Old and new are doing it together in Ballyjamesduff

The population of Ballyjamesduff has expanded rapidly in recent years and the influx of hundreds of Dublin people to live in the area has given the town a renewed impetus on many fronts. The is a major drive to put the town in the forefront to win a national Tidy Towns title in the next few years, a new crèche at a cost of some €1m is under construction and now locals have combined with the pro-active Dublin people to get a youth initiative off the ground. The new youth club meets on Thursday evenings in St. Teresa's Hall on the Oldcastle road, giving a focus for youthful energies. All the members receive identity cards with their pictures on them, and different colours designate the various age groups. The chairman of Ballyjamesduff Community Council, Paraig Smith, said that three sub-committees have been established. One is looking after the Tidy Towns initiative, another to handle the new creche facility, and the third is to get the youth initiative off the ground. He said it was exciting and encouraging to see new people getting involved in activities in the town and it says a lot that they are at the heart of establishing a new youth club. Paraig said he had made contact with various bodies for them - such as Cavan Partnership. "At the moment I have more of a helping and guidance role, but I intend to get involved in leadership with the club, because I was a scout leader for 10 years." He was delighted to see a fair percentage of local people involved together with the Dublin people. "It's a great way to get people to mix and network," he said. He would like to see the pilot system in operation where the gardaí speak to the various clubs in Ballyjamesduff and all over the county. It is imperative that the gardaí make contact with young people and get to know them before problems take place, was how he explained it. Fran O'Neill has been living in Ballyjamesduff for five years and commutes to Dublin, where he is a taxi driver. He is delighted to have the opportunity to get involved as a leader with the youth in the town and says the people local people are great and welcoming. The executive committee for the youth club are all from Dublin and the general committee includes local people. The chair is Lorraine Abbey and the club goes under the umbrella name of Ballyjamesduff Youth Initiative. The location for its activities (St. Teresa's Hall) is also where the Scouts are based. Louise Brant is the secretary, and Yvonne Ward is the treasurer and PRO, Mary Kelly is the vice-chair and Linda O'Connor is the vice-secretary. Lorraine said they decided on a night out at Christmas that a youth club was required in the town. They had a meeting with Eimear Ryan and Iris O'Callaghan from Breffni Integrated to ascertain if the idea was feasible. Then they had public meeting and strong interest was expressed in the initiative. They now have two sessions in St. Teresa's Hall on Thursdays, from 6.30-8pm for 11-13-year-olds and they cater for the older group, from 14 years upwards, from 8.30-10pm. They received funding from Breffni Integrated to cover the set-up costs including equipment and insurance. Lorraine has been in the town for more than two years and likes living there. "It took me a while to settle, but now it's great," she says. She said that the Garda liaison officer is due to visit the club talk to the young people. The are now 45 young people in the club and consideration is being given to providing sessions on other nights to cater for the growing demand. As the numbers grow there will be an urgent need for new leaders and the committee are appealing to people to offer their services. Louise Brant says the young people engage in lots of structured activities and there are icebreaking activities as well. There are six leaders with each group. Yvonne Ward says they have received sponsorship from the Ballyjamesduff community, including Reasons Bar, Maguire's Barbers and Cllr. Paddy Smith; Macari's Chip Shop is offering food for the members. Yvonne is also on the Community Childcare Creche committee. Eimear Ryan, the education officer with Breffni Integrated, told The Anglo-Celt that she her colleague Iris O'Callaghan had been working closely with the Ballyjamesduff Youth Initiative since its inception. "We have provided a lot of training for the volunteers. They are a voluntary committee and they have made great strides to date. I congratulate them on the initiative and the opening of the club," said Eimear. They have also worked with Maureen McIntyre, the youth officer with Cavan VEC, in relation to child protection. They have been successful with a Peace III cross community application with Billis, a project due to start in September and to run for about a year; it will attract funding of €18,000. Cllr. Paddy O'Reilly, who also on the committee, along with Paraig Smith, pointed out that a lot of people had come to live in Ballyjamesduff in recent years. "It just shows you the type of people that have come here in view of the fact that the parents saw the need open a youth club to look after the needs of the young people," he said. He complimented all the leaders who have put in a huge effort and added: "I think the whole initiative is a great idea. This will grow and grow, as there are a lot of young people out there who need something to do."