Cork

12 projects in areas that currently lack a community centre will receive between €1 million and €6 million to build brand new facilities.

A funding boost of €408,000 will be provided to resurface, re-route and improve 43 rural outdoor trails across 14 counties under the Government's Walks Scheme.

The largest ever expansion of Ireland’s National Walks Scheme was announced this week, promising to add 62 new walking and hiking trails across 17 counties.

Pobal is celebrating 30 years in operation this year. It has expanded rapidly and now has over 700 staff in 12 office locations around the country. In 2022, it distributed €901m on behalf of government departments to thousands of community groups. It's CEO, Anna Shakespeare, is clear, however, that the agency's 30th anniversary celebrations are not about Pobal as such, but about the communities they serve.

A 61-page report titled ‘Greater than Fear: A Community Based Response to Tackling Hate and Extremism’ was published in early September and draws on experience in five Irish towns countering hate and fascism.

The motto of the Cycling Without Age Ireland initiative, launched in 2017, is ‘The Right to Wind in Your Hair’.

Culture Night, the annual nationwide celebration of culture and the arts in Ireland, returns on September 22 for its 18th year, with a full programme of events for all ages and interests.

UCC students' modelling shows the potential, says Laura Byron, who is studying for a MSc in Co-operatives, Agri-Food and Sustainable Development in UCC.