Community involvement in Clonbur in providing for young people

Carer and Baby/Toddler Group

Clonbur Baby and Toddler Group was set up in April 2016 by a group of local mums. It is a weekly meet up in the local community center during school term. Anybody with a baby toddler aged 0-3 is more than welcome to pop in have a cuppa let the children mingle and play. Parents and children from neighboring villages/towns including Corr na Mona, Ballinrobe, Cong and Glencorrib. They have organised different workshops in the past two years including art, play, dance and music. They have help a number of successful fundraising events, including a scavenger hunt for heritage week, Halloween and Christmas party and a fairy door painting day with the fairy doors being hung in the woods.

Fund raising for charities concerned with children/young people

Since 2012, we have been running an annual Christmas 5k/8k Fun Run/Walk which has benefited: Galway Jigsaw, Jack & Jill Foundation, Voices for Down syndrome Galway and Galway Cystic Fibrosis Hospital Project with a total of almost €8,000 being raised to date.

Óg Ógras na Fháirche

A youth club for children aged between 7 and 12 years of age, it runs from October to March, on a Friday night from 6:45pm to 8:15 pm in Clonbur Community Centre.

The children partake in a variety of activities, supervised by Leaders. It a wonderful opportunity to help develop their social skills outside the school environment.

As part of Ógras local teenagers are invited to participate as Leaders where they:

  • Volunteer to attend the weekly Ógras Club on a rota basis.
  • Receive Leadership training and develop their own skills in terms of learning to supervise, act as role models and be creative in terms of generating a variety of activities that the Ógras children participate in.
  • Support the Parental Supervisors in terms of adding variety to the activities that are available to the Ógras children

On an annual basis there is an Óg Ógras na Fhairche daytrip where they get to meet other Ógras Clubs from County Galway. This year’s trip was to Delphi Adventure Centre in May and another trip is planned for next December, possibly to the cinema to see an Irish show.

Óg Ógras is also great for local parents get to meet via the ‘Supervisor Rota’ as well as during the weekly sign-in process.

Naíonra na Fháirche

The Naíonra is held in the community centre in a beautifully decorated room with a lovely and secure outdoor play area.

It is very well equipped and gets wonderful community support in all its fund-raising efforts

It is operated under the guidance of Comhar Naíonraí na Gaeltachta which provides support and administration services to the childcare sector and ensures that the service provides the highest standard of care through quality standards and procedures in the service.

The service follows the national school year, operating for three hours a day for children from the age of 2 years and 10 months until they start primary school. It operates through the medium of Irish. The staff in the Naíonra work in partnership with the parents to ensure that the child is getting the maximum benefit from the service.

The national curriculum ‘Aistear’ and the National Quality framework for Early Childhood Education, ‘Síolta’ (Rights of the child) are in place in the Naíonra in order to facilitate the overall development of the child. Emphasis is placed on learning through the medium of play and the appropriate equipment and toys are available in the Naíonra.

Outdoor play is very important to the development of the child and this takes place every day.

Naíonra na Fháirche is going from strength to strength and the number of children has gone up in the past few years – a good omen for the future for Clonbur!