PREVIOUS PROJECTS
Taste of Truagh 2013
September 15th was the day to experience all that beautiful North Monaghan and it's surrounding area had to offer. From cake baking to furniture making and everything in between. This year we had decided to produce a book called "A Taste of Truagh", which included everything unique that this wonderful part of the world had to share. The book also advertised local businesses and entrepreneurs.
The Gathering 2013
The Gathering was a joint initiative of Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland and was a spectacular, year-long celebration of all things Irish.
According to The Gathering Website, over 70 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry. The Gathering Ireland 2013 provided the perfect excuse to reach out to those who have moved away, their relatives, friends and descendants, and invite them home. The Gathering was the people’s party.
Taste of Truagh 2012
Over 1000 visitors came through the gates of the Blackwater Valley Learning Centre, on Sunday 16th September 2012 to celebrate a‘Taste of Truagh’. Over 50 Exhibitors filled the venue with an exceptional display of produce and services available in the local area. Furniture, Jewelry, Make-Up, Knitware, Stone-work, Arts and Crafts and Home Baking is just a taste of what was on offer. It was amazing to see how many Entrepreneurs and service providers we have here on our door step. There is no doubt about the Truagh Talent available here in North Monaghan.
Along with our exhibitors there was a wide variation of demonstrations throughout the day. A live performance from Rula Bula’s Scott Griffin had everyone’s feet tapping and Jamie and Patrick Corrigan captured everyone’s attention with their performance of “Will you marry me?”. Aoibhinn Treanor gathered a huge crowd with her beautiful music on the Concertina.
Mr Mark Hamill, chef with the Squealing Pig Restaurant, Monaghan Town gave a mouth-watering cookery demonstration incorporating produce from one of our local sponsors, Silver hill Duckling. Mark was ably assisted by some young aspiring local chefs. There was fun for the younger generation, who accompanied by their favourite teddy bear, enjoyed a teddy bears picnic, with face painting and balloon making also provided.
We would like to thank our sponsors Silver Hill Foods,Watterson’s Concrete Ltd, Eoin Cadden Furniture, Boyne Valley Hotel and Country Club, Pauric McAnenly, McAnenly Fuels, CNI, Eastern Balti Restaurant, Monaghan Electrical Ltd, The Squealing Pig Restaurant, Millwood Furniture, Supervalu (Flemings) Red Boys, and Master Deerys.
A big thank you to all our local businesses who sponsored the event or who donated prizes for the raffle. Our thanks also to everyone who attended the event and to those who helped out in any way on the day. Finally, our greatest thanks goes to many exhibitors who displayed their produce and services and made a Taste of Truagh 2012 the overwhelming success that it was.
The Blackwater Heritage & Peace Project was a two year project funded by the International Fund for Ireland. This project aimd to create opportunities for communities both in Truagh and Aughnacloy to meet in a shared setting and provide the opportunity for in depth contact, dialogue and reconciliation. The project involved the delivery of courses and workshop on peace and reconciliation, digitally recording of stories and interviews and creating a digital archive of local history.
The European Awarding winning A.T.E.S.S.P
(Aughnacloy, Truagh, European Studies Schools Programme. (www.atessp.ie)
Under the banner of education the pupils from the schools of Truagh and Aughnacloy, together with their communities, formed a cluster under the title Aughnacloy, Truagh, European Studies Schools Programme. They explored and celebrated their shared sense of place in the BlackwaterValley and used the modern methods of technology to assist with this exchange. This project was a standard-bearer for what could be achieved and ways of bringing two communities together, communities which had been deeply affected by the previous 25 years of violence. The success was recognized by An Toaiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern when he visited the area in 1998.
Travelnet
Funded by Monaghan Co. Council Led Task Force – (EU Peace II) Through this project many trips were provided for the elderly from the area of Truagh including a very successful peace building trip to Belfast and Derry. The tours were thought provoking and provided a fascinating insight into life in Belfast and Derry during the troubles. In addition much contact, dialogue and reconciliation was built among participants.
Blackwater Broadband System
Funded by Interreg IIIA, IFI, H.S.E. - aim of the project at the outset was to improve Internet Communication in the border area of North Monaghan and South Tyrone where no broadband infrastructure was in place at that time or planned for in the immediate future.
Workers' Educational Association (WEA)
In November, 2006, Truagh Development Association (TDA) working in partnership with the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) in Belfast, launched a cross-border cross-community peace building project for the border corridor. This interesting new project which was located at the Blackwater Valley Learning Centre, aimed at building peace through community education. The main task of the project was to develop and offer a wide range of peace building programmes and workshops. These included some WEA accredited and non-accredited courses adapted specifically for the project. This programme over-succeeded in its target number.
Stepping Stones Project Stage 1
Funded by IFI under the Integrated Communities Programme: involved six groups (three from the North and three from the South) delivering a programme of activities. The ultimate aim of the project was to break down barriers, build trust and build reconciliation by helping people work together who would not normally easily move between each others venues or have the opportunity to work side by side. The project give solid foundations for an effective partnership between the six communities and helped in working jointly to achieving social and economic benefits across our area. It brought people together in a safe, comfortable environment where they could socialise and get
to know each other, organising cross community /cross border events in each others venues.
Stepping Stones Project Stage 2
Funded by The Department of Foreign Affairs through its Anglo Irish Division Reconciliation Fund awarded €35000 to seven groups from both north and south of the border (Refer to Appendix 1 Newsletter for further details of the
project).
Blackwater Valley Talent Competition
Funded under Monaghan Co. Council’s Peace III Small Grants Programme (€50,000) aims to bring a wide range of groups and individuals together to participate, share and showcase their cultures, traditions, skills in a social manner. This project will target all ages, cultures, traditions and backgrounds within the identified communities.
The project will bring people together in a safe, comfortable environment where they can participate, celebrate their cultures, traditions and backgrounds to a diverse audience in a sociable and enjoyable manner.
Some Pictures of the Blackwater Valley Talent Competition
