Lorrha Development Association

Lorrha Development Association (LDA) was founded in 1985 in response to a government initiative – the Social Employment Scheme (SES) – to address the continuing high levels of unemployment in the country at the time. Like many other areas in the country, Lorrha had many unemployed people, many of whom were unskilled. The SES afforded these people an opportunity to get employment locally on community based projects and in this way, develop skills. In order to qualify for a SES, a community was required to have a locally based organisation which would be responsible for the work associated with the running of the scheme and the supervision of the operatives. The local people who met in 1985 to consider all this, were in agreement that an employment scheme like this could be used effectively to enhance the village which, at the time, was rather run-down looking. And so, Lorrha Development Association was born.

LDA’s aims, from the beginning, have been to encourage and foster the development of the village of Lorrha and surrounding area, to promote the welfare of the whole community by protecting and enhancing the local environment and to encourage support and engagement with other voluntary organisations in all of this.

In the years that followed LDA’s foundation, teams of unemployed, local people worked on SES’s in the village on projects such as reconstructing stone walls, planting trees, creating flower beds, attending to repairs and general maintenance. Many learned new skills through these experiences and went on to become fully employed as a result. The fruits of their work can be seen in the village today.

Since the days of the SES’s, LDA has been fortunate to have the benefits associated with having a number of operatives on subsequent employment schemes (Tus, Rural Social Scheme, Community Employment) on an almost continual basis over the years. Nowadays however, thanks to there being close to full employment in the country, it has become more and more difficult to find people who qualify for these schemes and this in turn raises questions regarding how the upkeep of the village can be maintained. A new initiative needed!

Since the very beginning LDA has been an enthusiastic participant in the TidyTowns competition and has maintained a consistently improved score over its forty years of service to the community. This achievement is due to the commitment of dedicated committee members, loyal volunteers, sponsors and workers on various employment schemes. Adjudicators of the competition have described Lorrha as ‘’a most attractive village with much to offer the visitor’’ (2005) and ‘’an incredibly impressive centre’’ (2015). Over the years the focus of the competition has changed significantly, taking into account present-day realities of climate change and biodiversity loss and LDA is taking on board the associated challenges with appropriate actions. These include the creation of a Community Biodiversity Action Plan for which we were awarded grant funding and which we have begun to implement. We are also focusing our attention on moving to sustainable practices in our work throughout the village and on raising awareness about its importance.

Participation in TidyTowns is very important as it automatically qualifies us for annual grants from Tipperary Co. Council and from the Dept Rural and Community Development. To supplement this LDA has, over the years, undertaken various local fund-raising initiatives including Race Nights, Lord Mayor elections, Christmas Markets, Family Fun Days (remember the Duck Races!), Raffles and for the past twenty-five years the publication for sale of the annual Lorrha and Dorrha Parish Calendar. This very popular publication features photographs old and new of people and events associated with the parish and is a much sought after keepsake with people at home and abroad.

Over the years LDA has been successful in securing grant funding from LEADER (now NTDC) for a number of projects, the main one being funding for the development of Friars’ Park, a recreational amenity in the village, from a piece of waste ground. In 2013, the year of ‘’The Gathering,’’ LDA with support from several organisations in the parish, organised the ‘’Lorrha and Dorrha Heritage Festival,’’ an event also funded by LEADER. One of the highlights of this festival was the unveiling in the village of the Memorial to Martin O’Meara, VC, a project initiated by LDA as a follow-up to the unearthing of the story of one of Lorrha’s most famous sons by two LDA committee members.

A community organisation working together to keep of village revived.