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.

 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 16^th 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 25^th 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.

We are holding our regular February meeting in the Cardinal O’Fiaich Library, Moy Road, Armagh on next Friday, 21st February. 

Coffee and biscuits will be available from 10.30 onwards (£1 inthe basket please!)

Our speaker will be by Colin Bell, from the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.

For more information about the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust see their website at https://kbrtrust.com/about-kbrt/

We are holding our regular January meeting in the Cardinal O’Fiaich Library, Moy Road, Armagh on Friday, 17th January. Coffee and biscuits will be available from 10.30 onwards (£1 in the basket please!)

Our talk will be by Roddy Hegarty, Director of The O’Fiaich Library, who is going to give a talk entitled “Spinning Yarns”. It covers aspects of the textile industry, the workers and the clothes they produced.

Don’t forget there are 2 more opportunities to pay for and reserve your place for our “Christmas Lunch” on Friday, 24th January in the Armagh City Hotel.

First, this coming Monday 13th January between 11am and Noon in the Foyer of the Armagh City Hotel and secondly, at our monthly meeting in the O’Fiaich Library on Friday 17th January.

 There are still places available if you would like to sign up – contact Tim Hanna (timbohanna1953@gmail.com) by Thursday 17^th April at the latest, after which our attendee list will be closed.

 Apple Blossom Lunch

now on Friday, 9th May in the Armagh City Hotel.

Pre-lunch Mulled Wine at 12.15 followed by lunch at 1pm. Tickets are £25 each (subsidised).

The menu is below and you will be asked when booking to indicate your choice of starter/main/alcohol or non-alcohol mulled wine. If paying by cheque please make payable to: Armagh & District U3A.

This month’s talk on Friday next, 15th November, in the O Fiaich LIbrary at 10.30 a.m. will feature  Irish women who found themselves on the wrong side of the law in the USA during the nineteenth and early 20th centuries.

It will be delivered by Professors Leanne McCormick and Elaine Farrell. Their groundbreaking research has led to television appearances, radio interviews, a podcast, a book, and many talks all over Ireland. Those of us who have already heard them speak can vouch for a fascinating, informative and highly entertaining event.

We are holding our October meeting in the Cardinal O’fiaich Library, Moy Road, Armagh on next Friday 18^th October. Coffee and biscuits will be available from 10.30 onwards (£1 inthe basket please!)

Our talk will be by Catherine Gartland who is District Officer with Libraries NI in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area. She will talk about the variety of services offered by the library in this area. The talk will include information on accessing the online services and the support available.