This notice was first published on the 23^rd of August, 2007.

Supporting Local Communities in County Monaghan

Doohamlet has really been a hive of Community Development activity in recent times with the successful establishment of the “Doohamlet and District Development Association”. This group came together through a series of public meetings held in the local community centre during the spring of 2006. With our support, the group set about drawing up a set of aims and objectives, developing a constitution and forming a committee, with Ms. Anne Malone taking up the Chairperson’s position.

Doohamlet Group discussing the Needs Analysis Questionnaire.

The group then took part in the Partnership’s ‘Group Mentoring Scheme’ in which they were provided with expert Community Development Consultancy support and also linked up for the duration of the scheme with the highly successful Development Group in nearby Latton. This proved to be an extremely worthwhile experience as they learned about the ins and outs of the Community Development process from a group which has operated successfully over many years.

The Doohamlet group later applied to our Small Scale Grants Scheme to undertake a Needs Analysis of their local area. This was the first key step in their action plan, and it was felt necessary in order to get a more comprehensive picture of the needs within the community. In addition the group felt that the results of the needs analysis would be ideal to support funding applications in the coming years.

The group was awarded €4,000 funding under the Small Scale Grant Scheme to undertake this needs analysis, which involves the design and distribution of questionnaires to households in the area. The group also received guidance in contracting consultants to undertake this piece of work.

Doohamlet and District Development Association are a perfect example of how local people can really make a difference in their community. The development of the group has brought a lot of new energy into the area which will ultimately have a very positive effect on all people living in and around Doohamlet. If you feel that you would like to undertake something similar to what is happening in Doohamlet or would like to re-energize your local group please call either of our Community Outreach Workers at the Partnership on 042 97 49500 and we would be delighted to help you.

Community Outreach Workers – Gerard Callan and Regina Tinnelly