12-08-2025
New president of Wexford Lions Club on the huge honour of serving the local community
Speaking of work, for years she was a driven and effective volunteer for Wexford Lions Club, before taking her chains of office as its new president.
Emily says, many of the 'questions I get asked' is about what Wexford Lions Club is all about.
'Wexford Lions Club is in operation since 1979. It's actually a global organisation and it dedicates itself to humanitarian causes, with thematic focus like, vision, hunger, diabetes and environmental issues.
'We'd have a lot of local projects, especially around pressure points for families at Christmas, we have a carers weekend, we have the spectacle recycle and the message in a bottle programme. And we're big on community and leadership development. It's 100pc voluntary and 100pc of the money raised goes directly back into those projects on the ground. Membership is open to all people with a moral compass and who want to be a leader within their community.'
The motto of Wexford Lions Club is The Community We Serve.
'I was volunteering with them for about ten years, but I have only been a member about five and a half years… For me, I would have been a benefactor of Wexford Lions Club about 14 years ago. And it was through ophthalmology.
'At the time my daughter needed to go to Moorfields for an eye transplant. The Lions Club helped fundraise for this cause and that's how I became a volunteer. I said, 'I'll never financially be able to give back, but I will give up my time'… These people didn't know me, it was literally just a cause they decided to take up. Everybody needs a helping hand at some time or other.'
Now, Emily's daughter is 'absolutely amazing' and living an independent life as a mother. The intervention at the time to save her insight was crucial, and now she is one of the youngest members of Wexford Lions Club.
'I'm used to being behind the scenes, so this new role is a huge honour and its big footsteps to fill. It's a new chapter for me, and it's great that people have put that trust into me.' There are over 30 members of the club in Wexford.
Reflecting on the night when she received the chains, she said it was 'really nice'.
'My family were extremely proud, and it was nice to have them there. It does make you feel special when you have a night like that, and it's a night for the Lions members to have a social gathering themselves and take time out.'
