New Beginnings Hoped for Castleisland Community Garden

Billy O’Brien pictured on his pollinators’ paradise at the Castleisland Community Garden site at the Crageens in 2019. ©Photograph: John Reidy  15-6-2019 
Monsignor Dan O’Riordan giving his blessings to the launch of the Castleisland Community Garden project in the new tunnel in April 2016. ©Photograph: John Reidy 29-4-2016.

The tenure of Castleisland Community Garden at its site in The Crageens has run its course.

Castleisland Co-Op Mart bought the site from the Presentation Order almost a year ago and allowed the gardeners a grace period until the end of 2021 to harvest whatever crops they had set in the spring of the year.

The few remaining gardeners are sliding their way towards squatter status – though nobody has expressed the term out loud.

During the height of its reign there were up to a dozen separate groups which included memberships of anything up to 40 individuals involved in the tilling and planting of all kinds of fruit and vegetables.

Green Party Rep Appeal

Kerry Green Party representative Cleo Murphy appealed this week to the new site owners to allow the gardening to continue there.

“As farmers and growers I am appealing to the decision makers in the mart to allow the gardeners to continue working there.

“This is a particularly important year and with the minister for agriculture appealing to people to consider home grown food as an answer to the shortages which are being predicted.

“As a grower myself I am appealing to the powers that be to see if they can find a way to accommodating the community for this year at least,” said Ms. Murphy.

The View from the Mart

However, Castleisland Co-Op Mart Chairman Timmy Horan said that the mart had bought the site when it came up for sale as nobody else seemed to be interested in it.

“We left the gardeners work away as we knew well they had a lot of stuff planted there and we wanted to give them a chance to harvest it.

“We’re now into March and there’s no move yet and we believe they’re looking at some alternatives sites around the town so it isn’t that they’ll be without a place to set up and start planting.

The Biggest Losers

The biggest losers in all of this will undoubtedly be the butterflies and bees as resident flower gardener Billy O’Brien will also have to leave his highly and thoughtfully cultivated borders behind.

But, knowing Billy he will be back in action as soon as the community garden refugees find their piece of land and peace of mind again.

Began in 2013

Back in 2013 Tuas got a small group of local growers together after being offered the use of the site now being vacated.

After starts and restarts the interest grew after an offer of ridges and guidance the gardeners began to grow in number.

Willie Reidy was appointed as manager and St. John of God took ridges and it all seemed to take off from there.

Blessing in 2016

Monsignor Dan O’Riordan performed the blessing of the garden at an official opening in the spring of 2016 and it was noses to the grindstone from there on as extra poly-tunnel space became available.

Where there’s a will there’s a way and there are people talking to each other in the background and hoping that all will be rosy in the garden sooner rather than later.

Have a look back on the garden’s heyday through this short film on a day in its life with a click on the link here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1108880329171439

You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.