Events and Activities

2024 Activities and Events

Thursday, 27^th June, 2024
The UCC Retired Staff Association hosted its Annual Barbeque in Sunday's Well Tennis and Cricket Club for all RSA members.
This event was enjoyed by all attendees, prior to the Summer break.

Thursday, 13^th June, 2024

Theo Dorgan (Irish poet, writer, lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter) gave a presentation to the R.S.A. in the Council Room , UCC .
He provided us with readings of a selection of his poems and provided the background and inspiration for these works.

The R.S.A. members then visited the Boole Library Special Collections Section and were given a presentation on The Great Book of Ireland - 'Leabhar Mor na hEireann'.

Theo Dorgan was joined for this presentation by Crónán Ó Doibhlin ( Head of Collections) and Louise O’Connor (Conservator, Special Collections & Archives)

Rather than attempting to summarise the content of the presentation, the information provided is available at the following link -

The Great Book of Ireland - Leabhar Mór na hÉireann (ucc.ie)

Contributors to the manuscript include artists Dorothy Cross, Louis le Brocquy, Pauline Bewick, Patrick Scott, Tony O’Malley , Basil Blackshaw, Rita Duffy, and poets including three Nobel Laureates, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes and Derek Walcott, as well as Alan Ginsberg, Carolyn Forché, Derek Mahon, Paula Meehan, Michael D Higgins and Eiléan Ní Chuillenáin.

The purchase of the manuscript by UCC was announced at a launch in January 2013.
The manuscript is to be preserved for posterity on behalf of the Irish people.
UCC raised the $1 million purchase price through private funding, both from individuals and organisations in Ireland and the US.

Thursday, 9^th May, 2024

On Thursday, 9 ^th May, at 2.00pm, the R.S.A. visited Fota House and Gardens.

The visit entailed a Combination House & Victorian Working Garden Tour, which lasted approx. 1 hour. The combination tour took in the lower ground floor of the House & the Victorian Working Gardens which are located behind the main house next to the formal gardens.
Fota House offered tea/coffee & cake in the café before the tour at rate of €6.00 per person.

Wednesday, 27^th March, 2024 - Upcoming Events and Activities:

The planned events for the next few months are as follows:

On Thursday, 11 ^th April the AGM of the Retired Staff Association will be held in the Council Room at 2.30pm.

All are welcome and I will send out the Agenda for the AGM next week
On Thursday, 9 ^th May at 2.00pm we have organised a Visit to Fota House and Gardens.

I have negotiated a group rate of €9.00 per person for the Combination House & Victorian Working Garden Tour which lasts approx. 1 hour. The combination tour takes in the lower ground floor of the House & the Victorian Working Gardens which are located behind the main house next to the formal gardens. Fota House will offer tea/coffee & cake in the café before the tour at rate of €6.00 per person. Total cost per person for the event is €15.00 which is fantastic value.
On Thursday, 13 ^th June, 2024 we will have a presentation from Theo Dorgan, Irish Poet and Author in the Council room to be followed by a 45 minute overview of The Great Book of Ireland/ Leabhar Mór na hÉireann in the Boole Library by Theo Dorgan. Check out https://www.theodorgan.com Theo is a graduate of UCC and it will be great to welcome him back to speak with us, as retired staff of the college.
On Thursday, June 27 ^th at 7.00pm we will host the Annual Barbeque in Sunday's Well Tennis and Cricket Club for all RSA members

Kind regards

Mary

Mary O Grady

Secretary, UCC Retired Staff Association

Thursday, 14^th March, 2024 - Visit to the Lord Mayor's Office, Cork City Hall
Members of the UCC Retired Staff Association visited the Lord Mayor's Office on 14 ^th March.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr. Kieran Mc Carthy, greeted the R.S.A. members and gave a presentation.
He spoke about the history of the City Hall and the Office of the Lord Mayor with great knowledge and passion.
Members found this to be very interesting & informative and were very appreciative of the Lord Mayor for hosting the Association.

Tuesday, 16^th January, 2024 - Maeve Langford, Kaleidoscope Coaching in The Council Room, The Quad, UCC

Workshop/presentation: Living Life Full Spectrum

What if the latter third of your life could be the best third? What if you could create a vision for living life full spectrum, such that retirement was everything you always hoped it would be? Move beyond New Year's resolutions and learn how to intentionally create outcomes you love and how to develop the mindset and strategy to achieve them.

This inspirational session, by Maeve, was in the style of a workshop rather than a presentation.

Attendees were encouraged to bring pen and paper to capture their emerging vision.
Maeve Langford, Owner, Kaleidoscope Coaching / Facilitation and Director

2023 Activities and Events

Thursday, 9^th November, 2023 in The Council Room, The Quad, UCC

Kara O Donnell, Nutritional Therapist, made a presentation to the RSA.

Kara spoke to us on the importance of nutrition and wellbeing and we had an opportunity to sample some healthy nutritious food bites she brought in on the day.

Kara indicated that "Every time we eat is an opportunity to nourish our bodies and we should strive to eat a rainbow everyday by combining lots of fresh fruit and vegetables in our diet"

If you would like to learn more about Kara's work, as a Nutritional Therapist, check out her webpage at www.karaodonnell.com

Thursday, 12 ^th October, 2023 in The Council Room, The Quad, UCC
As October was Cyber Security Awareness month our speaker was Katie Horgan, IT Analyst, IT Services, UCC
Katie spoke to us on Cyber Security and how we can all keep safe online.
Katie's very informative talk covered the following concepts:

Why your data is important
Account security (passwords, multi-factor authentication and password managers)
Phishing and other scams
Staying safe online
How to respond if you’ve fallen victim to cyber crime
Where to learn more

Thursday 14th September 2023 in the Aine Hyland Room, The HUB, UCC

We had a great attendance at our RSA members meeting today.
Our speaker Julie Oates from Age Action shared some interesting details about Age Action's Care and Repair services which may be of interest to our members.

The Care and Repair team complete small DIY jobs free of charge for older people.

For more details contact Age Action in Cork on 021-2067399 or check out their webpage at www.ageaction.ie

Tuesday 13th June 2023 in Room 255SR O Rahilly Building

Our guest speakers were Katie Siewek, Siobhan Walsh & Tracy Kearney from ALONE ( www.alone.ie) and Mark Bernardi of the Fire Service.

Katie and Siobhan described the services ALONE offers that support older people to age at home. They offer support in addressing challenges and finding solutions to a number of housing, financial and healthcare needs. They also provide assistive technology to older people on an assessment basis. Further to this, ALONE hosts a number of services which work in reducing social isolation. These include support in accessing community groups / day centres, a visitation befriending service, and a telephone service. Their presentation provided information on ALONE's referral pathways should anyone in the UCC RSA or their acquaintances like to avail of their services.
ALONE can be contacted by phone at 0818 222 024 (from 8am - 8pm, seven days a week)
Tracy gave a breakdown of ALONE's volunteer roles and how members of the UCC RSA might like to get involved with this part of the organisation. ALONE Volunteer Support & Befriending Service can be contacted by email at volunteer@alone.ie or by phone 0818 222 024 (from 8am - 8pm, seven days a week). Further information on volunteering can be had at www.alone.ie/get-involved/volunteer/
Mark gave an invaluable talk on safety in the home particularly relating to fire safety. He put an emphasis on the ways and times that we use/misuse electrical equipment. He also raised issues and gave advice about the dangers of open fires, stoves etc.

Tuesday 9th May in the Council Room, UCC .

Our Guest Speaker was Dr John Borgonovo, Lecturer, School of History, UCC who gave a talk on the Irish Revolutionary Period.
John says: "I am committed to making my scholarship accessible to the wider public. I have been involved in numerous collaborations with local cultural stake-holders. Frequently I speak to local history societies and regional history festivals, and regularly appear in the national media.

Tuesday 21st March The Saint John's Bible in the Rare Books Room of the Boole Library.
A US manuscript comparable in beauty to our own Book of Kells is on loan to the Boole Library. This modern hand-illustrated Bible, which has been described as America's Book of Kells, was on show for a special event for members of UCC's Retired Staff Association.

The Saint John's Bible, with its intricate lettering and breathtaking illustrations, is the culmination of an extraordinary $8 million project, ten years in the making, and seeks to imitate the beauty of European medieval manuscripts like those created here in Ireland in our Saints and Scholars era.

The Gospel and Acts volume of the Saint John's Bible Heritage Edition has kindly been loaned to UCC's Boole Library by the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University, to mark 25 years of international education partnership between our institutions.

We were fortunate to have a number of wonderful 'tour guides' join us on the day. As well as historian and Deputy Director for International Education, Marita Foster, we were also be joined by Clare Kouri, a College of St Benedict/St John's University student who is studying abroad in UCC this semester, and by Cronán Ó Doibhlin, UCC Library Head of Collections.

Tuesday, 14 February 2023 at 3 00 pm. Talk "Calfskin, paper and the Irish Book"
Talk followed the UCC Retired Staff Association Get Together in the Council Room at 2:00pm
The guest speaker was Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin who gave a talk on: "Calfskin, paper and the Irish Book"
This talk draws on Prof. Ó Macháin's current research into how documents were made before paper was available. As well as giving talks to both expert and lay groups, he has recently been interviewed on radio ( https://www.rte.ie/radio/lyricfm/clips/21557873/). This research is of broad interest, taking in everything from chemistry to history. Prof. Ó Macháin brings his subject so vividly to life as you will gather if you listen to the radio interview, so we are surely in for a treat.

2022 Activities and Events

Tuesday, 13 Dec 2022 - Visit to Cork Savings Bank and Afternoon Tea

For our final get together before the new year we are visiting the Cork Saving Bank, 1 Lapp's Quay.
Tim Cronin Buildings and Estates Office has very kindly arranged this special tour for us and gave me a few lines below on when UCC bought the building. It is now part of the UCC Business School:
1 Lapp’s Quay and 16 Parnell Place were acquired by UCC from the City Council in 2015. A design team was procured in 2016 and the works contractor was procured in 2017. The first event was held in Lapp’s Quay in November 2018, so less than 3 years from acquisition to opening.
2 00 pm Meet at the entry to the Cork Savings Bank for a tour of approximately 30 minutes.
This will be followed by a special Christmas treat:
3 00 pm Afternoon Tea in the Maldron Hotel, South Mall. This includes sandwiches, cream cakes, scones, mince pies

Saturday, December 10 2022 - Lunch-time concert at the Triskel Arts Centre at 1 00 pm and lunch afterwards at the Farmgate restaurant in the English Market
The concert: The Ficino Quartet will play music by Schubert, Philip Glass, Ravel and a new commission by UCC graduate, Linda Buckley. The concert starts at 1pm and lasts 90 minutes.
Lunch afterwards is in the Farmgate Restaurant.

Friday, 2 December 2022 -
11:30am : Ecumenical Service in the Honan Chapel
12:30pm : Retired Staff Christmas Lunch in the Student Centre, UCC

Wednesday, 30 November 2022 - Book of Irish Poetry Launch
We are very kindly invited to the launch of a book of Irish Poetry "Fuinneog Earraigh" by Bart Bambury RIP to be held in the City Library, Grand Parade on Wednesday, 30 November 2022 between 6-8 pm.

Wednesday, 23 November 2022 - Coffee Morning at Aula Maxima in aid of Arc House
Time: 10:00am to 11:30am
Venue: Aula Maxima, North Wing, UCC

Tuesday, 20 November 2022 - Arts Club for Retired Staff - Art and Coffee Sunday Afternoon
Guided tour of Crawford Art Gallery and coffee afterwards in Perry Street Market Café.
Enjoy some calm this Sunday afternoon (20th November) on a free hour-long guided tour of the Crawford Art Gallery at 2pm.
We will have refreshments afterwards in the adjacent Perry Street Market Café.

Tuesday, 8 November 2022 - Department of Folklore - Staff Oral History project
Venue: Staff Dining Room (now called Staff Restaurant)
Mr James Furey, Project Coordinator, Department of Folklore and two third year UCC students Orla Ryan and Tanya Coates will also attend. This is to assist us with re igniting the staff Oral History project that we are undertaking for the Retired Staff Association.

Tuesday, 10 October 2022 - Philosophy at the Glucksman 2022
We are delighted to invite you to Philosophy at the Glucksman, a phenomenology workshop exploring themes of self-consciousness and self-image through the Fashion Show: Clothing, Art and Activism exhibition.
All are welcome, and no background in philosophy or art is required, so please feel free to spread the word!
The workshop is free, but spaces are limited, so if you’d like to join us, please email alxbraa@gmail.com.
Dr Alessandro Salice, Alexander Bra - Department of Philosophy, UCC

Tuesday, 11 October 2022 - Dr John Cullinane's Talk - "Dances with Wars" - Council Room, UCC
Our colleague and friend Dr John Cullinane has kindly agreed to give us a talk entitled:
"Dances with Wars” subtitled “There’s more to Irish Dancing than Flatley, Wigs and Makeup".
John traces the development of Irish dancing as an expression of Irish national identity in the times of the War of Independence up to the effects of the Ukranian - Russian War. Irish dancing throughout five continents in some 30 countries.
John Cullinane. TCRG. ADCRG. BG. SDCRG

Tuesday, 13 September 2022 at 2 00 pm in ORB 202 (Room 202 O Rahilly Building).
Guest Speaker: Ms Anne Devine with a talk entitled "Encourage Yourself, Encourage Others

Tuesday, 13 September 2022 - Preview of the Irish Civil War documentary
The documentary will have a live soundtrack provided by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in the Cork Opera House
Start time: 8pm. Tickets €10.

Friday, August 19 2022 - Heritage Week Event in Cork City Library
Cliona O'Carroll and James Furey, Project Coordinator with Catching Stories, would like to invite the Retired UCC Staff members to our upcoming Heritage Week event (Friday 19th, Cork City Library Grand Parade, 12-1pm). James will be presenting the project and playing extracts from interviews, and we hope to have a good discussion also.

Sunday, 10 July 2022 - Open Garden in Aid of Marymount Hospice
Gertie and Maurice O'Donoghue are opening their garden in aid of Marymount Hospice.
The garden of Gertie & Maurice O'Donoghue at Dromboy, Carrignavar (T34 HK37) will open on Sunday, 10 July, 2.00-6.00pm, in aid of Marymount Hospice.

Thursday, 30 June 2022 - Retired Staff Association Summer Barbecue
Venue: Tennis Club, The Mardyke Date: Thursday, 30 June 2022 Time: 7 00 pm

Tuesday, 14 June 2022 - Tour of the Hub Building, UCC.
Time: 2:00pm. Followed by light refreshments in the Staff Dining Room (Staff Restaurant).
Buildings and Estates has kindly agreed to give us a tour of the new Hub.
Those attending the tour will meet at the entrance to the Hub.

Tuesday, 12 April 2022 - UCC Retired Staff Association Annual General Meeting
Day and Date: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 Time: 2 00 pm
Venue: ORB 255 (O Rahilly Building - Room 255)

Tuesday, 8 February 2022 - Kara O'Donnell O'Reilly talk about nutrition
This is the recording of the wonderful talk that Kara gave us on nutrition. video1413202616.mp4

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