Healthy Offaly plan doing well despite Covid-19 impact
Reporter:
16 Apr 2021
Dermot Egan (left), Healthy Offaly coordinator, and Cllr John Carroll, Cathaoirleach, at the launch of last year s Longest Day Challenge (picture, Offaly County Council) );
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COVID-19 has had a serious impact on the roll-out of a programme to make Offaly people healthier, a council district meeting was told.
However, Dermot Egan, Healthy Ireland Offaly coordinator, said action had nonetheless taken place across a number of fronts under the State-funded scheme.
A Healthy Offaly Plan was adopted for the county in 2018 by the Offaly Local Community and Development Committee and a Healthy Offaly Team was established in March of that year with a €247,000 budget.
Offaly s Communities:Together Yet Apart initiative proves great success
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The past year brought with it many changes and we have all including those at Offaly Local Development Company have learnt how to adapt, become creative while being mindful of public health and the needs of our communities and businesses.
Over the coming weeks, the Tribune will showcase some of these initiatives and supports that took place across our community in order to provide creative responses to these new needs and to continue to provide existing supports to prevailing needs.
This week, we feature the Communities: Together Yet Apart initiative, which was launched in May 2020. Supported by Birr 20:20 and Offaly County Council’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund, ‘Communities: Together Yet Apart’ provided some socially distanced bingo and entertainment from local performer Dickie Donnelly.
A new role for Offaly s old Tullamore DEW warehouse
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It’s six months now since William Grant announced the closing of the old Bonded Warehouse Visitor Centre at Bury Quay, Tullamore. The company that makes the world-famous and second-largest selling Irish whiskey, Tullamore DEW is going to concentrate its energies on a new visitor centre at the 2014–17 purpose-built Tullamore DEW distillery at Clonminch and understandably so.
The idea of a visitor centre at Bury Quay was conceived in the early 1990s as a way of attracting visitors to Tullamore town. Tullamore had been designated an industrial heritage town in 1990 and EC tourism funds were available. The idea that a new distillery would open in Tullamore was not on the radar. Thanks to the work of Irish Mist (Bill Jaffray), Cantrell & Cochrane (owners of the DEW brand from 1993 to 2010), Tullamore Town Council and Offaly History the idea came to fruition in the year 2000 and the visitor centre was opened. C &
Offaly adult learning programme nominated for national award
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Offaly Local Development Company’s MenPower Programme has been shortlisted for an AONTAS STAR Award in the Category of Adult Learning Initiatives that Support Health and Wellbeing.
Aontas seek to increase the visibility, raise the voice of, and promote the value of adult learning.
The next step of the process is an interview which will take place via Zoom in the coming weeks.
Caroline Brickland, Programme Co-ordinator stated: “It’s a great privilege for the programme to be shortlisted by an Independent panel of judges, our aim has always been to support men within our communities to learn skills that help one to manage and maintain better mental health and wellbeing. It was nice to be informed by Aontas that MenPower has been shortlisted, good news is welcome in these difficult and challenging times.
Reporter:
8 Jan 2021
Ferbane Food Campus at Ferbane Business & Technology Park is to receive €595,000 this year as part of Just Transition funding );
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Twelve projects in Offaly are to receive Just Transition funding, representing a major boost for the region.
Ann Dillon, Director of Planning, told a recent Offaly County Council meeting that these 12 projects are receiving many thousands of Euro each.
This money is part of a Just Transition Fund which will see a total of 47 projects share almost €28 million for employment and community supports for communities that were traditionally economically dependent on peat harvesting.
The funding for the 47 projects was announced at the same time as the Government s Cabinet approved €108 million for the rehabilitation of Bord na Móna bogs under plans to improve Ireland s record on climate action.