Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
Senator Dolan welcomes MEP’s visit to Ballinasloe to launch Europe Direct & €350k in funding to the town under Galway Rural Development.
MEP Colm Markey is one of our MEPs along with MEP Maria Walsh who represent the North-West in the European Parliament, they are our voices in Europe. Colm replaced Mairead McGuinness as MEP, following her appointment as EU Commissioner. As a farmer from Togher in Co. Louth he has a good understanding of rural Ireland and the priorities facing us with the impact of Brexit, new CAP agreement and coming out of Covid-19 lockdown thanks to vaccines some which were developed in Europe.
Colm visited Ballinasloe to launch the new Europe Direct library with Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council Peter Keaveney. Attendees from Ballinasloe Area Community Development (BACD), Northern & Western Regional Assembly, Galway Rural Development, Youth Work Galway celebrated with the team in Ballinasloe. This Europe Direct library in Ballinasloe is an information centre and supports communities in Galway, Roscommon, Clare & Longford.
Colm also had the opportunity to see Ballinasloe town and meet with local groups from Macra na Feirme and IFA. We also met with Steve Dolan CEO and the Galway Rural Development team on Dunlo St who are renovating their offices with help from the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) scheme and it’s all part of our stunning shopfront enhancement scheme in Ballinasloe.
Steve spoke about the investment of €350,000 in the Ballinasloe area this year through European LEADER Funding and this has been on well-loved projects such as our new Christmas Lights in town, the renovated Townband Hall on Dunlo Hill, the Town Hall theatre as well as supporting groups like Social Services, Care & Repair & Mens Sheds. The Lawrencetown Community Development Association were successful in funding for their Community Hall as well as the new Galway Wool Co-Op enterprise in Aughrim”
The LEADER fund is targeted to rural projects to support local services, broadband access, new enterprise/start-ups, biodiversity, rural tourism and renewable energy. Find out more and pop into Galway Rural Development offices on Dunlo St in Ballinasloe.”
It was exciting to attend the launch today of this incredible resource here with Europe Direct in Ballinasloe and the Galway Libraries team. Going to school here I spent a lot of my summers in the old library beside the Fire Station and it was a fantastic way to explore, discover and travel different worlds with a good book.
Thanks to the investment of Galway County Council and the then Ballinasloe Urban District Council, we invested in the former convent in Society Street and now have a world-class facility for the people of Ballinasloe as well as the wider region of Galway, Roscommon, Clare & Longford. It’s a place to come read the papers, to go online and study new courses or do research or why not try out an audio book with Borrowbox so you can listen to bestsellers on the go. The stunning chapel upstairs which is a community resource for cultural, heritage and community events. The team at the library also promote in-depth webinar discussions of important topics and European rights all through lockdown.
I’d like to thank Úna, Caroline, Bríd and all the team at the library who make every child feel welcome and open up doors to discovery and make this such a special oasis in our town.
MEP Colm Markey stated
“ It is an honour to be here to launch the new Europe Direct library in Ballinasloe. It is the link between Europe and our local community and my priority is to represent this region in Europe. The Europe Direct initiative is an opportunity for people in local areas to find out more and contribute to discussions about European policies and there is an excellent libraries team here in Ballinasloe.
“I also had the opportunity to meet with so many representative groups from local development association (BACD), Galway Rural Development, the Northern & Western Regional Assembly, Youthwork Galway with Cathaoirleach Peter Keaveney of Galway County Council and dignitaries from Local Authorities in the area as this library covers the area of Galway, Roscommon, Clare & Longford.
“It is a testament to the success we see in Ballinasloe with investment of over €350k in LEADER funding for Ballinasloe projects with Galway Rural Development as well as the Local Authority’s urban regeneration of the streets to the shopfront enhancement scheme. The joined-up thinking and spirit of co-operation is evident in the results we see around Ballinasloe today
“Working with Senator Aisling Dolan in Roscommon & Galway, we have the opportunity to ensure voices from our communities are heard at both a National & European level.”
