Boosting tourism in the town of Ballyconnell

Brady delighted to be back on council representing the town

Ballyconnell man Damien Brady is delighted to be back on Cavan County Council, having reclaimed his seat for Sinn Fein.

He’s aiming to foster and develop cross border relationships in the town of Ballyconnell.

An initiative that Damien is particularly passionate about is the Slieve Rushen Border Project, with which he is involved. The project consists of members from Cavan County Council, Cavan Heritage and Omagh District Council.

“It’s a cross border project,” Cllr Brady explained, adding that it aims to create a walkway starting at lock gate number two in the town, making its way over the Mucklagh lane and onto the Slieve Rushen mountain and back into the town.

Slieve Rushen is a mountain that sits on the border between Cavan and Fermanagh. It has an elevation of 404 metres above sea level.

Another objective of the group is to renovate The Slieve Rushen house, which is a listed building, into a history and community focal point. The exact plans for the building are unknown as of yet as Cllr Brady explained, however many groups in the region have submitted their ideas.

“At the moment it’s in the very early stages,” he said, however funding has been secured for this project.

“It’s a great idea to bring all the communities together,” Cllr Brady said, adding that in the past The Troubles would have separated communities in the area.

“Now is a great time,” he said.

Although the group have yet to put the project out to tender, Cllr Brady Damien said he hopes the project will be “getting off the ground” in “weeks rather than months”.

The town also boasts the Shannon Erne Waterway walk, the Canal Town Walk and the Ballyconnell to Ballyheady Bridge Walk.

“There’s so many walks in the area,” he said, adding that there is potential for more.

“There’s lots of projects underway and it’s very very busy at the moment,” he said of the town.

The Market House project, which will develop the current historic market house in the middle of the town into a tourism, remote working and community hub for the town is “coming to conclusion” in the next couple of months.

In April, €243,145 was allocated for the development of an outdoor space at Ballyconnell Market House to facilitate public events, markets in the town core with the aim of increasing footfall, dwell time and economic activity. The allocation came from the Town & Village Renewal Scheme.

“That will be a great asset there in the centre of the town,” Cllr Brady said, adding his congratulations to the committee who secured funding and oversaw the development of the project.

Extending this congratulations, he said the community centre is “back in the hands of the community” and looks forward to seeing the groups of Ballyconnell making use of the new space.

On this note, he explained that Ballyconnell Town and District Development are once again organising their August Bank Holiday weekend festival.

Cllr Brady said last year’s festival was a “huge huge success” with four nights of entertainment that drew massive crowds.

This year, the committee anticipate more of the same with country star Cliona Hagan opening the event. The rest of the line up is to be revealed in coming weeks. The festival will take place on the August bank holiday weekend with music, food and family fun throughout.

As a final word, the newly elected Sinn Féin councillor thanked those in the Cavan Belturbet Municipal District who “put their faith” in him “to go back in as a county councillor and represent them”.

“I intend to do that to the best of my ability.

“It’s not just Ballyconnell, it’s Belturbet, it’s Cavan town, it’s Killeshandra.”

“All of Cavan has so much to offer for tourism,” he said, mentioning Black Lion, Glangevlin, Templeport and Corlea also.

“All of them places have so much to officer for tourism and we need to sell ourselves and get it out there,” he continued.

“I am delighted to be elected again as a Sinn Féin County Councillor to represent the people of the Cavan/Belturbet Municipal District. It is a privilege and an honour to hold this position.

“I would like to thank everyone for their votes and support over the last few months. A special word of thanks to my campaign team who put in a tremendous effort.

“I will strive to do my utmost best for everyone who presents to me over the next five years,” concluded Cllr Brady.