A newspaper report about an ICA guild closing in Kildare neatly summarises the challenges facing the 90-year-old countrywomen's association.
A Newtown guild member was quoted in a local newspaper saying that the guild closed because it could not attract young women. Ms Molly O'Donoghue said young people were no longer interested in knitting or crocheting.
She added that the rent of the meeting hall had gone up and while they were offered a cheaper room upstairs, the members weren't able to negotiate the stairs.
The problems in the Newtown guild could be replicated in many communities. The ICA has been unable to provide figures on the number of guilds closing in the past few years but membership has fallen from 27,000 in the mid-1970s to under 20,000 today.
"Guilds are always opening and closing for a variety of reasons," says ICA development officer Ms Margaret Kennedy. "Perhaps there are fewer members per guild now compared with the 1970s, but I think that we are holding our own now."
Members report that they are finding it increasingly difficult to get young women actively involved, so positions such as secretary and treasurer are constantly swapped between the same people. While the typical age profile is between 38-50, events such as the organisation's a.g.m. at the weekend are peopled with the more elderly stalwart members.
This is not a problem, according to Ms Breda Raggett, who was inaugurated as ICA president on Saturday. "You are as young as you feel. We have women in their 70s who are taking up computer courses and learning information technology." Ms Raggett says the ICA has much to offer to carers, to mothers and to unmarried women looking for companionship. The new president adds that attracting more members is not her key concern.
"If we have 20,000 women enjoying themselves through the ICA, then that should encourage others to become members," she says, "but I've several other ideas up my sleeve."
Ms Raggett will lead an organisation which faces increasing competition. More women in the workplace means people have less time to get involved in voluntary groups. Meanwhile, the increasing number of women's groups compete for the remaining time which women have.
Ms Raggett says she is not concerned about the competition from women's groups. "There is room for everyone. What is important is that we work together. The facilities at An Grianan [ICA's educational facility] are there for all women of Ireland, whether they are ICA members or not."
Despite these confident statements, as soon as she took office, she declared it was time for the organisation to set new agendas.
The Irish Countrywomen's Association has been battling against its "tea and buns" image for years. While members refer to computer courses, counselling services and adult education as evidence that the ICA is moving with the times, it is still proving difficult to shed its matronly image.
An Grianan provides a wide range of educational services in Louth, from horticultural to adult learning. The organisation also offers a free counselling service for members and their families. However, young women still perceive the organisation as being for older women.
Dr Pauline Conroy, a social policy analyst, has encouraged the organisation to take on new challenges. Addressing the a.g.m., she said the ICA should revitalise feminism and provide a voice for women on issues such as the provision of services in towns and villages.
"The ICA can articulate a strong and ambitious gender perspective on gender equality in rural life," she said.
The next 10 years will prove crucial for the survival of the ICA. The organisation celebrates its centenary in 2010. By then it should be clear if these new challenges have been grasped.