Sligo June 2017

B.A.R.A.  Trip to Sligo

On Sunday the 25th of June 33 members of B.A.R.A. boarded Mc Guinley's coach for our 5day trip to the beautiful "Yeats Country "Sligo.We were welcomed on board by our bus driver who introduced himself as Kevin .We set off on our journey to arrive at Rosses Point where we had lunch in Yeats Country Hotel ,after lunch some walked along the beach while others relaxed in the foyer . We continued our journey to where we were based in the lovely Glass House Hotel in Sligo town .We checked in ,relaxed in our room or took in a bit of sightseeing before our dinner at 7pm.

Day 2 We travelled to Glencar Waterfall located in the Lovely Leitrim about 8miles North of Sligo town ,nestled at the foot of Benbulben. By no means a huge waterfall ,it's setting and charm inspired W.B.Yeats in " The Stolen Child ",after a tea and coffee break we continued our journey to Drumcliff ,a town best known as the final resting place of W.B.Yeats . Yeats grave is in the Church Yard of St. Columbus Church where his great Grandfather was once a rector .His grave is marked with a simple headstone with the inscription " Cast a cold eye on life ,on death ,horseman ,pass by " this was Yeats self penned epitaph .Our final stop on our way back to the hotel was Mullaghmore ,a small fishing village .The sandy beach stretches as far as the eye can see and it's an ideal spot for swimming ,but unfortunately the weather was wet and miserable and our stay was short  

 Day 3 Our first stop was Tobernault  Holy Well .Tobernault one of a number of Holy Wells  throughout Ireland ,is situated in a remote and peaceful location surrounded by woodland and adjacent to the Shores of Lough Gill a few miles South East of Sligo town where rather   surprisingly  a number of people regularly go to pray . We continued on to Lough Gill where we had a guided tour on board the Rose of Innisfree Tour Boat .  W .B.Yeats got his inspiration for the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"here .The weather was bright and sunny ,some of us sat on top deck while others sat-out on front deck or had a cuppa on board .Our next stop was Lisadell House home of the Gore Booth Family ,resident landowners in the late 18th century and later Constance Markievrz daughter of Henry Gore Booth .We got a guided tour of the house .....Constance (Cassidy) and Eddie Walshe together with their seven children are now resident there  

Day4 Shopping in Sligo town ,some shopped ,others were glad of the freedom to do what they liked . 

It was a very relaxed break .Our start each morning was at eleven ,we got up had breakfast at our leisure and strolled down to the coach went on our outing and arrived back at the hotel between 4 30 and 5 pm . We had time to chill out before getting ready for Dinner at 7pm. We had music ,song and dance on Monday and Wednesday night in the hotel  

Day 5 It was our last day ,we were sad leaving the Glass House Hotel ,the staff was kind and caring ,food was excellent but our trip wasn't over yet .We visited Our Lady of Knock Shrine on our way home ,we attended Mass and had lunch .We arrived back in Ballinasloe at 4pm. We would like to thank Maura ,Deirdre and the Social committee for organising a wonderful break .

Regards   Anne  Duffy.

Well done Anne,  Photos to follow,         Doug.

 

 

Thanks Deirdre Hogan for photos.

Knitters Group 2017 with Chernobyl Chlidren

Our Knitting Circle

The Active Retirement Knitting Circle was founded by Margaret McDonnell. Margaret’s vision, enthusiasm and caring disposition has inspired the rest of the group to take up the challenge and knit for people in need. So knitting for an orphanage in Belarus seemed like the perfect choice.

We have knitted many blankets, hats, scarves and soft toys over the years for this very worthy and needy orphanage. Pat Dillon from outside Ballinasloe is the wonderful person who organises the holidays for the orphans and arranges for them to stay with host families. It’s always a great privilege to have the orphans visit us, together with their carer and translator.

We celebrated our 10^th Anniversary on July 10^th with a visit this year once again from our Belarus friends. The children enjoyed the party and Margaret presented their translator with our knitted items.

The knitting circle meets every Monday morning from 10.30 to 12 noon in Gullane's Hotel. Tomás Gullane has been a tremendous help during the last 10 years. We chat and knit and drink coffee. We continue knitting at home during the long winter nights and get our friends involved too. We realise the personal value of this pastime also. It is a very relaxing time. We make good friends and become good listeners.

All are welcome in the Knitting Circle.

Bridie Loughman

                                                        

Photos  from Jackie of     J & J  Photography       Society  Street.

 

**********************************************************************

 

Report from Chris O'Flynn  P.R.O.

Our B.A.R.A. Knitting Group

If you strolled into the Library in Gullane’s Hotel any Monday morning at 10.30, you would be surprised to see 20 or so ladies busily knitting away surrounded by bags of fabulous multi-coloured balls of wool. Above the clicking of knitting needles there is a great sense of camaraderie while the group chat ,laugh, compare knitting patterns, and enjoy a tea break.

This group of dedicated women get together for a deserving cause. The fruits of their endeavours can be seen in the beautiful display of blankets, hats, scarves and soft toys which are presented annually to an orphanage in Belarus. Pat Dillon from Aughrim, who organises holidays in Ireland for the orphans and arranges for them to stay with their hosts, recently visited the knitters in Gullane’s Hotel . The children were thrilled to receive bags of the most beautiful knitted garments and happily posed for photos.

Retirement for many, especially for those who live alone, can create a huge void in one’s life. This knitting group is an example of one way this void can be filled. You can renew old skills, acquire new skills, cultivate social contacts, make new friends and enjoy life.

Thanks to Margaret McDonnell who founded the group with the aim of “getting people out of the house” Well done Margaret.!

The group meets every Monday morning 10.30 – 12 noon in Gullane’s Hotel. Take down those knitting needles and join the group. If interested,contact Bridie Loughman Ph.085 8887038

By Chris O’Flynn    P.R.O.   July 2017

Our outing to Boura Bog/Tullamore Dew/Kinnitty Castle
 

 

Our day trips continue to be the most popular dates on the Social Calendar. Our day trip on Wed.5^th July ’17 proved to be yet another enjoyable outing.

We started our journey in Boura Bog and enjoyed a lovely walk under blue skies and brilliant sunshine. We re-visited our youthful days with a stroll through the fairy wood and many made a wish for God only knows what as they sat on the wishing tree.

We continued on then to Tullamore where we had a guided tour of the Distilllery, followed by a delightful taste of their lovely whiskey. Allowing us to bring the glass was a nice momentum.

We finished up the evening with a delightful meal in the Banqueting Hall in Kinnitty Castle.

It was a lovely day out enjoyed by all.

Chris O’Flynn (P.R.O)

 
 

Spring Break 2017

Our Spring Break to Kenmare – 7^th – 11^th May 2017

On Sunday. May 7^th 63 members of our Active Retirement group set off excitedly on the first leg of our journey to Kenmare for our annual 5 day Spring break.

We were based in the lovely Kenmare Bay Hotel and enjoyed brilliant sunshine and blue skies for the duration of our visit.

Our first day’s tour took us through beautiful scenic Glengarriff, which sits in the shelter of Bantry Bay, on to Mizen Head, the most south westerly point of the Iveragh Peninsula. It was the most exilerating experience with its arched bridge, the 99 steps and paths and fabulous views of Dunlough Bay, Signal Station and Fastnet Rock. Fastnet was known as Ireland’s Teardrop as it was the last part of Ireland seen by thousands of Irish Emigrants as they sailed away to the New World, most of them never to return again.

The mountainous Beara peninsula with its stunning coastal scenery was on the agenda for Day 2. Our first stop was in the major fishing port of Castletownbere with the Sugar Loaf Mountain and Hungry Hill as a backdrop. After a delicious tea/coffee/scones/apple pie,custard,cream,strawberry/ break in the Beara Coast Hotel, we continued on our journey to Allihies passing through the brightly painted, picturesque villages of Eyeries and Ardgroom. Unfortunately, time didn’t allow any of us to take the cable car to Dursey Island. The return journey took us to Adrigole via the Healy Pass which winds its way through the Caha Mountains, the backbone of the Beara Peninsula. We literally held our breath as we squeezed our way through the narrow tunnels. Well done to our driver Michael, who manoeuvred this extra large coach through these tunnels for the very first time. On the way back we had the unique experience of visiting the Buddhist temple at Dzogchen Beara built in the style of a traditional Tibetan monastery with its floor to ceiling windows and spectacular ocean views.

On day 3, we headed for Caherdaniel on the Ring of Kerry and had an interesting tour of Derrynane House, ancestral home of Daniel O’Connell. It is situated on 120 hectares of parklands on the scenic Kerry coast. Derrynane was notorious as a port for smugglers in the 18^th century

As we boarded our bus for home, we were sad to leave this scenic part of the country. There wasn’t a hill or mountain in sight as we approached Ballinasloe. Even though we were very tired, we all agreed that the fun, comraderie and nice meals all helped to make this a wonderful and enjoyable trip. Thanks to Phil and Bridie for all the organising.

Chris O’Flynn P.R.O

 

St. PATRICKS DAY PARADE 2017

St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 2017

Having just completed an eight week “Fit Town Programme” we felt we well fit and ready for our annual walk around town in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

However, the extremely bad weather conditions on the day quickly dampened our enthusiasm, After a hesitant start, we decided to brave the elements. As the rain poured down, 32 brave warriors in our group donned the hats, boots and rain gear. Adorned with green sashes , we bravely joined the parade and were enthusiastically cheered on by a somewhat smaller number of spectators.

Having done our bit for our Patron Saint and for our community, we dragged our drenched bodies up the stairs in Gullane’s for a more than welcome bowl of lovely hot soup and tea/coffee

I believe there were some who availed of hot toddies!

Well deserved, I say !!!!

Chris O’Flynn (P.R.O)

Young People’s Perspective on the elderly to-day

“Young People’s Perspective on the elderly to-day”

Well done to the two young T.Y. students, Emma Loughnane and Emily Gavin from Scoil Mhuire, who couragesly gave us a very interesting and enlightening presentation at our monthly meeting last Wed.

We seem to constantly criticise the younger generation for their constant use of phones and other technology, their lack of communication, their bad pronunciation, their sloppy dress code, ripped jeans, over use of make-up etc.

We were pleased to hear they considered us wise, religious, more domesticated, better dancers, thrifty, respectful, responsible, generous, good listeners and chatty

On the negative side they noticed we were lonely, impatient, grumpy, hopeless at technology, not great drivers, prone to sickness.

The result of a research amongst the general body of students showed they considered you were “old” at age 75 and they thought our generation had a better lifestyle than the young people of to-day.

It seems we could learn a lot from each other!!

Chris O’Flynn P.R.O.

Emma Loughnane   Gabriel Rohan  Emile Gavin 

FIT BALLINASLOE MARCH 2017