Sliabh gCua Community Centre
by Ned Power

On a cold and drizzly evening in February 1983, a small group of people gathered together under the heat of two single-bar electric heaters in Dunford's lounge bar in Touraneena. Not everybody realised that the decision taken that night would have a profound effect on the lives of those present and on generations of people to come in the tiny rural area of Sliabh gCua. Nine people were elected from that group to form a committee whose mandate was to draft plans for a community centre in Touraneena and to organise the raising of sufficient funds to build it.

The people elected that night were Jim Cullinan, Pat Dalton, Ned Power, Sean Whelan, Philo Power, Tom Power Fr. Seamus O' Dowd, Jerry Connors and Seamie Skehan.

The evening of Friday, June 16th, 1995, was a typical warm summer evening all over Ireland, except in Touraneena, where 450 people gathered together to celebrate the fulfilment of a dream. Nothing unusual in that, except that all 450 people sat down together in one building to partake of what became known as the First Supper. A brand new Community Centre, sparkling facilities, hitherto only available in more populated urban areas, was open to the public that night.

In between those two dates lie the record minutes of almost 200 meetings, 300 fund raising events and approximately 20 sets of draft plans alongside the unrecorded thousands of miles travelled, thousands of hours of mental thoughts and planning, hundreds of agreements and disagreements and endless telephone contacts.

Sadly, two of that original nine did not live to see the fruits of their endeavours. A third has answered the great call since. Jerry Connors, Fr. Seamus O' Dowd and Philo Power will be fondly remembered and their names proudly recalled whenever Touraneena people meet and the Community Centre comes up for discussion.

Future generations will marvel at the fore-thought, dedication and determination of that group of people who came together in February 1983 in Dunford's lounge to plan and bring to fruition that magnificent structure standing beside the local National School in the village of Touraneena and know far and wide as the Sliabh gCua Community Centre.