LEIXLIP, 8 December 2001: by Bill Trapman. A grant of £1.1 million has been allocated to the Leixlip/Confey Youth Awareness Group, to fund a proposed youth centre at Newtown House. The proposal was made following the work of a committee headed by Roisin Feeney, which has raised funds from the community for the project.

A site for the centre was provided by Kildare County Council, and a £15,000 conservation grant towards the project was awarded by the minister for the environment, Noel Dempsey TD, some weeks ago.

The news was welcomed by local councillor Paul Kelly, who said it was 'the best news we’ve had in years'. “The long-awaited centre can now now become a reality," he said. "Now we’ve got the big boost we needed – enough money to do the job properly!”

The project had its roots in the original Leixlip Youth Premises Group, formed back in 1989. Leixlip has an unusually high percentage of 10-19 year-olds, 24% compared with a national average of 18%.