Kilkenny Castle playground gets €100,000 ‘disability-friendly’ makeover

AN extensive €100,000 refurbishment of the playground at Kilkenny Castle Park will get underway on May 13, the Office of Public Works confirmed today.

And the OPW has revealed the playground will be upgraded with new special-needs and disability-friendly equipment.

In a statement, the OPW said: “The upgraded park has been designed to ensure that children of all abilities can play side by side with the inclusion of a roundabout that will accommodate wheelchairs and a sensory wall specifically designed for children with special needs.”

Colm Mangan of Kilkenny Castle added: “Kilkenny Castle Park playground is such a popular playground for locals and visitors alike and we are very excited to be able to make an investment of this scale at the park. However, the nature and scale of the upgrade means that we have had to wait for a period of dry weather to begin works and this meant closing the park across the months of April and May.

“The park was first created almost 11 years ago and in that time many hundreds of thousands of children have played here. The upgrade will ensure that children can continue to play here in safety and in comfort.”

The works are expected to be completed by the end of next month.