West Offaly Partnership has been integrated into Offaly Local development company and can be found HERE any information on this website is for reference only.
Other usefull websites are
Offaly Local Development Company
West Offaly Partnership is a voluntary community organisation established in 1994 and has been to the forefront of community education, planning and action for the past twelve years. It focuses on social exclusion and combating disadvantage in the community it serves. Using local responses to local needs as its modus operandi, West Offaly Partnership has created a huge awareness of capacity of local individuals and community organisations to respond to their own needs.
We are committed to helping the socially excluded, the long term unemployed and those at risk of becoming long term unemployed.
"West Offaly Partnership is a tool to be used by the people of the area to develop a pride of place, improve local environment and employment opportunities and ensure that West Offaly can halt its rural decline".
The
Partnership has several main objectives in helping the community:
- To improve the quality of life and self esteem of all inhabitants
of West Offaly;
- To develop measures to ensure the conservation of rural living and
the rural environment;
- To reverse decline at both social and economic levels by encouraging
and facilitating agencies and organisations to play their role in making
West Offaly and attractive and inclusive society;
- To develop a culture of enterprise by supporting new businesses and
employment opportunities;
- To improve accessibility for participation and integration;
- Respond to changing social and economic factors which directly affect
their community in a focussed and integrated manner; and
- Build on strong relationships and to cement links and information
flow with the public and private sector.
Over the past five years West Offaly Partnership has become involved with the communities of Birr and South Offaly. This work has included the establishment of a community training and resource centre, which includes community meeting rooms, a computer training suite, FAS funded Job Club, local training programmes and FAS employment services office. The premises is also used by a variety of other development organisations as a meeting and training venue.
Current Board Members:
Seamus Barron - Kilcormac
James Christie - Cloghan
Helen Conneely - Local Enterprise/Celtic Roots
Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy - M. C. C.
Gerry Doolin - Ballycumber/Lemonaghan
Tom Egan - Lough Boora Parklands
Tom Feighery - M. C. C.
Padraig Horan (Chairman) - Shannonharbour
Bridie Kinsella - Eglish/Rath
Kevin Macken - FAS
Eamon McManus - Shannonbridge/Clomacnoise
Mary McManus - Belmont
Mai Ridgewell - Pullough
George Smith - Banagher
Tom Wright - Ferbane
Brendan O'Loughlin (Programme Manager)
WOP News Headlines...
Dealing with Stress in Today's Society
The West Offaly Education Project will run a six week course on “Dealing with Stress in Today's Society”. This course will be for Men only and will take place in Gallen Community School , Ferbane. The course will commence on Tuesday 24 th February and will run for six Tuesday nights from 7.30 p.m. to 9,30 p.m. The fee for the course is €40.00. For further information, please contact Michelle Shanahan, Co. Offaly VEC on 057 9351 392 or Steve O' Donohue, West Offaly Partnership on 057 915 1622.
Rural Transport Routes .
Visit the RTP webpage by Clicking here or use the links below
‘The
West Offaly Way’, a publication detailing the success
of the Building Healthy Communities project in six rural communities
in West and South Offaly can be downloaded here.
Download Full Report
West Offaly Education Project:
Open Information Evenings 2008:Coming Soon
The project aims to deliver each community's training and education requirements.
All are welcome to attend these open nights.