Kinsale Lions Club elect first female president

AS they steadily bounce back to normal activity after the Covid pandemic, Kinsale & District Lions Club has, like the rest of us, already weathered and adapted to many unprecedented changes.

However, the club is now gearing up for some of their biggest and most positive changes yet, as they prepare for their 30th anniversary.

This week saw dedicated club member Alice de la Cour elected as their first ever female president. She was presented with the chain on Tuesday evening by outgoing President Dan Cummins, who served as president for the last two years. During that time, Dan enjoyed a hugely successful presidency and brought many positive new ways and events to the club which will continue for many years to come.

Alice is determined for this success to continue under her watch: “It is an honour and great privilege for me to be given this role,” she said.

“Our club is very proactive, we hold many events each year to raise funds that we put back into the areas of our community that are most in need. We work really well together and we are from all walks of life.”

Each member of the club, Alice believes, plays an integral part: “We all have our own unique role and we work all the various events to ensure that every single one of us is involved in some capacity or other. Our hardworking management committee plays a pivotal role in the running of the club, offering their various forms of expertise and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. It makes it easy to take on the role knowing that this kind of comradery and support is there and that we are all striving to achieve the same goal, to serve our community.” Originally from Youghal, Alice is well known in Kinsale and wider Cork for her tireless community work. With a background in Media Solutions, she works professionally for the Irish Examiner, The Irish Times and The Echo. She has also taught event management for the Irish Academy of PR at UCC and worked with the Munster Agricultural Society during its first two years to develop the show during its initial transition to its current showgrounds in Ballincollig.

On a voluntary basis, however, her experience is just as impressive. She is no stranger to charity work, having worked with the Cork City Hospitals Children’s Club in conjunction with the Bubblegum Club to bring the Winter Wonderland for sick children to Fota House in Cork. She also regularly organised events for Chernobyl children when they came to Ireland pre-Covid.

“The Lions Club ticks a lot of areas for me and I look forward to my new role as president,” she concluded.