Royal School, Armagh

“OAs flock to Twickenham to watch friends in Heinneken Cup final!”

Armachian Newsletter January 2010

Annual Old Boys' Dinner - 18 February 2011

Please feel welcome to attend The Annual Old Boys' Dinner which is open to all and not simply to Old Armachians. This takes place on Friday, 18th February 2011 with aperitifs being served from 7 p.m. in the School Library. The Guest Speaker this year is Mr Mark Blair (Question and Answer session) (see profile below). The ticket price is £30 and these can be paid for at the dinner. However, for catering purposes, those wishing to attend should contact Mrs H. Bloomer, Headmaster's Secretary on 02837520306 confirming the names of those attending.

Second Row: Mark Blair (Old Armachian)

Mark has been an influential player on the Ulster squad. He was a member of the Ulster side which won the European Cup in 1999. He was capped a total of 55 times for the Provincial side and played for Ireland A seven times.

Ulster Branch Chief Executive Michael Reid was sorry to lose Blair, he commented, "We understand his decision. Mark has contributed a huge amount to Ulster rugby, both on and off the field, and we wish him well".

Mark played for Ulster until 2003 and then moved to French club Narbonne. After a number of successful seasons, he moved to Scottish side Borders, and finally retired from professional rugby soon after and settled down to have a family. He is still living in Scotland with his young family and he worked in the construction industry prior to becoming Manager of the Irish Exiles Rugby Team.
 
He now scouts and tracks Irish youth talent across the water.

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The Annual General Meeting of the Old Armachian Society was held on 14 May 2010.
The following officers and committee members were elected:

President: Shirley-Anne Donaldson
Vice President: Tom Galbraith
Treasurer: Cherith Boyd
Dinner Secretary: David Reaney
Secretary: Harry Morrow
School Liaison: Spencer Lawson
Committee Members: David Albin, Paul Crute, Trevor Edgar, Peter Hazelton, Mervyn Megaw, Paul Reaney.

Unfortunately, four of our most valued committee members, Rodney Hunter and Florence Lawson (who are both past presidents), Beth Milligan and Carol McMordie, decided to stand down after many years of faithful service. Beth and Carol have been involved with the society for over twenty years and during that time gave their support to every event. Beth also served as treasurer and we are greatly indebted to her for the very efficient and pleasant manner in which she performed that role over a long period.

Fortunately, we were able to find a replacement for Beth in Cherith Boyd who is an accountant. Trevor Edgar, who remains a committee member, was responsible for setting up the society's database which will now be taken over by Mervyn Megaw. Our thanks go to Trevor not only for his invaluable contribution in this sphere but also for the innumerable tasks that he undertook on our behalf.

Looking to the future, it will be necessary to find people who are willing to serve on the committee. Besides those already mentioned who have stood down, there are also others who have served for many years.

It would be unreasonable and unfair to expect them to continue for a further unlimited period. While distance makes it difficult or impossible for some Old Armachians who would be willing to serve, we do need to find new members for the committee. We would therefore appeal to anyone who would consider joining us to get in touch with the secretary.

Last September we held our annual barbecue which was a great success with over a hundred in attendance.

We also hosted Sixth Form interviews in the school in October and November. Quite a few Old Armachians are involved each year in conducting mock interviews for the students. Every March we hold a table quiz and a tennis tournament in June. We would be delighted to see more Old Armachians taking part in these events, the next being the Old Boys dinner. At this event last February, we had a most interesting evening. The toast to the school was given by Dougie Anderson, while Jack Kyle and Nigel Carr took part in an engaging question and answer session. This year the toast to the school will be given by John Wilson, the Principal of Larne Grammar School, and the guest speaker will be Mark Blair who was a member of the Heineken Cup winning Ulster side of 1999.

Dates for your diary:
Old Boys Dinner: 18 February 2011
Table Quiz: 3 March 2011
A.G.M.: 12 May 2011
Ladies Lunch: 4 June 2011
Tennis Tournament: 17 June 2011