Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O’Flynn

Since my last column, life in the council has been busy.

Starting with some good news about funding for local projects and groups, I am happy to reveal that Cork County Council’s Local Community Development Committees for North, South, and West Cork will fund 134 local enhancement projects and 27 women’s groups countywide. It is brilliant to see such funding being put towards initiatives that will directly improve community lives, either through the purchase of equipment or development of amenities.

I am immensely proud to share Cork County Council has been awarded 27 flags for our beaches by An Taisce for 2024. This includes 11 Blue Flags, 14 Green Coast Awards and 2 Blue Flags for Marinas. This is a huge achievement for our county and is a testament to the work done by the community groups who actively look after our wonderful beaches.

I am looking forward to the events being planned for the 2024 Cruinniú na nÓg programme culminating on Saturday 15 June. The council’s own programme, My Creative Wish ran under the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Youth Plan, is a fantastic initiative that Cork County Council is committed to, and one that is designed to encourage our children to explore their unique talents and interests. Last year, the council invited children to submit their creative wishes, and now, over 30 wishes have been granted through the delivery of workshops on art, design, animation, and song writing in schools and libraries across the county.

These past two weeks also saw many official openings of amenities, both new and old. The newly refurbished Blue Pool Trails in Glengarriff opened to the public, and is now an accessible, enjoyable trail.

The brand new Bantry Peace Park was also officially opened, and this space now offers a positive environment where children and adults can avail of accessible playground equipment, outdoor gym equipment, and a new sensory garden.

Skibbereen and Clonakilty also hosted the unveiling of two spectacular projects. A new outdoor amphitheatre in Skibbereen and an improved walkway in Clonakilty will enhance the daily lives of our residents.

Bantry Library celebrated their buildings fiftieth anniversary, and released a fantastic publication which explores the development of one of Ireland’s best examples of modern architecture, while also exploring the socio-economic changes during the sixties and seventies. Excitingly, the keys to Macroom Library and Briery Gap Theatre project were recently handed back to Cork County Council, and I hope to see the next phase of the improvement works commence soon.

To finish on a positive note, Cork County Council just signed a contract for the construction of 16 social housing units at Sleaveen East in Macroom. This follows the recently completed eight-unit apartment development on a derelict site in Macroom town centre.