What’s happening in U3A Armagh
Richard Burns and Tim Hanna have compiled a new Christmas Fun Quiz for 2025.
Teams of six will compete for the winners’ prize and another for the runners-up on FRIDAY 12th DECEMBER in the Cardinal Ó Fiaich Memorial Library.
The doors open at 10.30 for coffee and biscuits (£1 in the basket, please) and a morning of gentle testing our collective grey matter is guaranteed.
On FRIDAY 16th JANUARY 2026 we will hold our annual post-Christmas Lunch in the new setting of the Charlemont Arms Hotel, Armagh.
After mulled wine (or alcohol-free) at 12.15 we will sit down to a three-course meal at 1.00 p.m.
Tickets cost £30 per head inclusive of a glass of red or white wine with the main course.
You can view the Menu here
Places can be reserved either after the Quiz finishes at our meeting on Friday 12th December or between 10.30 and 11.30 on Tuesday 6th January 2026 in the foyer of the Charlemont Arms Hotel. When booking you will be asked to indicate your choice of starter, main course and desert.
Payment may be made by cash or by cheque payable to Armagh & District U3A.
Our next monthly meeting will be held on Friday, 21st November, at 10.30am in the O’ Fiaich Library, Moy Rd, Armagh. Coffee and biscuits will be available as usual (£1 in the basket please).
The guest speaker will be Canon Jim Campbell who will be giving an illustrated talk on L S Lowry the artist famed for his scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England during the first half of the 20th century. Jim has forwarded a brief resume which is copied below.
Jim Campbell’s previous talk to Armagh U3A, about the life of Sir John Lavery, was a real hit and only finished because lunchtime was looming, so be assured of a stimulating hour….or two!
LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY 1887-1976 has been described as one of Britain’s best loved but most misunderstood painters. Unfairly, for the first fifty years of his life, the art establishment categorised him as an amateur; an un-taught, naïve painter of ‘matchstick men’. However, by the time of his death he had received recognition in the upper echelons of the art world; admitted to the Royal Academy at the age of 75, had received three honorary Doctor of Letters degrees, and been given the freedom of the city of Salford, and had declined no less than five honours, including a knighthood.
In spite of holding down full-time employment all his working life and caring for his invalid mother, he was an obsessive painter, principally of the industrial landscapes of the areas of Salford, Pendlebury, and Mottram where he lived, on the edge of Manchester. He portrayed the working-class homes, streets, factories and places of leisure of the people he knew so well. At first sight, many of his paintings could be described as gloomy and depressing, but closer inspection of the figures who populated his canvases show the resilience and courage of ordinary people confronting the poverty and tragedy of Northern working-class life of the early twentieth century. By the 1950’s Lowry had begun to produce works that were brighter and more cheerful, introducing seascapes and beach crowds, country landscapes, and more varied subjects such as London’s Picadilly Circus, portraits, and paintings of his enigmatic fantasy figure “Ann”.
Laurence Stephen Lowry was a fascinating and complex man of many parts and often difficult to understand; humble, self-effacing, often lonely and isolated, and sometimes bearing a degree of resentment at his own experiences in life. Yet his art is haunting and unforgettable, resonating with deep feeling, and well worth returning to again and again for another look.
This may be of some help to our members.
Our next monthly meeting will be held on Friday, 17th October, at 10.30am in the O Fiaich Library, Moy Rd, Armagh. As usual coffee and biscuits will be provided (£1 in the basket please).
The guest speaker will be Jack Wilson from Loughgall Honey.
Loughgall Honey are run by a grandfather and grandson duo who combined, have been keeping bees for approximately 45 years in the Loughgall area. With the help from their bees, they produce an award-winning, raw, organic honey, sourced from the local apple orchards. They also specialise in homemade beeswax skin products, beneficial for skin conditions and made using organic ingredients.
Our next monthly meeting will now be held on Friday, 26th September, 10.30am in the O Fiaich Library, Moy Rd, Armagh. We have had to postpone the meeting as many members will be unable to attend due to a funeral on the 19th.
There will be the usual coffee and biscuits (£1 in the basket please).
The guest speaker will be a representative from Air Ambulance NI.
A collection will be taken for this very worthwhile charity at the meeting.
We are exploring the possibility of restarting an Italian class but this would be dependent upon attracting sufficient numbers. If you are interested please let a committee member know at the meeting.
Our June meeting ( the last one before summer break during July & August) will be held in the Cardinal O’Fiaich Library, Moy Road, Armagh on Friday 20th June at 10.30am.
Our speaker will be Clive Wright, poet and native of Armagh who now lives in Scotland.
Clive Wright was born in Armagh in 1954 and his career as a poet dates from 1971. A past prize winner at the Irish Writers Week in Listowel, his work has been published in a wide variety of journals and periodicals in Britain as well as Ireland.
He was closely associated with the Chester Poets and having moved to Scotland he was appointed Makar of the City of Stirling, leading
to the publication of his collection Faces of the Rock. He has had a number of series of lyric poems set to music by composers to create song cycles (Tom David Wilson, Dorothee Eberhardt – Lutz) , and these have been performed in venues such as Stlrling Chapel Royal, the Younger Hall St Andrews and also in Germany in Augsburg.
These poems of Clive’s are collected from his life as an Irish poet , and the works reflect not only his native Ulster but all parts of the island. He wishes the reader as much pleasurein the reading of them as he has had in the writing.
SUBSCRIPTION 2025/2026 – The U3a subscription for the year 01/04/25 –31/03/26 is now due in the sum of £20 per member.
This can be paid by cheque, online bank transfer or in cash. Payment can be made in person at the AGM or if paying by Bank Transfer here are the details:
Ulster Bank Ltd Account name:- ARMAGH & DISTRICT U3A
Ac No 12890474
Sort code 98 01 90
Remember to add your name to the payment reference to allow us to identify who the payment is from.
The committee has decided that due to the Easter Holiday there will be NO meeting in April. The AGM will now be held on Friday 16th May at 10.30 in the O’Fiaich Library.
There are vacancies on the committee. If you would like to be considered for election to the committee you need to be proposed and seconded by any existing members of Armagh U3a (an email will suffice). Please send (email) replies to armagh.u3a@gmail.com by the 25th April and if you have any queries I’m happy to help.
The Speaker for our monthly meeting on Friday 21st March at 10.30am in the O Fiaich Library will be Professor Leanne McCormick who is Co-Chair of the Truth Recovery Independent Panel which is looking into the workings of Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalen Laundries and Workhouses. She will speak about the history of the various institutions as well as the work of the Panel.
You will recall that Professor McCormick, along with her colleague, Professor Elaine Farrell, gave a talk on ‘Bad Bridget’ which was both informative and entertaining.
You can find out more about the work of the panel at: https://www.independentpanel.truthrecoveryni.co.uk/
We are happy to announce that the collection taken up at last month’s meeting for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust raised £715.