Carlingford Community Newsletter

January 2022, Edition

CARLINGFORD COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2022 EDITION

THIS NEWSLETTER IS JOINTLY PRODUCED BY THE BODIES REPRESENTING THE CARLINGFORD COMMUNITY, NAMELY:

Carlingford Lough Heritage Trust, CLHT

Carlingford Traders Association, CTA

Carlingford Tidy Towns , CTT

Carlingford Community Development, CCD (The Foy Centre)

CARLINGFORD COMMUNITY FORUM NEWS

The addition of new Christmas Lights this year added to the ambiance of the town, badly needed in view of the lockdown imposed by the Covid Omicron variant. Thankfully, since then, an attempted return to normality has begun. The community gathered, masked and socially distanced of course on Sunday afternoon Dec 19th in front of the Christmas tree at the Square and were entertained by Cór Charlinne and Carlingford Pipe Band. The many local children present enjoyed the Christmas music and those who had returned home for holidays enjoyed just being in the vicinity of friends and neighbours.

Outdoor facilities are being added to by Tidy Towns and Carlingford Traders, with outdoor dining and leisure experiences being put in place in preparation for the tourist season, although visitors now continue to come all through the year. An additional seating and picnic area supplied by Louth County Council, (photo attached) will be placed on the Green. The public toilets have reopened following refurbishment and we hope that this much needed facility will remain accessible to all. Visitors to Carlingford and locals using the playground were challenged last season by the lack of facilities due to businesses being closed and vandalism of the facility.

Fáilte Ireland and Louth County Council continue their work on the Peninsula with the next meeting of the Steering Committee taking place on Wednesday 2nd Feb. and continuing on a monthly basis throughout the year. A further public meeting will also take place regarding the Rural Regeneration Project, Living in Carlingford / Visiting Carlingford. The feedback from the last meeting is being collated at present. The Peninsula Tourist Office at Carlingford Station House is busy dealing with visitors looking for information both online and in person while sourcing information on new facilities and services. The provision of this facility requires the ongoing support of the business community on the Peninsula. Whether you are in the business of supplying goods or services, cooperation, with everyone playing their part has contributed to the success of other places previously offered the same support that is being made available to us now. To achieve sustainable tourism, benefiting both the community and visitors means engaging with the process and protecting that which is uniquely ours for future generations on this beautiful peninsula.

CARLINGFORD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (THE FOY CENTRE)

Carlingford Knights Rugby Club enjoys a great January. Carlingford Knights Under 13s and 15s visited St Marys College RFC last weekend. Over 40 youth players made the trip, and over 150 parents in support. Both teams had great close matches with the under 15s just sneaking a win at the finish. Mini rugby continues to grow at the Foy Centre with under 11s, under10s and under 9s competing regularly in the Leinster North East leagues. We encourage any new players who wish to join to come along, as they will be made more than welcome. The club’s under 15’s will play in the Leinster Cup later this month, Carlingford Knights will welcome Barnhall to the Foy centre.

On Friday January 22nd, Carlingford featured on Virgin media news. Weather man Deric Haritgan broadcasted live from Carlingford town. The weather segments featured, The Heritage centre, Carlingford Castle and the Tholsel.

Photo by Paul Carroll from Ghan House

We were delighted to welcome Zoe and Beka to the Heritage Centre on behalf of the St. Patricks Festival Creative fund team. They chatted with staff and filmed great scenic items from around Carlingford. This is part of our Tholsel project which has been funded by the St. Patricks Festive Creative Fund sponsored by Tiktok. “Tiktoking around the Tholsel”, will take place on March 12th.

This event will include an exhibition at the Heritage centre and an immersive street theatre performance around the Tholsel Heritage building and Carlingford. The Heritage centre’s full program of events, zoom talks and concerts will be live on our website on February 3rd. The first big event of 2022, will our shopfront exhibition : “Traders Through the Ages- Carlingford Shopfront exhibition. ” A photographic exhibition of Carlingford shop fronts over the decades. This project is a Heritage Centre project, collated by Sheila Boyle. The exhibition will open to the public on Friday February 11th. For more information check out www.carlingfordheritagecentre.com

“THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF RURAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND POBAL THROUGH THE COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAMME”.

CARLINGFORD TIDY TOWNS

Picnic Tables for Carlingford- This month we helped deliver picnic tables provided by Louth County Council. To date three have been placed at St Oliver’s National School to make an outdoor classroom. Two tables have gone to The Foy Centre and one into the Children’s playground. There remain two similar tables, which we are still considering the best communal location for these. We also expect two additional picnic tables for the Village Green in the next month or so which were funded separately under Tidy Towns Project Scheme.

Council Works in Carlingford– We are very happy to see the Public Toilets on the Village Green have now been refurbished by the Council. This was one of the top priorities in the Community Survey. Good also to see the barrier of the main carpark being repainted. We have been informed that there should soon be in place two additional compacter bins.

Dog Foul Complaints: There has been multiple complaints made about dog foul on the promenade and Mill Dam Lane in particular. Be part of the team to keep your community clean.

Remember :