Welcome to the blog of the 3rd Waterford De La Salle Scout Troop for 2006. In 2006 the troop had a very active and successful year with Annual Camp in Larch Hill being just one of the highlights. The troop of twenty five scouts were led by Patrol Leaders Stephen O'Rourke, Cian O'hOgartaigh, Ciaran Purcell and Lisa Rea. Click on the thumbnails to see full size images - Enjoy and you can also read our full Troop Blog for 2005 and for 2004.
Above: Members of the 3rd Scouts on Camp 2006 at Larch Hill.
Troop Blog 2006
County PLs/APLs Training Weekend in Mellary - 1st - 3rd December 2006
Above: Richard, Stephen and Brian help set the new Scouting world record in Supersize Jenga.
Richard, Dean, Brian and Stephen took part in the County PLs and APLs training weekend at Mount Mellary Scout Centre in County Waterford. There were 39 scouts there from De La Salle, St. Pauls, Sacred Heart, Dunhill, Abbeyside, Ferrybank, Tramore and Wicklow. The theme of the weekend was Pirates of the Kidney Beans and all the activities were based around that. On Friday night we were mixed into patrols for the weekend and had to design up a name and emblem for our patrol. Next there was a night navigation in the muddiest field in Mellary (did all of those codes work?). On Saturday we were based at Glenshelane for most of the day and had to build a shelter, a trap to catch an animal/human, light a fire and cook a chicken and potatoes as well as do some first aid. The fire lighting was the hardest part as the timber was fairly damp. Tip from the sea scouts - burning your socks is a great way to start a fire. Sadly some of the roasted chickens were a little undercooked and had to be buried.
Above: Stephen tries the hands off problem on the slab at the Mellary bouldering wall.
Back at Mellary we stayed on the climbing wall for a while (one of the St. Pauls lads fell off). After dinner we did team building games and Richard, Brian and Stephen were all on the team that set the new international scouting Supersize Jenga record (42 moves - nice one lads). For the campfire Dean joined Sacred Heart for some reason - what's the story Dean? On Sunday we had a lie in followed by a session on Court of Honours and we also had to run a game for all of the other patrols. Our last task was to find a load of buried treasure - weren't quite first there though. There are loads more photos of the event on our Gallery page.
Faithlegg Meeting - 23rd November 2006
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This had originally been scheduled as our Halloween meeting so we were a bit late with it. We started off with some fire lighting and cooked sausages and burgers backwoods style (do we cook sausages at every single event?). After that we had a game of attack the grotto although for the first round the rules weren't very well explained and instead of defending the grotto, Ciaran's team were hiding up there - why Ciaran??
Rathgormack Overnight - 17th-18th November 2006
Above: Alex contemplates the ascent of the Rathgormack Climbing Wall.
Sandhills Orienteering - 5th November 2006
Above: Dean and Sarah relax at the finish line.
This was our first orienteering event in a long time and eleven of the troop took part. Fastest time went to Dean and Sarah above. See the results at the website of the Waterford Orienteers, although there were a few too many DNFs!
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Achill Sionnach 2006 - 27th - 29th October 2006
Above: Colm, Cian, Eoin and Ciaran on the Achill Sionnach 2006.
Achill is the largest of Ireland's offshore islands and is no less than 220 miles from Waterford City. Would the epic Halloween road trip be worth it for the team of Cian, Colm and Ciaran from the 3rd with special guest Eoin Kelly from the 7th. Absolutely. The Achill Sionnach 2006 was a classic trip to one of the most spectacular parts of Ireland. As well as camping at the astounding Annagh Strand the lads also took a run up Cruachan which is apparently the highest peak on the western European seaboard and whose north west facing side makes up the highest sea cliff in Europe. You can check out the account of the trip and all the photos here.
Troop Investiture and Achievement Awards - 26th of October 2006
On the 26th of October 2006 we held our Annual Investiture and Achievement Awards at the Wytec Centre on the Cork Road in Waterford City. The event also included a review of the 2005/2006 Scouting Year and the troops plans for 2006/2007 were then unveiled including the plan for the abroad camp to Blackwell Adventure Scout Centre in Birmingham. History was also made with the investiture into the De La Salle Scout Group of Lee, a trainee guide dog for the blind who had been cared for in the past twelve months by troop member, Emlyn Farrell and his family. See our Group News page for the complete story and the full list of award recipients and our Gallery page also has loads of photos.
County MPC 2006 - 29th September - 1st October 2006
Above: Sarah, Brian, Colm, Lisa, Paschal and Dean from the 3rd Scouts on the summit of Galtymore (919m).
We had a good turn out for the Waterford Scout County MPC in the Galtees with Cian, Aidan, Sarah, Brian, Colm, Lisa, Paschal, Ian, Colm and Dean all making it to the summit of Galtymore. One of them might have got a little lost - but who? A full expedition report is available on our County MPC 2006 page.
Mahon Falls Troop Hike - 24th of September 2006
Above: Members of the 3rd Scouts before their ascent of Comeragh Mountain.
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Annual Camp at Larch Hill - 13th-16th of July 2006
Annual Camp 2006 took place at the National Campsite at Larch Hill in Dublin. It was a very successful camp which included pioneering projects like the construction of an excellent Hourglass Tower as well as a Monkey Bridge. The weather was excellent and the craic was good. There is a full report with loads of photos on our Larch Hill 2006 page.
Above: Actor, scout engineer, jester - the new and improved Ciaran on Camp 2006.
Bivvy Out at Lough Coumshingaun - 16th-17th of June 2006
Above: Those who set off without their tents to Lough Coumshingaun.
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Above: Essential Bivvy Out Headwear.
Ballyscanlon Hike - 8th June 2006
Dunmore East Hike - 1st June 2006
Above: Taking the cliff walk at Dunmore East.
Overnight to Coumtay in the Comeraghs - 5th - 6th May 2006
Above: Members of the 3rd Scouts prepare
to depart from their campsite at Coumtay in the Comeraghs.
The mist didn't lift at all.
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Troop Hike to the Sandhills - 4th May 2006
Above: Richard, Alex and Oran lead the troop into the depths of the Sandhills.
Troop Hike in the Comeraghs - 9th April 2006
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Saint Patrick's Day Parade - 17th March 2006
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Day Hike to Coumshingaun - 26th February 2006
Above: Members of the 3rd Scouts on Tea and Coffee Island in Lough Coumshingaun.
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Waterford Scout County Fun Weekend
Mount Mellary Scout Centre - 3rd - 5th February 2006
We attended the annual Waterford Scout Fun Weekend at the Mount Mellary Scout Centre and were led by Sid and Guinter. There are photos of the event here.
Reeks Hike - 13th-14th of January 2006
Above: Members of the 3rd Scouts on the summit of Screig Mhor (848m) in the Reeks in Kerry in January 2006.
Macgillycuddy's Reeks or na Chruacha Dubha in Kerry were the destination for our first hike of 2006. We stayed at the An Oige youth hostel just outside of Killarney on the Friday night as a 6.00am start was on the cards for the following morning. The alarms went off and we did get up but our early escape from the hostel was spoiled by key cards which decided to stop working and locked us out of the dorm. After an epic fight with the door involving batteries, screwdrivers and the entire staff of the hostel, we headed off for what would hopefully be the completion of the famous Com Lothair horseshoe which includes the peaks of Screig Mhor, Binn Chaorach, Corran Tuathail itself and Cathair.
Above: Eoin and Cian on the ascent of Screig Mhor while the sun rises over the Binn Chaorach Ridge.
It was still dark as we set off up the murderous track to the hydro dam and we arrived at Loch Iochtair in time to see the sun rising over the ridge. From the lake we faced into the tough ascent on to Screig Mhor which was the first peak of the day. The wind became a gale as we approached the ridge, knocking one or two of us off our feet. We took a break just before the summit and then continued down to the col beneath Stuaic Bharr na h-Abhann. From there the group divided with half deciding to head into the calmer Fionnglas valley and back around towards Screg Bheag while the rest decided to see if conditions would be any better on Binn Chaorach. Eventually, Cian, Eoin, TC, Paschal and Sid did fight their way to the summit of Binn Chaorach which at 1010 metres is Ireland's second highest peak.
Above: Paschal, Eoin, Cian and Ian on Binn Charoach (1010m). Photo by Tom Casey.
On the summit it was decided that it wasn't safe to chance crossing the Binn Chaorach ridge to Corran Tuathail in such a strong gale, so after enjoying the view from the top, the lads turned back towards the valley and the cars. The mountains fortunately aren't going anywhere and we would be back to try again on a less stormy day.
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