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For all those people who have never been fortunate enough to sample
the taste of a Melvin, or for all those parents who wonder why their children spend so
much time training during the summer months, here is a glimpse of life approaching and
during a Melvin. This shows, without a shadow of a doubt, the commitment, skill and
aptitude needed to partake in this supreme festival of scouting. However, the only
consolation surrounding the nerves and apprehension which each scout feels prior to a
Melvin, is that many scouts before and, no doubt, many after will feel the same way
because they have been chosen to represent their unit, region and county amongst the elite
at an event so full of passion, life and excitement, that is "The Melvin". While
it is true to say that the training begins to get concentrated from mid July to the day of
reckoning, it is not true to say that this is when training begins. With a creditable
sixth place in the previous Melvin, training for Larch Hill began in the September of '94
(needless to say, some degree of training has already begun for Melvin '98 in Kilcully).
Copyright © Kevin Butler 1997.
Melvin '95 Results | Melvin '96 Results | Examiner Newspaper Report
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This training
involves the whole troop and is in fact the troop meeting. This schooling of the younger
scouts, allows them to advance and means that less pressure arises when the fortunate
eight scouts are chosen for the event.With regard to Melvin '95, as per
usual training stepped up a year when qualification was assured, with the winning of the
Ted Ryan Memorial Trophy and the Regional Shield. The team consisted of seven scouts from
the previous year and one new face to the Melvin scene, following the tragic death of our
fellow scout and friend, Ros Davies, earlier that year. Prior to annual camp, training was
to some extent low key, with two sessions per week, each for two hours. These meetings
were still troop orientated with many non-team members attending. These training sessions
involved the perfection of skills from campcraft to log writing, public speaking to
orienteering and communications to first aid. However, being such close friends and
knowing each other for so long, the fun element was never lacking, with the jokes, witty
humour and fun never far away. While annual camp is a focal point for any troops
year, it is also a time where a lot of training is completed. That year annual camp took
us to Glenshelane, just outside Cappoquin. The vast quantities of fresh air, open space
and good weather, finished off with a superb atmosphere, allowing the learning experience
to be great fun. It was to be here that the foundation of our success was to be achieved
with the finalizing and perfection of the team's campcraft. With the active day of
swimming, hiking and orienteering coming to a close and the balmy nights around the
camp-fire ending, annual camp drew to a close. 
All our mention turned to Larch Hill and training
went into overdrive (we virtually trained every weekday evening). With the Melvin only
days away, everybody was still relaxed (or so they said) even though all hands were on
deck. Many people worked every hour of the day in the scout hall so that the team would be
fully prepared and have all the equipment necessary to achieve our goal. These people know
who they are and they deserve much praise and thanks. When the day finally arrived
everything was just right. We departed for Dublin early Thursday morning in high spirits,
however, as we approached Dublin some nerves began to jangle. The closer we got the more
nerves began to emerge. However, it was clear we were well prepared and when the opening
ceremony ended, it seemed only a matter of hours before the closing ceremony arrived. It
went so fast. Yet I can still remember every single detail. In fact, I could probably fill
this book with stories from that Melvin. The trips on the D.A.R.T., the days spent in
Dublin, the trip to Ireland's Eye (an island off Dublin), the initiative bases on the
beach, the camp-fire and much more. It all passed in a haze but the friendship made that
year still last to this very day. It was one of those weekends where everything went like
a dream. Yet the hardest part of the weekend stood out a mile. It had to be the wait while
the top ten teams were read out in reverse order. We had already won two trophies at this
stage, the Campcraft trophy and the Dermot Murphy Memorial Trophy.
However the jewel
of the crown still remained, the Melvin itself. As the top five were called out, our
nerves reached an ultimate high. Just before the second placed team was announced, all I
was thinking of "Please let it not be St. Pauls second". To our relief our
prayer was answered. The roar that went up when we were announced victorious was
unbelievable. All sorts of emotions were felt from relief to delight. Our dream had been
realised and all the thrills and spills of the Melvin had been worth it - all the hours of
training had paid off. To explain to a non scouting person the esteem in which this
competition is held, it is the scouting equivalent of winning the All Ireland Hurling
Championship. To win it once is a great success never to be forgotten. It creates memories
that the eight scouts on that team will never forget and it will always stand to these
people throughout life, no matter what path they take. However after another success in
'97, we have now won three in a row - a success which shows the strength in our troop in
more ways than one. In fact, three in a row is quite a miraculous achievement - just
imagine the praise heaped on any team which won the All Ireland Hurling Championship on
three successive occasions.