FOR more than 50 years the building on Ballard Road operated as a vocational school but when the school closed its doors in Miltown Malbay in 1993, local people saw it as the beginning of a new era rather than the ending of one.
Councillor Christy Curtin was the driving force behind plans to develop the building into a community resource centre and what’s more, he was prepared to put his money where his mouth was.
When finance couldn’t be found from any source to initiate a Social Employment Scheme, both Christy and the late Michael McMahon put their hands in their pockets and coughed up the €1,000 to cover insurance and get the scheme up and running. Michael O’Loughlin was the first supervisor and Mary O’Brien the first secretary.
It was a humble beginning but with patience and perseverance the community-orientated project has since blossomed to provide a range of social, recreational and education services for the wider West Clare community.
Earlier this week, a new annex to the main entrance, and aptly named Halla na Smaointe, the hall of memories, was opened. True to its name, it features photographic memorabilia of events that were inextricably linked with the building down through the decades.
“We incorporated an architectural feature into the building. It’s appropriately called Halla na Smaointe, because it brings back memories of the lifetime of the school and the building,” explains Christy Curtin.
“Our philosophy is that the school never closed, it was reborn through the efforts of local people, particularly the unemployed, who worked on the Community Social Employment Schemes, and the unswerving loyalty of the agencies, particularly Clare VEC, Clare County Council, the Health Service Executive and Clarecare.
“They rowed in behind the project despite us having been refused support by the community service arm of An Pobal and the Department of Community and Family Affairs. What we having going is a godsend to the community and long may that continue,” he comments.
Photographs of such events as the fleadh cheoil, which was first held in the school hall in 1957, of the West Clare Agricultural Show, which was held in the school grounds and of school master Colm O’Connor, who taught at the school from 1944 to 1964 and was a member of the Laichtin Naofa Ceilí Band along with Willie Clancy, adorn the wall.
So too are photographs of concertina player Kitty Hayes of Shanaway and Michael McMahon (Mahoney) from Ballyvaskin, two well-known musicians with very close ties to the centre and both of whom who passed away during the past year.
Kitty had three CDs to her name while Michael, a co-founder of the centre, was a well-known community activist and all-round sportsman. He was a regular at the weekly music session in Cleary’s while last year he was presented with a Gradam Seirbhise Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann award. He also released an album, On Malbay’s Shore.
The centre houses a dental clinic service that caters for children from 14 national schools from the parish of Kilmihil up to the border of the parish of Lahinch. Also located in the building are The PJ Hillery Public Library, an elderly care centre, an E-Learning centre, Youthreach and the West Clare and Spraoi Family Resource Centres.
“I remember the early days, when we struggled for funds to get things going. Michael McMahon and myself put money up front for insurance for a Social Employment Scheme. It started from there. We trawled a lot, got bits and pieces and in 1996 the dollars came in from America,” recalls Councillor Curtin.
“John O’Malley, a native of Clohanmore in Miltown, was president of the Miltown Malbay Social Club in New York and as president he could nominate a project in Ireland for financial assistance. He chose our resource centre and we received $3,000.
“That was the sole donation until the present day. Last year, a commemorative ball was held in memory of Spanish Point businessman and hotelier, the late Johnny Burke. Organisers saw fit to donate the proceeds of over €19,000 to the West Clare Resource Centre to enhance the whole infrastructure of the facility,” he explains.