The history of the longest running Youth Club in Ireland. Aontas Ogra was established in 1956 in the Christian Brothers School by Michael O'Neill. In 1957/58 it became fully active as a youth group ("youth club"was not yet used) with a special interest in Irish language revival. By then it had moved to the Town Hall and welcomed both boys and girls (a bit controversial in those days!) in their teens. Over the years thousands of young people have been "on the books" and it is a source of satisfaction and pride that many believe the club was a great help to their personal development in their teenage years. Over the years the "personal development" aspect has always been at the heart of the club and continues firmly to be. The club provides as many opportunites as possible for that development to take place through all kinds of activity and through the medium of fun and enjoyment. The members and young leaders must take responsibility for organising their club- a valuable informal learning experience in itself. The adults work with them in sorting out difficulties. In today's world where young people have become increasingly passive in their leisure-time activity, we believe the service we provide is more important than ever. We expect to continue for at least another forty-odd years! 26th January- An inquiry has been received from Mike Robinson, one of our first members, from Brisbane, Australia, r.e. changing the club's name. We thought it might be of interest to today's members. The club was originally known as Ogra Cara (young friends of the Irish language) and the name was changed to Aontas Ogra in the early days.A lot of Irish was spoken then and only Irish dancing was allowed.There were other branches of Aontas Ogra in Dublin(2), Kilmallock and later in Kildare town. Mike also has an old photo which he has promised to send which probably shows members of the club dancing at Aonach na Laoise on the Rock of Dunamase in the rather distant past. (The club used have an exhibition team of Irish dancers). Relaunch 1977. Picture, Newspaper Clipping and the story behind this event.   For information, email Billy Browne