Units and Groups
Below is a list of all the Scout Groups that registered with the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland between 1927 and 1965. The groups with * were defunct, although listed as defunct in 1965 many groups re-formed. The 11th Belfast were defunct in 1965 but re-formed in 1976 and celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2016.
Arch Diocese of Armagh
Diocese of Clogher
Diocese of Cloyne
Diocese of Cork
A Patrol from the 1st Cork (Cathedral) bake scones in a biscuit-tin oven at a camp for Cathedral Troops (Cork) held near Tralee County Kerry in 1963. (Patrol Leader Patrick O’Hare second from left).
Dominick F. Murphy (c. 1918 – 1 June 2009). He was an Irish Labour Party politician and trade union official. He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1954 to 1969. He was first elected to the 8th Seanad in 1954 by the Labour Panel, and was re-elected at the 1957, 1961 and 1965 elections. He lost his seat at the 1969 Seanad election. He was a member of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association and was vice president (1963–64) and president (1964–65) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The 15th Cork Saint Finbarr’s winners of the Cork Diocesan Shield in 1949.
On the 23rd of July 1933 the investiture of 18th (Saint Patrick’s Fermoy) Cork Troop took place in the grounds of Saint Patrick’s Church Fermoy. The Troop was run by Scout Masters D. Morrison and M. Power.
Some of the 18th (Saint Patrick’s Fermoy) Cork Troop being invested.
Eagle Patrol of the 20th Cork on Brownsea Island in July 1966. From left, P. Sexton, A. Buckley, N. Adair, J. Johnson, P. Lehane, P O’Driscoll, J. Murphy and N. O’Sullivan.
21st Cork Saint Patrick’s winners of the Cork Diocesan Shield in 1950.
Diocese of Ross
Diocese of Down and Connor
Founded in the early 1930’s, the 11th Belfast Scout Group is based in East Belfast in the North of Ireland. It is part of the Down and Connor Scout County of Scouting Ireland.
Archdiocese of Dublin
The 2nd Dublin Troop Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland pictured in 1932 with Father Stanislaus.
Catholic Scouts of Ireland 3rd Donnybrook. The Group was founded in 1927 and was one of the original founder Units of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland. It was later merged with the 40th and 41st Dublin.
Scouts from the 7th Dublin (Saint Mary’s College Rathmines) receive first aid instructions from Dr. Conal Hooper. (Picture taken in 1966).
29th Dublin (Blackrock). Located just outside Blackrock Village in County Dublin.
Liam Cosgrave served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977 and as a Teachta Dála from 1943 to 1981. He played an important role as Minister for External Affairs in establishing Ireland’s United Nations position. However, his first international experience was in Scouting. Liam Cosgrave was a Scout in the 52nd Dublin Harrington Street Troop of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland (CBSI) and in 1934 as a thirteen year old he joined 600 other Scouts of CBSI on a historic pilgrimage to Rome on the liner RMS Lancastria. The young Liam was accompanied on the trip by his father William T. Cosgrave who served as first President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932.
On the pilgrimage were many other Scouts who went on to play important roles in Irish political, social and literary life. These included: Brendan Corish leader of the Labour Party who went on to be Tánaiste in Liam Cosgrave’s Government.
66ú Naomh Eoin 66th Scouts Clontarf Based on the North side of Dublin city and has been going for the past 90 years.
Winners of the Dublin Diocesan Shield 1963. Fox Patrol 72nd Dublin (Raheny). Left to right: back row Allen Byrne, Eric Duffy, Patrol Leader Brendan Redmond, Kieran Barry, Brian Shieran. Front, Liam Cartwright and Eamonn McKiernan.
The competition took place in June 1963 at Larch Hill. Six Patrols took part in the competition, 1st (Fairview), 10th (Aughrim Street), 43rd (High Street), 64th (Merchant’s Quay), 72nd (Raheny) and 82nd (Drimnagh). The six Patrols were chosen by the Diocesan Commission during their annual inspection from 54 active Troops with over 220 Patrols.
Blackrock College Scout den 1965
In 1965 due to increasing numbers the Blackrock College Troop started a second Troop, the new Troops was called Our lady of Good Council. The Scout master of the second Troop was Peter Fleming who had served as Assistant Scout Master with the first Troop.
The group started in 1958 and is still going today. Mount Merrion is in Blackrock South Dublin. The group is now called the 86th Dublin.
Issued in 1997 for the 100th anniversary of the death of Saint Therese of Lisieux.
Catholic Boy Scout of Ireland C.B.S.I. 89th Dublin Saint Joseph’s Unit. Naomh Iosaf translates as Saint Joseph. The Troop was located on the North Side of Dublin City.
1st Greystones CBSI about 1930
Dublin Sea Scouts
Diocese of Limerick
Diocese of Waterford and Lismore
Diocese of Achonry
Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise
Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly
Diocese of Clonfert
Diocese of Derry
Diocese of Dromore
Diocese of Elphin
Diocese of Ferns
Diocese of Galway
Scouting Ireland 1st Galway St. Joseph’s located in the heart of Galway City.
Diocese of Kerry
Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
Scouting Ireland S.I. The text on the badge in Gaelic reads 5th Carlow, Carlow Town. Cúigiú Ceatharlach Baile Ceatharlach.
Diocese of Killala
Diocese of Killaloe
Diocese of Kilmore
Diocese of Meath
Diocese of Ossory
Diocese of Raphoe
Archdiocese of Tuam
Scout Association of Ireland SAI Groups
Clare
1st Shannon Clare Scout Group Tullyvarraga Community Hall, Shannon, County Clare. Founded in 1964 and was a Scout Association of Ireland group.
Dublin
30th Dublin (Dun Laoghaire). 6th Port of Dublin Sea Scouts.
30th Dublin (Dun Laoghaire)
Scout Association of Ireland 30th Dublin (Dun Laoghaire) were formed in 1952, in 1961 a Sea Scout Troop was added, the 6th Port of Dublin Sea Scouts. An Air Scout Troop was added in 1964, Air Scouts wore the same uniform as Land Scouts apart from a blue Beret instead of green, and they also had separate badges. The Group had its headquarters at the Parochial Hall, Park Road, Dun Laoghaire.
Scouting Ireland Groups
Listed below are all the Scouting Ireland Scout groups we could find in existence between 2010 and 2015. As far as we know all these groups issued badges. If there is a group we have missed please let us know using the Contact Us link on the left.
Antrim and Down (20 Groups)
Established in 1971, 10th Antrim Scout Group is based in South Belfast
Armagh (2 Groups)
Carlow Kilkenny (14 Groups)
Cavan Monaghan (14 Groups)
Clare (14 Groups)
Cork (62 Groups)
Derry (4 Groups)
Donegal and Tyrone (16 Groups)
3rd Donegal Raphoe Scout Association of Ireland shades differ from red to pink.
Dublin (115 Groups)
Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland C.B.S.I. 14th Dublin Unit Ballyroan. Ballyroan translates as Baile Uí Ruáin, meaning O'Rowan's town and is a suburb in Rathfarnham, County Dublin. It lies at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, alongside Ballyboden, Butterfield, Knocklyon, Old Orchard, and Scholarstown.
18th Dublin Santry Scout Group founded in 1972. HQ at Lorcan Green Dublin
Scouting Ireland 19th Port of Dublin Sea Scouts Skerries Goat badge. The Goat badge is worn on the point of the Scarf Necker.
When St. Patrick was expelled from Wicklow by the pagan natives, he sailed northward and landed on a small island off Skerries. In his honour it became known as St. Patrick's Island. When the saint arrived on the island he was accompanied by a goat which provided milk. From this island St. Patrick would come to the mainland to convert the people. While the saint was ashore on a missionary trip the people of Skerries visited the island and stole his goat. They killed, cooked and feasted on it.
When St. Patrick came back to the island he found his goat missing. This made him very angry and in two giant strides he reached the mainland. The first step took him to the back of Colt Island, the second to Red Island where he confronted the people of Skerries. They tried to deny having seen his goat but found they could only bleat. When they told the saint the truth about his goat their voices returned.
To this day St. Patrick's footprint, where he stepped on to the south side of Red Island, can be seen in the rocks at the bathing area while the nickname Skerries Goat is given to the people of the town to remind them of this deed.
37th Dublin St. Pius was established in 1971. It became the 37th Dublin Templeogue in 2004 with the merger of the two Irish Scout associations. Although it looks like an l it is an i, I think the dot got joined to the rest of the i.
Issued in 1997 for the 100th anniversary of the death of Saint Therese of Lisieux.
Galway (21 Groups)
Kerry (13 Groups)
Kildare (21 Groups)
Laois Offaly (12 Groups)
Leitrim and Fermanagh (9 Groups)
Limerick (19 Groups)
Longford and Roscommon (6 Groups)
Louth (14 Groups)
Mayo and Sligo (17 Groups)
Meath (19 Groups)
5th Meath Kells (Kilbride)
17th Meath Longwood founded in 2007
Tipperary (12 Groups)
Waterford (17 Groups)
Westmeath (6 Groups)
Wicklow and Wexford (28 Groups)
Scout Bands
Scout Bands were always popular in Ireland both in the C.B.S.I. and S.A.I. and it was and still is common to see a Scout Band lead the local or county G.A.A. team out for a match. Probably the most well-known Scout Band in Ireland is the De La Salle Scout Pipe Band making its first appearance when it led De La Salle Scouts on a parade to the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford City on the 15th of May 1934 and the Band is still going strong today.
Below is a list of Scout Bands by County that we could identify as having being in existence since the founding of the Scout movement in 1907.
Antrim
Armagh
Armagh Catholic Boy Scouts Band
Cavan
2nd Cavan C.B.S.I.
The 2nd Cavan C.B.S.I. Troop formed a band in 1936 which was still making public appearances in 1965. The main instruments of the band were Harmonic and Accordion with percussion provided by a base and at times side drums.
The Band leading out the teams at an Ulster V Munster GAA match.
Over the years the instruments varied and at times the band were all accordion. In 1953 the band made a record and in 1955 played on the Radio Eireann.
The band after their Radio Eireann appearance: (front row from left) Fergal Moore, Francis Farrelly, Tony Dowd, Gerard Carroll, Brian Finlay. Back row: Sean Smith, Eddie Kirby, Eamonn Brady, Oliver Cassidy and Terry Smith.
Clare
Cork
Youghal Scout Band
Derry (Londonderry)
Limavady Scout band founded by Father Donnelly sometime in the 1980s.
Dublin
Fermanagh
Enniskillen Scout Brass Band (Saint Michael's). Played at the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in March 1985. The Band was under the charge of Mr. Bernard O’Connor Erne Region Commissioner.
Galway
Tuam Catholic Boy Scouts Pipe Band. In 1950 the Band was under the direction of Scoutmaster P. J. Grealish Assistant Scoutmaster Brendan McEnnis.
Kerry
Limerick
Mayo
Monaghan
Clones Scout Band C.S.I. took part in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade after mass in Clones town in March 1992.
Tipperary
Waterford
Westmeath
Clara Boy Scouts Band under Mr. John Kelly and Mr. Kevin Towhey Saint Patrick’s Day 1972.
Wicklow
1st Greystones Pipe Band
Lord Powerscourt’s Own
The earliest records of Scouting in Wicklow show a Patrol of Boy Scouts in existence in the early months of 1908. The earliest records of the 1st Greystones Scout Troop date from 1917 when the Troop was being run by 17 year old Robert (Bob) Figgis. The Pipe Band began sometime in the latter half of 1928 and remained playing until the beginning of the Second World War. The Greystones band was the first Scout band in Ireland. The band played at many events over their 12 years history. The band played an Irish Air for Baden-Powell when he visited the Irish contingent at the 3rd World Jamboree held at Arrow Park (see World Jamborees) and also attended the 4th World Scout Jamboree in Hungry in 1933. They also played at the 1937 Coronation Review in London where they met and shook hands with King George VI. In 1937 the band was renamed the 1st Greystones Rover Pipe Band. The band also played at many local events including the funeral of the Earl of Meath who held the unique position of having served as Chief Commissioner of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State.
The uniform of the band was green Scout shirt and dark green kilt, grey stockings with green turn-downs, green garter tabs and a leather sporran. The neckerchief/scarf was red with a white lanyard running under the shoulder tabs of the shirt. Initially the band wore the wide brimmed Baden-Powell hat but this was soon changed for a green beret with green headband.
After the band returned from the 3rd World Rover Scout Moot held in Scotland in August 1939 Britain declared war on Germany on the 3rd of September 1939. The band remained in existence until the early months of 1940 but with many members leaving both the band and the Rover Troop to join up both the band and the Rovers were forced to close.
The Band in World War Two
Eight Greystones Scouts served with the Royal Air Force during the 2nd World War.
Sidney Gethings
Victor Gethings
Geoffrey Roland (Ronnie) Gethings
Joseph (Joe) Towell
Bertie Griffin
Thomas (Tommy) Hamilton
Harold (Harry) Scott
Clifford Bowyer
Killed in Action
Geoffrey Ronald Gethings is buried in St. Columb Major Cemetery, St. Eval, Cornwall, U.K.
The three are remembered on the Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland Church Memorial in Greystones County Wicklow.