Saintfield WI celebrates 75th anniversary

Saintfield WI celebrates 75th anniversary

29 May 2013

SEVENTY five years of the Women’s’ Institute in Saintfield was marked at a special dinner recently.

Saintfield President, Elizabeth Moore, welcomed the members and guests from the Institutes in the Rowallane Area including special guest, Federation Chairwoman Margaret Collinson. The Federation vice Chairwoman Irene Craig, who is a Saintfield member, was also present.

The anniversary cake was cut by the Honorary members, Gladys Morrow. Peggy McCarey and Mhairi Wakefield and a toast to the Federation of Women’s Institutes was proposed by the President.

Mrs. Collinson brought greetings from the Federation and congratulated Saintfield on reaching this milestone and hoped that the Institute will continue to play its part in the Saintfield community.

The floral arrangements were distributed to the Chairwoman, vice–Chairwoman, Honorary members and the President and everyone received a pen as momentum of the occasion.

The First Women’s Institute in Northern Ireland was at Garvagh when Miss Dorothea McCausland organised it for the ladies from the area in 1932.

In 1938 Miss Ward from Saintfield held a meeting for the ladies in the area. The response was good and an institute was formed in May 1938. The members of the Institute in Saintfield were very busy during the war years when they organised sending parcels to the troops protecting the country from invasion.

In the early years they had outings to the seaside in summer and held Christmas parties for children. The membership remains constant at around 60 members.