SOFT Ireland

The 2009 AGM is fast approaching and we are looking forward to seeing you all there.

The Agenda for the weekend is as follows…..

Friday 6th November.
9.00 pm         Informal get-together in the bar area.

Saturday 7th November.
10.00 am      Registration in the Ennell Suite
10.15 am       Chairpersons address
10.30 am       Opening Ceremony
10.45 am        AGM Commences
12.00 pm       Guest Speaker – Catherine McGeachy

Afternoon Free

6.30 pm         Meet in Ennell Suite for dinner at 7 pm.
                           Fancy Dress for children.
                           Don’t forget to bring a spot prize for the raffle.

Sunday 8th November

11.30 am        Meet in Ennell Suite for Closing Ceremony.

Directions to Bloomfield Hotel

Travelling West on the Mullingar by-pass take the exit for Tullamote (N52). At top of slip road turn left. Continue straight through first three roundabouts. You will then see a turn to the right signposted for Belvedere house. Take this turn but not into Belvedere, instead continue straight on past the Golf course which is on your left. Bloomfield Hotel is the next turn left.

Travelling East on the by-pass, again take the Tullamore exit (N52). Turn Right at top of slip road and continue as above.

Travelling from South via N6 take the Mullingar/Tyrellspass exit. Follow the signs for Mullingar, turning left at the sign for Belvedere House, past the Golf course and then left into Bloomfield Hotel.

Just a reminder to parents of children who are travelling to Lilliput – please bring a change of clothes!!!

Christmas Cards will be on sale over the weekend. The cost is €7.50 for a pack of ten – one of each of our winning designs.

On Sunday 28th June a céilí  was held in Rathowen Community Centre in County Westmeath. This fundraising dance was orgainsed by Kenny & Laura Murphy and Patsy Finn in aid of SOFT Ireland. It has become an annual event which began after the Murphys heard about the organisation when Patrick and Pauline Farrelly’s son Patrick was born in 2003 and they have been very generous in arranging and hosting the céilí for the last number of years.
This year may not have been as well attended as previous years, with a number of other local events happening on the same day. However the dance floor was full for every set, with dancers tapping, kicking, side stepping and swinging to the lively music. Both young and old enjoyed the afternoon taking only short breaks between the sets.
Kenny, Laura and Patsy organised refreshments on the day and a raffle was also held at the interval. This year €645 was raised for SOFT Ireland and the support of the organising group and those who attended is much appreciated. Details of next years céilí will be posted on our website and all are welcome to attend and support the event.

On the 7th March this year we hosted our second annual Keeper Climb. This year our climb was in memory of our special Little Softies who are watching down on us. We were joined by our family, friends, our SOFT family, work colleagues and even people we had never met but who had heard of the walk. All in all we had roughly 60 people walking with us which was fantastic and a huge THANK YOU to all who braved the weather and climbed with us for SOFT.
We headed off for an early start in the wind, rain, sleet and snow. The weather was dreadful. Once we reached the top we said a quick prayer and hello to Dolly at her memorial stone from last years climb. We were greeted half way down our decent with a hot toddy…..a change of clothes would have been more appreciated!!  However, whatever Michael had in his special recipe gave us all a boost to keep us going the rest of the way home. You will have to sus him out yourselves for that recipe!!
Once down we all headed for home for a shower and a change of clothes and then returned to our local where we had some well deserved finger food laid on for us. Our friend Eoin and his band kept us well entertained during the nibbles, raffle and balloon release. This year proved not to be as late a night as last year…think the cold may have gotten to some!  However, there were a few of us who saw in the early hours of the morning with a nice lively sing song. Last year we raised over €10,000 for SOFT and currently we are at over €7,00 and still collecting which is fantastic. We will present the cheque to SOFT at the AGM.
So, you can now start your training for next year and watch this space for the date.
Hope to see you all there…

Nicola & Greg.

The next general committee meeting will take place on Saturday 20th June 2009 from 10:30 to 13:30 in O’Loughlins Hotel, Portlaoise.

Sub-committees should meet/communicate before the next meeting and give feedback of any decisions made to the general committee.

Your attendance and punctuality would be much appreciated. If for any reason you are unable to attend please contact Chairperson Patrick Farrelly or Secretary Carmel Reilly as soon as possible.