Southern Regional Weekend 2014

The GROW Southern Region held their Annual Regional Weekend in the East Cork Area of Redbarn, Youghal, over the weekend of Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May. Over 46 GROW members from all over the Southern Region congregated at the Quality Inn Hotel, situated on the beautiful beachfront of Redbarn, just a couple of kilometres outside of the town of Youghal.

After a light supper, the weekend kicked off with a Fun Quiz, organised by Area Co-ordinator Treasa, with the competition every bit as fierce as the Eurovision Song Contest, which was being held the same weekend (with the “Non-bearded A Team” narrowly winning the coveted prize!)

The following morning after a full Irish Buffet Breakfast, Siobhan gave her inspirational and hopeful Testimony, which tied in very nicely with the theme of the weekend; Step 4 “We acknowledged our gifts and ours strengths”. Siobhan’s testimony was very well received, outlining her journey to overcome her struggles and highlighting her growth, development, resilience and strength.

Following on from Siobhan’s excellent testimony, Hugh O’Donovan, Coaching Psychologist, gave a Workshop on “Mindfulness Based Self-Coaching” which also worked in the weekend’s theme “We acknowledged our gifts and our strengths”. Hugh’s workshop incorporated communication, self-awareness, mindfulness, rounding the session off with a relaxing meditation session, to get people in the mood for the afternoon’s schedule.

Despite the dire weather forecast predicted for the Saturday afternoon, all were able to proceed with the activities scheduled for the weekend, organised by Michael Manning, Program Team member and Area Co-ordinator Finola. These included a walk along the beautiful cliffs of nearby Ardmore or a visit to Ballymaloe shops and gardens, followed by afternoon tea at the nearby Shannagarry Kilkenny Design Centre and Coffee Shop for home produced fare. For those who chose to remain at the hotel, they could avail of the leisure activities offered at the hotel’s leisure and spa complex or take a walk into nearby Youghal, along the beach front, to work up an appetite for the evening meal. Saturday night’s dinner was held in the sea facing “Lanigan’s Restaurant” overlooking Youghal Bay and all enjoyed a three-course meal, well enjoyed after the afternoon’s excursions.

Sunday morning allowed for a later start, so that people could enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the area (or a well needed lie-in!) and then Sunday morning’s session opened up with Jeanette’s motivational testimony which was a testament to her courage, resilience and optimism.

The weekend’s theme “We acknowledge our gifts and our strengths” was carried through to the workshop, as we can all too easily get hung up on the negatives in our lives and not give enough focus to what we can do. This session involved lively debate and participation by all, and how best they can use this to benefit of GROW and their respective groups and the weekend then finished off with a very satisfying lunch. This rounded off a stimulating, motivating, and fun filled weekend, where old friendships were rekindled and new ones were formed.

Well done to all involved and all are looking forward to the National Weekend in the Galway already!