Press Statement - 8th December 2011
OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF CONSTRUCTION STAGE OF KINAWLEY COMMUNITY HALL
The Construction Stage of the Community Hall in Kinawley was officially launched on Thursday 8th November. The 700m2 project in the centre of the village has been an aspiration of a whole host of community and voluntary groups for many years and the official launch was an occasion of great excitement and anticipation.
Despite the inclement weather the launch was attended by representatives of all the community groups, schools, local business and church leaders as well as representatives of each of the voluntary and charitable organisations that will utilise the facility when complete and who have already given their support to it. Representatives from each of the funding groups who have generously supported the project by way of matched funding commitments were also in attendance including the principle funder; the SWARD Rural Development Programme.
As a lifetime community and voluntary activist in Kinawley; Hugh Murphy officially cut the first sod on the site launching the construction stage which will last approximately ten months.
The main contractor for the project; Sean Quigley Contracting as well as the principle architect; John O’Brien discussed the plans with the supporters and community groups . With construction stage now officially started it is now hoped that the project will be complete for opening celebrations by Christmas 2012.
Commenting at the launch the Chairman of Kinawley Community Hall Association; Kevin Lunney said;
“This is certainly an historic occasion for the whole community here in Kinawley and the start of construction of the new hall is a source of great excitement for all those involved and a source of immense satisfaction to all in the Association who have worked so hard to get the project this far.
I would like to again express our appreciation to the various funders and supporters of the project and in particular the SWARD Rural Development Programme without whose help the project would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the Fermanagh District Council and the Fermanagh Trust as well as St Naile’s Parish Church, and the Kinawley GAA Club for their generous support. I would also like to thank all of the individual supporters and local businesses who have become members of the Founder Members Club and all others who have donated to the project. We need your continued support and we trust that you will continue to be generous as the project takes shape.
On behalf of the Association I would like to thank everyone here of their attendance at the ceremony and we look forward to the next big event when hopefully we will have a new facility here on this site which we will all be proud of.”
Ends
This project was part funded by South West Action for Rural Development (SWARD), local delivery agent for Axis 3 of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 by the European Union and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Notes:
The Kinawley Community Hall Association is a voluntary organization with 22 members from the Kinawley area who are overseeing the development of the new hall in the village. The Association is a registered charity and is a fully cross-community organisation.
The finished hall will include a 336m2 main sports hall with additional stage and meeting rooms.
The overall project budget is £700,000 and is funded from voluntary donations and fundraising activities locally with matched funding from SWARD Rural Development Programme. Fermanagh District Council, The Fermanagh Trust, St Naile’s Church, the Big Lottery Fund and the Kinawley GAA Club have also provided support in addition to a huge local community fundraising effort. The project is also being supported by bridging loan from Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT).
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