THRIVING communities are the life blood of a society and a number of ours were given much-needed shots in the arm this week.
As we reported yesterday, six community facilities and public spaces have been awarded a share of €77m worth of funding from the cross-border PEACEPLUS programme.
Those projects span a range of ideas and geographical locations and provide a welcome boost to the areas positively impacted.
Eyes were, of course, drawn to the plans to convert a former British army barracks at Ballykinlar in Co Down into a GAA centre of excellence and the symbolism of such a move won’t be lost on many people.
The 30-acre site will include four new full-size grass pitches for Gaelic games with three of those featuring floodlights to enable use in evenings. On top of that, there will be a covered seating area erected for spectators as well as an indoor multi-use games area, a walking trail, gym, heritage museum and associated buildings.
As Down GAA chairman Jack Devaney said: “Ballykinlar and its history provides a fascinating backdrop. This is a place where parts of our local and national history intertwine and we have an opportunity to reflect past, present and future in what we build and develop.”
That sense of future is key, providing hope and a vision for the next generations.
It’s the same in Derry where a new indoor ‘air dome’ is planned to transform the old Foyle College site of the Ulster University into an arena befitting of a rebuilt city. And it’s the same in North Belfast where a shared space will be built at an interface around the Waterworks and Alexander Park which is more known for division than unity.
In Ballycastle, the €5.2m that’s going towards enhancing sports facilities on the grounds of the planned Shared Education Campus is a long overdue boost for the seaside town and its community. So, too, the €16.7m going to create 30 acres of parklands spanning Strabane in Co Tyrone and Lifford in Co Donegal.
All of these initiatives have been conceived and made achievable thanks to commitments and collaboration between the EU, the British and Irish governments and the Northern Ireland Executive. For doing so, they should all be applauded.
Gordon Lyons, the communities minister, also deserves credit for seeing this through and when he says “It’s my ambition to deliver policies and programmes that will have real and meaningful impact, that are sustainable and that will provide tangible, lasting benefits”.
All of this underlines how cross-border working has never been more important given how much it can be a force for good in our communities.
