€120k awarded in grants in Cavan Belturbet district
Almost two dozen local community organisations in Cavan Town and to the west of the county shared €120,000 awarded in grants awarded by Municipal District councillors.
Elected members signed off on the final list, which was put to them by Senior Executive Officer, John Donohoe.
It includes sums of €10,000 each awarded to Cuan Cancer Care for upgrade works and alterations to their premises; the erection of a handball wall at Tullacmongan Resource Centre; and the installation of a new wooden floor at St Patrick's Community Hall at Glangevlin.
A sum of €8,000 was awarded to the Cavan Town Team to illuminate the Egg Market and surrounding streets during festive periods; while Dowra Courthouse Community Group and Swanlinbar Community Hall each received €7,500.
In Dowra the plan is to increase amenity use of the building by carrying out improvements to the courtyard area, and in Swanlinbar the money will be used to purchase additional catering equipment.
Killygarry GAA is to get €6,000 towards the installation of ball stops to protect users of the walking track, as is the Swanlinbar Development Association for the replacement of old equipment inn the community run coffee shop, Cuilcagh Café.
A flurry of €5,000 grants will meanwhile be awarded to seven others. They include The Cottage Market CLG for new equipment; IUNVA Post 15 for the installation of an alarm system; Belturbet Tidy Towns for the purchase of new planters, watering units, and to seal brickwork down by the river; Shannon Gael's GAA to provide pitch lighting; Butlersbridge GAA for the building of a sports wall; Belturbet Community Development Association to carry out maintenance at the Railway Heritage Museum and to buy 10 new tables; and finally to Ballyconnell and District Development Association for equipment for Ballyconnell Market House.
The last of the grants include €3,500 to Drumlane GAA to develop a walking/running track, the same amount again for Belturbet & District Men's Shed to furnish two recently acquired containers as workshops, and €3,000 each to Templeport Development Association for a gable wall mural and to the Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre to restore the labyrinth feature to the front of the building to mark the 150th anniversary commemoration.
Mr Donohoe said there had been “huge interest” from community groups across the area in applying for funds. There were, he said, three times the number of applications as before, and understood that some would be understandably disappointed having missed out this time.
But he said there would be other opportunities, and welcomed the fact that the distribution of the €120,000 had a “good geographical spread”.
Cathaoirleach of the MD, Áine Smith, welcomed the allocations.
Her Fianna Fáil party colleague Patricia Walsh said that the sums, while they might seem small, do “make a big difference” to the work of those who received them.
“Funding like this keeps groups going.”
Fine Gael's Madeleine Argue said that the council had been “very fair” in how the money was distributed.
She in particular was happy to see Cuan Cancer Care receive financial support, while also paying tribute to a past fundraiser for the local charity, the late Collette Yaylagul (née Sheridan) of Cavan Town.
Independent Brendan Fay noted said that the money would help a lot of community groups to continue to do good work; while John Paul Feeley (FF) added that he would like to see the amount available increased next year. “It does make a difference.”