Friends! Never take your watch with you. The sun will well undertake to give you the signal of the decent and, if he is in holidays on this day, here is the opportunity to improve your intuition of time which shepherds still have but which townsmen in most cases have lost. Or if the habit is too strong, if you can absolutely not part with that vice, then hide it far in the bottom of your bag, this deadly heart, this mechanism of age which each second grows fat from your own substance; and use it only at the last extremity. I do not know if happy people have not got a shirt. But, for sure, they are watchless. And that our civilization will die from an excess of watches: there is no doubt anymore.
– Extract from The Depth Lover (Samivel)
Slow me down Lord, ease the pounding of my heart.
Quieten my racing heart, steady my hurried steps.
Amidst the confusion of my days
give me the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking time off.
of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend,
to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day that there is more to life
than increasing its speed.
Let me look upwards into the branches of a towering oak,
and know it grew great and strong
because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down lord,
Teach me to be gentle and humble of heart
so that I may find rest for my soul.
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Lord, we thank you for the
opportunities we have in Venture
Scouts; opportunities to develop our
skills and talents, to discover our place
in the world and how we can make it
a better place, to make friends. May
our Unit be a place of growth and trust
guided by the Law and the Promise.
Amen.
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Lord, we thank you for the fun and
friends we have in Cubs. Help us to
keep our Promise, to do our best and
to do a good turn every day. Amen.
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Dear Lord, help me be a good Beaver,
always busy and bright.
Be with those who are dear to me,
and help me do things right.
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The Promise and Law are a commitment to a code of living. They are what makes us different to youth clubs and help us to map the ethos of our organisation.
The Scout Promise
On my honour I promise that I will do my best,
to do my duty to God,
to serve my community,
to help other people and
to live by the Scout Law.
…OR the following variation
On my honour I promise that I will do my best to further my understanding and acceptance of a Spiritual Reality, to serve my community, to help other people and to live by the Scout Law.
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The Scout Law:
a) A Scout is to be trusted.
b) A Scout is loyal.
c) A Scout is helpful and considerate to all.
d) A Scout has courage in all difficulties.
e) A Scout makes good use of time and is
careful of possessions and property.
f) A Scout has respect for self and others.
g) A Scout respects nature and the environment.
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The Scout Principles
The principles of Scouting Ireland are enshrined in the Scout Promise and the Scout Law and the include:
Adherence to spiritual principles, loyalty to the faith that expresses them and acceptance of the duties resulting therefrom
Loyalty to one’s community in harmony with the promotion of peace, understanding and co-operation
Responsibility for the development of one’s self
Participation in the development of society with recognition and respect for the dignity of one’s fellow beings and for the integrity of the natural world
Use of a method of progressive self-education, known as the Scout Method, comprising programmes adapted to the various age groups.
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The Scout Prayer
Lord, thank you for bringing us
together in Scouting. Be with our
Troop and all its members. Keep us
loyal to our Promise, to each other
and to ourselves; and in everything we
do, help us to put other people first.
Amen.
The ranks in Ireland consist of Beavers for 6-8 year olds, Cub scouts for 9-11 year olds, Scouts for 12-15 year olds, Venture Scouts for 15 -17 year olds and Rover Scouts for 18-25 year olds.
Waterford City lies on the River Suir, at the head of Waterford Harbour and it is one of the chief seaports of Ireland and the headquarters of an extensive export trade in meat, dairy and agricultural produce. Waterford Crystal is the city’s most famous export which has become renowned throughout the world and it’s visitors centre plays host to over 300,000 people a year. Today Waterford is the capital of the South East Region with a population of approximately 50,000 and it proudly remains one of Ireland’s major cultural, historical, commercial, retail, medical and educational centres of excellence.
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The city was founded almost 1200 years ago in 840 AD when it was occupied by the Danes as a walled city and called Vader Fjord, although there had been settlements in the area since the early part of the second century. In the 12th century it was seized by the Normans and it received its charter of incorporation in 1206. It survived the initial Cromwellian invasion but later fell to General Ireton. Among the landmarks are Reginald’s Tower which was built in 1003; Blackfriar’s Priory (1226); and the Protestant and Roman Catholic cathedrals, both dating from the 18th century.
The Waterford Scout County was founded on the 1st of January 2004. The component groups are the:
- 3rd/7th/13th Waterford De La Salle
- 4th Waterford Abbeyside
- 8th Waterford Tramore
- 10th Kilkenny Kilmacow
- 11th Waterford Dungarvan
- 12th Waterford Stradbally
- 15th/25th Waterford Sacred Heart
- 16th Waterford Cappoquin
- 17th/20th Waterford St. Paul’s
- 18th/26th Waterford Ferrybank
- 19th/29th Waterford Ballygunner
- 27th Waterford Butlerstown
- 31st Waterford Faithlegg
- 35th Waterford
- 1st Waterford Port of Waterford
- 2nd Waterford Dunmore East
The County Commissioner is Seán Hayes. twitter.com/WaterfordScouts
In 1926 the first Scout troop in Waterford came into being. It was known as St.Josephs and it had it’s headquarters at Hennessy’s Road in the city. The De La Salle Scout Group was founded in early 1928 and it was inspired by the good work done in St.Josephs. For many years De la Salle was the only Group in the city, but a Sea Scouts Group had been founded in Tramore in 1933. It was not until the late 60s and early 70s that new Scout Groups began to emerge in the city with the Sacred Heart and Ballygunner in 1967, St. Pauls in 1972 and Ferrybank in 1973. These developed at the same time as the suburbs of Waterford grew.
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Up until 1976 Scouting in Waterford had been organised on a Diocesan basis and included the wide area of Dungarvan and Clonmel, so in 1976 a Regional Structure was set up which took in just the Groups in Waterford City and South Kilkenny. This lasted until the 1st of January 2004 when the Waterford Scout County was established which once again includes the Dungarvan area. It has long been acknowledged that Waterford has been a stronghold of Scouting in Ireland. It has for example, an unparalleled record of success in national competitions and further information is available on our County History page.
There are six Scouting provinces – the Dublin Metropolitan, North Eastern, Northern, South Eastern, Southern and Western. We are part of the South Eastern Scout Province. The province is made up of 7 scout counties – Carlow Kilkenny, Cill Dara, Slieve Bloom, South Kildare, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. The provincial logo is shown below.
Scouting quickly spread beyond England and within a few years there were Patrols and Troops in many countries including Ireland. Given the climate in Ireland in the first two decades of this century it is not surprising that to some Scouting was beleived to be too British and attempts were made to have the Fianna Eireann youth movement seen as the Irish equivalent of the mushrooming Scout movement. In 1927 however the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland (CBSI) was founded by a Dublin curate Fr. Tom Farrell. CBSI grew rapidly and was known as Scouting Ireland CSI until the 1st of January 2004 when Scouting Ireland was formed when the old association merged with Scouting Ireland SAI. The new association has some 40,000 members in the 32 counties. It is open to all religious denominations and has a strong and increasing female membership.
The 3rd and the 7th De La Salle Scout Troops in 1938.
The Scout movement owes its origin to a book entitled “Scouting for Boys” which was written by Robert Baden Powell, a British army general and war hero. The book, published originally in fortnightly parts (though not with a free binder with part one!), related how the Scouting Skills he had taught in the army and tested earlier in 1907 on an experimental camp of 20 Scouts on Brownsea Island could become a reality for other young people. Through the pages of his book he so fired the imagination of young people that they started to form patrols which before long had sprung up all over the country. 3 or 4 patrols then came together to form a Scout Troop with adults to help in the training and running of activities. Baden Powell had no intention of starting a youth movement but Scouting grew rapidly and became known for fulfilling the needs and expectations of young people with adult assistance and guidance.
Scouting is a non political, educational movement for young people, open to all who are prepared to accept and live the Scout Promise and Law. It is the largest youth movement in the world with an estimated 25 million members in over 150 countries. The purpose of Scouting is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full spiritual, intellectual, physical, social and cultural potential as individuals, as citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.
To a young person Scouting is fun, games, camping, activities, the mountains, the sea, out of doors achievement, badges and being part of a group.
