FOLLOWING the very successful national rally of Probus in May, the Probus Club of Portlaoise hosted a very enjoyable function in the Sue Ryder Centre, Portlaoise, on Tuesday, July 18.

At the function, the special guests were Mr. P. J. O’Gorman, chairman of the board of directors of the Cuisle Centre, Portlaoise and Ms. Anne Marie Bannon, oncology nurse at the centre.

Also present were Mr. Liam Casey, liaison officer from Portlaoise Rotary Club, and Dr. A. J. Cole, who is a member of the Rotary Club and a former president.

The Cuisle Centre was chosen by the Probus Club for their charity during th erally and the club president Mr. Ned Kirwan said it was an honour for him to present a cheque for €1,000 to such a deserving cause.

Mr. P. J. O’Gorman thanked Probus for selecting Cuisle as their charity and said the donation was very generous and would be used to help Cuisle to continue with their work of giving support to those living with cancer and their families.

Mr. O’Gorman also gave the members details of the proposed new Cuisle Centre in Portlaoise where they will be able to expand their services in the midlands.

Ms. Bannon told members about the services that were on offer and said it was a drop-in centre.

She also spoke about plans for the future and the expansion of the service.

The Probus Club acknowledges with thanks the help and support they received from so many sources for months prior to the rally which brought upwards of 300 delegates from north and south to the Heritage House in Portlaoise on Thursday, May 25.

Portlaoise Rotary, as well as a generous donation, also put in a lot of manpower in organising the rally. Laois Co. Council tourist office sponsored the briefcase and tourism literature, Laois Leader sponsored postage and organised all the print work, the Laois Nationalist sponsored pens for all of the delegates as well as providing copies of their newspaper on the day.

Generous donations were also received from EBS Portlaoise and the Credit Union in Portlaoise, FDB Portlaoise, EBS Portlaoise, Mulhall’s Supermarket, Portlaoise, Bank of Ireland, Portlaoise and First Ireland Spirits, Abbeyleix.

This sponsorship and support helped the Probus Club put Portlaoise on the tourist map as well as making a generous donation to the Cuisle Centre and its work for cancer.

The Probus Club, which is part of Rotary, has a busy schedule. They meet every Tuesday morning in Portlaoise and sometimes have guest speakers. Last week they had a very enjoyable day in Dublin where they had guided tours of the Botanic Gardens and Glasnevin Cemetery. They are at present planning a trip to a concert and dinner in Cashel, Co. Tipperary.

Later in the season members and friends will visit Kilmainham Jail and Kilmainham Arts Centre in Dublin.

The club members are regular visitors to the Rathmines and Rathgar musicals twice yearly and already have booked tickets for the R&R’s production of The Gondoliers in the National Concert Hall in November.

The club are taking a break from weekly meetings for the month of August but will be back again in September to plan their autumn and winter season activities.