Our Friends of Ballinskelligs patron scheme is open to everyone who has a love of the area and its beauty. Becoming a patron gives you the opportunity to help shape the future of Ballinskelligs for the benefit of all.
Over the last number of years Coiste Forbartha na Sceilge and Ballinskelligs Community Care have set out and ambitious program of development for our area. As well as providing facilities in the Community Centre like in-house meals, meals on wheels, laundry, concerts, keep fit classes, access to a Beautician, to Chiropodist, Hairdresser, Yoga and Zumba , participate in the Tidy Towns competition, our Men’s Shed has restored one of the oldest seine boats in the world, and we acquired the Garda Barracks for community use.
We have also successfully developed many walks to boost local tourism; this included the Emlagh Loop and in 2016 the Skellig Monks Trail will open.
We have lobbied National and Local government about various issues in the area including the pier, Ballinskelligs Castle, protection of the sand dunes, improvements and changes to the beach car park, including a one way system for beach car park trafficand most importlanty how to mantain and enhance our unique link with the Skelligs rock and Ballinskelligs Abbey. We are at present working closely with Failte Ireland, Kerry County Council and other bodies to achieve this.
We have produced a number of publications including a quarterly newsletter, Ballinskelligs Remembered book, as well as a website and Facebook page. Together with Ballinskelligs tourism group we have established a new website and now a beautiful brochure of the Ballinskelligs area.
We are involved in the Community Festival annually and are helping develop the St. Michael’s Pattern Festival which occurs at the end of September.
This is where you come in; all of these activities require a lot of money to sustain. Our annual expenditure last year was €104,700. We receive government funding of about €25,000 so that leaves a large gap to bridge. We achieve this with some income from meals on wheels, Hall rental, laundry etc, but the majority is collected through fundraising We wish to acknowledge the generous contribution from the O’ Sullivan family, Coom over the last number of years but it is a constant struggle to keep these services going.
Our latest effort is a patronage scheme which we are calling “Friends of Ballinskelligs” and it is open to everyone who has a love and commitment to the area . Becoming a patron gives you the opportunity to help shape the future if Ballinskelligs for the benefit of all. Our aims are to care for our community, to develop and conserve the natural beauty and heritage of Ballinskelligs in a sustainable way for ours and future generations. We would especially appeal to the many holiday home owners in the area and the more frequent visitors who come back year after year to join the scheme.
