I am delighted to announce that €500,000 has been secured for the transformation of Tullow town park into a vibrant, accessible, multi-use community space featuring paths, skatepark, games area, river access, and nature-based amenities.
This is very welcome news and something that I have been actively lobbying and campaigning for as the provision of parks and playgrounds in Tullow was one of the biggest issues during the local elections.
This park will be specifically aimed for the 12+ age group with plans to build another playground for pre-teens. Unfortunately, progress on the pre-teen park has stalled since last October when 4/6 councillors (John Pender, Will Paton, Charlie Murphy, Jim Deane) in the Tullow MD area voted AGAINST a pre-teen playground for Tullow. Myself and Cllr. Brian O’Donoghue supported the plans to develop a playground for young children in the town on the 1798 publicly owned park.
At the meeting I said:
“We have a town of 5,000 people and the biggest issue that I heard when I canvassed every single house in this town during the local elections is that we have no park for preteens”
I argued that mitigation measures including fencing, CCTV, accessible pathways and vegetation removal could address residents’ concerns, adding: “No matter where we put it, there’s going to be people that won’t want it there.” Following the 4-2 vote against Part 8, I issued a stark warning: “If we can’t get a simple thing like a playground for young kids in our town over the line because some politicians are scared of losing a few votes, to upset few people in the area, how are we going to develop our town into the future? I think people need to stand up and be brave and vote for something, and face the backlash for the good of the town.”
I will continue to be a voice for young people and families in our area.

Media Article here: https://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/your-community/tullow-playground-scuppered-during-bad-tempered-meeting_arid-75095.html