Playground opens to whoops of joy

YEARS of persistence, persuasion and plain hard work finally paid off on Friday when a new €225,000 playground opened to an enthusiastic bunch of excited children on the banks of the Mall River.

That the playground now exists is down to the work of the Am Spraoi group of parents, which was formed in 2011 and since that time has worked to secure a site and raise the €30,000 community contribution that levered the additional funding needed to develop the facility.

There have been many disappointments along the way, particularly in locating a suitable site. But despite the setbacks, the group persisted in their efforts to secure a playground for the young families of Dingle as well as visitors to the town.

Cllr Seamus Cosaí Mac Gearailt, who played a pivotal role in the campaign, was full of praise for the group which includes Dingle Person of the Year Claire Galvin, Tor Cotton, Neasa Uí Mhóráin, Laurence Wetterwald and Mark Grealy.

Am Spraoi, for their part, greatly appreciated the work of Vincent Foley of Kerry County Council who went beyond the call of duty in helping to bring the project to fruition and they were also greatly impressed with the work of Brown Bros Construction who built the playground on a previously disused site between Cuilín and the Mall River.

The opening of the new playground now raises a question about the future of Dingle’s old playground, which has been in place for the past 40 years or so in the Orchard (town park). From the outset, this very secluded playground was beset by problems - largely due to the nocturnal activities of the town’s teenagers – to the extent that parents felt it was unsafe for young children.

Over the years various parents groups attempted to have the old playground upgraded and the nightime anti-socialites expelled from the Orchard. However, they achieved only limited success, which prompted the Am Spraoi group to look elsewhere in the town for a more suitable site. They sought, and were refused, permission for a playground on two sites west of the pier but, with considerable support from Cllr Mac Gearailt, finally secured the Mall River site last year and construction work on the project started soon afterwards. THE largest group ever seen at a Kerry Hospice meeting gathered in Benner’s Hotel on last Wednesday night where Kerry University Hospital surgeon Mr Tom Mc Cormack, and Ted Moynihan of Kerry Hospice also commented on the significant number of young people who attended the event.

The meeting, organised by local woman Ursula O’ Connell, heard about the developments in the treatment of cancers in Kerry and particularly about the resources that have been built and services offered because of the contributions made by Kerry people to the Hospice organisation.

These services include the Suaimhneas Day Care Unit which provides personal care, complimentary therapies, spiritual support/pastoral care and hairdressing as well as meals and group activities. The aim is to enhance cancer patient’s independence and quality of life.

In September this year they hope to open the Suaimhneas Palliative Care Unit, which will have 15 fully equipped bedrooms each with their own private access to a covered external courtyard. The aim of this centre is to facilitate quality of life up until the end of life for people with terminal illness. “Too many people in need of palliative care die in hospital, instead of in their own homes or in a specially designed centre,” said Mr McCormack.

Anyone who would like to assist with fundraising for Hospice Services can contact Ursula O’Connell at 087 7450126. The sort of assistance that is required could involve manning a collection box on Daffodil Day or organsing a coffee morning said Ursula who tribute to the great work done by the Ashe family from Kinard who raised over €37,000 through a draw they organised to benefit the Hospice. The draw for a cow and her calf was held last autumn but “they are still sending us money,” Ursula said.