Centenary night of the Countrywomen’s Association

Back in the 16th century, it was the seat of the MacNamara Clan but last Friday night, Knappogue Castle, near Quin, became the home of mná na h-Éireann, at least the Clare membership of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association.

And instead of the Earls of West Clancullen sitting on their thrones at the top table, the high chairs were occupied by Aloma McKay and Ceiline Quinn, past presidents of the Clare ICA Federation, as members of guilds all over the county assembled to feast the centenary of the association.
The menu brought medieval fantasy to life as 160 members tucked into a meal and then indulged themselves in some centenary cake before adjourning to local hostelries in Quin village to round off the night.
Interestingly, the record books show that a member of the MacNamara clan, Donagh, was a leader of the 1641 rebellion and on Friday night, current Clare ICA Federation president, Geraldine Hassett was equally militant – extremely vociferous that some of their members – farmers’ spouses – may have to pay back pension payments to the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
She warned that many more women could also see their entitlement to a contributory State pension rescinded following a review of rules to the payment of pensions to spouses in commercial partnerships.
This entitlement, she noted, had been launched amid a huge wave of publicity in June 2008 by Minister Mary Hanafin when thousands of women and men who were working with a spouse in a partnership were then urged to check their eligibility for a State pension.
Spouses who operated in a commercial partnership were brought into the social insurance system. In this way, both spouses incurred a liability to pay self-employed PRSI and built up entitlement towards a contributory State pension and other social welfare benefits.
However, earlier this month, Minister Hanafin told an Oireachtas Committee that her department had incorrectly awarded State pensions to spouses who were part of a commercial partnership such as a farm. She apologised for what she described as “an awful mistake”.
Ms Hassett, from Sixmilebridge, said the ICA were calling on the minister to show a smidgen of Christian charity by agreeing not to return the money already paid but for her to “refund the voluntary lump sum contributions already paid by the majority of the people involved, some of whom had paid thousands of euro in order to become eligible for the contributory State pension in advance of them reaching 66 years of age”.
A number of other events are in the pipeline to commemorate the milestone in the association’s history.
Guilds throughout Clare will display a strong sense of identity at the St Patrick’s Day parade in Ennis and the expectation in that every single guild will be have some level of representation.
At national level, the next conference takes place this Saturday in Tralee, while the centenary stamp will be launched on March 25 through An Post.