Musings From The Minutes
This article was written by Frank Hand for a booklet commemorating the Irish Sub-aqua Club's twenty-first anniversary.
How diving has changed during the past twenty one years! The modern diver takes to the water bedecked with the most modern equipment and aids, Spiro twin sets, made to measure wet suits, Seiko watches, Calypso cameras, etc. Looking back through the early Minutes of meetings held by the first committees makes unreal reading for our 1977 'men from Atlantis'.
In the Grosvenor Hotel on the first of June, 1956, the following minute was recorded: ''Apart from indoor sessions, it would be desiratle to hold an open sea outing, and the first was provisionally fixed for Sunday, 24 June." Where was it held? One guess - "a private bathing place near Bulloch Harbour". That outing was the first of a number of expeditions. More extracts from the Minutes reveal that for "the next expedition it was decided to go to Howth", "for the forthcoming expedition, Greystones was fixed as the venue". Eventually it was decided to form an expedition committee to keep track of these 'safaris'. One should bear in mind that, in those days, a southsider almost needed a passport to go north of the Liffey!
How about this for a gem? At the meeting of the first of August, 1956, "it was hoped that we would be allowed to have mixed bathing in the Iveagh Baths during the winter session". At another meeting a certain member of note offered "the use of the canteen at the Distillery, at a nominal charge, which could be used for 'dry' meetings". He was instructed by the committee to proceed with this. A later Minute showed that "a successful 'dry' meeting had been held".
At a meeting in May 1957 a well known member "stated that he had bought an aqualung, and was prepared to let the Club have the use of it". All this diving produced the famous 'Greystones tan', so letters were written to various companies "to find out if we could obtain some substance with which to impregnate fabrics in ,order to render them waterproof". An indication of the newness of the sport in 1957 was recorded in August of that year - "a list of names of members who are qualified to use the aqualung be given to the Guards and the Fire Department to be called upon in case of accidents".
The Club gave birth (?) to the following:
11 November, 1957 : "Bolton Street Technical School be formed as an affiliated branch of the Irish Sub-Aqua Club."12 May, 1958 : It was proposed to form a Curragh branch of the Club. It was decided that some members would give a demonstration at the inaugural meeting.13 May, 1959 : "The formation of Irish Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs" (later to become An Comhairle Fd-Thuinn, the Irish Underwater Council).
The Club's first big social event was the first Annual Dinner held in the St. Lawrence Hotel, Howth, on 31 January, 1959. The last of the big spenders, how about this extract from the Minutes of 6 August, 1959 - "that the Club should buy the compressor which Mr. Quigley was bringing from England at a cost of £20 plus £5 freight".
Finaliy, the Glaucus crest which members can be seen wearing to this day at diving functions and events, was approved on 29 January, 1960. Eighteen years later and still going strong. Animis in Undas, truly.
