An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 10 | VEtERAN'S NEWS VEtERAN'S NEWS VEtERAN'S NEWS by SEAN SHINNORS PhotoS by SGT MICK BURKE T he 2016 IUNVA annual delegate conference was held in the tullamore Court hotel on 25th June. the guest speakers for this year's conference were brig Gen Peter o'halloran, ACoS (Sp), and Lt Col ollie barbour, Director PSS. On arrival General O'Halloran was welcomed by IUNVA Chair- man Eddie Robinson, and inspected a guard of honour of del- egates under the command of Peter Philips of Post 9, Athlone. The general had a warm handshake for each member on parade, many of whom he recognised from their soldiering days. Commencing his address he said: "It is a huge honour to be invited here this afternoon, and a privilege to be among such a distinguished body of men and women who are united by a single criteria: all of you are veterans and each one of you has served your country in the cause of peace." Brig Gen O'Halloran went on to remember the Veterans Day last year in Cork, when the minister conveyed to him that he was, "honoured to be pres- ent on the day and that he understood and felt part of the culture and comradery of the veterans." He went on to say: "Ireland has played its role in peace- keeping since it joined the UN in 1945, with 86 members of the Defence Forces having lost their lives in the service of peace." Speak- ing of IUNVA, the gen- eral said he was im- pressed to know that there were 21 posts and he went on to say: "Serv- ing soldiers in the De- fence Forces are what you were, and you are what we will one day be - vet- erans. Our institutional interests therefore should be as one. It is important that IUNVA goes from strength to strength each year; I do not just mean numbers, but the profile IUNVA now enjoys, and the high regard in which it is held throughout this country." He finished his address with an old Irish saying, "Ní neart go cur le chéile" (There is no strength without unity), adding: "Thank you for looking after our veterans." IUNVA's national pres- ident, Maj Gen Vincent Savino Retd, announced that the as- sociation is in discussions in relation to the construction of a national monument in honour of all those who served overseas, the location of which has yet to be decided. He wished the delegates and the association a good conference and looked forward to the year ahead. Chairman Eddie Robinson congratulated the association on the excellent work accomplished in the past year and praised the hard work of the National Executive and the National Sec- retary, Jim Casey. He said that it had not been an easy year and that there had been some difficulties but that these were overcome through the co-operation of the posts and the National Executive. He thanked Offaly County Council for the welcome that was af- forded to the Association on the eve of conference and he also thanked Michael Thompson for the liaison work he did to get the conference underway in Tullamore. Finally, he stressed that all delegates, posts and the National Executive needed to continue to work together for the future success of IUNVA. Lt Col Ollie Barbour, Director PSS, spoke to the conference and stressed the importance of supporting those in need. He spoke on the difficult subject of self-harm and how it is increasingly prevalent in the 40-50 year age group and males over 60. "People need to talk to people," he said, "and IUNVA meetings mean a lot to all serving and retired soldiers." He emphasised how much the words 'keep in contact' meant to many people and had great praise for the work of the Friday Clubs and the efforts of the veterans organisations, in conjunction with the Defence Forces, in keeping them going. He concluded by thanking and praising IUNVA for the work it had done in sup- porting veterans and those in great need. Among the many other items on the day's full agenda were reports from IUNVA's Secretary, Treasurer, Development Of- ficer, and Welfare Officer. An Cosantóir would like to thank IUNVA for the invitation to attend their ADC and we look forward to working with them in the years to come. IUNVA Chairman Eddie Robinson address congress Brig Gen O'Halloran addresses congress Congress delegates Brig Gen O'Halloran inspects a guard of honour of delegates

• Cover