This article is from page 35 of the 2007-07-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 35 JPG
RESIDENTS in Drumgeely are los- ing patience, as no progress has been made on redeveloping their local community hall, nine months after it was destroyed by a fire.
A blaze totally destroyed the der- elict building last October. It took several months to clear up the site, and while the debris has now been removed, the site is still lying idle.
The hall, which had previously been owned by Shannon Development, was taken over by a private company
in 1992.
Locals are concerned that no use is being made of the site, and they would love to see facilities created, for young children in the area.
Chairperson of the local residents association, Beatrice Keville said lo- cals are still not happy that no move- ment has been made on ensuring the site will benefit the local community.
“The site was in an awful state, with a lot of rusty stuff hanging there. It has been cleared up, but the wire net- ting around the old tennis court is broken. It 1s an eyesore,” she said.
“While the debris has been removed from the actual site, the old netting and supports are sagging and rusting. They are horrible to look at,” said Ms Keville.
“This is after how many years? I’m disgusted. As it is in private hands, Clare County Council say there is nothing they can do about it,” she SrHLGe
“It is pretty sad for the young peo- ple and for those of us who have lived here all our lives. Hopefully it will be sorted out,’ she said.
“Before shops and schools were
built in the then new town of Shan- non, Drumgeely Community Hall was where these and social needs were met. Drumgeely was the first residential area of Shannon and was a thriving place, with a great com- munity spirit. There was an active tennis club, one of the first sporting clubs in Shannon,” she said.
The hall was the centre of activity for the people of the area for sev- eral years and locals say that a huge void has been left in the community, through the unavailability of a valu- able site.