Dublin South RTA

A chairde,

Beimid ag canadh agus,(ta suil agam) ag seinm carul Nollag ag an titim isteach!! ar an gCeadaoin seo chugainn i mbaile Ruain ag 12 noin, so ma sheinneann tu  feadog, guitar, saxophone, clarinet, bouzaki, bodhran, recorder, violin, cello, saw, clairseach, spunoga, concertina, no gleas cheoil ar bith tog leat e agus beidh ensemble brea againn chun cuidiu leis na cantoiri iontach a bheas ag canadh ar an la sin. Seol email chugam ma ta gleas cheoil agat agus ma ta tu sasta pairt a ghlacadh sa seisuin seo. Beidh ceol agam duit ar an la no seolfaidh me chugat e roimh re.

Email – 25jojohnston@gmail.com

As Joe said above, all volunteers playing any sort of instrument are welcome!

In any event, we can all bring our singing voices with us and we look forward to an outstanding musical extravaganza, under the capable baton of Joe Johnston.

We look forward to a full house!

We’d love to see as many members there as possible!

The RTA cycle on Tuesday, 2nd December will be from Fairview to Malahide. We will meet beside the car park in Fairview and set off from there at 10.30. We cycle on the cycle track towards Sutton and from there on road through Baldoyle. There is a dedicated cycle-track from Baldoyle towards Portmarnock; we cycle by the coast from Portmarnock to Malahide where we will take a lunch stop. We return by the same route to Fairview.

Some cyclists drive to Fairview and park the car there – the first carpark on the right as you head from Fairview towards Clontarf. Please note that that there is a charge for car parking in that carpark. Those who cycle from south of the River Liffey to Fairview will welcome the dedicated  cycle track from Connolly Station to Fairview – a major enhancement of cyclists’ safety on this busy artery.

All cyclists are required to wear a helmet and should wear a hi-vis top. 

Let’s look forward to a fine day – and pleasant cycling.Should the weather not be the most favourable, we may shorten the cycle and set Howth as our destination.

This will be the final RTA cycle of 2025. A big thank you to all who partook in the cycling  during 2025 and to Deirdre Lohan, RTA Dublin South Branch secretary, for her courtesy and diligence in keeping us all informed of the cycle outings and the many other branch activities.

The Christmas Drop in will take place on Wednesday 3rd at 12 in Ballyroan.

There will be festive food and entertainment and we hope to see many of you there.

There will be a cycle on Tuesday 2nd- separate post

The next miscellany will be on December 9th in the Teachers Club- further details later.

Many RTAI members are part of the Guinness Choir.

On Wednesday, 3rd December 2025, at 8 pm, the Guinness Choir and Orchestra will perform J.S. Bachs magnificent

‘Christmas Oratorio’ in the NCH,

Dublin.

Please be advised that the Cornmarket Health Insurance Webinar is now open for registration. The webinar will take place on Tue 25 November from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

The link to register for the webinar is here – https://cornmarket.newsweaver.com/RTAIHealthInsuranceWebinarNovember25th-4po9l5ws9nk/event/1wsbn89hzys/m/0011jeqbir02x5dmqykqpw/submit.html?cs=77393&action=y

I would be grateful if you could share this with the members in your branch, for consideration.

Many thanks and have a lovely weekend. 

Our November Social Walk will find us 9 km from the city, in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, at the 300acre historic Marlay Park.

DATE: Wednesday 19 November 2025.

VENUE: Marlay Park, Rathfarnham.

LEADER: Carmel Corcoran … with a brief talk on Marlay Grange Park by Mary Connolly.

We will enjoy a coffee break together after the walk.

MEET at 10.30 am in front of Marlay House, off Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin,16.

TRANSPORT: Buses 16, 74, and S8 travel along the Grange Road.

CAR PARKS: There is a car park beside Marlay House, enter from Grange Road.   

A second car-park is located off College Road,Rathfarnham.  The meeting point, Marlay House, is a short walk downhill.

Looking forward to your company on our last social walk for 2025.

Carmel Corcoran Mobile 087 937 3016

Cora Quinn Mobile 087 989 1610

Social walks are held monthly on the third Wednesdayof the month. Flat or   nearly flat walks that are approximately 5km. Some walks will be shorter but include a cultural aspect. Comfortable trainers or walking shoes recommended. Note there is no Social Walk in December 2025. There is always a stop for refreshments arranged for after each walk.

Starting point: Visitors’ Centre where there is plenty of parking, a café and toilets. If you are entering the park from Parkgate Street go to the roundabout with the Phoenix monument in the centre and take the third exit, coming from the Castleknock side take the first exit, you should then see a small sign for the visitors centre. If you arrive by public transport walk from the Parkgate street entrance as far as that Phoenix Monument roundabout, take the signed road to the visitors centre.  It’s approximately a 30 min walk from Parkgate Street to the Visitor Centre. Bus number 99 runs every half hour from Parkgate Street to the Visitors Centre.

Departure Time: 10.30

Duration: Two and a half to three hours, 11.5 KM.

Footwear: As it is mostly flat and on good tracks, trail shoes would be suitable.

Route: 

Please Note:  The route we will follow this year is a little different to previous years, and will not include a lunch\snack break.  Toilets are available at the start and finish of the walk.

We will leave Visitors’ Centre and cross Chesterfield avenue to the new Commemoration Avenue. From there we will go via the Furry Glen to the side entrance at Chapelizod and exit onto Park Lane.   From there it will take us about 10 minutes to get to the Liffeysidepathway. This will bring us to the War Memorial Gardens where we will do a circuit through the rose gardens. When we leave this area we will return to the Phoenix Park at Islandbridgeand passing the Wellington monument do a circuit of the Peoples Gardens.  We will then proceed by  the Band Hollow, the Victorian Tea Rooms and  return the Visitors’ Centre.

Walk Leader: Patrick Hogan. if you need any further information you can contact me on 0863150312.

Our guest speaker for the session will be Ms Cathy Mc Hale, Clinical Nurse Specialist  Institute of Memory and Cognition , Tallaght Univ Hospital. She is part of a multi disciplinaryteam that brings together expertise in neurology and geriatric medicine. Cathy will present on the topic of “Brain Health” and her talk will focus on the following (but not confined to)

Brief account of her work in TUH

Changes in the brain as we “mature”

Cognitive enhancement via diet, lifestyle, activities

Cognitive impairment via diet, lifestyle, illness

Alzheimer  v Dementia  , early signs of A & D

Coping  with A & D

Q & A 15 mins

We  expect this talk to be most interesting and informative  and thus we hope to have a large attendance in the hall to hear Cathy. Feel free to ask any related question you may have during the Q & A session. If you would like me to raise a question on your behalf email me your question and I will pass it on to Cathy( mmacfhlann@gmail.com is my email address)

So, colleagues, mark Wed 5 Nov 2025 in your diary and we look forward to seeing you at the session

Cathy McHale works as a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner in the Institute of Memory

& Cognition – a Regional Specialist Memory Clinic in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH).

She holds a Bachelors degree in English and Psychology, Higher Diplomas in Computer

Science and in Safety Health and Welfare at work, a Diploma in Gerontological Nursing and a

Masters in Advanced Practice from TCD. She has worked across many nursing specialities

including end of life care, intellectual disability and the acute setting. She has worked for over

15 years in care of the older persons with a special interest in dementia, delirium, brain health

and the humanities and involved in the specialist memory clinic -established in 2014. She has

contributed to National Working Groups on delirium and frailty and to a national integration

group for the ASI Dementia Adviser Service. Her current role includes the assessment of

patients (including neuropsychological screening), and delivery of Post-Diagnostic Support.

She contributes to the Research arm of the TUH Memory Service and is part of clinical trial activity there.

Our cycle on Tuesday next, 21st October, is a gentle, leisurely cycle from Wellington Lane, Templeogue, to Bohernabreena water works via Tymon Park, Balrothery, Firhouse Weir, Dodder Valley and Kiltipper Park. 

Most of the cycle is off road and, with the exception of a short ascent on Kiltipper Road, is relatively flat. Much of the route is along Dodder Valley park. Cyclists who wish to avoidcycling up Kiltipper Hill may take an easier diversion and rejoin the group in Kiltipper Park.

Our meeting point for this cycle is the SDCC carpark on Wellington Lane – beside St. Jude’s GAA Club House. The extension to the car park has now been completed and there should be adequate spaces for those who wish to drive to the meeting point. All the paths through Tymon Park are now open and we will commence our cycle through the park.

We will move off at 10.30 from the carpark. Please ensure that your bike is in good working order; wearing a helmet is compulsory and a high vis top is recommended in the interestof your safety

We will stop for the coffee/lunch break on our return journeyto Templeogue.

Looking forward to a good turnout on this popular route. 

Mick Griffin

Pat Fitzgerald.