• When: October 4th/5th/6th
• Where: Mount Melleray Scout Centre, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford
• Cost: €50 for Cub Scouts, Scouts & Ventures & €30 for Beaver Scouts

This is our first big group weekend away and it’s to celebrate the new Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group.

We are asking/requesting/inviting/expecting a great number of Scouts to attend.

• The Cub Scouts, Scouts & Ventures will head down on the Friday evening and come home on Sunday afternoon.
• The Beaver Scouts will head down on Saturday morning and come home on Sunday afternoon with everyone else.

We have a packed intinerary planned for the weekend; this is a chance for all our members to get together for the first time as one group.

• What do I do now:
  Secure your place with a €10 deposit – Give this to your section leader at your next meeting (Full payment also accepted)
  Full payment must be made by Friday 27th
• Keep an eye on this site, our Facebook page and Twitter Feed for more information

Here are all the start times of our weekly meetings going forward. Previous post was slightly incorrect!

Beaver  Scouts (6, 7, 8 yr olds) (Waiting list in place for new members to these sections)

• 2nd Cork Beaver Scouts – Starting on Thursday September 12th @ 18:00 – 19:00
  Under the new leadership of Janette Murphy (janettemurphy@douglasscouts.ie)
• 6th Cork Beaver Scouts – Starting on Tuesday September 10th @ 18:30 – 19:30
  (This is the group that used to meet on Monday in the ICA hall. Now meeting on Tuesday in the John Slye Scout Hall)
  Under the new leadership of Deborah Long (deborahlong@douglasscouts.ie)
• 47th Cork Beaver Scouts – Starting on Friday September 13th @ 18:00 – 19:00
  Under the leadership of Dara Gowan (daragowan@douglasscouts.ie)

Cub Scouts (9, 10, 11 yr olds) (Waiting list in place for new members to these sections)

• 2nd Cork Cub Scouts – Starting on Thursday September 5th @ 19:00 – 20:30
  Under the leadership of David Kinnear (davidkinnear@douglasscouts.ie)
• 6th Cork Cub Scouts – Starting on Monday September 9th @ 18:00 – 19:30
  Under the new leadership of Cian Swanton (cianswanton@douglasscouts.ie)
• 47th Cork Cub Scouts – Starting on Friday September 6th @ 19:00 – 20:30
  Under the leadership of Vickie Swanton (vickieswanton@douglasscouts.ie)

Scouts (12, 13, 14 15 yr olds) New Members Welcome

• 2nd Cork Scouts – Starting  on Tuesday September 3rd @ 19:30 – 21:30
  Under the leadership of Tim Calvert (timcalvert@douglasscouts.ie)
• 6th Cork Scouts – Starting on Wednesday September 4th @ 18:00 – 20:00
  Under the leadership of John Cleary (johncleary@douglasscouts.ie)
• 47th Cork Scouts – Starting on Monday September 9th @ 19:30 – 21:30
  Under the new leadership of Sean Carroll (seancarroll@douglasscouts.ie)

Venture Scouts (15, 16, 17 yr olds)

• Douglas & St. Finbarres Venture Crew – Starting on Wednesday September 4th @ 20:00 – 21:00
  Venture Crew Adviser Richard Scriven (richardscriven@douglasscouts.ie)

Hi all,
You can download a consent form that needs to be filled out for every youth member and handed back to their Leader immediately.

Consent Form 2013

You can fill it in and print it off yourself and bring it down to the next meeting.
YiS,
Darran.

Last night (22nd August) a specially convened Group Council took place whereby the Douglas & St. Finbarres Scout Group came into existence following a unanimous vote by all present.

In addition to the members of the former Group Councils of Douglas Scout Group and of St. Finbarres Cathedral Scout Group were Una ORegan (County Commissioner for Cork South) and Colin Heas (County Commissioner for Lee Valley)

Elected on the night were the new officers of the Group

• Joint Chairpersons of the Group Council – Don Trotter & Enda Downey
• Group Leader – Conor Crowley
• Deputy Group Leader – Derek Dunne
• Group Secretary – Dara Gowan
• Group Treasurer – Ger Hodkinson
• Group Quartermasters – Kevin OConnor & Stephen McCarthy
• Group Programme Coordinators – Claire Nichols & Nick Swanton
• Sections will hear from their respective leaders shortly

It is an honour to have been appointed as the new Group Leader of the Douglas & St. Finbarres Scout Group. We go forward together in what are a new era for scouting and a new era for us all as adults in scouting.

The history that comes with both former groups should not be and will not be lost as we move into the future. As we embark on this journey together I can safely say that uniting has only made scouting stronger.

You’ll be aware that as always in scouting we’ll be presented with many challenges but I’m sure we’ll overcome any of these together as a group.

I’m looking forward to working with everyone; from county level to the section leaders, from the Group Council to the Parents & Friends committee, and of course with our youth members, in building a strong future for Scouting.

Yours In Scouting

Conor Crowley
Group Leader – Douglas & St. Finbarres Scout Group

Announcement to the parents & members of
2^nd Cork St. FinBarres Cathedral and the 6^th/47^th Cork Douglas Scout Groups

As you may already be aware the 2^nd Cork St. FinBarres Cathedral Scout Group recently moved from their hall in Dean Street to the John Slye Scout Hall in Douglas. The reason for the move was a lack of potential members in the Dean Street area, while Douglas Scout Group has a long waiting list.

St. FinBarres Cathedral Scout Group was set up in 1930 to provide Scouting for the Boys in the Cathedral Choir. Since then the group has maintained its link with the Cathedral and has used St. FinBarres Hall in Dean Street as its base. Douglas Scout Group was formed in 1951 and has been operating from its base in the John Slye Scout Hall Douglas since they began.

Following several months of discussion between a committee of council members from both groups, we are pleased and very proud to announce that an agreement to merge the 2^nd Cork St. FinBarres Cathedral and the 6^th/47^th Cork Douglas Scout Groups has been reached.

The long heritage of both groups will remain an important part of the new group going forward and we are confident that by completing this merger we can gain from the experience of both sets of leaders to create a strong group to provide Scouting for a larger number of youth members.

Over the summer we have been finalising our plans and will be holding a meeting towards the end of August to formally merge the two groups and to launch a new era of scouting in Douglas.

While all three section numbers (2^nd, 6th and 47^th) will be maintained the new group will be known as
‘The Douglas and St. FinBarres Scout Group’

The new group will have 3 Beaver Colonies, 3 Cub Packs, 3 Scout Troops, a Venture Unit and a Rover Crew active in Douglas. We will take in a number of new members from the Douglas waiting list starting in September to bring all our Sections up to strength.

These are exciting times for scouting and we hope that you will join us and support us in the adventure that lies ahead. We will keep you informed as we progress, we will also require setting up a Parent and Friends support group to help us manage and resource the new venture.

Yours in Scouting,

Conor Crowley                            Declan O’Shea
Group Leader                                                  Group Leader
Douglas Scout Group                                     St. FinBarres Cathedral Scout Group

Probably worth noting the weather conditions for the last number of events.

ALL Four of the last four outdoor events have been a washout. I would recommend the next time we book a day, contact met eireann and annouce a weather alert. Plan for a torrential downpour.

That said – what an unbelievable day on Spike Island. Utmost thanks go to Finbarr and John our incredible tour guides – Tom O’Neill the man in charge and John in the Cafe on the Spike. They really made the trip so memorable. 100000 million thanks to the lads from all of us and I am sure all the scouts of Douglas.  They made sure that even when the liquid sunshine got too liquidy we still had loads to do – they showed us fort walls, prison guns, old cells, new cells, anti-aircraft guns and naval guns and the keys to leave the building.

We started off on the boat. Eoin our tour guide talking us through some of the sights on the way out.

Arriving on the island – it is still only slightly damp as Finbarr our tour guide shows us the keys to Spike!!

The egg game!!

Can you keep your egg alive for the whole day???

Eggs at the ready – off to explore the island. Skimming stones followed by a walk up to the fort as unfortunately the weather closes in on us.

Next up we found out what prison cells were like in the 1760s. Suitably upset faces!!!

Followed by life in a more modern area.

Finally a banker behind bars – Good Man Shane!!

But on the upside of all of that – they had tv!!!

Still though- I think the kids would rather go home.

Lunch and Conor Crowleys birthday celebrations.

All the Beavers on the way into see the 6 inch gun.

Finbarr talking us through the 6 inch gun that has been at the fort since 1918!!

Then we saw the naval gun and the anti-aircraft gun. All the kids had a go holding up a shell!! Including some of the bigger kids!!!

Back to C Block’s Recreation Hall for a Scout Campfire, cooked sausages and some game of charades – surely a first for C Block!!

And finally homeward bound skipping  in the rain!!

Again – we cannot thank the staff on Spike Island enough – Lads ye were absolutely terrific. We cannot recommend the day on the island enough either. Brilliant day and a fitting last event of the year.
Those of you moving to cubs – we are going to miss ye but we will see ye soon all the same.
Have a great summer and let’s pray for less of the liquid sunshine!!!

Both of our Beaver Scout colonies are going to finish off this Scouting year with a unique experience and going to visit Spike Island and get to explore some of Fort Mitchell which was the old fort and prison on the island.

When?

• Sunday June 16th
• Departing i.e. leaving by boat at 10am from the pier at Monkstown (by the Bosun Bar)
• Arriving back to the same spot at approx. 3:30pm

How Much?

• €10 per Beaver Scout (includes ferry trip to the island and we’re going to cook some hot food while we’re out there)

What to bring?

• No need for Uniform but kneckerchief is a must… No Kneckerchief, no entry onto the boat, no exceptions!!
• A small packed lunch i.e. Roll or sandwich and should include a drink and some fruit
• A small bottle of water (sports bottle, 1ltr size, to keep hydrated during the day)
• Sunscreen! Have it on already… you just never know!
• Rainjacket and sweater – Judge the weather yourself on the morning if possible
• All of the above should be packed in a small carrier bag/rucksack (the Beavers will be carrying it themselves, the leaders will not)

Yep 4% celsisus on the saturday night not counting the wind chill!!!  It must be summer in ireland!!

We only had a small amount of liquid sunshine(rain) to be fair. Myself and Conor were ultra organised. Everyone arrived at camp at 5:00pm. At about 11:30 pm we were ready to go with the first tent!! Only joking it was probably only about 10:00pm!!  It was ok though thanks to Shane the venturer who ran a bunch of games for the kids. Shane we will allow you to come again with us. But only if you can keep up that level of performance (The group secretary and Group Leader have spoken!). On a serious note cheers to Andy et al for helping pitch the first tents. It was blowing an absolute gale for the tents pitching and calmed down thereafter.

The campfire was incredible as you can see from the pictures. There was a special guest appearance by yours truly to cap it all off or ruin it depending on how good your ear for music is.

Up at a reasonable hour and down to the “playground”. Can you believe the kids actually sorted themselves into a work group of pushers and catchers for the car tyre on their own? The lads also let all the girls go first. Well done gentlemen. Mammies be proud!!

Finally photobombed by another truly great Swanton. Many many many thanks to the Swantons. Vicky, Wendy and Nick for Breakfast. Vicky for staying overnight and all the great help (including the washup). Rose for the great bolognese (leaving the washup). The truly incredible leaders – Jane, Deirdre, Janet and the terrific Shane. The incredible Group Leader \ Beaver Leader \ Scout Leader Conor Crowley. Without everyone’s help from leaders, venturers, parents, and beavers none of this would be possible. As the saying as gaeilge goes – “Ní neart go cur le chéile”. There is no strength without unity.

It has taken me 6 weeks to recover enough to post the sleepover onto the website. My Bad. Camp pictures to follow.

They all had a great time as you can see from the photos. Really really proud of them all. We played loads of games. Watched a movie. Went to sleep (eventually). And then played loads more games after.

Due to the Bank Holiday on Monday June 3rd here will be NO Beaver Scout Meeting.

There will be NO Cub Scout meeting as the Cub Scouts will be en-route home from their Mad Hatters on the Hill Weekend in Larch Hill International Scout Centre in Dublin.