2011/12
Donal Connolly was 34th President of the Club in year 2011/12. Siobhan Fahey was now in her 4th year as Secretary. Donal had the unique distinction of being President of two Lions Clubs. He was founder President of Roscommon Club in the nineties.
The first event of the year was a tea party held for the residents of Carriglea, organised by John Hanlon and reported as a big success and much appreciated. This event was actually held during the break period before the Club got back to it's normal monthly meetings.
At the first meeting of the new year Donal gave a full breakdown of individual responsibilities for the year. He was obviously intent on putting a lot of structure into the year's activities. Incidentally, Club Treasurer (again this year), Dermot Arnold, won the Club Draw and donated his winnings back into the Club funds - a practice that was repeated throughout the year by other winners.
Our two fit ladies, Phyllis and Siobhan did a 10K walk and raised some €400 for Club funds.
Weybridge Male Voice Choir, which was on a tour of County Waterford, performed in a concert with local choirs, Deise Singers and Cor Fear na nDeise, as well as soloists, in a terrific concert in Abbeyside Church as a fundraiser for Alzheimers, raising €2,450.
Next up was the Christmas Appeal. The President took a very hands on approach to this - really leading the troops from the front - to the extent that almost €60K was raised in West Waterford. John Coade, Jack Stephenson, Shay O'Connor and Ray McAndrew headed up the Events, Auctions, Operations and Distribution, backed up by a very committed team of members. Some remedial work had to be done on the Appeal HQ unit after 6 years of use - hopefully a lot more years to come.
District Governer Sean Sandford visited us in December.
In February an Addiction Seminar was held, which was, again, very successful. Ray McAndrew chaired this event.
The biggie of the year was the Deise Jigs and Reels, under the stewardship of John Coade and his team. Their hard work was rewarded with a net income of some €9,500. This year there was a greater variety of dance type by the 15 participants and their tutors. Once again, each entry was greeted with great enthusiasm by their supporters - a great night, thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Phyllis again organised Trabolgan, bringing 15 guests, and she was supported by Peggy Moloney and Brian McNally.
In addition to the foregoing, lots of other activities took place during the year.
The Club became involved in attempting to revive Youghal Club. Paul Clerkin did most of the running on this. Paul was also appointed as Zone Chairman and, again, he revived activity there.
Of course the Christmas Swim, under the guidance of John O'Brien, continued and raised in excess of €2,000.
The Club's name is now on 40 saplings planted in conjunction with the County Council, under the Plant a Tree initiative of Lions nationally.
Hospital visits continued each month - credit to Tom Byrne; we were again involved with the St. Patrick's Day parade; our website is almost there, while John Lawless now has us on Facebook (a total mystery to many members).
The success of our many fundraisers put us in a position to look favourably on the requests for help during the year - there were many.
It is fair to say that Donal can look back on a successful year and a job well done, with the icing on the cake being the influx of new members, which ensures that Dungarvan Lions Club will continue to thrive into the future.
