A Transformation of Galway City that has captivated the heart of a President.

With so much hate, brutality, misogyny, racism, greed, nastiness, environmental destruction, conflict, war, ethnic cleansing and genocide taking place across the planet today, it is important more than ever to highlight and to celebrate 'good news' stories, especially when it involves individuals and communities in Ireland and elsewhere who are giving their time and energies to try to make a difference and by doing so bringing positive change to their societies and indeed the world.
Galway and Ireland as elsewhere is full of examples of such dedication and campaigning where what seems impossible can sometimes become possible as a result of individuals coming together to form active communities. "In Unity there is Strength" or as we say in Irish "Neart le chéile".
This has been the life long message of our President, Michael D. Higgins. He is one of those selfless visionary people who consistently speaks up for the oppressed, highlights injustice and applauds those who are trying to make a difference. He is an inspiration and is someone that regularly challenges us also to speak out and come together to do better for the greater good of society and indeed the planet. Unlike a growing number of political leaders internationally who preach hate, sow division, turn a blind eye to evil and who make personal profit and secure power out of what should be 'public service'. 

 
June 6th was one of the proudest days of my long life. It was when my good friend and our great President with his equally inspirational wife Sabina came to Galway to celebrate 25 years of the community-local authority partnership success story that is Terryland Forest Park. In the mid 1990s, the park was a dream that become a reality because of individuals demanding better, and then coming together as campaigning communities to convince local government and others of what was needed in urban Galway.
Thanks to the Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune for publishing my article on the celebratory day itself, and on the history, the present and future of what was labelled the"Green Lungs of the City" and the "People's Park" when it opened in the year 2000. As I state in the news piece, there are challenges and so much more has to be done to fulfill the hopes and dreams of its founders and its army of present volunteers.
But there has been so much which has been achieved that the people of Galway city of all ages should be proud of and their role in creating something that is truly beautiful and important- As the opening paragraph of the article states:
"The President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins was beaming with pride last week as he looked around at a landscape totally transformed in the heart of Galway City. “This is the Galway we want,” he enthused to a large crowd gathered in Terryland Forest Park. Where once he remembered there were barren fields, rubble and a litter-strewn river surrounded by barbed wire fencing, he now witnessed a wonderful mosaic of woods, meadows, wetlands, pasture, orchards and karst limestone outcrops populated by a diverse range of native fauna, flora and fungi. A green oasis in an urban environment serving as an ‘ecological corridor’ for wildlife connecting the vast Corrib waterways on its western boundaries through the city to farmlands on its eastern side."

 
So may I give a heartfelt 'Bualadh Bos' (round of applause) to those that made June 6th such a morale boosting event- including all in Galway City Council, Claire Power and all the team at Áras an Uachtaráin, those from the schools, the universities, the workplaces, the arts, the community and voluntary sector, the park founders and of course the hardworking members of the 'Green Army' (aka Tuatha volunteers of Terryland Forest Park).

Here's to the next 25 years!!

 

Victory for People & Biodiversity as our six month Campaign to Secure Permanent Staff for Galway City's Forest Parks achieves Success!!

So a sincere THANK YOU to all those campaigners that protested outside City Hall over many weeks; to Councillor Mark Lohan and those many other councillors for raising the issue at council meetings; to the Galway City Tribune, Galway Advertiser and Galway Bay FM for their ongoing coverage of our campaign; to Stephen Walsh of City Parks for lobbying on and to Galway City Council management for agreeing finally to establish a new full time permanent grounds staff unit.

Furthermore a big 'Bualadh Bos' to Declan Varley for his excellent holistic editorial in today's Galway Advertiser https://bit.ly/2UUD49V recognising the importance of the natural environment to people's health and his praise of all those volunteers who, in spite of the obstacles and hostility that they oftentimes face from officialdom, keep on giving their time and efforts to protect the rest of Nature and the planet.

Below is a media release that was published also in today's Galway Advertiser:

Campaigners Welcome Council decision to appoint Fulltime Ground Staff to City’s Parks
Community and environmental campaigners have praised the decision of City Hall to establish a full time permanent grounds staff unit for Galway city’s three main parks. According to community veteran activist Brendan Smith, “We commend the recent decision of city management to have, for the first time, permanent on-the-ground staff in the three main forest parks (Cappagh, Merlin and Terryland). It is long overdue, is following the example of other Irish cities, and will hopefully led to considerable improvements in the infrastructure, upkeep and safety of our valuable green public resources that have the potential to beneficially improve the health and learning opportunities of children and adults, combat climate change and protect our increasingly threatened native biodiversity. It is a step in the right direction towards having park wardens. Last week I met with some of the members of this new unit and was immediately impressed with their enthusiasm and their programme of works, which has already started with a major resurfacing of the main pathways going through Terryland Forest Park. We agreed to reignite a two-way ongoing collaboration between council and the community that once existed towards our green spaces, in order to develop an agreed strategy that will hopefully make our parks once again the envy of the rest of the country. Last Sunday saw the first large-scale public tree planting in Galway city since 2013 when the staff of Aerogen and their families planted over 500 trees in Terryland Forest Park. This company has also recently funded the development in the Ballinfoile Community Organic Garden of the city’s first community tree nursery, which will become a valuable long-term resource for schools and neighbourhoods. On next Tuesday at 3pm there will be a meeting in the Coco Café of businesses and residents of Liosbaun being called by the Community Water Office and environmental activists that will seek to coordinate a volunteer Lunchtime Park Rangers unit to organise regular litter picks and eco projects in the same park. We hope that this initiative will become a template for other business parks across Galway to follow in protecting parks located adjacent to major workplaces.