A Message from new union President.

It is an honour to serve as the union president and to represent an estimated 4,000 CUS past pupils out there. 

I would like to thank our outgoing president John Cranfield for the excellent work he has done for the past couple of years and can only hope I will do as good a job as he has done and I will be relying on John to steer me in the right direction. 

The past couple of years have been marked by much closer ties between the Union and the school – and the Union recognises that today’s pupils are the future members and officers of the Union, so such ties to the school are essential for the our future well-being. 

It is my intention to continue that path and have the union support any relevant events the school would like the union to be involved with. 

I  would also like to assist any groups of past pupils, be they recent leavers or those celebrating anniversary years or other occasions to have reunion meetups that can include visiting the school and seeing than many changes that have been made over the years. 

Another aspect of the past 2 years has been the completion of the set-up of the CUS Union Benevolent Fund. The benevolent fund has received the backing of the Marist order via a very generous donation of €10,000 which the Union has agreed to match from various events and membership contributions and I hope to use the upcoming annual dinner as a formal launch of the fund and the assistance it can provide past pupils. 

There are two other areas I intend to concentrate on in my period as President, The first is the creation of a CUS Network amongst the graduates of the school that can be used both in a mentoring and business connection capacity and it is something we can do in conjunction with the school itself. 

And the second is increasing the number of paid up members of the union. Membership subscriptions are the lifeblood of the Union and it is only with this income stream that the union can make regular contribution to the many causes it supports including the benevolent fund and I would urge as many of you as possible to contribute to the Benevolent fund by becoming paid members of the Union. 

Finally, I hope to see many of you at our upcoming events; Christmas lunch on Friday 7^th December, Table Quiz at end of February and the annual dinner on April 12^th. 

Best Regards 

Peter McAuley, Class of 86 

President CUS Union