Longford gets new voluntary community group in Ballymahon and will have meeting

The newly formed voluntary organisation entitled ‘Ballymahon Community Information Partnership’ will be holding a town hall style public meeting later this month in the south Longford town.

Recognised by the Longford Public Participation Network, the ‘Ballymahon Community Information Partnership’ was founded by Niall Dowler and Ronan O Ceallaigh.

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The main focus of the group is to inform local people directly within the Ballymahon community of all potential developments that will impact their daily lives.

Niall, an Independent local election candidate in 2024, and Ronan, a member of Ballymahon Traders Association, feel that there is a serious lack of awareness amongst the community of what new infrastructural changes are coming down the line.

“It is absolutely astounding in fact, how unaware our local residents really are,” they said, adding, “Upon speaking with the people of Ballymahon town, generally the inhabitants and business owners, have no real-time knowledge, of what is happening, or what is about to happen.”

In a move to fill that information vacuum the ‘Ballymahon Community Information Partnership’ was founded.

Niall and Ronan outlined that they will ‘partner with the community and explain in layman’s terms what exactly is happening, educate everyone, so that everyone has a clear understanding, and remove the ambiguity’.

They aim to distribute leaflets regularly to each household in Ballymahon, and hold regular face to face community meetings to inform local people in relation to what is happening within the environs of Ballymahon town.

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Niall and Ronan remarked, “We are a voluntary group created to unite our local people and to share the public information that affects us all. We hope that this will be a flagship venture that the wider county of Longford may consider doing and indeed roll out nationwide.”