Friendship the glue that holds ICA together

Regan Kelly

The members Horseleap and Streamstown ICA look back on years of laughs, competitions, group trips and most importantly, friendship, as they celebrate their ruby anniversary.

The group was formed on March 12, 1985, in what was then Sheeran’s Hall in the village of Horseleap.

To help the ladies in Horseleap get up and running, members of the already established ICA Guild in Kilbeggan offered a helping hand.

There was a large turnout for the first meeting, where they were to decide whether it would be an ICA Guild or just a women’s group.

Once the decision had been made, the ladies moved to a small prefab on the grounds of St Joseph’s GAA Club, where they are still located to this day, only now they have access to the modern Horseleap and Streamstown Community Centre.

Their first official meeting was held in April 1985, and out of the 37 members at that meeting, seven are still actively involved in the group – Attracta Colgan, Betty Keegan, Nuala Reid, Eileen Robbins, Maura Walsh, Eilish McDonnell and Ber Seery.

Other members in the early days included: the first secretary, Margaret Farrell; the first treasurer, Lilly Casey, and the first official president, Maureen Farrell.

Competitions are an important part of being a member of an ICA Guild, from activities such as baking, music and live performances, to knitting and even specialist fashion shows.

One of the group’s most impressive feats was winning the 1987 AIB-sponsored ICA competition, making them one of the best guilds in Ireland at the time. The group also take part in competitions at Moate Show, and won many times.

In the 1990s, the guild organised events yo raise money for cancer; among them was Dublin Marathon, which different members ran multiple times.

The group also hold themed events at Horseleap and Streamstown Community Centre, one of which was a fashion show that forms a fond memory for the ladies still involved.

In the mid-90s, the group started going on organised trips, and their first one together was to Derry in 1995. Their second was to Kerry in 1997, and they continued to enjoy others every two years in the 1990s. They travelled to Lourdes multiple times in the 2000s, and also went on trips to Edinburgh.

Eilish McDonnell, a founding member of the guild, said: “What made these trips so good was friendship; we were all strangers before we got involved in the ICA, but now because of how much time we spend with each other, we’ve become the best of friends.”

In recent years, group membership had increased by seven members in the last two years alone – mostly been through word of mouth.

Recently, the group has taken part in cookery demonstrations at Fiona Egan Cloughan Farm and Cookery School in Abbeyshrule, and the guild won county-wide competition, the Best Harvest Platter, in October 2023.

The ladies recently invited female refugees to their meetings, and helped learn baking and crochet.

The guild are always looking ahead and have trips to visit the Botanic Gardens in Dublin and see Riverdance for the first time in planning.

Although their meetings are on the first Wednesday of the month, the ladies have become such good friends that they meet almost weekly for coffee and a chat.

Eilish said: “For me, when I look back, I didn’t realise how important it was throughout the years. Forty years ago, I had four children. The strange thing was, I never needed a babysitter, because we all believed in helping each other out, and that’s what women need; we all just helped each other out because we knew how great of an outlet this was.

“It meant so much to me, no matter what, when I wanted to get to the ICA, I made sure that I got to the ICA, and that’s it. We are in a time now where people are constantly talking about social isolation, and I feel that the ICA can be a great way to combat that.

“There are always government initiatives for different things, we just feel that our specific demographic needs help as well, and sometimes we can be a little bit overlooked.”That is particularly important in areas of the country where people don’t even have a hall to meet up in. In some parts of the country, the ICAs and groups like us don’t have to rely on renting specific places to meet up, and that can affect other things that the group would want to do.”

The branch celebrated their 40th anniversary with Mass in Horseleap and Streamstown Community Centre, followed by light refreshments, dancing and a sing-song. Members also went on a trip to Tullamore Court Hotel to celebrate, where they had dinner and saw the Tumbling Paddies.

New members are welcome at Horseleap and Streamstown ICA, and are invited to visit one of their Wednesday night meetings, or make contact via Facebook.