THE 70th anniversary of Ballinascarthy Macra will be celebrated in style with a celebratory dinner at Fernhill House Hotel on Saturday, January 20th.
A night of glamour, delicious food, live music, and plenty of dancing is promised to celebrate the group’s seven decades of friendship and community involvement.
Founded in the winter of 1954, Ballinascarthy Macra began its journey when a local agricultural advisor suggested establishing a branch of Macra na Feirme to fill the void left by the closure of a committee of agriculture course.
Originally it focused on educating local farmers, in the early years, Macra was male-dominated, with the first women joining Ballinascarthy Macra in the late 1950s.
Over the decades, the organisation has grown and diversified. The first committee of Ballinascarthy included club president Bartholomew Murphy, chairperson Thomas Kingston, secretary Thomas P. Kingston and treasurer Dan Walsh.
Within five years the club faced the huge task of building what is now Ballinascarthy Community Hall. Each member donated an amount of money that would be paid back later.
To raise funds, it was decided to have one big raffle rather than small fundraising events and the prize was a Ford Anglia. Members travelled throughout the county and beyond selling tickets.
The raffle was such a success that the tickets wouldn’t fit into the container for conducting the draw but luckily the ICA came to the rescue by stitching together a few large squares of bed linen! The hall was opened in September 1961.
Tickets for the dinner dance are €45. Contact (by text if possible): Kate - 0868795334, Grace - 0870984474, Eamonn -0862112430, Catriona - 0879556930
