Background
During
the period 1992/93 a series of meetings of retired officers took
place in different areas, mainly in reaction to a ruling by the
Department
of Defence, which limited the application of MSA (Military Service
Allowance) to those serving on, or after, 1/8/90. This ruling excluded
from eligibility a large number of retired officers who, in service,
had endured the same hardships and conditions,(for which the MSA
was introduced), as their serving counterparts. It highlighted
the need for an association to represent the views of retired officers.
Most
prominent among the organizers at that time were Col Kevin Hanley,
Col Jim Fagin, Lt Col Frank Neill and Lt Col Jackie Deveraux.
The initiative
of these ‘Founding Fathers’ of ARCO led to the inaugural
meeting of ARCO which took place at the Aisling Hotel, in Dublin,
on the 9th of November 1993. At this meeting the First Executive
Committee
was elected:
| President |
Capt. Ray Tumulty |
| V.President |
Col Kevin Hanley |
| Hon Sec |
Comdt Leo Quinlan |
| Hon Treas |
Col Jim Fagin |
| |
| Regional
Reps |
| |
| East |
Col John Ryan, Lt Col Jim Coyle |
| Curragh |
Col Roger McCorley, Col Pat Jordan |
| Cork |
Lt Col Tommy Dunne, Comdt Eoin Allen |
| Limerick |
Col Mick Gill, Capt Dermot McKeown |
| Athlone |
Lt Col Jack O’Donoghoe, Comdt John Keily |
| Galway |
Lt Col Ned Cusack, Capt Ray Buckley |
At
subsequent meetings the Executive Committee finalized the Association
Rules, which were adopted by
an Extraordinary General Meeting held at Cathal Brugha Barracks on
9th of April 1994.
On
the 24th of June 1994 the Association was launched in the Constitution
Room of the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin followed
by a reception at the
Mansion House.
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