Work to begin on long-awaited Kilcloon centre

Work is starting on the Kilcloon Community Centre this week, after almost five decades of campaigning and fund raising by the local community.

The development will feature a modern, multi-purpose centre, including a large hall, meeting rooms, a youth space, and essential amenities. It is expected to serve as a central hub for local groups, schools, and organisations.

Construction on the €2.3 million facility is expected to last approximately 12 months. The contract has been awarded to CF Hoey Construction, with McKevitt King Architects leading the design of the facility.

The Kilcloon Community Centre project was successful in its application to the Department of Rural and Community Development’s Community Centres Investment Fund in 2024. A sum of €1,915,000 was granted to the project.

The contract was formally signed last week by Kieran Kehoe, chief executive of Meath County Council, marking the next step in bringing this long-awaited project to life.

The Kilcloon Community Centre Committee asked that, as they celebrate this important milestone for the project, that all members of the community be mindful of the additional construction traffic in the area over the coming months, giving particular consideration to children and parents walking to and from school and the playground.

"The contractor has been made aware of these important safety concerns and we must all play our part in public safety on roads and footpaths," they said.

A committee was first formed to seek a Community Centre for Kilcloon in the mid-1970s. Around 1985/1986 a major fundraiser was undertaken and a substantial amount of money was raised. Over the years, as various opportunities were explored, KCC registered as a limited company and achieved recognised Charity status in 2002/2003.

After a number of false dawns over the years, and many challenges faced in respect of the many sites the Committee investigated to build on, the present site opposite the Church, the most suitable site for a Community Centre, as agreed with Meath County Council, came on the market.

Thanks to the generosity of the community, the hard work of the committee and the help of the Credit Union, the land was purchased at auction. Over the following years, the Committee undertook a range of fundraising activities, including Poker and 25 Classics and a monster draw run together with the local GAA club, Blackhall Gaels.

These, together with some generous donations, allowed the loans needed for the purchase of the site to be fully repaid within four years. Several meetings with Meath County Council took place over the following years and by 2010 plans were in place to lodge a planning application with the Council. However, as with so many projects at this time, the global economic downturn meant all plans had to be put on hold.

In September 2013, the Committee met with Meath Council Council to develop a strategy to move the Community Centre project forward. This resulted in approval to begin selling sites for homes from the site in order to fund the future building of the Community Centre.

Four sites went on the market in 2014. Subject to Local Needs Criteria, these four sites had planning permission granted between 2015 and 2017 and all four are now completed and occupied.

Following the success of this first phase, further discussions took place with Meath County Council in 2018 and an overall site development plan was agreed. This allowed full planning permission for the Community Centre itself and outline planning permission for 13 further sites, subject to local needs criteria.

The Kilcloon Community Playground, the first completed part of the overall Community Centre development, was officially opened in March 2024.

Cllr Caroline O'Reilly said it was fantastic to see ground finally being broken on the project.

"The community has been campaigning for this facility for more than 40 years. It is a desperately needed facility and will give residents access to sporting and social facilities and will bring much needed life to the area."

She said the adjacent playground and houses, around it were also very welcome.

Cllr Maria Murphy said she was delighted to see the project finally getting to this stage.

"The committee has been working on this and fund raising for a number of decades. This will be a huge benefit to the area both from a community and economic standpoint.

Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said; "Fair play to the people who stuck with this for so long and got it to the stage it is now at.

"They have to be congratulated. This is a badly needed facility and I am delighted for the local community."