NADDCo celebrates 30 years of development in Newport

A special gathering was held recently in Hotel Newport to celebrate the last 30 years of the Newport Area and District development company (NADDCo). The company was formally established in April 1994 by a group of local volunteers, who had seen their lovely town become dilapidated over time and who were determined to put their shoulders to the wheel, and revitalise the coastal town. Many long evening meetings were held and the 7 founding members began a journey that is still going strong today. The special celebration was an opportunity to acknowledge those founding members, to celebrate the great achievements of the company and to look to the future and the new opportunities that are coming. The current committee welcomed the founding members, their families, local people, public representatives and the business community to Hotel Newport where story boards of the last 30 years were on display to showcase all that had been achieved.

Martin Dillane, Chair of NAADCo, addressed the large audience and made note of the many many projects NADDCo had spearheaded over the years, he noted with thanks the huge community effort that had to be in place to begin funding and he made special mention to the lotto sellers in the early days, whose hard work and resilience really got NADDCo off the ground. He continued that going forward the emphasis would be on delivering the Rural Regeneration Development Fund for the town. There is also a need for all community groups to double down on job creation, housing and services such as the sewerage treatment plant and the Bleachyard drainage system.

Ministers addresses

Minister Alan Dillon spoke and he expressed his delight at being present for the evening. Minister Dillon spoke of what a credit the past members were and the work they had accomplished ‘from playgrounds to astro turfs to tennis clubs', the community has been built by the local people and it is a beautiful part of the world to live and visit. Minister Dillon congratulated all members of the committee past and present on their successes.

Minister Dara Calleary was also present and urged those present if not already involved to get involved, that the power of community was very visible in Newport and was a testament to the hard work put in by the local people and businesses.

The 7 founding members were presented with awards by the existing committee, Niall O’Boyle, Russell Poole, Kathleen Kelly, Maureen McGovern, Frank Chambers, Mary Alice Reilly (RIP) and Cecily Breen (RIP). Two longest serving acknowledgements went to Mary Kelly and Frank Chambers who both served an incredible 28 years on the board. A special award was made to current committee member Fiona Hopkins. Fiona was awarded the NAADCo Person of the Year Award 2024 in special recognition and appreciation of her many years of community service. The evening ended with music by the After 8’s. The NAADCo committee would like to thank all those who attended the evening, here is to 30 more years and counting.