CELTIC LINK FERRIES - 10% DISCOUNT TO CLUB MEMBERS IN 2012 Can only be booked by phone call to Rory McCall, Celtic Link Ferries, Rosslare Europort, Rosslare Harbour Tel: 053-916 2688 Quoting Membership Number Our thanks to Munster Centre Member Colin McCarthy for this.
Our final rally of 2011, the Youth Committee Rally, took place in beautiful Adare Caravan and Camping Park over the Halloween Bank Holiday weekend. No less than 20 teens/kids attended this rally and boy did they get stuck in to the spirit of Halloween. Saturday morning was spent making the decorations for the “Spooky Room” – pumpkins were excavated and ghostly faces were cut out, scary caspers were made from all sorts and a large selection of mummies were made from lollipop sticks, plastic spoons and white linen. The teens and kids then used these and more to decorate the spooky hall. Adults were not allowed in until the big event on Saturday night– the Halloween costume competition. We had witches galore, vampires, skeletons, zombies ( some real ones?!!), a bear, Michael Jackson, Frankenstein, Yoda, fearsome ghosties,.......the X - factor style judging panel were put to the pin of their collective horrific face masks to come up with the eventual winner – Poppy Spillane, the fearsome, goulish four-legged witch.
On Sunday afternoon we had a lovely group walk in Adare town-park and environs and that night all gathered in the Spooky Hall for a game of Articulate followed by a sing along with some memorable performances from the kids and teens. Rachel Geaney and Caoimhe Usher performed a fabulous duet of the pop song “Someone like you”.
On Monday, flagpole was an occasion of high drama and tension with the announcement of the annual photographic competition winners. Once again this year the Condell (junior!) family swept up the honours winning landscape, friendship, humour and overall categories while 10 year old Caoimhe O’Sullivan collected the Under 17 trophy. Congratulations to our most deserving winners and a big thank you to all who took the trouble to submit their entries for the competition.
The final act of the rally was the official handing over of the chain of office for teenage chairperson by outgoing Gareth Jevens to incoming Aisling O’Sullivan. Best of luck to Aisling and thanks from all of the centre members to Gareth for the great effort he put into his year as chairperson.
Happy Christmas to all our members and here’s to a terrific 2012 rally year…starting with our winter walk rally in the Glen of Aherlow, January 22nd….ar aghaidh linn!
Tall Ships Rally Waterford
Ships Ahoy me hearties! What a wonderful occasion the tall ships rally at Newtown School in Waterford proved to be. 64 ralliers slipped seamlessly into the fabulous 17 acres of walled-in school property available to all for the duration of the rally.And to top-mast it all, the weather remained fine all the way through.
The short downhill trot to the centre of the tall ships action was much travelled by all, young and not so young. In the centre of town the closed off streets were packed with stalls of food, crafts, clothing, jewellery, merchandise and the devil knows what else. It was a joy to walk freely around the streets and savour the terrific atmosphere that prevailed throughout the festivities. Ralliers streamed back to the site wearing the requisite tall ships hats and t - shirts. It is rumoured that some of the lady ralliers captured some treasures on the high streets but were made to walk the plank by their partners on their return to the vans with the booty. Well done lads! The rally marshals did a super job - the reception and parking team worked tirelessly to ensure everybody was welcomed in and shown to their berth. The highlight of the on-site rally had to be the cooked breakfast on Saturday morning. What a feast, what a turnout, what a....blaa...blaa...blaaa and all wrapped up by a sturdy rendition of the appropriate sea shanty, Fiddlers Green.
Sincere thank you to all of the Munster Centre Committee for helping with this event. Special mention must go to Chief Rally Marshals Paul & Valerie Cahill for handling the many bookings and the waiting list, arranging those special vehicle passes and liaising with the site staff. Needless to say the chiefs were supported by a great team of Indians - Simon, Catherine, Dave, Aileen, Pat, Emily, Brian, Maurice, Ger....AND, very special thank you to our newly appointed roving rally marshal 3 year old Peter Jevens. Peter patrolled the entire site on his little bike with stabilisers answering the calls of ralliers that required assistance......they start them very young in Munster these days!
Edmond O'Sullivan CHAIRMAN
Rally at Valley Rovers GAA Club BRINNY
Report No. 1
Like the many steam trains that rolled into Upton, 16 vans arrived in Valley Rovers GAA complex, (for many of the ladies it would be the only time we would get into the refs dressing room).
The main highlight of the weekend was the visit to the Upton Steam Rally on Sunday afternoon, where the sum beamed down on all.The sandwiches at the picnic had a distinct sooty flavour due to the many working steam engines on site.There was something for everyone at the steam rally; the kids enjoyed the many amusement rides, animal farms, and ice cream on offer.Memories were rekindled for some and others would have got an insight into times gone by. There were stalls selling anything from a car parts and garden furniture to hens and piglets.
The rest of the weekend was also quite enjoyable, with games for the kids on Saturday, barbecues and more games on Saturday night.It has to be said the honesty of the male adults left a lot to be desired.One male member was caught trying to cheat by looking in the top window to see exactly what the answer was. It was amazing what fun can be had from a "dumb dumb stick", Pictionary, and "kinetic energy".
Again on Sunday there was another barbecue, after which kiddies got ready for bed and came into the hall where there was a great night of music and dance. The kids all entertained us with singing, violin playing and mouth organ to name a few.
Unfortunately Monday morning came too quickly where we all had to say our usual good byes and wish our fellow ralliers a safe journey.
Departures from the site were timed to allow the local traffic (the road bowlers) to pass.
Hope to see you all again soon.
Brinny Rally Marshalls
Report No. 2
Well, what can we say?? What a fabulous weekend.We had it all, good weather, dust, barbeques, sing songs. We had a total of 15 vans for the famous Upton Steam Rally. The sun shone (as usual). We had two group barbeques and we also had some kinetic energy released at the family fun night on Saturday night.A battle between the sexes ensued with the Pictionary but to be fair the ladies won that hands down, as the men had to resort to “text a friend” with the answers!!!The dumb dumb stick really had everybody thinking and amused us for ages!
The Slippery Dip reared its head again on Saturday morning and unfortunately one rally marshal gave us all a fright and ended up in hospital for the night! Hard hats next time we think!! Luckily he returned to us the next day fighting fit and banging his bongos!
Of course the trip to the Steam Rally was the highlight for a lot of us.We saw it all and even picnicked on a trailer body! Where else would it happen!The road bowls kept us entertained and amused for the whole weekend.We even had to move off the road to let a hundred men or more pass us!!
And of course at a Munster rally there has to be a sing song! And what a talented bunch of children we have! From dancers to singers, violin players and mouth organists we should start a band! Big thanks must go to the rally marshals for a wonderful weekend and special thanks to Tony O’Donovan and Pat Spillane for the music.
Roll on Tall Ships and to the glorious weather again!
Slán go foill!
Hello and Welcome to the Munster Centre!
The Munster Centre may be small in size but it makes up for this by being big at heart! We are a small group of enthusiastic ralliers, both young and ….well…..not so young. The lifeblood of any club is a healthy mix of different age groups with a steady influx of new members. Children are particularly important and this year, in view of the number of under-teens coming to our rallies we decided to form a Youth Committee rather than the more exclusive Teenage Committee of previous years. So, if you are a new Munster Centre Member (especially if you have young kids!) why not come along to one of our rallies and see what you think?! Go on, give it a go…..you may get hooked!
The rally programme for 2010 was a great success. We thoroughly enjoyed hosting the 100 caravans and motorhomes at our Irish Division National Rally in St Augustine’s College, Dungarvan.. Our ordinary centre rallies (Old Head of Kinsale, Bayview Dungarvan, Glen of Aherlow, Adare, Fota House, Dunmanway, Doolin & Blarney) were blessed with reasonable weather. Who can forget Dunmanway? .... was that really west Cork bathed in endless sunshine? Glorious sun aside, it will be best remembered as the tyres, donkeys and super-slide rally. Fota House was another particularly memorable rally; the boat trip around Cobh harbour, the tour of Fota Safari park, the tour of Fota House and…..ghostly goings on in the Fernery! And finally, Doolin – a truly unique experience for our hardy ralliers!
Already, the 2011 rally season beckons. Once again we have made a few site changes, including a brand new site at Brinny GAA Club grounds, very close to the venue for the famous Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally. So go on, check out the Munster Centre section of the 2011 handbook, pull out the calendar and get making your rally plans!
To conclude I would like to wish our out-going chairman Paul Cahill every success for his year as the new Chairman of the Irish Division. I wish to thank the new Munster Centre Committee members (Pat Spillane, Vice Chairman, Emily Spillane, committee member, Paul Kennefick, committee member, Brian Condell, committee member, Martin Geaney, committee member, Gareth Jevens, Chairman Youth Committee and all the new Youth Committee members) for getting involved with the running of the Centre. I wish to thank the outgoing and the re-appointed committee members for their dedication to the Munster Centre.
Slán go fóill and happy and safe caravanning!
Edmond O’Sullivan
Munster Centre Chairman
A Long Way Home A Travelog By Colin & June McCarthy - Munster Centre Members 'On the 2009 May Bank Holiday Monday we left Curragh Chase Forrest Park campsite after a very enjoyable weekend with our friends from the Munster Centre of the Caravan Club. We were heading for home in Midleton, but with a bit of a detour to check out a few flower beds ....' TO VIEW A PDF VERSION OF THIS MOST ENTERTAINING STORY - CLICK HERE
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