Establish a community and heritage group networking forum

The Establish a community and heritage group networking forum project is implemented through The Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership Scheme. The LPS is part of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s programme to conserve and enhance some of the region’s most treasured landscapes. The LPS runs from September 2015 until August 2018.

The total budget for this project is £1,875

The networking forum will allow more people to get involved in a wider range of activities in the whole scheme. The forum will be a place for others to share their experiences, results and to inspire others.

Project Updates

Ring of Gullion Outdoor Recreation Forum

Update published on: April 26, 2016

The Ring of Gullion team and the Camlough Lake Sub-committee joined forces to ask the organsiations in south Armagh involved in outdoor sports and recreation, if they wanted to set up an Outdoor Recreation Forum with a meeting in April 2016 in Mullaghbane Community Center.

Sport NI was on hand to talk about how other forums have been set up in Northern Ireland and how the groups in these areas have benefited. They also spoke about funding opportunities in Outdoor Recreation.

One of the priorities for Newry Mourne and Down District Council as part of its Economic Regeneration and Investment Strategy is to develop the council area as Northern Ireland’s premier outdoor/adventure destination and the development of this forum will enable the outdoor groups in the South Armagh to be at the forefront of this exciting time for the area.

The workshop covered information/discussion around:-

Funding
Local Development Plan
Working in Partnership
Setting up an outdoor recreation forum and what forum to make it.

The meeting was attended by 20 community group members and outdoor recreation organisations.

Second Meeting of the Ring of Gullion Outdoor Recreation Forum

Update published on: June 21, 2016

A second meeting was organised on the 21st June in Mullaghbane Community Centre. Sport NI will be on hand to facilitate the workshop and speak about the funding grant for outdoor recreation development. There is about 20 attendees again to the meeting with new attendees.

Attendants were also asked how they could get involved in the Get Outdoor Weekend in September.

Get Outdoor Weekend

Update published on: September 17, 2016

A Great Day had by all at #GetActive Outdoors Extravaganza in Slieve Gullion!

Newry Mourne and Down District Council and the Ring of Gullion team joined forces with a number of activity providers in the area to host a #Get Active Outdoors Extravaganza Weekend. This happened in Slieve Gullion Forest Park on the 17th and 18th September as part of European Week of Sport to promote sport and physical activity across Europe.

With the sun beating down, the crowd got to enjoy a number of free outdoor activities including a climbing tower provided by LIFE Adventures, archery and canoeing provided by Gullion Adventures, hill walking with the Gap of the North walking group, creepy crawlies with Shealgh Henry from Red Kite Tours NI, Tai Chi Tasters with Claynrye Group and historical cycle with Delia Van Der Lenden.

For the little ones there was face painting and Warrior School with FootstepsNI. Sharon Carroll from Enspire lead a fairy filled walk around Hawthorn Hill Woods.

Third Meeting of the Ring of Gullion Outdoor Recreation Forum

Update published on: October 18, 2016

The third meeting of the forum was Tuesday 18^th October in Mullaghbane Community Centre focusing on how the Outdoor Recreation Community can be developed in the south Armagh area. Sport NI was on hand to facilitate the workshop and spoke about the funding grant for outdoor recreation development. Richard Caplice also spoke about the development of Lough Muckno, Castleblaney to host top national and international fishing matches and festivals every year.

There was 22 attendants with quite a few from angling groups. The project then worked with Kiltybane Angling Group to put in an application for the Challenge Fund for improvements on their boardwalk. A meeting was also arranged with Angling Officer from Sport NI.

Public Consultation Meeting

Update published on: April 11, 2017

The Ring of Gullion Partnership are working to develop a Ring of Gullion Outdoor Recreation Forum and in the progress of creating a strategy for the area which will tie into the new AONB Action Plan.

A public consultation meeting was held in the Mullaghbane Community Centre on Tuesday 11^th April 2017. The meeting was attended by 39 members of the local community and provided the opportunity to gain more information on the:

Current outdoor recreation activity happening in the area
Any issues and barriers currently preventing outdoor recreation in the area
What members of the local community would like to see developed in the future in terms of outdoor recreation activity and facilities

Attendees were divided into groups and asked to discuss the above topics before reporting back to the room.

From discussion at the public consultation it was clear that an abundance of both formal and informal outdoor recreation takes place within the study area, primarily driven by the local community. The key issues and barriers highlighted were access, both in terms of access to land for outdoor recreation and access to facilities to improve the outdoor recreation experience, as well as a lack of strategic development. The latter resulting in missed opportunities and in some cases the development of user conflict. A need to strategically plan and work together to develop outdoor recreation spaces for a variety of users was highlighted as a key element in progressing outdoor activity in the area. In general, there was an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm from consultees towards using and promoting the area for outdoor recreation and a feeling that the area was underutilising its potential. There was an undeniable appetite to develop key sites for a range of outdoor activities with priority sites identified as Camlough Lake, Camlough Mountain and Lough Ross. There was also a clear sense that any future development of outdoor recreation should both consider and utilise the area’s strength as an AONB and its unique geological and historical importance.

The Ring of Gullion benefits from hosting National Outdoor Recreation Conference

Update published on: June 22, 2017

A fabulous 2 day conference last week which showcased the Ring of Gullion and South Armagh starting to starch the surface in developing the area as a hive for Outdoor Recreation in Northern Ireland, with delegates from Ireland, England and Spain learning about how the area is progressing.

The Developing and Managing Recreation in Protected Area 2 day conference was held in Tí Chulainn conference centre in Mullaghbane. As well as highly authoritative talks on diverse subjects ranging from developing a sustainable recreation in the Pyrenees and what makes Ireland’s mountains special delegates were treated to site visits to the key outdoor recreation sites in the area.

Sport NI bought together a huge array of supporters and funders to enable them to bring this high profile conference to south Armagh. . The principal conference partners were Newry Mourne and Down District Council, Tourism NI and Northern Ireland Environment Agency.