Drumaroad Hall decision raises questions

SIR – It was with very deep regret that I, as chairperson and director of Drumaroad Community Regeneration (Ltd.), formally wrote to all capital grant funders last week to withdraw all capital grant applications, totalling over £1.1m, towards building the proposed shared cross-community centre for Drumaroad which has been denied to the area by the Diocese of Down and Connor.

The great sense of frustration and loss I experienced was palpable, and indeed very emotional, as I thought of the sterling efforts of the committee stalwarts since 2001, politicans, community and voluntary organisations, local businesses and private individuals.

For the good of all communities they had put their heart and soul into trying to provide a new shared cross-community centre in Drumaroad.

The Drumaroad Hall debate has been very well documented since 2001; hence many parishioners are bewildered at the absence of a coherent reason to prevent the building of a new shared cross-community centre.

It demonstrates the complete inability of the Diocese of Down and Connor to be honest and transparent in their decision to prevent Drumaroad from availing of such centre.

The decision also prompts some very fundamental questions, most notably why Drumaroad parish should be the exception within the Diocese of Down and Connor not to have a community hall.

Why can the Diocese lease land to other cross-community groups to build cross-community projects, but not to the people of Drumaroad?

Why does the Diocese also refuse to release records and documents regarding the building of Drumaroad Hall in 1969, towards which there was funding from both America and the education authority?

The late Monsignor Joseph Maguire (Parish Priest of Drumaroad parish from 1966-1977) built Drumaroad Hall for both parochial and community use. Such inspiration should have served as his lasting legacy to the people of Drumaroad. Sadly both his vision and his legacy have been consigned to history through the Diocese of Down and Connor refusing to allow a new shared cross-community centre to replace the former Drumaroad Hall.

Such a new facility, 40 years on, without question would have acted as a catalyst for employment and the regeneration of Drumaroad in both parish and cross-community terns.

I make no apologies for demanding that the Diocese of Down and Connor should come clean and stop hiding behind the rules and cloak of Canon Law and Catholic Church structures and allow Drumaroad to have the new shared cross-community centre it deserves.

PATRICK CLARKE, chairperson and director,

Drumaroad Community Regeneration (Ltd),

51 Drumaroad Hill, Drumaroad

Support for Drumaroad Hall campaigners

SIR — Well said, Drumaroad Parishioner, your letter in last week’s Mourne Observer was absolutely right.

Like yourself, I am a parishioner and I am very surprised by the decision of the PP and the Bishop of Down and Connor, not to allow the people of this parish to have a hall for everyone to enjoy, young and old alike.

The first thing Father Joseph Maguire, the then new PP in the early Seventies, set about doing was to provide the parish with a state-of-the-art community centre.

He put Drumaroad in the limelight. People came from all over Ireland to dance and enjoy the big showbands and many a young girl met her future husband, and likewise the boys met their future wives.

What are the children of the parish supposed to do now? Sit and watch TV or play on a computer until they are bored stiff.

All for the want of a hall where they can go to have fun and entertainment.

Priests and bishops don’t own the churches or property they live in. The good old folks of long ago worked hard and saved so as to have these properties for years to come.

Clergymen should only look after the spiritual needs of the people and let the parishioners provide halls and places of entertainment to suit themselves.

Not only did Father Maguire provide a great hall, he also built a new parochial house. Maybe the present PP wouldn’t be so comfortable if it hadn’t been for this!

I suggest this to the people of the parish: Defy the Bishop, the PP and everyone else. Apply for the grants, get planning permission and build the hall to suit the people.

I fully agree with you, Drumaroad Parishioner: Pay, Pray and Obey.

I am listing a number of halls in around the countryside where people can go to and have entertainment.

They are as follows:

Annsborough Social Club; Seaforde Young Farmers’ Club; Aughlisnafin Community Hall; Kilmegan Parish Centre; The Lodge, Castlewellan; the Community Centre, Castlewellan; the Corncrane Centre.

St Mary’s Parochial Hall Newcastle; Bryansford GAA Clubrooms; Bryansford Parochial Hall; Glassdrumman Parochial Hall; Ballymartin Parochial Hall; Attical Parochial Hall; Kilcoo Parochial Hall; Loughinisland Parochial Hall; Dan Rice Hall, Drumaness; Ballynahinch Parochial Hall; Finnis Parochial Hall; Hilltown Community Centre.

Drumaroad — no Hall !

ANOTHER ANGRY PARISHIONER

An opportunity wasted

SIR – I was shocked to learn of the decision taken by the parish priest of Drumaroad, effectively blocking the construction of a cross-community sports centre in the village.

I was born and raised in Drumaroad and have many fond memories of the original Drumaroad Hall. As a child the school holidays seemed to fly by because of the ‘summer scheme’ provided at the hall. A few years later the exciting world of basketball entered our young lives.

Then for a brief spell the teenage discos made our little village feel like the epicentre of the universe. However, slightly more mature readers will remember Drumaroad hall in its hey-day. Renowned throughout the province during the show band era it played host to numerous big bands and was a venue where many wedded couples of a certain age first met.

In the late 1960s the Rev Dr Maguire led a huge fundraising campaign in order to establish such an impressive facility. Local people had to ‘dig deep’ to raise the required funds.

Now in 2010, after 10 years’ hard work, a small but very dedicated community group have had their proposal to develop a state of the art facility, at no cost to the people, rejected by the parish priest.

It simply defies logic to reject this development and up to £1m in funding from various sources.

The local construction industry is facing its worst crisis in decades. With private building projects having all but ceased, the building trade is now more reliant on Public Sector building projects than ever.

With more and more tradesmen joining the dole queue, surely any public sector projects that can be built should be built!

It’s a disgrace that the youth of the village must play football on a rough uneven surface, using jumpers for goal posts, when the proposed development includes provision for an all-weather pitch.

The proposed hall would benefit lots of local groups and people of all ages but it’s our youth who are the future and would benefit most from this development.

I wonder how future generations will judge us when they learn of the opportunity wasted and therefore would like to call on the parish priest to reconsider this decision.

GARY ROGAN, Drumaroad

‘SF says one thing and does another’ – O’Neill

SIR – I see in your issue of 24 February that Cllr Willie Clarke challenges me to explain my remarks on what he considers was a U-turn on the car parking charges issue.

This was no doubt in response to my accusation that he and his party colleagues had been strongly in support of this move by Council officers and now – in the face of public hostility – were backing away by using phrases such as “… this proposal will have to be evaluated in the future…” and “I think that it will need detailed analysis,” which could mean he intends that these proposals will be pursued or re-opened.

I must have hit home very accurately because he does not deal with this but tries to imply I was a supporter of this move. This is a great example of what is called “guilt transference”!

Incidentally, the quote he lifted, which was completely out of context, came from a debate about the preparation for the District Rates and came from the Council’s Chief Executive – not my words!
I did make the point, however, at a previous P&R meeting that time was passing and that there were many issues that had not yet been discussed and I asked specifically about what was happening to the officers’ ideas, including car park charging, the proposal to sell methane gas from our landfill site and the future of some of the Council’s facilities.

Of course the reason I was asking these questions was to challenge some of these propositions because I was always convinced they were seen by many as a soft way of raising more finance without thinking out the consequences.

It is exactly this kind of scrutiny that Cllr Clarke and his colleagues should be doing, instead of trying to attack me to divert attention from their errors. He didn’t quote from any of the comments I made at several Council committee meetings on these matters.

Nor did he quote from the proposal I made and got carried, which allowed Newcastle Chamber of Commerce and the people of Castlewellan to address Council with their views and concerns.

Nor did he quote from what I said when I changed his motion by deleting the word “charges” from it. Then, having heard what I said and the change I proposed, he lamely voted for my amendment to his own motion! Who made the U-turn?

It seems Mr Editor there is a lot of equivocation going on but as usual leadership in Down Council comes from the SDLP, while the Sinn Fein reps divide their time between saying one thing and doing another.

EAMONN O’NEILL (CLLR)

Disbelief at Ritchie’s call for more MHT funding

SIR – Our committee read with disbelief the article in last week’s paper headed ‘Ritchie welcomes MHT funding but seeks more.’

Ms Ritchie states: ‘…for example the Mourne Access Ranger project, which has been running very successfully for six months and made significant inroads in landowner relationships and minimising visitor-related problems, will not be continued beyond the 15-month period even if considered a success.’

What a load of nonsense!

The vast majority of farmers, landowners and Mountain Trustees in Mourne and Slieve Croob are totally unaware of the existence of such a project and are not in the least interested.

The Mourne Heritage Trust, a money wasting quango, is frantically scratching around looking for a credible raison d’être and is not really finding one.

If Ms Ritchie hopes to attract the votes of the farmers and landowners in the upcoming election, she is backing the wrong horse!

VALERIE HANNA, chairperson,

Mourne AONB Residents’ Action Group

Downpatrick fundraiser for Haiti

SIR – I’d just like to thank everyone who helped to raise much needed funds for Haiti. The people who came into our business showed there is a real generosity and kindness in our town that I will never forget.

We personally contacted businesses and suppliers for a donation for the appeal. We had people give us TVs and stereos which were sold and the money donated to the appeal.

We also sold suede brushes for £1 each. We’d like to send out our heartfelt thanks to those people, whether it was a £1 or £100 donation.

My only concern is that this is just a drop in the ocean compared to what the people of Haiti will need to get their homes and their lives rebuilt. However, we will endeavour to keep trying to do our best for the people of Haiti.

PAT CASSIDY, Downpatrick

Alert Card information evening

SIR – Next Tuesday (16 March) at 8pm in the Coffee Stop in Clough there will be an information evening about the new Alert Card for those with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders)

This has been set up in conjunction with Autism NI and the PSNI to prevent any misunderstanding in the event of a person with ASD being stopped and questioned.

Parents and young people with ASD are invited to come along and find out about the benefits of this card.

Papa Down’s usual monthly support group meeting will be held afterwards.

MOIRA DENVIR