About us
‘A History of Midleton Community & Recreation Centre’ by Michael Woulfe
MY Place is a community based facility for the young people and the wider community in Midleton.
YOUTH - MY Place will be a safe and welcoming place for young people to go. Situated at the Old Fire Station on the Mill Road, it consists of a dedicated youth space in the form of a youth café / drop-in centre incorporating a café, recreation area, music room and arts space. It is open to all teens with an emphasis on youth health awareness, support and information. It is staffed by trained youth workers and a dedicated counselling room is also available.
COMMUNITY – MY Place consists of a General Purpose Hall open to the wider community for leisure, recreational, cultural, sporting and social events. Meeting rooms are also available for rent to interested parties. The space to the rear of the building can be used for open-air events, concerts and festivals.
Who are Midleton My Place Ltd? Who is the project going to serve?
MY Place was set up by a group of seven local citizens who came together with the sole purpose of filling a gap in the community for the youth of our town. Efforts had been made prior to this and some years back, research was carried out among Transition Year students in the Midleton area. The resulting report “Where Do You Go When You Go Out?” highlighted the need for a safe and welcoming place for young people to chill out and meet up with their peers. Following from this, SECAD commissioned a report on the potential of a youth café project in our area. As volunteers, we formed a limited company back in November 2012 and then the real work began.
We have secured a substantial grant towards the funding of the project through SECAD, and we also approached Midleton Town Council who purchased the site on behalf of the Community. The Council have pledged further funding and we have secured a long-term lease on the site. Paul Horgan Design Ltd was engaged for the Planning and Tender stages. These stages have been successfully completed in recent weeks and a contractor selected for the build.
History of My Place
My Place opened its doors as a Youth and Community Centre in 2015. The Youth Centre which is run by qualified Youth Workers under the auspices of Youth Work Ireland, includes a Youth Café, music room, an indoor games/relaxing lounge and an outdoor recreation area. Activities are varied, catering in particular for teens. There is an emphasis on physical and psychological health and education with a free counselling service offered to young people and adults. The community part of the Centre has a weekly footfall of 1,000 + with upwards of forty groups offering a wide variety of services for the benefit of all age groups. These include recreational and educational events as well as a venue for services of benefit to the wider community e.g. Citizens Information weekly sessions. Staff at My Place is currently comprised of a fulltime manager, two fulltime employees and three CE and Tus personnel. Both Centres rely also on a committed group of volunteers without whom we could not offer the range of services we do.
Midleton MY PLACE, Mill Road and Midleton Community Centre, Bailick have merged with My Place taking ownership of the Community Centre. The merger is an exciting step as it has afforded both Centres access to funding for staff and better facilities which, in turn, has enhanced their sustainability. The merged entity, Midleton My Place CLG (reg. no. 520799) and a Registered Charity (reg. no. 20083663), will submit annual audited accounts to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) and the Office of the Charities Regulator as did the separate bodies prior to the merger.
