Tag Archives: Ennis Scouts

WHEN Maria Molloy sent out an SOS for some help with the Lions Club ‘Message in a Bottle’ there was no need for The Police! Karen Kelleher, Clare County Commissioner, stepped up and worked closely with 1st and 4th Clare Venturers(Ennis) to encourage a collaboration between them and the Ennis Lions Club project leader to prepare packages for the forthcoming Message in a Bottle Launch 2023. In return the young adults will have earned a community badge. Maria was effusive in her thanks to the young adults who made up over 500 packs for Ennis Lions Club declaring “They were really super from start to finish of this project”. Message in a Bottle is a simple idea promoted by Lions Club of Ireland. It encourages people to keep their basic personal and medical details in a common place, where, in cases of emergency, the attending service teams can easily access them. The information required is very basic but can be …

FIONA Staunton has given her heart and soul to scouting in Ireland and this week she reflected on the life changing effect it has had on her. On the day when scouts past and present gathered to celebrate the opening of the new scout hall in Ennis, some of the biggest cheers and warmest tributes greeted Fiona as she accepted a special award for a lifetime of service. “I’m humbled and I’m emotional. It’s nice to get an acknowledgment from your friends and your peers and people who mean a lot to me. We’ve put an awful lot of work and effort into this, particularly over the past two years”, Fiona told The Clare Champion. Now chairperson of Ennis Scouts, Fiona’s links with the organisation go back to a time when women were not allowed to be involved. But her love of the great outdoors and the support of fellow scouts would see Fiona go onto become the first female …

THE opening of the new €500,000 hall secures the future of scouting in Ennis and further enhances the group’s international reputation. That’s according to deputy leader of Ennis Scouts, John Egan, who has thanked the local community for their support of the project. At Saturday’s official opening, John said the facility starts a new chapter in the history of Ennis Scouts. “It’s fabulous to have it. There is a long tradition of scouting in Ennis. Today was like a family reunion. It was great to have everyone involved, from the youth members and all the people who have given their lives to scouting in Ennis. “It doesn’t matter if you are in scouting for a day or a lifetime, we appreciate the help that you give,” John told The Clare Champion. Ennis Scouts currently caters for 150 members and the new hall has already seen the group host scouts from across Europe. John said, “That’s about at our capacity with …

ENNIS Scouts are looking forward to celebrating on the double this weekend. September marks the 90th year of Scouting in Ennis and the 1st and 4th Clare Group are looking forward to catching up with former and current members at the official opening of their new Scout Hall on Station Road this Saturday. The new state-of-the-art Scout Hall is the result of a massive community effort and fundraising campaign. The Scout Hall will be officially opened on Saturday by Chief Scout Jill Pitcher Farrell who is the youngest and first female Chief Scout. The Ennis Scouts group was founded in 1932 and the very first meetings were held in a room above Griffin’s shop in the Square. “We have had various homes throughout the years including the building where Madden’s furniture shop is now, the old cinema and in the early 1960s we moved to our two present location which was built as a temporary hall until a suitable hall …

BUILDING work on the new Ennis Scout Hall is hoped to be complete by March 2021, however it has been confirmed that the Ennis scouts still have a shortfall in funding for the development and need to raise €115,000. The Ennis Scouts 1st and 4th have recently been successful in securing a community grant from the Ennis Municipal District of €10,000 with Fiona Staunton, chairperson, saying, “We are very grateful for this and also for the recognition by the town councillors in the asset this development will be to the community. Building work is moving along and we hope to be finished by March 2021. However, we still have a shortfall.” The scouts have now launched an appeal to businesses in Ennis to support the development saying, “We cannot achieve our goal without the continued support of the wider community”. According to Fiona, “We are acutely aware that many businesses are struggling at the moment but believe this project has the capacity to …

THE rope ladder used by TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly to gain access to an unauthorised area of Shannon Airport is set for a new life with the scouts in Clare. On Wednesday evening, the infamous ladder was presented to the 1st and 4th Clare Scout Group, following an order by Judge Patrick Durcan made in Ennis District Court. Both Deputies Wallace and Daly were convicted of entering a restricted area of the airport on July 22 last year and during the trial, Deputy Wallace had asked for the rope ladder to be returned to him. This week, Ennis District Court heard an application for the rope ladder, which had been in Shannon Garda Station since the trial, to be forfeited permanently. Karen Kelleher, county programming co-ordinator with Clare Scouts, said they are delighted to receive the rope ladder. “We didn’t know that this was going to happen. All donations to Clare Scouts are always gratefully accepted.” While the …

AN appeal has gone out to anyone interested in becoming an adult leader with the Ennis Scout Group to get involved and “help keep the scouting experience alive in Ennis”. More and more children want to join the group and a lack of leaders has meant that they are not able to take everyone who wishes to join. The Ennis Scout Group begins the new year, after their summer break, on the week of September 14. According to Nicky Moloney, group leader, “The problem with the success the group in Ennis is having is that more kids are wishing to join the group, which they think is brilliant. But, at the moment, the group is not able to take everyone who wishes to join, as they are lacking in adult leadership, both male and female. “At the moment, they are stretched very thin with leaders to cater for the kids they have right now, with some leaders double-jobbing and covering …