City2Surf 2017- Participate with The Lansdowne Club
#RunLansdowneRun
It’s City2Surf time again – Participate with the Lansdowne Club Team on Sunday 13 August.
To participate with the Lansdowne Club team, simply email us at City2Surf@lansdowneclub.com.au and you will get:
· Lansdowne Club Running t-shirt / singlet (for first 10 entrants)
· Post-race drink and refreshments on us!
· Beat your PB and train with Irish AFL legend Nick Walsh, at his new gym Sweaty Soul Sydney.
Our Lansdowne Club singlets have been worn around the world, check out the photos below!!!
Winner of Free Race Entry for Lansdowne Photo of the year goes to Brid Heffernan for her beautiful shot of the Lansdowne singlet whilst snowboarding in Japan.
We look forward to seeing you on 13 August.
Connect with fellow members on our socials:
#RunLansdowneRun
Lansdowne Club – St Patricks Day Lunch 2017
The stars were aligned for this years St Patricks day event – not only was it March 17th, but it was also a Friday and the 30th year anniversary of the club. This was our biggest lunch yet making it the largest St Patricks Day lunch of its kind in the world. We were very excited to be back at our traditional home in Darling Harbour – the brand new International Convention Centre, The rainy day made us feel right at home and with over 1,500 people attending the reception the craic was mighty. Starting off with guests enjoying Guinness on arrival in the stunning balcony bar, the food, drinks and service were all of an exceptional standard and a big thanks must go out to the staff at the ICC for their help in making the event such a success this year.
Board Member Michael Pascoe, from the Sydney Morning Herald, was MC for the day and kept the crowd entertained with his lively commentary and anecdotes about prior lunches. Peter Brennan OAM, Chairman of the Lansdowne Club, opened proceedings and we watched a wonderful video capturing the best memories and photos from the last 30 years of the Club which is available to watch on You Tube. Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of New South Wales, spoke of the unique alignment of Irish and Armenian histories and the positive influence of the Irish community on the State of New South Wales and Australia in general. We welcomed Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport who gave a very humorous speech on his visit to Sydney and a passionate plea for support of Ireland’s bid for the Rugby World Cup 2023. Leader of the NSW opposition Luke Foley and Tony Burke MP also spoke passionately about the Club and the important contribution the Irish have made to Australia.
The entertainment on the day was of its usual high standard with dancers from the Jan Currie Academy of Irish Dancing, Irish signer Mundy and Co and comedian, Vince Sorrenti all putting on great performances.
The Chairman’s Award for 2017 was presented to Kingsley Aikins, founder of the Club and he delighted the audience with his hilarious sense of humour and inspirational story of the Clubs conception.
We were thrilled to welcome back our major sponsors, Emirates, Diageo, Guinness, Vodafone and FEXCO.
After lunch, many of the attendees continued the celebrations at the ICC balcony bar, overlooking iconic Darling Harbour and the Harbour Bridge, where a few more pints of Guinness were consumed and everyone was in agreement that the 2017 Lansdowne Club St Patrick’s Day Lunch was another great success. We are already looking forward to 2018’s celebrations.
LANSDOWNE CLUB GOLF CLASSIC (8 Sept 2016)
Blue Skies and Good Guys
This years Lansdowne Club Golf Classic was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Fortunate to be playing once again at The Lakes, the weather was fantastic and the course was in pristine condition – well it was BEFORE we got there!!
A few minor changes to the day were very well received, notably the BBQ breakfast that greeted players when they arrived. The player briefing followed and our unique set of rules were explained to all. You can immediately identify the new players at this point, their faces shrouded in a blend of amusement and confusion.
The qualifying round went without a hitch and play moved along quite quickly. Sabine kept everyone refreshed with her cart stacked full of goodies and the Guinness bar and photographer were great fun stops at the half way mark.
Jirsch Sutherland, capably led by Rebecca Hindson played an almost flawless round to shoot the best score off the stick and cement their place in the play-offs. They were joined by The Good Guys headed up by Brian Fox, who also boasted a talented lady golfer in their ranks Rabia Akyol last years defending champs Tom Brady of Brefni and last but by no means least the team from Vodfafone headed up by Keith Watts.
As with every year of our play-off format nerves of steel are required, but quite often go missing when needed most. The Jirsch Sutherland team crashed out early, but Rabia Akyol impressed the watching gallery by sinking a four foot putt to win the day. Congratulations to the Winning Good Guys team and Runners up Vodafone.
The hungry hordes (I said hordes) proceeded to flood the dining room and the Lakes staff put on a wonderful late lunch. The presentation was a lot of fun and I’d personally like to thank everyone who was such a good sport through it all. Thanks also to Teresa Keating for attending on behalf of Chairman Peter Brennan and presenting the prizes. Finally, a standing ovation please for Sabine without whom the day simply wouldn’t happen. I look forward to seeing you all again next year. Photos to follow…
Philip O’Sullivan
Lansdowne Pat Chats off to a Flyer – 22 April 2016
#LDCPatChats PatChats got off to flyer this morning (22 April 7.30am), the early risers enjoyed beautiful coffee and muffins from the Pop Up Coffee Crew. Start Up Incubator company BlueChilli provided the stunning New York style office space in the heart of the city.
Eilish Bouchier kicked off the peer to peer learning and sharing with a truly thought provoking talk on Personal Branding. We hope to share the ‘scribe’ which will capture the essence of the talk with you all very soon.
The plan is to run PatChats every two months. If you’d like to register your interest to share your expertise please email eilishbouchier @ gmail.com. Hope to see you at the next PatChats.
St Patricks Day Lunch – 2016 at Luna Park
Luna Park was the venue for the annual Lansdowne Club St Patrick’s Day lunch on a sunny 17 March 2016. Over 1,100 people attended on the day, making it the largest St Patricks Day lunch of its kind in the world. The food, drinks and service were all of an exceptional standard and a big thanks must go out to Luna Park Venues for making the event such a success this year.
Michael Pascoe, from the Sydney Morning Herald, was MC for the day and kept the crowd entertained with his lively commentary on proceedings and anecdotes about prior year lunches. Peter Brennan OAM, Chairman of the Lansdowne Club, opened proceedings on the day. He was followed by Mike Baird, Premier of New South Wales, who spoke of his Irish connections and the positive influence of the Irish community on the State of New South Wales and on Australia in general. Noel White, Irish Ambassador to Australia followed the Premier with a speech which touched on the centenary commemoration of the Easter Rising and the impact it had on Ireland.
The entertainment on the day was of its usual high standard with dancers from the Jan Currie Academy of Irish Dancing, Irish band, The Rambling Boys and comedian, Paul Martell all putting on great performances.
The Chairman’s Award for 2016 was presented to Alan Joyce, CEO of QANTAS. Alan spoke of his journey to becoming the CEO of QANTAS and the success the company has had in recent years under his leadership. He also recounted some of his personal experiences and some of the Irish people who have influenced him along this journey.
We were delighted to welcome Emirates on Board as a major sponsor for the first time this year, our thanks also to our other major sponsors, David Smith, Diageo/Guinness, Keith Watts Vodafone and Luna Park.
Following the completion of lunch, many of the attendees continued the celebrations at The Deck Bar, overlooking iconic Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge, where a few more pints of Guinness were consumed and everyone was in agreement that the 2016 Lansdowne Club St Patrick’s Day Lunch was another great success and people were already looking forward to 2017.
Xmas Drinks at PJ O’Briens – Thursday 10 Dec 2015
Last night we celebrated Christmas 2015 with our annual drinks at PJ O’Brien’s on King Street. PJ’s has always been a wonderful sponsor of the club, hosting our party each year in style. We had a great turnout and everyone had a fantastic time catching up with new and old friends.
There was plenty of delicious Irish inspired food including mini Irish stews and black & white puddings and our Chairman, Peter Brennan entertained us with his usual Christmas comedy routine.
Congratulation those that won the lucky door prizes kindly donated by Taste Ireland – no doubt the Jacobs biscuits and Baileys Irish Cream will go down a treat over Christmas.
Be sure to check out the photos at the link below and on our Lansdowne Facebook page.
We would like to wish you a very happy and safe Christmas break and we are especially looking forward to next year as we will celebrate the 30th year anniversary of the Lansdowne Club.
The Lansdowne Golf Classic 2015
The 17th annual Lansdowne Club Golf Classic was, yet again, a memorable day for all those taking part – not least because of the remarkable way in which it was won……but I’ll come back to that later.
Rain had threatened all week, but the day itself provided glorious conditions in which to play. It is something of a cliche in golfing circles to commend the course and the greenkeepers who maintain it, but in the case of the Lakes it really has to be seen to be believed how incredible the course is. No wonder it has been the home of the Australian Open and is regarded by many as one of the finest in NSW.
Sabine and her team took full advantage of the service provided by Christian from the Lakes to ensure all players were warmly greeted with Irish whiskey and a light breakfast prior to the shotgun start at 8am. And it was fantastic to see some new faces mingling with Lansdowne Club stalwarts, in particular the impeccably dressed Vodafone team there to represent the Club’s new major sponsor.
The next few hours of Ambrose play delivered the inevitable heroes & villains, cheers & tears and bogeys & birdies. A break in the middle offered the opportunity to have a quick pint and pose for a team photo (it seems almost unnatural in this day and age that the photo was a) taken with a camera and b) wasn’t a selfie, but I digress).
At the end of regular play, golfers convened for another pint or two and coyly shared their scores and handicaps – team captains trying to work out if they had done enough to make the infamous Top 4 play off.
The Top 4 teams were duly announced. Tension, nerves and self doubt were evident – and that was just amongst the gallery. Two pars and two bogies saw two of the Top 4 eliminated and the Par 3 18th had to be played again. That’s when the jitters really hit. Multiple shots in the bunker (Eva Braun) had the gallery humming the tune to the immortal 1980’s Hamlet cigar advert, but the remaining two teams still could not be separated.
With stomachs rumbling and lunch waiting to be served it was decided to have a straightforward pitch and putt onto the 18th green to determine the winner. But nothing about this Play-off was going to be straightforward. Once again, they could not be split. There was only one way to settle this before nightfall. One pitch each, nearest the pin wins.
An unfortunate shank from the PJ’s team was followed by a calculated bump and run into the safety of the bunker and that was enough to earn the right to lift the famous Waterford Glass trophy for the {winning team name} team.
A wonderful lunch followed, with a welcome address from Landsowne Club Chairman Peter Brennan. Prize giving ceremony stared the inimitable Teresa Keating and everyone went home already looking forward to next years event.
Many thanks indeed to all who took part, to our generous sponsors, to the team at the Lakes and Sabine and David for all of their hard work in making the day such an enjoyable success.
See you all next year.
Philip O’Sullivan
Member’s Night – 4Fourteen Restaurant (Colin Fassnidge)
Our recent Members Night, which took place on 13 July 2015, was truly a night to remember! Australia’s foremost Irish born chef Colin Fassnidge and his wife Jane graciously opened the doors of their 4Fourteen restaurant in Surry Hills to host an exclusive dinner for Club members. Approximately 90 people attended and were treated to a hearty four‐ course tasting menu with beverages showcasing the enormous talent coming out of 4Fourteen’s kitchen.
Colin was on hand to talk us through each course and entertained diners with his story of becoming a chef, the rise of his career and his love of food. BothColin and Jane also spoke from first and experience on building their successful restaurant business all whilst balancing a busy family life. Questions from the diners reflected the Lansdowne Club spirit and greatly added to the enjoyment of the night.
It was also a special night for the Club that saw us celebrate the retirement of three longstanding board members Colman Clear, Yvonne Le Bas and Brian Mooney. Each have made significant contributions to the club since its incarnation and have been a major force in building the club to its current position as Australia’s Premier Irish Business Network. Their energy will certainly be missed.
A special thank you to Colin and Jane Fassnidge for hosting the event and we look forward to seeing you at the next Member’s Night.
Roseanne Mannion
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