Communities in Partnership Programme: Connect 2Gether
We are delighted to be working in Partnership with Clones Family Resource Centre for the International Fund for Ireland Project Communities in Partnership.
This project will bring participants from border areas of County Armagh together with participants from Clones in County Monaghan through a range of workshops including healthy living, a residential event, study visits and history talks.
Newest Updates:
Finale Book Launch
A launch event for the end of project book took place on Wednesday 27th November at Armagh City Hotel. A presentation on the project took place alongside speeches from Committee of Clones FRC and CACD.
Craft Classes
The Craft Classes which took place in October which were facilitated by Christina and Sharon from Fin & Fred’s.
These included classes of felt pumpkin making and Christmas bobble making which was needle felting which was held in Creighton Hotel on 7th October. The next classes were Autumn Wreath making and Christmas watercolour cards which was held on 14th October. The final set of Craft classes was French chique distress and decoupage held at Fin & Freds on 21st October. Participants designed and painted their own trays and vases with the design of their choice from napkins. These included fruit, country scene and more.
Residential Doagh and Londonderry
On Thursday 26th to Friday 27th September participants attended the residential with 30 attendees . This included a tour of Doagh Famine Village delving into history of the area and what life was like before television including divining for water, how they caught their food such as fish, seaweed and rabbits.
After an overnight stay in the Everglades Hotel Day 2 saw the group take part in a cultural traditions workshop learning about the history of Apprentice boys and why the organisation was created with a tour of the walls of Londonderry and a tour around the Siege Museum learning of the history behind the siege, the reason for the scarlet colouring for the apprentice boys and the experience people had during the period and a brief overview of the Apprentice Boys of Derry with myths dispelled.
Teambuilding Event at Lurgaboy Adventure Centre
On 4th July the Boards and Staff of CACD and Clones FRC took part in a teambuilding day at Lurgaboy Adventure Centre with activities on orienteering, archery and teambuilding games. Some of the participants were feeling a bit more courageous and took the ‘leap of faith.’ Thank you to Lewis and Jake for the very enjoyable day.
Guided Walks
The Connect 2Gether group took part in 4 Guided Walks in June learning about the history of different areas within the 2 Council areas of Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Monaghan County Council. The first guided walk took place on 6th June in Armagh City where Barbara took us around the City. On 13th June Jason took us around Gilford sharing areas such as the Mill and the old castle.
On 20th June the group took part in a guided walk of Monaghan Town by Enda. The group learned about the history of the model school and the railway in Monaghan. On 27th June the group took part in a guided walk of Ballybay by Rory where they learned about the history of the area and explained some of the plans for the town.
Study Visit: Ulster American Folk Park: Omagh
The Connect 2Gether group took part in a Study Visit to Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh where they learned about life during the 1840’s Famine in the island of Ireland and the voyage some took to USA.
Participants also took part in a workshop at the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies. Thank you to the park for hosting us and to Dr Paddy Fitzgerald for the talk and discussion on migration.
Gardening Workshops
The Connect 2Gether group took part in 4 gardening workshops in April 2024. This included a visit to Armagh Cider Company on 4th April 2024 where the group received a tour and talk of how apple cider is made and how they look after the trees. The group then received a workshop from Mervyn Walker on 11th April 2024 on how to make up their own garden planter which participants had the opportunity to make up their own planters and bring them home.
On 18th April at Creighton Hotel in Clones the group received a talk on Roses by Arthur Dixon of the Rose Society of Northern Ireland on the various types of roses and how to look after them and prune them and what is best for your garden. The final gardening workshop took place on 25th April at Greenfingers Garden Centre where Val provided a demonstration on how to grow various vegetables andadvice on small space gardening with participants going home with a tomato or strawberry plant.
Murder Mystery Teambuilding Event
On 22nd February 2024 the Boards and Staff of CACD and Clones FRC got together for a murder mystery teambuilding event at Brownlow House,Lurgan. This was a fantastic event where people dressed up and found clues whilst also meeting their characters’ objectives. We would like to thank Hilary from Murder Mystery NI for a great event and to David from Brownlow House for the tour of the fantastic building.
Cultural Music Workshops
On 19th February 2024 at the Creighton Hotel, Clones participants of the project took part in a bagpipes workshop by David of Altnaveigh Pipe band. Participants learned about the history of the bagpipes and how they work whilst also getting a fantastic demonstration from David.
Whilst on 26th February at Craigavon Civic Centre participants took part in an Uilleann pipes workshop by Tommy Fegan. Participants learned about the history of the Uilleann pipes and the culture surrounding the pipes. Tommy answered a number of questions and gave a demonstration of how to play the Uilleann pipes.
Networking Dance
On 27th November at the Courtrooms, Markethill those who took part in the dance classes in Clones and Portadown came together for a networking dance to showcase the various dances they had learnt from the 6 weeks of classes. Participants thoroughly enjoyed the final event which finished off with some refreshments.
Dance workshops
Beginning on the 9th October 2023 a group from Clones and a group from County Armagh took part in a number of dance workshops on different dance traditions. These were carried out at Millennium Court, Portadown and Clones Community Centre. This included 3 weeks of Scottish Country dancing and 3 3 weeks of Irish traditional folk dancing. We would like to thank the Tutors for facilitating these classes.
Information Events Phase 2 of Connect 2Gether Programme.
In September 2023 CACD hosted 2 information events for participants to express an interest in the next phase of the Connect 2Gether project. The first information event was held on 21st September at Armagh City Hotel for participants from County Armagh , while the Clones information event was held on 27th September at the Creighton Hotel.
Celebration Event
The project recently held a celebration event at Craigavon Civic Centre to mark the first year of the “Connect2Gether” project. This is a peacebuilding project, led by CACD, in partnership with Directors of the two organisations, Clones Family Resource Centre, Committee members and Lord delivered across County Mayor of ABC Council, Margaret Tinsley Armagh and Monaghan and funded by the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). Looking to the future, “Connect 2Gether” has big plans for growth, securing IFI support for a further 15 months. Key activities for phase two will include gardening workshops, training courses, music and culture workshops, dance classes and a residential.
Study Visits
In June the project had a study visit in Clones and one in County Armagh. The first study visit included a walking tour of Clones visiting a number of key sites such as the Ulster Canal Stores, the Cassandra Hand Centre and the Peace Link. The second study visit in County Armagh consisted of a tour and talk of the Orange Hall in Kilcluney and their football pitch, This was followed by a visit to Glennane Orange Hall and a talk at Glenanne Glen.
Participants during the Walking Tour of Clones at the Abbey
Participants during the talk at Glenanne Orange Hall
Healthy Workshops
4 workshops took place between March and May 2023 including a cookery demonstration to Rathcarberry Cookery School and a number of healthy workshops. A workshop was on food labelling and how to make healthier food choices, a talk from Larmer’s Butchers on various cuts of meat and he provided a demonstration and a talk from Billy Flynn on Biodiversity and how to grow your own.
Cookery Demonstration by Beatrice Elliott of Rathcarberry
Cookery School
Talk by Billy Flynn on how to grow your own.
Talk and Demonstration by Stephen Larmer on the various cuts of meats and how to cook them. He also provided details on how to cook for various seasons such as slow cooker, barbeque etc.
IFI Connect 2Gether Residential
On the 15th-16th March 2023 the International Fund for Ireland programme Connect 2gether took place in Corick House. This included participants from County Armagh and Clones alongside Board and Staff of CACD and Clones FRC.
31 attended the residential and took part in workshops on building relationships, Mental Health and wellbeing and teambuilding. This was kindly facilitated by Edward Hanna of Utopian Learning
History talks
The project consisted of 4 workshops on the topic of Partition which were given by Dr Darach MacDonald.
Topics included the period before Partition, 1921-1925, There are more than 2 sides to the border finishing of with a documentary of peoples experiences either side of the border.
Slow Cooker workshops
In January the participants from Clones and County Armagh joined in to 4 workshops on zoom on how to best use a slow cooker. This included some tips on settings and timings to use for various meals as well as the nutritional value of food items.
Get to Know You Event: County Armagh Community Development
On 1st December 2022 Board members and staff of Clones Family Resource Centre attended the Get to Know You Event along with Board and staff of County Armagh Community Development (CACD) in Markethill. This included a presentation from CACD on their work.
This was followed up by a Tour and presentation of the Family Resource and Policy Unit Museum by Stephen McDowell which has artefacts from World War One era right through to the late 1990’s. Stephen McDowell spoke about these artefacts and the affects of the Troubles on South Armagh.
Please see photos of the Event below:
County Armagh Recruitment Event
On 16th November we held the recruitment event in County Armagh for the project. The event was held in the Courtrooms in Markethill with potential participants for the programme. Please see a number of photographs from the event below.
Clones Recruitment Event
On 14th November we were delighted to host our first recruitment event for the Project in Clones. This was held in Clones Family Resource Centre with potential participants for the programme. Please see a number of photographs from the event below.
Recruitment Events
Recruitment event adverts
Soft launch of the Project
On Thursday 10th November County Armagh Community Development in partnership with Clones Family Resource Centre, launched the Connect 2gether Project funded by the International Fund for Ireland through its Communities in Partnership Programme (CiPP). This project will bring participants from border areas of County Armagh together with participants from Clones in County Monaghan through a range of workshops including healthy living, a residential event, study visits and history talks.
William Moorcroft Chair of County Armagh Community Development commenting at the launch stated, ‘We are delighted to launch the Connect 2gether project bringing our two organisations together to tackle issues which affect people in border regions. We would like to thank the International Fund for Ireland for funding this project. Throughout the project we hope that all participants will come together in friendship through their shared experiences.
Pictured back left to right David McMullen, Alan Wilson, William Bradshaw (County Armagh Community Development) Gillian Maxwell (Rural Action) and Angela Graham (Clones Family Resource Centre).
Get to Know You Event: Clones Family Resource Centre
On 27th October Board members and staff of County Armagh Community Development attended the Get to Know You Event at Clones Family Resource Centre along with Board and staff of Clones FRC. This included a presentation from Clones FRC on their work and each Board member and staff gave an introduction of their roles within the organisation and some history of the town and the challenges facing residents in Clones and surrounding areas.
Pictured above are Board members and staff from Clones Family Resource Centre and County Armagh Community Development.
Have a query?
Email: info@cacd.org.uk
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Tel: 028 3755 2103
Find Us
27A Main Street
Markethill
Co. Armagh
BT60 1PH
County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge Community Development Committee Limited is a registered charity in Northern Ireland NIC 104165.
A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in Northern Ireland NI 057064
Registered address: 27a Main Street, Markethill, Co Armagh BT60 1PH.