Closing in on 100 years of scouting in Athlone

by Kevin O'Neill

For more than 90 years, the St Mary's Scout Group (2nd Westmeath) has been at the heart of keeping the region's young people active.

And as the organisation heads towards a century of providing activities for its 150 members, in 2029, the Scouts are showing no sign of letting-up in popularity in Athlone and surrounding areas.

Catering for children aged between six and 18, in five different programmes (Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts), the Athlone branch continues to operate from its long-time Scouts Den at St Mary's Hall on Northgate Street, Athlone.

This week, Sean Mimnagh, the group leader, said scouting was the largest uniformed movement of young people in Ireland and was growing in popularity with about 50,000 scouts and leaders in Ireland. Locally, he said, there are 150 youth members and 48 adult scouters running programmes several nights of the week and at weekends.

This summer, the Athlone Venture Scouts (aged between 15 and 18) will be taking their skills and scouting interests to Hungary and Slovakia for a nine-day outing that will see them interact with other scouts from Budapest and Bratislava.

The trip, said Sean, was largely organised by the members of the venture scouts, who are always encouraged to participate in the organisation of trips, as well as coming up with different activities to embark on while there.

With the older venture scouts heading for Europe, the scouts group aged between nine and 11 will be heading for their own nine-day excursion in Castleconnell Scout Campsite in Limerick. To help with the cost associated with such trips, the scouts hosted a table quiz at The Bounty, Athlone on Wednesday of this week (March 18).

“That's very much part of the scouts ethos,” said Sean, who has been involved with the scouts movement for almost 30 years.

“We always try to encourage our members, no matter in which age-group, to have their say in what they would like to do, and in this case the members were very good in communicating and organising the trip and our activities with their Hungarian and Slovakian counterparts.

“Last year, we stayed in Ireland for the annual trip, going to Dublin, but the year previously we climbed Mount Snowdon in Wales. We are considering returning to Wales again next year,” added Sean.

He said these trips are just one of the benefits of being part of the scouts, and that the members are consistently learning new life-skills and developing into well-rounded, young individuals.

“We always advise our members to work in small, tight-knit groups, regardless of the activity, and to try to develop new skills and ideas for themselves. Team-work and trying to find ways around practical problems are common themes of what we do three times a week in the Den in Athlone,” he said.

Sean was quick to point out how fortunate the local area is to have such strong links with the scouts since it was first established in Athlone in 1929.

He said that its adult leaders always come across this fact when out and about representing the scouts in the community. “For example, when we hold Flag Days or fundraisers, the amount of older people who come up to us with stories about family members and the scouts is remarkable. Athlone has always had a strong tradition and connection with the scouts and I'm sure this will continue to grow in future years,” he said.

The local scout group is well equipped with an extensive range of tents, from Icelandic Ridge tents to Bell tents, Dome tents for overnight events, and a couple of large Army-style Mess tents for camps of longer duration.

Scout skills like camping, cooking, hill walking, first aid and hiking are always high on the agenda at the Scout Den, said Sean.

Through its various youth-led programmes, the scouts deliver a range of opportunities for young people to develop their skills, talents and leadership potential through outdoor adventure and by working with their scout group.

Its programmes, said Sean, focus on a system of progressive self-education, known as The Scout Method, which aims to nurture the mental, physical and holistic growth and development of young people of all ages. Currently, there are nearly 500 scout groups across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The long-serving group leader was also at pains to express how lucky the Athlone scouts is to have 48 scouting leaders.

“They are terrific, they really are, and we are extremely fortunate to have them all on-board. The leaders show great commitment and they have huge expertise in teaching young people the various aspects of scouting.

“They have all been doing various courses in recent years to improve further their knowledge as scout leaders, and we really would be nowhere without them so they deserve great credit,” commented Sean.

In November, the local scouts group marked the approaching 100th anniversary of scouting in Athlone with an open night for interested young people and their parents/guardians, and Sean said that the door is always open for new recruits to join the ranks.

“Yes, we are always interested in taking on more scouts, no matter their age,” he explained.

“In fact, we welcomed one new scout just last week and it's always lovely to see. Anybody interested in joining us can get all our contact information through our website and social media platforms.”

As for the future, Sean believes the Athlone scouts will continue to go from strength to strength.

“We had a big public parade in Athlone for our 80th anniversary and will have plenty of plans coming from our 100th anniversary.

“One of the ideas at the moment is to hold a really big photographic display because we have loads of photographs going back decades. And there will be lots of activities as it draws closer.

“There is always so much to look forward to in the scouts and we have an exciting year coming up, that's for sure,” concluded Sean.