Glinsk Ladies Club have a proud tradition in the Annals of Glinsk! Always there to help, always ready to lend a hand and to lead the way!!
The first meeting of Glinsk I.C.A. was held in Ballincurry School on November 10th 1970. The monthly meetings have been held since. In the beginning the meetings were held in Ballincurry School with the permission of school principal Alphonsus Mullaney and Fr. John Kelly C.C. Glinsk at that time, then when Ballincurry, Sonnagh and Toberroe Schools amalgamated we held our meetings in Glinsk School Hall and since September 1988 most of our meetings are held in Glinsk Community Centre.
In the late 1970’s we branched out on our own and formed The Ladies Club. Looking over the Minutes Books we have been lucky with the wonderful variety of Guest Speakers we have had and classes covering many different topics such as Hairdressing, Crafts, Cookery Demonstrations, Flower Arranging, Solicitors, Doctors, Nurses, Herbalists, Painting & Decorating, Upholstery, Beauticians, Gardening, Curtain Making, Go-for-life, Environment, Information regarding Grants, Dancing Classes, Cookery Classes, Upholstery Classes, Patchwork Classes. We learned a lot from each of these speakers about various Crafts, skills and Hobbies as well as about Finances and the Environment.
Then for our annual Outings we have got to the length and breath of Ireland and on one occasion we took a trip to Chester, another time we even got to visit Áras An Uachtarán, as well as the audience of the Late Late Show. The Ladies Club have always been very helpful in the locality regarding catering for all the different events within the Parish such as First Holy Communion Day, Senior Citizens Party, Credit Union AGM, GAA Celebrations or any event where help in catering is needed.
For the last few years we have been very lucky to receive Grant Aid from different sources such as Galway Arts Council, Galway County Council, Community Foundation of Ireland, Go for Life, Age & Opportunity and H.S.E. Those Grants have enabled us to arrange Dancing Classes to suit all ages and Body Toning Classes. Also to provide transport and meals for our Senior Citizens to travel to Knock on Pilgrimage and also on a shopping trip to Galway. We were also in a position to host a Senior Citizens Party. Those Grants have been a great help to our work and we are most grateful for them.
We just have one fundraising event each year and that is our annual Waltzing Competition, this competition is now well established and competitors come from many different parts of Ireland, last year winners came from Tipperary. This social event usually takes place in July each year.
At present we have over twenty paid- up members in our Club and the following are in office for 2009.
Chairperson: Kathleen Quinn
Vice Chairperson: Maureen Kenny
Treasurer: Celia Dowd
Assistant Treasurer: Margaret Farragher
Secretary: Beatrice Cuddy
Assistant Treasurer: Heidi Hannant
P.R.O.: Margaret Farragher
Committee: Ann Tighe, Lily Timothy, Mary Neary, Una Lohan