It was a proud day for the Castletownbere Business Development Association, the culmination of three years fundraising, when the official opening of the Playground took place on Easter Sunday last. A large crowd of children and adults gathered in fabulous weather to view the opening. 

Secretary, Anne Marie Cronin welcomed everybody and thanked them for attending.  She said that “a lot of people had helped the association along the way and they deserved a mention - Noel Donegan, Finbarr Harrington, Micheal Harrington, Adrian Sparrow, Micheal Joe O Sullivan, Cllr. Noel Harrington, Cork County Council who have taken over the insurance and running of the Playground, local Council Engineer Micheál O’Driscoll and last but not least Miah Darb O’Sullivan for his time and expertise in preparing the ground and organising the building side of the job - without his help the task would have been much more difficult.” 

Cllr Noel Harrington, who did the honour of officially opening the playground praised the efforts of the Castletownbere Business Association and in particular to the work and effort put in by Ollie O’Sullivan, Chairman and Anne Marie Cronin. He said the Playground was a brilliant addition to the town and its closure two years ago had been a big loss at the time. It is now a great asset to the town and in particular to the West End. He stated that the Councils grant of €38,000 was a great help and he hoped he could secure a further top up to make up some of the shortfall. 

Mr. Denis O’Donovan, T.D. & Councillor, who attended the opening, said it was great to see such an amenity back in Castletownbere and again praised the efforts of the Association for their work. He said it was one of the finest facilities in the country.  He said “it was good to see Cork County Council giving full support to projects such as these as back in the eighties, facilities like these were being closed due to lack of funding and insurance.  This thankfully has now changed” 

Chairman, Oliver O’Sullivan re-iterated the previous speakers by thanking all who had supported the Association. He said he was proud to be associated with the project and hoped people would enjoy the facility and look after it.  If properly looked after he said – then the parents of the children here today should also see their grandchildren enjoy the facility in the years to come. 

Following the official opening, the children were treated to soft drinks, lollipops, crisps etc. and to entertainment supplied by DJ ‘Cro’.