Peter O’Brien, Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Wicklow Rotary Club will welcome over 200 delegates from across the country and further afield as it plays host to the annual conference which takes place at the Royal Marine hotel in Dun Laoghaire from Friday September 27 to 29.
The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Sustainability’ and it represents the organisation’s 75th Ireland conference. The event will feature a range of speakers involved in caring for different aspects of our environment and promoting awareness of the importance of adopting sustainable practices organised by the conference committee under the chairmanship of Pat Kerr.
Seamus Parle, former President of Wicklow Rotary and recently elected District Governor of Rotary Ireland, feels the conference presents members with a wonderful opportunity to embrace the fellowship of Rotary.
Seamus said: “The annual conference is about exploring new ways Rotary can make a positive contribution to communities both here and abroad. This year we are delighted to welcome delegates from all over the island, from Britain, the USA, Africa and Australia. We want every delegate to leave the conference as an advocate for climate action, armed with evidence-based information to assist them in being an effective advocate. Of course, we will also be looking at the ways we can contribute to the sustainability of Rotary. As well as hearing new ideas from an exciting line up of speakers we will be using the conference to highlight the work of Rotary and club activities all over the island of Ireland and further afield.
“The conference is also about meeting people and having fun and this year we are putting a particular emphasis on the social aspect of proceedings. We want to use the conference to showcase everything Wicklow and south Dublin has to offer. To that end delegates and their partners will be able to avail of a range of activities including a golf outing in Woodbrook, a bus tour of Wicklow, a walking tour of Dun Laoghaire and a guided tour of the Seamus Heaney trail. While many of the attendees will be coming to Wicklow and south Dublin for the first time, we want to make sure it won’t be long before they return.”
Welcoming Rotarians to the conference, Theo Phelan, President of Wicklow Rotary Club said the club was particularly pleased that “one of our own” had been elected District Governor for 2024/25.
“Seamus is well known for his enthusiastic support of community activities and under his leadership I am confident that Rotary Ireland will prosper. We are looking forward to an exciting conference and to giving Seamus our full support in the year ahead.”
Rotary Ireland’s chosen charity this year is Cancer Fund for Children and two of the key speakers at the conference will be Peter O’Brien, Chair of the Board of Trustees and 18 year old Alex McEleney from Dublin who was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was just 11.
Peter O’Brien will outline the charity’s plans for a second lodge in Cong, Co Mayo, which will enable the charity to increase the number of children and parents it supports each year from 1,800 to 4,000. Plans for the Mayo centre, which will cost around €20 million to build are well advanced.
