Landmark moment for north Longford town as incredible Lus na Greine FRC is opened

Minister of State with responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail, Emer Higgins, officially opened the new state-of-the-art Lus na Gréine Family Resource Centre premises on Friday morning last.

Lus na Gréine FRC has been a vital part of the Granard community for almost seventeen years. Not only do they provide support to families throughout the community they also work to provide social groups that allows the community to connect with one another, these include, Granard Youth Club, Cool Girls Club, a Garden Club, and many more.

The centre has been in the works for a long time and has been headed up by Eileen Finan, manager of Lus na Gréine. Eileen has been with Lus na Gréine since it opened in 2007 as the one hundredth family resource centre in Ireland.

PICTURES | Special day for north Longford town as Minister Emer Higgins opens new state of the art resource centre

Eileen highlighted the work that went into the project. “Today is the new opening of our newly refurbished premises which is owned by Longford County Council and we have a long term lease on so we’re celebrating.”

“We’re already very immersed in the community, we're at the heart of the community,” said Eileen. “This impressive new premises will allow us to expand our services and reach more people.”

The building is health and safety approved and is an A- Rated building. It includes a wealth of resources including a holistic centre. The centre is bright and warm much like those working within it.

This much can be garnered by the amount of people who arrived through the centre's doors to celebrate with Lus na Gréine. Business owners and key figures from throughout the community were present in support of the organisation.

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Granard librarian Rosemary Gaynor remarked, “I think it’s a great facility and with this this beautiful new building Lus na Gréine will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Former county councillor PJ Reilly was also present, “This is a very big day for the town of Granard and especially for Lus na Gréine, to see this place up and running and completely finished.
“We all know that it will be a huge success for Granard and it is great to have such a facility in the town.”

Cllr Pádraig McNamara said “I’m absolutely overwhelmed with the project here, the project is second to none, it’s a leading project I will say not only for Granard but for Longford.”

He added, “I’m hoping that we will see more of these projects that will help more community services that are in the area. And leave it to Eileen Finan, she’s second to none.”

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As a member of Lus na Gréine’s board of managment, Cllr Turlough McGovern was also present. “We purchased this building just over five years ago,” he explained, “The new premises were badly needed no fault of the one they were in and there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don't see.”

Cllr McGovern praised the work the centre does for the community explaining, “At Christmas time or any time during the year nobody is found wanting for anything that we can help out in.”

Senator Michéal Carrigy has been involved with Lus na Gréine since he first became a public representative in 2009. “I remember inviting the committee to come to a Granard Municipal District meeting in Ballinalee when I was Cathaoirleach, to put forward the wants, the needs and ambitions they had as a family resource centre.”

In regards to the centre as it is today he said, “I suppose the vision came from Eileen as to what this could be, and to reimagine Lus na Gréine as a larger family resource centre. I'm delighted that I've been able to work with other representatives in Longford to secure the building purchased by Longford County Council and get their support.”

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Minister Emer Higgins described Lus na Gréine as a most incredible facility. “I’m excited to be here and it's lovely to meet such passionate and engaging staff members. The manager Eileen would blow you away with her commitment and passion for helping people.”

Deputy Joe Flaherty TD praised Eileen Finan's contribution to Lus na Gréine. “She didn't emphasise enough because she never does, today is a triumph for Eileen,” he said.

Deputy Flaherty continued, “It’s a landmark moment for Granard. It’s very much a blueprint for how community works should be done and of course it shines a light on the fact that we do need a similar facility in Longford town which has significant socio and economic challenges, so what we have here we really need to replicate in Longford town.”

He concluded, “It's significant that the budget for the first time in five years has included additional funding for Tusla to enable the expansion of the family resource network. A team within the Longford County Council is currently working on the feasibility for the Longford town project.”

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