Playground
The Flagship Infrastructure Project for the community for 2017/ 2018 was the new playground. In December 2016, after a lot of community consultation regarding the needs of the youth in our area and a lot of planning we received full planning permission for the community playground. In 2017 we applied for many funding streams and were successful with funding from CLÁR (€49K) and POBAL (€5K) and we fundraised €11k within the community which amounted to €65k and allowed us to create a detailed specification and tender the project via e-tenders. We wanted a combination of a natural play area and a full playground and involved the children of the community every step of the way. The playground is located behind the community hall which also houses the ECCE scheme playschool so the children of the village get to use the playground every day. The flower beds were planted by the children of the community and the waste management slogans were designed by the national school children – the wining slogans are displayed on the walls of the playground. Our community Fitness Event , Let’s Get Active event finale was held on the same day as the playground opening. Without doubt this was one of the happiest days in the village for many people.
Heritage Trail Brochure.
In 2017 we produced a beautiful colour brochure of the Lawrencetown Heritage Trail. A huge amount of work has gone into this brochure capturing the most interesting and historical aspects of our village. Our committee colleague and talented artist, Paddy Walsh did the artwork on the main points of interest to ensure that the finished map is in itself a work of art, full of character. James Joyce and Aron Donnelly, two renowned history experts wrote and edited the text and the rest of the committee helped by gathering information, taking photographs, proof reading and compiling the finished product. We received much assistance and advice from The Galway Co. Co. Heritage Officer, Marie Mannion and some funding for the brochure and we also received advice and guidance from the Galway Community Archaeology Advisory Project. The heritage trail was tested by the local national school with a guided tour of the village history with our local heritage guide Aron. (see link for brochure here). We launched the brochure at our Culture Night event on 22nd September 2017. We held a beautiful art and photography exhibition in the community hall entitled ‘capturing the past in the present’, officially launched the brochure, conducted an adult guided heritage trail through the village, conducted a children’s fairy folklore trail through the village and it all culminated in an outdoor traditional Irish music session by the children of the village. Our group was nominated for and won the Ballinasloe People of The Year award in November 2017 for our contribution to heritage and culture in the area.