NOTES  ON SEPTEMBER 2017  NIGHT  SKY
by Eamon Henry; 9^th September 2017

This page, to be updated monthly, will let you know some things you can look out for in the night sky. The website http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky  gives an available monthly outlook of present title “The Night Sky September 2017” compiled by Ian Morison and covering events throughout September. A complementary TV programme is the BBC programme “The Sky at Night” likely continuing on BBC Four sometime during the month.

The above website gives information about planets, eclipses, comets, galaxies, etc., some of which are of central interest for the month ahead. It also gives written comment on what to look for. I just offer a few extracts from this, in what follows. However, some of the comments are my own, e.g. planets’ or moons’ (satellites’) approximate distances. Please note that the planet shapes shown in this outlook do not necessarily coincide with what you get in a “here and now” view through a small telescope. This makes such “here and now” live viewing quite interesting.

Highlights of September 2017:

1. Jupiter: to be seen low in the southwestern sky after nightfall, at some 10 degrees above the horizon. Clear conditions should at any time make Jupiter’s four Galilean moons and the equatorial bands visible.   

2. Saturn: due southwest at its highest some 17 degrees above the horizon as darkness falls at the start of the month, with its ring-system open at some 26 degrees to our line of sight.

3. Mars: a morning object, not easily seen in the pre-dawn sky.

4. Mercury:  has become a morning object in direction east. Binoculars will be needed to observe it in the bright twilight.

5. Venus: rises in the east some 2 hours before sunrise, at the start of the month. During the month its visible lighted surface increases from some 84 to 91 percent of the half-sphere. On 16^th September in direction east, Venus , Mars and Mercury can be seen in an almost vertical line below to the left of the crescent Moon.

Phases of the Moon:  Full Moon 6^th September ;  Last Qr. 13^th;  New Moon 20^th;  1^st Qr. 28^th

Dublin Sunrise: 6.36am on 2^nd September; 6.48am on 9^th;7.00am on 16^th;7.13am on 23^rd;7.25am on 30^th     

Dublin Sunset: 8.12 pm on 2^nd September;7.55pm on 9^th;7.38pm on 16^th;7.21pm on 23^rd;7.04pm on 30^th

NOTE: the times given above are all in summertime, which began on 26^th March. 

NEWGRANGE AND THE SUN-GOD

A bedtime story by Edmund Henry.

 

The BBC Horizon program of last Thursday night discussed a bronze disk found recently in north-east Germany, and dated to about 1600 BC, and identified with local copper-mines as its raw material. The disk has religious symbols of the Sun (life-giver), crescent Moon (indicating time-change) and the Pleiades(“seven sisters”) star-group used as a calendar for spring-to-autumn agricultural work. This disk also has the “Sun’s Boat”, later found in Egyptian religious carvings, which supposedly carries the Sun around and back under the earth to be in place tomorrow morning.

 

Under such stimulation I yesterday revisited our National Museum (Kildare Street) to look again at a roof-stone from the Newgrange sun-temple (built maybe during 3500-2500 BC), which interests me a lot because it has line etchings scored by a chisel. Helped by some Gaelic words explained in Dinneen’s Irish-English Dictionary, I can better explain Newgrange as Dagda the Sun-god dying at the mid-winter solstice, but (if sky is clear) shining at sunrise of some four mid-winter mornings into the centre of the Newgrange “temple”. He thus fertilizes the womb of mother earth, which gives (new) birth to his son Aongus (the ancient Irish god of sexual love). Dagda has another name “Eochaidh Oll-Athair”, the second word meaning “Father of all things” i.e. Creator-God. Aongus is frequently called “Aongus an Bhrogha” meaning Aongus of the fairy mansion i.e. of the Newgrange sun-temple mound.

 

We expect all etchings at Newgrange to be directly connected with the Sun-god. I now can make some sense of some of them, as follows.

 

FIRST: The roof-stone has its etchings filled and blackened by pitch or some such material. I see clearly a horse’s head, ears and shoulders facing right, above/behind which appears the sun-disk giving out rays like curly hair. Then further behind (and to the left) are undulations suggesting sea-waves. So this could represent Dagda on his horse rising out of the sea at morning and/or possibly passing above/through the western sea so as to get back again for tomorrow morning. The horse-head may have a studded cap on top, but with clear bridle strings and rein coming in the right place towards a rider’s hand. There is also a leg with bent knee in the right place for a rider, down the horse’s flank.

SECONDLY: There are several spirals etched on the Newgrange pillar-stones, not yet the “Maze of Crete” design, which I will treat below. Starting at mid-winter sunrise, the Sun does a low loop in the sky and then supposedly returns under the earth to repeat a slightly larger higher loop starting slightly to the left of yesterday’s. And so on to mid-summer, at which it makes the largest highest loop through the sky. Your imagination must guess (for circa 3000 BC) how it loops down below on the way back. Such etched spirals represent this 3-dimensional process, on a flat surface.

THIRDLY: From mid-June to mid-December the Sun apparently repeats the process in the opposite sunrise direction (left to right). But suppose (to avoid confusion) we treated this as a “mirror-image” of the loops of mid-December to mid-June, then we would have a double set of loops (supposedly close together). This could well be the origin of the “Maze of Crete” design, not seen at Newgrange, where five complete spirals (some having connecting ends) appear, as well as several partial ones, on the large stone in front of the actual passage entrance. The mid-winter Sun shines through the “roof-box” and shaft directly above this stone, into the central chamber, if the sky is clear.

 

POSTSCRIPT (4th to 6^th February 2004)

 

As background to all this, we may draw on the “Chronology of World Events” (in particular, page 1688 of Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, 1991 edition). The period 4000-3200 BC mentions “Farming spreads to western and northern Europe…construction of monumental tombs in megalithic technique in .. British Isles…Use of horse …on steppes north of Black Sea… Plough and cart widely adopted in Europe”. The period 2500-2300 BC mentions “Beaker cultures bring innovations (copper-working, horses,…woollen textiles) to Atlantic seaboard”.

 

So we may conclude that by roughly 2400 BC the Boyne valley area around Newgrange had farming (both tillage and livestock, including horses), with ploughs etc. But we should also allow the possibility that etchings on any stones of the Newgrange sun-temple could have been made long after the original structure was built.

 

The Sun-god was (and still is) crucial for crop-growing during the spring and summer. I now consider an etching on the lower left-hand corner of the roof-stone, namely two heavily-etched squares joined at one corner. These could represent two tillage-fields fenced in, to keep grazing animals out. Or, they might represent one tillage-field and one field for grazing animals e.g. cows.

 

Inside the lower square near one edge is a T-shaped small carving (heavily-scored). This could represent the vertical (coulter) and horizontal (ploughshare) blades of a plough. It could also represent some other farming implement such as a pick-axe. Nearby in this square is a heavily-scored dot, which could represent a grain-seed being sowed.

We see many groups of these square or diamond-shaped etchings on the pillar-stones of  the Newgrange passage into the inner chamber, and elsewhere. They might represent tillage-fields and grazing animals being put under the aegis of the Sun-god.

Below to the right of these squares, etchings appear which suggest a pear and apple together, and separately a further pair of cherries or fruits or nuts joined together.

 

But, most interesting, top left on the roof-stone are several circular etchings together forming a (lower) biggish half of a sun-like object, with spiky rays coming out below. This makes sense as the crescent Moon. Below this and facing left, is a quite credible donkey’s head and neck. So we could interpret this as the Moon riding a donkey (hurray!!) across the sky in the opposite direction to that of the Sun - which it surely does as it apparently moves from west (new moon) to east (full moon) over two weeks. And to the farthest left at the top we find wavy lines facing the Moon’s donkey – I need only mention the word “Tides”!!

U.K. 7 MAY 2015 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 
A note by Eamon Henry. Date 15^th May 2015

Numerical results below are taken from Wikipedia, with two sets of calculations by the author, namely Table 1 column 3 party percentage shares of total number of votes, and column 5 derived number of seats pro rata party percentage shares of total number of votes. The total turnout of 66.1 percent of the total electorate may be considered rather low, for such an important expected outcome of no party majority, although in fact a Conservative overall majority resulted.

Table 1 Main Results by Party, with derived percentages and proportional seat numbers

Party          (1)	Votes, number        (2)	Votes, party percentage of total   (3)	Seats, number, actual      (4)	Seats, number pro rata col. 3 percent share of votes (5)
Conservative	11,334,920	36.932	331	240
Labour	9,344,328	30.446	232	198
U.K. Ind. Party	3,881,129	12.646	1	82
Lib. Dem.	2,415,888	7.871	8	51
Scottish Nat. P.	1,454, 436	4.739	56	31
Green	1,157, 613	3.772	1	25
Dem. Union. P.	184,260	0.600	8	4
Plaid Cymru	181,694	0.592	3	4
Sinn Fein	176,232	0.574	4	4
Ulster Union. P..	114,935	0.374	2	2
Soc Dem.& L. P.	99,809	0.325	3	2
Others	346,436	1.129	1	7
TOTAL	30,691,680	100.000	650	650

We see that the Conservative actual 331 seats far exceeded their warranted 240 seats based on party vote share. Likewise, Labour’s 232 seats exceeded their warranted 198 seats. U.K.I.P. ‘s getting nearly 4 million votes, for only 1 actual seat versus warranted 82 seats, might argue a need for some different election system , as an improvement on that in place. The same argument could be made for the Lib. Dem. (8 actual versus 51 warranted) and Green (1 actual versus 25 warranted). In the other direction, the Scottish Nat. Party actual 56 seats far exceeded their warranted 31 seats based on vote number shares.

This writer proposes a more equitable outcome, as follows. Combine the present 650 constituencies by adjoining pairs into 325 constituencies, and elect 325 M.P.s as at present. Then subtract out the votes (total or some high share) obtained by these 325 winners, and combine all the remaining votes into a national total, subdivided by party. Then allocate the remaining 325 seats pro rata party shares. In this situation U.K. I.P. would certainly obtain many more seats than just the 1 now obtained, and Lib. Dem. would also obtain more. In an arguably  better sense, no votes would be wasted. The writer thinks that a voting system along these lines already exists, possibly in Germany, or in some other European countries.  
 

LITTLE GREEN MEN: THE IRISH EMIGRANTS IN AMERICA
by Grainne Archer;

As green-eyed little monsters
in hordes we set to sea,
abandoning our Emerald Isle
for your Land of the Free.

And so as naïve navies
allegiance we all swore
to patinated Libertas
who lit our way ashore.

But bile soon drove us onwards as we
heaved those heavy railtracks, as we
sweated, picked and shovelled, as we
earned our dirty greenbacks.
For freckled-faced simplicity
brought ridicule and laughter,
a century or more of sneers
for every Irish grafter.

But now no longer aliens
our patience fruit has borne
there runs a green blood in your veins -
you’re all part leprechaun!

IRELAND: The Dawning of the Day, Book Launch. 

Albert Connor, Michelle Hannon, Rita Gallagher

On Thursday May 17th had you been lucky enough to be around the Kenilworth SQ area of Dublin you would've been forgiven for thinking Hollywood itself had come to this quite neighbourhood as the stars of the Active IT Society and some possibly more well known faces descended on The Kenilworth Bowling Club for the launch of the AITS book "IRELAND: The Dawning of the Day" over 100 guests came along to show their support of this wonderfully warm and witty book, with some of the writers treating those present to a reading or two including Mike Mahon a retired pilot who actively lived up to "the old bold pilot" adage with his witty & memorable rendition of his own piece "J'member".

Aidan O'Hara (Contributor)

Prize-winning Author & Broadcaster Aidan O'Hara enthralled the crowd with his contribution "On My Way Home From School" as he took us all back to Kilderry woods in the last few months of World War II, with his unique sprinkling of wit, honesty and innocence, of a childhood memoir brought back to life. Finally Sean Gallagher ended the evening for us by reminding us all why we were there, and how this book came about by telling us of the joys of discovering computer's late in his life and how these skills can help older people in so many ways, and how important it is to maintain computer training for older people. If you haven't already got your copy make sure you pick one up soon, it would make a great gift for family & friends both at home and away.
All proceeds from the book will go towards running outreach programmes to train housebound older people in computer skills. Available in Terenure Enterprise Centre, selected local outlets and at http://www.oaktreepress.ie/.

BIRR CASTLE DEMESNE VISIT
9 JULY 2011

A note by Eamon Henry.
Date 12 July 2011

A visit to Birr Castle Demesne in County Offaly was made on Saturday 9 July 2011 by eleven members of the Active IT Society (AITS), organised and led by Mrs Angela Hickey. A two-hour journey by car got us there about noon, and after a light snack in the coffee-shop we started our tour, for a group charge of €6.50 per person. The day was dry and cloudy.
Our first venue, beside the coffee-shop, was the Historic Science Centre, which gives much attention to the famous telescope to be described below, but also treats the pioneer photography of Mary Countess of Rosse in the 1840s, and the Steam Turbine invented by her son Charles and used later in ships. We next walked through the extensive grounds, trying to absorb some of the rich variety of very old trees and exotic plants, labelled to give description, and including “The Carroll Oak” which is at least 500 years old. The rivers Camcor and Little Brosna meet within the demesne and provide a wildlife sanctuary, before flowing west into the Shannon.

The Castle itself is still private, as the family home of the Parsons, living there since 1620 in the castle they built on the site of a Norman castle dating from 1170. The Parsons family formal title is “Earl and Countess of Rosse”.

The inventor of the great telescope was the Third Earl of Rosse, William Parsons, born in Yorkshire on 17th June 1800 and departed this life on 31st October 1867. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin and at Magdalen College Oxford, where he graduated in Mathematics with First Class Honours in 1822. He married an English woman, Mary Field, in 1836 and they had four sons. He served as MP for Kings County (now named County Offaly) in the British House of Commons during 1821-1834 (starting while still at Oxford, and became an Irish Peer in the House of Lords from 1845 onwards. Recognition of his research work won him many honours, including the Order of St. Patrick. Unlike many other scientists of his time, he published full technical details of his telescopes and stellar discoveries in the best scientific journals available.
William the Earl in fact designed and built two telescopes of the “Reflecting” kind, one having a mirror of 36 inches diameter, and the second, named “Leviathan”, having a mirror of 72-inch diameter, and being the world’s largest from its first use in 1847 up to roughly 1917, a span of some seventy years. A “reflecting” telescope lets the light from a distant object come down inside an empty cylindrical tube to reach a curved (parabolic) mirror at the bottom, which reflects and focuses it to form an image back up inside the tube. This image is caught precisely by a small slanting mirror which reflects it out through a hole in the side of the tube, so as to reach the “Eyepiece” lens which magnifies the image as required. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) also designed and used a telescope of this kind.

A restored version of Leviathan stands where it was, in the grounds. It comprised a hollow iron tube (of wood & metal)some 54 feet long weighing 16 tons and having at its lower end a parabolic metal mirror of diameter 72 inches. The central viewing direction was due south. It could be raised from horizontal to vertical, but with only some 10 degrees rotation to left or right possible, because of the two big sidewalls of cut stone which carried the heavy tube in a steel frame attached to the walls by ropes and geared pulley-wheels with attached counter-weights. The mirror was made of “Speculum” metal, a mix of two-thirds copper and one-third tin, giving a highly polished surface, but reflecting only two-thirds of the light received, by comparison with more modern mirrors of glass and mercury which reflect some 90 percent of light received. With the help of only two men, the Earl was able to manipulate the 16-ton telescope so as to counteract (to some extent) the effect of Earth’s rotation, which in a few seconds can move the point of interest out of the telescope’s field of view if no continuous tracking adjustment is made. Nowadays an electric motor attachment can keep track of the point being viewed.

No photography was available at that time to make pictures of images in telescopes, so the Earl had to make sketches by hand of what he saw. Among many, the Owl Nebula and the Whirlpool Galaxy are notable. He discovered 226 new items as now listed in the “New General Catalogue” (NGC) series, and gave much improved views of some 70 objects already known. The power of Leviathan is illustrated by a remark of an Irish MP colleague, Thomas Langlois Lefroy: “Planet Jupiter is seen twice as large as the Moon appears to the naked eye”.

Only some of the data given above emerged from looking at the structure in the castle grounds. However, this writer hopes to be excused for concentrating on a world-famous telescope of its day, designed, built and used successfully by the brilliant Third Earl of Rosse, and published in detail so that others could know and use his discoveries.

MARSH’S LIBRARY VISIT 11 JUNE 2011
A note by Eamon Henry.
Date 12 June 2011

A visit to Marsh’s Library was made on Saturday 11 June 2011 by eight members of the Active IT Society (AITS), organised and led by Mrs. Angela Hickey. The Library is located in St. Patrick’s Close, beside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. We began our visit about 11.00 a.m. and were kindly received by the Keeper, Dr. Muriel McCarthy and the Deputy Keeper Mrs. Ann Simmons. Besides looking at a sample of the books on offer, displayed under glass, we also watched a film which gave the history of the Library, built in 1701 by Narcissus Marsh, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, and in continuous existence since then. It is still publicly available to scholars. Its website address is www.marshlibrary.ie, with much of interest on offer.
The interior of the Library, with its beautiful dark oak bookcases, remains unchanged since it was built three hundred years ago. It is a magnificent example of a seventeenth century scholars’ library. Each bookcase has a carved and lettered gable. Also unchanged are the three elegant wired alcoves or “cages” where readers were locked in with rare books, of which many were originally chained to their shelves.

A brief historical background is in order. The King of England during 1689-1702 was William III, son of William of Orange and having as wife Mary, daughter of James II, until her death in 1694. The Irish supporters of James II had been defeated by the armies of William III at the Boyne, at Aughrim and at Limerick by the early 1690s. Thus, around 1700 the Anglican Church in Ireland, centred on Dublin, was very much within the English environment. Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713) was an Englishman, educated at Oxford before Ordination to the Church of England. He was a good scholar and became Provost of Trinity College Dublin, where he was soon recognised by the Duke of Ormonde as suitable for the post of Archbishop of Dublin, which Marsh duly obtained. Archbishop Marsh was particularly interested in science, mathematics and music, and he himself played the lute.

Marsh’s Library was the first public library in Ireland and one of the first in these islands. It was designed by Sir William Robinson, who also designed the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham. There are four main collections of printed books, relating to the 16th, 17th and early part of the 18th centuries, and comprising 25,000 books. The collectors were scholars and the scope of the subjects is surprisingly wide and varied, including the Greek and Latin classics, medicine, law, science, travel, mathematics and music. There are also books in Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish and Russian.
One collection is that of Edward Stillingfleet (1635-1699), Bishop of Leicester, some 10,000 books, and bought by Marsh for 2,500 pounds. Marsh’s own collection is the second, except for his great collection of Oriental manuscripts which he left to the Oxford Bodleian Library. A third collection is that of Elias Bouhereau, a French Huguenot refugee who became the first librarian after fleeing France in 1685. The fourth collection is that of John Stearne (1660-1745), Anglican Bishop of Clogher. There are also some three hundred manuscripts in the Library.

It holds as well two volumes of Bishop Bedell’s translation of the Old Testament into Irish, first published in London in 1685. Archbishop Marsh was responsible for the preparation of this translation for printing, with the help and encouragement of Robert Boyle (1627-1691), scientist and discoverer of “Boyle’s Law”. Prominent persons connected with the Library include Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral alongside the Library. He was one of the governors of the Library and attended the annual visitation for many years. A user of the Library was Thomas Moore (1779-1852), poet and song-writer.

BELFAST DAY TRIP 11 MAY 2011
A note by Eamon Henry.
Date 13 May 2011

A day trip to Belfast was made on Wednesday 11th May 2011 by eight members of the Active IT Society (AITS). The objective was to make a sight-seeing tour of the main items of interest within the Greater Belfast area. We were organised and led by Mrs. Angela Hickey, and set off by train from the Dublin Connelly station at 9.35 a.m.
As older persons enjoying free travel within the Republic, we were enabled to travel free north of the Border on the trains to and from Belfast, by each of us filling in a form provided by Irish Rail. A cool and breezy sunny morning accompanied us on our way to Belfast, which we reached about 12.00 noon.

Our first port of call was the Belfast Welcome Centre, after using our train tickets to get free bus transport from the Central Railway Station to the city centre, which is around the City Hall.
At the Welcome Centre we purchased our bus-tour tickets for 8 pounds sterling each, to be used with Allen’s Tours during the afternoon. Before lunching, we had a good look at the City Hall. This huge building in Victorian style is at least as big as the Dublin Custom House, with ornate frontage, and a large lawn open to the public and holding several statues of local notables, in keeping with its importance. Then a leisurely lunch gave us much-needed strength for the afternoon activities.
We made our way to the nearby “Dome”, a glass-topped summit of a shopping centre, where a panoramic view of greater Belfast is available. To the north, a distant mountain cliff comprises the eastern part of Cave Hill. Various church spires can be identified, as can Belfast Castle also. A helpful feature of the Dome is that, as one moves around inside the circular window, at waist-height there are plaques stating what can be seen when looking out in that particular direction, with an etching as well by way of visual help. Two huge Harland & Wolff cranes dominate the north-eastern horizon above the docks.

Our sight-seeing trip on Allen’s bus began about 4.00 p.m. and we stayed on the bus throughout the trip. Only a few of many features get mention here. The river Lagan flows north towards its estuary and thus provides a direction guideline. Travelling north-eastwards, we passed the Titanic Quarter on the docks and soon reached the entry to Belfast City Airport on our left. Stormont Castle has a steep avenue leading up to it, and from our bus-top view of maybe 200 yards away looked smaller than I had expected, smaller in width than our Dublin Custom House.

On our continuing circuit we passed St. Anne’s Cathedral and the City Hall, with Queen’s University and the Ulster Museum being further items worth mention. The Falls Road has many memorials to the Nationalist efforts towards equality since about 1968, things worth seeing at leisure. By contrast, the Shankill Road bears many Loyalist shrines and emblems indicating “no surrender”. The Belfast Peace Line is a high wall extending some two miles , and used to prevent free incursions of trouble-makers from either Falls or Shankill into the other area. Our tour commentator gave us a rather cool and fair outlook on all of this, with flashes of humour. For example, a newly-built hospital carrying yellow stripes all over its outside he described as “the Belfast eye-sore”. The full bus-tour took about 90 minutes.

With the tour finished, it was time to get a bus back to the Central Railway Station, and our train set out at 6.10 p.m. and reached Dublin Connelly station shortly before 9.00 p.m. This outing can be remembered as a very enjoyable experience.

VISIT TO GUINNESS STOREHOUSE IN DUBLIN
A note by Eamon Henry

On 13th April 2011 some eleven members of the Active IT Society made the trip, led by Mrs. Angela Hickey. The Storehouse can be envisaged as a museum of the Guinness Brewery, in successful production of “porter” beer since 1759, at Dublin’s St. James’s Gate.
We started at the usual point, namely the entrance to “Guinness Storehouse” about 11.00 am, and bought our €9 tickets, which included the cost of a pint of draft Guinness stout in the “Gravity Bar” on the seventh floor right at the top of the building. A vast amount of technical information is available about the brewing process for those interested, as one follows the guiding arrows along the intended trip, and listens to video instructions. A shop of varied items is available near the front entrance.
A brief description of the brewing process is relevant. Clean water is brought from sources in County Wicklow. During each year some 100,000 tonnes of Irish malting barley is used as one main ingredient, as well as some imported barley. Some 3 million pints of beer are produced each day, for home sale and export. The barley is first soaked for a couple of days, until it begins to sprout. It is then dried and roasted and ground up, being “malt” at this stage. It is now mixed with hot water and mashed, and the liquid (called “wort”) drained off. The solid residue becomes animal feed.
The wort is next boiled for 70 minutes with chopped hop-cones (imported), to give the bitter characteristic flavour. Next, yeast is added, to ferment the wort and produce some 7 percent alcohol content, during a two-day period. The yeast is then removed, and the remaining liquid is porter of an amber colour, needing some further maturing etc. before packing in casks for sale. The removed yeast is usable in further fermentation runs, with some of the yeast being sold for baking bread and other uses. This whole brewing process is shown in detail, step by step, with video commentary, as one follows the guiding arrows.
Around 1.00 pm we ascended to the Gravity Bar, to enjoy our pints. We had already sampled a small measure, to indicate the taste, when we reached the end of the production process demonstration. A panoramic view of Dublin and environs is available through the windows of the circular wall surrounding this Bar. To the west one can see the Wellington Monument of Phoenix Park; to the south one sees the Dublin hills, to the east Howth Head and lighthouse, and to the north Croke Park among other buildings. It happened that some RTE staff were visiting the Bar when we were there, as part of preparations for imminent visits by President Obama and Queen Elizabeth. As the now-visiting Dalai Lama was not mentioned, he might be a teetotaler!!
A leisurely lunch in the fifth-floor restaurant followed, at very reasonable prices, with coffee or tea on the house. All in all, this visit has provided a memorable and very enjoyable experience.

Bealtaine Dawn Chorus Terenure on Facebook !!

The Active IT Society's event for The 2011 Bealtaine Festival has been launched on facebook check out our page at "Bealtaine Dawn chorus Terenure".
Tell your friends and family and join our campaign to make this event as successful as possible.
The event itsalf will take place on Sunday May 29th at 7am in Terenure College by the Lakeside, come along on the morning bring your family and friends and join in the fun, sing along with the choirs and welcome the dawn in this unique event.
See you there !!

On-line Group Communication

I really enjoyed delivering the On-line Group Communications course. Many participants are now using Skype to communicate with family and friends at home and abroad.

The highlight of the course was contacting the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Edie Wynne via Skype. Thank you Edie for participating in the Skype lesson and for the invitation to attend the hospice coffee morning in the mansion house. It was a very enjoyable morning, supporting the Hospice and learning about the history of the mansion house.

Many thanks to the Community Foundation Grassroots Grant for funding this course.

Geraldine

Santa's Helpers

Five of our intrepid ASITS members set off on a beautiful winters morning to spend the day touring Newbridge Silverware & afterwards headed off to Kildare Village Shopping Outlet to make a dent in their christmas shopping!!
Well done ladies for doing your bit for the economy and no doubt judging by the high spirits as they set off from the Enterprise Centre lots of fun was had on the day.. Merry Christmas

BEALTAINE EXHIBITION

Thank you to everyone eho took part in our recent Framed! My Life In Pctures Exhibition which was luanched ny Lord Mayer Emer Costello on May 11th at Terenure Library. The exhibition was a great success and a big thank you to Rick Quinn who over the course of 6 weeks encouraged our participants to recall and share their personal memories and special events in their lives.

ASITS NEWSLETTER January 2010

Happy New Year
On behalf of the ASITS committee and Terenure Enterprise Centre we would like to say a big THANK YOU! Your support and commitment to the Society over the last year was greatly appreciated and we look forward to your continued support in the year ahead. Many thanks also to those who generously gave gifts to our St Vincent de Paul giving tree for Christmas 2009.

The Active Senior IT Society A.G.M
Our AGM will take place on Monday January 25th 2010 at 11.00am in the Memorial Hall on Rathfarnham Road, Terenure.
As with many organizations, funding for training is limited for the year ahead and the committee needs the support of members to ensure the continuation of the Society and all it offers. Please come along to our A.G.M. to show you support and offer your feedback and suggestions; we look forward to seeing you there!
Refreshments will be served 

It’s that time of year again!!
Your ASITS annual subscription is now due and the fee remains unchanged at €10. If you take into consideration that in 2009 571 training places were taken up by ASITS members, spread over 45 courses & 17 workshops, along with the social outings and events arranged throughout the year, we think you will agree that €10 a year is great value for money even in these recessionary times!!!!

From February 2010 this newsletter will be sent by email in future. Please supply us with your current email address and make sure to check your email regularly.

ASITS NEWSLETTER March 2010

St .Michael’s House -“Bring a book, Buy a book”

On Wednesday March 10th we are hosting a “Bring-a-Book Buy-a-Book” drop in morning in aid of St Michaels house Services for intellectual disability. This year we’re accepting books or DVD’s. This event will take place in Terenure Enterprise centre between 10am and 2pm. All books or DVD’s donated will be sold for just €2. Please come along on the day to buy a book, all proceeds will be in aid of St. Michael’s House. If you would like to donate books in advance please bring your good quality second hand books/ DVDs to Terenure Enterprise Centre before March 8th. Thank you for your support.



PLEASE RENEW  WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you to all our members who attended the AGM on Jan 25th. One of the items discussed was the importance of the annual subscriptions to keep the society alive. The annual membership fee is €10 this fee entitles the members to:
• One basic computer 8 week course at the fee of €20
• One free work workshop
• To avail of a variety of courses and initiatives run at the enterprise centre half price

New Social Committee:
Three members have recently volunteered to head up a social committee to oversee the social events for the members of the society. If you have any idea or suggestions – let us know!

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ASITS NEWSLETTER APRIL 2010

Social Committee:
Our new social committee has been busy planning some exciting new adventures for all members. P.T.O for full details of upcoming events. Advance booking is essential as some activities have limited availability!
The committee is made up of four members of the society - Angela Hickey, Phyllis Boyle, Joan Dunwoody, Rita Gallagher & Jim Kenny – sincere thanks to you all.

Date for your Diary:
Tues 11th May 2010 @ 10.30a.m.in Terenure Library
To mark www.bealtaine.com the society is going to produce an exhibition of memoirs and photos which will be on display in Terenure Library from 11th–15th May and in Ballyroan Library from 24th-29th May. The exhibition will be launched in Terenure Library by the Dublin City Lord Mayor, Cllr Emer Costello, on May 11th @ 10.30am – please join us!

New Classes:
Beginners - Friday Morning – starts May 2010
If you are interested in enrolling in these classes please call us on Tel. 4903237; classes are €20 to first time participants and at the reduced fee of €65 for all members who would like to repeat this class. If you would like to register for any other classes within the society or have any suggestions for classes and activities you would like to see on offer we would love to hear from you.

Refer a Friend:
Some of you may have heard ASITS Chairman Al Connor on Community Radio FM in February to promote the society. Al did a great job and many new members came along to join after hearing about ASITS. Remember, if you have friends & family who might be interested in joining up and availing of the excellent value for their €10 annual subscription that the society offers we would love to meet them so send them along to us or give us a call.

St Michael’s House Bring-a-Book Event:
Thank you to everyone who supported our St Michael’s House fund raising campaign on March 10th. Whether you donated books or just came along to buy some, your efforts raised €190 for St Michael’s House and on their behalf we would like to say: THANK YOU

ASITS NEWSLETTER June 2010

Bealtaine Festival - May 2010
On May 11th during the Bealtaine Festival, which celebrates the achievements of the older age group, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Emer Costello opened an exhibition in Terenure Library entitled Framed! My Life in Pictures which was compiled by 12 ASITS members. The project was produced with the invaluable assistance of volunteers Rick Quinn & Patrick Lyons – thank you both! The Society is very proud of the recognition given to the quality of the work by the participants of this class. The exhibition ran in Terenure Library from May 11th to May 15th and in Ballyroan library from May 24th to May 29th.
A full article written by Eamon Henry can be viewed on the ASITS BLOG: www.asits.blogspot.com.

New Classes:

Online Group Communications:

Aimed at members who have a role in volunteering. This course will cover sending group emails and group text messages

Fri July 23rd – Aug 27th
2.30pm-4.30pm

Fri Sept 3rd - Oct 8th
2.30pm-4.30pm

Fee: €20

My IT Advanced:

Aimed at members who have completed basic IT
This course will cover contacting friends & family online

Wed 2nd June - Jul 21st
10am to 12.00pm

Fee: €20 (Fully Booked)

My IT Advanced :

Aimed at members who have completed basic IT
This course will cover contacting friends & family online

Thur June 10th-Jul 29th
2pm – 4pm

Fee:€20

My IT :

Aimed at people who want to learn the very basics of computing, ie complete beginners

Mon 12th July - Aug 30th
2pm to 4pm

Fee: €20

My IT Advanced :

Aimed at members who have completed basic IT
This course will cover contacting friends & family online

Mon 12th July - Aug 30th
10am to 12pm

Fee: €20

My IT:

Aimed at people who want to learn the very basics of computing, ie complete beginners

Tuesday 1st June-Jul 20th
10am to 12pm
Fee: €20 (Fully Booked)

Digital Photography:

Learn how to use your digital camera, upload your photos and save & send them to family & friends

Thurs June 17th –Jul 22nd
10am-12pm
Fee: €20

If you are interested in any courses on offer, or would like to put your name down for an Autumn course please call us at 01-4903237 or email us on our new ASITS email address at asitsnews@gmail.com
If you are a new member and you haven’t been contacted for a new course please let us know and we will register you on the next available course.

Email Addresses:
Due to reduced funding, the Society is trying out new ways to save money; we are now looking at the idea of sending the newsletter via email. If you would like to receive your newsletter & other updates on new courses and social events please send us an email to asitsnews@gmail.com and we will add you to our mailing list.
*Remember to include your name on the email.

Annual Subscriptions:
Like many other organizations, our funding in these difficult times has been greatly reduced and we need to both increase our membership and retain our past members. Annual membership is €10. Perhaps you know of someone who might wish to participate in the varied classes on offer or who would like to join members on the interesting outings being organized by our new social committee.

Participants in ASITS Social Activities:
The new innovation of social events is being kindly organised by a small committee of volunteers. Because this is being run on a volunteer basis and is not a commercial venture, only those who are members of the Society are eligible to participate. If you wish to bring someone along they can join the Society for the annual membership fee of €10 by calling in to the Enterprise Centre any weekday between 9am & 5.30pm.


Carlow Trip:
Many thanks to the Social committee who organized a great trip to the Visual Arts Centre in Carlow. Attendees on the day all had a very enjoyable time and we even got the good weather too!
Many thanks to Angela, Phyllis, Joan, Jim & Rita for all your good work.
A full article written by Eamon Henry can be viewed on the ASITS BLOG www.asits.blogspot.com.

Any Ideas?
Don’t forget the ASITS committee & the staff at Terenure Enterprise Centre are always eager to hear you ideas and suggestions. Let us know what you like, what you don’t, and what you would like the Society to offer you: All ideas & comments to asitsnews@gmail.com