Playground committee on fundraising trail

The Lissycasey Community Playground Committee, who are in the process of designing and building a playground for the residents of Lissycasey and West Clare, will hold a fundraising fashion show in the West County Hotel, Ennis on Thursday, March 11.

The proposed site is close to Lissycasey National School and the newly-constructed West Clare Early Years Crèche.
The closest playgrounds to Lissycasey are in Ennis, Ballynacally and Kildysart. The three national schools in Lissycasey cater for a combined 171 pupils. There are 119 pupils at Lissycasey National School, 33 at Caherea National School and 19 at Clondrinagh National School, while the West Clare Early Years Crèche caters for 45 children.
To date, the committee has held a fundraising Hallowe’en disco, a Christmas disco, Santa event and a raffle. A church gate collection is planned for February 27 and 28 in Lissycasey, while a bag packing day will be held in Tesco in Ennis on May 22 and a race night will be held later in the year.
While the committee, which is chaired by Deborah Coughlan, has been in touch with Clare County Council with regarding to grant opportunities, some locals have already offered to do the ground work for the playground and a local plant hire company has offered their machinery.
In a letter sent to every house in Lissycasey, the committee underlined the importance of providing a playground in the area.
“This playground will be of huge benefit to the people of Lissycasey, by highlighting it as a great place to live and rear a family and most especially for the parents and grandparents of young children, who up until now, have had to travel many miles to find a decent playground for children to play in,” the letter read.
In a letter to Clare County Council, the playground committee pointed out, “Also for your consideration is the increase in population of under 12’s with current birth rates and increased numbers of young families moving into the area due to the introduction of new housing within Lissycasey. This displays not only a need for this facility now but also its continued need in the future.”
Playground equipment and fencing is expected to cost in the region of €140,000.