Public invited to view grounds of An Síolán Community Garden

Ferbane Tidy Towns is holding a Community Garden Open Day on the grounds of An Síolán/St Joseph’s of Cluny Convent this weekend ahead of a planned redevelopment of the building and its grounds.

The open day will take place on Saturday, October 7 from 2pm until 4pm to showcase the works completed by Offaly County Council thanks to the Axa Parks funding.

Ferbane Tidy Towns secured €17,000 to complete minor repairs to paths, add seating, as well as adding a pollinator friendly spring bulb planting scheme to the gardens on the banks of the Brosna river.

The public is invited to visit An Síolán Community Garden to plant spring flowering bulbs in the lawn as a symbol of the new departure of An Síolán rooted in the many years of hard work the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny gave to the community and give thoughts on the future potential of the garden. Music, light refreshments and kids activities will be on offer. This is an outdoor event so weather permitting. The Main Building will be closed with acccess to the toilets only. Attendees are being instructed to park in the town and walk to the event.

Preparations are well underway for the redevelopment of St Joseph's Convent, which is due to have St Hilda's Services and the Laois Offaly Education Training Board (LOETB) as its anchor tenants.

An architectural design team is currently reviewing the convent site and buildings with a view to preparing a redevelopment plan, and suggestions received during the Open Day consultation events are due to be incorporated.It's hoped that the design work on the redevelopment will be completed by November and that it will go to tender for a building contractor in early 2024.

The aim of the project is to secure the long-term future use of this historical, landmark building in Ferbane which was once a centre for educational and religious activity and become a key catalyst building to assist rejuvenating the town centre.