Excitement in Rossmore as Nuacht TG4 comes to village

There was great excitement in Rossmore on Friday, April 8, 2022, as Matt and Marian from Matt Kelly Productions (MKP), Pallaskenry, Limerick, arrived to film a segment which aired on Nuacht TG4 on Monday evening.

Tidy Villages, Community Hall and National School residents gave them a warm welcome as Gaeilge and were delighted to showcase their village and its unique offerings.

They first visited the wonderful mural on the village wall arranged by Rossmore Tidy Villages, Dancing at the crossroads by local artist Alan O’Dwyer.

MKP were so impressed as the images are so lifelike; they commented that you felt you were at the dance watching and waiting to be asked onto the floor.

Having spent some time in the village, they then went to visit the Rossmore Community hall BCP, which has been recently restored thanks to the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD), Business funding and village fundraising.

The Community Hall is now a fit the local primary school, community events,and meetings.
But the icing on the cake is that the Hall is one of 21 community-based Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) in the county.

The Department of Rural and Community Development is working with Tipperary County Council and the local communities to deliver high-speed broadband to specified Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) across the county.

Broadband Officer at Tipperary County Council, Simon Howe, said connectivity offered the potential to transform the area and will make working and living in the community more sustainable.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital connectivity in supporting many aspects of our daily lives.

“Throughout the crisis, digital connectivity helped many people to avoid becoming socially isolated; it enabled students to continue their education through online learning, and it demonstrated its potential to support economic activity through remote working and the delivery of services online,” said Mr Howe.

The BCPs will leverage the high-speed broadband connection through a range of initiatives, for example, providing free public Wi-Fi.

Some will have hot desks and remote working facilities, and some will be digital hub business centres where digital training, business information events and other SME supports.

In total, 21 Broadband Connection Points are being delivered in county Tipperary, including Rossmore Community hall.

The success of this project will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of our rural areas in county Tipperary.

By facilitating remote working opportunities in the parishes of these rural communities, they will ensure people stay in the community and thus the growth of the local economy.

Brema Horan, who runs Rossmore Community hall BCP on behalf of the community, is delighted with this opportunity to support the sustainability of rural communities by enabling more people to continue to live and work in rural locations and encouraging others to relocate to rural areas.

“Acquiring digital skills is as important as physical access to broadband infrastructure to enable individuals and communities to maximise the benefits of high-speed broadband connectivity.

“The internet and digital technologies are transforming the way people live and work.

“Developing digital capability within the enterprise sector, especially amongst SMEs and microenterprises, is critical for competitiveness and business sustainability,” said Mr Howe.

A number of Digital Skills Training Programmes are to be rolled out in the Broadband Connection Points in County Tipperary, including Rossmore Community hall BCP in 2022.

These include , OurKidsCode, Hi-Digital (over 65) Microsoft Dream Space DenSmart Skills for Farming Communities (Tipperary) and Kinia Creative with Technology.

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