Dublin South RTA

Calling all Bridge players in Dublin South RTA!  The annual competition is once more upon us and we would like to see as large a turnout as possible from Dublin South.  The competition will be held in Club na Muinteoiri, Parnel Sq. on Saturday, Dec. 10th, 2011  starting at 2.30pm. A fork supper will be served at 6.30pm (approx)

An entry fee of €25 per player applies. (covers cost of prizes, admin etc.). Cheques should be made payable to R.T A.I.  If your  playing partner is not a member of the RTAI, that is okay. However, at least one of the pair must be a member.

The winners will be announced after the meal.

Marjorie Murphy requires completed enttries by Tuesday, November 22^nd 2011  (1 entry form per pair is sufficient).  You will receive an entry form for this competition with your notice of General Meeting in the post shortly.

Bernie Kenny, is continuing to provide courses in Creative Writing to members of the RTAI.  The next course will commence in Club na Múinteoirí on Tuesday February 21^st 2012 at 1.30pm. The course will run for 10 weeks. Cost is €100. Cheques should be made payable to R.T.A.I. If you are interested in the course, please return the form + cheque to Marjorie Murphy by Tuesday Nov 22^nd 2011.  Again you will find a copy of the application form with your posting of meeting

Many thanks to all who returned the questionnaire to the Branch last May. We were overwhelmed by the response to it and by the enormous interest among our members in being “actively” retired. A clear wish of members is to have a drop in centre where they could drop in for a cuppa and probably meet some former colleagues and friends. We would like to facilitate the wishes of the many people who expressed an interest in this and have arranged the following centres:

•  Ballyroan Community Centre: 1st Wednesday of the month 11.45am to 1.45pm
• Club na Múinteoirí, Parnell
  Square: 3rdnd Thursday of the month 11am to 1pm
• Blackrock Education Centre, Kill Avenue: Last Friday of the month
  11am to 1pm.

You are welcome to come along to any or all of these centres on the days
specified where we hope to provide tea / coffee and scone at a very reasonable
charge.

We do need, in advance, to have an idea of numbers attending and ask you to let us know by return e-mail if you intend coming along.

Mark these dates in your diary or on your calendar if you are interested in dropping in.

• Next Wednesday, 7th September – 11.45am – Ballyroan Community
  Centre (beside Church of the Holy Spirit)
• Thursday, 15th September – 11am – Club na Múinteoirí, Parnell Square.
• Friday, 30th September – 11am – Blackrock Education Centre.
  Kill Avenue

A chairde,
Just to keep you up to speed on golf before we have ameeting in early September.  I am a member of St Helen’s Bay Golf Club, Rosslare, Co Wexford (as is Peigí Ó Ruairc).I am also involved with organising the Seniors’ Competition.  This takes place on the last Tuesday of the month and is open for both a Men’s and a Ladies’ Competition.  I recognise it is some distance from our locality –approximately 2 hours on the N11/M11. (Last stop before Fishguard.)  However, I thought what with bright summerdays it might be a way of starting our RTAI Dublin South Golf.
I got your mobile numbers just before the last event and so was very late sending out the word. I did get replies from all over the place including Australia!!  But nobody was in a position to play that day.
There is another Seniors’ Day on Tuesday 26thJuly (and Tuesday, August 30th). The cost is €15, ie €10 for green fees and €5 entrance to competition.  I would suggest if we have anybody coming we might add a €2 per person sweep to this.  Food and drink are available at reasonablecost in the clubhouse.
I would ask if you (and your friends) would like to come just let me know and I would get some slots around midday so that we could go out as a group.
I know there are some beginners who registered for the golf.  We do have a resident professional, Glenn Robinson at St Helen’s.  I could ask him (if available that day) to do a group lesson and then beginners could play the less daunting? Tusker Rock 9 hole course which is part of the complex.

Please let me know your plans as soon as possible so I can see what is available.  If anyoneelse has any other ideas at this stage please feel free to air them. I don’t have an email address for every one but will text some of this information to those whose mobile I have.  I haven’t made email addresses available to all yet so if you don’t want your email address to be shared please let me know.

Please pass on this information to anyone who might be interested.

Is féidir linn.
Dónall

If you wish to play, either on July 26th or August 30th, do please contact Dónall direxctly, or you can post a reply to this blog and I will pass all feedback back to Dónall.
Matt – Webmaster

The committee held its first meeting on the 21^st June, 2011, coincidentally the longest day of the year!  The main order of business for the meeting was to look at the response to the questionnaire. There was a hugely positive response to the questionnaire which issued to all members with the notice of meeting. A total of 224 responses was received – some at the AGM, although the majority were received by post. Some more responses are expected though the number should not be many.

Here is a brief résumé of the responses:

Club na Múinteoirí as venue for Branch meetings:     Yes 205           No 9                No opinion 9

Ecumenical Service before May meeting                    Yes 197           No 11              No opinion 11

Memorial Mass before November meeting                 Yes 187           No 17              No opinion 19

Imeachtaí ina bhfuil suim ag baill páirt a ghlacadh:

Bridge Club:  37                    Book Club      80                    Golf:   43

Drop-in Centre          133                  Ciorcal Cainte                       61

Computer                   139                  Digital Camera                      138

Walking Activities     148                  Family tree:                            118

Day Tours, Ireland   128                  Short Breaks Ireland            118

City Breaks Abroad  135                  Longer Trips abroad              97

Suggestions from members:

Venue for branch meetings: Blackrock Education Centre; Spawell, Templeogue; Victory Convention Centre, Firhouse; Airfield House, Dundrum; Burlington Hotel; Moran Hotel; Bewley’s Hotel; Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire; Stillorgan Park Hotel; Alliance Francais, Nassau St.; St. John’s GAA, Ballinteer; a church hall on the southside.

Activities and interests: Cookery trips to France and Italy; Trips to castles, big houses, monasteries, historic and battlefield sites; Stratford on Avon.

Committee discussed how best to serve the interests of members as expressed in the returns to the questionnaire.  It was decided to concentrate initially on those activities that had engendered the greatest interest and different members of the committee volunteered to look after certain of those activities as detailed below:

Bridge Club: Micheál Ó Gríofa is to liaise with Brenda Granville who organises Bridge in Club na Múinteoirí.

Book Club: Mena Ó Leary will check out the Book Club and check on the existing book clubs functioning in the Branch

Golf: Dónall Ó Murchú will organise golfing activities

Drop-in Centre: Matt Reville will check on the availability of Blackrock and Dublin West Education centres. Micheál Ó Gríofa will check on Ballyroan Community centre and on Club na Múinteoirí

Computers: Marion Connolly is to check out a number of options – The Digital Hub is a possibility and group rates may be an option.  She will also check on VEC adult education classes;

Family tree: Micheál Ó Gríofa is to follow up on this.

Longer Trips abroad: Finbar O Driscoll undertook to look at options and to report back to the next meeting.

It is hoped to collate ideas and options at the next meeting of the committee and to commence some of these activities in September.  The next meeting was arranged for the 26^th August.

You are very welcome to our new website!  This is your one-stop shop for all current information on your local branch of the Retired Teachers’ Association south of the River Liffey.  Please register with us by clicking on the button on the right-hand side of your screen and enter your email address.  Once you get a confirmatory email asking you to click on a link you will be registered and you will then receive an email every time there is a new posting to the site.  In that way you will always be able to stay in touch and receive all the current news on branch activities, meetings and see plenty of photographs that will keep you in contact with friends and colleagues.  And it’s all free!!!  So please remember to check in often.

Our first meeting was held in Club na Múinteoirí in May.  It was a very well attended meting with over 120 members attending.  After an ecumenical service the meeting was addressed by Noel Ward, Treasurer INTO who gave an update on current matters pertaining to pensions.

Here is a pictorial representation of the meeting.  I hope you can pick yourself out in at least one of the photographs!

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