The AGM and Christmas Lunch of Kilkenny RTAI took place on Wednesday, 3rd December in the Newpark Hotel at 11.30 a.m. There was a great turnout of members. There were 50 members present at the AGM and 88 at the Christmas Lunch.
The President of RTAI, Máire Ní Chuinneagáin was the invited guest. Denis, our Chairperson, welcomed the members to the meeting with a special welcome for new members. He welcomed Máire in her role as President of RTAI.
The minutes of the Summer Meeting were read and correspondence from Amber Women’s Refuge was received, thanking the members for their very generous donation of €779 , the proceeds of our coffee morning in September. A member of our branch also made a very generous private donation of €10,000 to Amber. Rose, our secretary, gave a very comprehensive report on our activities since the summer meeting and outlined some planned events for early in the New Year. Sheila Cahill presented the accounts, detailing the income and expenditure for the year. It was obvious that our allocation of funds was very prudently spent on members’ activities.
Denis announced that he was retiring as Chairperson after 10 years and he said that it was a privilege to have acted in that capacity and thanked the various committees that he had worked with over those years. He also congratulated Rose on doing a great job as secretary. Teckie Brett was elected to the position of Chairperson.
The other officers and committee members agreed to act for another year. Catherine Ryan was also selected to join the committee. There were no resolutions for convention and the branch supports Marian Ryan who is going forward for the position of Vice- President of RTAI and the branch also supports Lucy Ryan of the Tipperary branch who is seeking election to the NEC. Ursula Knox spoke about the recent Members Interest Survey and stated that members were extremely happy with the current activities and that any suggestions would be considered by the committee in planning activities in 2026.
Máire Ní Chuinneagáin addressed the meeting and brought us up to date with recent developments. She stressed the dual function of the association in dealing with business matters and encouraging social activities. Denis thanked her for her attendance and on behalf of the branch presented her with a piece of Nicholas Mosse pottery to mark the occasion of her visit to Kilkenny.
The meeting concluded with a minutes silence to remember those members and family members who passed away during the year. Congratulations were extended to Tommy Hayes on his 90th birthday.
The formal part of the day was followed by a beautiful Christmas lunch in the ballroom. Rose thanked Denis for his service as chairperson and made a presentation to him on behalf of the branch. The choir, under the direction of Maria Comerford and Monica Lowe, treated us to a feast of Christmas Carols. There was a definite festive atmosphere and a great buzz of conversation from all of the tables as members enjoyed the music, the food and the glass of wine. Many thanks to Maria and Monica for all their great work with the choir. Some members were lucky to go home with spot prizes thanks to our treasurer, Sheila.
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