Ashbourne councillors raise concerns over future of Ned's Cottage

The future of Ned's Cottage in Ashbourne has been thrown into fresh uncertainty following objections from councillors over the selection of a community group to manage the building, with members insisting it should remain accessible to the wider community.

The issue sparked a lengthy discussion at this month's Ashbourne Municipal District meeting, where councillors questioned how a preferred applicant had been chosen through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process and why the council's library service could not manage bookings and access to the property.

Council officials confirmed that no licence has yet been issued to the preferred group and that the matter will be brought back for further consideration.

Fine Gael councillor Alan Tobin said he had repeatedly sought greater transparency around the selection process, including access to the marking system used to assess applications.

"I've asked several times for some transparency on this, and I've asked for the marking system for all of the groups," he told the meeting.

Cllr Tobin questioned how an organisation which had successfully run a youth centre for 10 years could have received a significantly lower score than another applicant which, he said, had no previous experience of running a similar entity.

"I still can't understand how an entity that ran a youth centre successfully for 10 years got such a minuscule mark compared to someone who has never run an entity before," he said.

He also questioned why the council's library service could not manage the building. Director of Services Barry Lynch said the possibility had been examined, but staffing and resource constraints presented difficulties.

"We don't have any additional staff to take on" the responsibility, Mr Lynch explained.

He said the council had instead considered it more practical to identify an organisation which could look after the building and operate it for community benefit.

"Basically, the more effective way seemed to be to actually try and get someone who could look after the building, essentially, and run it for community benefit," he said. He also offered to share a detailed report outlining how applications had been assessed and scored.

Independent councillor Joe Bonner said he felt strongly that councillors' views had been repeatedly disregarded, despite members having made their position clear at previous meetings.

"We told you that we didn't want it that way," he said, referring to the proposal to have one organisation take responsibility for Ned's Cottage.

Cllr Bonner said members had repeatedly raised concerns about the approach, adding: "We have discussed it and said around the table again and again and again that the way that was being done wasn't correct."

He questioned why councillors were now being asked to meet the group identified through the EOI process and hear how it intended to operate the building, rather than having a greater say in how it would be made available to the community.

"We're the people who are elected who represent the community," he said.

" We've been ignored time and time again."

Cllr Bonner stressed that his concerns were not directed personally at the successful applicant, saying: "The core, the main issue is the use of the building for the benefit of the community."

Mr Lynch said the organisations which had submitted applications had entered the process in good faith and cautioned against reversing the outcome without considering the implications for those involved.

However, Cllr Tobin disputed that councillors had agreed to appoint one organisation to receive a licence to operate the building.

"We never gave the go-ahead to this," he said, adding that members had understood the EOI process was intended to establish which groups were interested in using Ned's Cottage, rather than selecting one organisation to take it over.

Sinn Féin councillor Helen Meyer said she felt sorry for the group identified through the process, arguing that its members had come forward with good intentions but risked receiving negative publicity over a situation they had not created.

Speaking after the meeting, Fine Gael councillor Suzanne Jamal said approximately 10 groups had expressed an interest in using Ned's Cottage.

She said councillors had envisaged the building being available to the wider community, with the library service managing bookings and allowing different organisations to access rooms as required.

"The idea was that it would be for all of the community to use," she said.

Cllr Jamal said the cottage was relatively small and was not intended to function as a full-scale community centre. The intention, she said, was that groups could book space for meetings, dancing, singing and other activities, with remote access to the booking system.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Bonner also said his objection was not directed at the selected organisation, but centred on how access would be managed. He wanted the building to come under the library service so individuals and community groups could book rooms without having to go through a single organisation.

"I would rather that the building be used for everybody," he said.

He said he was concerned that placing a community facility under the control of a small committee could make it difficult for other groups to gain access.

"If we give it out to a group, and then the group decide who comes into it and who can use it, really that's a recipe for disaster," he said.

It was indicated at the meeting that the matter would be brought back for further consideration, with no licence having yet been issued to the preferred applicant.

The cottage takes its name from Ned Nulty, who was born there in 1919 and lived in the property throughout his life. A farmer with a keen interest in local history, Ned was remembered as a generous man who enjoyed chatting with people and sharing his knowledge of Ashbourne's past. He was also involved in the clean-up of the old Killegland cemetery in the late 1970s and sold land which was later used to develop much of the Garden City estate. He died on May 27, 1998.

Ned also played an important role in Ashbourne's sporting history. When Ashbourne Rugby Club was founded in 1974, he provided land on his farm for the club's first playing pitch, while his stable served as its first changing facilities. The club's early beginnings were therefore closely connected to Ned and his property, adding to the significance of the cottage as a local community landmark.

Meath County Council acquired the property and completed remedial works to restore it for community use.