It was very much by accident that the Galway hosted this, the 86th Annual General Meeting Weekend of the IRTS. It was to be held in Cork but they decided against it and passed it over. The Galway VHF Group put their name forward at the last minute following a brief call to the Galway Bay Hotel. This is, in fact, the 4th IRTS Function organised by Steve EI5DD. The first was in 1985 in the Warwick Hotel, Galway (sadly the Warwick closed in 2008), the Second was 1992 in the Royal Hoey Hotel, Athlone, the Third in the Galway Bay Hotel 2014 and this one in the Galway Bay Hotel for 2018. The service and facilities were excellent as on the previous occasion.
On Saturday the 14th at 2pm a series of talks were given on the Following topics. "Getting Started with Digital Radio" by Steve Wright, "The 7Q7EI Dxpedition", by Enda Broderick EI2II, "The FT8 Digital Mode" by Keith Wallace EI5KO, and "Having fun in Space" by Graham Shirville, G3VZV. The talks were of 45 minutes duration and saw a good attendance and great interest. Special thanks to all of the lectures who presented their specialist subjects.
Steve EI5DD lecturing on DMR
The Annual Dinner took place at 7:30 pm and this was attended by 69 people. The food and service was excellent. It was a shame that a number had booked tickets and didn't show which placed a burden on our group given that we had to book for 75 and naturally the Hotel held us to this number.
Steve EI5DD lecturing on DMR
Enda EI2II and Pat O'Connor EI9HX lecturing on the 7Q7EI Dxpedition
Keith Wallace EI5KO lecturing on the FT8 Digital Mode
Graham Shirville G3VZV lecturing on Satellite Operation
Steve, EI5DD, welcoming the guests
Steve & Hilary Wright
John Anderson, MI0AAZ, and Mary
Joe Fadden, EI3IX
Tom Rea, EI2GP, and Loretta
.
.
A view of the function room
IRTS President Gerry Gervin EI8CC
A really great night was enjoyed by all following the excellent meal. A quick draw for spot prizes took place which added to the fun of the evening.
.
.
The following day was devoted to the Rally and AGM so it was an early start to ensure that the tables were marked and ready for their traders. One had to ensure that nobody encroached on the allocation for a neighbouring trader.
.
.
Early Morning and the traders just arriving. Mike EI0CL was the first in and had a huge stand
Joe EI3IX at the Mayo VHF Group Stand
Steve EI5DD and John Anderson MI0AAZ at the Brandmeister Digital Radio Stand
Mark Bannon and John Anderson in deep discussion about DMR Repeaters
.
.
Jimmy Kelly, running the Mayo Radio Experimenters Club Stand
Jimmy Kelly and Padraig Baynes
.
This and the next 7 Pictures show a sample of Mike, EI0CL's, goodies 
Peter Green EI2IU
Arek, EI9GWB, selling customised shack accesssories see items below
A handmade Shack Sign made for EI5DD
Sean with his 2nd hand commercial radio products
The IRTS Stand manned by Pat Fitzpatrick
Silent Key Equipment at the end of the IRTS Stand
During the Rally CW tests were run by Dave Moore, EI4BZ, and there were two applicants who passed with ease. The Annual General Meeting of the IRTS took place at 2pm and the rally closed shortly after this time. It would be appropriate to thank all of the traders and Radio Clubs who were kind enough to attend and make this rally so successful. There was an excellent turn out for this rally. The proceeds of the weekend will be going towards our new DMR Repeater, antenna and feeders.
The AGM in full swing
John Brown EI7FAB receiving his trophy for the 1296 MHz contest
Steve EI5DD receiving the Kevin Freeney Trophy for Experimentation and Innovation. This was for time devoted to the promotion of Digital Radio both locally and Nationally.
This was a really enjoyable weekend and we thank the Galway Bay Hotel for their excellent service through out he weekend and during the organisation of the event. Special thanks to all those who attended the lectures, the AGM dinner and the large crowd from far and wide who attended the rally. We also thank the traders who put on a great show and contributed to the huge success of the Rally.
We thank Joe EI3IX and Joe EI7GY for their pictures shown above.
