Thursday, 30 December 2021 | 12.8°C Dublin

€ 300,000 Norman themed playground has fun activities for kids

The sensory area of the children's playground in New Ross.

TDs James Browne and Verona Murphy, Council officials and councillors in front of the Dunbrody style Norman play ship in the new playground at Pearse Park.

The junior kids' playground at Pearse Park, New Ross.

The official opening of Pearse park, New Ross.

Cathaoirleach Pat Barden was joined by Minister of State James Browne, Wexford County Council Cathaoirleach Barbara Ann Murphy, Deputy Verona Murphy and fellow councillors and council officials, who were involved in getting the funding.

The official opening of Pearse park, New Ross.

Iarla McCowen from New Ross on the zip line.

Anastazja Sojka from New Ross on the trampoline.

Wexford County Council Cathaoirleach Barbara Ann Murphy and Cathaoirleach Pat Barden.

Cathaoirleach Pat Barden testing out a slide.

17/12/2021 Official opening of Pearse park, New Ross. From left; Gardai Kevin Burke and Calum Frawley. Photo; Mary Browne

A fantastic new €300,000 destination playground has opened today (Friday) at Pearse Park in New Ross.  

C llr Pat Barden, Cathaoirleach of New Ross Municipal District, officially cut the ribbon on the new playground, which boasts numerous fun activities for children of all ages, including a zip line and two Norman boat play areas.

With the allocation of funding from Wexford County Council followed by a planning, tendering and consultation process, the winning Kompan design is now a reality.  

Kompan tapped into the rich Norman history of New Ross for the design. There were several sources of inspiration such as the Norman castles nearby, the imagery in the Ros Tapestry collections and the location of the town on the banks of the River Barrow and its history as a busy seaport.

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One of the benefits of Kompan's tender was that both the junior and senior playgrounds each have their own feature multi play unit.

The Junior playground acts as the land settle Norman area of the

playground. The main feature in this part of the playground is a

customised four tower castle junior multi activity unit surrounded by a

The Senior playground focuses on the ocean travelling Normans. The larger feature unit is a custom designed Norman Long Boat Ship MultiPlay Unit. The rest of the playground has been designed around these two features.

The Sensory Zone is designed based on the 'Rainbow Road to Valhalla. It creates a destination zone with activities and panels that stimulate all the senses including musical chimes, bongos, games and visual play panels, a 3D wet pour Turtle as a playground identifier, a bench without backrest for facing away from the activity and the striking wet pour 'rainbow road' to jump, play and race along.

The custom designed PECS Communications Board adds a very useful Communication tool for non-verbal children.

Much of the play equipment is accessible and inclusive with wheelchair accessible tarmac paths which link all of the play equipment. The carousel and trampoline are both wheelchair accessible.

The seesaw and springers are wide and have back supports and the 1.2 metre wide extra large Nest Swing can accommodate children of all ages and abilities. Surrounding areas have been landscaped, with benches added throughout to rest tired legs!  

The cathaoirleach Pat Barden was joined at the socially-distanced ceremony by Minister of State James Browne, Deputy Verona Murphy and fellow councillors and council officials, who were involved in getting the funding.   

Cllr Barden said: “I am delighted to officially open this new destination

playground with its Norman themed units reflecting New Ross’ Norman history, and I’m sure local children and their families will enjoy using it for many years to come.

"I am really pleased that Wexford County Council funded this facility, providing a much-needed destination playground for the whole district to be proud of.”

He said Kompan did a great job with the design, adding that he was delighted that much of the play equipment was accessible and inclusive He then declared the playground officially open.

Area sales manager with Complan, Martin Carey gave the officials and press in attendance a tour of the playground, highlighting its educational, exercise and safety elements.

He pointed to many unique features of the playground, saying Complan are committed to making it successful for the children of the area.

He said the equipment has a lifetime warranty and is robust, adding that the large ship was custom built, with Norman shields in its design to reflect the Norman history of New Ross town.

Within minutes of the ribbon being cut children were already enjoying the new playground, after some council officials and gardaí tested out the equipment - ostensibly for safety purposes.

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