Highs and lows of life in Cranmore
“I remember a few years ago 40 or 50 burnt out cars being taken out of the estate,” says Sue Mahon.
The Cranmore resident and community worker insists: “You just don’t see that anymore. I remember around 2004 seeing regular open drug dealing on the streets here. I seldom see that anymore.”
She also recalls a time when the relationship with the Gardaí was woeful but now she says: “We have a great working relationship with the Gardaí. They provide and present our medals for the family fun day. We have two designated community Gardaí for the estate under Sgt. Philip Maree.”
The installation of security cameras in Cranmore helped with anti-social behaviour and Sue says the cameras are about to be upgraded further which is welcome news.
She dismisses the ‘us and them’ attitude of the past and says it is vitally important that the wider community understand that Cranmore sometimes has a reputation that does not accurately reflect life on the estate.
“Sligo is awash with drugs. They are being sold in secondary schools. The Gardaí have told us that Cranmore is no different to other areas in Sligo when it comes to drugs.”
The Cranmore Co-op where Sue is based has a dedicated drug and alcohol counsellor for those who wish to avail of the confidential service. The community group has also secured the position of a full time Development Officer for Cranmore. Emer from Tubbercurry has settled into the role well.
“Our ethos is to bring new people in and get people out, in other words integrate with the immediate community outside of Cranmore and bring more activities and visitors in for residents. We respond to what people want,” she says.
A good example of this was a recent raft building exercise.
Just last week the co-op organised a raft building workshop for children with John Barrett of Wild Wet Adventures. The children learned how to construct their own rafts and not only that, got the chance to try out their floating creations on the water in near by back avenue when they set sail in Lough Gill.