Enjoyable trip to Glasnevin Cemetery and Croke Park
For our April bus outing, a group of 25 members of Fermoy Men’s Club travelled to Dublin for guided tours of both Glasnevin Cemetery and Croke Park. A great day out was had by all and the fact that the weather was fine enhanced the trip even further.
THE BIG SMOKE
After enjoying morning tea/coffee with warm scones enroute in the Horse & Jockey Hotel, we arrived mid-morning in Glasnevin in good fettle before our tour commenced, led by a young man called Alan.
He took us to see all the resting places of famous Irish people, giving an interesting account of each person as we went. Daniel O’Connell, Eamon de Valera, Cathal Brugha, Countess Markievicz, Maud Gonne, Harry Boland and of course Michael Collins were just a few of the wellknown names from history who’s graves we visited.
After a fine lunch in Tolka House Bar and Restaurant, we headed a short distance across the city to GAA Headquarters in Croke Park, where we saw dressing rooms, warm-up areas and had access to the side-lines, with the pitch looking immaculate for the upcoming Leinster Football semi-finals at the weekend. Then, a short service elevator ride brought us up to the upper Hogan Stand where a panoramic view of the playing surface was possible.
The final part of the tour was a visit to the museum which had on display all the original winning trophies associated with both hurling and football codes – some which were very sizeable, in particular, the Sam Maguire Cup!
A stop on the way home at the Maldron Hotel in Portlaoise, for evening tea and sandwiches, broke the journey and we arrived back in Fermoy just after 9pm – feeling tired but very satisfied after such a hectic and fulfilling day.
CLUB MEETING
Survivalist Mark Boyle, who lives in Galway, was the guest speaker at our April meeting and an interesting and informative Q&A session was held with him about his life living off the grid and without any modern technology.
In essence, Mark is reliving the lifestyle that our ancestors lived back in the day, which some of the elderly members of the club were able to relate to from their own childhoods.
The Renowned historian and memorabilia collector, Noel Scannell, will be our guest speaker at next Mon’s meeting on May 8th. Noel, known in particular for his extensive knowledge of Michael Collins, has written books about Irish History and so we eagerly look forward to his visit. Our monthly meetings are held at 3pm in the Youth Centre and membership is open to anyone interested in joining.