Cappamore guild prepares to celebrate its ruby anniversary
Mrs O’Riordan from Bruff ICA addressed the more than 50 ladies who attended that first meeting, explaining all about ICA and its philosophy. “She just volunteered three ladies to take officer roles – ‘you’ll be the president, you the secretary, you the treasurer’. Susan McMahon [now deceased] was first president, Anne McCarthy first secretary and Mary O’Brien first treasurer. She obviously picked the right ladies because it’s still going strong,” says guild president Maura Walsh. Today, the guild has 28 members – many in their 60s and four are original founder members. “I joined when I was 38,” says Maura.
“You won’t get many 38-year-olds joining today. Times have changed – women have more outlets in 2014.” The four founder members still with the guild – Philomena Gleeson, Peggy Ryan, Marie Hayes, and Alma Dillon – were in their 20s at the time with small children, says Maura. “They were maybe glad of a break from home to attend ICA meetings.” Maura believes the perception of ICA as an organisation “for older women who drink tea and knit tea-cosies” still exists in some quarters.
