Firstestatetobe featuredinLouth
MONEYMORE are proud to be the first estate in Drogheda to be chosen to represent County Louth in the Pride of Place competition and that pride shone through last Wednesday as houses throughout the estate were festooned in bunting and crowds gathered in the Marquee to welcome the judges to the area.
The Pride of Place awards have been running since 2003 and features communities from every city, town and county in the island of Ireland.
It is now widely regarded as the country’s most prestigious community event and Moneymore will be hoping to replicate the success of Louth in last year’s competition when Clogherhead won the ‘Island and Coastal Communities’ category.
Moneymore is representing Louth under the ‘ Housing Estate’ category.
JUST how much the nomination means to the local area was evident throughout the judging process last week.
‘ The nomination has given everyone such a boost and we’re all so proud,’ said Tina Kearney, manager of the Moneymore Childcare Centre.
Marie Russell, the Chairperson of Moneymore Community House, agreed and said being included in the competition meant so much to everyone in Moneymore.
‘It’s like an Oscar to me, it really is and if we win we win and we don’t we’ll wish whoever does the very best of luck. It means so much just to get the nomination, we’ve all worked so hard over the years and worked together always. Myself and Tina have never had a cross word in all the years we’ve worked together.’
As part of their time in Moneymore, the judges paid a visit to the Cable Project, a garda diversionary scheme which helps to steer young people out of the courts system and encourages them to engage in positive supports.
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. Allen explained how in addition to tackling antisocial behaviour, the centre also tries to help young people develop leadership skills, get involved in their own community and develop positive relationships with adults.
Sophia, a former attendee spoke about her positive experience at the centre and how she then returned to do her college work placement here.
The judges also visited the Connect Family Resource Centre who provide 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 as well as the ‘Food Cloud’ scheme.