Communities engaged in South Tipperary

‘The Lay of the Land’ was a series of community participation workshops to reveal the potential of the River Suir.

The Suir River Café was collaboration between South Tipperary County Council Heritage Office, Landscape Interface Studio (LIS) and local artist Lyn Mather. It was a novel interactive Café where members of the public could observe, discuss, engage and participate in a number of outreach workshops led by the LIS team.  The Café was supported by South Tipperary County Council (STCC) the Heritage Council and Waterways Forward.  

STCC Heritage Office invited LIS to develop and facilitate a series of workshops and community events as part of the Junction Festival in Clonmel held in July 2011.  The project was designed to engage with the wider community to map, reveal and celebrate the River Suir and to develop a ‘shared vision’ for the future.

These workshops and events were designed to:
• understand and present the community’s perceptions, experiences and memories of the River Suir.
• work with and introduce different community groups that share similar connections to the River.
• investigate specific local opportunities adjacent to the River.
• present and explore the history and time line of the River
• provide a platform for engagement and understanding between the community and authorities.
• gathered and collated data recorded to inform future planning and funding support

Cllr. Michael Fitzgerald, Chairman of STCC commented that,

“The project is a great opportunity for the community to focus on the river – one of the key assets in the county – and to develop it as an economic cultural amenity for both the community and visitors alike.”                                         

‘The Lay of the Land’ concluded with a presentation, of all the documentation summarising the comments and feedback during the individual workshops in Cahir, Carrick-on-Suir, Ardfinnan and Clonmel, to the South Tipperary Heritage Forum / Regional Stakeholder Platform at the Suir River Café.  Different aspects of the comments, observations and possibilities revealed during the community workshops were discussed in depth and developed by the expert advisory stakeholder group.  The LIS team developed and created a series of documents which have now been presented to STCC and the Heritage Council for discussion.  These documents can be viewed here. 1 The Lay of the Land  2 Our Suir Open workshop  3 Suir Local – Carrick-on-Suir  4 Suir Local – Cahir  5 Suir Local – Ardfinnan  6 Suir Local – Clonmel

Labhaoise McKenna, Heritage Officer for STCC included the River Suir Café and ‘The Lay of the Land’ workshops in her presentation: ‘Heritage in the Community and European Projects’ to the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan.  Labhaoise also presented the findings from the Suir River Café to the full STCC on 7th November, and will present them to the Board of the Heritage Council on the 9th December, and a River Suir Seminar on the 31st January 2012.

To view a separate good practice showcasing the heritage data surveyed click on this link; http://podcasting.ie/riversuir/