Newcastle Lions Club members celebrate 100 years’ service

Newcastle Lions Club members celebrate 100 years’ service

22 July 2020

THREE members of Newcastle Lions Club have received longstanding service awards after clocking more than 100 years of service between them.

Club president Marian McGreevy hosted a socially distanced event last Thursday to celebrate the hard-working lions. 

Some 35 years ago Michael Niblett and Peter May, along with a host of others in Newcastle, began the Newcastle Lions Club. They were joined five years later by Terry O’Reilly. 

The three Lions have since been involved in numerous projects to help people in their own community and bigger worldwide groups. 

In addition their charitable fundraising which help local projects, they organised a 40-tonne container filled with toiletries, blankets and clothing to help people caught up in the war in Kosovo in 1999.

Ten years later the Lions began a two-year programme in primary and post primary schools to help raise the 

profile of the achievement of local inventor Harry Ferguson who made a flight along the beach in Newcastle on August 8, 1910.

Since 2017, the three Lions have been involved in work with the family of the late Geoff Cartwright in raising funds to help install 10 defibrillators. The popular Newcastle pensioner died in 2017 after being knocked down close to his home. 

The Lions also trained 300 people in the use of the defibrillators with the help of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

Marian said: “Over the years Terry, Michael and Peter have helped their fellow Lions to ‘think outside the box’ and made the profile of the club something to be proud of.  

“With their help, Newcastle Lions has survived a difficult year and membership has increased during this pandemic, and looks forward to a better future continuing to help those in need.”