Success for the Midlands Chapter of the Irish Woodturners' Guild at seminar

The Midlands Chapter of the Irish Woodturners' Guild (IWG) achieved success at a seminar.

The Chapter won first prize for their Chapter Challenge at The Irish Woodturners’ Guild (IWG), National Seminar 2022, which was recently held in County Monaghan.

The IWG Chapter Challenge 2022 was to create any agricultural item, modern or historical, found or used on a farm. 

The Midlands Chapter members created a spectacular model of a Pierce and County Wexford Seed-Sower; the result was a beautiful scaled working model turned entirely from wood and made within given dimensions.

There were thirteen members who partook in the Chapter Challenge: Liam Quirke, Paddy O’Connor, Eugene Wall, Mike Kelleher, Noel Roche, Martin McNamara, Majella Smith, Tom Sheehy, Dermot Honan, Paddy Holohan, Patricia Berns, Martin Flaherty and Noel Fay Jr. 

Another great achievement for the Chapter was Naas man Liam Quirke winning first prize in 'The Green Belt Forestry Competition' and first prize in 'The IWG 2022 National Seminar Artistic Competition', with both of his pieces showing the natural beauty of Irish oak.

Another prominent victor was Emmet Kane who won with John Sisk & Son, 'The Business to Arts Award for Best Use of Creativity in the workplace Category', a fantastic achievement to add to his many successes.  

Emmet Kane with his artistic piece 

Explaining the appeal of the Chapter, the group said: "The Midlands Chapter has a very friendly environment. 

"It is a great place to learn, watch live demonstrations and develop your woodturning skills. 

"The Midlands monthly meetings are held every second Monday of the month at the Carpentry Store, M7 Business Park in Naas, County Kildare."

They added: "The IWG would like to welcome new members and are offering three free visits to any of the Chapter meetings.

"Local Chapter details can be found at www.iwg.ie."