Ferbane volunteer takes the helm at Foróige

A Ferbane mother-of-three who has spent over a quarter of a century volunteering with her local Foróige Club has now been elected as Chair of the national youth organisation at its annual AGM.

Expressing her delight at taking the helm at Foróige, Barbara Daly from Delvin Park in Ferbane admitted that there are “many challenges ahead” for the organisation, but there are also “massive opportunities.”

Barbara will chair the national youth organisation for a two year term, and she says one of the biggest obstacles ahead for Foróige and for other groups in the voluntary sector, is Covid-19.

While all of the Foróige programmes have been going on behind closed doors since last March, Barbara Daly says it is “absolutely vital” that the organisation can get back to a position where volunteers can meet face-to-face with young people.

The mother of three grown-up sons, Jason, Jonathan and Justin, Barbara Daly says the last six months have taken a huge toll on the mental health of many people, but particularly on teenagers.

“While I’m delighted that young people have been able to return to school, it is only one part of their overall development, with groups like Foróige providing a vital social outlet and a strong support network during out of school hours,” she says.

Despite the fact that society has changed and so has parenting, Barbara Daly firmly believes that young people still want the same things as their predecessors. “They want things like stability and security, and they have a great need to have their voices heard and have their views respected, and Foróige can provide all that.”

The new Chair of Foróige is the daughter of legendary Ferbane Fianna Fail Cllr, the late Eddie Joe Dooley from Ballylin, and sister of sitting Cllr, Eamonn Dooley. She has been so long working in the voluntary sector at this stage she says she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

As a founding member of the Gallen Community/Ferbane Foróige Club in 1996, along with her neighbour Sally O’Brien, who is still involved, Barbara Daly says the entire voluntary sector is facing “a very defining moment” as a result of the challenges posed by Covid-19, but she is hoping that she can steer Foróige along the difficult road ahead and come out “stronger and more committed than ever to helping our young people to realise their vast potential.”