Macra na Feirme Baltinglass/Rathvilly Club Meeting

The Baltinglass/Rathvilly club of Macra na Feirme, Ireland’s national rural youth organisation, meets monthly at the Stratford Arms in Stratford, a small village between Baltinglass and Hacketstown on the Wicklow/Carlow border. Macra clubs run across the country for members aged 17 to 35, mixing social nights with leadership training, public speaking, sport and community projects, and the Baltinglass/Rathvilly club follows the same pattern locally.

What to Expect

The club meets on the second Monday of the month at the Stratford Arms, a pub venue that gives the meeting a relaxed, social atmosphere rather than a formal committee-room feel. As with Macra clubs generally, meetings combine club business, planning for county and national competitions or events, and straightforward social time, with the organisation’s wider programme covering leadership development, debating, drama and sport for members who want to take part beyond the monthly meeting itself. It is aimed squarely at the 17 to 35 age bracket typical of Macra membership, drawing young people from the Baltinglass, Rathvilly and wider west Wicklow and north Carlow area.

Good to Know

• Date and time: second Monday of the month, evening
• Venue: Stratford Arms, Stratford
• Price: free to attend, club membership fee applies to join
• Recurrence: monthly, run by the Baltinglass/Rathvilly Macra club
• Membership: open to ages 17 to 35

Getting There

Stratford is a small village reached by car via the R747 between Baltinglass and Hacketstown; there is no public transport link into the village.