Double joy for bridge club players

Double joy for bridge club players

21 May 2014

DOWNSHIRE Hospital Bridge Club celebrated its 40th anniversary last week. The Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle was the venue for the celebration event attended by a number of the club’s founding members.

Launched in May 1974, the first chairman was Gerry Fitzgerald who in the club’s 40th anniversary year holds that very same accolade.

During last week’s celebrations, a special presentation was made to Gerry and another founder member, Rita Quinn, for their continued hard work on behalf of the club.

A special anniversary booklet was also compiled for the anniversary event containing a series of photos tracing many of the club’s events over the years.

When the club was launched four decades ago, it was agreed that members would meet at the Downshire Hospital’s recreation hall from the start of September until the end of April. Six tables, cards, boards and sundry stationery were purchased for the princely sum of £80.

Twelve months later, the club was affiliated to the Northern Ireland Bridge Union and during the early years when the club expanded, some fundraisers from within contributed in excess of £3,000 to Eastern Health Board charities. Fundraisers included a 16-mile sponsored walk to Seaforde and back, a cake sale, whist drive and, of course, some bridge events.

These various efforts were spearheaded by Rita Quinn and Alison Cotter, who mobilised staff at the Downshire Hospital and enlisted their support. A portion of the money was used to upgrade some of the televisions for patients at the psychiatric hospital.

During the 1980s, the recreation hall and adjacent buildings were demolished and the club relocated to Ward 9 before relocating again in 1990 to Ward 14. In September 1994, the Bridge Club was offered accommodation at the Quoile Conference Centre, affectionately known by many as the old Sugar Bowl.

Members spent around nine years at the Sugar Bowl before they were on the move again, relocating back to their former home in Ward 9 before this part of the psychiatric complex was refurbished and used as a suite of training rooms.

In 1989, there was another landmark development when Gerry Fitzgerald was appointed chairman of the Northern Ireland Bridge Union and 12 months later was elected president of the Irish Bridge Union.

Mr. Fitzgerald’s appointment to the All-Ireland body coincided with the European Bridge Championships being held in Killarney, with the local clubs and many of their counterparts contributing towards the cost of hosting the event.

Mr. David Hannon joined the Downpatrick club around 1980 and is described as an “invaluable help” in scoring and taking part in the running of the club. At this particular time all the scoring was done by hand.

When he moved to Gloucester in 2006, the club had extended its season by an additional four weeks, with the net proceeds in May donated to charity.

Downshire Hospital Bridge Club has always moved with the times and in 2004 started to use computers to score the competitions. It also now has its own website.

With 40 years of history behind it, Downshire Hospital Bridge Club is looking forward to the future with confidence.

New members welcome every Thursday at the Downshire Hospital at 7.30pm between September and May.