The Five Quirkiest Clubs And Societies

ANIME AND MANGA SOCIETY
Provides a forum for all things Anime and Manga with Foreign Film, Cosplay (Manga roleplay) and Japanese culture nights. The society organises weekly screenings of popular anime movies and other Manga-inspired events. NUI Galway’s Manga Soc is one of the country’s oldest. It started out as a small society and quickly gained official status after performing the ‘Soran ParaPara’ dance for the Japanese Ambassador during the 2009 Japanese Film festival.

JUGGLING SOCIETY
The Juggling Soc isn’t a place for people who know how to juggle. It’s for those who want to learn. At this colourful and lively meet-up you can perfect hula-hoop tricks, acrobatics and try your hand at stilt walking. Who knows, you could be the next street performing world champion! NUI Galway’s Juggling Society has won many awards since its inception, including ‘Best Irish College Society’ at the national BICS awards. As well as being brilliant fun, juggling has also been shown to nourish the brain and is a great form of meditation. You’ve no excuse now, give it a go!

PLAYDO SOCIETY
Last year’s ‘Best Society’ winner at NUI Maynooth was the popular Playdo Soc. This isn’t just a place where bunch of students get together to play with mala as you might imagine (although that does sound fun!) This is an art, craft and photography group which has had a long and illustrious past holding weekly classes in glass painting, drawing, light graffiti and other quirky and expressive art mediums. It caters for all abilities and is always open to trying something new. Each year members enter their creations in the infamous Maynooth Castle Fair, a lively annual showcase of local art.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE CLUB
You’d be surprised how many frisbee lovers are out there! The sport is played by over five million people worldwide and in most Irish universities. There are plenty of opportunities to compete, with tournaments taking place across Ireland and in Europe throughout the college year. Beginners beware: it’s not as easy as throwing a disk back and forth. There are rules. For example you can’t run with the disk, and you can only move one foot while holding the frisbee. If you’re looking to try something different, or you’re a seasoned player who wants to work on your ‘electric slide’, this one’s for you!

MOUSTACHE CLUB
As far as we’re aware, this club doesn’t (yet!) exist in an Irish university. However at Carleton College in the state of Minnesota, hipsters rejoiced at the formation of an offbeat Moustache Club. With weekly meetings by and for those of the hairy-lipped persuasion, the organisation has a number of goals: the betterment of society through volunteer labour and the promotion of glorious facial hair. An amusing website has galleries of famous and not-so-famous moustached individuals. Oh and females are welcome too, provided they make a ‘valiant effort to produce a moustache’. Good luck girls!