Irish Girl Guides welcomes girls and women ages 5 to 95 to join in Clonmel
Guiding has been active in Clonmel for more than 50 years and has grown from just a group of Guides to now including Ladybirds (ages 5-7), Brownies, (ages 7-10), Guides (ages 10-14) and Senior Branch (ages 14+).
The success of Guiding in the area is due to the commitment of the group of women who volunteer with the organisation. They have dedicated time to Guiding for years, because they believe it provides such value to girls in Clonmel.
Claire and Lucy Cassin Clonmel
“Our volunteers in Clonmel are second to none”, says Mena Timoney, South East Regional Commissioner for Irish Girl Guides. “Through COVID, many of our volunteers ran online to support our members and provide a welcome distraction for children and young people. They put together activity packs, organised online quizzes and games, and overall, went above and beyond for their girls.”
Guide activities
The team of volunteers in Clonmel is made up mostly of parents, who got involved through their children and stayed on because they enjoyed it so much. But there is also a special aunt and niece team in Clonmel. Lucy Cassin, now Area Commissioner for Clonmel, was a Guide in Clonmel growing up and has loved Guiding ever since. She brought her niece, Claire, along to Brownies aged 8. Claire loved Brownies and decided to volunteer with the Unit when she was old enough. Now, Claire is District Commissioner in Clonmel. Claire and Lucy still volunteer with Brownies and have no plans to stop soon!
On volunteering, Lucy says “I get as much from it as the girls do. I look forward to coming every week and exploring new badges with the girls. Irish Girl Guides excels at encouraging girls and young women to develop confidence, resilience, independence, teamwork and leadership skills as well as a community spirit and I am delighted that we can continue to offer non-formal educational opportunities for girls and young women in the area”.
Brownies at Camp
Irish Girl Guides Clonmel welcomes youth members from age five-plus to enrol for the upcoming term. Units reopen in-person from October 2021. Booking is essential.
For further information or to enrol you daughter, visit www.irishgirlguides.ie, or contact Oonagh by email serdo@irishgirlguides.ie or phone 0876504841.
Irish Girl Guides (IGG) has around 11,000 members throughout the 26 counties. Its 1,600 volunteer Leaders provide an informal educational programme of fun and challenging activities that foster confidence, independence and leadership skills in girls and young women, enabling them to develop to their full potential and to become responsible citizens. Youth members from age five to 30 can choose to earn a wide range of badges, including Aviation, Climate Action, Community Action, Cultural Diversity, Global Traveller, Engineering, Europe, Responsible Consumerism, Science Investigator and STEM.
IGG have groups across the south east, in Wexford, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny and Clonmel.
Ladybirds are IGG members aged five to seven, Brownies aged seven to 10, Guides aged 10-14 and Senior Branch members aged 14-30.
