Craanford underpass bill is now fully paid

JUST over a year after it was completed, the Craanford underpass has finally been fully paid for. A cheque for €11,150 was presented in Mary Anne’s pub in Craanford last week to the underpass committee by Raymond Byrne.

Raymond and his friends recently organised the Ford Fest three-day event in the village, and were delighted to be able to present the impressive sum to the committee.

The campaign to raise funds for the underpass began in earnest in January last year. It connects St Patrick’s NS to the facilities on the other side of the road including the community field, sports complex, the pre-school, and the church. Planning permission had already been granted, and following a public meeting, a committee was set up, chaired by John Murphy, with James Doyle as secretary and Donal Kenny and Michael Doyle as joint treasurers.

Fundraising began immediately. The work on the underpass was carried out the Easter holidays. A huge amount of voluntary time and effort helped keep costs under control, and local public representatives provided great support in terms of advice and finances.

The work was completed on time and the children returned to school after Easter to a new underpass. The official opening was carried out in June when Bishop Denis Brennan celebrated a thanksgiving Mass in St Patrick’s Church.

The total cost of the project was €166,941. Craanford Parish Council very generously loaned €79,895 to the committee to guarantee the project could go ahead. Fr Richard Lawless said that as the project progressed, the Parish Council reflected on the fact that the underpass was of immense benefit to the children attending the parish school, and it decided that it would not ask for repayment of €30,000 of the loan. This left a balance of €49,895 to be repaid.

Fundraising continued over the last 18 months, and included a barn dance, Strictly Come Dancing, Split the Pot, a fun cycle, a clay pigeon shoot, fashion show, a cookery demo, drama, vintage rally, boxing, and more. The underpass is now debt free and the committee disbanded. Thanks went to all who organised and supported fundraising events and assisted in any way.