Over 70 women joined with WCI Blayney Blades to come together to celebrate Mná na hÉireann yesterday afternoon. The cross border celebration which was held in the Iontas Theatre, Castleblayney brought women of all backgrounds and communities together in a bid to generate more funding opportunities and cross-community conversations.
The event was also a little piece of history for the Blades as it was Minister Heather Humphreys last event with Blades as her role as Minister. Minister Humphreys has been a huge supporter of Blades over the last number of years through her dedication to speak at events, her support with funding and most importantly her clear understanding of how difficult it is to deliver all the group does from a rural perspective.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Minister Heather Humphreys commended the "fantastic work" that has went on within the group down through the years; "This is a wonderful group here. Blayney Blades have done fantastic work over the years. They started up 30 years ago to support and empower women and to give them the confidence to believe in themselves and realise their ambition. They have been a wonderful group which was set up by Sr. Celine all those years ago. We have a wonderful chairperson here now in Martina Quinn and obviously in Lorraine Cunningham who is the manager of Blayney Blades. They are a great team, along with the voluntary board and all of the people who go to Blayney Blades really appreciate the wonderful work that is done here and they keep pushing out the boundaries."
