The Pride of Lions: Founder members of prominent Offaly club honoured for half century of service

This year, Tullamore Lions Club celebrates its 50^th anniversary. During those 50 years, the Club has been to the forefront in meeting the needs of the local community in various ways and has donated more than a million euro to local, national and international projects.

The Club primarily serves the local community, working exclusively from membership subscriptions, fundraising and donations. Membership fees cover all administrative costs so all monies raised from donations and fundraising events are targeted directly towards nominated charities or towards organisations, families or individuals who request financial assistance.

Fifty years on, two stalwart members of Tullamore Lions Club retain a strong link with the founding fathers of the club. Andy Galvin and Tom Maher are the only original charter members still active in the Club 50 years later, A number of other active members are also approaching the magical 50 years-service, making the Tullamore Club unique for its longevity. Andy and Tom, despite their advancing years, are often the very first to appear in the lobby of the Bridge House Hotel, the venue for the annual monthly meeting. This meeting takes place on the third Tuesday of every month and their contributions are greatly anticipated and valued, bringing great tacit knowledge and experience to the table.

Tom Maher grew up in Ballyskenach in South Offaly while Andy Galvin comes from a well-known business family in Tullamore. They met as students in Cistercian College, Roscrea in the 1950’s, and have maintained a lifelong friendship since. They were joined in the same class in Roscrea by fellow Offaly man, Tom Enright from Shinrone, who later became a T.D for many years the Laois-Offaly constituency. All three sat the Leaving Certificate together in 1959.

On completion of their second level education Tom and Andy travelled different career paths. Andy attended the Noviciate in Kinvara Co Galway followed by a stint in University College Cork studying Philosophy and Theology, as it was his intention to become a missionary priest. Interestingly, twelve students out of the 1959 Leaving Certificate class in Cistercian, Roscrea were to go on to the priesthood with half of them choosing to become missionary priests. For his part, Tom went on to University College Dublin to study Agricultural Science and his first posting was in Co. Meath where he worked as an agricultural instructor between the towns of Navan, Kells and Dunshaughlin.

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In 1965, Andy Galvin returned to Tullamore to join the family concrete business. Some years later, Tom Maher arrived in Tullamore as an Instructor with the Offaly County Committee of Agriculture, now Teagasc. The paths of the two school friends had crossed again.

In 1975, Maurice Murphy (RIP) and John Cahill of Roscrea Lions Club approached Andy Galvin regarding the possibility of the Roscrea Club chartering a Lions Club in Tullamore. Andy mentioned the idea to Tom who responded by asking ‘’what’s a Lions Club?’’ However, the seeds of a new project had been sown. Soon, Andy and Tom Maher had reignited their working relationship from college days and they worked tirelessly towards ensuring a Lions Club in Tullamore came to fruition. Meetings were held on a rotational bases in the homes of the three Galvin brothers, Andy, Joe and John and within months, a Lions Club was established in Tullamore. P.V. Egan from Spollanstown was elected as the first President with Andy Galvin acting as Secretary. Other founding members included Billy Glynn, Claude Hill; Des Power and Johnny Flanagan. The first charter Dinner was held in the County Arms in Birr as there was no hotel facility in Tullamore at that time.

Over the last 50 years Tom Maher and Andy Galvin have been to the forefront of many Lions Club activities. Most of these activities involved raising funds to support Lions activities and consisted of annual Fashion Shows held in the Bridge House and Machinery Auctions, which took place in Ronnie Colton’s yard on the Clara Road. Other ventures included a Charity Walk led by the late Gerry Ryan of RTE, a Val Doonican concert in the Bridge House a 24 Hour fast in O’Connor Square and a series of “Lads Lunches” and Casino Nights in the Bridge House. All funds raised were directed towards needy causes in the Tullamore area. Tom Maher concedes that many people were sceptical when Tullamore Lions Club was first established but this perception gradually faded away when people saw how the Club was actually to the forefront in alleviating hardship for many families and organisations in the town.

Tom and Andy are unanimous in nominating “The House the Lions Built” as one of their abiding memories of their fundraising activities: This venture saw the Tullamore Lions Club with Andy Galvin to the forefront, source a greenfield site in the Tullamore area. In association with John Cusack of Cusack Homes and with the support of local businesses which provided materials and supplies, a magnificent ready to occupy home was constructed at 84 Norbury Woods Green in Tullamore. The sale of this home realised €150,000 for Tullamore Lions Club and the proceeds were shared between the Midland Simon Community, Rights for the Elderly Housing project and the Tullamore Housing Association. This project remained the signature fundraising event in the history of Tullamore Lions Club until the Hooves 4 Hospice project was launched in 2020. This amazing project, established to raise funds for a regional hospice in Tullamore, went on to achieve even greater success. Tom and Andy are also equally proud of the fact that Tullamore Lions chartered the establishment of a Lions Club in Edenderry in 1985, a Club that has subsequently prospered.

Both men are extremely grateful to the people of Tullamore and surrounding areas for the unwavering support the Club has received over the last 50 years. But Tom Maher and Andy Galvin value something even more precious from their 50 years involvement with Tullamore Lions Club and that is the enduring friendships they have forged with local Tullamore people and with so many colleagues in the Lions Club over the course of their charitable travails.