Welcome
The Association of Irish Floral Artists (AOIFA), which was founded in 1973, is the official organisation of affiliated Floral Art Groups and Flower and Garden Clubs in Ireland.
Summer 2022
The ubiquity of soft new leaves in the garden is a sure sign that Summer approaches, and with it a host of AOIFA events. We are looking forward to long, sunny days spent together in person once again, and can't wait to welcome everyone.
Our Chairpersons' Meeting was a great success, with many bringing home fresh ideas for clubs going forward.
The calendar is replete for the summer months and we hope to see plenty of exhibits from AOIFA members at Bloom and Cork Summer Show.
Many of our clubs and members have been hard at work preparing for the National Flower Festival, "Another Time, Another Place" to be held in Naas from July 2nd-4th.The festival will be supporting The Alzheimer Society of Ireland - the designated AOIFA Charity for 2021-2023. We welcome any support.
Three churches in Naas town will be adorned with floral displays throughout - a spectacle not to be missed!
Stalls & refreshments will also be provided in addition to the multitude of lovely cafés and local businesses. We do hope you come along and enjoy some Naas charm!
This July, we are welcoming members without AOIFA qualifications to a new day school initiative.
We are enthusiastic to encourage newcomers to learn the art of flower arranging and have some fun with it.
With talented tutors Alan Beatty & James Burnside, this is a great opportunity for clubs to support members to break out of their comfort zone.
We are delighted to have the chance to foster creativity in this way!
Wishing you all a lovely summer,
AOIFA Executive
WAFA News
The Australian Floral Art Association will host WAFA from 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2027.
The WAFA seminar will be held in 2025 and the WAFA world Show in 2027.
Official site for information: www.wafa-australia.org
Oman will host a WAFA Floral Event in 2024.
Social Weekend Reschedule
Due to the current situation with Covid-19, the AOIFA executive has taken the decision to cancel the planned Social Weekend for April 2022.
This event is now rescheduled for 6th - 9th October 2022 in the Galway Bay Hotel.
We sincerely hope that this event will take place so that we can all meet up again safely.
In the meantime, stay safe and mind yourselves.
2021 Virtual Poetry Competition
The results of the 2021 Virtual Poetry competition hosted by Bridget Morley are as follows:
1st Place: Emma Champ, Naas Flower & Garden Club
2nd Place: Nicola Desmond, Kinsale Garden & Flower Club
3rd Place: Mary Cowhig, Owenabue Flower and Garden Club
“Wait till I tell you what’s been going on,”
he slumps in his nest of a chair,
clutches the cigarette, places the lighter in his lips.
The goings-on are from forty years prior,
but I still want to hear them.
Time shared multiplies, and I’ll take all I can get.
Shades of him pepper my habits now -
cold coffee forgotten on the mantlepiece,
appreciation for a good woollen jumper.
Waning comprehension of the world beyond,
but still understanding me better than anyone.
My name is lost to time, my heart is not.
- Emma Champ, Naas Flower & Garden Club
Wait till I tell you what's been going on,
In the last 18 months all normality's gone.
Instead, our lives have become very strange,
The Covid pandemic has caused such a change
When the virus arrived, in a rather odd caper
Some people began bulk-buying loo paper.
Though grocery shopping was once a chore,
It's more entertaining than before,
For since Covid-19 came
It's turned into a guessing game.
Since most people wear a mask,
What was once a mundane task
Has become weekly puzzle,
"Name the face behind the muzzle!"
In a life without Covid, 'would be my first task
To go out and burn this thrice-cursed mask.
I'd place it on top of a funeral pyre,
Then gleefully watch the flames leaping higher,
In the last 18 months, I've become it's despiser,
How I long for a time without this damned visor!
Mary Cowhig - Owenabue Flower and Garden Club
Wait till I tell you what’s been going on….
So, let’s go back it won’t take long, a little adventure we did take and off to India we did make
On return oh what a surprise to be greeted by hand sanitiser and masks alike
Confined to our homes, no clubs could meet, Eileen O’Brien online sure no one could beat,
Then the call came no show, in the field we can’t go, get the classes together and online we will go
We’ve zoomed in and out, gone live and recorded, but without doubt our friendships survived it.
So, the vaccines delivered the doors are reopened, were back to the meetings the dems and the teachings
So, lets rally the troops from Malin to the Old Head and descend on the west and do what we do best.
- By Nicola Desmond, Kinsale Garden & Flower Club
Results of Floral Artist of the Year and Interclub Competition Heats
Floral Artist of the Year
Conna
Qualifiers
Kathleen Barrett - Newcastlewest Flower Club
Eva Holmes - Kilkenny Flower Club
Sandra Jackson - Conna and District Flower & Garden Club
Reserve 1
Malcolm Kitt - Cobh Flower and Garden Club
Reserve 2
Helen Mullany - Cork Flower Club
Dunboyne
Qualifiers
Adrienne Thompson - Naas Flower & Garden Club
Karen Robinson - Wexford Flower Club
Harumi Langford - South Dublin Flower Club
Sharon O' Sullivan - Sutton Floral Art Group
Candy Holten - Ardee Flower Club
Lorraine O' Brien - South Dublin Flower Club
Reserve 1
Maeve Duke - Doddervale Flower Club
Reserve 2
Maureen Fagan - Maynooth Flower & Garden Club
Interclub Competition
Conna
Qualifiers
Clonakilty Flower Club
Cork Flower Club
Kilkenny Flower Club
Reserve 1
Wexford Flower Club
Reserve 2
Owenabue Garden and Flower Club
Dunboyne
Qualifiers
South Dublin Flower Club
Maynooth Flower & Garden Club
Reserve 1
Navan Flower & Garden Club