Playgroup celebrates 50th anniversary

Looking back: Maureen Keogh and Peggy Walker with the playgroup, in the Old School in the 1980s.

Kilcullen Community Childcare and Education Centre (KCCEC) are hosting a celebration this evening to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Naomh Bhride Community Playgroup by Maureen Keogh and Peggy Walker, writes Brian Byrne. Originally located in a number of premises around the town, including Kilcullen Tennis Club and the former Old School, the celebrations will be in the state of the art building opened in 2014 that fulfilled the original dreams of the founders.

Prior to the provision of the building, the playgroup had been operating for years in a number of prefab buildings on the Kilcullen Community Centre campus. When the build contract with Kennycourt Construction was signed in August 2013, it was the completion of an endeavour that had been running for more than a decade, finally brought to fruition by the determination of a committed group of volunteers. 

The prefabs, a temporary solution that lasted more than a decade.

It had been a rocky road. In 2001 the Naomh Bhride group sought financial support for a purpose-built premises, and were approved for a grant of €650,000 in 2006. However, due to delays through legal difficulties over a lease on the earmarked site, that funding was withdrawn in late 2010. At that point the playgroup had been operating on the site for much of the previous decade in the pre-fabs, originally provided by the late Pat Dunlea as a temporary measure but which by then were in a very poor state of repair.

KCA-hosted public meeting in 2011.

In February 2011 a public meeting was hosted by KCA to restart the funding campaign. The newly-formed Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre Limited (KCCEC) took over the project, now costed at €450,000, for which planning permission had already been given on the Community Centre campus. In December 2012, the critical lease was finally signed between Kilcullen Community Childcare and Kilcullen Community Centre Limited, with the agreement and assistance of the Cross & Passion sisters.

At the signing of the key lease in December 2012 were Orla O'Neill, Iseult O'Donoghue and Kate Steed.

By 2013 the group had sourced the new required funding. A total of €36,613 had been raised from the local community, €12,000 had been allocated by Kildare County Council, and a loan of €70,204 had been secured from Clann Credo, a social funding organisation. The balance of €356,450 was secured after negotiations with the County Kildare Leader Partnership. However, in June 2013 access to the committed Leader funding was unexpectedly rejected by the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government, headed by Minister Phil Hogan TD. 

A subsequent open meeting in Kilcullen garnered full support from constituency public representatives — including Fine Gael's Martin Heydon, Labour's Jack Wall, and Fianna Fail's Sean O Fearghaill — and the community to have this decision reversed. In addition to instigating a strong lobbying campaign to the Minister, a rally was also hosted at Martin Heydon's constituency office in Newbridge. At the end of July, Minister Hogan reversed his decision, 'based on additional information provided to his Department'.

Signing the building contract in 2013: (front) Iseult O'Donoghue of KCCEC and John Farrell of Kennycourt Construction, and (back) Orla O'Neill and Kate Steed of KCCEC, project manager Martin Murphy, and Mark Steed.

The building contract was signed. At the event, KCCEC director Iseult O'Donoghue singled out the community in Kilcullen which had shown such strong support for the project over many years. She also thanked project manager Martin Murphy for his handling of the very detailed implementation of the planning requirements for the Centre. 

Turning the sod, October 2013.

Pouring the foundations, October 2013.

The building was completed by Kennycourt Construction to budget and on time for the first children to be accommodated in 2014. 

First days 2014.

Opening the after-school rooms, 2020.

New after-school rooms were added in 2020 to the upstairs section of the building, while the most recent expansion to the facility has been the development of an area behind the Centre into a garden and all-weather outdoor play area, with a walking track.

Happy 50th anniversary.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy