Today we are welcoming everyone back for the New Year with the hope that, with the rollout of vaccines, we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Our speaker will be John Murphy, on leading a team remotely during Covid 19.
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Forthcoming Speakers and Events
Jan 18th Dave Murray, DGE, TBC
25th President Alan Davidson on Robbie Burns
Feb 1st . Grace Vanzyl, a Peace Builder Club
15th Hugh Loughlin Japan – the link with opportunity


Rangers Walks
Cancelled until further notice.
Apologies
PP Tony Keegan, Kenneth Carroll

Attendees
There were 22 Members in attendance

President’s Announcements
President Alan announced that Pat Fanning was retiring from his role of Principal of the school we support in Kabwe, Zambia and suggested we all read his last letter from Kabwe where he has achieved so much. There are people who do things and people who just talk about doing things. Pat was a great example of the former and we welcome him home. As has been said before, sometimes these efforts seem like drops in the ocean, but the ocean is made up of drops.
Alan would be at the Grand Canal Hotel on Friday if anyone fancied an outdoor coffee.

The Rotary Club of Dublin Annual/Special General Meeting was chaired by P.P. Ted Corcoran
Secretary Tony was able to announce that with 22 members in attendance online we had a quorum. Minutes of the last AGM on 15th April 2019 and for the last SGM on 25th Nov 2019 were approved without objection.





Hon. Secretary Report Rotary Club, Dublin AGM December 7th 2020 by Tony Keegan
In the Rotary Year ending June 30th 2020 the Club met for lunch each Monday on 30 occasions to March 9th 2020 in the Grand Canal Hotel Grand, Canal Street Dublin 4 excepting Public Holidays and a break for Christmas and the New Year.
Due to Government restrictions imposed following the Covid 19 Pandemic the Rotary Club, Dublin met for a further 12 Online meetings thereafter.
Ten of the meetings were business meetings in 2019/2020 and Derek Byrne maintained the excellent standard of speakers and range of topics as his predecessors had done. The highest attendance of members at a Luncheon meeting was 41 when Her Excellency the German Ambassador was our Speaker. We had 6 evening meetings with an average attendance of 12.
Your Council met twelve times during 2019/2020
PP Tom O’Neill welcomed 170 guests to our lunches and Online meetings, an average of five per meeting. I can report that the average attendance at our lunches to March 9th 2020 was 31 with an average of 26 members. The average attendance at our Online meetings to June 30th last has been 25 with an average of 23 members.
As of June 30th 2020 we had 51 members and six Hon Members. Included among the Hon Members is our PDG John D Carroll. We numbered 17 Past Presidents plus 4 Past Presidents of other Rotary Clubs, 33 Paul Harris Fellows and six with Sapphires. Six members left us during the past year. They were PP Victor Hamilton, PP Tony Gannon, Veronica Kunovska who transferred to the Barcelona Club, Claudio Vanzan who transferred to the Milan Club and Sonia Crepaldi and Reinaldo Crepaldi who moved to Newbridge. Seven new members have joined us since the 2019 AGM. They are John Costello, Dorothy Hannon, Tony McCourt, Dermot Knight, Roger Owens, Simone Nelson and Pat Fanning who transferred from being a Hon. Member. Your officers and Council are very conscious of the challenge facing us with regard to membership numbers and will continue with our efforts to attract suitable candidates for membership.
The Leonardo da Vinci event in Florence was cancelled due to Covid 19.
We have continued to support the Alice Leahy Trust.
The District Conference was held outside Belfast and President Mariandy led a group of members of our Club to it.
President Mariandy’s own President’s Night was held in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and was a great success with Guest Speaker Her Excellency Deike Potzel the German Ambassador to Ireland and dancing.
At our Special General Meeting held on November 25th 2019 Hon. Treasurer Randal Gray presented the Annual Accounts to June 30th 2019. The Accounts were adopted and Club Officers elected for 2020/21 and 2021/22.
We had applied for a Presidential Citation and I am happy to report that after the conclusion of the Rotary Year 2019/2020 our Club under the leadership of President Mariandy was awarded a Platinum Citation.
PP Paul Martin ably assisted Santa Claus in providing good cheer and toys to the children of the National Children’s Hospital Tallaght thus carrying on a tradition that began in Harcourt Street in 1915. PP Paul Martin assisted Santa Claus also in making an early visit to the senior citizens in the Greenore/Rostrevor Centre in Macken Street in November after a Lunch supplied by a Club team. Our Club, as is the yearly practice, also supply gifts which are purchased individually by PP Paul Martin and his wife Mary, lovingly wrapped, and given to each of the ladies and to the Children in Tallaght Hospital by Santa Claus.
Our Christmas Lunch with Speaker Bobby McDonagh was a great success and guests included 6 widows of former members.
Our big fundraising event of the year was again the Remembrance Tree in Dundrum Town Centre organised by a team led by Assistant Hon. Treasurer Tony Murray. Over €14,800 was raised and distributed to three Vincent DePaul Conferences.
Because of John Goor’s death our annual BBQ took place in Coolboy House south Wicklow on Saturday May 11th 2019 courtesy of John’s son Louis and his wife Fiona. It was titled the John Goor Memorial BBQ and a team led by PP Donald Gordon raised in excess of €15,000 for the Zamda project.
The Club also supported a Project to supply sandwiches to frontline workers in the Mater Hospital during the Covid19 Pandemic at a cost of €2,500. We applied for and received a District Grant for this Project.
Another Project related to the Covid 19 Pandemic was the donation of €2,000 to Focus Ireland to help them provide warm meals to homeless families and children.
Your Rotary Rangers continue to roam the mountains and hills ably led by Past President Brian George. They have had 40 outings in 2019/2020 and have walked in excess of 700 kilometres. Fourteen members of our Club have participated in the Walks. New members are always welcome. Your History Group has attended Wednesday Contemporary Irish History Seminars in TCD.
The Dubliner continues to appear each Monday as it has been doing on a weekly basis since 1993. Its Editors Frank Bannister, Alan Harrison, David Booth, Delma Sweeney and Dermot Knight are to be congratulated on maintaining a high standard of reporting, accurate with the odd humorous quip.
I would remind members that there are now just two categories of membership Active and Honorary. The Senior Active level was abolished some years back. All members therefore should be members of a Committee and involved in the running of our Club and providing service.
Finally, may I thank each of you for your co-operation and patience. It has been a pleasure working with President Mariandy in 2019/2020.

The examined Annual Accounts for the year ended 30 Jun 2020 were prepared and presented by Randal Gray and were proposed by President Alan and seconded by Mariandy Lennon.
A quiet year with no activity for 6 months.
€2,200 transferred to the Cambodia Fund and €2,403 was held in reserve for the Rotary Leonardo Fund leaving a balance of €24,379
Approved by President Alan and seconded by P.P. Tom O’Neill


The Trust Fund Account for the year ended 30 Jun 2020.
€5,000 was given to the Mark Pollock Trust, €5000 to the Dolly Parton Fund and €5000 to the Salvation Army, leaving a closing balance of €11,110.


The Hon Treasurer's Proposed Budget for the year ending 30 Jun 2021.
With 54 members and an annual sub of €295 there would be an income from membership of €15,930 and a budgeted surplus for the year of €330


Honorary Members for the Rotary Year 2020/21 are: PP Sean Donohoe, Alice Leahy, Brian Taylor and Betty Watson, as was the late PDG and PP John D. Carroll, RIP.

The six ordinary members of Council for the Rotary Year 2020/21 are: Paul Martin, Frank Bannister, Alan Harrison, Kenneth Carroll, Ted Corcoran and Roger Owens.

The Chairpersons of Committees for 2020/21 are: Foundation: Delma Sweeney.
Community & Vocational: Kenneth Carroll. International: Brian O’Boyce.
New Generation: Rana Al Damin.

The following positions were confirmed:

Nominee for President 2022-23 David Booth
Proposed by Alexander Kopf and seconded by Alan Davidson

For the year 2021-22

President Elect: David Booth
Proposed by Alexander Kopf and seconded by Alan Davidson
Vice President: Delma Sweeney
Proposed by Vice president David Booth and seconded by President Elect Alexander Kopf
Honorary Secretary: Tony McCourt
Proposed by President Elect Alexander Kopf and seconded by Vice President David Booth
Honorary Treasurer: Dermot Knight
Proposed by president Elect Alexander Kopf and seconded by Vice President David Booth
Assistant Honorary Treasurer: Tony Murray
Proposed by President Elect Alexander Kopf and seconded by Vice President David Booth



Our VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY on the night of December 16th 2020 turned out to be memorable and highly entertaining. Delma was the main inspiration and driving force behind the event and gets a big thanks from all of us. Who could have guessed that such fun could be had by dressing up in Christmas jumpers and crazy hats, sipping wine and looking at each other on a computer screen? It was all down to those who entertained us magnificently with their party pieces.2020 has opened up the world of virtual meetings and get-togethers and things will never go back quite to what they were.

Just before we got started in honour of our esteemed member P.P. Ken Hunt we had an E.G.M. electing him to Honorary membership of the club in recognition of his distinguished and meritorious service in the furtherance of Rotary ideals.

Mariandy kicked off by getting us into the Christmas spirit by singing and playing her piano with an enchanting Filipino love song and Mike Timms started the giggles by reciting his ‘Politically Correct Christmas’. Tony Keegan’s moving story and Mary O’s rendering of Paul Durkin’s poem ‘In the Train’ gave us something deeper till David Booth showed us two contrasting styles of music on his classical guitar – sweet melody from Italy and jazzy dance music from Brazil. Dermot and Amanda Knight looked at the year that was in it with their charming poem, ‘Looking for the brighter side’ which merits being reprinted here. They followed this with a little Christmas Quiz. After the break and raffle, Jono enchanted us with ‘Are ye right there Michael?’ and not to be outdone Eamonn Allen gave us a lusty performance of ‘Raglan Road’ and Brian George and Helen Baker used their duet skills bringing us back to Christmas with ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’. Delma had us all laughing as she recounted some stories from her working life. We had some delightful Scottish music from our VIP guest for the night Fiona McAuslan who is a virtuoso violinist. Tony McCourt had us enthralled by his memories of learning how to drive in war-torn Lebanon with his hand stuck to the horn and never using the breaks. Ted invited us all to finish the quotes he half gave us in a hilariously meandering poem which was a mosaic of much-loved verse while Alan Harrison again got audience participation for the repeated chorus in his nostalgic poem about Dublin in the auld times. Could this ever happen again?

“Looking for the Brighter Side”
Dermot & Amanda

At the beginning of this year,
Who could have imagined the heartache and fear?
All the things we did before
Suddenly could not be done any more
No shops, no pubs, and forget all about travel,
Without visits to exotic locations like Italy, France, and Cork our lives would unravel!

As we saw the horror of this new ill
We also saw the marvel of our health workers who toil even still
Though this virus has been such a blighter
At Christmas we are going to try to see things brighter

We want to remember the good things we did discover
And remember them still even when things recover
For this year we had a chance to really experience the spring
Swapping commuting to spend time in the garden and hear the birds sing
We sat outside from June through September
And even had starlight nights in November

We went for long walks and enjoyed being still
And spending much less time at the shopping till
Working from home no cars to drive no trains to ride
Better for our planet – much less carbon dioxide
All of the technology, with things like zoom
Allow us to cross continents without leaving the room
But the best of all, our biggest treasure
Has been more time for us here together

So as 2020 comes to an end
Even if we can’t yet see family or friend
Let us try our best to see the good in our life
And remember we are lucky for so many others live in poverty and strife.
So let’s not call this Christmas different, let’s not say it’s no fun
Let’s celebrate what we have and make it a good one
To all of you and those you will virtually hold dear
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a