Celebrate Halloween on Sunday 31st Oct with a Kiddies Disco in Kilmovee Community Centre from 3-5pm. Open to all children under 12. €5 per child or €10 per family. Music by Mary Kathleen, Fancy Dress with prizes for the best dressed.
We had the junior classes over to the Community Centre to decorate our 1st crop Pumpkins grown in our Community Tunnel. The children were able to paint, cut out and design their own pumpkins and bring them home for the Halloween Break.
Seán Keane will perform the first concert of the Return Tour in Kilmovee Community Centre on November 19th. Seán will be returning to the stage after an absence of 18 months due to the restrictions of Covid-19. Seán will bring his unique sound accompanied by Pat Coyne on guitar and Fergus Feely on Mandocello. Tickets €25 available on-line on Kilmovee Community Centre Facebook page or in the office of the Community Centre. Contact 094 9649484.
We still have a few spaces left for both of our dry stone wall courses. The first one is Sat 4th/Sun 5th September and the second is running Sat 25th/Sun 26th September. Contact us here in the centre if you would like to attend. Phone: 094 96 49484 or email [email protected]
As part of National Heritage Week 2021 we are offering 2 free guided tours of our heritage walking trail. The sites and monuments along the trail show evidence of continuous human settlement in the area for almost 6,000 years. From our rare triple bullaun stone to our magnificent stone fort Kilcashel, there is a wealth of history, heritage and folklore to enjoy along the trail. The tours are being held on Tuesday 17th & Thursday 19th August. Places will be limited so we advise the public to book in advance to reserve a place. Contact the centre on 094 96 49484/email [email protected]
We are delighted to be able to offer our third Dry stone wall course, led by Kilmovee native Dominic Keogh of Vernacular Conservation Ltd.
Over 2 days, Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th September 2021, Dominic will be joined by instructor Eoin Madigan to give hands on training in dry stone building. They will demonstrate how our rich local heritage of drystone walling has created unique and very bio diverse habitats within our vernacular landscape. Places are limited so please contact us to book attendance.
“Very enjoyable and informative. Everybody was included and worked well as a team. Great experience in a lovely part of Mayo”.
Participant from stone wall course held in 2019
Accommodation is available within 5 minutes drive at Willowbrook Glamping
Well done to our Staff and RSS workers for getting the Community Tunnel looking amazing👏👏 .
A huge amount of work has been done since we got the tunnel in March & special thanks to Brendan Costello for his hard work. We have run an Organic Gardening course with the support of Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board. We have had biodiversity and growing workshops for the local NS and have had a Staff workshop with the Organic Centre in Leitrim thanks to South Mayo SICAP
We plan to have an open day soon to show off our new project and sell some of the produce. We will also be setting up a gardening group and welcome new members and volunteers to keep the garden growing🥔🌾🍓🥕🌽🍅🥦
🥒 Thanks to The Community Foundation for Ireland and RTE does comic relief for the funding for our tunnel.
Kilmovee Heritage & Tourism were delighted to be able to host two events for local schoolchildren funded by Creative Ireland in the last few weeks. The funding was to encourage groups to take part in heritage and cultural activities in the community.
Pupils from Tavrane and Kilmovee NS took part in a drumming workshop in the Thatch Cottage with Barra O Flanniagh from Slí na Croí Drumming. Also to celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg, we facilitated a biodiversity workshop for Kilmovee NS in our new community polytunnel. The polytunnel is a recent addition to the amenities in Kilmovee, with funding from RTE does Comic Relief. The children were presented with upcycled gardening aprons made by Roscommon Women’s Network CycleUp environmental group.
It was great to be able to have small groups back again in the Community Centre and to organise events in line with the current restrictions. We plan to hold more events in the coming months, including our third Dry Stone Wall course with Kilmovee’s native stonemason Dominic Keogh on September 4th & 5th. For more details contact the centre on 094 96 49484 or email [email protected].
Thanks to Marian Duggan, Western People for a very good article on the proposed development planned for Kilmovee Village.
Kilmovee has long been associated with providing community services, and a housing project with supported living for older people is its latest venture.
Ten supported homes for those over 60, a group home and communal facilities are part of Kilmovee Community Housing’s plans for a site in the centre of the village.
“It’s a new kind of development, a new way of supported living. It’s for people who want to stay in their homes and have their own front door for as long as possible,” explained Director of Kilmovee Community Housing Tommy Horan.
The development, which will sit on a 4.2 acre site, also includes a 1km looped walk with outdoor exercise equipment and a playground.
“This project is for young and old – for everyone in the community, “ added Community Centre manager Sheila Hunt. (Kilmovee Community Housing comes under the umbrella of Kilmovee Community Centre).
Plans have been drawn up by Eugene Waldron and Associates and meetings have taken place with Mayo County Council to discuss the proposals. While the group bought the site from their own resources funding will be sought from both the local authority and Department of Housing to erect the development.
Before the project goes before planning officers the housing group consulted locals this week and the feedback was “fantastic”.
“We’re very excited about it, explained Mr Horan.
It’s not the first time the organisation has provided homes for the community. In the 1990s eight social houses were built in the village, two for families and six for older people. Over the years there has been a waiting list for the houses with the services in the nearby community centre making them very popular.
“The idea was that people living in rural areas who felt they needed to come into a more urban setting could be supported. Now there are people who are looking to stay in their own homes as long as possible with some assistance. And when they can no longer do that there will be the option of the group home,” said Mr Horan.
The ten two-bedroom supported houses will be built around a central courtyard with a six-bedroom group home next door and communal facilities available to all. Accommodation will be provided for a manager/caretaker to live on site.
Both community activists are adamant there is a need for supported living in Kilmovee.
“I have no doubt if we built twice as many houses there would be demand for them. Between Kilmovee, Kilkelly and surrounding areas the demand is there,” said Mr Horan.
A funding application for the walkway has already been submitted under Sports Capital Funding and once Clár funding is announced an application will be made to support the playground development.
Kilmovee is renowned for its community services. Meals on Wheels, a laundry, recycling centre, heritage centre and astroturf pitch are among its assets but this latest project is a step up.
“It ties in well this week with the Rural Futures Plan. It’s all about having houses in rural villages, keeping villages alive and keeping the older people in villages,” said Ms Hunt.
“It’s too late for many rural communities but this would be a brilliant way of revitalising the community. Kilmovee has a history of getting things done,” added Mr Horan.
The village has been chosen as one of a few broadband hubs and individual work units and private office space is expected to be open in the centre later this month.
The Community Response team has done trojan work during the pandemic with 85 meals delivered on St Patrick’s Day. And a new polytunnel has been erected with gardening courses for children and adults expected in the coming weeks when restrictions allow. Volunteers are currently sought to help out with the gardening.
Meanwhile, work will begin on developing sites along the heritage trail this summer with funding secured last year.
“It’s the personal touch at all times. People are at the forefront of what we do. We strive to do what we can for the,” said Ms Hunt.
Anyone interested in securing a place in the new accommodation should contact Kilmovee Community Centre on 0949649484.