Open day at the New Institute

A hive of community activity for almost 200 years now, Nenagh's New Institute on Friar St continues to cater for a wide range of local groups.

An open day was recently held to showcase just some of the many and varied opportunities available at the institute. Those in attendance were invited to take part in classes free of charge, with the option of leaving a donation.

The institute is home to some of the town's leading sports clubs, including Nenagh Warriors Basketball Club, Nenagh Squash Club, the Irish Taekwondo Academy and of course the centre's oldest resident, Nenagh Snooker & Social Club (formerly the New Institute Snooker Club).

The institute also hosts a range of classes between Fit Fusion, Limitless Fitness 101 and Yoga Nenagh, and gym classes for children and St Cronan's service users as well. There are Slimming World classes here, Tipperary ETB activities, youth groups, prayer group meetings, and the weekly Nenagh Country Market.

The Friar St centre's large hall and two additional rooms are available and have been used for large-scale community meetings, and group meetings by the likes of Tipperary Search & Rescue and Nenagh Community Allotments.

BROADENING USAGE

Local man Mick White has been manager of the New Institute since 2019. He had previously been working at the centre on a CE scheme. When former manager John Brett retired, Mick successfully applied for the job and now looks after the centre with the support of a number of Tús placement workers.

Mick has sought to increase the numbers attending the facility and widen its appeal across the Nenagh community. He set up a Facebook page to promote the institute, which was running very well up until the pandemic hit.

Sadly, like so many community centres, the New Institute has struggled to regain momentum in the post-pandemic world. Revenue has suffered, while the increasingly costly bills still have to be paid.

But Mick is keen to point out the many new opportunities that this town centre facility offers to the community. Always looking to improve the institute's offering - and having done a mentoring course in business improvement and networking - he would like to see it used more during daytime hours and suggests that older people could avail of it as a meeting space, or somewhere to play cards or board games like chess or draughts.

The manager has reached out to organisations such as Tusla, Rehab and Enable Ireland in trying to foster further connectivity with the New Institute. He is currently overseeing a small-scale refurbishment of the premises, which extends to a mural competition involving local schools. Pupils from the winning school will be asked to paint a mural on the wall of the large downstairs hall.

The snooker club used the pandemic to extensively renovate its section of the premises, where it has been based for almost 140 years. The rest of the old building is in need of more substantial investment and management is in the process of applying for grants in that regard. It is hoped that these would include upgrade of toilets and showers at the institute.

A CENTRE OF COMMUNITY LIFE

Now called the ‘New Institute Pastoral and Recreation Centre’ - supported by Pobal - the institute site was originally one of education. This was where national schools were built for Nenagh's girls and boys, recognised by the National Board of Education in 1832. Nenagh's Temperance Hall was added to the site in 1841-’42. Daniel O'Connell famously stayed here after one of his ‘monster meetings’ at Grange Hill on the Borrisokane Road in 1843.

When the Sisters of Mercy relocated to their present school base, the RC church authorities allowed Nenagh Literary Institute to establish itself at the site in 1887. Its facilities included a library, reading room, card room, billiard room, gymnasium and concert hall. In her book ‘Walkabout Nenagh’, Nancy Murphy documented the many subsequent uses of the Friar St premises, from social dances to the national billiards and snooker champions that emerged from the ‘New Institute’, a legacy that lives on to this day.

A major overhaul in 1978 created the modern complex geared specifically to the needs of young people with its indoor sports facilities and adaptable function rooms.

FUTURE VISION

The new manager is keen for the community to keep on using the institute.

While summer is generally a quiet time, Mick is looking forward to busier beginnings in September and inviting people to come and have a look at what is available. The meeting rooms can be hired out for €30 for two hours, and €20 for every subsequent hour.

The large downstairs hall can accommodate around 200 people seated. The upstairs room has capacity for 50, while there is also a smaller room for groups of around a dozen people. There are kitchen facilities available and also ample parking, which is free of charge in the nearby car parks at evening time.