About the RAF Association
The Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) was founded in 1943. It is a registered charity supporting RAF personnel, veterans, and their families with welfare, financial assistance, housing help, mental‑health support, and community services. It is registered as Charity 226686 in England & Wales and SC037673 in Scotland. The Association has 245 branches worldwide and a total of 66,000 members.
About the Republic of Ireland Branch
The Republic of Ireland Branch of RAFA was founded in 1948. It is a registered charity in the Republic of Ireland; CHY 17401 and CRA Registered No: 20064648. We currently have 80 members. Our primary role is to look after the welfare and wellbeing of RAF veterans resident in the Republic of Ireland.
Membership
Associate Membership is open to everyone over 18 years old. You do not have to have served in any military of any country to become a member. Ordinary Membership is restricted to those who have served in the RAF. The only difference between the two is that Associate Members are not entitled to avail of the Association’s charity. New members would be very warmly welcomed. Membership is €30 per year and includes copies of Air Mail, the Association’s magazine, which is published quarterly.
Activities and Events
Our Branch holds social gatherings on the last Sunday of every month (except December) in the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire from 12:30 hours to 14:30 hours. In addition, we also organise visits to places of interest such as RAF stations in the UK. This year we participated in a visit to RAF Coningsby and RAF Waddington. The former has the Typhoons and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the latter has the UK Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) airborne intelligence aircraft and systems.
Building Relationships and Connections
We have built and continue to maintain very friendly and close relations with the Irish Defence Forces and their veteran’s organisations such as ONE, IUNVA. They regularly attend our events and we always welcome them. We in turn are invited to and attend major Irish Air Corps ceremonies and the National Day of Commemoration at Kilmainham.
We are always very happy and keen to hear from any organisation that can support us in any way. Organisations interested in aviation or military history are especially welcomed.
Website
The RAF Association website URL is https://rafa.org.uk
For any enquires, please contact me on my email.
Pete McWilliams
President, Royal Air Forces Association Republic of Ireland
Email: pandlmcwilliams@gmail.com
