€1m in funding will bring ‘significant benefits’ to three Wexford villages

Other features will include a sensory garden, woodland, village green, marquee and playground.

In nearby Cushinstown, the refurbishment of derelict farm buildings and walled garden into a multi-purpose community facility focusing on crafts, music, horticulture, events and local markets will be boosted by €250,000 in government funding. Lastly, €247,590 will fund the creation of a recreation amenity including playground, sensory garden, pocket woodland and picnic area in the heart of Carrig-on-Bannow adjoining the community centre.

Announcing the funding, Wexford TD and Minister of State for Law Reform James Browne TD said, “These forward-looking projects will result in significant local benefits for these three communities. I want to commend these three community groups for pitching these transformative plans and for Wexford County Council (WCC) in backing such initiatives. These three projects prove the Government’s commitment to back local communities in developing community facilities for the benefit of all, which will last well into the future.”

Reacting to the news, a spokesperson for Carrig-on-Bannow Community Centre paid tribute to the effort of local councillors in helping to secure the funding.

“We are absolutely thrilled with this announcement,” they said. “This is the result of a lot of hard work by Councillors Lisa McDonald and Jim Moore and Rosslare Municipal District (RMD) Manager, Noirin Cummins and her staff. Thank you to all of these people for their work on the application and for this welcome announcement today. This community garden will be a huge addition to our village and we are delighted with this news. Thanks also to our hard working, voluntary committee who put a massive amount of work into delivering this project.”

Those in Rathgarogue were similarly thrilled with the news.

“We are delighted that the many hours of work invested in our application has been acknowledged and rewarded in the best possible way,” said Rathgarogue Community Co-Operative Society Ltd. “This funding is a huge transformational boost for Rathgarogue and for the wider area. The amenities delivered will benefit people of all ages and abilities in Rathgarogue and its hinterland.

“A huge thank you to WCC and the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD) for believing in us, for their ongoing support and for nominating us to submit a Town and Village Renewal application. This means so much to our community. In particular, we wish to thank Alan Fitzhenry, Sharon Ryan, David Murphy, Jill Kellegher and Angela Lawless. A very special thank you to Dr Yvonne Byrne for her outstanding guidance and support.”

The Cushinstown Community Development Group also welcomed news of their funding, saying, “We are overwhelmed and delighted today to get official notice of the full grant of €250,000 for our Cush Croí site. As a committee we have worked extremely hard to bring the site to the community and this grant award will utterly transform our site.”

Thanking council officials from the NRMD, the group paid special tribute to “all the community for the support of our events and our fundraisers”. “We are nothing without the help and support of the community members, our women’s and men’s Sheds that are keeping the site looking so well and now will have proper facilities and rooms for their sheds.

“We are so excited to think of the transformation that this fund will bring to our community and we cannot wait to get started. The real work starts now.”

Cllr Bridin Murphy has welcomed the news that Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphrey’s TD has announced that both Rathgarogue and Cushinstown have been successful in their applications under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

“I wish to congratulate both groups involved for their deserved success. Both areas have fantastic development groups, and dedicated individuals worked tirelessly to ensure their applications succeeded”. This is our rural future in action, delivering locally and making a real difference in our rural towns and villages. “These projects are all about making our rural villages and communities great places to live, work, and raise a family. I want to thank the local communities who brought forward these proposals.I look forward to seeing work commence on these exciting projects soon.”

Deputy Paul Kehoe TD has also welcomed the news: “There are more people living in rural Ireland than ever before, more people working in rural Ireland than ever before, and more investment is going into rural Ireland than ever before.”