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On the 21st of June 2000, the gates of the Aistear InisCealtra were formally opened by Mrs. Delia Turner R.I.P., the community’s most senior citizen. The Tulla Pipe Band led a parade of local organisations, groups and National School children, young camogie players and visitors and locals through the village from the Community Hall to the gates of the Aistear.
The local clergy, Fr. Murphy P.P. and Dean Cummins, held a prayer service at the entrance gates. Men, women and children stood and watched in the pouring rain as Mrs. Delia Turner formally opened the entrance gate in the arch of the Aistear, marking the event in time in the Millennium Year 2000.
The Tulla Pipe Band led the people to the performance area, but the speeches and entertainment had to be abandoned because of the rain. Instead the crowd adjourned to the Mountshannon Hotel where the celebrations took place. Members of the Company spoke about the Aistear, recalling the first days when the video was made. The haunting music of the air ‘Easter Snow’, which formed part of the background music of the first video, was played by Seamus Bugler for the assembled guests. Representatives from the different organisations, FÁS, Clare County Council and RRD Ltd spoke about the Aistear and its significance. Dr. Eoin Grogan, who is so much a part of the project, said he hoped the Aistear might be an opportunity “…to find a tranquil space…a place for reflection on the past… and a place to gain a deeper understanding of oneself in light of the past”.
Mr. Donal Griffin, FÁS, spoke about the important contribution of FÁS in community development. He complemented the participants on their labour and the skills that had been developed and he praised the Community Council for their work and dedication as sponsors of the Community Employment Programme.
On behalf of the Community Council he presented an inscribed, hand-crafted wooden bowl to Tom McNamara, supervisor of the CEP, in appreciation for all the work he had done. The Scariff Community College Choir, under the leadership of Johnny O’Brien, performed, Mary O’Brien danced and Denise Glass, Kevin O’Meara, Cliodhna Doyle, Terry Cronin and Seamus Bugler entertained the crowd with music and song long into the night. The first stage of the story of the Aistear had been published in the form of a small book with reflections and it was available to everyone on the evening.
In the Millennium Year 2000, Aistear InisCealtra won a number of awards. It was highly recommended in the National Tidy Towns Competition. At the annual awards in 2000, Eamonn de Stafford said: “Every now and again, not every year, but occasionally, one comes across something special. This year, the National Heritage Award has given us a project of supreme excellence, the Aistear InisCealtra in Mountshannon, Co. Clare.” In the National Tidy Towns’ Report, the Department of the Environment described the Aistear as “a showpiece of environmental excellence” and as “an educational facility of note”.
It won the National Heritage Award in 2000 and continued to win such awards as the Clare County Council Environmental Award, Clare in Bloom Award, A.I.B. Regional Award, the FÁS National Community Initiative Monica Carr Award and many more. Though all these awards were won, it was also pointed out that the nature of the gravel paths and walkways throughout the park was not conducive to ease of access for the elderly, wheelchairs and child buggies.
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