Gaelic club gets lottery fund boost

The funding boost will mean the club can start up a new catering service in the venue which is used by a number of local community group for a variety of events and activities throughout the year.

Groups which use the hall will pay rent to the venue and catering services available and the money the club makes will then go back into paying for the venue’s upkeep and running further activities in the area.

It is part of the Big Lottery Fund’s ‘Village SOS’ scheme which provides funding for community-run social enterprises which aim to revive local areas and help buck the trend of rural decline.

In this latest announcement, a total of 13 projects have been assisted by grants from ‘Village SOS’ which has awarded in excess of £641,370 to various groups across Northern Ireland.

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said, “Village SOS is a unique opportunity for funding for community-run social enterprises. We are delighted to announce the funding offers for these innovative Northern Ireland projects which are testament to the strength and creativity that exists in this rural community.

“The programme, which is now closed for applications, is supporting communities across Northern Ireland to start up community-run enterprises which will breathe new life into their local areas.”

‘Village SOS’ supports rural communities with fewer than 3,000 people to develop plans for enterprising projects from community-run shops and pubs to energy or transport schemes, craft or food projects. For more information visit: www.villagesos.org.uk