7th Waterford Troop Log

Welcome to the online troop log of the 7th Waterford De La Salle Scout Troop. In particular this log features our activities over the 2001/2002 Scout year. You can also see what we got up to in 2000/2001, 1999/2000 and in 1998/1999.

Above: Members of the 7th De La Salle Scout Troop
at the climbing wall in Larch Hill.

Above: Billy Collins with the troop in the Sandhills
in Tramore, Co. Waterford in February 2002.

Above: The Patrol Leaders from each team with Tom Casey, ARC Scouts on the 2002 Louis Murphy Competition.

We've had a few trips to the Sandhills over the years and we're always keen to go back for more of the old survival bag down the steepest sandiest slope of the highest sandhill trick. We got dropped off at Pickardstown cross before heading towards the sandhills, although Brian Walsh had to hike back to search for his phone. The design your patrol logo with sand competition was cut short by us being temporarily cut off by the tide on a bit of a lagoon. After certain people refused to share their Duplo bars or Jaffa cakes for lunch, we tried a bit of grass sledging before some sand diving from the highest point in the sandhills (an impressive 26 metres above sea level!).

It was Shane Ryan's birthday but we didn't need to throw him down the slope as he went himself about 20 times. After a quick game of espionage we headed to Splashworld where we shouldn't mention that Billy got 'delayed' in the red slide while racing Colm down the green (although Billy won in the green).

We decided to get 2002 off to an active start with a hike in the Comeraghs for our first weekend back. We all managed to squash into Billy's and Colm's cars and headed for the guide's hut in the forest beneath Knockanafrinn. From there we made the long and tough climb up onto Shauneenabreaga. We were overtaken a couple of times by an extremely fit dog but eventually we all made it.

Above: (L-R) Billy Collins SL, Ian Grant, Peter Murphy, Brian Walsh, Glenn Reid O'Hanlon, Maurice Kavanagh, Shane Ryan, Ian Grant Senior, Barry Kelly and Alan Moran.

From Shauneenabreaga we headed for the equally long named Knocksheegowna with its trig point. The visibility was quite poor but we continued in the direction of Knockanafrinn (it's up the way). We had a cramped lunch in the kishu and continued on from the col to 690m where we decided to descend due to boot difficulties and a nasty wind. We zig zagged our way down to Loch Mohra where it was much calmer and we decided to have lunch part two. From there we picked our way back through the forest and plenty of muck. 'Whatdayamean you have no change of clothes or boots?' was heard at the summit of Knockanafrinn along with a few other choice words. Next time there will be inter patrol marks for having them!

Above: Peter Murphy, Shane Ryan, Ian Grant and Alan Moran enjoy lunch in the kishu.

We always like to get December off to a good start by having the unit's first Christmas party of the season. The den in Faithlegg is always a handy spot despite its current state of somewhere between a construction site and a shambles. After the usual manhunty scramble through the forest with no torches, Billy got a fire going out of somebody's abandoned kitchen and we got stuck into some Podge and Rodge as well as Vertical Limit (worth it for those hanging off a cliff by the tip of your iceaxe scenes).

There wasn't much sleep had during the night although certain leaders managed to snore through it no problem. Maurice Kavanagh couldn't even muster enough strength to fold up his thermarest the next morning. A hike seemed good punishment for a night of no sleep so we made a traverse across over onto Gallway's land before breaking onto the riverbank and along to Cheekpoint past the Port of Waterford at Belview. After lunch at the den, a few patrol leaders who will remain nameless but whose photos are published below, decided they actually might get a tenner if they waded through the mud into the middle of the river. Much to the surprise of the onlooking Assistant Scoutleaders they actually did it. Those spur of the moment challenges will have to be made harder although the euro changeover unfortunately prevented the debt from being collected.

We had never had a troop weekend at the national campsite in Larch Hill or been on a Melvin so we decided that it was about time we got around to it. We had the privalege of a Garda van for the trip up which made great progress apart from one quick Billy Collins inspired detour. How many times have you been to Larch Hill Billy? We got the domes set up in the Woodengate field before being given the guided tour and the Hellfire Club story by a friendly member of the Meitheal staff. The view over Dublin is always fairly spectacular with the M50 now the most prominent landmark. Meanwhile congratulations were offered to Paul McSweeney on getting coverage on his 085 phone when all other networks failed. It was a cold night - I mean really cold, the coldest for years. We survived however and a fry up was just the ticket early the next morning. After breakfast we headed in the direction of the cub field for a series of initiative tests. Only one patrol managed to keep themselves off the ground for sixty seconds while lava poured from the Dublin mountains. A stay connected blind mans trail obstacle course was followed by one of those nuclear can't touch the ground events. What would scouts do without the threat of nuclear energy?

The full no holds barred obstacle course followed with a few dubious rope climbers uncovered amongst the PLs. After lunch we took a spin across the city to Blanchardstown for some shopping and to see the just released Harry Potter mess. Ireland won the soccer and both Ian Grants should have been strapped to a real electric chair. After some backwoods cooking at McDonalds we headed back to Larch Hill for an attempt at a campfire and a wide game. On Sunday we got onto the climbing wall where some APLs showed great talent while the rockclimbing ASL's put on a fairly mixed show. After a decent lunch and some fairly impressive cream cake, we broke camp. We spent a while wondering what the designer of the new headquarters building was on, before heading for home. We might just came back for the Melvin.

543 miles, the same number of bogholes, mysteriously named lakes, trampolines and staff who were as unusual as ever, made it yet another epic weekend. The team consisted of Maurice Kavanagh, Brian Walsh and Barry Kelly with Colm Ennis along to drive the car. The event was held from the 19th to the 21st of October 2001 in the Derryveagh mountains in deepest wildest Donegal. You can read the account here.

For the a row, the 7th took part in the Regional MPC in the Nire Valley in the Comeraghs. We had 7th year in eight scouts taking part - one team on the high level route and the second on the low level route. More details are available on our Outdoors page.

We had bivvied out at Coumshingaun just two months earlier but there was no arguments about bringing the tents this time around. We left from the school at about 7.00pm and it was already getting dark as we departed from the upper car park at Mahon Falls. From there we headed in the direction of Ned Curran's cottage in the Coumtay valley. The fires that we could see as we approached turned out to belong to the Tramore Scout Troop who were also on an overnight hike. After celebrating Barry Kelly's 13th birthday, there was a quick game of manhunt although we probably should have thrown Barry in the river instead.

Above: The overnight hike team depart for Ned Currans Cottege while Below: Barry Kelly decides on which cake to eat first.

The next morning we were worried that Billy Collins had fallen down a hole on the way back to his car as he had rang at about 1.00am but nobody had heard the phone. But Billy is a tough lad so we packed up and headed in the direction of the spur which would lead us up onto the plateau. Jamie Flynn proved that he was still excellent for going up, it's just walking on the flat where his legs let him down. As we were on a deadline to be back at Mahon Falls for 1.00pm, we made a quick circuit of the top of the Coumtay lakes before reaching Comeragh Mountain itself. We waited there while James White retrieved his watch from a boghole before dropping down to the carpark.

Above: Alan Moran and Jack Mahon at Ned Curran's cottage and Below: Kenneth Rouse with the lads on the top of Comeragh Mountain.

Maurice Kavanagh with the haversack that's always sideways.

Colm Ennis who believe it or not can smile and allow somebody else to use his camera.

Barry Kelly who can hike while asleep.

"Don't mess with me" Gavin Cooke with James White.