Public meeting planned to decide next step for Killina Resource Centre

A public meeting is due to take place next month to gauge public support for ambitious plans to provide a state-of-the-art resource centre on the site of the former Killina Presentation Convent in Rahan.

Among the proposals currently being explored for the iconic listed building which was home to the Presentation Sisters in Rahan for over 200 years is the development of Remote Working Hubs and an Event Centre.

However, Garrett O’Brien from the Killina Presentation Resource Committee (KPRC) said the next stage of the ambitious project will require “significant buy in and support” from the local community in the greater Rahan area if it is become a reality.

“There’s an old saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ but it’s going to take a village and beyond to raise this magnificent project,” admits Mr O’Brien, who paid tribute to the “excellent hardworking committee” who have already undertaken massive work to bring the project to where it now stands.

The buildings and grounds in Killina are protected structures, so Garrett O’Brien points out that the costs associated with any refurbishment project will be “significant” and that the strict rules around working on listed buildings will have to be adhered to.

He also adds that the committee is “very anxious” to ensure that the focus of the overall project will be on quality. In relation to the proposal for Remote Working Hubs he says the group wants to “create a space where people want to come and work, with the right conditions and the level of comfort and facilities that a modern working hub provides.”

While a huge amount of work has already been done since July of last year when the Presentation Sisters approved the proposal for the development of a Resource Centre in the former Killina Convent, the steering committee says that the project cannot progress withput “significant additional community help and support.”

“With this in mind we have decided to hold a public meeting in mid-October to gauge feedback from the local community, which will be a follow-up on previous feedback from two years ago,” says Garrett O’Brien.

In the meantime, the buildings in Killina are being used for a number of events in the local community and while the steering committee acknowledges that “they might not be perfect, they are certainly functional.”

The committee has already taken bookings for a local community group, and an exercise class will be starting in the near future. It has appealed to any local groups who wish to use the centre to make contact by email at: killinacentre@gmail.com

The committee has also called on people in the local parish of Rahan/Killina and on people from the greater Midlands area to get involved in the ambitious project to transform the former convent into a Resource Centre. “It is absolutely vital to the future of this project that people with all types of skills commit to the project and get involved at whatever level they can,” says Garrett O’Brien. Killina Presentation Resource Centre is currently the home of a very successful monthly market for local produce and crafts which has been widely supported by members of the local community as well as people from outside the area.

“A lot of hard work, community cooperation and support will be needed to get this project up and running, and we invite everyone to follow our journey and support us in any way possible in the coming weeks and months ahead,” says Mr O’Brien.