Community Facilities

 

Meath Partnership works to improve the quality of life enjoyed by rural populations.  We provide grants for basic infrastructure, leisure, cultural and arts facilities.

  • Amenities and Leisure Facilities
  • Support for Cultural Activities
  • Certain Arts facilities
  • General community and recreational infrastructure
  • Innovative activities in local communities such as social and infomration networks etc.
  • Support can also be provided towards the copst of feasilbility studies

(Activities and facilities that are provided by mainstream government agencies are not eligible for support under Basic Services)

 

St. James' Hall Athboy - Case Study

Athboy is a small agricultural town in Co Meath with a population of just under 2,500.  Over the years the people of Athboy have successfully mobilised themselves to take advantage of grants available for the benefit of their local community. It’s a town with a tremendous community spirit ‘Probably the best anywhere’ says Eamonn Cassells, from Athboy Community Forum. ‘If there’s a worthwhile project going on in Athboy, people really put their shoulder to the wheel and get behind it.’

 

Athboy Community Forum was initially set up in 1996 to identify projects eligible for funding and to apply for the grants. ’We were not very good at the start’ admits Eamonn ‘we didn’t really know the ‘in’s and out’s’ of the application process but we were well supported by Meath Partnership and they helped us through.  We got funding from LEADER to do a couple of jobs and that really kick-started it all.  We found that if you really went about it in the right way, funding was available and we’ve embarked on a lot of projects since then’.

 

One of the most recent and successful projects was the renovation of St James Hall in the centre of Athboy. The hall had fallen into a serious state of disrepair over the years.  The Community Forum recognised that the hall was an amenity that they couldn’t afford to do without, so they drew up the plans and applied for LEADER funding.  ‘We got a grant of over 60 thousand to redevelop the hall and that was enough to bring it back to its original glory – with a modern twist!! We got a new roof put on, plumbing repaired, new toilet facilities, 2 new boilers for heating, the whole place was redecorated, the stage facilities were renewed to a high spec, we got a new lighting system and new curtains – it’s really a super job.’

 

St James’ Hall is used by the entire community and it has become a hub of activity on any day of the week.  ‘It’s used every day in some capacity’ says Eamonn ‘In fact it gets so busy that our biggest problem is that there are so many people that want to use it and we can’t fit them all it – but I suppose that’s a good complaint!’ Eamonn believes ‘success breathes success.’  He said that when people see things developing positively they really row in behind the project.  ‘We are lucky that we have good community leaders who are prepared to step out there in front and you need that.  They identify the projects and the whole community get’s in behind them.’

 

If you have an idea to improve the basic services in your rural area, the Rural Development Team are available to discuss your idea with you in greater detail to determine if you may be eligible for funding.