Community loan for 14th Clare Scout Group

Turning an abandoned station into a home for a scout group is no easy feat, but the Sixmilebridge Scout Group have given the historic station house a new lease of life.

The Sixmilebridge Station House dates back to the 1850s when it played a key role in this small town’s economy. The railway yard was often busy with people, and on market days would have been bustling with cattle awaiting transport to Limerick, Ennis and further afield. The station was closed on 1963 and the building fell out of use until 2010 when the Western Rail Corridor opened, and Clare County Council issued a call for ideas on how to give the historic station house a new lease of life.

The Sixmilebridge Scout Group has been in operation for over 33 years, catering for the children of both Sixmilebridge and Killmurry. Seeing considerable potential for a new den where the scouts could learn a variety of outdoor and survival skills, they submitted a proposal for the restoration of the Sixmilebridge Station house. The plans included a hall, meeting rooms and a climbing wall, and the proposal was accepted by council. However, turning an abandoned station into a home for a scout group was no easy feat.

Besides the work that must go into transforming the building into purpose-built facility, they had to come up with the funds to make this dream into a reality.

The scout group were approved for a LEADER grant from lare Local Development Partnership, who were eager to see the old railway station reimagined. Having raised part of the remaining funds through a series of fundraising events, they called on Clann Credo for support to enable them to draw down the grant and spread the remaining cost over time.

With the new Scouting Station up and running, the den has become a hub once again, bridging the past and present.