham (Assistan Governor)SandraMcCabe(Organiser and PP Lisburn Rotary), Nicloa Mallon (Lord Mayor Belfast)Helen coulter (LisburnRotary)Siobhan McGary (dowtown Radio MC for the event) at the recent breakfast event attended by LisburnRotary Club.

Rotary's 110th BirthdayCelebrated In Style Celebrities, business,civic and communityleaders were out in forcerecently to celebrateRotary’s 110th birthday,while helping to raisefunds for the isolatedelderly across Hampshireand Dorset.Over 350 guests,including honoraryRotarian and PaulHarris Fellow DameEsther Rantzen and

Olympic diver PeteWaterfield, attendedRotary’s glamorous RedCarpet Gala screening ofFox Searchlight Pictures’film The Second BestMarigold Hotel, whichwas held at theUniversity ofSouthampton.Eve Conway, RotaryInternational in GreatBritain and Ireland’sVice President Elect (for

2016/17), commented:“The evening was afantastic way to cele-brate Rotary’s 110thbirthday by launchingthe Rotary Red CarpetGala Screening inBritain and Ireland. Theinitiative will be makinga real difference to thelives of isolated elderlypeople, and the project ispart of the commitmentof Rotarians who areactively involved inhelping the local commu-nity and supportingthose in need, both athome and overseas.”

Dublin CentralActively SeekingNew MembersThe Rotary Club of Dublin Central areseeking new members to join them. Members (25 to 55 year olds) meet inStephen’s Green club at 6.30pm everyWednesday, to network & share ideas,have some fun and try to help those thatmay need it.“Our Rotary club organises of fun thingsfor our members, such as great guestspeakers, trips to the Dail, a visit to anEmbassy, social cheese and wine events,a few beers in the pub, a couple of

fundraising events each year, an artauction, a walk in the park, a cycleevent, an Annual Ball,” explained MattPorter, President Rotary Club of DublinCentral.“With the monies raised we try to helppeople less well off in our local commu-nity and our international communities.We pay circa 30 euro a month, mostly forthe room hire and some wine. It’s a greatway to make friends, have some fun andgive a little something back at the sametime.”“We are a group of 35 ordinary men andwomen that meet one a week for a glassof wine. Please email me if you wouldlike to drop in for a glass of wine to seewhat we do [email protected],” he added.

ROTARY NEWS 15


March / April 2015

Newtownabbey Rotarian CathyMcCarley has done a lifesavingduty be becoming a living kidneydonor. A qualified nurse by profes-sion and latterly a CommunityHealth Visitor, she experienced abroad range of debilitating healthissues in people during her career.She learned all about the value ofgood health in life. Cathy also gaveof herself and her home throughfostering young children, usuallybabies awaiting adoption or simplyneeding protective care. It was no surprise to those whoknew her well that on retirementshe wanted to continue serving hercommunity and volunteered her

services for a programme assessingpatients on dialysis - and so a seedwas sewn! Also - she joined Rotaryand was inducted into the RotaryClub of Newtownabbey on 13thAugust 2013. However, Cathy wanted to domore, much more! Her experiencesthrough talking with folk on dial-ysis left her feeling that shewanted to be a l iving kidneydonor!After progressing through the longprocess of scans, health checks,and psychological assessmentsCathy was accepted for the kidneydonor programme. Later, beingfound to be a match with a lady in

London, the f irst attempt toremove one of her kidneys throughlaparoscopic surgery (less inva-sive) was incredibly aborted due tocomplications arising during theprocedure. Some weeks afterrecovery Cathy returnedundaunted to the operatingtheatre for the transplant proce-dure through open surgery whenone of her kidneys was removed toprovide a lifesaving opportunityfor another unknown recipient.For Cathy McCarley (Paul HarrisFellow), Service Above Self is noidle phrase - it is much more thana motto.

Pictured left: Cathy McCarley

Newtownabbey Rotarian Is A Real Lifesaver

After a sell-out success, the sixthannual Killarney Rotary Afternoon Teaat The Malton last September bene-fited people in need in the communityof Killarney.At the Killarney Rotary lunch at TheMalton on Wednesday, February 11th,representatives of the Killarney branchof the Society of St Vincent de Paul,were in attendance to highlight thedifference the windfall had made. Helen O’Leary of the Society of StVincent de Paul told the gathering atThe Malton how the funds raised hadmade a real difference to people inmost need.Killarney Rotary President Mike Stackthanked all who supported the charityevent and paid tribute to the womenmembers of Killarney Rotary for co-ordinating the event.

The afternoon tea event featured acatwalk show, organised free of chargeby local multi-award winning localdesigner Clodagh Irwin Owens whoalso showcased her latest collection.Annbury’s, Tralee, also showed itsautumn/winter collection. Annbury’s isowned by Killarney native DannyLeane. The models also wore jewelleryfrom Brian de Staic Jewellers, HighStreet, Killarney. The models gavetheir time for free and the sound equip-ment, by Mike Neeson, and music onthe day, by Killian Foley, was alsoprovided free of charge. “This generosity by people ensures thatall the monies raised for the chosencharity will go to the charity,” saidKillarney Rotarian Ciara Irwin Foley,organiser. “We are already lookingforward to the 2015 event.”

Kilarney RotariansBrew Up Support

Pictured here are Killarney Rotary members at their Afternoon Tea event.

Kilkenny ClubInvolved In TidyTowns CompetitionAs the final invited speakers in theRotary Club of Kilkenny’s programme for2014 it was fitting that the club finishedon a high with a talk from the Chairmanof the Keep Kilkenny BeautifulCommittee member, Cllr DavidFitzgerald and fellow committee memberMaura Geary. David, himself a past Rotarian, hadaddressed the club three years previ-ously outlining the plans that theCommittee had to work towards winningthe coveted award for Kilkenny City.David and Maura spoke at the clubsmeeting recently and were congratulatedfor their work by the Rotary Club ofKilkenny. Cllr Fitzgerald commented

that the success was due not to the workof the committee alone, but to thesupport from businesses in Kilkenny,many run by Rotarians and throughvolunteer work carried out by individualRotarians in Kilkenny.

Pictured here are Cllr David Fitzgerald and MauraGeary from the Keep Kilkenny Beautiful Committeewith Joe Mulhall of the Rotary Club of Kilkennypose with the Trophy for overall winner of theNational Tidy Towns Competition awarded toKilkenny earlier in 2014.

The Rotary Club of North Down was delighted to cele-brate the 80th birthday of Past-President ReidArmstrong at a recent meeting. President BertieCarson presented Reid with a 'birthday bun' completewith candle along with a card signed by members.Reid was suitably bowled over and looked forward tobeing similarly feted on his 90th!

Special HonoraryMembers ForBallymena ClubBallymena Rotary Club haverecently added two worldfamous names to theirmembers’ list! The clubwelcomed Lord Bannside andDr Syd Millar as HonoraryMembers. At a recent clubmeeting, Acting President,John Ramsey, introduced theglobally known politician andthe legendary rugby adminis-trator and expressed hisdelight on behalf of the clubthat both had accepted theinvitation to becomehonorary members. John alsogave a warm welcome toLady Bannside and MrsMillar. Tributes were paid tothe late President of theClub, Mervyn Rankin.Having accepted honorarymembership Lord Bannsideand Dr Millar delighted thepacked audience as theyrecounted memories ofearlier days in the Borough ofwhich they are both honoraryFreemen. The Rotary Club ismade up of ordinary peoplefrom the local area workingtogether to protest the envi-ronment, improve ourcommunities and end polio.

80th Celebrations ForNorth Down

Pictured here is President of North Down Rotary Club Bertie Carsonpresenting Reid with a 'birthday bun' to mark his 80th year.



Veteran politician and long time Bangor supporter,Brian Wilson, was inducted into the Rotary Club ofBangor by President Ian Wilson recently.Brian brings a wealth of experience and knowledge ofBangor to the club and his input will be eagerly antic-ipated. Welcoming Brian to the club, President Iansaid, “I have known Brian in both a professional andpersonal capacity for some time and look forward tohis being an active member of our club for manyyears to come.”Pictured: President Ian Wilson (left) and Hon Secretary StephenConnolly (right) welcome Brian Wilson as a new member to theRotary Club of Bangor

Bangor WelcomesNew Member

Lisburn Sea Cadets, which havebeen in existence for many years,had been suffering organisationaldifficulties. At a presentation to theclub it was explained that if it werenot possible to have help on theorganisational side the group wouldfold.Lisburn Rotary Club Past PresidentDavid Browne agreed to help andmet up with the leader anddiscussed their needs. As a result,he agreed to Chair theManagement Committee and PPSandra McCabe also agreed to siton the Committee.The unit has now been put on asound footing and is in the processof purchasing a new boat. The

Rotary Club of Lisburn will helpwith the funding of the new boat,which is essential for their training.David Browne highlighted theactions of one of the Sea Cadets in arecent nomination by a member ofthe public who witnessed an inci-dent in Belfast and notified theprincipal Of RBAI.One of the cadets, OC Moffett hasalso been awarded a ‘Principal’sAward’ for good citizenship! OCMoffett was in Belfast when hecame across a member of the publicwho was unconscious so OC Moffettswung into action and performedfirst aid, which he learned throughthe Sea Cadet Corps for the indi-vidual.

OC Moffett said, “I feel delightedwith myself that I have been recog-nised for something good that Ihave done.” “It fills me with pride to know thatI can learn something in SeaCadets that is useful in real lifesituations,” he added.

Lisburn SupportsLocal Sea Cadets

Pictured here is OC Moffet receiving hisPrincipals award.

Great Winter WellnessNight For YoughalAlmost one hundred people filled the room at TheRed Store recently for Youghal Rotary Club’s annualWinter Wellness night. This year the focus was onDiabetes, preventing it and living with it. Speakersfrom the medical profession covered all aspects ofawareness and care. There was ample time for ques-tions and answers afterwards along with a cup of tea.The presentations from each speaker lasted about 15minutes and there were five speakers in all. Thefinal speaker was a resident Psychologist whopointed members in the right direction of becomingan Optimist! This is a free event run each year theRotary members and funded by the Rotary Club. “Thanks to everyone who came on the night and toKaren and the staff at The Red Store for hosting thenight,” said the club.In addition to the presentations cheques were givento the three designated charities for the club’sChristmas Tree Appeal.

Pictured here are members of Youghal Rotary Club enjoying theirrecent Winter Wellness event.

Belfast ClubSupports DameMary Peters TrustPresident of Belfast Rotary Club Ronnie was delighted torecently welcome Hon. Member Dame Mary Peters and TrustChief Executive Colin Kennedy to tell members about the MaryPeters Trust, the leading Northern Ireland sporting charitywhich helps young people achieve sporting excellence. Theywelcome all donations large or small, all are vitally importantto their work.Dame Mary noted that when she won her Gold Medal the latejournalist Malcolm Brodie asked her what she wanted, shereplied - a track. The Trust was formed 40 years ago andpresents 20 bursaries each year (£250-£500) to help towardsthe cost of approved out-of-pocket expenses in respect of prepa-ration, training and competition within sport in NorthernIreland or further afield of aspiring young athletes from allrecognised sports. It works alongside Sport NI and with theassistance of the Governing Bodies of Sport helps young peoplein their early stages, before Lottery Funding is available.Colin Kennedy showed a video showing the work of the Trust.He pointed out that the Trust receives no Government fundingand receives 50 per cent of its income from interest and the restis raised through donations and events. Over the last 40 yearsit has awarded in total £1.5m to 4,400 young people—includingGraeme McDowell. It now supports not only individual eliteathletes but is much wider and is currently funding in associa-tion with the Irish Football Association the George BestCommunity Cup.

Pictured at the Rotary Club of Navan Presidents Night are D.G. VeritySwan and Sean Lynch, President cutting the club's 35th Anniversarycake, kindly made by Navan Rotarian Sandra Earl.

The croci, planted some four years ago by The Rotary Club, Dublin tocelebrate progress on Rotary's campaign to eradicate polio, continuesto blossom in St Stephen's Green. So far in 2015, no new cases ofpolio have been reported anywhere in the world - an amazing Rotaryachievement!

Rotary continues to bloomin St Stephen's Green

ROTARY NEWS 17


March / April 2015

Recently, the Rotary Club ofLarne brought together some200 students from LarneGrammar School, Larne HighSchool and St. Killians Collegeto the Larne Leisure Centre fora special event.The event was to give vital, lifechanging information for youngdrivers who are about to comeonto our very crowded andpotentially very dangerousroads, according to the club.Project Organiser RotarianAlistar Carmichael, who is aTrained Fire Officer, andPresident Gordon Cowie with anumber of Rotarians set up theSports Hall for the event.When the students entered theHall they were greeted with 20empty chairs with the namesand ages of the young peoplewho had lost their lives on ourRoads this year. The event started with a videoof a collision between cars, theaftermath of such a collisionresulting in serious injuries, adead baby, dead parents or chil-

dren in the back seat . TheEmergency Services arrive todeal with all this carnage. Thesevideos were very hard hitting,realistic, disturbing and verygraphic, some of the studentsfound it very hard to watch andhold back tears.

A play was then put on by theD.O.E Road Safety Departmentshowing the aftermath of a roadtraffic accident, the pain, injuryand grief that it causes.The students then movedoutside where an accident hadbeen set up between a motor

cycle and a car. Withthe use of the outsidePA system theyheard a simulated999 call to theEmergency Serviceinforming them of anaccident at LarneLeisure Centre. ThePolice were the firstto arrive closelyfollowing by the(NIFRS) FireBrigade and theAmbulance Service.All three servicesworked very closelytogether. A runningcommentary wasgiven by a trainingofficer from each ofthe services.

A paramedic then gave a talk onhow they deal with the patientsand their relatives. LinseySherrin an Emergency Nursefrom Antrim Hospital spoke onher role in the department andhow they deal with the victims,how they deal with the parents,

relatives and friends, and some-times have to tell the parentsthey were unable to save theirchild. Representatives from YoungDriver N.I. also gave an infor-mative talk on safe driving. TheD.O.E had information on theircampaign “Share the road tozero.” Other representativeswere from the Institute ofAdvanced Motorists, Blood andOrgan Donation and the RoadSafety Council.The event received support fromthe (PCSP) Police andCommunity Safety Partnership,The Community team at ASDAand Michelin, The staff at LarneLeisure Centre, Larne CompanyRTS and the Ladies of InnerWheel. The whole event waspart of Road Safety Week andthe President of Rotary Club ofLarne Gordon Cowie hoped thatthe efforts put in by everyonewill have an effect on helping toreduce the carnage on roads,and if it saves one death the daywas worthwhile.

Life Changing Lessons For Larne Club

Here is a picture of the live safety demonstration, which Larne Rotary Club were involved in.

Kasia CaptivatesCarrickfergus RotariansKasia Nikrasewicz, a native of Poland currently livingin Greenisland captivated Carrickfergus Rotarianswith her enterprising spirit, her determination to helpothers and her eagerness to extend her own leader-ship and management skills.She explained how she has been selected as a volun-tary International Service team leader on a UnitedNations urban agricultural initiative based in El Altoin Bolivia.Kasia will lead, manage and motivate a team oftwelve volunteers - six British and six Bolivian – whowill be working with the locals in a particularly poorurban area to train them in vegetable growing andmarketing their produce for self sufficiency.

Pictured here is Kasia Nikrasewicz with a member of CarrickfergusRotary Club.

Carlow Rotary Club ran a verysuccessful Remembrance Treeagain this year with ProjectChairman Eamonn Longpresenting cheques worth over10,000 euro ( up 25 per cent onthe previous year) to St Vincentde Paul, Eist Cancer Support,Carlow Hospice and Alzheimer'sUnit.All of the members took partmanning the tree for eight hourseach with support from the chari-ties concerned and pupils fromGael Cholaiste Ceatharlach andSt Mary’s CBS. This was followed

by a Christmas get together forspouses in the Seven Oaks Hotel.Carlow also sent a team toKilkenny Club for their quiz nightfund raiser which proved unsuc-cessful from Carlow’s point ofview However Rotarian GeorgeSothern managed to bring home abottle of Hennessy thanks to theraffle. The club has now embarkedon their Jole Rider project, whichlaunched on February 28th. Theclub wishes DanMcDonnell and histeam all the best forthis venture.

Successful RemembranceTree Project For Carlow

Tom Mc Donald St Vincent de Paul receives a cheque fromRemembrabce Tree Project Chairman Eamonn Long. Also in photo KarlMcDonough Club President Carlow

Mary Smith Eist Carlow Cancer Support receives a cheque fromRemembrabce Tree Project Chairman Eamonn Long. Also in photo KarlMcDonough Club President Carlow

' Everything is going to be just fine'. One of theRibbons placed on the Remembrance tree in Carlowwith Karl McDonough President and ChairmanEamonn Long



hairdressing in London's East Endwhen pin curls were all the fashion,meeting and marrying Michael Smurfitand how she setup, and was instru-mental in the setup of a group ofwomen, mainly made up of Smurfitcompany wives, to buy mini-buses forthe blind and Central Remedial Clinic.They called themselves 'The Helpers'and began by raising money throughcoffee mornings and jumble sales.Norma continues her charitable workand explained about her currentproject 'Change for Charity', Based onthe Central Bank's rounding initiative,which took place to reduce the numberof 1c and 2c coins in circulation,"Change for Charity" is a campaignwhich is asking the public to donate asmany of these coins as possible to helpsupport a number of Irish charities.

No stranger to the limelight, Ms.Brigid Quilligan, Director at The IrishTraveller Movement (ITM) then took tothe stand and explained her vision forthe ITM as: “An Ireland whereTravellers are proud of their identityand with their ethnicity recognised,can achieve their fullest potential toplay an active role in Irish society." Brigid explained about the positivepart that her mother had in her earlyeducation years and how she remainsto be her role model in life. Brigidcontinues on a daily basis to strive for'Working for Travellers Human Rightsand Travellers right to self-Determination.'The Dublin Rotary Club’s Celebrationwrapped up with a great sense ofachievement in the room, following onfrom the breakfast theme of 'Make ItHappen' and how ordinary people aredoing just that.

Special Breakfast For Dublin Fingal Club Continued from page 1

Killarney Rotariansarrived for their weeklylunch recently withnumerous of musicalinstruments in tow as theclub tuned up in melodicstyle for its 15th YoungMusician of the Yearcompetition and concert.Always eagerly antici-pated by music students,the event offers youngperformers a wonderfulopportunity to showcasetheir talents.The 2015 contest tookplace in the KerryDiocesan Youth Service

Breakfast EventFor Armagh ClubArmagh Rotary Club recently organiseda special breakfast to celebrateInternational Women’s Day. ArmaghRotarian Maria McGilly, the VocationalServices Chair, who helped organise theabove event at Malone Golf Club wasgiven great support by the members ofher club. All who attended from across theProvince, of both genders, enjoyed thekeynote speeches from the Lord Mayor ofBelfast, Nicola Mallon, and the Chief

Executive of the Equality Commission ofNorthern Ireland, Evelyn Collins CBE,ably introduced by the well-knownpresenter for Downtown Radio, SharonMcGarry. Many were very taken byCaroline Mawhinney the newest femalemember of the Lisburn Club, whoprovided an inspiring account of herjourney into Rotary. The presentation to the Northern RotaryWoman of the Year 2015 was made byDG Beggs, and the recipient BettyFlanagan of the Ballymena Club wasextremely worthy of the honour.Unfortunately she was unable to attendbut her husband was on hand to acceptthe award on her behalf.

Pictured here are Armagh Rotarians at the International Women‚Äôs Day, from left to right : Tom Haverty,Gerry Gribbon, President Kevin Boyd, Maria McGilly, Caroline Mawhinney (Lisburn ) and Robert Cardwell.Also attending from Armagh: Reg Hippolite, Raymond Donnelly and his wife Noreen.

Killarney RotariansTune Up For MusicianCompetition

centre, Fair Hill,Killarney, on Friday,March 6th, and Saturday,March 7th, with the final-night concert being stagedin the Acoustic Club at theINEC on Saturday, March7th, at 7.30pm. “The objec-tive of the competition isto create a forum forschoolgoing musicians ofall standards to perform inpublic in their chosendiscipline,” said KillarneyRotary president MikeStack.Killarney Rotarians SeanTreacy and Barry Murphy

established the contest in2001 and continue to bekey to its running.As with last year, in addi-tion to the usual mainprizes, a special award,the James GleesonMemorial Trophy, waspresented. The late JamesGleeson was closelyinvolved with theKillarney Rotary YoungMusician of the Yearcompetition since itsfounding. This year’s adju-dicators are Dr AlbertBradshaw and Dr PatrickDevine. “We are delighted towelcome KillarneyAdvertiser as mediapartner and trophiessponsor for the secondconsecutive year,” addedMr Stack.

Cathal Represents Athlone In Leadership Competition

Cathal Galvin from Athlone Community Collegewas one of 24 students representing Ireland atthe European Parliament in Strasburg recently.Cathal traveled with students from Ireland,North and South, to the European Parliamentin Strasbourg, where they were joined by 500other students from all over Europe. Prior todeparture they visited the Northern IrelandParliament at Stormont and the Dáil in Dublin. As part of the Rotary Youth LeadershipDevelopment Competition, the twenty-fouryoung people were selected from over 1,800applicants from secondary schools all acrossIreland based on their achievements to date andtheir potential as leaders. “We had an excellent candidate in Cathal whovery successfully represented himself, hisfamily, his school and the Rotary Club ofAthlone and we wish him well in his futureendeavours” said Dermot Neary, President ofthe Rotary Club. “We have great participationfrom the secondary schools in Athlone in thisleadership competition and consistently ourcandidates do well. Cathal initially won the firstround in Athlone, he then went on to theregional finals in Portlaoise where he wasselected was selected to join the other twenty

three winners from all over Ireland on an allexpenses paid trip to the Dáil, Stormont and theEuropean Parliament's Euroscola inStrasbourg.” The competition is co-ordinated every year bySiobhan Bigley and the club is grateful to her forits success. It is the voluntary efforts ofmembers who keep the clubs projects active andproviding opportunities for our young citizens,”added Dermot.Cathal had the opportunity to have tea with theLord Mayor of Belfast, meet with the EU repre-sentation in Dublin, have a debate on educationwith a group of our public representatives in theDáil and take part in a European Parliamentsession in Strasbourg. Following the trip Cathal made a series ofpresentations to both the club and schoolsdescribing his experiences and encouragingother students to avail of the wide range ofprogrammes available to them from the RotaryClub of Athlone from writing competitions toexchanges to youth camp tours and of course theYouth Leadership Development Competitionwhich aims to help young people prepare fortheir future careers, emphasising leadership,citizenship and personal growth.

Pictured here are Noel Galvin, Caroline Galvin, Cathal Galvin, Winner Rotary Youth LeadershipCompetition, Hazel Dooley, Athlone Community College, Grainne Bagnell and Dermot Neary, PresidentRotary Club of Athlone.

Rotarians UrgedTo Participate InPieta HouseFundraiserPieta House, a suicide and self-harm crisiscentre are urging Rotary members allaround the county to take part in theirupcoming Darkness into Light is PietaHouse’s annual national fundraiser to beheld in April. Darkness into Light is PietaHouse’s annual national fundraiser. It is themost vital component of Pieta House’sfundraising calendar and is now in itsseventh year. It first started out in 2009 inthe Phoenix Park. It’s a unique, earlymorning experience, which begins in dark-ness at 4.15am as thousands of people walkor run a 5km route while dawn is breaking.The dawn represents hope and is symbolicof the work of Pieta House; bringing peoplefrom darkness back into the light. Darknessinto Light 2014 attracted 80,000 partici-pants in nearly 40 locations around Ireland.This year, Darkness Into Light is biggerthan ever with 80 venues set to host the

event in Ireland and abroad including inAustralia, Canada, England, Scotland andthe USA. Pieta House first opened in Lucan,Co. Dublin in 2006 by Joan Freeman whorecognised the need for a suicide preventionservice at the time.Now with nine centres throughout Ireland,Pieta House provides a professional, one-to-one therapeutic service for those who areexperiencing suicidal ideation or engagingin self-harm. A doctor’s referral is notrequired and the service is completely free ofcharge. To date, Pieta House has supportedmore than 15,000 people, with more than4,000 of those seeking help in 2014. Pieta House would like to thank the RotaryClubs of Cork and District for their kindnessand generous financial assistance orches-trated by the Rotary Club of Mallow. Theyrely greatly on the generosity and financialassistance of others to keep the servicegoing and to meet demand. Funds donatedto Pieta House Cork from Rotary wenttowards various fixtures and fittings withinthe building in which the service is housedand enabled us to turn the premises into ahomely and calm setting which is needed todeliver our services. To find your local Darkness Into light Venueand to register, visit http://dil.pieta.ie.

ROTARY NEWS 19


March / April 2015

Pictured here are some of the 33 Interact members. With the interact members are, In the first rowPresident of Dungannon Rotary Club, Patricia Coyle and Interact President Niamh Gormley. Second row -Head Teacher Miss Cullen and rotarians Muriel Davidson and Joan Gormley.

Dungannon Rotary Club have beenextremely busy in the last few monthswith a renewed St Patrick's AcademyInteract Club with over 30 memberscompleting their International Project inaid of Shelterbox by hosting a CharityBreakfast in the local Golf Club withover 100 attending, raising a fantasticsum of £820.Dungannon appears to be one of the fewclubs in District 11160 to have joined inRotary Club of California's request to jointhem in a YouTube celebration of the110th Rotary's InternationalAnniversary. A fantastic day was had bythe local community and fellowRotarians. A further celebration washeld in Dungannon Council Offices onTuesday 24th March, with an officialwelcome by the last Mayor of DungannonBorough Council Mr Roger Burton,before it enters into the new Mid-UlsterCouncil at the end of the month, asDungannon will no longer have it's ownCouncil. To continue the success ofInteract a further Interact Club waslaunched in Dungannon IntegratedCollege with 12 strong members. Also

one of their students was selected totravel on a Youth Exchange in thesummer. After the launch of this vibrant club,Dungannon Rotary Club took the partyto see the rewards of Rotary FoundationGrant wheelchair vehicle purchased andlaunched a few years ago and the greatwork that is being carried out byDungannon South Tyrone Hospice and tohear how the vehicle is being put to greatuse in and around the borough. Dungannon continued their successfulTechnology Tournament with again 14teams participating and for the 2nd yearrunning local Drumglass IntegratedSchool came out the winners. Dungannonalso continued its concentration on RotaryCamps and Exchange for the youth in thelocal schools. On the pipeline, StPatrick's Primary School, with over 800multi-lingual are considering a RotakidsClub! Dungannon Rotary Club arelooking forward to this years RIBI confer-ence where they will assist David GloverShelterbox, their rotary partnership atthe Shelterbox stands at the WaterfrontHall and House of Friendship.

Dungannon Leads The Way

Joan Gormley R C D and Shelterbox Disaster Relief representative is presented by St Patrick's AcademyInteract President a cheque for £820 raised from a charity breakfast, their first project under the guidanceof Head Teacher Miss Cullen Also in picture V-President Sean Laverty, President Niamh Gormley andDungannon Rotery Club President Patricia Coyle.

Rotary FoyleFood Drive AHuge SuccessA massive two tons of non-perishable foodhas been collected during the Rotary FoyleFoodbank’s first citywide Christmas fooddrive. Over fifty businesses, workplaces,churches, schools, community groups’ andfamilies hosted food drives to support localpeople in need at Christmas time collectingenough food to make thousands of mealsfor those facing crisis this Christmas. John McMonagle of the Foodbank said“The generosity of people in the city hasbeen overwhelming and I want to thankeveryone who took on the challenge ofrunning a food drive to help ensure thatno-one went hungry in Derry thisChristmas. I also want to thank the volun-teers who helped to sort and distribute thefood to those in need and Sainsbury’s staffand customers for their continuingsupport.”“Although the Foodbank has only beenopen in the city since May of this year, ithas provided over 18,000 meals to peoplefacing crisis and whilst this is not a causefor celebration it is a clear indication of thelevel of hardship so many families on a lowincome are facing. On behalf of thosepeople I want to once again sincerely thankeveryone involved in making the FoodDrive a success and ask for continuedsupport as the Foodbank needs supplies allyear round,” he continued.Thank you to all of the groups and theanonymous individuals and families whoran Food Drives on behalf of theFoodbank,” John added. They wish tothank the following: 1. 16+ pathway team2. 360 production3. Action for Children4. Airporter Limited5. Allstate NI Derry Office 6. Apex Housing Association7. Ballymacgroarty and Hazelbank

Community Partnership8. Barnardo’s 9. Bogside & Brandywell Health Forum10. Boy’s Brigade 11. Business In the Community12. Cathedral Youth Club13. Carnhill Church14. Caw Nelson Drive Community Group15. Centra, Trench Road16. Chamber of Commerce17. Community Occupational Therapy 18. Coolkeeragh ESB19. Cosy Club20. Customized Training21. Derry Journal22. Derry City Council 23. Diamond Corrugated Cases Ltd24. Extern25. Foyle Hospice26. Foyle Port27. Gee’s Supermarket 28. Homeloan Management29. Housing Executive30. Hunters Apparel 31. Irish Street Community Centre32. Springtown Scout Group 33. Mc Cambridge Duffy 34. Millennium Forum35. Moran’s Retail Group36. Nerve Centre37. Nuprint38. Old Library Trust Healthy LivingCentre39. Omega Mechanical Services 40. Parish of the Three Patrons (St.Patrick’s Pennyburn, St. Brigid’s Carnhill& St. Joseph’s Galliagh)41. Perfecseal

42. Radio Foyle43. Seagate44. Shantallow Residents Association45. Social Services Early Years Team46. Soroptomist International Londonderry47. St Canice’s Church, Eglinton 48. St Cecilia’s College 49. St Columba’s Cathedral50. St Marys College 51. St Oliver Plunket Primary School 52. SureStart EdenballymoreIf you can support the Foodbank’s work orwould like to donate food to the Foodbankplease contact Louise on 07716129788.

North Down Rotary Supports CancerFund For ChildrenA party of Rotarians andtheir partners from theNorth Down Club recentlyvisited the therapeuticbreak facility operated bythe Cancer Fund forChildren outsideNewcastle. They heard apresentation by AnnaWilkinson on the workwhich the charity doeswith children and theirfamilies who are experi-encing the effects of acancer diagnosis.The party then had aguided tour of the brandnew Daisy Lodge and theonly slightly older Narnia.Narnia is a Swiss-stylewooden chalet which canaccommodate up to 24 chil-dren for activity-basedshort breaks in a superbsetting. Most of the chil-dren who come there arein the course of treatmentfor cancer. Some will havecompleted treatment andbe well on the way to

recovery; others may bestruggling with the effectsof therapy and some,unfortunately, will havelife-limiting conditions.The facility is also used togive siblings “time out”from what can be a mostdifficult family situationwhen one child is goingthrough cancer treatment.The new Daisy Lodge,opened to visitors in April2014, was completed at acost of over £3million, amajor contribution comingfrom the Rory McIlroyFoundation. Support forthe facility is also one ofthe nominated projects ofRotary in Ireland. TheLodge is designed toprovide restful accommo-dation for up to six familygroups with age-appro-priate play areas andgames room, therapysuites, lounge areas, acinema facility and a safeoutdoor play area. The

Rotary group was bowledover by the quality of thebuilding, its furnishingsand equipment. The testi-monies of those who havealready stayed there areconvincing evidence of thebeneficial results of thework which is being done.On 12th January, NorthDown Rotary Club held aCharity Film Night in theBangor Omniplex attendedby close to 300 people insupport of the CancerFund for Children.Following the showing ofthe film “Unbroken” afinger supper with winewas available at Teddy’sBar. As a result of thatsuccessful event the clubwill be donating around£3000 to the fund. Theclub wishes to thank themanagement and staff ofthe Omniplex and ofTeddy’s Bar for their co-operation in organisingthis event.


ADVERTISEMENT20 March / April 2015

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