Cooley complex can be a centre of excellence
Cooley Complex C.L.G. (company limited by guarantee) runs the Cooley Complex with the support of Pobal for the community. The Complex offers facilities for recreational, sporting and social activities that are used on a regular basis by many local groups, clubs and private individuals.
2017 was a very busy year at Cooley Complex. The year got off to a great start with news of our success in securing grants of almost €100,000 towards the provision of a new children’s playground and works to the adjacent carpark. The total projects, on completion, cost in excess €140,000, which required substantial fundraising.
A small committee was formed and set about achieving the fundraising goals, with many different events taking place throughout the year; from a Race Night, to a musical show that all of the children in the area were invited to take part in, to collecting on the streets of Carlingford during the Oyster Festival, slowly but surely the committee have edged towards reaching their fundraising goals. Though there is still quite a sizable shortfall, it is hoped that this will be made up over the course of the coming months with various smaller fundraising events.
Works on the new playground commenced in August and were completed in December with the gate to the new playground unlocked and opened to the public on Christmas Day 2017!
The Official Opening of the Playground will take place on March 22 at 3.30pm and will be officiated by Minister Michael Ring, Minister for Rural and Community Development. Everyone is welcome to attend this event.
Throughout 2017 additional classes and clubs made use of the facilities. A new basketball club was started which saw average weekly attendance of upwards of 150 juvenile children. A new dance club & stage school, Broadway Babies, waslaunched by Annie & Kate Finnegan. They have been hugely successful sinc the beginning and have gone on to win many national awards for their performances. Cooley Complex is very proud to be part of their success story and to be able to facilitate them.
A new programme of Hen & Stag party activities, which can be pre-booked for visiting groups to Cooley and Carlingford, has been finalised.
Demand has steadily increased for daily and weekly hire of the HSE approved, fully equipped catering facilities in Cooley Complex. This has enabled small, local artisan producers of Irish food to be able to get their businesses off to a great start without having to incur the cost of committing to fitting out their own facilities, until they have a viable business.
In conjunction with LMETB (Louth Meath Education Training Board) a series of funded community based education classes have been organised. Classes in
Cookery, Digital Photogra- phy, Gardening and Computers for the Elderly have been organised. The Computer Suite has recently been fully upgraded with the latest software to facilitate this learning. With the assistance of Louth County Council new tablets and laptops were purchased for the Active Retirement group who use the Complex on a weekly basis.
During 2018 there are plans to start a new roller skating club (a grant of €9,000 towards skating equipment under the Sports Capital Grant has already been secured). The new club will appeal to families and children who in particular do not partake in any GAA activities and who otherwise do not partake in any sporting activities locally.
The scope of the facilities on offer in Cooley Complex caters for the wider population in the Cooley area. The Cooley Community Crèche has increased in size and now has two full classrooms for pre-school children, operating both morning and afternoon sessions. There are activities for juveniles and teenagers, retired members of our society and everyone else in between.
The outlook for 2018 looks positive for the complex, with many additional people using the facilities. Over the next five years with the opening of the new football pitch and the continued upgrading of our facilities, it is hoped that Cooley Complex can become a centre of sporting and community excellence, based in the heart of the Cooley Peninsula, Co Louth.