‘HERE TO SUPPORT THE OLDER COMMUNITY IN STEVENAGE AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS’
Hello and welcome to the home of the Irish Network Stevenage (INS).
We are a local charity based in Bedwell, in Stevenage and our remit is to serve the older community in Stevenage, by providing various social and exercise activities to help maintain an active lifestyle for both body and mind.
The activities provided by the INS are run by volunteers and to take part you can become a member for a minimal annual fee. There is a small charge for most of the activities although non-members can join in, space permitting, at an additional cost. Apart from the daily activities, events such as celebratory lunches are held, St. Patricks Day and Christmas lunches plus outings.
We are pleased to announce that as we have increased our activities exponentially over the years to more than 70 a month, we have decided to move into different areas throughout the town so even more people can have access to the activities where they live.
From the attached Newsletter and the on-line Calendar, you will see that we are now at:
- Timebridge Community Centre
- The Oval Community Centre
- Symonds Green Community Centre
- Chells Manor Community Centre
- Poplars Community Centre
- Stevenage Postels Club
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the office.
We produce a monthly Newsletter which has news, a calendar of events and a description of the activities. This can be found here: March and April 2026 Newsletter
To find out more about INS, please take a look at our General Newsletter
The main event happening in March was, of course, our St. Patrick’s Day Lunch, held at The Holiday Inn. It was a huge success and very well attended with 210 guests, including many new people from Community Centres that we are now active in. The guests were entertained with fantastic live music and an excellent display of Irish dancing. We were joined by the Mayor, Nazmin Chowdhury, our MP, Kevin Bonavia, Father Michael and Kate O’Sullivan from the Irish Embassy. Richard Henry, Leader of Stevenage Council and other Councillors also came and joined in the fun.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the INS, please use any of the contact details provided on this site. You can also print off and complete the Membership Form and bring it to the office during opening times. We would love to hear from you.
CARE IN THE COMMUNITY
Our Care in the Community project provides an outreach service to the older more vulnerable members of the community.
SOCIAL & CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The aim of our social activities is to have fun! We provide various activities to keep members socially active and mentally stimulated.
THE CHRISTMAS CLUB
Our Christmas Club is a traditional Savings Club that pays out in November. Started in 2015 and managed by Lloyds Bank.
Awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2019
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Trustees and volunteers we were awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, which is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. We were one of only 281 groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Luke Donovan, Chair, said “we are so delighted and honored to receive such a prestigious award.”
Our volunteers work tirelessly to support the most vulnerable members of our community, and to have such high recognition is a testament to how important charities like INS are.