Ciaran Murphy
Brian McAdoo
The venue was simply perfect: a good hotel in the pleasing setting of quaint Carrigaline provided excellent service and good food in an ideally suited banquet hall. An obviously well maintained college lent itself ideally for the demonstrations and boasted of splendidly appropriate localities for both, the Exhibition (of the competition pieces) and for the Traders’ Area.
And what an impressive Exhibition it was! Set up, organised and managed by Cork’s Treasurer, Hilary Hale and Marie Power, it was clearly in the most capable hands. Artfully displayed in that well-lit, ample hall, the best of Ireland’s contemporary woodturning was a truly impressive sight to behold.
And then the Trade Stands! Another feast for hungry woodturners’ eyes - with depleting consequences for many a pocket… Seldom have we seen such an abundant and complete offer of tools, abrasives, polishes and gadgetry. And it was a pleasure to see all those familiar faces of ……...GOUGH, Gabriel of TRIPART, Martin GLEESON, Sam MOORE, SORBY’s Clive, McKENNA’s Pat, Tony REA and Jon WARRENDER of MEANTIME DESIGN. But it was just as much a pleasure to see some most welcome newcomers: L.R.E. MACHINERY with their Short Bed GRADUATE and SILVERDRIVE ENGINEERING. Last, but by no means least, there was Mark BAKER of HEGNER’s, with an interestingly diversified product range.
No wonder the Traders’ Hall quickly turned into the event’s epicentre and was constantly crowded with people on the prowl for bargains or the latest gadgets.
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Ciaran Murphy |
Brian McAdoo |
The “Traditionals”: For the umpteenth time, Tom Dunlop and assistant Mick Walsh took care of Registration in their well-known, cordial and efficient manner - having honed the red tape tasks down to a fine-tuned, well-oiled routine over all these years. This time they
had the privilege of handing out the best welcome pack ever. Both, the superb Programme and the expertly crafted Brochure spoke legends about the capable hands of Cork’s Newsletter Editor GER HENNESSY.
And then the ACTORS!
Alain Mailland with his fantastic fantasy creations. Helga Becker and her uniquely subtle decoration techniques. The marvellous combination of Imagination and Skill of Jules Tattersall. l The great masters Willie Stedmond and Hans Weissflog sharing some of their solid know-how with us. And Seamus Cassidy showing off his incredible prowess at the lathe - and some of his many-splendoured pieces.
And then that incredible array of Cork Chapter’s own expert demonstrators, each one presenting a highly interesting specialty:
John Ahern’s neat honey-pot, Paddy Lynch’s barrel lamp and Tony Farrell’s brilliant demo of the “high-tech way” of turning sticks. Leo O’Donoghue and Kieran Higgins are always good for highly interesting demonstrations and last, but certainly not least, there was Rob Howe - but do flip to pages …………….. to read all about this gifted Bowl Turner!
Cork Chapter obviously did not shy off any effort to make this event well worthy of our Guild. And well worthy of this year’s EU Capital of Culture too. And 208 participants honoured this by making the trip “down South” and by entering an impressive number of spectacular competition pieces. Each one seemingly destined to intimidate a humble novice (maybe I should sell my lathe and stick to editing the Journal).
Needless to mention, the best part was - as usual - the meeting up with all those fellow woodturners, be they ‘old’ familiar faces or interesting new acquaintances. Craic, Banter, Discussions, informal ‘Conferences’ and Reminiscing abounded - and of course the hotel’s ample bar was in brisk business. Clearly everybody had one great time, including several woodturning visitors from Germany and the USA.
More than two hundred people can be a strain on any organisation and any catering outfit. But in Cork there was no hitch, no glitch; Brian, Kieran and Cork Chapter had evidently thought of all contingencies and had it all under close and smooth control.
Congratulations!
This Guild’s history book is richer by one more very rich and memorable event.
