A NEW club that caters for the social and sporting
needs of men of all ages opened on the Southside recently and locals are
invited to come along and join in the activities.
A group of civic-minded locals formally opened the
Monday Night Club for men at the parish hall on Mourne Road in Drimnagh
recently.
Noel Donovan
(65), from Drimnagh, who is a member of the sub-committee of the parish hall,
explained that it had been given the responsibility to run it. They
subsequently identified the need for a men’s club in the area.
“This is a
place for men to go,
? he explained.
“There is no men’s club in Drimnagh and
there hasn’t been for a long, long time. There is already a ladies’ club in the
area, so we decided to get one going for the men.
“There are a
lot of retired men and men living on their own in the area and we are trying to
get them out to mix with people.
“Men of all ages from the area are invited to drop in,
take part in sporting activities and watch television. We have just had Sky
Sports installed.
“It is also a social club,
? he added.
“We have darts,
indoor bowls, table tennis, draughts, chess, cards, and table games. We are
trying to locate a pool table at the moment. We have a games room and a lobby
area where we watch television and then there is a big hall where we have bowls
and table tennis.
?
Noel explained that Dublin City Council has allocated
two grants to the men’s club to meet the costs of operating the hall.
However, the committee is struggling to meet the
running costs of the facility and all donations are welcome.
“We are now
running the hall as a business for the parish,
? Noel said.
“The heating and
lighting is expensive and we have spent quite a lot on installing things like
smoke alarms. We got a couple of grants from the council but our next big
outlay is heating. We have to get a whole new system installed.
“We have two part time workers for a couple of hours a
week each and there is a caretaker there as well. Between them they do a lot of
the work on the place.
?
The Monday Night Club is open from 7.30 to 10.30pm on
Monday evenings. Anyone who would like to find out more information or to use
the hall can contact chair@ourladyshall.com