Avondhu Blackwater Partnership is seeking to make contact with all artists and craftspeople in the Muskerry, Avondhu and Blackwater Valley regions. The purpose of this call is to explore the possibility of creating a registry, or database of the craftworkers in the region which would make it easier for the local development company to disseminate…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership will be running an 8 week Marketing Skills Course for business owners in the Avondhu Blackwater region, commencing in the last week of September. The purpose of the course is to increase the competitiveness of the participants, secure increased business and foster growth. Rather than simply teach academic marketing information, the course…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership has announced the availability of funding for business innovation and micro enterprises in the Blackwater Valley region. In a statement this week the company CEO Valerie Murphy said, “measure 312 of our Rural Development Programme sets aside funding for Business Creation and Development. We have recognised that with the tough economic conditions…
In the latest of his series of articles on how we look at our town, Avondhu Blackwater Partnership’s Cathal o’ Meara looks at a gap in the market in Fermoy for a farmers market. ‘The idea of a local economy rests upon only two principles: neighborhood and subsistence…” Wendell Berry. Growing numbers of towns throughout…
The residents of Blarney can look forward to a significant addition to their amenities as work has finally started on the new playground in the village, a project that has received significant funding from local development company Avondhu Blackwater Partnership. The playground was subject to unavoidable delays but the sod has at last been turned…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership has linked with a Fáilte Ireland approved trainer to deliver a high quality Tour Guide Training Course. The course will be localised for the North Cork area and would be of huge benefit to anyone interested in working or volunteering as a tour guide. The course is suitable for people with a…
Streets are more than traffic, at their most basic level they are community spaces. Looking at past photos of Fermoy this is immediately evident. Patrick’s street served as a market, meeting place, thoroughfare and spectacle at the same time. We need to bring this rich texture of life back into our town to create a…
As the recent Fermoy Street festival highlighted, vibrant, attractive streets with less traffic promote social and recreational activities, because people walking become inspired to linger and enjoy their town. And more people spending more time in the town can only be of benefit to local businesses in the long term. The Fermoy Street Festival gave…
Friday 17th June 2011 will be a landmark day for the communities in Araglen and the surrounding areas, when the newly refurbished Community Hall is opened by Minister Simon Coveney. Funding for this project was secured through Avondhu Blackwater Partnership, under the Rural Development LEADER programme, totalling €189,000.00 The Community Hall has been transformed into…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership’s Landscape Architect Cathal O’ Meara has worked closely with the residents’ associations and Tidy Towns committee in recent times and outlines a fundamental flaw in how we interact with our town. Cathal explains, “Fermoy town has, like many Irish towns suffered a decline in the quality of its urban environment since the…
Are you recently or long term unemployed and looking for advice on entitlements or how to get back into the workplace? Or are you an entrepreneur who is seeking advice on turning your idea into a business? What if you are looking to improve your opprtunities by furthering your education and qualifications? Avondhu Blackwater Partnership…
By 2013 it is planned that forthcoming water charges will be levied on Irish households based on the individual rate of consumption. In response to this Avondhu Blackwater Partnership Ltd has teamed with Chevron Training and is now offering Water Meter Installation courses which will be ideally suited to the person who wishes to up-skill…
Communications Minister Pat Rabitte today announced a new Rural Broadband Scheme which aims to identify the remaining individual premises in rural Ireland that are unable to obtain a broadband service and to provide a service to those premises where requested. This Scheme will be carried out in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and…
Common Cents 2011 brings together speakers with a wealth of knowledge and experience in addressing social issues through community businesses and social enterprises. Michael D. Higgins will deliver the Keynote address: ‘Community, Culture and Creativity’. Participants will have the opportunity to network and to learn how communities can access funding through Social Finance and the Rural…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership was recently delighted to be able to assist the Dromahane Development Association in a long awaited upgrade project. The roadside bordering on the church car park had become an eyesore with successive hard winters and increased traffic leaving divots and potholes in their wake. The Development Association has drafted a three year…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership’s Agri Diversification Seminar held in association with Teagasc proved to be a great success when it was held on Wednesday night last week. The purpose of the conference, titled “Where Do You Grow From Here?” was to encourage rural stakeholders such as farmers to take a different look at their options in…
With the current economic climate pressurising small businesses across the country many of them are feeling the squeeze. Companies are looking at themselves to see what changes can be made, and people recently made unemployed are coming up with new business ideas and thinking “why not me?” And that’s where John McCarthy the new Small…
Mourneabbey Residents Trust Community Council are enjoying the fruits of working with Avondhu Blackwater Partnership, the Local Development Company for the Blackwater area. Avondhu Blackwater Partnership contributed 75% funding to aid in the resurfacing of the driveway to the Community Centre, which also included the creation of two new speed bumps. The Community Centre is…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership has announced that they now have funding available for ancillary services to the Sport Horse Sector. Until now this was an area that the Local Development Company was unable to offer support to. However a recent ruling has meant that though the mainstream Horse industry is not applicable for Grant funding, Ancillary…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership have welcomed a new addition to the staff in the form of Cathal o’ Meara, who has been contracted to provide expertise in the area of Landscape Architecture. Avondhu Blackwater Partnership provide grant funding to Communities in the Fermoy/Mallow/Blarney region under the Rural Development Programme and the Local and Community Development Programme…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership, in association with Teagasc will be holding an information and support conference with the aim of encouraging local farmers to consider their business options both inside and outside the Farm Gate. Many farmers are facing the increased pressures exerted by the ongoing recession, tightening purse strings and increased competition from low cost…
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, today confirmed that the €53 million Dairy Equipment and the Rainwater Harvesting Schemes will open for applications on Tuesday 1 March 2011. Both schemes are provided for in Ireland’s Rural Development Programme and are intended to remain open for applications until end-2013. Under the terms of the…
Avondhu Blackwater Partnership invites applications from suitably qualified individuals to lead a strategic initiative whose aim is the establishment of a strategic approach to the development, management and promotion of heritage products in the Avondhu Blackwater Region. The successful candidate will be responsible for assisting with the implementation of the Rural Development Business Plan of…
Medieval Buttevant Conference: European Urbanism in Ireland 4th-6th March 2011 Buttevant and Springfort Hall Hotel, Mallow, Co. Cork Recent research has revealed some fascinating new information on the layout of Medieval Buttevant, enabling comparisons between it and the ‘New Towns’ established across Europe in the 13th century, particularly the bastides of south-western France. The conference…
The National Rural Development/Teagasc Conference has been rescheduled to Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011 in the Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. The National Rural Network, Teagasc and the Local Development Companies (LEADER) are delighted to jointly host this one day conference on Jobs in rural Ireland. The Rural Development Programme (2007-2013) represents a…
MAJOR potential to develop a sport horse alternative farm enterprise was claimed by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) chairman Joe Walsh at the recent launch of a guide to rural development programme grant aid for the sector. The sport horse industry is a growing rural resource widely dispersed throughout every parish, and is a world brand…
The clock is ticking and locals are counting down the days to the much- anticipated and biggest festival that Fermoy has ever seen with €200k being spent to ensure its success. Valerie Murphy, CEO of Avondhu Blackwater Partnership, spoke about how plans for the big event, which runs from Friday, December 17 to Sunday, December…
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