The Ballyjamesduff Unity Group

The Ballyjamesduff Unity Group was set up by a group of people who attended Community Development training coordinated by Mary McCabe SICAP Development Officer. The group is made up of representatives from various communities living in BJD and one of their first tasks was to carry out a needs analysis of the area. A number of questions were devised and participants were asked to rank how life in Ballyjamesduff was for them on a scale of 1-10. From November 2018 to January 2019 a total of 108 people completed the survey made up of approx. 30% from the non-Irish community and the remaining 70% were local and other Irish people.

Transport, Loneliness/Community Spirit, Employment & Access to Shops were indicated as some of the biggest issues for people with Childcare being of least concern to those who completed the survey. The following graph displays the findings, showing the percentage of respondents who felt that the particular issue was a major concern.

Easter Family Fun Day

As a starting point to address loneliness/community spirit the Unity Group are organising a Family Fun Day to take place during the Easter holidays. Through this event the group hope to raise community spirit and to promote inter-cultural understanding in the community by creating a fun family event for all.