Ballymun celebrates winning it’s third National Tidy Town Award in a row

Yet again Ballymun has won the Tidy Towns Notice Nature Biodiversity Award. This is the third time in a row that Ballymun has won this award for the Dublin Region. Over the last year BRL and GAP have undertaken a wide range of programmes and activities promoting the awareness of Biodiversity around Ballymun.

The Ballymun Biodiversity Action Plan aims to create habitats for all species which are sources of enjoyment and interest for the community. There are a variety of programmes aimed at specifically enhancing biodiversity as well as fostering an appreciation for native wildlife which include:

• Ballymun Parks Stewardship Programme – engaging local young people in supporting the long-term care and protection of local parks, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity.
• The Ballymun Home Gardening Programme – promoting organic gardening, with a focus on composting and water conservation. This programme has been so successful that participants of this programme have established Ballymun’s first ever Gardening Club.
• The Community Gardening Programme – This hugely popular programme focuses on transforming former derelict spaces into spaces abundant with colour and attractive to wildlife.
  

The Ballymun Tidy Towns committee welcomes new ideas and people to get involved so if you are interested in helping out please contact Roger Warburton @ 01 222 8526 or Roger.warburton@dublincity.ie

Shangan Neighbourhood Centre

The Shangan Neighbourhood Centre located on Shangan Road is now occupied by a number of different organisations who offer a wide range of service and facilities to the local community.

Men’s Centre and Shangan Forum
The Men’s Centre is open to all adults both male and female and aims to promote social re-integration of men and women in Ballymun who have become isolated in society. The Men’s Centre offer a drop in facility, support services along with information and training such as:

• BTEI – Back to Education Initiative
• FETAC
  Computers (Levels 3, 4, 5)
  Art/Design (Level 3)
  Digital Restoration Photography
• CDVEC
  Art
  Guitar Lessons

If you would like further information on the Men’s Centre or would like to drop in and get some advice, the centre is open Monday – Friday from 9am – 5pm or you can ring 01 857 9592.

The Shangan Neighbourhood Centre is open to all community groups to use to make a booking contact 01 857 9592. The Shangan Forum can also be contacted on the same number.

DCU in the Community Unit 1
This fantastic facility in the Shangan Neighbourhood Centre has encouraged, supported and enabled a number of people to return to education, with a view to gaining access to third level. Over the last 12 months, over 80 students completed the ‘Bridge to Education’ programme.

Courses run by DCU in the community:

• Ballymun Football Foundation programme in partnership with FAI, BRL and Whitehall College of Further Education (CFE).
• Working with Groups – FETAC Level 5. A 20 week course in partnership with CAFTA.
• Bridge to Education – FETAC Level 4. A 10 week course in partnership with Whitehall CFE.

Community Maths programmes and events to promote Math’s Week including school activities and public events will be taking place during October. If you are would like further information on DCU in the community contact 01 700 8800 or communityinfo@dcu.ie DCU in the Community is open Monday – Friday from 9am – 4pm.

BRL would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the dedicated staff team who won the ‘Excellence in 3rd Level Support’ award at the Ballymun Education Fair.

Rediscovery Centre Unit 4
The Rediscovery Centre’s Rediscover Furniture and Recycabike businesses are open for business in the Shangan Neighbourhood Centre. Rediscover Furniture and Recycabike are just two of the Rediscovery Centre’s businesses that reduce waste going to landfill and provide local employment and training.

Rediscover Furniture
Rediscover Furniture is an award winning furniture-reuse business in operation in Ballymun since 2006. Rediscover Furniture collects old furniture from across the greater Dublin area. Each item of furniture is lovingly restored, revamped or redesigned to instil new value in a previously unwanted item. Community Maths programmes and events to promote Math’s Week including school activities and public events will be taking place during October. If you are would like further information on DCU in the community contact 01 700 8800 or communityinfo@dcu.ie DCU in the Community is open Monday – Friday from 9am – 4pm.

BRL would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the dedicated staff team who won the ‘Excellence in 3rd Level Support’ award at the Ballymun Education Fair.

Recycabike
Recycabike which has relocated from the Ballymun Shopping Centre is a bicycle repair, reuse and recycling shop. Rediscover Furniture is open Monday – Friday from 9.30am – 5pm and Recycabike is open Tuesday – Friday from 10am – 5pm.

If you would like more information on this please contact 01 842 2078 or log onto www.rediscoverycentre.ie.

Playday for Positive Ageing Week

Following its debut in 2010 Ballymun hosted its second ‘Intergenerational Playday’ to celebrate ‘Positive Ageing Week’. This event took place at the Cluid Building in Marewood Court on 26th September 2011. A special thanks to Ranga 5 pupils from Scoil an tSeachtair Laoch and Muinteoir Síle who came out to play with the ‘young at heart’ sharing old and new games such as skipping, piggy, hula hoops ‘snatch the bacon’ and the very popular ‘Queenie-i-o’. An old fashioned sweet shop also featured as part of the event so that children and older adults could share experiences of managing pocket money and enjoy old favourites such as bull’s-eyes, apple drops, fizz bags and lots more.

There was certainly no generation gap visible during this event, proving that “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing” (George Bernard Shaw)!

Notice board

Ballymun Tidy Towns Shop front Competition 2011
A new category has been added to the Ballymun Tidy Towns Competition this year. Ballymun Tidy Towns held the first ever best shop front competition. Local Businesses were invited to enter their business premises in this competition to determine Ballymun’s Best Shop front 2011. Shop fronts were assessed on their overall appearance which included signage design, window displays and the overall attractiveness and tidiness of the entrance and public domain. This year’s award was presented to Sheridan’s Daybreak store on Silloge Road. For the first year of the competition only shops or businesses on streets, in the shopping centre and neighbourhood facilities were eligible. This may be expanded in the future to include larger businesses such as IKEA, Homebase, Musgrave, Kerry Group, etc.

New free family law service in Ballymun
Ballymun Community Law is offering a free Family Law Information and Advice Service where people can have a 30 minute one to one appointment with a solicitor in relation to family law matters including: Access/Custody/Guardianship Maintenance Separation/Divorce Cohabitation Civil Partnership The solicitors will be able to provide answers to legal questions, offer procedural information and explain the types of court orders which can be applied for and refer people to other useful services. The information and advice is provided on the understanding that the solicitor will not be meeting the person again for the same family law matter and will not be representing them in court. The service is free and open to any resident of Ballymun unless there is a conflict of interest or some other similar reason.

Ballymun Football Foundation Programme
The FAI, Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, DCU in the Community and Whitehall College of Further Education are partnering to establish Ballymun as one of three pilot FUTSAL hubs. The goal of FUTSAL is to provide education and work opportunities for people in disadvantaged areas and assist community regeneration via employment and volunteerism in the field of sport. The innovative programme, consisting of an academic year of adult education, football coaching education, volunteering and work placements, will be offered to 32 participants, 16 males and 16 Females. Among the first group of participants are several elite sportspeople who represented Ireland in international matches, as well as those who have been involved in coaching and managing local football teams for many years.

New Community Rugby Officer for Ballymun
Leinster Rugby in conjunction with Ballymun Regeneration Limited, IRFU and Unidare RFC has appointed Colm Finnegan to the position of Community Rugby Officer (CRO) in the Ballymun area. The appointment of the first full-time CRO in the area is a massive step forward and indicative of the efforts that are going on to increase the place of rugby in the community in Ballymun. Colm takes over the position from Mick Murray who in the past year established a great rapport with the schools and ran a number of successful blitzes. As well as working with local schools Colm will be working closely with BRL’s Sports, Youth and Recreation Officer, Rosie King and the Sports Forum to training courses and rugby camps along with other community based programmes.

The first of these training courses will be taking place in the week starting the 24th of October and for further details of this or any other questions regarding rugby in the area contact Colm on 087 769 2257 or e-mail him at cfinny1@yahoo.co.uk