Teach Solis shines bright on local heritage trail
A new community development company, based in Ballyjamesduff, is rolling out a new heritage trail in the town.
Local girl Clare Willis and Justyna Krol opened Teach Solis in the last quarter of 2020 but, already, they have been busy on various projects, engaging closely with the proactive community council and its dedicated band of volunteers.
“Right now we’re working from the kitchen table, but we’d hope to take up a position in the town centre in due course,” says Clare.
Mum Susan is chair of the Ballyjamesduff Community Council so she grew up in a home that took great pride in the local area, and a keen interest in community development.
Clare’s own background is in creative programming and production and, until recently, she was working on various European projects.
She’s is hugely confident in the fledgling company’s ability to deliver.“The Community Council have as always been brilliant in accessing funding. Our role, as we see it, is assisting them in focusing their efforts in a more targetted way. Luckily enough, there is a lot for us to get our teeth stuck into and the heritage trail we feel is something that could really benefit the town in terms of developing tourism potential,” Clare told theCelt.
The proposed trail through the historic Market Town will draw walkers to many of Ballyjamesduff’s finest historical landmarks dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, and to some more unique features that are often overlooked.
The old Fever Hospital on the Kilmore Road, as well as fire hydrant is in Derrylurgan, are among them.Laughing at the idea that something so mundane might constitute as heritage, Clare flourishes: “It’s over 100 years old and it’s a really good example of a specific type of steel work. The trail itself won’t be an exact loop, more a wobbly circle. It will start at the town square with an information display map, and really just includes a lot of interesting locations, some with a lot of social history like the fever hospital, and others like the hydrant that some might know about but others won’t. I grew up here but even I walked past it maybe 1,000 times before I knew anything about it.”
Funding is being sourced from €40,000 allocated to the Ballyjamesduff Community Council for Town and Village Acceleration measures, which will also see new street furniture installed.
This is expected to arrive sometime in January; while the information boards for the trail are currently being designed by Ballyjamesduff-based graphic designer, Anna O’Connell.
“We plan on launching [the trail] in the Spring. The street furniture will be in place by then but also we’ll have new street signs with the original names of each of the streets in both English and gaeilge on them. There are 19 spots that’ll be marked on the trial but only 10 for now will have actual plaques. We may build on that in the future,” says Clare.