WATCH: Voluntary Limerick group delighted with 'fantastic' honour

A VOLUNTARY group who have worked tirelessly for over two decades to provide an extensive range of facilities for their local community, have been presented with the Limerick Person of the Month award.

ACM Community Development Society Limited which is a community-owned co-operative society with approximately 500 parish shareholders, was founded with the aim of establishing an enterprise centre for job creation for the people of Ahane, Castleconnell and Montpellier (ACM).

But when the Celtic Tiger started to growl a little, the committee soon realised that there was a more pressing need for a community centre rather than a community enterprise for job creation.

“It became about a community centre and providing a place for people to meet,” explained John Mac Namara, one of the original founding members of the group.

John was joined at the award presentation at the Clayton Hotel in Limerick city by Deirdre McMahon who manages ACM Kidz Pre-School and After-School.

“What was interesting about the initial committee is that approximately 50% of them were self-employed, which was wonderful because they understood that community projects, that people get into for all sorts of altruistic reasons, must wash their face financially, otherwise, as nice as the idea might be, you are not going to be doing it for very long!”

In 2001 ACM purchased two derelict pre-Famine cottages at 14-15 Castle Street, Castleconnell.

“They were in pretty poor order,” John pointed out. “We slowly renovated those. We were very good at applying for grants and we did fundraising and we had events and draws and raffles and lottos - all the usual things that community groups do.

“In 2009 we opened a state-of-the art modern childcare facility in Castle Street which has been a huge success.”

The community centre became a hive of activity offering not only childcare but also providing space for Limerick Youth Service, community meeting rooms for local committees and organisations along with a community secretarial service.

“We were very good at fostering projects as well,” John explained, “for example, we started The Historical Society. We put a few committee members on the sub committee for several months and soon after they were able run on their own and become self-sufficient.”

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Such was the response to the community centre that the buildings on Castle Street became full to capacity and more space was needed.

In 2017 ACM purchased The Shannon Inn. Formerly a hotel and licenced premises with significant historical interest, the building was repurposed to provide state-of-the-art community facilities while at the same time retaining the character of the 200-year-old protected structure.

“It is a super location,” said John, “there is a lot of love and warmth for that building locally - a lot of people have great memories and stories about it. We needed space for childcare to grow so we moved some services from Castle Street to Shannon House and we were able to introduce a whole raft of new services. For example, we now have a restaurant which is hugely successful - the community just love it. You have people going in there aged from eight to 88.”

Limerick Youth Service also have a presence in the building which boasts meeting rooms, a mini library, a community garden, an arts and crafts creative hub, an E-hub, and a virtual office service.

“It’s an amazing place,” John asserted. “We spent a lot of money on it - we spent about €800,000 between purchasing it and renovating it but it’s been worth it.”

Aside from the two big physical projects they undertook, ACM have also been instrumental in the organisation and operation of a number of key events in the community including the St Patrick’s Day parade in Castleconnell, the Santa party for children every Christmas, and the Halloween Scare Fest.

“We have an extraordinary committee. ACM is like running a business - there is so much activity. It’s a very strong group. There are a lot of very dedicated people on that committee,” said John, who noted the many bodies who have assisted them in their endeavours, chief among them Limerick City and County Council, Pobal and Ballyhoura Development.

“And we get a lot of volunteer support from within the community,” he noted.

“We have staff as well - it’s not all volunteers. We have eight people working for us - four in childcare and four are supporting us through the Local Community Employment Scheme.”

In relation to ACM Community Development Society being honoured with the Limerick Person of the Month award, John described it as “fantastic”.

“When you are involved in community development, you are just continuously working, head down and you just keep at it. You take on one project at a time. You are never really looking for external credit but when it comes it’s fantastic - it gives a lift to everybody.”

The Limerick Person of the Month award is sponsored by the Limerick Leader, media agency Southern and the Clayton Hotel.