Tús is the Irish word for start or begin. However, bureaucracy around opening bank accounts is having a severe impact on some people who want to get back into the labour force, according to James Hill of the Northside Partnership in Dublin.
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Gabriel O’Connell, CEO of Monaghan Integrated Development, retires this autumn and after 26 years working in the community and voluntary sector we thought – correctly – that he may have some wisdom to impart. He gave a fascinating interview to OWEN RYAN recently, including advice for people engaged in community development, for policy-makers and all who believe in the importance of community development.
Of interest, Gabriel does not see the need for commercial tendering for the services delivered by local development companies on behalf of the State. He also reveals his current reading, his liking for Clint Eastwood, and how his work influenced his own journey.
Maria Young is the co-ordinator of a project that has helped to set up 25 (and counting) community gardens around the city. Recently, she won a Lord Mayor’s Civic Award for sustainability for her work with Green Spaces for Health under the Cork Healthy Cities banner.
Maria first became involved in environmental work as a volunteer.
Volunteering in her local community garden has helped Mandie Rekaby get through some very rough times over the last couple of years.
Community gardens have flourished in Cork City over the last few years, and Mandie is the lead volunteer at Togher Community Garden, very near where she lives and grew up. And now 90 people a month are involved in Togher’s garden.
The Balbriggan Great Places and Spaces Map was the winner of the best mental health initiative at the Local Authorities Members Association (LAMA) awards.
The initiative was driven by Thrive Balbriggan which describes itself as a community-led project “to create a happy and healthy place to live by conducting projects and events aiming at improving mental health and wellbeing”. It has been up and running since 2021.