Lunch club provides key social outlet for local community

There was music, dancing and chat aplenty for the last Thursday lunch club before the summer break at Clonfanlough Hall last week.

Over 40 people had gathered for the monthly lunch club for over 55s run by Offaly Local Development Company (OLDC) and the atmosphere inside the hall was just as sunny as the fabulous weather outside.

One woman whose father was involved in building Clonfanlough Hall in the 1940s, and whose daughter is a member of the current committee, said she is delighted to be able to see her grandchildren now use the hall.#

SEE STORY ON DRIVE TO SAFEGUARD CLONFANLOUGH HALL FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS here

Anne Kearns from Clonfanlough enjoys attending the monthly lunch club at the hall and credited the current committee with the work that has gone into ensuring there is something for all ages.

“It's great, you know a lot of the people,” she said.

“I enjoy going out, but I wouldn't come out at night. It's nice to get out and meet all of the older people you wouldn't see from one end of the week to the other,” she said, adding that she enjoys the chat and listening to the music.

“It's lovely to get your food handed to you too,” added Ann.

She was joined by fellow Clonfanlough woman Philomena Kelly, who has fond memories of playing badminton in the hall in years gone by.

Philomena, who won a Leinster badminton competition with Kieran Heavin, said it is great to see badminton returning to the hall.

She attends the lunch club monthly and said: “It's brilliant. I couldn't praise it highly enough.”

John Guinan from Ferbane also attends the club each month, and in fact travels to a number of the lunch clubs run by OLDC throughout county Offaly.

“I never drank or smoked, my family is all reared and I'm on my own,” he said, adding that he attends the lunch clubs in Kinnity, Dunkerrin, Cloghan and High Street.

“I'm a big dancer,” added John. “Music and song makes a happy heart.”

Margaret Brazil from Clongowney, Clonfanlough, said she doesn't go out much and this is the only social setting she attends.

"I enjoy it great. I come every month. I'd want to be dying to miss it," she said, adding that it's a good occasion to see the neighbours.

"I danced in this hall all my life. I sang on the stage going to school and I attended other dances here. I can't dance anymore, but otherwise I love it," said Margaret.

Maureen Mitchell from Shannonbridge attends the lunch club every month with her husband and said they both love to dance.

"It's a wonderful day out and the men (from OLDC) are wonderful for serving up the food to us," she said, adding that she hopes to attend other lunch clubs in the future.

Mary Gleeson from Cloghan attends the club every month with her daughters in-laws and said she enjoys it.

"I love the music and I can get out and forget about things. You make new friends and you meet people you haven't seen in years. I met people here and our kids used to go to Irish dancing together," she said. "It's so reasonable too. For €10, you get the entertainment, the food and a chat."

Betty Dolan from Clonlyon, Clonfanlough, was attending the lunch club for the first time with her husband Jimmy.

"I had heard good things about it. It's a lovely get together and it's nice to see our friends and neighbours," she said.

Mary Kelly from Ballyhearth, Clonfanlough, is a lunch club regular and attends every month.

"I love it. The music is lovely. We mightn't be the greatest dancers at this age, but I enjoy it," she said.

Mary added that she lives on her own and the lunch club is something that gets her out of the house. "I come with the same group every month," she said, adding two of her sisters-in-law attend with her.

Anne Rohan from Clonfanlough attends with Mary every month and said: "It's great to get a crowd of older people together. The food is very good and it saves cooking. There are people here who wouldn't go out if they weren't here."

Fellow Clonfanlough woman Mary Devery said: "It's a great chance to meet your neighbours. I find every month good, but today is very good."

Kathleen and Tommy White from Ballyhearth, Clonfanlough, both love the music.

"We came to many dances in this hall a long time ago," said Kathleen. "I wouldn't be the best dancer, not at the moment, but I used to love to dance. This hall used to be packed, so it's nice to see it again."

"We don't go many places, so this is great. It's nice to get out and have a chat," she added.

Pat O'Shea attends the lunch club almost every month and said it's very good.

"There was very little happening in this hall for a long time, so it's great to see it up and running again. There is work to be done, but there are lots of other things going on. It's good to see there's new life in this hall after many years. The new committee was formed and it's going well so far," he said.