Tracey O’Dwyer outlines her community priorities

In a newsletter update circulating in the Kildare-Newbridge MD, Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer has detailed her local agenda focused on roads, safety, community facilities, and planning across Kilcullen, Athgarvan, Newbridge, and related areas, writes Brian Byrne. The Kilcullen-based councillor was recently elected as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Kildare County Council.

For Kilcullen, the Fine Gael councillor says a major priority has been securing the future of Teach na nDaoine. She notes the building, which she hopes will become a dedicated space for senior citizens’ groups, was secured from the HSE for a nominal fee, with €180,000 in Local Property Tax funding allocated for essential repairs and works expected to begin before the end of this year. She also highlights progress on the Old Kilcullen Heritage Trail, saying she worked with the Old Kilcullen Committee and Kildare County Council to propose amendments after public consultation.

Road safety remains another major focus. She said she continues to push for improvements at Thompson’s Cross in Old Kilcullen, where work is hoped to commence this year, road widening in Athgarvan, and safety upgrades at several junctions, including Corbally, Mile Mill, Grangebeg, Baroda, and Kennel Bridge. Traffic calming on Kilcullen approach roads is a priority concern, and works are due to begin later this year on a €50,000 traffic calming project on the Curragh Road in Athgarvan. 

Cllr O’Dwyer has also been working with KCC to deal with parking pressures in Kilcullen — including in Kilcullen estates Bishop Rogan, Cnoc na Greine, and Riverside — on road and path upgrades, and on better bus stops and shelters for Two Mile House, Kilcullen, and Kinneagh Cross, and those recently provided in Athgarvan. She is also seeking improved access from the M9/M7 to Newbridge.

On community services, the councillor said she is addressing the lack of medical card dental services in Kilcullen and the shortage of childcare and after-school places. She also confirms €100,000 has been secured for a skatepark in Kilcullen, with a suitable site now being sought.

In Newbridge, she is working towards achieving a swimming pool, a municipal sports hub and a cultural centre, while in Athgarvan, she is supporting a new community space. She is also seeking a columbarium wall in St Brigid’s cemetery in Kilcullen.

The update also covers estate taking-in-charge projects, with work ongoing in locations including Hillcrest and Riverside in Kilcullen, Moorehill Wood in Brannockstown, and Walshestown Abbey and The Meadows in Newbridge. Cllr O’Dwyer says the adoption of the Kilcullen and Newbridge settlement plans in 2025 gives the area a roadmap for balanced development, and she points to zoning wins for school capacity in Kilcullen, and a new swimming pool and a sports hub for Newbridge.

She says her overall aim is to support safer communities and to keep local development aligned with infrastructure, accessibility and the needs of residents.

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