2nd. Friday: Social coffee morning. Clayton Silversprings Hotel. 11a.m.
2nd. Friday: Line dancing continues.
8th. Thursday: Hillwalk and Amble. Old Head of Kinsale. Hillwalk 10a.m. Amble 2 p.m. Notifications by email and text, as usual.
8th: Drama. Deckchairs. 4 one-act plays presented by members of RTAI at Lee Valley Golf Club. 8p.m. Directed by Marian O’Callaghan. Tickets from any committee member.
9th. Friday: Line dancing, final class.
9th. Friday: Drama. Deckchairs. Lee Valley Golf Club. 8p.m. Sold Out
14th. Wednesday: AGM of Cork branch RTAI. (Details will be sent by text message).
15th. Thursday: Drama. Deckchairs. The White Horse Inn, Ballincollig.
22nd. Thursday: Extra meeting of Camera Group, with guest speaker.
29th. Thursday: Camera Group, monthly meeting.
30th. Friday: Charity Coffee Morning. Details will be sent by text.
Ongoing activities: Choir, Mondays. Art classes, Wednesdays.
Memories of our 2-day walking trip to Glengarriff and Bere Island.
The long awaited and much anticipated two day walking trip to the Beara took place on 20th and 21st June. We are fortunate to have generous and talented members in RTAI Cork, who will plan behind the scenes, take the initiatives, take the photos and record their memories to share with us all. Here you are presented with a selection of stunning photos by Joe Carroll and James Doolan. The entertaining stories were kindly contributed by Derry Keogh and Seán Ó Callanáin.
Blessed with ideal hiking weather, the motley crew under the guidance of Angela Foley, gathered at Jim’s Café, Glengarriff, for the obligatory pickmeup before heading off for the first of two hour and a half gentle walks in the woods outside the town. The views from Lady Bantry’s Lookout were magnificent but best for me was the easy camaraderie along the way as we slipped in and out of each other’s company and conversations, regaling one another with stories short and tall of schooldays, colleagues, history, legends or anything that came to mind, crowning it all with a few songs that would have charmed Lady Bantry herself.
A few of us squeezed in a visit to Garnish Island later in the afternoon and it did not disappoint. Apart from the formal gardens, the Martello Tower on the island is now accessible and worth the effort of climbing up to it. Bryce House has been magnificently and faithfully restored and has a wonderful free guided tour. The group was joined by a few colleagues for the meal in Beara Lodge later that evening which concluded with an all too brief sing-song. Why is it that the singers only get going when the bus arrives?
Day 2 involved getting over 40 of us on the 10am ferry to Bere Island. No problem for leaders Kathleen and Leo Lowney who had every logistical detail sorted- even finding room for two of our cars to be ferried over as well. Leo’s deep local knowledge made for many interesting stops as we traversed the more difficult terrain of the island before stopping at Ardnakinna Lighthouse for our picnic. Once again, there are magnificent views across to Sheeps Head and Mizen. No wonder the Irish Times lists Ardnakinna as one of its top picnic spots on the coast. This was my first visit to Bere Island but it certainly won’t be my last. There is much to be seen on the eastern side of the island where the military fort is situated. Well done to the trip organisers and walk leaders for arranging two wonderful days walking. D. K.
Put your trust in Kathleen and Leo Lowney! Recently they led almost 40 of us in a two-day outing. Like the best of generals they were lucky, picking perfect weather many months in advance.
We came under starter’s orders on Day 1 in a welcoming coffee house in Glengarriff. Two short walks followed in the nearby woods, and within sight of Lady Bantry’s view the group burst into spontaneous song. For most, Day 1 was a réamh-rá for our overseas adventure of Day 2.
Our mini cruise to Bere Island in such perfect conditions could have been to a sunny Greek isle. Our west end walk always in sight of the ocean, was uplifting. Our picnic was eaten with the sea to infinity, down below us. Climbing up the steep hill to the ruined Martello tower gave a worthy sense of achievement to our outing.
Walking my first return to Bere Island since 1969 I remembered the U.S moon landing and our climbing of Hungry Hill on the very same day. Conspiracy theorists have their doubts about the moon trip…..
Bere and hungry as ever, Hungry Hill beckoned us back to the mainland…. The end of a perfect adventure.
Thus ends our walking programme until September. Clare Shelley, Mary Cahill and Coiste leave us much in their debt. S. Ó. C.
Where next?
Don’t miss the opportunity to partake in these events, due to take place shortly!
1. Friday May 25th. 11.30a.m. Griffin’s Garden Centre. Talk by Margaret Griffin, followed by lunch. €20. Organised by Mary Fitzgerald.
2. Thursday May 31st. Adare Historical Tour, led by Pat Naughton. This is sure to be lively and interesting tour! Meet at Adare Heritage Centre 11a.m. Please see text message for contact details of Pat, and Mary Cahill (Committee).
3. Thursday 31st May. Camera Group have their final meeting before the summer. SMA centre Wilton. 2p.m.
4. Thursday June 7th. Mixed Golf outing/scramble at Muskerry G.C. Tee off 1.30 p.m. Names to Joe Lane by June 5th please.
Keep an eye out for text messages regarding more events before the summer break!
Our Camera Group meets on the last Thursday of the month at the SMA centre in Wilton. We are a group of camera enthusiasts of varying skills and with varying camera equipment, but we all learn from each other, and from our tutor Tony.
After our Thursday meeting we generally plan an outing during the following fortnight, to focus on some aspect of photography. To date these have included night photography, bokeh, portrait photography and landscapes.
We exhibited our work at the AGM last November and at the coffee morning in December.
In April we intend to visit some exhibits of the Cork Photo 2018 festival. We hope this experience will give us some ideas as well as confidence in our own ability!
On Tuesday February 13th a brave group of RTAI members travelled to Killavullen for a hillwalk. The walk was led by Mairead Twomey. Despite the extremely cold weather and rather icy roads, a group of 16 braved the elements. We met in O Regan’s shop in the village for a cuppa and facilities prior to the walk. Mairead was a font of information regarding the village. This small sleepy village has been birthplace to at least two famous people-Nano Nagle (no biography necessary) and Richard Hennessy- creator of one of the world’s best known and most-respected Cognac brands.
We set off at 11.30 and the walk proved to be most enjoyable. We experienced the proverbial “4 seasons” in one day. In fact one could well have thought that we were in the Alps as can be seen from the photographs. Snow fell heavily at one stage but the scenery was spectacular.
Afterwards a group retired to the Wild Goose in Dromahane for refreshments. However a number of the walkers had to forego lunch as they had a date with Sir Henry at the Opera House. Well done to Mairead for organising this most enjoyable walk. Next Hillwalk will take place on Mount Hillary on Thursday March 15th. This will be led by Mairead Twomey and Joan McCann. I will send details anon-names to be sent to me -Kathleen Lowney-as Clare Shelly is away.
The 2018 walking season got off to a great start on 11th January.
The majority of the participants drove from inland regions, through the dense fog, wondering if they would be able to see their noses in front of them on the walk!
The sun was shining in Kinsale with hardly a wisp of fog.
The new year saw 34 hillwalkers stepping it out 9.5 km via the Dock, and Ardkilly, to Sandycove under the leadership of Angela Foley. We stopped on the ridge to admire the view back over Kinsale, and the Archdeacon Duggan bridge. Angela and Seán gave us a fascinating insight into the life of this remarkable man. (You can read more about him here).
8 amblers chose to stay in Kinsale, under the leadership of Clare Shelley, walking around the town and viewing the sights from Compass Hill.
Both groups joined up for lunch. The staff of the Trident Hotel provided delicious soup & sandwiches.
