New climbing frame for playground

A new climbing frame is currently being installed in the playground. The facility will be closed until Friday.

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Playground to close for maintenance

The Kilcullen Playground will be closed this week from tomorrow, Wednesday, through Friday, for essential maintenance.

In addition, the Toddlers area will remain fenced off for some weeks in order to allow grass to grow.

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Playground refresh work out to tender

A full refresh of the Kilcullen Community Playground is on the cards for this summer, subject to the completion of a tender process, writes Brian Byrne. Funding of €40,000 has been provided by Kildare County Council, who are managing the tenders for the work.

During the recent KCA meeting, Celia Travers had raised the condition of the facility, which she said 'is breaking up before our eyes'. "Every bit of timber in it is rotten, the sand is really bad, one of the balance bars is the latest equipment to go." She paid tribute to the council officials who come immediately to deal with anything that breaks, but said it seemed to her that broken equipment now was simply taken away and not replaced. "There was no money to do the work last year, but now we have the money it would be nice to get it done quickly."

Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer said that the project is now out to tender, and she hoped the work could be under way by summer. It was agreed that KCA write to the Parks Department to emphasise the urgency.

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Playground is reopened

Kilcullen playground has now reopened following the first phase of improvement works.

The facility was closed yesterday for essential work, and further improvements are planned.

Details will follow when these are scheduled.

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Playground remains closed tomorrow

Kilcullen Community Playground will be closed again tomorrow, Wednesday, for essential maintenance.

The work includes laying rubber matting to help combat grass erosion.

Kildare County Council apologises for any inconvenience.

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Playground to close for new surfacing

New rubber surfacing will be installed on Kilcullen Community Playground next week, writes Brian Byrne.

This means that the facility will be closed for five days beginning on Monday 15 June.

The works had been scheduled for earlier in the year but were delayed due to the coronavirus shutdown. The playground was only reopened earlier this week.

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No confirmation on playground opening

Kilcullen Community Playground will not be opened until Kildare County Council confirms that it can be, writes Brian Byrne.

The matter was the subject of a meeting of Kilcullen Community Action members this evening. KCA looks after the playground on the Council's behalf.

All playgrounds in the county were closed on 23 March as part of the effort to prevent coronavirus infection.

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Re-sanding of playground tomorrow

Kilcullen playground will be closed tomorrow for the sand to be replaced, writes Brian Byrne.

With more sand ...

This will be a big disappointment to many families who use the playground, because the sand gets into children’s clothes, shoes, hair and everywhere.

It also blows onto the adjoining footpath and roads, creating an untidy appearance which annoys those involved in Kilcullen Tidy Towns.

The Diary understands that requests to have the sand replaced with a dry rubberised surface will not be consented to by the Council, on cost grounds.

A motion requesting this which was to come before the Kildare-Newbridge MD meeting last week was deferred until September.

Looks like the arrival of the new load of sand will make that moot. For some time, anyhow.

It’s really up to the community, especially those who are complaining about the sand, to make their feelings heard directly to the Council.

Old fashioned letters are great. Especially in numbers. Copy them to our MD councillors, especially those close to Kilcullen matters, so they have more ammunition when fighting on our town’s behalf. Being able to hold up a stack of letters in Council has a much greater effect than mentioning emails.

Oh, by the way, Kildare County Council says it regrets any inconvenience about closing the playground tomorrow.

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Tracey to seek playground surface improvement

Kilcullen's newly-elected councillor Tracey O'Dwyer is to look into having better surfaces installed in the town's community playground, writes Brian Byrne.

This follows the story posted on the Diary yesterday, which generated a substantial response from parents in the town about the unsuitability of the sand currently being used.

Cllr O'Dwyer says it would be an appropriate project to bring to the Local Community Development Committee in Kildare County Council and will discuss with fellow councillors how an improvement might be progressed.

The playground was opened in 2011 following a strong campaign since 2005 by a Playground Committee. This included a robust meeting between the community and councillors over the proposed location for the facility.

The total cost of the playground was €263,800.

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Can Kilcullen have similar playground surface to Maynooth's?

Maynooth playground has recently been reopened by Kildare County Council after refurbishment, writes Brian Byrne, and this prompts thoughts on a long-standing issue with the Kilcullen one.

The Maynooth facility (above) features nice new all-weather safe surfaces. To which the sand used in Kilcullen (below) compares most unfavourably.

In 2015, Kildare County Council replaced the original wood chippings in Kilcullen with sand, which raised a considerable degree of negative comment.

Apart from concerns about sand concealing dirt, it gets into children's clothing and shoes and they need more cleaning at home.

The sand also blows out around the road alongside the facility.

The Kilcullen playground is maintained by Kilcullen Community Action on behalf of Kildare County Council.

ED NOTE: Here are some of the comments which this story has generated on the Diary's Facebook page. KCC please copy.

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Heydon reaffirms commitment to Child Centre

The delay in final approval of funding for the planned Community Childcare Centre may be mentioned in the Dail today when the whole issue of Minister Phil Hogan's embargo on finalising Leader funds across the country is raised, writes Brian Byrne.

Local FG deputy Martin Heydon says he expects 'a lot of discussion' on the issue as it has impacted on projects all across the country.

In a statement to the Diary Deputy Heydon says he has gone 'to great lengths' to bring his personal experience of projects like the Childcare Centre to emphasise the need to get back to processing such applications as soon as possible.

"No projects are unaffected," the deputy says, but adds that he expects the impasse will only be 'for a short period'.

The suspension of finalising Leader grants is the result of a reduction in the overall EU funds for the programme since it was renegotiated in 2012. "Instead of the original €425m, it's now going to be between €360-370m, and the Department is therefore not approving any projects as it re-examines its funding requirements due to the reduction of the overall envelope from Europe."

Leader funding is 85 percent provided from Europe, with the balance coming from the Department of the Environment's current budget.

Deputy Heydon also noted that because the Childcare Centre funding is in excess of €150,000, it was always going to be subject to Ministerial Review.

"I understand the huge sense of frustration in Kilcullen, as this Childcare Centre has had many setbacks over the years, both locally and nationally. Rest assured of my continued commitment to the project and my desire to see it delivered as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, speaking on KFM radio this morning, spokesperson for the project Orla O'Neill confirmed that the building will go ahead, and that she expected the embargo to be lifted shortly.

Work night at playground

Monday's Tidy Towns work night will be dedicated to cutting grass at the Community Playground and generally tidying up the facility, writes Brian Byrne.

This was decided at Saturday morning's KCA meeting during a general discussion on the playground which included matters of maintenance.

JJ Warren gave details of his monitoring of the equipment for safety and maintenance purposes, which KCA undertakes on behalf of Kildare County Council.

He said he had sent in some 13 completed maintenance checklists to the Council since the playground opened. He also explained that when he finds problems, he fixes them if he can, otherwise he notifies the Council.

JJ also noted that any member of KCC can decide to close the facility if it is their opinion that there's a safety issue with any part of it. It can also be closed for maintenance work.

The decision to do a work night on the facility was taken because there has been an emphasis in the current Tidy Towns competition on the playground, and it is expected that judges will go and look at it.

JJ had earlier said that the Council intends to do the grass and other light grounds maintenance, but the recent weather conditions had forced them to postpone the work.

The discussion also resolved a number of minor issues about opening the facility, and the provision of bags for litter.

Playground Committee 'wraps up'

The total cost of the Kilcullen Community Playground was €263,800, according to final accounts furnished by the project's Committee, which is being 'wrapped up'.

Of this, €174,000 was provided by Kildare County Council. Improvements to the Community Centre associated with the works—including footpaths, road markings and road realignment—cost €89,800.

Of that last figure, €26,000 was provided by the Council, €54,800 by the Rural Development Programme of the Leader Partnership, and €9,000 by the local community.

A surplus from the local donations, amounting to €1,539, has been allocated to the Kilcullen Community Childcare & Family Centre project.

A full breakdown of the project figures is published in the November 2011 issue of The Bridge.


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'Mind the playground' call

An appeal for the community to 'keep an eye on' the Community Playground this bank holiday weekend has been made by playground committee members 

"We don't want it subjected to unwanted behavior," says Evelyn O'Sullivan on her Drama Dynamica Facebook page. "It is only the people of Kilcullen themselves that can protect our playground."

A number of incidents have been recorded since the playground was commissioned earlier this year.



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Playground is officially opened

The new Kilcullen Community Playground was officially opened last evening by the Mayor of Kildare, Cllr Michael Spike Nolan.

He's pictured here in a photograph by Tony Keane, photographer, Naas, cutting the tape with an appreciative group of users and their families.

The playground was provided with funding from Kildare County Council, the Kildare Leader Partnership, and donations from individuals and businesses in the community.


Pictured are (front) County Manager Michael Malone; Playground Committee chair Orla O'Neill; Mayor of Kildare Michael 'Spike' Nolan, who performed the opening; Evelyn O'Sullivan and JJ Warren, Playground Committee; and (back) Cllr Mark Wall; Kilcullen Community Action chair Kieran Forde; Brian Kelly, Kildare Leader Partnership; Scoil Bhride principal Maurice O'Mahony; and Simon Wallace, Senior Parks Superintendent, Environment Section, Kildare County Council. Pic: Tony Keane, Photographer, Naas.



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Weekly safety checks on playground

The new Community Playground is checked weekly for safety by designated members of Kilcullen Community Action, writes Brian Byrne.

At the recent KCA meeting, JJ Warren confirmed that a 20-point checklist is used to make sure everything is covered.

"The completed list is then sent by email each week to Kildare County Council," he said.

The matter had arisen in a general discussion about the playground, which is monitored by KCA members on a rota basis.

The meeting heard that there remains some confusion about the remuneration from the Council for KCA's work, which was originally expected to be €5,200 but the current figure in correspondence seems to be less than half of that.

There was also discussion on closing times, which will be earlier from now on as the evenings darken.

Meanwhile, the official Kildare County Council opening of the facility will take place on September 14 at 7pm. It will be performed by the Mayor of Kildare.


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Recalling the Playground opening day

The recent opening of the Kilcullen Community Playground can be recalled by visiting this video edited by Ray Kelly.

A great day to mark a great occasion.


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Playground opened by Fr Paddy

Fr Paddy Ryan cut the ribbon to open the new Community Playground today.

A community triumph in Kilcullen

More details are becoming available about the Grand Opening of the new Community Playground, scheduled for Saturday 18 June.

Original and current committee members, donors, representatives from local organisations, and some of the original Transition Year students who first mooted this project six years ago, will all take part. The ribbon cutting will take place at 2:30pm.

Entertainment will happen for all the family, with music, face painting, entertainers, and more. All are welcome.

The need for the playground was cited, in 2002 and 2010 town surveys, as one of the main improvements the people of Kilcullen wanted.

"This is a triumph for a community working together to enhance the life of all the families in the town and wider area," says a spokesperson for the project, for which a Committee worked since May 2005. "The Committee launched a fundraising drive in November 2009 to get the last €50,000 needed to bring the project to completion."

The group closed local fundraising in July 2010, having surpassed its target of €16,000 from fundraising events, collections tins, bag packing and donations. The Kildare Leader Partnership topped-up the funding to raise the rest of the €50,000. Kildare County Council budgeted the remaining €200,000 for the playground.

Scoil Bhríde provided land to the Council for the playground which has its entrance through the Community Centre car park. The project also includes improved road access onto the Newbridge Road and extra car parking in the area.

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Official opening planned for playground

An official Grand Opening for the new Kilcullen Community Playground has been scheduled for Saturday 18 June.

The event will be held between 2.30-5.30pm on the day, with lots of fun events in the planning at the moment.

The facility opened last weekend and many compliments have been paid on the design, which was coordinated by Kildare County Council and the Playground Committee.

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