Five years of progress in Nenagh district

As the curtain came down on the current term of Nenagh Municipal District, those present took the opportunity to reflect on the great amount of progress achieved over the last five years.

These ranged from completed projects such as the installation of lights on Nenagh's N52 walking route to the 1.2km trails at Garrykennedy. Other examples included completion of the Bord Gáis multi-infrastructure project in Nenagh, John's Lane Car Park, one-way traffic system, provision of outdoor dining area on Kenyon St, Newport Town Park, resurfacing of Borrisokane's street and Rathcabbin village improvement.

More than €59 million was spent on roadworks in the district between 2019 and 2024. Ten streets in the town of Nenagh were resurfaced.

Hundreds of thousands of euros were contributed to local Tidy Towns groups, burial ground committee, residents associations, clubs and organisations.

A raft of festivals and events were organised or supported by Nenagh Municipal District, including the hugely successful ‘Nenagh Live’, the Christmas 2020 initiative of which reached in excess of 572,000 people globally. There was also the Nenagh 800 project, St Patrick's Day and Christmas festivities, and lighting up of Nenagh Castle.

Nenagh Tourist Office was opened and new Town Teams were established in Nenagh and Newport. Nenagh won the national Pride of Place competition in 2023 and was a runner-up in the 2019 Enterprise Town Awards. There was also the Outstanding Award for Nenagh Leisure Centre in the National Quality Standard Awards in 2019.

Progress was also made with a series of other projects, including the planned business and enterprise centre at the former Rialto building in Nenagh, and centre of excellence for sustainable energy at Martyrs Road.

‘BUMP IN THE ROAD’

All of this progress was slightly overshadowed by the recent news that Nenagh's application for national funding for the town's Historic and Cultural Quarter was unsuccessful. This project envisaged a series of works including new access to Nenagh Castle and the old gaol building beside the courthouse.

Presenting the progress report at last week's meeting, District Administrator Rosemary Joyce said there is no question of dropping the proposed Historic and Cultural Quarter project; another application for funding would be made.

Cllr Séamie Morris expressed disappointment that Nenagh missed out on the funding in this round, pointing out that Ms Joyce and her team had put a lot of hard work into the project. But he also made the point that there are projects worth €40 million in the pipeline for Nenagh, and he was confident that the work put in by Ms Joyce would eventually result in the Historic and Cultural Quarter being realised.

“This is not a defeat but a bump in the road,” Cllr Morris told her, calling on local TDs to make the case for this important project for Nenagh in the next round of funding.

Cllr Hughie McGrath also praised Ms Joyce's work on the project, saying she had “gone above and beyond the call of a public servant” with the passion she had for bettering the town.

“Live to fight again” was Cllr McGrath's view of the unsuccessful application, which he said was down to the volume of projects submitted from elsewhere around Tipperary.

MUSIC MUSEUM

Ms Joyce revealed that talks have taken place with Brendan Graham and the family of the late Shane MacGowan about opening a museum of Nenagh's musical heritage. This could be provided at Nenagh Heritage Centre as part of the historical quarter project. She agreed that help would be needed from local elected members at a national level.

Ms Joyce said there is a perception that Nenagh is “doing well”. This is true, but she said the town could not afford to “stand still” while its key heritage assets remain under-utilised.

Cllrs Fiona Bonfield, Ger Darcy and John Rocky McGrath agreed that people in Nenagh should remain positive about the historic quarter project, as did Cllr Joe Hannigan. “Don't be despondent,” he said of the unsuccessful application. “Let the disappointment galvinise you.”

District Director Liam Brett said it is “human nature” to perhaps focus on what has not been done. But he said the progress made over the last five years is clear to see and there is plenty more to look forward to.

He and the other members of the council executive would sit down with the councillors of the 2024-2029 Nenagh Municipal District to discuss the priorities for the next five years.

Concluding the discussion, Cllr John Carroll said the progress of the last five years was all the more remarkable considering the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.