Birr Year Review
This review would be a welcome and appreciated gift
especially for our emigrants and anyone who has lost
contact with their native parish. The publication contains
a very interesting account of the various events in and
around Birr during the year. It will give hours of
pleasure as people browse through the pages. The magazine
is on sale in most newsagents, supermarkets and garages in
the Birr area.
Eighty four years ago, an American, Melvin Jones
called together a group of men of goodwill and formed the
Lions Club. It was and still is a service organisation
with the motto –
“we serve”. In the intervening years
Lions International has become the largest service
organisation in the world.
Birr Lions Club was formed on 28th
January, 1974, originally consisting of twenty Charter
members, some of whom are still members of the Club. With
the motto “Caring for People” our commitment is to
youth, to the underprivileged, to the aged and to the
general good of the Community in which we live.
In order to achieve these aims the members work
together to accumulate funds in every way possible. It is
this working together in a common cause which gives an
agreeable and stimulating aspect to our efforts. We have
used such projects as, Telephone Directories, Fashion
Shows, Golf Classics, Concerts, Barbeque’s, Sponsored
Walks, Auctions of Promise, Church Gate Collections – to
mention but a few.
In connection with these money raising activities we
owe a very great debt of gratitude to the people of Birr
and District for their continuous generosity to our
efforts. In this respect a special tribute must be paid to
the business community of Birr, who despite so many calls
on their generosity are most charitable to the needs of
the Lions Club.
In the recent past contributions have been made to the
Wheelchair Association, Camcor Singers (for their trips to
France), Children’s Pilgrimage to Lourdes, St. Vincent
de Paul, Care of the Elderly, Oxmantown Hall Project,
Children of Chernobyl, Old Folk’s Outing, Junior Rugby,
(Tour to Scotland), Minor GAA, Prayer Hall in Community
School, Birr Hospice and the Hospice Movement. A large
donation was made to the Wilmer Tennis Club and we expect
to contribute over €7618 to the St. Brendan’s Church
Restoration fund. I mention these contributions not to
claim any credit for them but rather, to let the public
know that their generous subscriptions have gone to worthy
causes.
Our commitment to youth is most important to us. By
providing sponsorship for youth events, be they sporting,
recreational or educational, we can help to light a path
that our young people will travel as they grow and mature.
It is a path filled with promise and discovery, enthusiasm
and hope. Anything that keeps Youth away from drugs, drink
and the other temptations of this modern age should be
encouraged and supported.
Since its inception Birr Lions Club has supported
Blindness Treatment Programmes in African Countries. Many
of these countries are extremely prone to River Blindness,
Glaucoma and severe Trachoma infections. It is most
rewarding to know that for a subscription of €3.81 sight
can be restored to a blind person. Over 4 million persons
were treated for River Blindness in 1999.
These are just some of the projects that make the club
worth while and rewarding. Long may the ideals of Lions
endure in Birr and District.
