Lions still roaring at forty

Lions still roaring at forty

3 October 2012

DOWNPATRICK Lions Club is celebrating four proud decades serving others.

A number of celebratory events to mark its 40th anniversary are planned over the coming months by the organisation which continues to enjoy major support from the local community.

They include presenting the five post-primary schools in the town with a perpetual shield which will be awarded to a pupil on an annual basis, with each school deciding what it is awarded for.

Plans are being drawn up to plant an Irish oak tree somewhere in the town, with the location yet to be agreed with Down Council. It’s also hoped a number of road signs will be erected to mark the 40th anniversary.

And Downpatrick Lions Club intends to make this year’s annual charter dinner a bigger then usual affair, given the fact the organisation has reached such a significant milestone.

Founded in 1973, the first president of Downpatrick Lions Club was Mr. Tom Morrison, then manager of the town’s Northern Bank branch. He, like his predecessors and fellow Lions, was dedicated to making a difference by helping others.

The Downpatrick Club, which is part of the world’s largest service organisation with an estimated 1.35 million members in 46,000 clubs dotted across the globe, currently has 35 of its own, seven of whom have been with the organisation since its launch four decades ago. They are Vincent Murphy, John Riordan, Fergus Kelly, Cecil Johnston, Terry Torney, Graham Dickson and Peter McKenny.

Downpatrick Club president, Mr. Sean Carvill, said he and his colleagues are dedicated to the service of communities at local and national levels and also respond to international demands for help and support.

In 1979, the club established the district’s first talking newspaper for people with visual impairments known as “Downsound,” while Lions Club also organises monthly get-togethers for senior citizens which provides them with a range of activities including storytelling, bingo and singing to name but a few.

Early fundraising activities included collecting old newspapers which were sold for recycling, fancy dress or tramps balls and the so-called miles of smiles which involved collecting coins and laying them end to end along a footpath, with the money then donated to charity.

Today, fundraising activities centre around sponsored golf competitions, street collections, calendar sales, quizzes and supermarket collections.

“The business community and the people of Down-patrick and the surrounding area have been very supportive of our club since its formation,” Sean continued.

“We enjoy the same financial support we have always done, despite the current economic downturn. With the help of local people we have raised £500,000 since the club’s launch, with the money used to support local charities and provide aid to overseas disaster funds.

“We continue to be exceedingly grateful for that support and generosity because in truth, we would be unable to respond to the many demands made upon our club. It is that continued support by the business community and local people that makes Downpatrick Lions Club what it is today.”

In addition to working for the local community, Downpatrick Lions Club members have over the years served at an All-Ireland level, providing two district governors, two district secretaries, one long-serving district treasurer, so-called regional and zone chairmen, as well as numerous district officers.

The late Tom Law and current president Sean Carvill served as district governors, while Vincent Murphy and Cecil Johnston both served as district secretaries. Mr. Tom Morrison served as district treasurer for 17 years.

The work of Downpatrick Lions Club has helped change many lives over the past four decades and the organisation aims to continue doing exactly that over the next 40 years. Mr. Carvill said members never lose sight of the fact that they are there to help others.

He added: “Our motto is ‘we serve’ and Downpatrick Lions Club employs that old axiom — show you care, get involved and let’s enjoy ourselves.”

• Downpatrick Lions Club meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at the Lakeside Inn.