Moneymore is our ‘pride’ and joy this week

MONEYMORE Housing Estate is the first estate in Drogheda to be included in the National Pride of Place awards 2017.

The competition which endeavours to showcase community spirit across the island of Ireland, is organised by Co-operation Ireland, in conjunction with IPB Insurance. Speaking about the competition, Aisling Sheridan of Louth County Council said “We are delighted that the community of Moneymore is representing Louth in this year’s Pride of Place Competition. It is a wonderful competition which showcases all that is best and innovative in communities throughout the island of Ireland. Louth County Council has worked closely with all the different groups in Moneymore and we are confident that they will represent our county with pride. We wish them the very best of luck”.

Moneymore is eagerly awaiting their visit from the judges which will take place on August 16th. With the aim of showcasing the best of Ireland’s communities across a number of headings, Moneymore will be representing Louth under the “Housing Estate” category.

The residents of Moneymore have been busy preparing for the event over the last number of week and are keen to show the judges the many facets of daily life of a large housing estate in Ireland’s largest town.

Estate management in Moneymore is overseen by the Moneymore Estate Management Committee which is overseen by residents, including founding members Marie Russell and Tina Kearney. First stop on the day of the visit will be at the Community House which is the real hub of the estate. The judges will then visit the Childcare Centre which is a community crèche which offers affordable childcare to residents of the local area. It also allows parents the opportunity to return to work.

The judges will also spend time learning about the Cable Youth Project which is part of a Garda diversion scheme aimed at keeping youths out of the courts system. The project provides an alternative for young people in the area to antisocial behavior and crime. This scheme has been in operation successfully for a number of years and is coordinated by Allen O’Donoghue.

The judges will also visit the Connect Family Resource Centre who provides services, support and training to a diverse group of people including lone parents, early school leavers, Travellers and non-Irish nationals. They provide courses which range from pottery, crochet, nutrition to parenting programmes. They also initiated the “Food Cloud” scheme in association with the local Tesco and Aldi stores and operate food banks biweekly.

The awards ceremony taking place in Letterkenny on Saturday 2nd December.