PEACEPLUS Investment Awarded for Iconic Project at Ballykinlar - Centre for Participation, Wellbeing and Shared Learning Hub

Monday 4th November 2024

€15.4m PEACEPLUS Investment Awarded for Iconic Project at Ballykinlar - Centre for Participation, Wellbeing and Shared Learning Hub

Down Gaelic Athletic Association (Down GAA) are delighted with today’s announcement of €15,383,951.00 funding from the PEACEPLUS Programme for the development of the Ballykinlar Centre of Participation, Wellbeing and Shared Learning Hub.

The project will be developed by Down GAA as lead partner, with the support of our main project delivery partners Co-operation Ireland and County Down Rural Community Network (CDRCN).

This project supported by the PEACEPLUS Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and represents a funding partnership between the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The provision of funding through the PEACEPLUS Re-imaging Communities Programme will bring an historic project to reality. The proposed 30-acre development will include:

• 4 full size GAA grass pitches (3 of which are floodlit)
• A covered spectator seating area
• Indoor Multi Use Games Area (MUGA)
• Walking Trail
• Gym/Fitness Suite
• Heritage Museum/Interpretive Centre
• Administrative Block and Community facilities 

The project has evolved from an historic agreement between Down GAA and the Ministry of Defence, which has led to a lease for Down GAA to develop part of the Ballykinlar estate.

This iconic project will mark significant change in the local landscape and provide an inclusive shared space for local sporting, community, heritage, peacebuilding and capacity building activities and programmes. Drawing on the knowledge, skills and experience of our main partner organisations, the project will also help to address a deficit in social and community infrastructure, contributing to rural regeneration, improved health and wellbeing and helping to build a more cohesive society.

In welcoming confirmation of the successful bid for PEACEPLUS funding, Down GAA Chairperson John Devaney said;

“The confirmation of funding from the PEACEPLUS Programme is a significant step in our plans to develop what will be an iconic project at Ballykinlar. The success of our application is down to the hard work and support of a number of people within our team and our project partners Cooperation Ireland and the County Down Rural Community Network. We are excited at the prospect that our plan will finally come to fruition.  This is an iconic project that has the potential to be transformational for those involved and those who will benefit. We are grateful for the support of officials within the Ministry of Defence, the Ballykinlar GAA club, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, and our public representatives. The progress so far and the success of our funding application can be attributed to the outstanding work of the Project Advisory Board chaired by Feargal McCormack, the team of County Officers, Steven Trainor (Grants Officer) and Ciaran Rafferty (Legal Advisor), and to the ongoing support, advice and encouragement from Ulster and Central GAA and the wider family of Gaelic sports.  Ballykinlar and its history provides a fascinating backdrop. This is a place where parts of our local and national history intertwine, and we have an opportunity to reflect past, present and future in what we build and develop. Working alongside our project partners, we will provide a facility that will cater for community, sporting and cultural needs.”

SEUPB Chief Executive Gina McIntyre said: “There was a huge response to this funding call which really demonstrated the public’s appetite and need for shared spaces within our communities. We have seen from previous PEACE programmes how shared civic spaces can act as beacons of hope within a community, real catalysts for change and enhanced socio-economic environments. I am delighted that through PEACEPLUS we will be delivering transformed and repurposed facilities for people right across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. These new facilities will provide places where people can come together, collaborate and engage with one another in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment. They are crucial for peacebuilding and reconciliation. Their impact transcends the bricks and mortar required for their construction, penetrating much further into the local community through the changes in both attitudes and behaviours, resulting in a reduction in segregation and contributing to sustained peace and prosperity.”