| HACKETSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE Click here to return to homepage
Hacketstown Community Centre, officially known as Hacketstown Community Sports Hall Limited, is situated on The Green, Hacketstown, just in front of The idea for a Community Centre started in 1983 when Gerry McCarney canvassed a number of local people with the idea to see would they be prepared to attend a meeting and to serve on a committee if one was to be formed. Having got a positive response he then asked Fr Gahan, the local curate, to announce a public meeting to get the feelings of the Hacketstown public and to try to get a committee formed. At a very well attended meeting there was a wide ranging discussion about the pros and cons, about how big or small the centre should be and about where it should be built. It was finally agreed that a committee should be formed and the general feeling was that it was time Hacketstown ‘got up off its knees’ and started something for itself, and that a Community Centre would be the first step. A committee was then formed and fundraising was started almost immediately. The first cheque written was £15 to buy goldfish for a fundraising event. This fundraising never stopped until the centre was built and paid for, almost 10 years later. The original committee, with one or two additions or withdrawals, stayed with the project until it was finished and the debt cleared. The amount of work put in by every member of the committee was unbelievable over such a long period. An example of the amount of work is that from 1984 to 1990 there were over 320 fund raising events and some of these events were week long festivals. Some of the raffles meant that committee members travelled over a 30 mile radius almost every night of the week to sell enough tickets to make a success of the event. Although it was difficult to get more people on the committee there was always great support and help for the fundraising events and the people of Hacketstown were 100% behind the committee. There was over £9000 donated locally, and a number of people gave £1000 interest-free loans for 5 years. When the time came for these loans to be paid back many of the loans were made into donations. The Parish also donated £5000. All those who donated funds and supported in any way just cannot be thanked enough. After the first year of fundraising, and as the money was starting to come in, it was decided to start looking for a site for the centre. A number of sites, both inside and outside the town, were looked at before deciding to enquire if the old town hall on The Green could be purchased from the Parish. It was then discovered that the hall and carpark in front of the school was actually owned by the The next step was to remove the old hall and clear the site. The ‘old town hall’ as it was known, had a bit of history of its own. It was erected sometime around 1922 having been transported from the Glen of Imaal in the The hall was then demolished and the site cleared. Early in 1986 the steel frame of the new building, complete with roof and sides, was erected. The foundations for the walls were then dug and the concrete poured. When the first section of the concrete floor was poured most of the Committee were involved, as well as any other voluntary labour they could round up. However this was such hard work that it was decided to get a contractor to do the rest of the floor. The walls were then erected and the toilets and kitchen area built but not installed. Then the money ran out, but at least at this stage people could see where their money was going, which made it a little easier to fundraise. Even though there was only a concrete floor and block walls in the hall at this stage, with no doors, windows or toilets, the committee held some discos and dances in the hall. Indoor football was also played, making use of every opportunity to fundraise. Work continued on the hall as much as fundraising allowed. Then, in the middle of 1988 the committee got word that there was a £50,000 lottery grant available to be spent throughout This boost enabled the committee to employ a local building contractor, Gerry Quinn, to fit doors and windows, to plaster walls, to get the kitchen and toilets finished and to install a maple floor. The hall was officially opened in February 1989 by Junior Minister Liam Aylward, with special guest Mrs O’Daly who had donated the site. The cost of building the hall was £125,000, a significant amount in the With the hall now complete it was possible to start a weekly bingo. This started in September 1989 and has continued to run every Wednesday night to the present day (May 2005). This has provided funds to clear any debts and to pay the outgoings of the hall, such as electricity and insurance, and still be able to build up modest funds for future improvements. Since the completion of the hall it has been used regularly by the local schools and clubs for indoor soccer, basketball, badminton, volleyball etc. It has also been used for dinner dances, Christmas parties for senior citizens and all types of events where a big indoor area is needed. For example, visitors to and participants in the annual Hacketstown Easter Parade are served tea and sandwiches in the hall on the afternoon of the parade, Easter Sunday. Colaiste Eoin, the local secondary school, recently used the centre for the Leaving and Junior Cert exams while the school was being renovated. In fact, there is such a huge demand for the use of the hall that it is very seldom that it is not in use. Examples of some of the fundraising events held to build the centre were regular Christmas and Easter parties in Jacobs, Knockananna. The committee was first to bring Maureen Potter out of Dublin, when they booked Lawless’s Hotel in Aughrim and The Seven Oaks in Carlow to host her Cabaret. They also had a performance of ‘The Field’ and ‘Many Young Men of Twenty’ by the Kiltegan Players in Cullens Lounge, Hacketstown. From June 1984 to March 1991 a ‘Take Your Pick’ fundraiser was held in Cullens every Sunday evening. The first Take Your Pick Jackpot (£400) was won on the 16th week by Filie Cullen in October 1984, and the final one by Michael Willoughby in March 1991 (£360). One of the largest fundraising events was the Lord Mayor competition which was won by Andy Doyle and raised £5,310 for the community centre. Examples of fundraising events over the years include: · Pub quizzes · Raffles · Barn Dances · Ceilis · Lord Mayor competition · Flag Days · Open Air Concerts · Festival Week · Discos · Auctions · Donations · Interest Free Loans · Weekly ‘Take Your Pick’ draws · Weekly Bingo · Occasional Monster Bingo · Variety Concerts · All Priests Show · Pony Raffle · Bike Raffle · Tug of War · Football Matches · Crazy Gaelic/Soccer/Rugby · Car Boot Sales · Christmas and Easter Parties · Members Draws · Poker Classics · Sponsorship from · Maureen Potter Cabarets · Mr & Mrs Competition The Hacketstown Community Centre is an essential resource for the people of Hacketstown, and is testament to the generosity of the people of the area and the foresight and hard work of the committee members since that initial public meeting in 1983. |
