Páirc Uí Ghallchobhair opens in Ramelton
By Carolyn Farrar
Ramelton's new Pirc U Ghallchobhair was opened formally this week, but not everyone in the village is happy with the new name.
The name for the town's new "recreation amenity area," as the council described it at the opening was announced on Highland Radio by Former County Manager Michael McLoone after he retired earlier this month.
The issue of the pocket park's name had been something of a contentious one for the community, with the local Dave Gallaher Society lobbying for a memorial for their All Blacks namesake since 2005, and the Patsy Gallagher Memorial Committee later opposing naming the park for the rugby hero.
"We're very disappointed," said Kevin Shields of the Dave Gallaher Society after the park was opened. "We put a lot of work into this over many years." He said the group had hoped to invite the All Blacks to open what they envisioned as Dave Gallaher Park later this year, and said the park could have served as a tourist attraction. Now those plans may be scrapped, he said.
"The All Blacks don't come to visit parks. They come to open parks," Mr. Shields said.
But Danny Cullen of the Patsy Gallagher group said he was very happy with the compromise choice.
"Now everyone wants to get on with it for the good of the town," he said. "I feel it's only right that everyone should be represented in a small town." He said the park celebrates the two Ramelton men who were both sportsmen. Several Patsy Gallagher supporters attended the opening in Glasgow Celtic colours, in tribute to the Celtic star.
Charles Sweeney, council community and enterprise administrative officer, said the council was particularly proud of the radically improved streetscape the new amenity represented. The 225,000 euro project was funded by the cross-border project Heart, Interreg IIIA funds, the International Fund for Ireland and the county council. It includes six art works carved in stone by artist Brian Connolly, representing the history of Ramelton from the Stone Age to the present. The site also includes new public toilets.
Mr. Sweeney said all sections of the council were involved in the project, "but it wouldn't be possible at all without the role of the community and the local community groups involved."
Local Cllr. Ian McGarvey, new chairperson of the Letterkenny Electoral Area, welcomed the new amenity and said, "They don't come easy anymore because everybody knows funding is a problem for local communities." He called Ramelton "one of the most historic towns in Donegal," and said the town's development has been a credit to its Tidy Towns Committee and others.
Councillors' support of village enhancements in Ramelton is a sign of the council's "working with each other for the benefit of the common good," Cllr. McGarvey said.
Donegal Deputy Mayor, Sinn Fin Cllr. Pdraig MacLochlainn, who formally opened the park, said, "All the different groups, all the different aspects that make this a community, you should all be very proud of yourself," calling it "a hugely important and symbolic day and another milestone for this community."
Artist Brian Connolly also credited "the input that people put in behind the scenes." He said nothing happens without creativity, adding, "This park wouldn't be here without that creativity that was here from the start." Speaking after the opening, Mr. Connolly said he received great help from local historian Mary Hagan and from "people I was working with in the local community who know who they are."
Anthony McCahill of Ramelton said he had not sided with either the Dave Gallaher or the Patsy Gallagher contingent during the controversy. But he said he thought the choice of the name was a good one, and one that "should have been from day one.
"Sure it will all calm down now," he said.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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