TRICKS & TREATS AS THE ’68 HITS FIFTY
REPORTER DAVID MEDCALF JOINED MEMBERS OF THE ‘68 BRIDGE CLUB IN ARKLOW FOR A FEW HANDS AS THEY MARKED THE CLUB’S FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY. HE FOUND GOOD COMPANY AND PLENTY OF SKILFUL PLAYERS GATHERED AROUND THE CARD TABLES
THE game of bridge has found the ideal home for its Arklow adherents in the hall adjoining the Presbyterian church in the town.
The cards are dealt there four nights each week in a space which is roomy without being cavernous, and cheerfully warm throughout the year.
On bright evenings, the extensive window offers as fine view out across the reed beds over to the church towers of the town.
It was here that the members of The ’68 Bridge Club gathered recently in celebration to remind themselves that it is 50 years since their foundation.
Yes, the ‘68’ in the title refers simply to the fact that the club was founded in the year 1968, exactly half a century ago.
The surroundings have changed over the decades before the shufflers and dealers finally came to roost in these smart, clean surroundings.
Now they gather at 7.30 p.m. sharp each Wednesday evening to practise their skills in
They began in a back room behind Paul Doyle’s newsagent shop. Many of the current membership recall when their weekly session was staged at the Arklow Bay hotel.
Then there was a stint when they had to climb the stairs to a room above John Joe’s pub.
Current ’68 Bridge Club president Sandra Hall was to the fore in identifying the current venue beside the Dublin Road as ideal for the purpose.
She is a member of the Presbyterian parish, well placed to broker the arrangement about seven years ago.
The church complex also hosts a variety of activities including the youth club, ‘Women of the World’ meetings and a pre-school.
This still leaves space on the roster for the Asgard Bridge Club on Mondays, the Arklow Bridge Club (longest established of the lot) on Tuesdays, the ’68 Bridge Club on Wednesdays and the Apollo Bridge Club on Thursdays.
A Tuesday morning session has taken root at the town’s golf club, so popular that a waiting list of those wanting to join has had to be introduced.
Many enthusiasts play two or three times a week, often with a different partner on each of the different days.
None of the originals from 1968 are on the books now in 2018, though several remain active bridge players elsewhere – Lilian O’Carroll, Helen Barrett and Alyse McCarthy
Danny McLoughlin reckons that he has been a member of The ’68 for the past thirty years and he retains his enthusiasm for the sport undimmed.
Or is bridge really a sport? Efforts to have it recognised as such have prompted much debate, sometimes heated, sometimes technical, and sometimes philosophical.
One thing certain is that men and women gathered in the hall the night your reporter came to test his skills do not really qualify as athletes.
They – myself included – will not be giving Usain Bolt or Mo Farah a run for their money any time soon, or any time at all.
This was a gathering where the typical participant was of pensionable age and many of those present were widowed and/or retired.
Though not in the first flush of youth, they were all sharp as tacks with 13 cards in their fists, exuding a wealth of experience and anecdote and character.
It is no coincidence that some of the packs of playing cards used by the club carry adver- tisements for the Home Instead senior care organisation, where the marketing department is clearly on the ball.
Mamie Quirke declined to state her age but admitted being old enough to have children who have finished college while a third is in final year.
She was the second youngest person participat-