Irish Rural Link

Slider

By

Horizon 2020 Rubizmo Summer School

Horizon 2020 Rubizmo, Ruritage, Ruralisation Liverur and Polirural Summer School

Horizon 2020 projects – Rubizmo, Ruritage, Ruralisation, Liverur and Polirural focusing on Rural Enterprise, Tourism and Heritage Development have come together to offer a free short online Summer School over four mornings on July 13th, July 20th July 27th and August 3rd .

The aim of the programme is to showcase some of the more significant rural development tools that have been developed by these projects in recent years can be used in a wide range of influential roles across rural leadership especially in coaching, teaching, policy making and advisory contexts.

LINK TO REGISTRATION: https://rise.zoom.us/meeting/register/u50ld-CrqjsqHdRPpiQcP9qRUixhtirr2Cw7

LINK TO SCHEDULE: https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PR-20210629

By

Irish Rural Link Annual Conference 2021 In partnership with Rural Action NI

Making Connections: Preparing for Funding Opportunities and Cross Border Collaboration’ Conference Highlight Report

Conference Highlight Report – https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Conference-Highlight-Report.docx

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Community-Planning-for-Sustainability-Carol-Lambe-Monaghan-Co-Co.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Outline-of-Development-Plan-Carol-Lambe-Monaghan-Co-Co.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Sliabh-Beagh-cross-border-development-case-study-Donal-McElwain-Monaghan-Co-Co.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Derek-Browne-Social-Enterprise-Development.pptx

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Cross-Border-Collaboration-Challenges-and-Solutions-Anthony-Soares.pptx

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Community-oriented-village-websites-apps-Pat-Kennedy.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Climate-change-rural-communities-Aidan-Campbell.pdf

Thursday 24th June

This timely conference will explore funding opportunities available to community and voluntary organisations on both sides of the Border as well as new funding for Cross Border collaborative projects through the All Island fund, International Fund for Ireland and the new PEACE Plus Programme. The conference will also look at different themes and ideas for collaborative projects to support development of rural communities on both side of the border and adapt to changes brought about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.

10.00am           Overview – What are the Opportunities?

  • Community Foundation of Ireland
  • Paul Skinader, Pobal
  • Gina McIntyre – CEO SEUPB
  • Paddy Harte –  Chairperson IFI
  • DFA (Ireland Fund)

Q&A SESSION

11.00am            Breakout Session 1 Community Development Principles & Building Capacity

  • Community Engagement and Empowerment – Seamus Boland IRL This session will discuss how carry out meaningful and inclusive engagement with communities and empower them to take the lead in developing their local community.
  • Engaging your people and Succession planning – Carol Lambe This session will look at a Best Practice Example Monaghan County Council’s Nurturing Communities Programme in reaching out to communities who are struggling, working with them through the process of developing a community development plan, helping them to develop their project ideas along the way.
  • Challenges and Problem Solving – Anthony Saores, Centre for Cross Border Studies This session will look at current Cross Border collaboration taking place, some of the challenges that have arisen as a result of COVID-19 and Brexit.  A discussion on possible solutions to these challenges.

Workshops in Breakout Session 2 will run twice to allow participants attend 2 workshops of your choice.   Each workshop will be facilitated with a short presentation on the topic.

11.40am           Breakout Session 2A – Room 1: Health & Wellbeing –Roger O’Sullivan, Institute of Public Health This workshop will present ideas for cross border projects and Health and Wellbeing in rural communities and how best to address the challenges that came to the fore during COVID-19.

Room 2: Environment/Biodiversity & Climate Change – Aidan Campbell, RCN. There was a renewed appreciation of the environment and nature during Covid-19 restrictions.  This workshop will look at how this can be maintained and how communities can lead the way in climate change and protecting local biodiversity.

Room 3: Rural Tourism –  Speaker TBA The tourism sector has been the hardest hit sector during Covid-19.  This session will explore how to build robust and sustainable industry, and how rural communities benefit from the tourism sector.

Room 4: Social Enterprise Development – Derek Browne, Programme Manager, ABC Social Enterprise Programme This session will look at how social enterprise is a key contributor to rural development and social inclusion and the opportunities for greater collaboration in developing social enterprise in communities.

Room 5: Smart Villages- Pat Kennedy (eTownz) This session will look at how rural communities can be revitalised through digital and social innovation.  It will look at the use of ICT for the delivery of essential services for rural communities. 

12.10pm           BREAK (10 mins)

12.20pm           Breakout Session 2B

  • Health & Wellbeing – Roger O’Sullivan Institute of Public Health
  • Environment/Biodiversity & Climate Change – Aidan Campbell, RCN
  • Rural Tourism –  TBA
  • Social Enterprise Development – Derek Browne
  • Smart Villages- Pat Kennedy (eTownz)

1pm                   Feedback Session and Plenary

1.30pm                            Conference end

Bios

Gina McIntyre – Gina is the Chief Executive of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a cross-border body established under the Good Friday Agreement and working to the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly.  She is currently responsible for the European Union’s PEACE IV and INTERREG VA funding programmes, totalling in excess of €0.5 billion and is currently involved in the development of the new PEACE PLUS Programme, worth approximately €1bn.  Having spent most of her career involved with EU support programmes Gina has gained extensive knowledge of the complex cross-border development needs of the region and the appropriate European funding instruments available to meet them. Gina is a qualified chartered accountant who trained and qualified with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC).

Carol Lambe- Monaghan County Council – Carol Lambe has been Community Development Officer with Monaghan County Council for the past twenty years.  Before working for the Council, she ran her own consultancy business, providing a range of supports to communities, including facilitation, funding advice, strategic planning and promotion.  Her first job out of college was as Development Worker for Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group, which involved helping the group to develop and promote the Patrick Kavanagh Centre.  Within Monaghan County Council, Carol assists communities to develop their ideas into fundable projects, and supports the Council to access funding to turn ideas into reality. Projects developed by Carol include the Ulster Canal Greenway and Muckno Playpark, which was ranked in Ireland’s top 50 playgrounds last year.

Derek Browne – Derek Browne is a Management Accountant with over 20 years’ experience working with a broad range of social enterprises as a Director, mentor, consultant and volunteer.  Over the last 6 years Derek has delivered a Social Enterprise Programme in Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council that has mentored and supported start up and developing award winning social enterprises that have been hugely successful locally and internationally and has helped to build a dynamic culture balancing entrepreneurial ambition and social purpose.  

Paddy Harte IFI, Chairman Mr Harte has been a member of the Board of the International Fund for Ireland since March 2015 and was appointed Chairman in March 2019. He has more than two decades of experience and expertise in economic development and peace-building work. Paddy is a UCD business graduate and is currently a management consultant focusing on strategic, economic and social development in disadvantaged communities. Previously, he was Joint-Programme Director of the cross-border MSc in Innovation and Leadership in the Public Sector, delivered jointly between Ulster University and Letterkenny Institute of Technology (IT), and is a  former lecturer in Leadership and Change at Letterkenny IT. He is a former Board Member of the cross-border finance company Ulster Community Investment Trust (now Community Finance Ireland) and the Collins Institute think-tank. He has served on the boards of a number of economic development boards including chairing the very successful Donegal Gathering. He has also worked as a leadership coach with a coalition of cross-party MLAs at the William J Clinton Leadership Institute, Belfast. He is a past recipient of The Donegal People of the Year Award for his work with communities and has been nominated for this award several times.

Aidan Campbell – Aidan took up the post of Policy and Public Affairs Officer in 2010 although has been with RCN since 2007 as a Community Development Officer.  He has responsibility for developing, managing and coordinating RCN’s work on policy and research, advocating for sustainable change and contributing to RCN’s role as an effective voice for rural communities.Aidan is from Derrytresk in East Tyrone and grew up on a small farm.  He graduated from QUB with a BA in Economic and Social History. He continued his studies at NUI Maynooth undertaking the Higher Diploma in Community Development. Aidan was previously employed as a community development worker with Lenadoon Community Forum in Belfast.

Professor Roger O’Sullivan is the Director of the Ageing Research and Development Division within the Institute of Public Health and visiting Professor at Ulster University’s Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing. Between 2007 – 2015 he was Director of The Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland. Professor O’Sullivan was awarded membership through distinction of the Faculty of Public Health–UK in 2017 and in 2020 was made a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.  He has substantially written, edited and published in the area of ageing and older  people.

By

Have your say – Shaping Our Electricity Future

Irish Rural Link held a series of consultation workshops on EirGrid’s Shaping Our Electricity Future Strategy.

A new report that details innovative approaches to developing the grid to meet ambitious 2030 renewable energy targets. It must redevelop the grid to manage 70% of Ireland’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030.

Shaping Our Electricity Future comprises four approaches to achieving this, as well as meeting the projected increase demand for electricity over the coming years.

  1. Generation-Led: Government policy would influence where renewable energy is generated – favouring locations where the grid is already strong
  2. Developer-Led: In this approach, we continue to connect new sources of renewable electricity as requested in any location
  3.  Technology-Led: This approach uses technical solutions to make the grid more resilient so it can better handle the variable nature of renewable energy
  4. Demand-Led: Government policy determines where large energy users locate in Ireland

The workshops aimed to get the thoughts of rural communities and individuals on the four draft approaches in order to reach the 2030 targets.

Speakers included;

  • Liam Ryan, Eirgrid Chief Innovation and Planning Officer
  • Brian O’Gallachoir, UCC
  • Bill Kelly, Community Power / Tipperary Energy
  • Chaired Seamus Boland, Irish Rural Link.

People can find out more about the public consultation and how to have their say in Shaping Ireland’s Electricity Future by visiting consult.eirgrid.ie

Presentation & Video – Thursday 15th April 2021 – South West Region

Event Video

South West Region- Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVcAqY-RO6U

EirGrid South West Region Presentation

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021_04_15_IRL_SouthWest.pptx

Presentations & Videos – South East Region Tuesday 30th March 2021

MaREI https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MaREI-Why-increase-renewable-electricity.pdf

Community Power https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CP-TEA-presentation-to-Irish-Rural-Link.pptx.pdf

EirGrid https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Eirgrid-Presentation.pptx.pdf

Video link https://youtu.be/XL_TSFnmlmI

Presentation & Video – Tuesday 27th April 2021 – North West Region

Video – Thursday 29th April 2021 North East Region Workshop

(15) North East Region- Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop – YouTube

Presentation & Video – Wednesday 5th May 2021 Midlands Region Workshop

(10) Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop Midlands Region – YouTube

Video – Friday 7th May 2021 – Border Region Workshop

(15) Border Region- Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop – YouTube

By

In Conversation with Irish Rural Link Webinar Series

Irish Rural Link are inviting you to join them in a series of conversations around COVID-19 and Lessons for Rural Communities. Covid-19 has completely turned all our lives upside down. Words like cocooning, social distance, remote working are among the many now in common use. Indeed, without asking for it we find that we are living through one of the great social experiments of all times.

In rural communities the changes are profound. More people are at home. Some are cocooning or in isolation, some are there because they have lost their job or are working from home. As a consequence, rural shops are thriving, neighbours are getting to know each other and many people have volunteered as part of the Community response call to reach out to people who need help. So what are learning from this unwanted experiment and can we reimagine a different rural Ireland as a result of this experience? What will Europe do for rural communities and what should we be saying to rural areas.?

Access to these conversations is free. However, in order to receive your personal link, you must register using the ‘Register Here’ link at the bottom of the page. 

This series of conversations will address learnings in the form of:

  • Remote working;
  • Providing care services;
  • Shopping in the local village;
  • Social & Rural enterprises;
  • Health and well-being;
  • Digitalisation;

Week 1

A conversation with MEP Mairead McGuinness and Andrew Forde (DRCD)

Week One in the series featured a conversation with Irish Rural Link’s CEO Seamus Boland, Mairead McGuinness and Andrew Forde from the Department of Rural and Community. Please view the full conversation below

Week 2

The Midlands Regional Transition Team (MRTT) is collating proposals for projects which can assist a positive transition from peat harvesting and power generation, while looking at opportunities to build strong resilient communities in areas which have been most affected by significant job losses. This discussion will consider the nature and spread of potential projects and the many collaboration opportunities across the Midlands and beyond and panellists will provide guidance to stakeholders who are considering submitting proposals before the June 12th deadline.

These are uncertain times for the wider Midlands, Ireland and the EU as communities address the process of decarbonisation, climate change and come to terms with the social and economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Week 3 – The Challenges and Opportunities of Remote Working

Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on businesses, many were forced to close while others had to quickly adapt to the changing environment. Remote working has become the norm which  brings challenges for both employer and employees. As the economy starts to reopen, we explore if more businesses will embrace this opportunity to support their employees to work remotely and if so what supports are needed to assist business?

This webinar will discuss the challenges and opportunities of remote working for rural communities and businesses, exploring the policy and supports required. The absence of commuting allows people to spend more time with family and friends, potentially an opportunity to become more involved in their communities. What implications could this have on the social and economic fabric of rural communities in particular? The supply of high speed broadband remains one of the biggest challenges for remote working in rural areas, is there short term solutions that can be introduced, are digital hubs the answer?

Week 4 – The Challenges and Opportunities for the Tourism and Hospitality Sectors Post Covid-19

Thousands of people remain out of work as we await the reopening of our hospitality sector. Tourism is among the most important elements of the Irish economy, employing more than 300,000 people and generating billions of euro in revenue, almost €2 billion each year.Many SME’s, food producers, amenity operators and ancillary businesses rely on a thriving tourism industry to survive.  Last week, Fáilte Ireland produced a set of guidelines to assist those in the sector to safely re-open the tourism and hospitality sector by June 29th. This webinar will discuss what the reopening entails, the implications for the businesses and their customers along with the emerging business opportunities in tourism across rural Ireland.

Week 5 – The Future of Community and Rural Development Post Covid-19

The COVID19 global pandemic has shown us the power of people and community in dealing with the challenges which emerged. Rural and community development has long relied on volunteerism to drive change and to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of communities.. During COVID19, volunteers were at the frontline across communities in the delivery of all services from practical and social supports to mental health and well-being. As the country re-opens on a phased basis, what exactly does these mean for communities going forward? Will the “new-norm” see more volunteers involved in creating more resilient communities or  how can this good-will that currently exists be captured to drive rural and community development going forward?

Week 6 – In conversation with Irish Rural Link – Rural Health and Wellbeing Post Covid-19

When society evaluates wellbeing, it generally considers good physical and mental health but it can also describe the conditions needed as individuals and communities to have a better quality of life, healthier environment and increased prosperity. This webinar will discuss the implication of the Covid-19 pandemic on rural physical and mental health services and what lessons can be learned to improve quality of life of rural communities. As lockdown restriction ease across the country, all sectors begin to evaluation its immediate and long term impacts. There has been an increase demand placed on services such as counselling, befriending, meals on wheels, rural GPs, youth recreational. How do these service providers meet the demand with limited resources?

Irish Rural Link are encouraging all those who have an interest in exploring and shaping future rural health and wellbeing post Covid-19, to join us in conversation on Thursday 2nd July from 10am to 11 am.

Register in advance for this webinar:

Register Now

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

By

COVID-19 COMMUNITY OUTREACH

What is COVID-19 Community Outreach?

COVID-19 Community Outreach (CCO) is a national response to the societal impact of the coronavirus outbreak, coordinated by The Wheel and Irish Rural Link, and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

It seeks to ensure that vulnerable demographics across Ireland — such as older people, people with long-term medical conditions, and people with additional needs — have access to the highest quality information and support while helping to ease pressure on state services.

How does it work?

CCO will link and support the thousands of community groups across Ireland who are already working to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.

CCO engages a network of Community Champions across every county in Ireland. These individuals already have strong links within their local communities, existing experience of working with volunteers and community and local organisations, and are already in contact with the people that the programme seeks to reach.

Community Champions work with local community groups to:

  1. Disseminate accurate information quickly throughout their local area, with a particular emphasis on hard-to-reach, vulnerable audiences;
  2. Connect existing community and volunteer efforts, in relation to ensuring safe and effective non-medical services;
  3. Identify emerging gaps in community services, communicate them promptly to local organisations as relevant (statutory or community-based), and, where necessary, to the National Coordination Team; and
  4. Liaise with relevant regional services to ensure that people recovering at home or returning from hospital receive necessary social supports.

Find out how COVID-19 Community Outreach can help you

Impact of COVID-19 Community Outreach Programme

From 31 March 2020 – 19 June 2020

Additional Key Impact Figures

Number of times Community Champion contacted for support (call, text, email) 6,832
Number of supports given30,499
Number of supports given on School Meals Programme3,197
Social and traditional media reach (inc. local newspapers, newsletters, local radio)  2,543,838

CCO Community Map

Use the CCO map below to located CCO Community Champions across Ireland, as well as local non-profits participating in the initiative.