Five groups and individuals from county Roscommon have been nominated for the prestigious LAMA (Local Authority Members Association) awards which take place in Rochestown Park Hotel Cork on Saturday, February 22nd.

The All-Ireland Community and Council awards recognise outstanding community and voluntary engagement through business, environment, cultural, social and housing initiatives which support community and voluntary groups in a consistently exemplary fashion.

Last year, two groups from Roscommon were honoured at the awards. The ‘Roscommon Water Source’ campaign, was successful in the ‘Best Green Sustainable category’ as a blueprint for improving and monitoring water quality.

The concept emerged from the efforts of the environment section of Roscommon County Council in conjunction with the National Federation of Group Water Scheme (NFGWS) in engaging a Source Protection Project over a number of group water schemes within the County.

The county was also successful with the Castlerea Rose Festival recognised as one of the country’s premier tourism attractions. The Festival is a seven day event which includes the Rose of Castlerea Festival, live music, a Hospice fundraising Triathlon, exhibitions of inflatable art pieces and a fireworks display.

Among this year’s five nominees are the Lough Funshinagh Rise and Thrive Project in the Best Mental Health category and Roscommon Community Transport in the Best Community Transport section. In the Best Town or Village Regeneration category, the Roscommon Public Realm Enhancement Programme has also been shortlisted.

The county’s two remaining nominees are Bernie Kearney from Four-Mile-House who lifetime record of community engagement is been recognised in the Community Volunteer of the Year category. The county’s fifth and final nominee is Castlerea’s An Chistin Food Hub in the Best Enterprise and Start-Up Hub awards.

An Chistin Food Hub is a 10,500 square foot space comprising five single EHO Compliant kitchen units, individual office, toilet, sluice and plant room facilities. The facility was officially opened by then Minister Heather Humphreys in May last year.

The facility is reducing food miles and carbon footprint, encouraging an artisan and small scale local food culture which will have a substantial impact in reducing food miles and in the process reducing carbon emissions.

The total cost of this project was €3.7m with in excess of €2.7m funding from the Department under RRDF support (Rural Regeneration Development Funding). Just under €1m was provided in matched funding from Roscommon County Council.

The building also comprises two larger double kitchen units each with a floor area of 2,000 square feet, featuring meeting rooms, a staff canteen, disabled access toilet facilities, office and reception area.

There are also extensive parking and landscaping. All of the units are self-contained, meaning businesses can locate and start their respective enterprise with immediate effect.

The An Chistin Food Hub will be an incubation space for food production and innovation, supporting the rural agrieconomy by adding value to locally sourced produce. Staff of Roscommon County Council Regeneration and Economic Development Team supported the project from application to completion supported by Enterprise Castlerea CLG and Roscommon LEO (Local Enterprise Office).

To date, local couple Wayne and Eleana McElhone have located their business, Solas in the Food Hub. The company produce high end, quality desserts for the retail market. In recent weeks, they have been joined by Nice Ice Cream, a premium Artisan Ice Cream family-run business specialising in the production of 100% natural, artisan ice cream.

Una Ní Chuinn, Regeneration Officer, Roscommon County Council hailed the nominees on their recognition: “It is a wonderful recognition of the thriving community sector in Roscommon and their work with Roscommon County Council who have made these projects a reality. Being recognised in five categories is a significant achievement for a county like Roscommon.

“We at Roscommon County Council are committed to supporting and encouraging community groups and activists to fulfil their ambitions and to support an even better quality of life for all our communities. I wish all of our nominees every success ahead of the awards”, said Ms. Ní Chuinn.