Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland
Reference and Administrative Details for year 2024
Charity name: Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland Charity Commission Number: 101458 NI Contact Person: Emmet McCluskey 19 Manor Road Magherafelt BT45 6QF Tel: 028 7930 0345
Trustees:
The trustees serving for financial year 1/1/2024 – 31/12/2024 were:
Tom McCully Madeline McCully Daniel Lynch Sarah Casey Kieran Casey Emmet McCluskey Mary McCluskey
2024 Annual Review of Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland
Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland continued to supply presenting teams and interested couples and families for Marriage Enrichment and Family Formation, organised collaboratively with our associate organisation, Catholic Marriage Encounter Ireland. This included follow-up enrichment activities delivered on Zoom.
• Marriage Enrichment Weekends: 26 – 28 April 2024; 10 – 12 Nov 2024
Two successful Marriage Enrichment Weekends were held in the Focolare Centre, Co. Kildare. The April event saw a full house, with 9 participating couples along with a presenting team of 3 couples & 1 priest.
Before the Weekend, the Irish leadership team met with a participating Swedish couple (Magnus & Lisa) to plan an outreach ME Weekend to Sweden on 6 – 8 June 2025.
The November Weekend also enjoyed a bumper attendance of 7 participating couples at the same venue.
• Marriage Encounter Renewal & Bridge Programme
Renewal and Bridge programmes were successfully completed for couples completing the April and November Weekends. Couples expressing a desire to remain involved in the movement were placed in local sharing groups.
• Engaged Encounter Weekend
Enquiries were directed to the England & Wales WWME Website for both presence and online weekends, pending the recruitment of a replacement priest and couple to the Ireland Engaged Encounter presenting team.
• Family Weekend activities
o Family Weekend Reunion, 25 August 2024
A reunion was held in the Focolare Centre to mark the first anniversary of the first ever Family Weekend in Ireland. All (four) families were represented in an enjoyable afternoon of structured activities. The Italian presenting team from the 2023 Weekend were able to join via Zoom
o Festive Family Fun, 8 December 2024
A Family Fun event was delivered online at Christmas for the Irish families.
• National Board
At the National Board meeting on 20 October 2024, John & Bernie Healy were announced as the new leadership couple in Ireland.
• European Council
ME was represented at European Council meetings on 30 May – 2 June 2024 in Yarnfield (England) and on 3 – 6 October 2024, Osnabrück by our outgoing leadership couple, Emmet & Mary McCluskey.
• Sharing Groups
Community sharing groups continue to meet online, with formation from European Council meetings being cascaded for enrichment.