About Us
Welcome to Brockagh Resource Centre
Glendalough & District Development Association Limited
The Glendalough& District Development Association Ltd. (G&DDA Ltd.) established the Brockagh Resource Centre in 2001. The company was incorporated and limited by guarantee, under the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990 on the 13th January, 1998. In 1999, it received charitable status. The forerunner to the Limited Company was the Glendalough& District Development Association, which was founded in 1990, with the intention of co-coordinating efforts within the Laragh/Glendalough area to develop the area in a sustainable manner for the benefit of the whole community. The Association aims to co-ordinate community effort within the Glendalough area to develop the area in a sustainable manner for the benefit of the community. The Association has been involved in many projects over the years, including the establishment of Laragh IT Centre and Brockagh Resource Centre. The Association aims to cater for the social, cultural and educational aspirations of the community.
In 1998 Wicklow Rural Partnership Ltd. (LEADER II), in conjunction with the G&DDA, produced a ‘Focus Action Plan’ for the area.A number of public meetings were held, all of which were very well attended by all sectors of the community. The G&DDA is a community driven organization and is committed to including the maximum number of people within the community in decisions, which affect them. From these meetings, a resource centre was identified as a major priority for the Laragh/Glendalough area, followed by IT facilities whereby people from the locality could become computer literate or improve their existing skills.
Mission Statement
As set out in its Memorandum and Articles, the focus of G&DDA Ltd. is:
“To establish, promote and operate a programme of community development activities which will act as a focus and catalyst for community development for the community of the district of Glendalough and surrounding areas with a view to promoting cultural and educational activities in the area and, particularly, to empower specific disadvantaged groups to effectively participate in a programme of personal and social development.”
Aims
The aims of the G&DDA, as set out in its Articles of Memorandum are:
- To improve the quality of life in the locality by maximizing the exciting new opportunities presented by the Resource centre and by restoring the confidence and self-esteem of targeted groups;
- To promote an inclusive society which reaches out to those who are facing social and economic exclusion arising from lack of income, education, social skills, confidence, and those who are geographically isolated:
- To provide facilities for easy and quick access to information and thereby maximize opportunities for accredited IT training, further education and employment for local people;
- To foster a spirit of enterprise;
- To maximize the impact of scarce resources through co-operating with other organizations and agencies in support of integrated local development of community, cultural, environmental, economic and social interests;
Objectives
More specifically, G&DDA will pursue the following objectives:
- To support local sustainable development by creating new opportunities in the area; the IT centre will assist in this by maintaining a presence on the World Wide Web for the local community;
- To achieve sustainability the centre will maximize the development of commercial business opportunities to finance its core social economy objectives;
- To provide capacity building, technical IT skill development and job opportunities in the locality, with a particular focus on socially excluded groups;
- To become a centre of excellence in IT skills development for the future;
- To provide a healthy and progressive employment environment in which staff develop and improve their skills and gain job satisfaction;
- To provide affordable local access to the Internet and on-line services;
- To provide a means by which centralized services can be delivered to the local Communities, e.g e-government, e-banking, and to seek public sector contracts to deliver such services;
- To identify employment and enterprise opportunities to benefit the local area;
- To work in co-operation with other IT Centres and development groups in the county in support of achieving its objectives.
Background to Laragh IT
In 1998 the Glendalough District Development Association set up Laragh IT as part of a county-wide initiative set up by Wicklow Rural Partnership, a capital program funded by Wicklow Rural Partnership, a capital program funded by the Leader II program. The new centre received training and employment grants from Fas and Wicklow County Council.
The main aim behind the establishment of the centre by Wicklow Rural Partnership was to maximize the exciting new opportunities presented by information technology providing quick and easy access to IT and to create new job opportunities both within the Centre and through training offered at the Centre. The IT Centre also aimed to improve economic growth in the greater Laragh and Glendalough areas including Roundwood, Annamoe and Rathdrum.
The IT Centre was first housed in a portacabin in Lynhams car park. The centre consisted of six Dell computers and a volunteer group of five people from the community appointed by the GDDA. The group provided considerable man-hours to support the running of the Centre.
The centre formed alliances with other IT Centres and companies and was a founding member of the Wicklow Information Network, which assists in co-ordinating promotional and marketing efforts and high levels of specialist training.
The centre has played and continues to play a unique and significant role in bringing the rural community into the fast changing world. It is ensuring that this community reaps the benefits of being computer literate and thereby availing of the job opportunities created in the field of Information Technology. It also ensures that those affected by geographic isolation, remoteness and disadvantage is not being further disadvantaged by missing out on the Information Age.
Laragh IT has always sought to be an integrated part of the local economy and community closely linked to the GDDA it seeks to complement and support local development initiatives and liases closely with Pobal and Wicklow Rural Partnership.
For bookings and further information please contact Pauline Fahy Manager.
Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh, Glendalough, Co Wicklow
Tel: 0404 45600 Email: brockaghresourcecentre@gmail.com
www.brockaghresourcecentre.ie
Check out the Glendalough Website: www.glendalough.ie
