Chapter 15: Events 2003 - 2012
The first decade was a difficult perios for the Association. Membership continued to fall and activities were limited because of lack of people capable and prepared to carry them out. However, not everything was negative. The Association began to use new technology such the internet and social media. Regular meetings in Dublin were more interesting because of the presence of people from abroad living for a time in Ireland. Several people visited Ireland using the Passport Service.
2003: This year a new committee was elected. Liam Kirk became honorary president on account of his long service for the Esperanto movement in Ireland. The Chairman was Lorcán Mac Meanmain; Secretary/Treasurer Joy Davies; Information: Máire Mullarney; Librarian: Christopher Fettes; Members: T. Hayden, K. Keable, G. McKay, D. Ó hEalaithe.
Notices about Esperanto appeared in sequential issues of 'Cara', the official magazine of the airline Aer Lingus, provided on all aircraft. Regretfully it attacted no new members. Several members of the Association attended the World Congress in Sweden.
2004: For three weeks in April an exhibition on Esperanto was shown in the library of the ILAC Centre in Dublin. It contained posters on sereral aspects of the Esperanto Movement in Ireland and abroad. From time to time Máire Mullarney spent a number of hours in the library to answer questions. Two free lectures were also given in the library. Máire Mullarney spoke on lifelong learning and Girvan McKay spoke on language problems in the European Union and how the introduction of Esperanto as a bridge language would reduce costs.
A new book by Máire Mullarney was published, 'Maire Mullarney argues about language', a collection of lectures which she had made over the course of recent years.
2005: An exhibition was held in Tullamore, using the materials prepared for the previous year's exhibition.
Daithi Ó hEalaithe set up a discussion group in 'Yahoo Groups' and published there information each month on the Saturday Circle.
2006: 'Irish Examiner' newspaper published an article on Esperanto, which resulted in a radio interview with Dr Seán Ó Riain. Girvan McKay published an English language translation of the 'Infana Raso' (Infant Race) by William Auld om the website of the then Esperanto Literature Academy. He also translated it into Scots and Scottish Gaelic. The members of the Association attended the World Congress in Florence.
2007: Christopher Fettes took on the role of chief delegate in Ireland for UEA, the World Esperanto Association.
2008: This was a very sad year for the Association as it saw the death of Liam Kirk and Máire Mullarney. Both were faithful members and worked very hard for the Esperanto Movement in Ireland.
In a popular radio programme Dr Seán Ó Riain was interviewed about the current state of the Irish language. In the interview he mentioned Esperanto and how much its use as a first foreign language makes subsequent learning of other languages easier..
Although little took place in Ireland, members took part in international events. Three attended the World Congress in Rotterdam, two attended the Scottish Congress and one attended the International Esperanto Youth Congress and the Catalan Congress. The Association launched its own page on the social website Ipernity, which people abroad had begun using for Esperanto communications.
2009: The Association was somewhat inactive. There were regular meetings of the 'Saturday Circle' but with few participants.
2010: This year was the 100th Issue of Nova Irlanda Esperantisto (New Irish Esperantist), the official bulletin of the Association, edited by Joy Davies. In addition to the usual various items there were special articles by Girvan and Máire McKay.
2011: In the spring, Domenique Vieira, a Brazilian living in Dublin, taught a course at Siomra Spraoi each week for 6 weeks. The learners were mainly people from outside Ireland currently living in Dublin, but by the end of the course only one remained. Ater the summer break we restarted the course, but this time there was only one learner, who learned well and stayed until the end of the course in November. On behalft of the Tullamore Esperanto Group, Máire McKay planted a tree in the town park in Tullamore for the anniversary of Amnesty International.
2012: The most important event this year was the Congress of the European Esperanto Union in Galway. The Mayor of Galway attended the opening and welcomed the participants, and articles were published in local newspapers. The event was managed by a professional tourism company and was very successful. Members of EAI helped with translation and as guides. This year, for the first time, an Esperantist took part in the Dublin Marathon. Marco Trevisan had lived in Dublin some years before and had been a member of EAI. He now lived in Spain but returned to Ireland for the race. The website was renovated with a more modern appearance and richer content. By th end of the year the Association had created its own page in the website Facebook, whose interface is also available in Esperanto.