‘A Vital Spark’ – a new publication for autumn 2011
Available for download from our Publications/Downloads page
Community Connections: Looking Back
Community Connections has been in existence as a 
community development organisation since 1991. It operates in the West Cavan-North Leitrim-West Fermanagh area, and has been involved since its formation in a wide range of community development projects and activities. This publication is an attempt to tell the story of Community Connections.
The aim is to give readers a good understanding of where the organisation came from; how it has developed and changed over time; what its priorities have been; how it went about its business; and what were the main issues that it had to deal with.
Rather than just documenting the story of Community Connections in a step-by-step historic way, the idea is to look at the organisation’s experience from a number of different perspectives. This approach will hopefully give readers a better feel for what has happened over the years.
Documents like this sometimes only point to the successes of an organisation, while ignoring the challenges and difficulties that inevitably confront any developmental project. Hopefully that will not be the case on this occasion.
Why bother writing the story?
Community Connections is, at the time of writing this review, at a turning point. Over the past fifteen years it has benefitted from the financial support of the Irish government’s Community Development Programme. Through its participation in that programme the organisation has been able to employ staff and implement its agenda of community development activities. This arrangement ceased in April 2011.
At that point in time Community Connections’ staff and much of its programme of work transferred to Breffni Integrated Development Ltd.- the local development company for County Cavan.
For the first time in twenty years Community Connections is without the support and resource of its own staff. The organisation therefore is at a point where it needs to identify and consider its options. The challenge of how to proceed has to be addressed. Indeed, the very question of whether the organisation should continue to exist has to be answered.
It seemed appropriate, in this new and challenging situation, that Community Connections should look back over its history and experiences.
Regardless of its future direction, it is important that Community Connections’ story be recorded. Hopefully it will be of use to other people and organisations in the future. It needs and deserves to be told.
From a more positive viewpoint, an examination of the Community Connections’ experience can help point to the strengths that sustained the organisation up to this point, the values that it holds dear, and ways of continuing into the future.
Who is this review written for?
This publication has been written with two audiences in mind. It is for ourselves – the volunteers and staff of Community Connections – in order to celebrate our achievements as well as preparing us for the future.
The second audience is anyone out there who wants to draw lessons from the organisation’s experiences. Hopefully the publication will be of help to you in your own endeavours.