Scouting Ireland S.A.I.
| Scouting Ireland SAI | |||
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| Headquarters | Lough Dan | ||
| Country | Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| Defunct | 2004 | ||
| Founder | Richard P. Fortune | ||
| Affiliation | World Organization of the Scout Movement | ||
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The Scout Association of Ireland (SAI; Irish: Cumann Gasógaíochta na hÉireann) was an Irish multi-denominational Scout association from 1908 until 2004, when it merged with the former Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland to form Scouting Ireland. It was named "Scouting Ireland (SAI)" in the years leading up to the merger. The SAI was formed soon after the publication of Scouting for Boys and was affiliated to the British Boy Scout Association, which meant its members were mainly unionist and hence Protestant in background. After the 1920s partition of Ireland, the SAI remained organised in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Scouting Ireland (SAI) traces its origins to the foundation of Scouting in Ireland. The initial growth mirrors that of Scouting in the United Kingdom, with groups forming organically, with young people and adults inspired by Baden Powell's writings coming together. Formal structures came later. The first Scout Groups in Dublin came together to form the Dublin City and County Boy Scouts, but it would be false to think that Scouting first established itself in the capital, with Groups in Wicklow and Louth among the first to form. Later, the County Wicklow Scout Association and the Port of Dublin Sea Scout Association established themselves in and around the capital. As Ireland remained part of the British Empire, the governance of Scouting in Ireland was headed in an official capacity by The Scout Association and its Chief Scout, Robert Baden-Powell
The first recorded meeting took place at the home of Richard P. Fortune, a Royal Naval Reservist, at 3 Dame Street, Dublin on 15 February 1908 where four boys were enrolled in the Wolf Patrol of the 1st Dublin Troop. Fortune's 1st Dublin Troop would go on to become the first group to register as part of the Port of Dublin Sea Scout Association in 1912, becoming 1st Port of Dublin Sea Scouts (Ringsend). A plaque marks the location of the house, now demolished, on the plaza next to Dublin’s City Hall. The 2nd Dublin formed the following week at 5 Upper Camden Street. Details of the formation of early Scout Patrols and Troops are sketchy, as initially there was no administration to keep such records, but other Scout Troops formed in Dublin and in Bray, Greystones, Dundalk and Belfast in the early months of 1908. The Greystones and Dundalk troops have been in continuous existence ever since.
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