€15.3m PEACEPLUS funding approved for Leitrim
€15.3m in PEACEPLUS funding announced for Leitrim County Council and the Shannonside Peace Arena
Shannonside Reacreational Campus Sports Pavilion
Funding up to €15,342,366 has been announced by the Special EU Programmes Body for Leitrim County Council and the Shannonside Recreational Campus (SRC) through the PEACEPLUS Programme theme 1.4 Re-Imaging Communities, a project supported by the PEACEPLUS Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The funding is for the development of the Shannonside Peace Arena (SPA), a multi sports pavilion and full size athletics track catering for the sporting and recreational needs of all clubs and communities throughout Leitrim and the region.
In an area where there is a distinct lack of adequate sporting and recreational facilities the SPA will be an iconic, transformative and inclusive shared space located just outside Carrick-on-Shannon. The pavilion is part of a larger project developed by the SRC committee in partnership with Leitrim County Council. The vision of the SRC team is to build a regional sports and recreational campus to serve the needs of the entire community in the upper Shannon region. A campus which will ensure that everyone – regardless of ability, age, or gender – can play, perform, and participate in their chosen sporting and recreational activity to the best of their ability.
They have already been successful in securing €1m from the Department of Rural & Community Development under the 2023 Community Recognition Fund. This has funded groundworks and enabling works for the entire site and the provision of a grass pitch.
In 2023 an application was submitted by Leitrim County Council & the SRC under the PEACEPLUS Investment Area 1.4 – Re-Imaging Communities which is a s a unique cross-border structural funds programme aimed at reinforcing progress towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous society in Northern Ireland and the border counties. Re-imaging Communities is a programme of transformative re-imaging projects, which will create new shared spaces for use by all communities. The aim is to increase in the number of individuals and groups regularly accessing new or reimaged shared spaces, which have been co-designed on a cross-community basis and spending recreational time or accessing services therein.
The SPA facility will be an all inclusive shared space and will comprise of a double height multi-functional sports hall, high performance gym, changing rooms, meeting rooms, physio rooms, reception, canteen & activities room.
SEUPB CEO Gina McIntyre said “There was a huge response to this funding call which really demonstrated the public’s appetite and need for shared spaces within our communities. We have seen from previous PEACE programmes how shared civic spaces can act as beacons of hope within a community, real catalysts for change and enhanced socio-economic environments.
“I am delighted that through PEACEPLUS we will be delivering transformed and repurposed facilities for people right across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.
“These new facilities will provide places where people can come together, collaborate and engage with one another in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment. They are crucial for peacebuilding and reconciliation.
“Their impact transcends the bricks and mortar required for their construction, penetrating much further into the local community through the changes in both attitudes and behaviours, resulting in a reduction in segregation and contributing to sustained peace and prosperity.”
Cathaoirleach Cllr Paddy O’Rourke has welcomed the funding, saying “This announcement of PEACEPLUS funding for County Leitrim is hugely significant. It is supporting a much-needed facility in our County and the region which is severely lacking and I want to thank the Special EU Programmes Body for awarding this funding. I would like to acknowledge the work of the SRC, a volunteer committee who have worked tirelessly for over 10 years to bring this project to this point and have shown what can be done by the community, elected members and the local authority working together to deliver this much needed facility.”
Brendan Lowe, Chairperson of the SRC has expressed his delight at the announcement, “I want to thank PEACEPLUS and the Special EU Progammes Body for this funding. The need for the SRC campus is unquestionable and this funding will transform the sporting and recreational landscape in the region. But this would not be possible without the support of our hard working committee in the SRC and the support of clubs and community groups in Leitrim and our neighbouring counties to bring to life the vision of a regional sports and recreation campus to serve our communities.”
Chief Executive of Leitrim Council Joseph Gilhooly also welcomed the €15 million in funding and acknowledged the efforts it took to secure such a substantial award, “There has been a significant amount of work done over the last 10 years to get this development to this point. A multi-sport and recreational facility was identified as a strategic priority project by Leitrim County Council and I would like to acknowledge the work of the elected members and former CE Lar Power for supporting the development of the Shannonside Regional Recreational Campus. Alongside our Council Peace Plan which was recently awarded €3.3m, this announcement brings the PEACEPLUS funding to over €18.5m and I want to thank SEUPB for this investment into County Leitrim and the region.
The PEACEPLUS Programme is a funding partnership between the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Executive and will be administered by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding for this element of the PEACEPLUS Programme has been provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in Ireland.
A project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)