THERE WAS GOOD news for the small Carlow village of Tinryland this week, after it was announced that its park would reopen after being forced to close its gates last month.

A quote for an insurance premium that was quadruple the previous year’s cost had spelled trouble for those who run the park but they said they will continue to fundraise to ensure such a situation doesn’t happen again. 

Local councillor Jim Deane, who’s also a voluntary director at Tinryland Park, told TheJournal.ie in December that “tireless work” was going on to try to reopen it.

“We’re doing our best, but it’s very stressful,” he said. “There are three voluntary directors aside from myself.

We are concentrating on the park, but we should be concentrating on our family at Christmas. People come to this park from everywhere. We’ve only a small village and it’s a shame if we lost this great thing.

Deane said the local community had fundraised to create the park in the first place, opening in 2012, with everyone “taking money from [their] pockets”.

He also described the park as a “lovely facility” and said people come from all around to visit. It is used often by the local national school, and has memorials dedicated to some of those from the area who have died.

The park reopened yesterday after closing in mid-December. 

“The directors and I would like to sincerely thank everyone in the local community and further afield for their best wishes and support throughout this difficult period,” he said.

Despite the good news that our park is reopening, it has shone a light on the issue of outrageous hikes in insurance premiums that many small communities face in relation to their amenities.

Going forward myself and the three other voluntary/non-paid directors will have to work hard to fundraise to continue to meet our insurance obligations and keep our wonderful park open for all to enjoy.