Tar Éis Óir - Online Publication: Autumn 2011 by Gaisce Alumni Network

Tar Éis Óir Newsletter Autumn 2011

The President’s Gold Award Holders Alumina Association

Volume 1, Issue 1

A welcome from Chairman Cian Timmons It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the first issue of the Tar Éis Óir e-zine. Tar Éis Óir is firmly committed to being an open organisation of and for Gaisce Award holders. In the past year we have facilitated expeditions, training courses, social events and feedback to the Gaisce executive and Council. None of this would have been possible without communication between our members and this ezine will give us greater capability to connect with the wider membership and encourage even more participation!

engagement by attending some of the planned events included in this e-zine, but I would encourage any of you to get in touch with thoughts about what else can be done.

The next year has some major events coming up – you will be able to read more about them in these pages. The International Gold Event (IGE) is to be held in Kenya this September and thanks to the fundraising efforts of individual Gold Award Holders, Ireland will be represented.

Cian Timmons

There are many opportunities for

Individual Award Holders have demonstrated their abilities along with a sense of commitment to their community and their own personal development by participating in the Gaisce Award Scheme. Imagine what we can achieve together in Tar Éis Óir!

Chairman

Inside this issue: Welcome by Chairman

Welcome by CEO of The President’s Award

What is Tar Éis Óir?

Becoming a P.A.L.

Off Site Safety Manage- 4 ment Course First Aid & CPR & AED 5 Courses Members Activities

6& 7

Upcoming Day Hike

International Gold Event 2011—Kenya

Gaisce Gold Ceremony—September

Tar Éis Óir

Upcoming Social Event 9

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A Message from the Chief Executive of The President’s Award I am greatly honoured to write this short message in the first Tar Éis Óir (TEO) Ezine. Tar Éis Óir (TEO) as an alumnus organisation is an important part of the broad Gaisce family and has, since its inception, shown that it has a commitment to the ongoing personal development of young people. In Gaisce we are always anxious for Award holders to be a part of what we do. Award holders being involved with Gaisce training workshops and public events is a healthy indicator of the ongoing value of the Award programme. In the changing and technologically driven times we live in our ability to communicate with those we serve is a crucial part of any organisations work. This E-zine in conjunction with the varied means we now have to communicate with each other will add an additional dimension to TEOs ability to achieve its goals. I encourage people associated with the Award to join TEO; continue to make a contribution; continue to add value. The future of our world, the future of generations yet unborn lies in the hands of those who at will take action and attempt to improve the lot of our fellow man. I see TEO as such an organisation and I wish all of you associated with TEO great success in your work in support of a better world. P. G. Callaghan Chief Executive Gaisce – The President’s Award

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What is Tar Éis Óir? Tar Éis Óir (TÉÓ) is the Irish Gold Award Holders Alumni Association. It is made up of voluntary members who have completed the Gold Gaisce Award, President’s Award Leaders and friends of the award. TÉÓ maintains a social and professional network for the wider Award family including participants and friends of the Award. We aim to provide a variety of opportunities for our members in the form of social events, physical activities and continued training. Through its activities, TÉÓ inspires its members to dream more, learn more, do more and become more… TÉÓ’s objectives are to: ·

Support Gaisce – The President’s Award in the further development of the Award programme.

Provide a forum for the views of Award Holders on Award related matters to be shared with Council.

Encourage Award Holders to become President’s Award Leaders (PALs).

Establish links with Award Holders internationally.

Provide members with social and other activities for their continued personal development.

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Presidential Award Leaders (P.A.Ls) sought The Gaisce Award is always looking for new and eager Presidential Award Leaders. A PAL can be a teacher, Youth leader or any adult (other than a family member) who is interested in supporting the award. The PAL is responsible for explaining the award to potential participants, agreeing an appropriate challenge with interested young people and monitoring and motivating the participants. They sign off when participants complete the award. PALs who are involved for 5 years can be nominated to receive the Civic Merit award by the President in person. If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing please contact the Gaisce office directly and they will let you know the next steps involved. It is a truly rewarding experience and allows you to share your love of the Award and its significance to others within your community.

Being a P.A.L. enables you to spread the word about the importance the Award has for the development of young people in our society.

First Aid and CPR (AED) Training Courses Tar Éis Óir will be organizing First Aid and Irish Heard Foundation CPR/AED courses in the Autumn. Dates will be announced through email. We recognize that heart disease is the number one killer in Ireland with approximately 10,000 people dying each year as a result. The majority of these will have died suddenly, outside of the hospital, because their heart stopped beating. If a defibulator is not readily available, brain death will occur in less than 10 minutes. One way of buying time until a defibulator becomes available is to provide artificial breathing and circulation by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. The earlier you give CPR to a person in cardiopulmonary arrest (no breathing, no heartbeat), the higher the chance of a successful resuscitation. Up to 80% of all cardiac arrests occur in the home, so you are most likely to perform CPR on a family member or loved one. Heart attack victims have double the chance of survival if they are immediately given CPR. Tar Éis Óir recognises the importance of CPR and AED training in helping to increase the rate of survival for out of hospital cardiac arrest. We believe that anybody working with young people in an active environment should be fully trained in basic First Aid, CPR and AED usage. These courses will be held by fully qualified and certified personnel and you will be issued with Irish Heart Foundation certifi- CPR saves lives. It can help friends, family cates. Further details will be available in the next edition of our and the wider community so please ensure that you are trained to save lives. newsletter. In order to be deemed qualified (certified) to perform CPR you must update every two years. This is your perfect opportunity!

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Upcoming Day Hike on Saturday 22nd October 2011 Tar Éis Óir is organizing a day hike in the Wicklow mountains on Saturday 22nd October. This hike will be led by an experienced and trained hill walker. It will be a 12 kilometre hike through the Wicklow mountains and we will ascend Djouce and Lugalla mountain during this trek. It is important that those attending are fit enough for the hike and bring appropriate walking boots. No jeans or runners allowed. You will need to bring a packed lunch. Car transport is not wholly necessary as lifts will be available from designated pick up points. Please let us know by Friday 14th October if you plan on coming on this hike so that we can get an idea of the numbers . If you

are

interested

please

drop

for

further

information.

Contact

tareisoir@gmail.com for up-to-date information as dates may have to change for safety reasons.

International Gold Award Event 2011—Kenya The International Gold Event (IGE) is a triennial gathering which brings together Gold Award holders from different National Award Authorities (NAAs). It aims to instruct and inspire those who have attained the highest level of the Award to undertake ongoing leadership roles regionally, nationally and globally. The IGE has continued to grow into an event which engages our Award holders, NAAs, Trustees and the IC. The first event of this kind, known as The Commonwealth Gold Expedition, was hosted by Canada in 1967 and its emphasis was on expeditionary ventures. Since then the event has grown to encompass soft skills training, service projects and cultural exchange events and the emphasis of the programme is now on leadership development.

Tar Éis Óir members at the last International Gold Event in Mauritius 2008.

The IGE 2011 is taking place from the 2nd—16th September in Nairobi, Kenya and will be attended by 150 delegates from across the world. This year we are represented by two Gold Award holders.

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Members Section Gold Award Holder expedition for Chernobyl Children International (August 2011) Andrew Forde, Gold Award Holder (2003) and former Chairperson of Tar Éis Óir who currently works in Kosovo for the Council of Europe, along with a mixed team of fellow-mountaineers have been training and fundraising in earnest for their attempt to summit Europe's highest mountain, Mt Blanc this summer. The event coincided with the 25th Anniversary of Chernobyl Children International, an Irish charity, headed by Adi Roche, which continues to provide invaluable support and rehabilitative services in the regions affected by the worlds worst nuclear disaster 25 years ago. Each member of the five-person team made a commitment to raise money for the charity, and organised a range of events including a mountain run, comedy nights, VIP Barbeques and an Art Exhibition (some works of art remain available for anyone interested!). At the end of August the team departed Dublin airport, bearing ice axes, crampons and a hugely positive spirit. The long months of physical training and gruelling fundraising had come to an end. After touching down in Geneva the team travelled to Les Contamines, nestled deep in the French Alps to acclimatise and refine their high-altitude ice-skills. During this process, it soon became apparent that Mt Blanc was not looking receptive to any more mountaineers this season!! Unfortunately as a result of exceptionally dangerous rock fall due to melting glaciers the authorities closed the primary access route to the summit of Mt Blanc. Bearing the bigger picture in mind, the team quickly amended plans and instead travelled to Gran Paradiso mountain in northern Italy for an attempt at it’s summit, which is just shy of the height of Mt Blanc. So after 6 months of training and fundraising, limitless man-hours of planning, preparation, checking and re-checking equipment, a week of high-altitude and glacier mountaineering training, and thousands of carefully placed steps on a 20,000 year old glacier every member of the team successfully summited the 4000 metre mountain! Mt Blanc is going nowhere… so maybe next year! 

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Members Section A Road Less Travelled: Tales of the Irish missionaries (Four Courts Press) Tar Éis Óir members Aidan Clerkin (Gold Award 2010) and Brendan Clerkin (2007) have a new book – A Road Less Travelled: Tales of the Irish missionaries (Four Courts Press). It was launched in September 2011 by GOAL founder, John O’Shea. The book is a collection of first-hand accounts from Irish missionaries about their development and humanitarian work and about their day-to-day lives in places as diverse as Papua New Guinea, Alaska, Sierra Leone, Peru, Rwanda and the Amazon. The stories span the period from the mid-1930s to the 2010 World Cup, from contributors of all ages and from Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican and laypeople. President Mary McAleese, in her foreword to ARLT, describes these accounts as “fascinating, intriguing and inspiring.” Also included are special contributions from Tom Arnold (Concern), Justin Kilcullen (Trócaire), John O’Shea (GOAL), Fr Seán Healy (Social Justice Ireland), and others. Further information and an extended blurb are available at: www.fourcourtspress.ie. Local and national media coverage so far includes featured interviews with Seán Moncrieff (Moncrieff) and George Hook (The Right Hook), and forthcoming pieces in the Irish Independent, RTÉ Radio 1 (The God Slot) and Newstalk (Talking History). A Road Less Travelled will be of interest to those involved in development work or volunteering abroad. It will also be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in Irish social history, telling the stories of Irish men and women who have adapted to jungle, desert and city slum, while working through war and personal danger, famine, political oppression – and countless cultural surprises. Proceeds from sales are being donated to the Mukuru Art and Crafts centre in Nairobi, Kenya. MAC provide art therapy for street children in Mukuru, one of Nairobi’s largest slums. They train their students in artistic techniques, as well as entrepreneurial and marketing skills, to provide them with a way to earn a living after graduation. The illustrations in A Road Less Travelled were drawn by their students.

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Off Site Safety Management Course in November A course is being run in November by Tar Éis Óir to equip people with the necessary safety skills needed for the organisation of a range of outdoor activities. It will take place in Gaisce Head Office, Ratra House, North Road, Phoenix Park. The OSSM course is administered by the Royal Geographical Society in London and has been running in the United Kingdom for a number of years. It is the second time the course has been run in Ireland. This course aims to allow delegates to safely plan, execute and review trips away from their usual environment at every level - from school trips to full scale expeditions. Thus it would be useful for many people in a range of different areas from teachers, Presidential Award Leaders, to those involved in the organising of leisure activities. It is fully subsidised by Tar Éis Óir, the Gaisce Gold Award Holders Alumni group, so there are no fees payable. The standard price for the course is 240 pounds sterling. Places will be limited so if you are interested please email us on tareisoir@gmail.com. Exact dates will be finalised nearer the time and subject to certain conditions.

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Gaisce Gold Award Ceremony Dublin Castle, Thursday 29th September 2011 The Gaisce Gold Award Ceremony will be held on the 29th September 2011 in Dublin Castle. This will be the last Presidential Gold Award Ceremony celebrated by President Mary McAleese before she leaves office in October. As a result we are making a special appeal to members who are available to come out and help us on the day. Tar Éis Óir has always had members available on the day to help with the proceedings. This year we are aiming to have as many members as possible attend the event. We want a strong presence on the day to mark the huge support that the President has given to the Award in Ireland and to thank her for her endeavours.

Tar Éis Óir volunteers at the 2009 Gold Award Ceremony.

Please contact tareisoir@gmail.com if you are available between 11pm and 1pm on Thursday 29th September.

Social Night: O’Neil’s Pub, Suffolk Street Thursday 29th September The next social event to take place for Tar Éis Óir members and those interested in getting involved takes place on Thursday 29th September. This is the same day as the Gold Award Ceremony in Dublin Castle. The reception will take place from 7.30 pm in O’Neil’s Pub, Suffolk Street. O’Neil’s is located just off Grafton Street in Dublin’s city centre and near Trinity College Dublin. This event is for people who are interested in getting involved in Tar Éis Óir and for those who are longstanding members. It is a fantastic opportunity for new members to meet other Gold Award Holders in a social environment. We would encourage everyone who is available on Thursday evening and is a member or would like to be a member of Tar Éis Óir to come along. Finger food will be provided. It promises to be a very enjoyable experience and hopefully one of many more for you! We look forward to seeing you there!

Tar Éis Óir

September Su M

W Th

Head Office - Dublin

Fr Sa

Gaisce - The President's Award

Ratra House,

14 15

North Road,

21 22

26 27

28 29

Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.

October Su M

Th Fri Sat 1

Tel: 01-617 1999 / 01-670 7063 Fax: 01-670 7060 Email: tareisoir@gmail.com Web Site: www.gaisce.ie

November We’re on the web! Www.facebook.com/ tareisoir

Su M 30 31

Tu 1

W 2

Th Fri Sat 3 4 5

All information in this newsletter is believed to be true at time of publication. The authors will not be held liable for any activities undertaken by individuals as a result of information obtained in this print. This publication is independent of The President’s Award and is solely to provide information to Gold Award participants, P.A.L’s and members of Tar Éis Óir.