WORK ON €14M MONAGHAN PEACE CAMPUS TO START IN OCTOBER

BUILDING BRIDGES NOT BARRIERS: HUMPHREYS

Michael Fisher

Recent tragic events in the north including the killing of journalist Lyra McKee showed that there was still some way to go towards building peace, according to the Chief Executive of the Special EU Programmes Body. Gina McIntrye was speaking on Monday at the launch by Monaghan County Council of ‘The Peace Campus’, a €14.5 million project that will bring a much-needed neutral shared space to Monaghan town (especially for young people), along with a new library and museum.

This iconic building will be situated at the former Council machinery yard beside the old Garda barracks on Plantation Road, on land that was once part of the Great Northern Railway. It is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the SEUPB, which is contributing €9.5 million to the County Council to deliver the building. The balance of the funding (€5 million) is being provided by Monaghan County Council from various sources.

Match-funding has been secured from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the NI Department for Communities. The launch was held at the Garage Theatre, with over eighty people including public representatives in attendance. Monaghan County Council Cathaoirleach Councillor David Maxwell told the invited guests: “The Peace Campus project was developed to address the needs that still exist in our communities…