About Us - Cape Town

The Committee of the Irish South African Association is elected annually at the Annual General Meeting held in November. The Committee then elects the office bearers (Chairperson, Vice Chairperson & Treasurer) at the first Committee Meeting following the AGM. As well as running the Association on a day to day basis the Committee also co-ordinates & runs all the functions held throughout the year. Help from our Members is both welcome & encouraged..........after all many hands make light work. If you would like to become more involved in the work side of the Association please let us know......it is not all work by the way - we do have a lot of fun along the way & we also forge new friendships.

The Irish South African Association is fully supported by our Ambassador Mr Brendan McMahon, his charming wife Irene & the entire Embassy staff both in Pretoria & Cape Town (www.embassyireland.co.za). We also receive on-going support in the form of an annual grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, Ireland (www.dfa.ie). Despite their already busy schedules, both the Ambassador and/or his wife do their best to attend as many of our functions as they possibly can. As an Association we are very grateful for all the support we receive.

Since its inception the ISAA was based in Cape Town & all our functions took place in or around the Mother City. As we had a number of members as well as very keen interest from the Gauteng area a Chapter of the ISAA was launched there on Nov 20th 2008. This Chapter works in exactly the same way as the Cape Town Chapter has worked since its inception in 2001. Please check in to www.ireland.co.za for Gauteng events too.

Throughout the year ISAA Gauteng will also be hosting lunches, brunches, pub nights etc. as well as a St Patrick’s Day Function on March 17th 2012. All information pertaining to all functions whether in Johannesburg or Cape Town will be posted on this website so wherever you live in South Africa, please check in regularly to www. ireland.co.za for updates.

Our 10th Annual St Patrick's Dinner & Dance which also marked a milestone 10th Birthday for the ISAA took place for the third year running at the Pigalle Restaurant, Somerset Road, Cape Town on March 17th 2011. 300 people dined, wined & danced the night away in what can truly be describes as opulent surroundings.
From start to finish the event certainly lived up to our promise of a “night to remember”. On arrival guest were greeted by the sounds of Irish Music played by ‘The World at South Band’.  Our MC, Professor Alan Morris, confidently took charge of the proceedings for the evening, starting by introducing the President and her committee who were ‘Piped’ in by Piper Will Carter. We then enjoyed a 5 Star meal, prepared by head Chef Paul, which was a triumph. A special performance by the Limited Edition Drum Corps delighted the audience (these young men had recently won 3rd place in Cape Town has Talent 2011), followed by a wonderful display of Irish Dancing from the 'Dance Trax studio’, after which we handed over to the resident band. The Auction, organised by our dynamic committee member Andrew woods, with wonderful  items donated by our members helped to raise R15 000 for the ISAA. Our principal Guests of Honour were our new Ambassador of Ireland, Mr Brendan McMahon, his charming wife Irene McMahon and Mr Luke Feeney (2nd Secretary at the Irish Embassy). The evening was truly wonderful & the event was deemed a huge success by all present who celebrated the night away into the wee early hours of the morning.

We are in the process of organising the 11th Annual St Patrick's Dinner & Dance and will be announcing details shortly. All ISAA Members & all 2011 guests will be notified accordingly in Mid-January 2012. You will than have the opportunity to purchase your tickets before any advertisements go in the public press. Please check into www.ireland.co.za to keep up to date.

Plans to launch an ISAA Chapter in Durban are at the advanced planning stages with the launch planned in the near future. Details will be posted on www.ireland.co.za as soon as they are finalized.

Should you have any questions or queries regarding the Association please do not hesitate to contact us. You can email us on members@ireland.co.za or you can phone us on 021-713-0154. Please leave a message if this phone is unattended when you call - we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Slan go foil,

Maureen Sharpe - Chairperson - Irish South African Association, Cape Chapter