This article about Quaker marriage by J Glynn Douglas gives an account of how the unique nature of Quaker weddings developed over the centuries and of present day practice following recent changes in legislation in both jurisdictions of Ireland.

A report is available in the Members’ Section.  The meeting on 25th June was held as usual in Enniscorthy Meeting House  The attendance was 48.  The topic presented in the afternoon session was Recollections of Memorable Irish Quaker Women.

Joseph Williams and 1798

The experiences of Quakers in 1798 are of particular interest in view of their refusal to take up arms and to destroy any that were in their possession.  Joseph Williams was born in 1775 at Randall’s Mill which lies between Wexford town and Enniscorthy.  In 1867, the year before he died, he told Anna Peet, a Waterford Quaker, of his experiences in the year of the Rising, when he was 23 years old.  Anna made at least two copies of her transcript of Williams’s reminiscences.  The text of the first was published in 1905 in The Friends’ Historical Journal.  The second manuscript was found recently by Jennifer Keogh who is a descendant of one of the neighbours mentioned by Joseph Williams.

New Booklet

Jenny does voluntary work on the Quaker archives in the Friends Historical Library in Dublin and her colleagues decided to publish a new edition of the story as one of the Library’s Occasional Papers.  She had visited the old mill, found Joseph Williams’s burial place and met a number of people with an interest in the tale.  This has resulted in a 12-page booklet with a contemporary and very personal account of what it was like to be both a spectator and a neutral but far from inactive participant in the hostilities.  Quakers at the time gave what help they could to the victims of the struggle, whichever side they represented.

Buy a Copy

Joseph Williams: Recollections of the Rebellion of 1798 is available for €3.50 (including postage) from Historical Library, Quaker House, Stocking Lane, Dublin 16.

Christopher Moriarty

What in the World are Quakers ? by Margaret Frazer at Moyallon Centre, Northern Ireland MoyallonWeekendProgramme

To Friends everywhere,

Dear Friends,

We send you greetings from Ireland Yearly Meeting met in Kings Hospital School, Dublin from 28th April to 1st May 2011.

‘Let your life speak’ was the theme for this Yearly Meeting. We were challenged to allow ourselves to live adventurously, enabling our gifts to be used for the service of God and the community. The summary of the Yearly Meeting Epistles from around the world encouraged us in this and gave us a feeling of being united with Friends from many different places.

As we began to move through the Yearly Meeting sessions, various speakers gave us examples of outreach in their communities and this suggested an underlying message that our outreach begins from our presence in a place.

The Meeting House is the obvious starting point for outreach. It is the physical evidence of our presence in the community. It is an invitation to those who might pass by, to linger a while and perhaps come amongst us. It is often the first point of contact and it is the manifestation of home for those who stay.

Our outreach is not measured by increased numbers but by increased dialog and communication but we cannot expect to go unchallenged; indeed we must not only face the challenges, but invite them. Outreach requires us to listen, as well as to speak and help can come from unexpected quarters but we must be open to receive it.

We are called to be Friends, showing the mark of Christ as we go about our daily lives. Although it has become common practice in recent years to refer to ourselves as ‘Quakers’, this has limited potential in terms of outreach. There is a familiarity with the term and the listener may presume understanding and inquire no further. The use of the word ‘Friend’ however, requires us to give an explanation of who we are.

We were uplifted by the description of Sweden Yearly Meeting, which manages to engage in a wide range of activities despite the fact that they have only 100 members. There are many examples of small groups or individuals making a difference in the world. As Friends we believe that God has given us all the resources we need, and if we use these gifts we can do all that is required and more.

“A friend is one to whom you can pour out the contents of your heart, chaff and grain alike. Knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

Signed on behalf of Ireland Yearly Meeting,

Felicity A McCartney, Clerk