There was very good news for the residents of Sarsfield Square this week when it was confirmed that their application for a grant to redevelop their playground was successful.
Welcoming the news, Town Mayor, Cllr. Aengus O’Rourke, noted that the funding had come to fruition following much focus on attaining the necessary finance to commence the playground redevelopment.
“I am delighted for the residents of Sarsfield Square as this project has been in the pipeline for in excess of a year. Anyone who has ever been involved in a ‘Leader’ application knows the commitment and the patience needed to bring it to fruition. The process is long and arduous, culminating in an e-tenders process that is very time consuming. We would like to give particular thanks to Peter Ormond, Community Development Worker, Westmeath Community Development for his constant guidance and encouragement and genuine interest in supporting and assisting our application. It would not have been possible without him.
“While I supported the Residents Association any way I could, the two trojan workers in this particular regard were the Chairman, Chris Barr and Treasurer, Wesley Keogh. The time and effort both men put in to this project was immense. This work has now paid off with a grant of €47,500 to completely rebuild the playground in Sarsfield Square. The existing playground has been brilliant maintained by the community with little or no vandalism over all the years. However, it is more than 30 years old and needs to be completely refurbished,” Cllr. O’Rourke stated.
Chairman of Sarsfield Square Residents Association Chris Barr, further welcomed the much sought after news.
“This is great news for our area, it is a lot of money and it will be spent well. The children in Sarsfield Square will now have a modern, safe and fun place to come where they can enjoy the company of their friends in the fresh air. I would like to thank Cllr. Aengus O’Rourke for all his help with this application and Peter Ormond, without their help this would not have happened. While we all worked hard to get this, we couldn’t be happier, the hard work has paid off,” Chris remarked.
Treasurer of Sarsfield Square Residents Association Wesley Keogh also afforded his due gratitude to all those involved with successfully attaining the required finance.
“I didn’t realise the number of hours required to complete a Leader application, but at least I can say it was all worth it. However, we still have more work to do. The playground will cost €50,000 and we have been granted €47,500, so as a community we have to raise €2,500 to complete the job. Very soon we will be in touch with the residents in Sarsfield Square about a number of fundraisers that we will need their help with. I know they will help us get over the line,” Wesley commented.
“We have some fundraising to do, so we will start in the coming weeks with a draw. We are calling on everyone living in or connected to Sarsfield Square to support our efforts in the weeks and months ahead,” Cllr. O’Rourke concluded.
