The mission of Quaker Service in Ulster is to play a practical role in reducing violence, suffering and disadvantage by providing services which support, value and empower people. Their beautifully illustrated annual report 2010-2011 (pdf, 3.1 mb) gives an inspiring outline of their current work. (Please note that this is a large document so takes a little while to open up).
Category Archives: News and Events
Meeting For Worship Broadcast Now Available Online
You can now listen to Meeting for Worship from Ballitore Meeting, County Kildare using the RTE Player.
The meeting for worship was broadcast on Sunday 30th October 2011 and includes a wide ranging discussion of Quaker faith and practice.
Magdalene Laundries – Public Meeting, Limerick, Wednesday 9th November
A Conversation on Experiences in the Magdelene Laundries
This public meeting will be held in the Quaker Meeting House, Limerick at 8pm on Wednesday 9th November 2011.
Speakers include
Pauline Goggin who has recently been speaking to survivors of institutional abuse, including some survivors of the Magdalene Laundries living in London
Evelyn McGlynn who has completed her degree and master’s theses in Limerick College of Art and Design on the Magdelene Laundries.
A former resident of the Good Shepherd Laundry now living in England
This meeting is open to the public and everyone is welcome.
Further Information: Magdalene Conversations Information Leaflet.
RTÉ Broadcast from Ballitore Meeting 30th October
The Religious Service on RTÉ Long Wave 252 on Sunday 30th October 2011 at 10.45am will be conducted by Quakers and will feature a discussion by Friends at Ballitore Meeting House, County Kildare.
The silence of a Quaker meeting for worship is not appropriate for radio. But an essential part is vocal ministry and on this occasion the voices of Friends rather than silence will take over.
The service will be available on RTÉ Radio long wave 252 in Ireland and Europe. The programme will also be available worldwide through the internet via Radio 1 Extra Stream and on Radio 1 Extra on DAB digital radio in the greater Dublin area, Cork and Limerick.
We will provide details of the downloadable podcast as soon as these are available.
Leinster Quarterly Meeting 20th November 2011
Leinster Quarterly Meeting will be held at Churchtown Meeting House on Sunday 20th November 2011.
The discussion at this Leinster Quarterly Meeting will be ‘Learning from Young Friends’. The speakers are Carolyn McMullan (Youth Coordinator), Orla Reaper-Reynolds (Youth Committee), Ciara Harrison (Youth Committee).
Families are encouraged to attend. There will be activities for children, both in the morning and afternoon. Please email the clerk of Leinster Quarterly Meeting Catriona Phelan if your children hope to attend.
Those not in membership and wishing to attend the business session please notify the clerk on the day.
The programme for the day is as follows:
11.00am Meeting for Worship
12.00pm Leinster Quarterly Business Meeting
1.30pm Lunch (Bring a packed lunch – Tea/Coffee provided)
2.30pm ‘Learning from Young Friends’
4.30pm Tea (by kind invitation of Churchtown Friends)
October 2011 Quakers In Ireland eNewsletter
The Quakers In Ireland website is pleased to announce a new monthly eNewsletter for Friends in Ireland. Each month, the newsletter will contain a digest of news, announcements, events and articles from the News and Events Section of the Quakers in Ireland Website.
The October 2011 Quakers In Ireland eNewsletter is now available on the website. You can also sign up to get the email sent directly to your email once a month.
Book Launch Quaker House Dublin – 20th October 2011
The Friends Historical Library, together with the publishers, the Ulster Historical Foundation, are very happy to invite you and your guests to the launch in Ireland of Them Wild Woods – The Greeves, O’Brien and Sinton Letters – The Transatlantic Letters of an Irish Quaker Family 1818-1877, edited by Bill Jackson.
The launch will be held at the Library, Quaker House, at 7.30 for 8 p.m. on Thursday 20th October.
Enniscorthy Friends Launch Website
Enniscorthy Friends have launched a new website for Quakers in Wexford. The site has some interesting pictures of historic Friends burial grounds and meeting houses in County Wexford – as well as a regular blog which this month is looking at the restoration of the Enniscorthy Meeting House ‘American’ organ.
Quaker Youth in Ireland Yearly Meeting, June 2011
This article appears in the September-October 2011 issue of The Friendly Word the Irish Quaker bi-monthly magazine.
CAROLYN MCMULLAN, Youth Coordinator, Ireland Yearly Meeting, reports on a years activities:
On 1st July 2010 Ireland Yearly Meeting had their first Youth Coordinator take up post. This meant starting from scratch with the Young People aged between 10-30 years of age. The database which has now been set up tells us that there are just over 500 members and attenders within this age group.
My overarching aim is to raise the profile of our Young Friends in Ireland, to empower, enabling them to feel valued and a real sense of identity with The Religious Society of Friends here on this island.
How was I going to achieve this considering there were very real anxieties from many parents and some Meetings who did not know this new Youth Coordinator and there was a sense of too little too late!
First Objective – Youth Clubs
My first objective was to work on setting up some Youth Clubs I spent a lot of time working with parents and older young people to recruit helpers to enable the clubs to run effectively.
Over the year there have been 3 monthly youth clubs started up in various parts of the country. There are also 2 youth groups which meet every 2-3months. The regularity of these events reflects the wishes of the young people involved in the groups and my availability to organise and run them.
There has also been a worship and bible study evening on the first Sunday in the month. This was at the request of Young Friends.
The numbers of young people who have attended these occasions vary from 5 to 27.
Second Objective – Visit Meetings
It is planned that each Meeting be visited by the Youth Coordinator twice in the 3 year term. To date 16 Meetings have been visited. This has been an opportunity for members and attenders to meet with the Coordinator and find out what is happening with young people and how the youth of that Meeting can become involved.
Two Monthly Meetings have asked the Youth Coordinator to speak to them abou how things are going and how they can get involved in supporting the work being done.
Third Objective – Residential Events
The goal was to be involved with any existing or new residential events for young people in IYM. There have been a number of overnight events throughout the past year. These include Senior Moyallon Camp, Churchtown weekend, Over 18’s, JYM(arrangements and actual event), Yearly Meeting Youth Programme, Junior Moyallon Camp and Leadership Training Weekend.
Fourth Objective – Work with Individuals
Part of the role has been to meet with individuals on a one to one basis just to touch base and bring encouragement both socially and spiritually. Involvement in planning and running group occasions has taken priority this year. None the less, if a young person asked to meet up the time was always made available.
Fifth Objective: Leadership Training Course
The Leadership Training was developed to help equip older young people to lead in a servant-hearted manner and yet be aware of health and safety and child protection issues. From the feedback it would appear to have been very helpful to all who attended. It is hoped that training of this nature will be an ongoing process throughout the 3 year term.
Sixth Objective: Programme for Young Friends at IYM
This proved to be a really successful time where we had loads of fun while addressing how we Quakers do business as well as playing many games and attending some of the main YM sessions. I know the more mature folk really enjoyed having up to 29 young people attending.
This has been a busy yet productive year, where a number of young people who were not actively involved in The Religious Society of Friends have been willing to attend get-togethers that have been organised.
The first year has been a time of learning, where the young people have openly expressed what it is they want from the Youth Coordinator. It has been my desire to implement their wishes to the best of my ability. I would hope that over the next 2 years there will be a strong network of Young Friends throughout Ireland who have a strong sense of Quaker identity and are committed to both the spiritual basis and social witness of the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland.
Understanding Limerick: Social inclusion and Change
Limerick Quakers invite you to attend a public meeting about inequality in Limerick and what can be done about it. The meeting will be addressed by Dr. Niamh Hourigan, lecturer and Head of Graduate Studies in Sociology at University College Cork.
The meeting will be held at Limerick Quaker Meeting House on the 5th of October 2011 at 8pm. Further details are contained in the Understanding Limerick brochure (PDF, 868kb).
quakers-in-ireland.ie 
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