A vibrant community spirit, allied to some judiciously applied rural development funding and training, has enabled the small north Wexford village of Craanford to boast a level of development out of all proportion to its size.
The first thing that strikes the visitor is the visual element: a pleasant landscaped riverside walkway, picnic areas, new street lighting, trees planted on the approach road. Less apparent are the initiatives that continue to improve the area.
The local action group, the Craanford Community Association Ltd, was established in 1996 with the assistance and support of WORD, the Wexford Organisation for Rural Development, which has worked closely with local communities.
The partnership between WORD and the Craanford has increased confidence in the community and encouraged further initiatives.
Funding was provided for reconstruction work on Craanford's early 17th-century water mill (described separately on this page). There was assistance also for the innovative idea to establish an aqua park, a neatly landscaped amenity area at the edge of the village, with a stream, an old railway footbridge and parking area.
Most significantly, WORD facilitated a number of training courses. "They sent several of us on a community leadership training course," said the secretary of the community association, Ms Ann Kavanagh. "This was very forward-thinking, because the community then began doing things for itself."
Three people completed the training programme. Two members of the community association are currently pursuing a diploma course in rural development at UCD.
These training and awareness programmes have helped empower the community. The aqua park project saw tremendous local effort in terms of voluntary labour and fund-raising events. The local development committee raised half the money needed for the installation of street lighting by the county council.
Craanford is also one of a number of Wexford communities involved in another WORD scheme, the Community Information Technology initiative. This will provide a computer, printer and scanner, for producing newsletters, financial accounts, posters and other material. It will provide access to the Internet and to each community's Web page.
Last year, with financial assistance, Craanford took part in another training course specifically targeted at people interested in increasing their knowledge and awareness of the history and folklore traditions in their locality. The aim was to enable them to use this information to promote their area. And the Craanford group is now in the course of producing a parish journal.
The energetic community association is now turning its attention to a comprehensive assessment of the entire community, its composition and structure and the changes it is undergoing. A large number of young parents are moving into the area, and along the Irish Sea coast, only seven or eight miles to the east, house sites are costing up to £50,000.
All this is having an impact on the small village and its environs. "We're hoping to do a social audit of the area shortly," said Ms Kavanagh.