The road towards the formation of Scouting Ireland has been long, writes Religious Affairs Correspondent Patsy McGarry
It is expected that Ireland's new scout association, Scouting Ireland, will be launched formally on January 1st next year. It will have an estimated 40,000 scouts and leaders, 97 per cent of whom are Catholic.
In a joint statement following a vote in favour of merger proposals by delegates at meetings of Scouting Ireland (SAI) and Scouting Ireland (CSI) yesterday, the chief scouts of both "welcomed the vote for a new association as the foundation for a new century of scouting for all young people in Ireland regardless of race, colour or creed".
Mr Peter Dixon, chief scout of CSI, said the new association "will take scouting in all parts of Ireland into new areas of opportunity and growth whilst cherishing the individual traditions of both Scouting Ireland (CSI) and Scouting Ireland (SAI)".
Mr Donald Harvey, chief scout of SAI, said yesterday's vote had confirmed "the true spirit of scouting and demonstrates the desire of both associations to continue to play a vital role in the community and their ability to put the interests of all of Ireland's young people first".
Scouting Ireland (SAI) began in 1908 as the Dublin City Boy Scouts, and became the Irish Free State Scout Council in 1921. It was then perceived as having a predominantly Protestant "pro-British" membership.
Scouting Ireland (CSI) was established in response in 1927 as the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland. It has always operated under the auspices of the Catholic bishops.
Both groups have enjoyed a close working relationship for decades. In 1965, this was formalised through the formation of the Federation of Irish Scout Associations, through which both maintain an active involvement in the World Organisation of the Scout Movement.
In May 1998, and influenced by the Belfast Agreement, formal negotiations on a merger began, culminating in yesterday's votes. An interim committee, made up of 10 members from each group, will be formed to oversee the merger.
Mr Eamonn Lynch, chief executive of CSI, said its national officers had four meetings with the Catholic bishops about merger proposals in recent years, the last in March. He said relations with the bishops had been very good "and we hope that continues. It has been very fruitful."
The negotiations between both scouting groups over the past five years had been "a long difficult process", he said, and had succeeded "through compromise".
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Dermot Lacey, was delighted with yesterday's CSI vote. The group's unit chairman in Donnybrook, he had driven back from the Labour Party conference in Killarney at 2 a.m. yesterday so as not to miss the vote which he expected to be as close as it was. "I have been working 25 years for this. It's a great day for scouting, a great day for young people, a great day for Ireland."
Mr Richard Pumphrey, a delegate from Cork, was not so sure. But he was "glad it's over". His fear was that the new interim committee could mean they would end up with three scouting associations rather than one.