CURRENT INITIATIVES (April – June 2026)
Enrolment Opportunity for Young People
Young people, aged ten years and older, and who have parental / guardian consent, will be very welcome to enrol as Young Pioneers at our June Mass and Social Get Together in St. Michael’s Church, Ballinasloe, and The Emerald Ballroom, Ballinasloe. H53 KC98, at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 10th June 2026.
Young Pioneers commit to four things:
- abstain from alcohol until their eighteenth birthday
- abstain from illegal drugs for life
- pray for people afflicted by addiction
- give witness to the love of God by wearing a special pin.
We also invite interested young people and parents and guardians to check out the web page of Ballinasloe & District Pioneer Youth Club .
Notice for Pioneer Jubilarians
If you are marking ten, twenty-five, fifty or sixty years as a Pioneer and would like to have the special pin, clasp, brooch or medal associated with your jubilee blessed and presented at our June Mass and Social Get Together there are three things you need to do:
Step 1
If you do not have the relevant pin and certificate please purchase from the Pioneer Shop and have them posted to you. Please ring 01 805 4226 or email shop@pioneers.ie or place your order online at https://www.pioneers.ie/purchasepinscerts . The web page includes information regarding related costs.
Step 2
Contact Justin Harkin on 087 6171526 / pioneers@creideamh.ie on or before 1st June to communicate that you have your pin, clasp, brooch, medal and/or certificate and that you desire to have them blessed and be presented with same at our celebration (see below for contact details for Justin).
Step 3
You will need to be present in St. Michael’s Church, Ballinasloe, at 6.50 pm on Wednesday 10th June , i.e. forty minutes before Mass. You will be asked for your pin, clasp, medal or brooch and / or certificate so that it can be placed near the altar for blessing.
Pins will be presented after Communion and before the final blessing. Photographs will also be taken.
Family members of Pioneers marking Jubilees are most welcome and we would be delighted if you joined in our Social Gathering immediately after Mass in The Emerald Ballroom.
NOTE TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS
For many years it was customary for Catholic families, schools and parishes to encourage children to take a pledge refraining from alcohol until their eighteenth year and to abstain from illegal drugs for life at the time of their Confirmation.
While fear of the effects of alcohol and drug misuse provides a sound basis for such encouragement, there is also another basis, a spiritual one rooted in love of God and neighbour. This is the way of the PTAA.
Mindful of this and greatly encouraged by Bishop Michael Duignan, we offer presentations, when requested to youth groups and to primary and secondary school students on our Association, its spirituality and outreach.
Outreach since May 2024 has culminated in more than one hundred Young People choosing to join our association until their eighteenth birthday, and to seventeen joining the Ballinasloe & District Pioneer Youth Club which meets fortnightly during the school year.
If this is your first time to learn about this outreach, and you would like your children and their friends to know more about the PTAA please contact our secretary (details below) and we will see what we can do to support you.
INFORMATION FOR PRINCIPALS AND PRIMARY TEACHERS
If you would like to to arrange a free in-school age-appropriate PowerPoint presentation on the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart for your Fifth and Sixth Class pupils during 2024/2025 please contact Justin Harkin on 087 6171526 / pioneers@creideamh.ie .
The PowerPoint presentation is timed to take twenty to twenty-five minutes and our presenters (who are Garda Vetted) are open to following the presentation with a ten-minute conversation with the children.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR EXISTING PIONEERS AND ADULTS INTERESTED IN JOINING / REJOINING PTAA
Any adult over 18 who has abstained from alcohol for the past year may apply for lifelong membership. The commitment sought of members is:
- to abstain from all alcoholic drink
- to wear the Pioneer emblem
- recite the Pioneer prayer twice daily.
Some members also choose to participate in Pioneer Social Gatherings, e.g. an annual ball, and / or spiritually nourishing events, e.g. retreat days, but these are not essential to membership.
PHOTOS FROM PAST GATHERINGS
WELCOMING OF NEW MEMBERS, JUNE 16th 2023
The enrolment ceremony took place during a specially organised Holy Mass in St. Michael’s Church, Ballinasloe. Our guest presider was Most Rev. Michael Duignan, Bishop of Clonfert and Galway dioceses, and our guest homilist, Fr. Robert McCabe, Central Spiritual Director of our Association(PTAA herein).
We acknowledge the wonderful support of St. Grellan’s (Ballinasloe & District) Council of the Knights of St. Columbanus and Ballinasloe Credit Union in relation to this endeavour.
Winners of our Primary Schools and Clubs’ Quiz Competitions 2024 in The Emerald Ballroom, Ballinasloe, on Thursday 29th March.
Young and Adult Pioneers pictured with Bishop Kevin Doran in Donamon Castle following our shared retreat day with Pioneers of the Elphin Diocese on Saturday 6th April 2024.
Additional photos pertaining to youth activities can be viewed @ www.creideamh.ie/youth-club
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart was founded in 1898 in Gardiner Street, Dublin, by Fr James Cullen SJ, Mrs Anne Egan, Miss Lizzie Power, Mrs Mary Bury and Mrs A.M. Sullivan.
The primary aim of the Association is the promotion of sobriety and temperance through:
- faith and prayer;
- self-denial leading to inner freedom;
- setting beneficial example to others;
- presenting alternatives to the drinking and drug scene, particularly to young people.
The duty of a Pioneer is to build a society where people live to their full potential. We reach out to those who suffer from alcohol-related harm.
The Pioneer, like all Christians, is convinced that the love of God, as revealed in Jesus, is central to their lives.
For more information please visit www.pioneers.ie .
PTAA Clonfert Diocesan Council
Following a diocesan wide consultative meeting in Gullane’s Hotel, Ballinasloe, on 4th July 2023, a PTAA Clonfert Diocesan Council was formed to support Pioneer activities and promotion of membership in the diocese going forward.
The current members are:
Chairperson
Sean Kelly (Clontuskert)
Deputy Chairperson & Secretary
Niall Duddy (Killimordaly-Clooncagh),
Youth Activities Co-ordinator
Damien Farrell (Laurencetown)
Spiritual Director
Fr John Naughton PE
Other Council Members
Ann Gately (Laurencetown-Kiltormer)
Francis Donohue (Duniry-Abbey)
Justin Harkin (Ballinasloe-Creagh)
The Council would very much appreciate and welcome the participation of more women at Council level.
FURTHER ENQUIRIES
Please contact the PTAA Clonfert Council via Niall Duddy (Secretary) on 087 6744886 / pioneers@creideamh.ie .
Updated: 4th April 2026