Moycullen residents show depth of community spirit

Twenty five years ago over 30 young families moved into a new housing estate in what was then the sleepy village of Moycullen.Pairc na gCaor wasn’t the first estate in the village – Woodlands was built already - but it was unique because it was the concept of Fr Harry Bohan, a Clareman who established the Rural Housing Organisation, with the view of building communities rather than houses in rural areas.On Saturday night fr harry, had he been in The Crossroads pub in Moycullen village, would be proud and happy that his vision had been more than realised as residents and former residents gathered for a reunion.In October, 1984, the first few families moved into the estate of cute dormer bungalow houses right in the village, close to amenities, another of Fr Harry’s stipulation as well as the houses being very affordable – they started out at about £22,000 for the two bedroomed, £27,000 for the three bedroomed but they were all sold for below the £30,000 mark as the RHO was a non-profit making organisation.It was the £50 deposit that attracted me. Like many in the mid-eighties 'savings’ were for other people, not me and if it wasn’t for this scheme, I may never have gotten onto the property ladder.Having gone to Spiddal school, rivalry with Moycullen was strong and wouldn’t have been my first location choice.For starters, we were all in the same boat on the estate, newlyweds starting families but as well as the camaraderie between us, we got a great warm welcome from the locals. Jack Kyne’s tiny corner shop was where An Cearnog Nua centre is now. It closed after last Mass and closed at 6pm weekdays, so at that time we were “living in the sticks.”But Pairc na gCaor got bigger, attracting a few retired couples which made for a good mix and the village grew accordingly.Mickey Lee, who owned Lee’s Bar at the time (now The Crossroads) built a new carpeted lounge to meet local demand.Mickey graciously popped into the reunion on Saturday night where he reminisced with his former customers, many now friends and golfing buddies but interestingly almost all of them have remained in Moycullen, if not in Pairc na gCaor.The first baby born into the estate, Aoife O’Brien cut the cake and many brought photographs which were passed around and the subject of much sentimental talk and amusement as many saw younger versions of themselves. Most of us believed we had aged well.The estate too has aged well and the saplings seen in early photographs are now mature trees adding much greenery to the estate.Many have built on porches and small extensions, enhancing their properties. Many have stayed put but others, like ourselves, moved not too far away to bigger houses but most of us are still in touch.The lovely family who bought our house dug up the front garden to lay new pipes for a ground floor extension and found a tiny gold Claddagh ring in the soil. It was a gift from a friend for our first born, Louise and she had constantly worn it as a child but had lost it obviously.What a surprise for her – and us - to see it again and what a lovely gesture of the other family to pass it on to us. The very kind of spirit Fr Harry had hoped would be nurtured through his housing schemes.The eleven years we lived there were our best, happiest years, and that was mainly because of the friendships built in those early years.There was always someone to mind a sick child for you, if there was a family gathering, everyone brought a dish or a bottle and we had parties at the drop of a hat.In recent years I have noticed that the estate has kept up this community spirit with summer barbecues held on the green – new housing estates are too worried about public liability and insurance costs to even fry a sausage on the green, let alone throw a party.It was great to see us all together again under the one roof just like the good old days. We haven’t noticed that the men have gone grey or bald or that the toddlers are now grown men and women, old enough to socialise with us.On Saturday night it was like the clock had turned back. A large notebook was passed around for comments, the same book was written into four years ago for the 21st anniversary. Here’s to the 30th and many years to come.