Geraldton & Midwest Irish Club Presidents Report BY PETER VANDERPOL
IT HAS BEEN A BUSY TWO MONTHS HERE AT THE GERALDTON & MIDWEST IRISH CLUB! In September the club hosted a Mid-Year St Paddy’s Day celebration on the 18th September. Our favourite Irish band from Perth, The Broken Pokers, again travelled to Geraldton alongside Irish Dancers Torc Céilí Club and put on two great performances. The first performance kicked off in the afternoon for our older members and young families and followed by an evening session for those wanting to dance the night away. Between both performances, we had the privilege of the City of Greater Geraldton Mayor, Shane Van Styn and Father Gerard come down to the club to officially open and bless our Clubs outside garden/shelter area. This was made possible by the City donating two bus shelters to the club and our generous members giving up their time to re-condition and paint the shelters as well as lay concrete footings. The blessing by Father Gerard was entertaining and humorous, you can check the video out on our Facebook page. Sunday 26 September was the club’s Annual General Meeting with Sean Dillon stepping down as President after serving his term. There was a great turn out from members at the AGM and it was great to see so many nominations from members wishing to fulfill positions on the executive committee. The votes were counted, and the 2021/2022 Geraldton & Midwest Irish Club Executive Committee is as follows:
PRESIDENT: PETER VANDERPOL VICE PRESIDENT: LYNETTE MEEHAN MCSHANE SECRETARY: MIKE KENDRICK TREASURER: GRACE CRIDDLE COMMITTEE MEMBERS: SEAN DILLON, SIMON MILLER, ADAM WILSON, KERRY VANDERPOL & JOHN REGAN. October backed up September with another busy month with our Friday night and Sunday afternoon live music line ups, chase the ace and meat raffles continuing to pull in big crowds. Geraldton and the Midwest region is host to some great musical talent and the club loves to host and promote these artists. October saw performances from local artists James McDonald, Geoff Uddy, Zain Laudehr, Carly Markham, Davidson Brother and Solitary Sounds. We also had the privilege of hosting Mandurah based duo Leather and Lace as they were passing through town, they put on a great performance on a Sunday afternoon that had the club close to full capacity. 58 | THE IRISH SCENE
The club finished the month of October with a Halloween celebration on Sunday 31 October where the live music was cranking, Smoked American BBQ chicken was at the table and Halloween face painting was on offer to all thanks to members Big American John and Dawn Regan. Dawn was that good and convincing that most adults got in line to have their faces painted. The club was packed with new faces and kids who were taking advantage of the new kids play area which was made possible by purchasing some second hand fencing and again having our dedicated members put to work to install ready for the kids to enjoy. The club has a busy November and December ahead of us with our live music scheduled every Friday night from 7-9pm and Sunday from 3-5pm. New members are always welcome, and we encourage anyone from Perth passing through Geraldton to please call in and make yourself known. Opening Hours are Friday 5-11pm and Sunday Midday to 6pm. You can keep up to date with our events and the goings on at the Geraldton & Midwest Irish Club by following us on Facebook.
☘
