The policy
of zoning and creating a multi-faceted park in the Terryland River Valley area
resulted from a local community campaign in early 1996. Residents of the
Ballinfoile-Tirellan suburb, concerned about the ongoing construction of roads
and housing estates degenerating into an urban sprawl of tarmac and concrete, initiated a campiagn to save the riverline lands from built development. As a result of
cross-political party and senior council staff support, it was agreed that the
then City Executive Planner Gus McCarthy would meet with local community
leaders such as Brendan Smith to push forward a blueprint for the area that
combined leisure facilities with the preservation of natural habitat and rural
landscape. Ecology experts from outside the jurisdiction were also consulted. One of these individuals was
environmental educator Gordon D'Arcy, who in his 1997 report to Galway
Corporation entitled "The Crann Report", conceived the idea of
creating an urban forest in this proposed parkland planted solely with native
Irish trees. Among other recommendations, he suggested the establishment of an
Interpretative Centre for Irish trees, a tree nursery, an outdoor recreational
facility, a natural habitat reserve, the promotion of a Gaelic identity within
the park, wheelchair-friendly access, the non-use of artificial fertilisers and
the creation of footpaths with wooden bridges and stop-points.
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| O'Brien family from Mervue planting trees in the park, March 2000 |
A pioneering
inter-sectoral steering committee was established in late 1999 operating under the auspices of Stephen
Walsh, the newly appointed and very enthusiastic Superintendent of Parks. Membership embraced
artists, ecologists, environmentalists, academics, politicians, governmental
officials, community activists, and others. Discussions took place and exciting plans were drawn up to create something really special. It was many things to many peoples. For some it was a People's Park to be enjoyed by all ages. For others it was a green environment to inspire painters and sculptors. Others still recognised as a major wildlife corridor linking the river Corrib to the farmlands of east Galway.
Community events have included tree
planting days, bulb planting days, Celtic-themed art festivals, and a family
picnic. Schools, voluntary groups (e.g. scouts, residents' associations, arts
groups) and workplace organisations (e.g. An Garda Síochána) got involved. The
inaugural Plantathon in March 2000
had over 3000 people turn up to plant trees.
Green
Lungs for the City was a catchphrase that captured
the imagination of Galwegians at that time and symbolised the significance that the
Terryland Forest Park Project had and was expected to have on the present and
future generations of the city of Galway. It provided an opportunity for all sectors of
local society, through their membership of a steering committee, to have a
major policy input and active involvement in the design, planning and
implementation of an ambitious project that hoped to become the largest new
urban forest park programme in Europe. Parks’ Superintendent Walsh summarised
the uniqueness of the project when he said in a major funding submission to the
Irish Government in 2001, "The most unusual aspect of this project is that
it will be the first Park Facility (in Ireland) designed with public
consultation from Day 1 "….the Steering
Committee is the vehicle for achieving consultation…the Steering Committee
draws on a wealth of people from a variety of backgrounds and will always seek
the views of others who will potentially want to use the Park and will make
every effort to have those views accommodated. The Park is being designed with
the Community whose support we will draw on to address the issue of
inclusiveness within our society…since its inception over twelve months ago,
the Steering Committee has meet approximately every three weeks…”.
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| Drawings by Lol Hardiman featuring a Ringfort Amphitheatrer & Forestry Interpretative Centre |
