Presidents Address

On Thursday the 30th of January this year I was honoured to be voted in as the Terenure College Past Pupils Union President for 2025. I’d like to thank last year’s President, Ian Morgan and the Committee, on a fantastic year which saw the Annual Dinner marking the 100th year of the Union in The Round Room in The Mansion House, the Annual Golf outing raising €4,000 for Pieta House, another very successful Tennis Tournament and of course the always enjoyable and engaging Business lunch in The Westbury. A massive thank you to all our sponsors for your support as always.

I would also like to welcome Graham Crone and Andrew Sheehan as my two Vice Presidents for the year ahead, along with our excellent committee which has a wealth of experience and some fresh new faces. As The PPU enters its 101st year, our focus will be to maintain the great work brought on before while building on our PPU and enable us to add as much value as possible to its current and future members. I personally want to ensure we work closely with the school to support the current pupils, to build out the Union as a business networking hub and to encourage the formation of new clubs/societies/events within the Union.

The PPU is a valued member of the larger Terenure College Carmelite Community, and its work is important in the context of this wider community. The PPU has strong relationships with many other schools with the President and committee members having the pleasure of attending many other Past Pupil Annual dinners each year. As a union, we provide a platform for two extremely important causes for Terenure College Students Past, Present and Future.

The Benevolent Fund was established by the PPU over 20 years ago and supports Past Pupils and their families who require financial assistance in times of hardship. Thanks to past donations and fundraising, the Fund have been able to help many Past Pupils and their families with general day to day living expenses and educational costs for their children. The Benevolent Fund is here to help and if you require assistance, please contact the Fund through the PPU website (www.nure.ie) or via benevolentfund@nure.ie. The Benevolent Fund’s activities are funded mainly through raffles and activities organised by the PPU, the Carmelite Charities Golf Classic and donations and bequests. All donations are welcome with instructions on how to donate on www.nure.ie.

Past and current members of the PPU have been involved in the establishment of the Terenure College Scholarship Programme, working closely with the Carmelite community, the school board, the Vincent de Paul and the Solas Programme (established by past pupils Johnny Bourke and Marty Doyle). Thanks to the generosity of its initial donors, the initiative is up and running with several students already attending the school. This has been particularly rewarding for the PPU as setting up the Scholarship Programme has long been an ambition of many of my predecessors on the committee of the PPU. With your financial support, we hope to grow this programme. We are extremely grateful of the wide range of contributions and generosity to date. I would invite you to visit www.terenurescholarship.ie to learn more about this initiative and for ways to contribute to this very worthwhile cause.

The PPU host a number of events each year which are always worthwhile attending. I am particularly looking forward to our:

ANNUAL DINNER: This is the flagship event each year for the PPU and is typically attended by roughly 300 Terenure College Alumni. The invitation is for all past pupils to attend the dinner with special emphasis on gathering, 5, 10 20, 30, 40 and 50-year groups but as has been the case for the last few years, we’d love to see a few tables of guests outside the 5 year groups in attendance too! Come one, come all. Last year we held our biggest ever Annual Dinner with 500 guests enjoying a magical evening in The Mansion House. Recognition is also given at each year’s dinner for ex-pupils who have excelled in Business, Sports, Politics, Medicine, Law, or the Arts. This is an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends and it is also a significant charity fund raiser for the PPU’s charities. I am delighted to say this year’s annual dinner will be held in The Aviva Stadium on the 4th of April. It is shaping up to be a fantastic night so if you are yet to purchase a ticket please visit Annual Dinner 4th April 2025 in the Aviva Stadium – Terenure PPU and get yours before Mar 23rd. If you are interested in sponsoring the Annual Dinner, we have an amazing package on offer at truly great value. You can learn more at Annual Dinner Sponsorship Package – Terenure PPU

BUSINESS LUNCH: The business lunch is provisionally booked in the Westbury Hotel on October 17th, so mark it in your diary and we will confirm asap. It has been very well attended in recent years and the centre of town venue has proven extremely popular. The lunch gives PPU members an outlet to catch up with old friends, highlight their businesses and entertain clients. Each year the event has been enhanced by great guest speakers drawn from several fields including business, the arts, sport, and journalism.

ANNUAL GOLF EVENT: Another popular day in the PPU’s calendar is the annual golf outing, at Grange Golf Club in Rathfarnham. A big thank you to Michael Cronin on his leadership as Captain over the past two years and for his vision to start giving back by raising funds for charity on the day. A very warm welcome to our new Captain Barry O’Reilly. This a friendly competition with the emphasis on providing Past Pupils with an opportunity to meet up, play some golf and enjoy the BBQ afterwards. The golf will be returning to Grange Golf Club on June 13th, and I would strongly encourage anyone who is not interested in playing the golf to join us for the BBQ and craic that evening so again mark it in your diary.

Membership subscriptions play a very important part in the running of the Union. We, as your committee want to grow the value we offer you as members and ensure you are getting the most for your continued support. Our vision has already gained momentum, and we will continuously update you throughout the year on our progress. Please ensure you are following us on LinkedIn (Terenure College PPU: Overview | LinkedIn) and that you are receiving emails from info@nure.ie. If you are not receiving our emails, please contact us at info@nure.ie and let us know.

Membership is currently €50 per annum (less than €1 per week), and you can sign up today at www.nure.ie/subscriptions/

I would encourage every member to get involved as much as possible and help us shape the future of the PPU.

On behalf of the Past Pupils Union, I would like to wish all our alumni the very best for the year ahead and we look forward to meeting you all again soon at a PPU event.

Graham Coffey – Class of 2005