A delegation from Dublin City Interfaith Forum and the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum met recently with officials in the Department of the Taoiseach to share thoughts about the significance of faith communities in building inclusive citizenship in a rapidly changing Ireland.
The faith representatives were from the Bahá’í faith, the Church of Ireland, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, the Sikh Community Ireland, the Religious Society of Friends and the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre of Ireland.
The Religious Society of Friends was represented by Niamh Hardiman of Churchtown Meeting (front row on the left).
Will Haire will give a talk entitled “From Stewardship to Public Service: The Journey of Belfast Quakers”, exploring the history of the Belfast Quaker Community. The talk will take place in person only at Frederick Street Meeting House on Sunday 1 March 3-4pm, and will be free of charge.
You can let others know about this event using this flyer.
A Memorial Service for our Friend Alan C. Pim, who passed away on the 12th December 2025, will take place at the Foy Hall in Newtown School Waterford on 21st February 2026 at 2pm.
Tom O’Connor and Carmel O’Hara will give a presentation on “Impressions from a Two-Week Trip to Vietnam, with a Brief History” at a Churchtown Coffee Morning on Tuesday 3 February during 10.30-12.00.
You can find more information, including the Zoom link for joining online in this flyer.
Special Interest Groups will be held in-person only at this year’s Yearly Meeting. The SIG’s will take place on the Saturday morning of Yearly Meeting.
If you have a topic or theme that you want to explore, and have a clear plan of how this might be presented on the day, please email your proposal to Office@quakers.ie by Monday 2 February 2026 at the latest. The Programme Committee will then be able to decide which proposals can be developed further, so that we have as wide-ranging programme.
This six-week online course addresses a central challenge facing societies today: What can unarmed civilians do when militaries attack, invade, or occupy their communities? What real alternatives exist beyond fighting back with violence?
The course requires 3-6 hours per week. The cost is on a sliding scale from $25 to $100, or more if you can afford it.
The EMES Youthgroup, open to young Friends aged 14-18, meets once a month online and annually in person in September. For more information, see this flyer, visit the EMES website (fwccemes.org/youthgroup) or contact Michael Eccles at michael@fwccemes.org.
The Chair of Quaker Service, Elizabeth Dickson, has informed the IYM Office in Dublin that Alexey Janes has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Quaker Service.
Alexey joins the charity having spent 36 years working at all levels within the voluntary and community sector in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. For the last 10 years he has worked for Ulster Wildlife as their Community Engagement Manager. His qualifications include a Postgraduate Diploma in Youth and Community Work from the University of Ulster and a level 7 ILM qualification in Leadership and Management.
Alexey’s work experience includes leading youth and community development programmes in North Belfast and previous leadership of two Northern Ireland wide charities – The Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster and the Reminiscence Network NI. Outside of work Alexey is kept busy as a foster carer and indulging his interests in nature and traditional woodland crafts.
Alexey will take up his position in February and is looking forward to working with staff and volunteers and all those served by the charity.
Dublin Monthly Meeting Peace Committee plans to hold another Silent Quaker Peace Witness on Saturday Nov 8 from 11.30am to 12.30pm, outside the gates of St Stephen’s Green at the top of Grafton St, Dublin.
The format will be a one hour silent Meeting for Worship. We will have the usual banner, which reads “Quaker Peace Witness”, and we will leaflets to give anyone who shows interest.
Friends from all Meetings, and their friends, are once again very welcome.
Thanks
Sean Kinsella, Dublin MM Peace Committee
Official Website of The Religious Society of Friends in Ireland
quakers-in-ireland.ie 
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