Monaghan Camera Club Marks 50 Years Since Its 1976 Launch
Monaghan Camera Club was launched on 29 October 1976 with an exhibition at Monaghan Library. Patrick McCarville, who joined that day, is still its longest-serving member.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
Save for later
St Macartan's Cathedral, Monaghan town. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Whoisjohngalt · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
Monaghan Camera Club is 50 years old today. It was launched on 29 October 1976, Northern Sound reports. Patrick McCarville joined that day and is still the club's longest-serving member.
How it started
For the launch, an exhibition opened at Monaghan Library on North Road. It showed the 100 best press photographs of 1975 and other images from camera clubs.
Weekly meetings followed. The club met in the front room of the Westenra Arms Hotel, which the late Ann Driver gave members free of charge.
Guest speakers came from all over the island of Ireland, and the club ran competitions.
Its first outing was to Rossmore Park at the end of January 1977.
The club now also uses the name Monaghan Photographic Society. In a 2014 profile, it said it moved in 1988 to the Belbroid Centre, its own purpose-built premises on North Road beside the library car park. At that time it met most Tuesday nights from late September to early April.
"Wonderful friendships"
Mr McCarville told Northern Sound that wonderful friendships have been formed and great memories made over the 50 years. He said the club has moved with the times, especially in taking up new technology. He encouraged others to join, calling it the perfect place to improve your photography. Rossmore, the scene of that first outing, is now home to a community archaeology project.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
Skillnet MMC Accelerate is hosting a visit to the FastHouse timber frame factory on the Clones Road, Monaghan, on Thursday, 5 November, from 9.30am to 1pm. Places are limited.
Carmel Hill from Monaghan Town, who is blind, says Meta's camera glasses read her prescriptions and describe her surroundings. She says privacy fears are exaggerated. Meta is donating 15,000 pairs to Vision Ireland.
Monaghan Women's Assembly and Monaghan LCSP will host 'Safe Digital Spaces – What Parents Need to Know' on Thursday, 12 November, 7pm to 9pm, at the Four Seasons Hotel. It is free, but registration is essential.
