Activities and events / Gníomhaíochtaí agus Imeachtaí
The Association organises a wide range of activities throughout the year (Events archive)
Examples of events over recent years include:
- Talks / lectures: Terence Dooley on Burning and Looting of Big Houses in 1920s; Peter Denman on Gliding over Ireland; Proinnsias Breathnach on The Origins and Spread of Creameries in Ireland; Adam Winstanley on Researching Family Genealogy; John Sweeney on Climate Change; Mary Jennings on Maynooth Tidy Towns Committee; Marc MacLachlann on Smart and Healthy Ageing and Kathleen McNutt on Mental Health and Ageing.
- Educational trips abroad: Seville, Brussels, Bruges, Ypres.
- Educational tours in Ireland: Westport / Lahardaun / Michael Davitt Museum /Museum of Country Life; Strokestown House and the Irish Famine Museum; The Shackleton Museum in Athy; Colllins Barracks National Museum of Ireland; the Irish War Military Museum; Kilkenny Castle.
- Visits to cultural events and places of interest: National Concert Hall, Abbey theatre, National Gallery, several museums, Dublin Castle.
- Visits to Gardens: Powerscourt Gardens, Mount Usher Gardens, Japanese Gardens, Kilgar Gardens; Ballintubbert Gardens.
- Annual Christmas dinner.
It was not possible to organise any events or activities from Spring 2020 to mid 2022 due to the restrictions that were necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it became possible to safely organise events from June 2022. A detailed description of the events with photos of some participants is included in the Autumn News-sheet
Retired Staff Association Newsletter Autumn 2022
The first was a day trip to the Shackleton Museum in Athy that was followed by a visit to the renowned Ballintubbert gardens. The next outing in late July was to Collon House and the Military War Museum in county Louth. The Dublin Castle complex of buildings became the focus of an outing at the end of August. It included visits to the Chester Beatty Library and the recently opened Garda Museum and also an opportunity for a collective lunch in the Silk Road Café. This was followed in early September by a day-trip to Strokestown House and the recently refurbished National Famine Museum. In November members visited Kilkenny Castle which included an opportunity to view the exhibition of the Ros Tapestries. The final educational outing was an overnight excursion to Trim which included a presentation by Dr. Michael Potterton on Trim in the Middle Ages.It was followed by a visit to the wood turning studio in Gilltown of the internationally renowned woodturner Seamus Cassidy.
Events and presentations 2023
January: Lunch in the Gresham Hotel followed by The Weir in the Abbey Theatre; lecture by Dr Proinnsias Breathnach on History of Creameries in Ireland,
February: Lecture by Dr. Ann O'Dowd: Red Petticoats, Trusty Coats and Hooded Cloakes - The clothes we wore in tradition and art,
March: The National Museum of Ireland - Private Guided Tours taking in The Decades of Conflict 1913 - 1923 & Eileen Gray Exhibition in The Decorative Arts Museum,
April: AGM in Castletown House, Celbridge followed by tour of Castletown House. Visit to Clongowes Wood College & Church of the Sacred Heart Rathcoffey followed by lunch in Farrington's Restaurant Rathcoffey,
July: Visit to Avondale House & participation in Beyond the Trees experience,
August: André Rieu - Love is all Around (film concert) followed by an evening meal in the Gresham Hotel Dublin
September: Lecture on Professor Adam Winstanley: Genealogy sources for searching family histories,
October: 4 Day Educational Visit to Seville, Spain;
November: The United States vs Ulysses in the Pavilion Theatre, DunLaoghaire;
presentation by Mary Jennings on Maynooth Tidy Towns,
Health Workshop with presentations by Professor Malcolm MacLachlan on Smart Aging and Dr Kathleen McNutt on Mental Health Care
December: Address to the RSA Membership by Professor Eeva Leinonen: President of Maynooth University
Christmas Lunch in Barberstown Castle
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