Chairperson: Donal Finn
Secretary: Frank Rooney
Treasurer: Prionsias Mac an Bheatha
Editor: Warren Lawless
Sunday Hikes: Jim Barry
Sunday Hikes Assistant: Tom Kenny
Membership Secretary: Barbara Sudrow
Training Officer: Joe Kellegher
Training Assistant: Jimmy McCullagh
Young Hillwalkers: Dave Rooney

Distribution: Cyril McFeeney & Pearse Foley
Webmaster: Matt Geraghty

To avail of the scheme a prospective leader need only contact Jimmy McCullagh (contact details given elsewhere in Newsletter) for the names of willing co-leaders. The onus is then on the prospective leader to contact and organise a co-leader for their hike.

The scheme is intended as a natural means of encouraging and developing leadership skills in the club. Its aims are to encourage more people to lead hikes and also to share the wealth of experience within the club.

Jimmy McCullagh

Club Training Assistant

The Editor swivelled in his office chair, taking in the grand panoramic views of London’s Fleet Street. "Well, what do you think. Could you be comfortable here?" a voice behind him asked. "Well Mr. Murdoch, it’s a slight improvement on my previous position. I am use to very luxurious office surroundings and a highly rewarded lifestyle." (his mind momentarily drifted to the considerable perks he enjoyed as editor of The Hillwalker: the cars, jacuzzi, gym, penthouse apartments, and off-shore accounts).

"We been watching your previous publication with interest and feel you could be just the person to add a bit of bite to our leading titles: The Hill, The News of the Hill, The Sunday Hill, The Hill Weekly. The tone has gone flat and we need new blood to invigorate them, someone who’s not afraid to print the outrageous and who can bend an innocent remark into headlines that scream scandal. However, I was reading your list of ideas and I must remind you that we have very stringent laws here about what you can or cannot say…". "WHAT???", cried the Editor, "You have those stupid laws here too?!! Is there no end to this madness! Must my work be forever subject to the constraints of public notions of truth and decency!!!" Oh well, I am at least looking forward to working more in the visual/photographic medium – I was a bit restricted in what I could put in pictures in my previous role."

"By the way, who is taking over from you at your old publication?" asked Rupert. "Actually I don’t know, though in truth I am irreplaceable", the Editor confessed modestly. "But I must find out who has been bold enough to try and fill my position".

***

The next night found the (ex-)Editor prowling the darkened roads around Mountjoy Street. He entered an innocuous looking doorway in a large old building. Fortunately they had not yet changed the locks or access codes. Creeping quietly down a red carpeted corridor, the Editor climbed the stairwells to a curtained balcony that he knew would give him a good view of tonight’s proceedings:

Some hours later, a clock struck midnight. The room below was shrouded in darkness except for a circle of light in the centre. A group of robed figures were hovered round the edge of the light. The strong smell of incense drifted up to him and he caught too the deep, dark words of ritual and incantation that were been recited below. Suddenly the chanting switched to modern language "Bring forth the Chosen One". With that another robed figure entered the centre of the light. "Do you take upon these appointed tasks? Will you keep secret the inner workings of the Committee? Will you exercise your power to advance the Committees influence? Will you desist from compiling incriminating records on your fellow Committee members (unlike the last miscreant who held your position)?" To all this the new appointee replied yes.

The Editor could not make out who it was that had been selected to replace him. It’s a bloke, so its not Ali (thank goodness!), no beard, so its not Gerry (his prose might be a bit too sharp for some), could be Brian O (he would have to look the word ‘subtlety’ up in a dictionary). Suddenly the ceremony concluded and the figure below lifted his hands to his hood and drew it back. The Editor gasped in horror…it was…Philip Hayden. How could they! His nemesis, free to ruin his good name and repay him for years of printed abuse. Oh wicked cruel world!

The only one thing to do and that was take pre-emptive action. A quick call was made to his sub-editors on Fleet Street: "Cancel the front-page of all Irish editions. I want the following headlines: ‘Cliquish Cabal Concoct Midnight Coup’. Yes, you heard me, and I’ll emailing you on some photos I’ve been saving for just this occasion." The War of the Words had begun.

But don’t worry, I may be tempted to write the odd article for the newsletter as a mere ordinary member (though I’ll have to face the newsletter’s stringent censorship rules – Luckily as Editor I did not have any).

Since its founding in 1993, the Hillwalker's Club has organised a popular Map and Compass programme each year. The course aims to provide a comprehensive grounding in Mountain Skills and it typically involves three indoor evening sessions followed by three outdoor training weekends. The syllabus covered in the course is similar to the Mountain Skills courses (MS1 and MS2) prescribed by Bord Oiliunt Sleibhe - Irish Mountain Training Board and offered by the various Irish outdoor adventure centres (eg, Tiglin, Delphi, etc).

In order to further promote and develop mountain skills amongst club members, financial support in the form of bursaries will be made available to members who successfully complete a Mountain Skills Assessment in 2003.

The Mountain Skills Assessment (MSA) is based on a skills evaluation programme and is held over a weekend. It involves a number of stages as follows:

• A written (multiple choice type) assessment on general navigation issues.
• Practical assessment of day navigation skills.
• Practical assessment of night navigation skills.
• Near and far feature recognition.
• Steep ground awareness.

To undertake the Mountain Skills Assessment (MSA), it is necessary to fulfil the following requirements:

• to have completed at least 30 hill walks in Ireland or Britain over a period of 24 months,
• to present a Mountain Skills log book detailing the above walks,
• to hold a valid Rescue and Emergency Care (REC2) certificate or its equivalent (Basic First Aid Certificate).

The National Adventure Centre at Tiglin, Wicklow (www.tiglin.com) amongst others, organises the MSA at a current cost of €170.

The financial resources to support these bursaries will be made available from the surplus associated with the Club's annual Map and Compass training programme. Support in future years is contingent on sufficient funds being available from this source.

Further enquiries from Donal Finn or Joseph Kellegher.

In light of the upcoming weekends away, we would just like to repeat the Club’s payment and cancellation policy. This policy is important to safeguard the Club’s finances against the significant losses that even just one or two cancellations can cost, bearing in mind that hostels and transport may already have been paid in advance.

Payment for weekend trips organised by An Oige Hillwalkers Club is made in two instalments: PAYMENT 1 and PAYMENT 2, both to An Oige Head Office.

PAYMENT 1 secures a place on the trip.

PAYMENT 2 is due by the date stated in the programme (generally 10 days before departure).

(1) Cancellation is possible up to 24 hours before departure, provided the vacant place can be filled from the waiting list. In this case, payments made to-date will be refunded in full.

(2) If the vacant place cannot be filled from the waiting list, a refund of PAYMENT 2 only may be possible in special circumstances (for example, family emergencies or medical reasons) and only upon applying in writing to the Committee.