Since its foundation in 1982, and in its many activities through the years, from sport and games to musical theatre, Sixmilebridge Youth Club has always endeavoured to provide the young people of Sixmilebridge and the surrounding areas with a platform to shine. We have been incredibly fortunate over those 40 years to have some truly special people give selflessly of their time to provide that platform, and in 2020, the club was honoured to receive a Volunteer Service Award from Clare Youth Service in recognition of all those wonderful volunteers, both past and present.
Through the 80’s and 90’s, the club took part in every sporting and theatrical competition available to us. The club enjoyed enormous success in the Tops of the Clubs and Youth Work Ireland Variety Competitions through the years, and by the time the ‘Tops of the Clubs’ competition ended in 1996, our club had won every possible award at county and national level, including the Club of The Year title on several occasions. Our dancers won an unprecedented four back-to-back ‘Youth Work Ireland Variety, Munster Show Dance Championship’ titles from 2008 to 2011 and went on to win the All-Ireland title three times in that four-year period. We are inordinately proud of the talent and dedication of all our singers, musicians, actors, comedians, and dancers who competed at all levels. We are equally proud of our mentors, coaches and choreographers who gave our performers the tools and the confidence to shine in front of such huge crowds.
In 2002, we ventured into the unknown, and set about producing our first pantomime. Such was its success, that it was decided to make the pantomime an annual event, and each year the stature of the Sixmilebridge Youth Club pantomime grows. Showcasing the incredible talent of the youth of Sixmilebridge and surrounding areas, our pantomimes, staged at Sixmilebridge GAA Hall, are full to the brim of comedy, song, and dance. The self-confidence and sense of achievement that performing on stage can instil in our young people is truly a joy to behold. These productions take a tremendous amount of preparation and dedication from performers, committee members and volunteers. Scriptwriting, auditions, costume design and preparation, choreography, set design etc are literally months in the making. All the preparation in the world would however be worthless without the generous and enthusiastic support of the wonderful community of Sixmilebridge and the surrounding areas down through the years. We cannot thank you enough.
It’s a measure of the affection that our members through the years hold for Sixmilebridge Youth Club that our current leaders and committee are predominately made up of former club members. And indeed, a vast majority of our current members are the children, (and possibly even grandchildren!) of former club members. Long may this tradition continue!
Sixmilebridge Youth Club 