About us

Message from Group Leader.

Hello, my name is Oisin Keane and I am the Group Leader of 5^th Carlow Town Scout Group which is the only Scout Group in Carlow Town presently.  Welcome to our website!  Despite the challenges that we have all been presented with as a result of the Covid Pandemic, Scouting is alive and well in Carlow.  Our team of over 25 dedicated and motivated adult volunteers continue to deliver a challenging and fun programme for all our youth members.  We have over 130 youth members across our 6 programme sections which consists of 2 beaver sections, Cub, Scout, Venture & Rover sections. Our Scout section has represented our group and county at the national Phoneix challenge on numerous occasions and we have some of our leaders that also hold posts in the Carlow/Kilkenny scout county.   Our Group receives invaluable support from our Parents and Friends Support Group who are the mainstay of our fundraising activities and who also assist with administration in helping to run the Group.  We are lucky to have our own Scout Den adjacent to the Youth Centre off Green Lane in Carlow and our we have a broad catchment area with youth members travelling from Kildare and Laois as well as Carlow Town to participate in Scouting. We are a very active scout group but we are always in need of adult volunteers to help us deliver a good scouting programme to our youth members so if you are interested in coming onboard as a leader then please send an email off to our secretary. No experience is needed as Scouting Ireland runs a excellent training programme designed for people that have no experience. Scouting is very rewarding for both adults and youth members and in my case 15 years on and I still enjoy it as it brings great memories so please do not hesitate and get in touch

If you would like to find out about joining in the adventure either as a youth member or indeed as an adult volunteer (we are always looking for volunteers!) please email 5thcarlowsecretary@gmail.com .

Thank you for your interest in our Group.

In 1929, a man by the name of Jack Giltrap came from Dublin to work in the new Sugar factory in Carlow.

After settling into his new home and career, Jack established the 1st Carlow Troop of Catholic Boy Scouts (CBSI). This local event was of national importance as Jack had founded one of the first such troops outside of Dublin in the fledgling CBSI Association.

At the outset, 40 boys made up the new Scout troop. Their uniform consisted of short pants, a short navy shirt, and a round Canada mounted police style hat. The colours chosen for the troop neckerchief were navy blue with a white border.

As there were no cars in those days, most hiking, camping and other troop activites were limited to areas within a reasonable distance of Carlow Town such as Athy, Killeshin, and Tullow. If events were taking place further afield, bicycles were the transport method of the day.

As the Troop grew in popularity, the now well-established 1st Carlow Troop helped to start other Scout Troops such as Bagenalstown and Tullow, throughout the 1930’s and 40’s

The first meeting place or Den of the 1st Carlow Troop was the old Christian Brother’s school on College Street (now the Parish Centre). This lasted until the 1950’s when the Troop had to move from place to place for its meetings.

Despite not having a permanent home the Troop grew from strength to strength throughout these years. Such was its success and popularity of Scouting in Carlow Town that in 1965, there were so many members, a second unit was formed called the 5th Carlow (Town) Scout Unit. 5th Carlow was formed from the membership of 1st Carlow and it is this unit which still active today.

In 1966, the newly formed 5th Carlow Unit decided to build our own Scout Den. A site was provided at the Youth Centre off the Green Lane, Carlow behind Carlow Train Station. The Den was constructed by the membership, family and friends using log poles taken from the recently decommissioned Old Borris Railway Line. The Den was opened the following year (1967) and is still our home today.

With a permanent base established, the 5th Carlow Unit was able to further its growth into the new decade. In the 1970’s we were able to go further afield on our camps to places such as Wexford, Waterford, Cork and our Venture Section age (15-18) went to Scotland –the first of many trips abroad.

The 1970’s also brought changes at a National level as our uniform changed again to a light blue, long-sleeved shirt and long navy pants. Our neckerchief colour was also changed to half red and half royal blue with the red worn on the right. These colours are what still identify us today.

In the 1980’s, the 5th Carlow Unit comprised 2 Cub Packs (8–10 year olds), 2 Scout Troops (10–15 year olds) and 1 Venture Section (15–18 year olds). In 1985, a contingent of 5th Carlow members were amongst the 10,000 attendees at the Irish Scout Jamboree in Portumna, Galway. This was one of many National and International Jamboree’s both before and after, at which 5th Carlow was represented.

In 1990, our first Beaver Section (6–8 year olds) was formed. By this time, girls were also allowed to join the organisation and CBSI renamed itself to Catholic Scouts of Ireland (CSI) to reflect this. All sections since then have comprised a mix of both boys and girls highlighting the continued interest of Scouting within the community at all ages.

Following a fire in our Scout Den in the late-1990’s, our home was out of commission for a number of years and the Unit went through a short period of decline. At this time, the Cub Section held their weekly meetings in a corridor of the Presentation College beside Askea Church.

The new Millenium however, brought new beginnings for our Group, both at a local and national level. By 2001, the perseverance and hard-work of the membership and Scouting community in Carlow meant that the Den was fit for purpose again, allowing the Beaver and Scout Sections to reform. In 2003, CSI merged with the other Scouting Organisation in Ireland at that time—Scouting Association of Ireland (SAI)—to form Scouting Ireland (SI). This brought with it many changes including a new uniform, although our distinctive neckerchief remained the same. Most significantly, Scouting Ireland is not affiliated to any one religion but instead all beliefs and creeds are welcomed. Despite this, the Group still attends the annual St Patrick’s Day Mass in Carlow Cathedral providing a colour party on the altar, followed by the St Patrick’s Day parade—a tradition which stems back to the earliest days of the Group.

Over the last 90 years, 5th Carlow members have won many local and national awards including Beaver, Cub and Scout Chief Scout Awards, Scout County Shields, Regional Competitions, Crean Challenge Awards, Venture Challenge Awards, Explorer Belt Awards, Silver wolfhound/ Cú Chulainn awards and success in the Melvin and Phoenix Competitions.

The 21st century has also seen 5th Carlow represented by both youth members and adult volunteers at all World Scout Jamboree’s since the 100th Anniversary of the Scouting Movement in 2007. This has brought the red and blue neckerchief to Britain (2007), Sweden (2011) and Japan (2015). Most notably, 5th Carlow was one of the largest Scout Groups which made up the Irish contingent to the World Scout Jamboree.

Since 1929, thousands of young people from Carlow Town and the wider area have come through our doors and experienced all that Scouting has to offer in their development into adulthood. Many former youth members have either stayed on or returned as adult volunteers. Many families in Carlow Town can count three and perhaps four generations of membership in our Group at some point or other. At present we have over 200 youth members, almost 30 adult Scouters (both male and female) and a waiting list which reflects our success and standing in the community over our 90 year+ history.

Composed and edited by Colin Whelan & Seamus O’ Murchu