Group Investiture 30th November 2014

WOW……. What a day. All of the hard work paid off and we are now officially members of Scouting Ireland.

It was a bit chaotic to begin with as people started arriving with cakes and sandwiches and beavers. The hall had been set up the night before by some of the leaders and some of the scouts so there really wasn’t too much prep work to be done today. As the youth members arrived, we took their neckers and put them oall on a table on the stage. They then took their places and formed an Honour Guard down the centre of the hall to the stage.

The Chief Scout arrived bang on time at 3pm and made his way to the front of the hall, but not before he stopped to speak with members of the group. He was followed by the Minister for Youth Affairs & Children, Dr. James Reilly and Flag Parties from some of the local scout groups (Balbriggan, Skerries, Skerries Sea Scouts, Lusk, & Balbriggan Girl Guides). The festivities kicked off with a short introduction from the Fingal County Chairman, Dave Clarke. He welcomed everyone and explained what ws going on. The Minister then said a few words about investment in volunteer organisations. Next the Chief Scout spoke about scouting in Ireland and how we were joining Ireland’s largest non formal education organisation.

When he had finished, it was time to start the Investitures. The Provincial Commissioner, James O Toole invested the Minister first and the Chief presented him with an 89th Bremore Neckerchief. The leaders were next. We stood on the stage, held the national flag and made our promise. We then received our neckerchiefs and were invested. Next it was the Beavers turn. They were invested in thier Lodges.There are five Beaver leaders and 5 lodges so each leader invested a lodge each.

After all of the Beavers had been invested, they all gathered on stage and sang a song about a Baby Shark.

Next it was the Cubs turn. Again they were in invested in thier Sixes. One Cub elected to recite her promise as Gaeilge. When they were all invested they sang Singing in the Rain. The scouts were next and each of Alan, Fiona, Ciaran, & Brendan took a small group to invest. When they were done, Ellie stepped forward and introduced and led the 89th Bremore YELL. Next the Provincial Commissioner, James O Toole stepped forward to say a few words about how brilliant we all were. He also presented us with our Association Flag and certificate from SI.

There were then presentations made to some leaders. Mary Harford received a Chief Scout Merit Award, Fiona Fitzgerald received a 15 year service award and Sinead Roche received a 10 year service award.

Various other presentations were made to people who have helped the group to get up and running including Bernie Reddy (County Commissioner), Tesco, County Councellors, and Loretto School. Finally the Chief was awarded with a framed 89th Bremore Neckerchief.

When the ceremony ended, there was a rush for the tea & cakes. We had seen them all coming in and couldn’t wait to have a taste. It was a bit of a scrum, but it was a great way to mingle with everybody and to have a chat. Brendan had invited some leaders from his old group in Rathfarnham and they were very impressed with the size of the group. They suggested some joint activities with the scouts since they have similar numbers now, but enough gear for both groups. It’s an offer, I’m sure we’ll take up at some stage.

All in all, the day went better than anyone could have hoped for. The parents of the kids being invested go to see first hand what it means to be a Scout and hopefully will take away a bit more of an understanding of what their kids are involved in. Some were even live tweeting from the event and we have had notice from right across Europe and into Central America too. Scouting really is a global brotherhood and we are delighted to be the newest members.