Plenty to shout about – Smith

The town of Ballyjamesduff has undergone a mini Renaissance in the last year and the prospect of an outdoor summer and what it may bring is lifting the mood of the south east Cavan town.

Over half a million euros has been invested in infrastructure and the Ballyjamesduff Community Council is working closely with Cavan County Council on a number of projects for the betterment of the town.

The town’s former Courthouse has been revitalised as a community facility thanks to Leader funding; the public tennis courts have benefited from investment that opens the space to other sports like basketball and handball, and the site has been earmarked for an exciting community initiative that includes a community outdoor cinema.

Fine Gael councillor Trevor Smith highlighted the positive developments in the town. “The community council has been very active in the last year,” he said.

“The courthouse work is finished, the tennis courts are nearly completed and the work on the extension of the Nuns’ Walk at the County Museum is advancing.”

It has been a busy time for Cllr Smith who was recently elected to the role of Cathaoirleach of the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District Area: “I’m proud and honoured to be the first person from Ballyjamesduff to be Cathaoirleach of the MD and I thank the voters in my area for giving me this opportunity.”

In the past year, the town has upgraded the re-cycling facility at the mart with Cavan County Council’s Waste Management section in conjunction with Ballyjamesduff Mart and the Community Council all moving the project along. “A lot of local contractors were used for this work. For example, Cullivan’s worked on the recycle centre and extension of Nuns’ Walk, Sandar Construction is building the fire station, the McCabe Group completed the contract for the tennis court project,” Cllr Smith tells.

The announcement on the fire station was made last week. The state-of-the-art, two-bay fire station will include a drill tower, drill yard, parking areas, and will be located at Derrylurgan, Rassan Road, Ballyjamesduff. Construction has commenced on-site with an estimated completion date of late 2022.

Local hospitality businesses are hoping that the outdoor infrastructure modifications will create a buzz around the town and inject some life onto the town’s streets: “You have to compliment the people who kept things going during the pandemic. We wish the people who are opening up now the very best of success,” the Fine Gael representative said.

Cllr Smith says there is a palpable difference in the public in recent times: “Ballyjamesduff Blotto stopped during the shutdown. Funding from the Blotto in the town goes to numerous community groups and is operated by the Community Council. We started back four weeks ago with an online , but in the town we sell them on Saturday.

“The mood of people has improved so much. A lot of people are now vaccinated. People seem more content and are happy out mixing again.”