IT was a case of Fáilte go Páirc Dunville on Tuesday as Belfast’s Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleor officially opened Dunville Park.
Joined by DUP Councillor and Chair of the Parks and Leisure Committee Gavin Robinson and Minister for Social Development Nelson McCausland the red ribbon was cut to welcome hundreds of families and young people to the new play park.
Sinn Féin MLA Fra McCann, who was instrumental in securing the £2 million funding for the renovation of the park, told the Andersonstown News that the opening “was the culmination of years of hard work from all of the community and statutory agencies”.
“For the past 30 to 40 years the park was seriously lacking in investment and major changes were needed to bring this 100-year-old park back to life. The park has always had a strong community ethos and this is reflected in the official opening,” he said.
“Since the park opened to the public it has been packed out with all ages of our community enjoying the facilities on offer.
“I’ve always believed public parks are open leisure centres, which offer good services for the very young to the older member of the community to enjoy. There is no doubt that people will come to enjoy Dunville Park.”
SDLP Councillor Colin Keenan said he wanted to thank all those people involved in this project from the start, which has seen a state-of-the-art park delivered into the lower Falls area.
"I was extremely humbled today at the official launch of the park by the sheer numbers of people who came and took part in the associated fun day. I want to play particular homage to the local community groups who really outdone themselves and made the fun day truly special for everyone who visited.
"As we move forward in the time ahead I'm sure this park will continue to be a source of enjoyment for the entire community of West Belfast and beyond and I look forward to many events already planned in coming days and weeks."
