AN Ennis Lion has become the pride of the organisation after being appointed District Governor of Lions Club Ireland, making him the most senior member in the country.
James O’Loughlin will take over as District Governor of Ireland at a dinner in the Old Ground Hotel this weekend where he will be joined by members of the voluntary organisation from across the country.
Speaking to the Clare Champion he said the appointment is a “great honour”. “I’m extremely proud. The Ennis club will be 50 years in existence next year. It’s the second time the Ennis club has had a District Governor, 12 years ago the District Governor was Terence Mangan. This is a great honour for the club and a great honour for me.”
James has been a member of the local group for the past 35 years, first joining when he moved to Kilmaley where he worked with Teagasc.
“I love the camaradarie, the sense of service and giving back to the community which is part and parcel of what we do as Lions,” he said.
He revealed The Clare Champion played a small role in his initial involvement with the club. He recalled “I first got involved in the club when I moved to Kilmaley in the 1980s. I had been working in Dublin before that and Africa for a few years. It was a marvellous opportunity to be able to come down here. My father was from Corofin and my mother Kilnaboy so Clare was kind of a spiritual home really, I love the county. One of the first people I met while working was the vet PJ O’Driscoll. I had seen in the Clare Champion he was president of the Lions Club so I asked him what it was all about? He said come along to a meeting and the rest is history. He’s been a great friend and mentor of mine for all those years.”
He says that he has gained a lot from his involvement with the organisation through the decades in Ennis.
“After arriving in Clare and not having a network, what I got was immediately involved in an organisation that was dynamic, that was helping people in the community,” he said.
“But it also gave me a broader reach. When you are working in a particular area, say like I was in agriculture, your acquaintances and friends tend to be in that area, but the Lions Club is a representative of all strata. You have people working in industry, people who are self employed, civil servants, all kinds of people and I think that is one of the strengths of being a member of the Lions.
“And because we all have a common goal, you won’t find any politicking or bickering going on. People want to serve their community and that is what unites us. Like any voluntary organisation, you are often rated on the work you do in it, but I think what you receive is far greater than you give in terms of the camaradarie and fun and there is a feel good factor of doing something to help people.”
He outlined, “The Lions in Ireland is an all-Ireland grouping, there are 90 clubs with 2000 members. The Ennis club has 35 members, it is one of the vibrant clubs in the district.”
He continued, “The strength of the Lions is that all the fundraising and monies they collect in the service they provide go to the local community. There is great autonomy in each club, but of course we are also part of an international organisation, which is the biggest voluntary service organisation in the world. There are 1.4 million members worldwide.”
Ireland is one of 750 Lions Districts throughout the world. “We’re very proud of the fact that it is an all-Ireland organisation. One of the rules is that religion and politics are not allowed to be discussed, and the most important thing for us is to be inclusive.
“We represent a broad strand of the community. Lions are ordinary people serving their community to make them better places to live in.
“One of the things we are particularly proud of is that we pay our own administration fees so each member pays a fee that makes them a Lion in their club and internationally. As a result of that, everything we collect, any collection we do here in Clare, every penny goes to the charities or the services nominated.”
Over the years the Ennis Lions have been involved in a number of community projects both locally, across the District of Ireland and internationally. Among them is the popular Remembrance Tree which is set up every year in Ennis at Christmas which James describes as a “beautiful project”. “It has become part of the landscape of town at Christmas. It is such an emotional thing for people to be able to remember their loved ones. Originally it started when there was mass emigration, now it has become a remembrance for all kinds with funds raised for Cahercalla.”
Just some of the many other projects they are involved in include tackling fuel poverty through the chopping of wind fallen trees to provide logs for those in need, their annual food appeal at Christmas, Santa Claus at the Height and a music bursary to help talented musicians further their studies.
They also take part in a collection of spectacles sponsored by Lions Club International where thousands of used and unwanted spectacles are refurbished and distributed to the developing world. James said these glasses are “life changing” for the recipients.
Last year the Lions launched ‘Message in a Bottle’, a potentially life-saving initiative. James explained, “It’s a very simple concept where people who may have medical conditions and are on medication are encouraged to put a plastic bottle with their information in the door of the fridge. A sticker with a green cross is placed on the door and the emergency services are familiar with the system. So God forbid if anything happens and they are unconscious or not-coherent the emergency services have all the information they need. It’s a huge, huge help.”
They have also begun raising awareness of childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer, a disease which has been increasing annually by 1-2% over the last 25 years in Ireland. And they are very proud of their work with Ennis Tidy Towns.
The Lions support a number of local organisations including, but not limited to, Brothers of Charity, Bushypark, Cahercalla, Clarecare, Clare Haven, the Irish Cancer Society and St Vincent de Paul.
His appointment comes following greater involvement at national level in recent years including serving as 1st Vice District Governor.
His experience as vice chair will be “invaluable” in his new role he told us. “It exposed me to all of the clubs and the issues and challenges out there. While there are regional differences, all the clubs have the same ethos. They all want to help their own communities. They might have different projects and approaches, but we can all learn from each other. This is an exciting opportunity to be able to help lead the organisation.”
Looking ahead to his new role he said, “The interesting thing about the name is ‘Governor’. It’s very important our governance is right, that all the monies are accounted for and all the services we provide are top class. We are the guide for the clubs.
“There are a number of areas I want to particularly focus on this year. One is the try and increase membership, to get new members with new ideas. Secondly, I want to engage with the environment.
“We’ve had a number of successful projects focused on the environment and it’s a win-win. It’s a huge issue and it is also an issue that engages young people so it is a link for us to get involved with the youth.
“The final thing I think we need to work on is to include what I would call the ‘new Irish’. As we know from our own town there are lots of people here from all over the world. We could do with their thoughts, a different perspective on what we are doing.”
He urged people who want to know more about the organisation or who are thinking of joining to come along to their regular meetings on the first Thursday of the month in the Old Ground Hotel saying, “they would be very welcome.”