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20 Years On, Happy Birthday Vegetarian Society of Ireland! | |
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It must have been the Spring of ‘78 that I met Christopher Fettes in the ‘Golden Dawn’, a macrobiotic restaurant in Crow Street, Dublin. Although the menu there included fish, it was the closest thing to a vegetarian restaurant in Dublin at that stage. We both agreed on the need for a Vegetarian Society so we set a date in early summer and I wrote letters to the newspapers announcing a general meeting in a large room above the Golden Dawn. We were quite surprised when 50-60 people turned up to the meeting, chaired by Christopher, who through his infectious energy encouraged about 8 other people to join us on a committee. In the following years we organised meetings on a wide range of subjects not always directly connected to vegetarianism, but always of interest to members and the general public. We had social outings, leaflet distributions, cookery demos, public information stands, media interviews, and a continuous stream of postal enquiries from people wishing to change to a vegetarian diet. In recent years, our main achievements have included a celebration of World Vegetarian Day when up to 1,500 people have attended at the Mansion House, and more recently, at St. Andrew’s Resource Centre in Pearse Street. In the past 20 years, committee members have come and gone, having done their bit for the Society. There have been people with various beliefs and priorities working towards the one end, and although dealing with serious issues, we have tried not to take ourselves too seriously, and sometimes look at the humorous side. Things have changed a lot since 1978. The number of vegetarians, the presence of vegetarian restaurants in many parts of the country, and the general attitude of people to us has improved greatly. When we ask for a meal we are less likely to be offered potato and vegetables, lettuce and tomato, fish, or even chicken (sure, chickens aren’t animals!). Even the term Vegan is recognised by many people (though not always understood). Although I have avoided naming the numerous people who have worked for the Society, I must mention Dee Higgs who has been a committee member for most of the 20 years and also produced an excellent magazine 4 times a year for many of these years, and also Betty Reeves who has been the backbone of the Society and our Treasurer for most of the last 2 decades. To them both and all the other people involved, I offer a sincere thank you. Christy Stapleton
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