Autumn/Winter 2013www.nonameclub.ie

The No Name! Club“Providing positive alternatives to alcohol for young people across Ireland”

35th Anniversary

Volunteers from all over Ireland gather in the Newpark hotel, Kilkenny, to celebrate the formation of the No Name Club

IN 1978 Fr Tom Murphy, Eamonn Doyle and Eddie Keher met in the Newpark Hotel Kilkenny to discuss organising alcohol free activities for young people in Kilkenny.Saturday the 9th of November, No Name Club members past and present gathered in the same venue to celebrate 35 years since the inception of the organisation.Also in attendance were hosts and hostesses from the Kilkenny and Dungarvan club who made sure everyone was seated at the correct table.During the day many of the current volunteers in attendance had taken part in the Annual Adult Conference. Current host and hostess of the year, Alan Hayes and Suzanne O’Donnell were the MC’s for the evening. Once everyone was seated in the ballroom of the Newpark, Fr Tom Murphy,Eddie Keher and Eamon Doyle were presented with three No Name Club Callaway Golf bags and were invited to

cut a special No Name Club cake. Following the cutting of the cake Fr Murphy said a prayer before everyone was treated to a delicious three course meal.Continued on page three.....

Pictured at the 35th Anniversary were founding members Fr Tom Murphy, Eamonn Doyle and Eddie Keher with No Name Club Chairperson Carole Goulding (Photo: Pat Moore)

Suzanne and Alan(Photo: Pat Moore)

Leanne Kiely, Hollywood NNC, enjoying the Youth Conference in Lilliput.

Full story on page 4.

A very Happy Birthday to all of us! No Name Club reached the ripe old age of 35 this year and it was celebrated with our own Gathering in the place it all started, the Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny. We joined together with lots of familiar names and faces, and talked and reminisced until the late hours. Now, as 2013 draws to a close and even though we are only half way through the current No Name Club season, I take this opportunity to reflect on the wonderful year we have experienced together. As one of the leading Youth Organisations in the Country we are part of the National Quality Standards Framework - a structure to ensure and enhance quality service provision – and we are meeting all requirements, this endorses the valuable work our clubs doing at grass roots level. Our 30th National Youth Awards on 6th April took place in the Lyrath Hotel in Kilkenny. Once again it was a magnificent night and Suzanne and Alan were worthy winners. Shortly afterwards on the 20th of April this year’s Supertalent saw almost 700 people gather for the final in Limerick’s wonderful Lime Tree Theatre. There were amazing displays of talent as No Name Club hosts and hostesses took to the stage to sing, play instruments, dance and perform comedy routines. Over 23 clubs from all over Ireland gathered together to watch the performances and we were treated to a day of outstanding entertainment.

The of 12th October saw just over 200 No Name Club members gather in Westmeath for discussions and fun activities, with clubs from all over the country in attendance. The first half of the day took place in Kilbeggan Secondary School where hosts and hostesses took part in talks all centered around the subject of health promotion including cyber bullying, communications and active youth involvement with the No Name Club. Shane Mullins from DMESS Project spoke about his experiences of recovery after a horrific drink driving accident.

Carole GouldingChairperson

The No Name! Club

2013, a year to remember

THE No Name Club has appointed a new Communications Officer. Brian Anglim, who has recently graduated from the University of Limerick with a BA in Journalism and New Media, came on board this September. If you would like to be included in our next newsletter or if you have other communication issues feel free to contact Brian on 085-7206506 or banglim@nonameclub.ie

New Communications Officer

No Name News

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Sights set on Health Quality Mark

WE’RE happy to announce that the No Name Club is currently in the process of securing a National Youth Health Programme Quality Mark (HQM) for our youth work. The mark is awarded through the National Youth Council of Ireland in conjunction with the HSE. To qualify for the HQM the No Name Club must fulfill up to 12 criteria set out in the HQM guidelines. Because the club has a number of these criteria already in place it’s hoped that we will be able to achieve bronze level HQM certification by the end of June 2014.

The No Name Club staff would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy

and prosperous New Year

No Name News

Continued from page 1...

Carole Goulding addressed the room following the meal and reminded everyone just how much has changed in Ireland over the course of the 35 years since the No Name Club was founded. Eamonn Doyle spoke on behalf of the three founders. He spoke about howthe growth of the organisation of the No Name Club had grown beyond his wildest expectations.Since 1978, Eamonn’s son Shane has been part of the No Name Club as a host and now as a member of the Board of Directors. This September Shane’s

daughter joined the Kilkenny No NameClub as a hostess making it three generations of Doyle’s just in time to mark the 35th Anniversary.Alan and Suzanne rounded theevening off by drawing the winner of the No Name Club Facebook tablet competition. The winner was Luke Worth from Erris No Name Club. Everyone in attendance was given a piece of crystal along with a No Name Club diary for the coming year.Almost every No Name Club was represented at the event and the time after the meal afforded volunteers past and present to catch up with old friends.

Three Generations of Doyle celebrate 35 years of the NNC

No Name Club launches on Facebook and TwitterTHE No Name Club is

happy to announce that

it now has an official

national Facebook page

and Twitter account.

The pages were

launched in September

and are already proving

a popular outlet among

adult volunteers and

hosts and hostesses. Our

Facebook page got over

1,000 ‘likes ‘ in just a few

weeks.

Our Facebook and

Twitter pages are bril-

liant ways of keeping up

to date with everything

No Name related, both

national and local.

You can also get in-

volved in submitting

content whether it is

photographs, videos or

anything else by mail-

ing banglim@noname-

club. ie.

Three generations of No Name Club members, Shane Doyle, Aoife Doyle and Eamonn Doyle (Photo: Pat Moore)

Hosts and hostesses enjoying the anniversary celebrations (Photo: Pat Moore)

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EARLY October saw over 200 No Name Club members

gather in Westmeath for a day of insightful discussion

and fun activities, with clubs from all over the country in

attendance.

The first half of the day took place in Kilbeggan

Secondary School where hosts and hostesses took part

in three different talks all centred around the subject

health promotion.

Shane Mullins spoke about his experiences of recovery

after a horrific drink driving accident left him with life

changing injuries. His talk touched on the dangers of

drink driving and his own mental health issues since

his accident. Hosts and hostesses also took part in

discussions on cyber bullying, communications and

active youth involvement with the No Name Club. Edith

Geraghty, Regional Development Officer for No Name

Club, talked to hosts and hostesses about how they

would like to change and improve in their clubs.

After a lunch of soup and sandwiches at the Lilliput

Adventure Centre, participants began an evening of

activities including archery, rock climbing, canoeing and

golf. Thankfully the weather on the day was perfect, and

aside a bit of splashing in the lake, no one got too cold.

No Name Club CEO, John Donovan, was very happy with

how the day went:

“The No Name Club Health Promotion Conference

in Lilliput was a wonderful success. Club members

from all over Ireland came together and engaged

enthusiastically with all of the subjects covered. It

was great to see everybody considering areas such as

positive mental health, cyber bullying and active youth

engagement. The good weather really contributed to

a wonderful afternoon of activities which focussed on

physical activity as a key element of good health.”

LiLLipuT YouTh CoNfereNCe Over 200 gather for fun filled day at Lilliput

Shane Mullins, who spoke to host and hostesess about his life experiences, his

concept of D’MESS is explained below

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LILLIPut GALLery

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MeLLerAy

Record crowd gathers in Mt. Melleray for action packed weekendOVER 300 hosts and host-

esses from seven different

No Name Club’s gathered

in Melleray Scout Centre

this November, our big-

gest ever attendance at the

event.

Addressing the hosts and

hostesses on arrival was

No Name Club CEO John

Donovan, who laid down

some ground rules but also

encouraged everyone to

make the most of the week-

end by “catching up with

old friends and making the

effort to make new ones”.

The first activity of the

weekend was a treasure

hunt. This gave people

a chance to split up into

groups and meet new

people from other clubs.

The clues for the treasure

were located on a number

of adult volunteers hidden

throughout the scout cen-

tre. The rest of the Friday

night was left open to the

imagination of the host and

hostesses, some explored

the Scout Centre while

others sat around chatting

and making friends. It was

-5 outside but thanks to a

recent renovation

of the Scout

Centre there

was plenty

of warmth

inside.

T h r e e

Z u m b a

classes took

place Saturday and

proved very popular with

both girls and boys. Class-

es took place both indoors

and outdoors.

Others went on a hike

through the scenic

surroundings of Mount

Melleray.

A team from Ardmore

Adventure Centre put on

a range of outdoor activi-

ties including archery and

team building exercises af-

ter lunch and for the first

time in a few years the rain

held off, giving the hosts

and hostesses the chance

to build and light a

bonfire for lat-

er that night.

Early that

e v e n i n g

b a n d s

made up

of hosts

and hostesses

kept people en-

tertained with a musical

session.

Saturday night saw hosts

and hostesses scrub up

for a disco followed by the

lighting of the bonfire at the

back of the scout centre.

By the time Sunday morn-

ing rolled around it was

clear that the previous two

late nights had taken their

toll.

Everyone pitched in to

clean the Scout Centre

before departing home

around lunchtime for some

much needed sleep. On the

basis of this weekend, it’s

no wonder there’s always

such demand for spaces in

Melleray.

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MeLLerAy GALLery

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Cobh celebrate 21 year’s

IT’S 21 years since Sister Emmanuel began the process of

setting up a No Name Club in the seaside town of Cobh,

Co. Cork.

On May 15th 1992, the club held its very first official

event in the local VEC.

On Friday the 29th of November the club celebrated its

21st anniversary in the Sirius Arts Centre.

John Mulvihill, Mayor of Cobh, thanked everyone in-

volved in the club and highlighted the massive difference

the club has made to many young people in the town

throughout the 21 years it has been in operation.

He paid particular tribute to Sean Twomey as the “driv-

ing force” behind the club for over 15 years.

Carole Goulding also praised the wonderful achieve-

ments of the club and wished them well for the future.

Jim Hackett, another one of the founding members,

also spoke about his involvement with the club and cited

acquiring a premises as a big step to getting the club off

the ground.

John Donovan, CEO, spoke on behalf of the No Name

Club, congratulating them on their anniversary and

praised the work of the adult comittee, particularly Sean

Twomey, Linda Broderick and Bridget Broderick.

Sean thanked everybody on behalf of the club. Presen-

tations were then made to the founding members Nol-

laig Griffen, Brenda McCarthy, Sr Emmanuel, Jim Hackett

and Eamonn Doyle.

Athboy pick up ‘Pride of Place’ award

(Left to Right) Eamonn Doyle, Nollaig Griffen, Brenda McCarthy, Sr Emmanual, Jim Hackett and Sean Twomey

(Left to Right) Jackie McGuire, Cllr John V Farrelly, Katie McCormack, Fr Patrick O’Connor, Ciaran Perry Mary Weston, Aoife Dunne and Betty Beirne

ATHBOY No Name Club made more strides in their

local community this Autumn, picking up first place in

the Youth Project Category of Meath County Council’s

Pride of Place Awards.

The title of the prize winning project was ‘Making a

World of Difference’. The project has provided a dedi-

cated space within the community to encourage dis-

cussion about suicide and positive mental health.

The Globe at the centre of the fixture represents the

global impact of suicide, trees denote local lives lost to

suicide and the seating area gives visitors to the space

an opportunity to remember and reflect.

Cllr John V Farrelly made the presentation to Katie

McCormack(Leader), hostesses Mary Weston & Aoife

Dunne with County Manager Jackie Magiure. Speaking

at the awards Fr Partrick O’Connor, Chairperson of Athboy

No Name Club, noted the effort put in by the Athboy host

and hostesses:

“This is a project that is done in your name and I ask you

all to take pride in the work done to date and to look after

this special space”.

The reflection area is already proving extremely popu-

lar with locals and this kind of endeavour is typical of the

work Athboy No Name Club have been putting into their

local community.

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MID September saw over

50 members of New Ross

No Name Club graduate at

a dinner event in the Horse

and Hound outside the

town. The night included a

three course meal, a grad-

uation presentation and a

disco until 12pm. Follow-

ing the meal Chairperson of

the adult Committee, David

Lee, presented the teenag-

ers with their graduation

certificates alongside adult

volunteer Kevin Burke.

Gareth Brown offered some

kind words of thanks to the

committee when accept-

ing his certificate and Rory

Nolan cracked a few jokes

after receiving his certifi-

cate. A slideshow running

throughout the dinner

gave anyone in attendance

not familiar with the club

a taste of the fun they had

throughout the last year.

This was one of a number of

graduations that took place

in clubs marking the end of

a young persons year with

a club.

KELLS No Name Club have

been very busy over the last

few months.

The club organised a min-

ion movie night in late Sep-

tember to promote the club

in the town and find some

new members.

New and old members

also took part in the clubs

annual ‘Stay Awake Night’

where the hosts and hos-

tesess stayed in the Kells

People’s Resource Centre

overnight. They watched

scary movies, dressed in

pyjamas and ate fast food

from the local Chinese.

The night was a great suc-

cess and raised €200.

The club have also began

their health promotion

schedule on Mental Health.

This year they’ve decided to

focus on different ways of

dealing with stress.

The club also had a local

herbalist come in to the

club to discuss alternative

methods of using essential

oils.

Club members then had

the chance to make their

own essential oils.

The club are now looking

forward to the New Year

to begin our fund-raising

plans for the National Youth

Awards.

As well as this the club will

be trying their hand at a

mindfulness course, laugh-

ing yoga and interpretive

dance.

Kells No Name Club raise €200 for club

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New Ross Celebrates Graduation

Graduating members of New Ross No Name Club 2013 Kevin and David

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Killarney No Name Club’s Life Changing Gift For Eoghan

EOGHAN O’Brien turned

three in early November,

he’s obsessed with Gui-

tars, playing with cars and

Peppa Pig.

Eoghan is growing up

fast and started preschool

in October, he dressed up

for Halloween and went on

his very first ‘trick or treat’

too.

As you can see from the

photo, Eoghan is a very

happy and active child, but

he also has his difficulties.

Along with his 13 year old

sister, Eoghan has been di-

agnosed with autism.

He also has a sensory pro-

cessing disorder and can

find aspects of everyday life

difficult.

Killarney No Name Club

held a Disco in late Octo-

ber, with the proceeds go-

ing towards Autism Ireland.

They also held an old phone

collection for Eoghan. As

a result of this collection,

Eoghan will now be able to

get an iPad through Autism

Ireland, which will be crucial

towards his development.

The disco also raised €900

for Autism Ireland.

The iPad will be equipped

with special programs for

aiding in the develop-

ment of young children

with Autism.

Eoghan’s mother, Valerie

O’Brien, had some very

kind words for the Killar-

ney No Name Club:

“After hearing about the

fantastic reputation the Kil-

larney No Name Club have,

I contacted them about try-

ing to help me collect 185

phones to help my chil-

dren with their develop-

ment. After collecting 185

phones, Autism Ireland will

provide us with an iPad to

help with Eoghan’s devel-

opment. They raised €900

and helped me collect 120

phones. I would like to per-

sonally thank them and tell

you what a fantastic club

Killarney is. I will be forever

grateful to them in helping

me with this huge task that

at the beginning seemed

impossible.”

Giving Back to the Community KILLARNEY No Name Club

have a history of giving

back to their community,

and this year was no differ-

ent.

Upon hearing about the

difficulties faced in bringing

children from Chernobyl to

Ireland in recent years, the

Killarney NNC members de-

cided to host a fund raising

disco, raising over €1,000.

The money will be raised

for the transport costs for

the children from Dublin

to Killarney. The club also

donated money to Pieta

House Kerry.

The issue of suicide and

services working in the

area of suicide is something

very close to the heart of

the club, this spurred club

members on to hosting a

disco to raise money for the

cause. Even the DJ’s and

Bouncers donated some of

their fees on the night. In

total over €4,000 was raised

for Pieta house.

Presenting €4,000 raised to Pieta HouseKillarney NNC members presenting the €1,000 raised for the Children of Chernobyl

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A busy year for everyone in St Josephs

THE past year has been among the

most successful since the clubs for-

mation in 1998.

The year began with the club

members being involved in a

Foroíge organised inter-club bowl-

ing competition where they won an

exciting competition by a narrow

margin.

The club also attended the ‘Freak

Scene’ show to mark Halloween

festivities.

A graduation for last years mem-

bers took place where they received

their certificates in personal devel-

opment and organisational skills

which are very helpful to those

seeking part- time employment.

Club members attended the an-

nual weekend events at Mount

Melleray in Co. Waterford and an

enjoyable time was had by all with

club members catching up with old

friends and making new ones.

The Host and Hostesses had their

annual night out in Scoozi’s res-

taurant and a few weeks after this

Natasha Walshe was chosen as

the winner of the Hostesses Com-

petition in the regional finals of the

Youth Awards in Mallow Co. Cork.

In the National Super Talent Com-

petition, Aoife Burke competed in

the Munster Finals of the National

Super Talent Competition in Fermoy

where she qualified for the national

finals in Limerick.

Aoife contested the final of the

solo dance competition where she

was among the runners up in highly

competitive event.

St Josephs entry in the two minute

No Name Club Film Competition

in the National Supertalent Finals

won second prize for which they re-

ceived an inscribed glass trophy.

In early May the club members re-

searched and compiled their entry

for the HSE sponsored Health Pro-

motion Project titled “Understand-

ing Mental Health”. As part of the

project the group examined suicid-

ed statistics for both the North and

South of Ire- land as well as looking

at what sup- port services to those

who experience stress in their lives.

Joe Mullane thanked the local

businesses, the local representa-

tives, the City of Cork VEC, St Jo-

sephs Credit Union Ltd and the

National No Name Club for their

generous financial sup- port which

is greatly appreciated by everyone

in the club.

Joe also expressed his gratitude to

the adult leaders who have made a

significant contribution to the on-

going success of St Josephs Club

and for their help.

North Clare and Castlerea join the No Name Club familyThe No Name Club is happy to announce it has added two

new clubs to the No Name Family.

North Clare No Name Club were formed in March of this year

and are determined to offer a place for young people outside

of drink culture in the area.

We also welcome Castlerea back after a short absence from

operations.

Pictured to the right is the regional development officer for the region Con Nolan presenting the club manual.

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erris NNc’s Driving Safety course THE Aim of Erris No Name Club’s

Driving Safety Course was to equip

teenagers with the driving safety

skills to make them more aware of

our health and safety on the road as

well as the health and safety of

pedestrians and passengers.

The course was undertaken using

safety tutorials in Leinster Driv- ing

Campus, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

Participants were welcomed to the

centre on the day, briefed as to what

the course and the day would entail,

given the safety rules and introduced

to the driving instructors.

The first group started with a safety

briefing and a quiz of 40 questions

based on the rules of the road.

Group one then witnessed a brak-

ing distance demonstration where

the host and hostesses estimated the

stopping distance of a vehicle travel-

ling at a range of different speeds in

both dry and wet conditions.

Group two broke into groups of

three to undertake a lesson with a

driving instructor on vehicle famil-

iarisation, car controls, safety checks,

driver responsibilities and the use of

controls for moving away and stop-

ping.

Each participant got the chance to

put what they learned into practice

by driving one of the school’s dual

controlled cars while being assessed

by the instructors. This was a particu-

larly useful because it was based on

the marking scheme for the real driv-

ing test.

The day was a big hit with the hosts

and hostesses, many of whom had

previously been unable to drive.

Kilkenny No Name Club get behind MON-Keano

THERE hasn’t been much joy for Irish soccer fans lately,

but following a new managerial appointment members

of Kilkenny No Name Club decided to make the trip the

Aviva Stadium for an international friendly against Lat-

via.

It was the first game of the Martin O’Neill, Roy Keane era

and the host and hostess were treated to a great game

which Ireland won comfortably 3-0.

Demand was very high for the limited number of spaces

available for the match but Kilkenny No Name Club are

planning more trips to matches in the future.

And it’s not just limited to soccer matches, rugby and

GAA could be on the cards for club members.

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No Name club tweets Get tweeting and following: @nonameclub1

Home & Away star visits Dungarvan NNC

DUNGARVAN No Name

Club are renowned for their

teenage disco. So it’s no

surprise that they upped

the bar again by having a

special guest appearance

from Dan Ewing who plays

heartthrob ‘Heath’ on the

Australian soap ‘Home and

Away’.

The star from down under

came along to Dungarvan’s

Halloween Disco posing

for photos and meeting

with hundreds of fans.

Fond memories of the NNC

MY name is Natasha Walshe and I have been a member

of St Josephs (Mayfield) No Name Club since September

2010.

I joined in Transition Year with some of my friends from

school and we are all still members of the club. We were

recruited by Dale O’Sullivan who came to talk to our year

about the club and we decided to go and take a look and

I have never looked back!

The experiences and confidence I have built up in my

four years as a member of the No Name Club is some-

thing I will keep with me forever. After the introductory

hostess training I was super excited about being involved

and going to all the events that we heard about. We have

carried out plenty of activities, both with our own club

and on a national level during my time in the club and

many of these activities have presented me with new

opportunities I wouldn’t have dreamed about before I

joined the No Name Club.

I really wanted to get more involved in my club and the

organisation. Every opportunity to do so was presented

to me by my club adult leaders and fellow members.

Last year I sat my leaving certificate and being a member

of the No Name Club really helped me get through the

year. It was a great to have a place to go once a week as

a distraction from all the study. I also participated in the

Super Talent Final with my club and it was a lot of fun

being on stage and preparing our act.

And of course there is the Youth Awards. I attended

the National Youth Awards in 2012 and it was such an

amazing experience. By my third year in the No Name

Club I was full of confidence and surrounded by so many

encouraging leaders that I went forward as Hostess of

the Year in the 2013 National Youth Awards. Although I

was nervous I felt ready and confident enough to get up

on stage in front of the other hosts and hostesses from

clubs throughout Ireland. I will never forget the excite-

ment and nerves of that day but I would do it all again.

My experience in the No Name Club is something I will

benefit from for the rest of my life.

I recommend to all teenagers over 15 to get involved in

a No Name Club and experience the activities they pro-

vide in a safe and friendly environment, free from alcohol

and drugs that are having a devastating effect on young

people and their families throughout this country.

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Natasha Walshe

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Members of Castlebar NNC pictured with their Neighbour An Taoiseach Enda Kenny on a recent trip to Dail Eireann

SATURDAY, 4th of May, was a very special day in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. This was the day that Minister Leo

Varadker officially opened the Fusion Centre in the town. The Fusion Centre is a new €250,000 purpose built youth

building which was constructed due to the collaborative efforts of Dungarvan No Name Club and Dungarvan

Scouts.

As well as providing a home for the many activities of No Name Club and the Scouts the building has hosted

several other activities for the young people of the area. In the short few months since it’s opening the Fusion

Centre has hosted activities as diverse as taekwondo, gymnastics, athletics, cycling, boxing (yes we had a full size

ring in there), hip hop dancing, drama, Irish dancing and coderdojo not to mention teenage discos and parties. So

successful and accessible is the Fusion Centre that one of the nearby Secondary schools is now using the centre

during school hours for drama and P.E. This is very gratifying for Dungarvan No Name Club as for many years they

were dependent on the same school to provide their assembly area to No Name for its activities.

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New Fusion Centre already being put to great use

PIctureS frOM tHe cLubS

ben Sheridan perform-ing at a Donegal NNc band night

Members of Gort NNc competing in this years Supertalent

Members of finglas NNc

Shannonside Hosts and Hostesses

‘rocking the boat’ at Lyrath

Lorraine Keating and Sarah Wall, ring of Hook NNc, enjoying Melleary

Mountbellow No Name club Host and Hostesses at this years Super talent

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HAve yOur SAy

coilin Higgins, Kells NNc

My name is Cóilín and I am a host at the Kells No-Name Club

in Co.Meath. I have been with the club for six months now and

this was the first time I got the opportunity to go away with the

club.

I really enjoyed the talk we got from Shane in Kilbeggan. His

idea of D’MESS is a really good idea and is definitely something

that can help when you are trying to achieve something, and he

is indeed a very inspiring person to come through everything that

has happened to him. We also got a talk about Cyber Bullying

and also agreeing to the Cyber-Code, which is a code to promise

never to cyber bully, and also to help others you see being cyber

bullied by reporting it. Both talks were very impressive and really

enjoyable. We also got a No-Name hat, pen and watch before

heading out to Lilliput Adventure Centre.

We had lunch before heading out on activities. Our group first

did the spider web and capture the flag in the forest. I loved these

two activities and through them I got to know some of the other

people in the group. The people in our group were really friendly

and I was worried at first about getting put into a group of people

I didn’t know as I had problems in the past making friends in

school and and I am a quite shy person, but the people in our

group were some of the soundest boys and girls I’ve ever met.

Our other activities included rock climbing, archery and ca-

noeing, and we were very happy to get a warm shower and a

burger after them! I also got one of the No-Name hoddies that

change into a high visibility jacket which I was really impressed

with because I was admiring them on people all that day. I really

enjoyed the talks and the activities, but what I’ll mostly take from

that day was making new friends from the people in my group.

For me, that was the highlight of the day and being at ease and

having the craic with the people in my group made the experi-

ence all the lot better.

ebony Kinghorn, Dungarcan NNc

We reached our first destination after about 3 hours. We all

got off the bus and went into the school where the mental

health talk was being held. There were many other noname

clubs from different counties in Ireland. We were split into dif-

ferent groups with the other nonames. Although I didn’t really

know anyone in the group from my noname club I still had a

great time because they were so nice.

First of all we got muffins and tea. They were delicious! Our

group’s first activity was to listen to the speaker who talked

about the importance of mental health. I found him very inspi-

rational, his story was truly amazing. His talk really made it clear

how important it was to protect your mental health.

Next we went across the road to a hall where we had a dance

contest. We talked to the people in the other No Name clubs,

each and every person I met there was awfully friendly. I had

great fun participating in the dancing even though I didn’t win!

When the dancing was over, we went back onto the bus to

head to Lilliput. When we arrived at our destination we had

sausages and soup to give us energy for all the fun activities

planned for that afternoon.

The first thing our group did was rock climbing. Everyone

participated. I really enjoyed this activity; the instructors were

also very nice and helping. Myself and a few of the other girls

love one direction and we asked the instructors if they knew

Niall Horan, they said yes but we still don’t know if it’s true or

not!

After that we played games together as a group. One of the

games including everyone standing on plank of wood, we had

to sort ourselves out into alphabetical order without stepping

off the plank of wood. It was quiet difficult to not step off the

plank but everyone had a laugh. We played many other games

too, they were all very fun because everyone began making

friends.

two NNc members give their verdict on our day in Lilliput