The Kinsale Lions club were delighted to host the 50th Convention of District 133 of the Lions Clubs of Ireland on March 1st to 3rd 2019. The Convention was attended by 330 delegates, partners and guests from all parts of the island of Ireland.
The Convention is where the Lions Clubs of Ireland meet to formally adopt the financial statements, accept the reports from the various officers, and adopt motions for the conduct of the organisation for the coming year. A major part of the weekend is the opportunity to meet Lions from other clubs and districts to discuss ideas for future projects, to renew old acquaintances and to make new friends.
The Kinsale Convention introduced a number of new aspects and events.On the Thursday evening, an informal event called “ meeting the Kinsale Lions at home” was held. Some 30 delegates had arrived for Thursday evening that they were greeted by Kinsale members and partners. During that event three Melvin Jones awards were presented by the District governor Frank O’Donoghue. This award is the highest honour Lions can bestow on one of its members for long and outstanding service to the club and community. Tony Boland and Pat O’Farrell were the recipients from the club and Garda James O’Mahony from the community for his many years of service to the youth of our area.
Kinsale introduced the Project Poster where over 30 projects from various clubs were displayed in a poster format during the convention. Clubs were invited to submit projects for consideration and these were collated and edited by Kinsale member Nick Grattan, mounted on board and beautifully displayed.
Kinsale also introduced Keynote speakers. On the Friday of the convention, a seminar on Change by Degrees was held where local environmentalists Dr Tara Shine and Madeleine Murray gave a powerful presentation on how, as a community, we would change our behaviour patterns one degree at a time to achieve remarkable results. The Convention was challenged to extend this approach to every Lions Club in Ireland so that together we would influence behaviours nationwide.
On Saturday, The main keynote speaker was Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, Chief of staff of the Defence Forces. This address was on inclusion from the broad vista of Nations to problem solving between communities. He gave a new insight into how we now have to deal with so many “known unknowns” and that our decision making is influenced by so many different factors, finding the right course forward will never be easy. He received a standing ovation from all the delegates who enthusiastically endorsed his presentation.
The LE Ciara visited Kinsale for the convention and hosted a reception on board for the Minister Jim Daly, local councillors, and business leaders from the Kinsale community. A formal ball was held in Actons hotel for 260 guests which included Brian Sheehan, 3rd Vice President of Lions International, Pat O’Shea, President of University College Cork, Vice Admiral Mellett and the officers of the LE Ciara.
Of the many national awards presented, Kinsale was very pleased the the Club of the Year went to Carrigaline who were our sponsors at our charter 27 years ago. Congratulation to them and to Therese Dineen from the Cork Club who was elected to be the District nominees on the Lions International board for the next two years.
Photo: John Allen
