The 50th Annual North South Conference was a weekend to remember with guests travelling from England and beyond to attend the event. Based at Bloomfield House Hotel, the conference which was entitled ‘Communicating for the Future’ saw over 200 attendees from 39 Soroptimist groups make their way to Mullingar for the event, which also marks the 25th anniversary of Mullingar Soroptimist and District Club.
The conference was officially launched in the Atrium of Westmeath County Coucil by Federation President Margaret Emsley and attended by Soroptimist Inteternational (SI) Northern Ireland President Alice Chapman, SI Great Britian and Ireland President Margaret Emsley and International President Yvonne Simpson who hails from New Zealand as well as Soroptimists from all over the country.
Speaking to Topic, National President Sarah McCormack said that the weekend had been a huge success and the visitors had enjoyed their time in the town. “The civic reception was great and really the word was this was a fantastic conference. Every piece went so well and the support from Mullingar was brilliant.”
The reception was followed by a gala dinner at the hotel on Saturday which saw over 250 guests attend, including Deputy Peter Burke, Deputy Robert Troy and Senator Aidan Davitt and Athlone Mayor Tom Farrell, who gave a speech about the work done by the group.
Others speakers included Marie Louise O’Donnell and First Lady Sabina Higgins, who gave a stirring speech on the plight that many women face around the world.
“It really is a very good promotion for Mullingar because you had the international president, the UK president and the Northern Ireland president there. It was a huge advertisement. They went to Belvedere and on tours of the town and they really love it. As well as being a great event, the visitors will be great ambassadors for Mullingar because they had a fabulous time and emails have been coming in all day about how much they enjoyed their time in Westmeath.”
Speaking at the civic reception which took place on Friday evening hosted by Westmeath, Sarah McCormack thanked Mayor Cllr. Andrew Duncan and the staff in Westmeath County Council. “We got a great welcome from Westmeath County Council who said they would support us in this conference. I thank you for this wonderful support and Kitty for the great work she has done in organising this evening and for bestowing this great honor upon us.”
Margaret Emsley, Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) opened the ceremony.
The History of Soroptismist’s International Clubs in the Republic of Ireland, celebrating 50 years of soroptimists and written by Tess Hogan and Monica Barry, was launched by past Federation President Soroptimist International Joan Smith, who stated,”it’s wonderful to record that we have worked together and played together.”
In his address Cllr. Duncan said that it was a pleasure to have so many Soroptimists gathered together in our town. “We acknowledge and pay tribute to the women who work voluntarily with this organisation to improve the lives of women and girls globally. We are delighted and honoured to have our very first national president from Mullingar, Sarah McCormack. Sarah has shown great leadership and has made a wonderful contribution to our town and surrounding areas.”
He also paid tribute to the work done by Mullingar Soroptimist over the years. “Those of you from Mullingar and surrounding areas will be familiar with the two friars sitting there in Austin Friars Street; this wonderful monument was installed by Soroptimist Mullingar in 2000 to mark the millennium year. Soroptimists in Mullingar have done significant fundraising and education projects for our community, supporting the Alzheimer Society, St. Vincent de Paul, the Women’s Refuge, the Hospice and our local hospital and schools. This is in keeping with what soroptimist do all over the world – work endlessly to improve the lives of women and girls.”
