By Sister Emmanuel Leonard

History

This year 2022 is a milestone of 30 years in the ongoing development of Cobh Youth Services Limited (CYS). We welcome this opportunity to thankfully remember to joyfully celebrate and to strategically plan for an even more effective future.  Below is a history of events for the first 20 years in the establishment and development of the Cobh youth service from 1992 to 2012 by Sister Emmanuel, one of the founding members of CYS.

July 1992:

I remember the very first step of that twenty-year journey.  A public meeting was convened in the parish centre.  There was an urgent need to find a venue where the youth of Cobh could socialize as the Boys club had been closed.  Also some alternatives to the drink and drug culture had to be provided for our young people.  To address these two needs a committee consisting of four people was set up; Fr. Danny Murphy, Gerry Moore, Jim Barrett and myself, Sr. Emmanuel.

First Task:

The identification of a suitable venue.  Over two months this proved to be very difficult and also very time consuming. Betty Moynihan, now deceased, spent many hours in the late evening walking through the town, and in and out of vacated buildings in the hope of identifying a suitable place.  Added to this we had no funds.

A Small beginning:

Finally, Fintan Ahern’s Draper shop in Pearse Square became available to us.  The rent was £40 weekly.  Then the fundraising began.  Coffee mornings were arranged in the Prayer and Pastoral centre and a rota of scone and cake bakers were put in place.

Surveys:

In keeping with best practice in youth service, a survey was carried out in all schools in Cobh.  This was intended to involve the young people in naming what they needed from the youth services.  They clearly wanted  “a place of their own, where they could socialise together”.

FAS:

Sr. Emmanuel, sponsor of the Convent of Mercy FAS scheme, together with Eileen Armstrong the FAS supervisor, got permission to put four workers on the staff in Pearse Square.

Fundraising:

On a continuous round, by way of raffles, that got generous support as we visited the pubs on Midleton Street initially, and later downtown.  On the first Christmas we did Carol singing outside Roches stores in Patrick Street, Coork, St. Vincent DePaul society, the I.C.A., the Flower club, the Prayer group, the Bridge clubes all gave us donations from time to time.

Activities:

The centre, six months up and running, was named by Fr. Danny Murphy-‘the Plateau’.  This was also the choice of the young people.  The focus was that this was a place where young people could safely ‘hang out’.  They listened to cd’s, played board games and generally enjoyed each other’s company.  It was open five nights a week, Saturday nights and on occasions Sunday afternoon.  Sinead Morgan, now coordinator of Cobh Youth Services, then a young student, was keenly interested in this new service to youth and even thon one could detect her great ability.

1997:

The premises in Pearse Street was put up for sale by its owner.

Second Venue:

We moved temporarily to the parish centre, and we were thankful to the administrator, Fr. Donal O’Mahony gave us accommodation, limited though it was, due to many other groups who met in the centre.

Third Venue:

16 Midleton Street which was a vacated fish shop

1998:

Here we had two rooms and a yard at the rear.  It took many hours of really strenuous work to firstly get rid of the fish smells and reorder the place.

Activities:

Activities such as cooking, dancing, gardening and art were taken on at this stage, baking cookies being the most popular.  A pool table was rented and this was very popular amongst the boys.  With the help of the Gardai, street football leagues were organised, both of these activities were engaging and enjoyable for the lads.

Our volunteer list increased.  A newly qualified counsellor met regularly with young people and was very generous in her availability to them,

Courses in human development were set up with the help of East Cork Area Development.  Shanty singing was popular amongst the youth at that time and a tutor from Cork was given some hours to tutor them.  Table quizzes were organised as well as coffee mornings to help raise funds.  The Christmas draw was a rewarding source of revenue.  A new fundraiser helped by the generosity of John Fitzpatrick who bought a pig and did a pig roast for a barbeque, this took place annually for six years.

July 5th, 2001:

President Mary McAleese formally opened the Plateau in this new venue.  To quote the President’s official address “You in Cobh Youth Services go out to meet the challenge and bring hope in its most practical accessible form, providing a safe and caring environment for those most at risk”   She commended the many “volunteers you have given so generously of your time and commitment, you have opened the door to the future of the young people of Cobh”.  This was most certainly a defining moment in the first nine years of the youth service.

New Fundraiser:

Minister Sinead de Valera, when she was Minister for Youth Affairs, gave the youth services wonderful support, even to the point of playing pool with the boys when she visited.  She also helped us in our pursuit of funding.

A New Century Beckons:

Following the defining moment of July, 5th 2001, the hard working Board of Management dared to dream on.  Their hope for the future of Cobh Youth Services was to own the entire three storey building in 16 Midleton St., formerly a fish shop, initially a butcher shop and the home of the McCarthy family.  The fundraising committee bravely undertook the challenge.

November 2004:

An auction was planned and the venue was the Commodore hotel, after herculean work it proved to be a huge success.

Funding:

Application forms for grants were requested from the Department of Youth Affairs, Cork County Council, East Cork Area Development, VEC.  Over four years favourable responses were granted, and the purchasing, reordering and extending of 16 Midleton St. was on its way.

6th August 2004:

The entire premises in 16 Midleton St. was the property of Cobh Youth Services Ltd.

Fourth Venue:

While the extension work was on hand, Cobh Youth Services moved to what is locally known as the Town Clock, the then vacated premises of Cobh UDC.

School Competitions for Renaming the Plateau:

The second level students of Colaiste Muire and Cobh Community College were engaged to suggest and apt name and logo for the reordered premises.  A prize of €100 for the one the Board of Management considered the most apt.

The winner was a student in Colaiste Muire who had come from South America and lived with Dona and Donna Sexton, 3 Harbour Terrace, Cobh.  The new name – ‘Chill on the Hill’.

A Dream Realised:

5th March 2008:  Mr. Sean Haughey, Minister for Youth Affairs officially opened the newly extended and refurbished Cobh Youth Services premises in 16 Midleton St., under its new name ‘Chill on the Hill’.  The youth café was the first in east Cork.  The new state of the art building was thronged with dignitaries, guests, staff members and young people.  They got a guided tour through the Art room, computer room, performance hall, quiet room, library, staff and office space and the youth café. Well was the day named “Super Wednesday”.

Sept. 7th 2008: Coordinator, Sinead Morgan appointed 30 primary school students enrolled in the newly set up Homework club which was partly funded by the Department of Health and Family.

 

In 2008 a scheme of grants was made available to us by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in respect of special out-of-school projects for disadvantaged young people called SPY (Special Projects to assist disadvantaged Youth).  A grant was allocated CYS which aimed to seek to address the needs of young people who are disadvantaged due to a combination of factors: The grant-aided youth work initiatives aimed to facilitate the personal and social development of participants to realise their potential and in particular to equip them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for their appropriate integration in society. In addition, they present opportunities for young people to undertake actions corresponding to their own aspirations and to assume responsibilities within their local communities.  CYS worked with young people aged between 12 and 20 years.

In 2012: CYS Board members opened a charity shop, named Restore, to raise funds to make the service for young people in Cobh more sustainable

In 2013 the DCYA undertook a value for money review of SPY and other youth programme funding streams and in 2020 they introduced a new youth funding scheme called UBU (Your Space Your Place).  CYS successfully applied for this funding and is still providing a variety of youth supports and programmes for targeted young people to improve their life chances.

 

Along the first twenty years of the journey, there have been moments of hesitation, moments of searching, moments when daring decisions and new initiatives had to be taken, moments of learning and new insights, moments of gratitude, support and empowerment.  As the only member of the founding group still privileged to be involved, I am reminded of that love song lyric of Dickie rock, “And I will love you every step of the way”.

In Conclusion:

On the 30th  year (2022)  the Cobh Youth Services now employ:

• One full time Coordinator (UBU project)
• One full time youth worker (UBU project)
• One part-time youth worker (UBU project)
• Seven C.E. workers
• Three Afterschool Childcare Assistants
• One part-time Administrator
• Five volunteers

A ten-member Board of Management who work with diligence, care and generous effort and never allow the vision to flag.

Sister Emmanuel Leonard