Lay Marists of Ireland: A Snap-Shot ViewThe Background:  Marist Laity Groups in Ireland were established, led and nurtured, mainly by the Marist Sisters and Fathers. Each Group met monthly for prayer or Mass followed by a cup of tea and chat. They rarely met together as a national Group. In 2000 a Marist Gathering, in Longford, was organised. Longford was chosen because of its central location in the country and is easily accessible for most. The primary purpose was to bring us all together and to have fun. It was a great success and left many calling for repeat gatherings. There were some meetings in France, to discuss the possible organisation and on- going development of Lay Marists in Europe. We were represented by Eileen McCann at these meetings. Then in the Spring of 2008 twelve of us attended a week long meeting in Turin Italy. Lay Marists from six countries attended; Germany, France, Italy, Spain, England and Ireland. The Italians were our fantastic hosts and we spent the week sharing information about ourselves, our origins, cultural differences, common practices, challenges, future dreams, and how we might relate and cooperate with each other in the future. The following decisions emerged from that meeting; 1. A coordinating group would be formed, consisting of representatives from each of the six countries. 2. All six countries agreed to adopt the book “A Certain Way” by Craig Larkin sm as the primary text for formation 3. We will have another European Meeting in 2011 in France 4. In recognition of our different cultures each of us retains/ develops our own formation and on-going development plans. 5. A central fund was created with an annual contribution from each country. Meeting/travel expenses for the representatives are paid out of this account. 6. We communicate through a European News Letter. A New Beginning: Fired up by the Turin meeting we returned to Ireland and set about organising the Marist Laity of Ireland in the following way. Those who attended Turin reported back to each of the local Groups and shared our insights on the meeting and what it high-lighted for us as Irish Lay Marists. There were four high-lights; structure, formation programme, communication, and the development of Lay Marists as an authentic branch of the Marist Family independent but interdependent with the other branches. Structure: Each member of each local group nominated representative(s) to a Central Resource Group. At a general Gathering in Longford in Feb. 2008, 7 people were elected from the Nominees. Those seven invited a Sister and a Father to sit as advisors on the Resource Group. We elected a Chairperson (myself) and set about developing terms of references and identifying priorities from the identified high-lights. Our first task was to host the European meeting in June 2008.Twenty – Four Delegates came from the six countries. The meeting lasted two days, but they all stayed 5-7days, so we housed, fed and entertained them for the week. It was very successful and great fun. Formation: Unlike other European Groups, in Ireland we do not have a prescribed formation programme. In recognition of individual Group cultures we recommend only that Craig Larkin’s “A Certain Way” be adopted as the common text used by all Groups for Formation. Communication: We have a Newsletter which we publish twice a year. In between times a communication letter is sent out to all the Groups as needed. Members of the Resource Group are in the process of visiting each Local Group to listen to their needs. Authentic Branch of the Marist Family. We have become so dependent on the leadership and guidance of the Sisters and Fathers that there is a danger that we see ourselves as extensions of them rather than a distinct independent branch of the Family. So as a Resource Group we are trying to encourage members to take on the leadership of their local groups. We are also encouraging them to spend 2009/2010 reviewing “A Certain Way” by taking an excerpt from it for discussion at their monthly meetings. We support ourselves financially through a voluntary annual donation from each member of the Local Groups. This is just a broad glimpse of where Lay Marists of Ireland are and how we are in the process of organising ourselves in preparation for the future as citizens of Europe and of Ireland. - Marist Laity Ireland
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