RAIN HALTS PLAY AT OPENING OF THE NEW COOLEY PLAYGROUND
Rain stopped play at the official opening of the new playground in Cooley Kickhams last Thursday by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring TD.
However while the inclement weather stopped play last Thursday afternoon it hasn’t stopped the fun and high jinks in the playground since it opened before Christmas, as the local community enjoy their new amenity.
Last Thursday afternoon however the rain arrived with perfect timing, less than an hour before the arrival of the Minister, meaning that the ribbon cutting and photocall at the playground was very brief. No photos of the Minister of a slippery slide or being pushed on the swings by his Dáil colleagues, Peter Fitzpatrick and Fergus O’Dowd.
A quick dash to the splendid complex where the formalities, speeches, presentations and refreshments awaited as well as a large gathering from the local community, young and old.
Welcoming the Minister, Harry McCarthy, Chairman, Cooley Complex, thanked him for the funding and thanked the role of Cooley Kickhams who leased the land to Louth County Council who then brought the project to realisation with the support of the local community.
Amongst the thank yous, Harry paid a big thank you to the local community for their fundraising efforts and particularly the local schoolchildren who put on a major show which was a great success.
The new playground, Harry explained adds to the huge range of activities already at the complex, including a creche, youth club, active retirement group in addition to many, many other activities and uses.
Also welcoming the Minister was Cllr Colm Markey, Chairman, Louth County Council who praised the foresight of An Taoiseach in creating a full Department for Rural and Community Development and recognising Michael Ring TD as the person to deliver upon that programme.
‘Michael Ring is the man with the ability to breathe life back into rural communities’, adding that there is ‘no one better than the people in the communities themselves’.
Minister Ring was delighted to officially open the new playground and he was delighted to see that Cooley Kickhams were making good use of their Sports Capital Programme funding and to see that their third pitch was almost complete.
The Minister said that it was his Department’s role to help rural communities and that he had made the application process for LEADER funding easier, but that scheme such as LEADER, PHOBAL and CLAR were in place to support rural communities and jobs.
However he praised the work of Harry McCarthy and his committee in delivering upon the project and thanked them for the time and work they put in on behalf of their community.
At the opening, the Minister said, ‘ This playground in Cooley is an excellent example of partnership between the Local Authority, the local community and Kickhams Gaelic Football Club, working together to see this project to completion. As we can see here in Cooley, a modest level of investment in projects under the CLÁR programme can have a big impact in improving the lives of people who live in the community.
Concluding before a blessing by local clergy, the Minister said to the children present, ‘Enjoy the playground. Children are the future of rural Ireland. the future of Ireland’.