Engineers Picnic

The Gathering is a Government tourism initiative for 2013 to maximise visitor numbers to Ireland this year and to especially welcome back our diaspora from abroad even for a week or a weekend! As we know over the past 5 years many of our engineering graduates especially civil and construction engineers have left our shores for foreign lands due to the recession in Ireland.

We are especially appealing to our grads in the UK and have arranged the Engineers Picnic in UCD to coincide with the UK Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August! We want to welcome you home that weekend if you can possibly manage it. You will meet your classmates and other UCD graduates and many of your old lecturers and professors.  

We start in the UCD Rose Garden with a BBQ at 4pm with food, drink and a variety of music through the evening and into the night.

At the EGA Board last Spring, I initially suggested we call the event Ceili na hInnealltoiri (showing my age!). However, our enthusiastic Gathering Committee led by Angela Treanor (2011) as Chair, Robyn Kelly (2008) and Tony O'Brien (1973) were entrusted with the organisation of the event and decided it would be called the Engineers Picnic.

The UCD Engineering grads who I know enthusiastically endorsed their choice and here we are! This goes to prove which generation now runs the EGA! Nevertheless the older ones including myself still add the odd words of wisdom and experience. Its a very interesting and dynamic cocktail I can tell you as those of you who will attend the Picnic will testify.

All are welcome including family members and graduates attending don't have to be from UCD Engineering although I imagine that most will be.This is an inclusive Gathering and the cost per head will be approx €20 (to be confirmed) depending on sponsorship.