THIS photo taken outside St Canice’s Church in Finglas 50 years ago should jog a few memories with our older readers.
The youngsters pictured are members of the 75th and 95th Irish Catholic Boy Scouts units in Finglas and they were about to head off on an adventure to Lourdes.
Among the faces are David King and Larry Daly and they’re hoping to get in touch with as many of the young scouts as possible for an event that’s taking place on Sunday, July 1.
On that day, the photograph will be presented to the current scout leader in St Canice's Scout Hall on Seamus Ennis Road after 9am mass.
It will take pride of place on the wall of the scout hall and after the presentation former and current scouts can enjoy a cup of tea and a chat.
The lads are hoping to get in touch with as many former scouts as possible who were members around that time to invite them to the event or just have a chat about what was a magical time in their lives.
David explained how the idea came about.
“I was just going through a few old bits and pieces and I came across the photo,” he says.
“We just thought it would be nice idea to get the photo out there. It might bring back memories for people.
“It’ll be interesting to see how many people recognise that photo and remember the trip.”
Between them, David and Larry have identified some of the scouts in the photo and a few have been in touch since we first ran the photo last month. However, they’re hoping that some will get in touch before next Sunday.
“There’s some faces I recognise in the photo but I can’t think of the names,” says Larry.
Those who went on the two-week trip will no doubt remember it well as it was practically unheard of kids in the ’60s to go abroad.
“When we were growing up the only kids who went anywhere were kids in the boy scouts,” Larry recalls.
“The only other people who went away were people with relatives down the country.”
David adds: “It was a very special time for us, going away from Finglas was a big deal.
“It took two years to save for the trip.”
The Lourdes trip began after Solemn Benediction at 8pm after which the 92 scouts posed for the photo, scrambled onto two coaches and set off to Dún Laoghaire to catch the ferry to Holyhead.
A delay meant they had to spend much of the night at the port waiting for the ferry and the drive through the UK wasn’t without incident.
“There was a fire on one of the coaches just outside Birmingham and one of the lads’ sleeping bags was destroyed,” Larry recalls.
While the focus of the trip was Lourdes, David and Larry admit they were more impressed with the destinations they visited on their way there.
“The highlight was London and Paris,” says David.
“We got to see places like Madame Tussauds, Trafalgar Square and the Eiffel Tower.
“We came back to school like heroes!”
Both David and Larry are full of praise for their unit leader, Ned Kelly, who was instrumental in organising what turned out to be a memorable adventure.
“He was a great man,” says David.
“He had a chance to become chief scout of Ireland but turned it down because we wanted to stay with the Finglas scouts.”
Thanks to Ned and the Finglas scouts, Larry and David are blessed with wonderful childhood memories.
“It was the time of our lives,” says Larry.
“It’s hard to balance the reality of adult life because we were in Utopia as children growing up in Finglas. We were innocents abroad.
“There was hundreds of kids and never a sniff of scandal.
“We were minded and protected. Ned always kept everybody safe.”
“It was great craic,” adds David.
“It’s all social media now. When we were in the scouts we’d go off and we’d camp and we’d make our own fires and make our own grub and our cups of tea.
“It’s just one of those old fashioned things that never really loses its appeal.”
If you recognise yourself or a relative from the photo contact Larry or 087-2886651 or David on 087-9087173.
You can also email lpadaly@gmail.com or David.king@dublincity.ie.
