Portarlington 4th Laois Scouts

19/06/2026

What a lovely final Beaver meeting at the Den before Spraoi Óige Camp next weekend! 🦫

Our Beavers received a photo book and photo badge to celebrate a fantastic year of adventures, fun and friendship. We also said an early farewell to Karlo, Daisy, Alba, Eve and DJ, who will be moving up to Cubs in September. We are so proud of them and can’t wait to celebrate with them again at camp next weekend.

The excitement for camp is building – now we’re just hoping today’s rain has used up all the clouds and we’ll have sunshine all weekend! ☀️🏕️

16/06/2026

🌲🧭 Scout Expedition Training Night 🧭🌲
Tonight our Scouts left the comfort of the den behind and headed out on a mini-expedition to a covert woodland training location.
With some exciting adventures on the horizon, the focus of the evening was on developing practical backwoods and survival skills. After a short hike into the forest, the Scouts learned how to construct shelters using tarps, paracord, and natural materials found around them. They experimented with different shelter designs, practiced tensioning ridgelines, and even fashioned their own wooden pegs from fallen timber.
The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the hammock systems. Scouts learned how to safely rig hammocks between trees and got the opportunity to test them out for themselves. Judging by the smiles, hammocking was a big hit and may well feature in some future adventures!
As always, the Scouts showed fantastic teamwork, problem-solving, and resilience as they worked together to create shelters capable of keeping them dry, comfortable, and protected in the outdoors.
These are the moments that Scouting is all about — learning new skills, challenging ourselves, spending time in nature, and preparing for the adventures that lie ahead.
The mission was a success. The location remains classified. 🤫🌲⛺

14/06/2026

🏆 EPIC Success for 4th Laois Portarlington Scout Group! 🏆
This morning, a small representative group from each of our sections — Beavers, Cubs and Scouts — travelled to Larch Hill Scout Centre to proudly accept the EPIC Chief Scout Award on behalf of their fellow members.
We are absolutely delighted that all three sections of our Group achieved the EPIC Chief Scout Award in its inaugural year, a fantastic accomplishment and a real testament to the enthusiasm, commitment and hard work of our young people and volunteer leaders.
The EPIC Chief Scout Award is designed to encourage young people to challenge themselves, develop new skills, embrace adventure and contribute positively to their communities. Each section faced its own unique set of challenges and objectives throughout the year, and it was wonderful to see our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts rise to the occasion and successfully complete their respective programmes.
For a relatively young and growing Scout Group, having all sections recognised at national level in the first year of the award is something we are incredibly proud of. Today's presentation was a fitting celebration of the effort, teamwork and determination shown by all our members throughout the year.
A huge congratulations to every Beaver, Cub, Scout and Scouter who played a part in achieving this milestone. This award belongs to all of you.
⚜️ Well done everyone — here's to many more adventures ahead! ⚜️

12/06/2026

Another fantastic evening adventure for our Beavers 🦫🌳☀️

Tonight’s forest hike and treasure hunt had everyone exploring, laughing and enjoying the outdoors 🗺️🔎 We are so lucky to have such beautiful trails right on our doorstep 💚

Great to also welcome some new faces interested in helping us grow our Beaver section for September 👏😊

06/06/2026

What a fantastic day out for all sections of 4th Laois Portarlington Scouts at Castlecomer Discovery Park today!
Despite the rainy weather, our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts embraced the challenge and had an action-packed day enjoying a range of activities including the Junior Woodland Adventure Trail, High Ropes, Zipline, Archery and Axe Throwing.
It was great to see so many young people stepping outside their comfort zones, supporting one another and having plenty of fun along the way. Days like these are what Scouting is all about – adventure, teamwork and making memories.
A huge thank you to Laois Sports Partnership for their continued support and to Whelans Buses Portarlington for getting us safely to and from Castlecomer.
Well done to all our young people and leaders who made the day such a success!

29/05/2026

Another great evening at the den with our beavers 😊

Great progress made on tents ⛺ as preparations continue for Spraoi Camp 🏕️ and lovely to see so many parents getting organised and learning more about camp life 🎒.

Huge thanks also for supporting Katherine’s Thermomix demo 🍲 — thanks to everyone attending, the den will receive a free Thermomix worth over €1,000 🎉👏 katherines.thermomix.heaven

Really appreciate all the support 🦫💚

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

After an intense few weeks of preparation for the County Shield competition, tonight we decided to slow things down a little and enjoy the fantastic weather ☀️
That said, there was still important Scout business to be done. Our Shield Patrol Leader, who is currently working towards her Terra Nova Award, delivered an excellent presentation to the Scout Section, giving a full debrief on the County Shield competition as part of our Plan–Do–Review process. It was great for the rest of the group to hear about the experience, the challenges faced, and the lessons learned.
After that, we enjoyed a couple of games out in the sunshine before finishing off the evening with some well-earned ice pops and a relaxed chill-out session.
Another productive but laid-back night at 4th Laois Portarlington Scouts 👍