New €850k Ballymacugh creche opened

It was a perfect day as the sun shone on the aptly named Sunny Hollow childcare facility in Ballymacugh last Saturday for its open day and official opening. Minister for Agriculture and Cavan/Monaghan TD, Brendan Smith, performed the honours on the day as proud staff, parents and members of the community looked on. The Sunny Hollow Creche, which was built at a cost of €850,000, was funded by the government under the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP). It caters for 52 children, from three months to 13 years providing full day care, part-time care and after-school care. The facility, which became operational almost exactly a year ago, caters for young families in Ballymachugh, Mullahoran, Kilnaleck, Crosserlough and Mountnugent areas. But the journey by the community and many players to get to that point is a long and encouraging story of a dream come true; that contains a catalogue of endeavour, persistence, know-how and a determination to succeed that many rural communities would do well to emulate. Illuminating the hard road travelled was the ability of a disparate rural community to combine for the common good, not along among themselves, but also with the organs of state, both local and national, in pursuit of an ideal and a piece of infrastructure that will serve the needs of that self-same community into the distant future. A few short years ago the idea of a full-scale creche and after-school care facility in a rural setting such as Ballymachugh would have been considered a pipe dream and something to be mooted only for large urban centres of population. This was to reckon without the vision of an ad hoc committee of several women and one man who deduced that local was best and that Ballymachugh local was best of all. In the celebratory atmosphere that prevailed on Saturday last, it was heartening to note that the man's name was repeatedly mentioned both in the official addresses and in casual conversation. He was none other than the late Donal Gibney who, though severely handicapped by polio from the age of eleven, had worked with great distinction on such major co-operative projects as Sheelin Park, St. Patrick's Crescent and the Realtóg Centre - both of the latter in Kilnaleck. The chairwoman of the creche committee, Mrs. Noreen Mulligan, was an efficient MC for the occasion and also delivered a well-constructed address in which she welcomed all the guests and was generous in her praise for all who helped bring the project to fruition. Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, in his address, stated that during the early days of the project he was Minister for Children and, as such, was very familiar with the project itself and with the good people who were promoting it. "I would like firstly to pay tribute to the people of Ballymachugh and in particular the Community Childcare Committee, for their vision and commitment in planning and developing this excellent facility. This development is another example of what local communities can achieve by working together to address a specific need in the community. All those who have contributed to bringing this project to fruition deserve the highest praise and I want to give a special mention the late Donald Gibney, who played such a central role in sourcing the site for this building," said Minister Smith. He also commended the South West Cavan Community Development Project for its support role to the committee and complimented the architect Raymond O'Reilly and contractors Adston Ltd for their role in delivering such a fine building. Cathaoirleach of Cavan Co. Council, Dessie Boylan, added his own words of praise for the members of the committee, as did Noreen McGovern of Cavan Co. Childcare. A formal and specially prepared joint blessing of the premises was conducted by Canon Frank Gray, Parish Priest of Ballymachugh and Canon Liz McElhinney of the Church of Ireland. Two plaques were unveiled on the occasion - one to mark the official opening and one to commemorate the late Donal Gibney and his contribution. Proceedings concluded with light refreshments served to all those present.