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.

You can find more information in this flyer or on the course website.

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.

Eustace Street Friends, together with DMM Communications/Outreach Committee, invites Members, Attenders, families and friends to the first in a series of Open Mic events.

The event will start at 2.30pm with lunch – you should bring your own lunch (and maybe something to share). Tea/Coffee and cake/biscuits will be provided.

The Open Mic event itself starts at 3pm –
With a maximum time limit of up to 7 minutes for each person,
you are invited to share your poetry, storytelling/prose, spoken word.

The theme for the event is SIMPLICITY

As it would be helpful to know in advance the number of speakers,
please email QuakerOpenMic@gmail.com to book your spot.
We hope to accept speakers on the day but to ensure inclusion, please email in advance.

You can help spread the word among Friends, friends and family using this open-mic flyer.

We have received this Letter to Meetings 2026 from Tim Gee, the General Secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation.

Please feel free to share with others who may be interested!

Below is a letter from Matt Rosen of Ohio Yearly Meeting about this Young Adult Friends Gathering coming up in August.

Dear Friends,

We’re writing to share news of an upcoming international gathering of Young Adult Friends, to be held at Jordans Friends Meeting House, near Beaconsfield, UK, from 12–16 August 2026. This follows gatherings held in 2024 and 2025, whose epistles can be found here. 

In the midst of a difficult time and a hurting world, we sense that there is life and light in earnestly seeking guidance from a power beyond ourselves. At our gathering last year, we experienced this power as an Inward Voice of Love, and often felt Christ’s presence in and among us. In coming together, we found the sensitivity to listen together to the Divine Voice, and the trust and the strength to follow the Companion who is with us always. We invite you to join us in this experience, as we are gathered by the Spirit.

You can fill out this form to express your interest in joining us, and we will share more information and how to register in the coming months. We hope you will consider whether the Spirit is laying this on your heart.

We need your help to make this gathering possible! We plan to make use of the youth hostel near Jordans but need funding for that, as well as for meals and travel bursaries for Friends coming from further away. Please consider whether you or your meeting can support us. 

We are also providing a flyer for the gathering. Please share this with any young adult Friends who might feel a nudge to join us. 

in the Love that draws us together, 

Matt Rosen, Ohio Yearly Meeting

on behalf of the gathering planning committee

Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM) is a gathering of young Friends and any young people interested in Quakerism in Ireland aged 14-18. We come together to meet, discuss, debate, learn together and connect with each other. And have lots of fun!

JYM 2026 will be held 2-6 April 2026 at the Moyallon Centre near Portadown. The theme will be “Who am I? Journeying as a Young Friend”. You can find some more information, including who to contact for additional info, on this poster. We’ll be keeping the JYM section on the IYM website up to date too, as more information and application forms become available.