FIANNA Fáil councillor Fergus Kilcoyne wants to see Garryowen Rugby Club designated as the preferred location for a community centre for Raheen/Dooradoyle.
He has now urged the local authority to row in and engage with the club to progress and develop this location through a licence agreement or other suitable mechanisms.
According to Cllr Kilcoyne, Garryowen Rubgy Club is anxious to talk to the Council on the matter.
Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon (FF) seconded his proposal, deeming it “very timely and logical”.
“We cannot afford to put community centres in every location throughout the city and county, and we have a lot of great facilities in clubhouses for rugby, soccer, and GAA, and they’re only used at night and at weekends for the purposes of the club activities. They’re lying idle during the day and it would be a good idea for us as a Council to provide incentives to the clubs to actually encourage them to open up their doors to the communities in their areas that support them,” Cllr O’Hanlon said.
The former mayor went suggested the Council adopt a policy on shared facilities between different clubs and organisations locally.
“We cannot continue to be building different pitches and different facilities where communities are getting smaller, in some areas. They should be sharing these facilities, and just because I’m supporting Cllr Kilcoyne does not mean I’m supporting Garryowen Rugby Club here today,” he joked.
Labour councillor Joe Leddin added his support and asked Council management to come back with a definitive timeframe as to what progress can be made arising from the motion.
Independent councillor Maria Donoghue added that “we are always being contacted by groups looking for community space, and this could be a way out of it”.
The Council said that any future consideration of community facility locations would require detailed assessment, engagement, and consideration, including delivery and operational mechanisms for such community centres.
“Arising from this Notice of Motion, the Community Development Department will engage with representatives of Garryowen Rugby Club to discuss their interest and proposals in relation to community facilities in the wider Raheen/Dooradoyle area. Any such engagement does not imply endorsement of, or preference for, any site. The identification and selection of suitable locations for community centre development will be subject to a broader strategic assessment process in the context of wider community infrastructure priorities across Limerick.”