Social Inclusion Week 2022

An invitation to run events for Kildare Social Inclusion Week 2022 has been issued by the Kildare Public Participation Network.

The annual event runs this year from Monday 26 September to Friday 30 September and is an opportunity for services, organisations, community groups and educators from right across the county to showcase the work they do.

The types of events can include anything from webinars to open days to workshops, anything that promotes social inclusiveness.

Only accessible and free of charge events qualify for inclusion in the programme.

Full details here. 

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County Kildare Social Inclusion Week webinars

A series of webinars will be hosted by Kildare County Council groups and others during the coming days as part of County Kildare Social Inclusion Week, writes Brian Byrne. All are free but require registration for partipants.

On Monday 28 September at 11am the launch of the Kildare Ability Programme 'Connected-Respected-Included' can be viewed live on the County Kildare Leader Partnership Facebook Page. This does not require registration.

A webinar 'Championing' Older LBGTQI+ People is hosted on Tuesday from 2pm-4pm, registration by email to oldervoicedkildare@gmail.com.

Understanding Cultural Adaptation & Intercultural Communication is the subject of an event on Wednesday at 2pm, registration at anne@countykildarelp.ie.

An Garda Siochána Covid 19 Community Response in Kildare at 3.30pm on Wednesday can be joined by contacting http://bit.ly/GardaResponse.

A workshop Introduction to Anti-Racism & Cultural Awareness is being held on Thursday 1 October at 2pm, take part by registering with maryh@countykildarelp.ie.

Autism Friendly Town is a webinar also on Thursday, from 6.30pm-7.15pm, registration at https://bit.ly/AutismFriendlyTown.

To take part in County Kildare Leader Partnership Community Call Response during Lockdown, on Friday 2 October, contact maryh@countykildarelp.ie. The event is from 10am-11.45pm.

The final event of the week is also on Friday, Migrant Political Participation Workshop, at 2pm. Registration at https://bit.ly/MMPregister.

More details of each event are available here.  

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Anti-racism demonstration in Kilcullen

A small demonstration was held in solidarity with anti-racism protests around the world and particularly in the US, in Kilcullen yesterday, writes Iseult O'Donoghue.

All physical-distancing regulations were observed and participants listened to a group-reading of Imelda May's powerful poem 'You Don't Get To Be Racist and Irish'.

There was a great response from passing motorists and pedestrians.

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Social Enterprise Fund applications

The deadline for grant applications to the Social Enterprise Development Fund for 2019 is Friday, 25 January, writes Brian Byrne.

The Fund supports social enterprises — businesses that trade for the common good, which address social needs, strengthen communities and improve people’s life chances.

The €1.6 million fund will be delivered over two years, 2018–2020. It was created by Social Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI) in partnership with Local Authorities Ireland and is funded by IPB Insurance and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

The Department of Rural and Community Development provides match funding for all funds raised by Social Innovation Fund Ireland, through the Dormant Accounts Fund.

In last year's stage, Kildare based Sensational Kids received €50,000 and a place on an 'accelerator' development programme.

Successful applications for grants were made nationwide by social enterprises working in the fields of mental health, nutrition, cohousing, personal development, social placements on farms, easing isolation among old people, and more.

Further information is available from Kildare County Council, Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas; Telephone (045) 980200.

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New Macra club being formed

County Kildare Macra are starting up a new club in The Curragh and surrounding area.

The club offers insights, conversation and opportunities in Agriculture, Social events, Sports, Travel, Community involvement and Public Speaking. And a lot more.

For anyone interested, the next meeting is on Thursday 4 December at 8pm in Lumville House.
Contact Jacqueline Walsh 087 7735659 or check out www.macra.ie.

SUAS, CPC, to hear directly about Palestine problems

The SUAS knitting group will get a direct report tomorrow morning about a project in Bethlehem which they are helping.

The SUAS ladies are knitting premature baby packs for a hospital in the Palestinian city, and a member of the hospital's board, Peta Taffe, will give them a talk on the situation there.

The Transition Year students from CPC will also be discussing the matter with Ms Taffe, as they are working on a project to highlight here the plight of the Palestinian people under the current Israeli regime in the region.

Solas Youth Cafe Coffee Morning

Among the young people hosting the Solas Coffee Morning today were Ita Lynch, Mary Kiely, Naomi Swayne, Aighley Jones and Katie O'Brien.

Teenage 'time bomb'

Kilcullen has a teenage 'time bomb' waiting to explode. And a full time youth worker is needed now if serious consequences from that are to be avoided.



That was a view strongly expressed at last night’s public meeting in the Community Centre, organised by the County Kildare Leader Partnership (CKLP) to see what Kilcullen needs in terms of the next County Social Inclusion plan.

The plan, for the years 2010-2013, is currently at the public consultation stage, and it is hoped to begin implementation before the end of this year.

Jim Kiely, who represents both the GAA and the Kilcullen Lions, said that in five year’s time there’s going to be a ‘huge’ number of teenagers as the children of the much-expanded Kilcullen population grow up.

“We’re already seeing the youngsters hanging around the streets, and that’s an indication of a problem that we need to deal with before it arrives,” he said.

Orla O’Neill, representing the Community Playground Committee said she had lately seen young people congregating under the bridge, something that she hasn’t seen before and which is of concern.

“We have great sports and other facilities here,” Jim Kiely said. “But that’s not enough, and we need to be working on other ways of giving them something to do.”

Dave Prendergast, who with the Lions has been involved in the development of the recently-opened weekly Solas Youth Cafe, said the young people ‘need to be encouraged in off the streets’.

Peggy Walker, who has worked with young children through the Community Playgroup since the 70s, suggested that sports clubs can’t always attract young people. “The Kilcullen Cycling Club, for instance, has nobody under 30, no matter how hard they try to get youngsters interested.”

It was agreed in the discussion that there needed to be a greater linkage between the existing organisations for young people of different age groups, with a view to encouraging them to move from one group to the next as they got older.

“Kilcullen could do with a nearly full-time youth worker across the different age groups,” Orla O’Neill said, adding that this should work from pre-school upwards.

The CKLP representatives said it might be possible for their organisation to bring all the groups together for this purpose.

The need for some kind of a Community Forum was also discussed, and the CKLP said it would be prepared to facilitate the establishment of such a forum, where every group and organisation in the town could have its views and needs represented and aired.

The CKLP is a new organisation formed from the former KELT, ASK and OAK groups. It will soon also include Athy CDP, Newbridge CDP and Northwest Kildare CDP.

Brian Byrne.


(Click above to go directly to Armelle's Kitchen.)

Public meeting on social exclusion

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