RAMS remember people who lost their lives during pandemic with tree of hope

MEMBERS of the Retired Active Men’s Social (RAMS) planted a tree of hope and a memory tree to remember those who lost their lives over the past eighteen months.

The tree planting ceremony took place at the Village Green in Newcastle on Friday, September 30, and was attended by members of the RAMS, Emer Higgins TD, councillor Francis Timmons, councillor Shirley O’Hara and the Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Peter Kavanagh.

“Particularly during lockdown, we had no interaction with each other,” secretary of the RAMS, Matthew Dowling told The Echo.

“Unfortunately, five of our members passed away during Covid, not from Covid, but during the pandemic, which was devastating.

“We weren’t able to present ourselves at the church or do our singing or meet up during lockdown, so it was a big wake up call for us all with most of us being in our seventies and eighties.”

After receiving some funding from the Adelaide Health Foundation, the RAMS decided to purchase a cherry tree and a Japanese maple tree as well as daffodils and snowdrops which will be planted now to bloom in springtime.