Monaghan’s journey towards thriving communities
On 20 March 2026, Monaghan County Council launched the second strand of its PEACEPLUS programme, Thriving and Peaceful Communities.
The project is part of a bigger programme, Monaghan’s Co-designed Local Community PEACE Action Plan, supported by PEACEPLUS, which is a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
Running until June 2029, this ambitious programme will engage over 4,500 participants across Monaghan, around three interconnected themes: community regeneration, thriving communities, and culture and diversity.
Together, these strands reflect a powerful idea at the heart of peacebuilding: that strong, inclusive communities are created through participation, understanding and shared purpose.
Delivered by Monaghan County Council, the programme brings together four organisations: Monaghan and Cavan Education and Training Board (METB), Monaghan Integrated Development (MID), Peacelink and GAP Ireland, who each contribute their expertise to support communities in different, complementary ways.
Strengthening the foundations of community
A key focus of the programme is recognising and supporting the vital role of volunteers. Through the Future Fit initiative, METB will work to strengthen the volunteering sector by providing training, building skills in governance and fundraising, and creating opportunities for collaboration.
Volunteers are often the quiet force holding communities together. By investing in their development and resilience, this programme helps ensure that community organisations can continue to thrive and respond to local needs.
Connecting generations
Another powerful strand of the programme focuses on intergenerational connection. The Threading Generations project will bring older and younger people together in shared spaces where skills, stories and experiences can be exchanged.
Whether through arts and crafts or activities rooted in a shared love of the Irish language, these interactions promote mutual understanding and a sense of belonging. In a time when isolation can affect people of all ages, creating spaces for meaningful connection is more important than ever.
Supporting young people to thrive
Young people are at the heart of peaceful and resilient communities. Through the Peace Youth Campus project, delivered in partnership with Foróige, young people will take part in weekly activities including homework clubs, games, robotics and creative programmes.
These spaces are about activity as well as confidence, relationships and opportunity, and aims to support young people to develop skills and feel connected.
Health, wellbeing and safe spaces
Peacelink’s contribution to the programme focuses on health and wellbeing, addressing issues that are often difficult but essential to talk about.
Through initiatives that explore healthy eating, physical activity and mental health, as well as safe conversations around suicide prevention, masculinity and domestic abuse, the programme creates space for openness, learning and support. Workshops on topics such as autism also help build understanding and inclusion within communities.
Growing connection through nature
At GAP Ireland, we believe that climate action, social inclusion and wellbeing are deeply interconnected.
Our role in this programme focuses on supporting communities to come together through shared green spaces and community gardens.
These spaces are about much more than growing food. They are places where people can connect with nature, with each other.
Community gardens provide a shared sense of purpose, and bring people together across divides of age, ability, language, privilege or skin colour.
Community gardens create opportunities for learning, collaboration and pride of place, and also support biodiversity and climate action at a local level.
Building on our experience with programmes like our GLAS community gardens in Dublin, we will work alongside communities in Monaghan to support and create spaces that are welcoming, inclusive and rooted in local needs. In doing so, we aim to support not just environmental outcomes, but stronger, more connected communities.
A shared vision for the future
What makes this programme unique is its holistic approach. By bringing together youth work, education, health, volunteering and environmental action, it recognises that thriving communities are built through many small, interconnected actions.
At its core, the PEACEPLUS programme in Monaghan is about creating the conditions for people to feel connected, valued and empowered. It is about building relationships across generations and backgrounds, and about nurturing a shared sense of belonging
(See also GAP’s paper on Pride of Place).
We’re proud to be part of this journey, and excited to see the seeds of change take root and grow in communities across Monaghan in the years ahead.
Also read:
- From bare ground to community hub: The story of the GLAS @ TU Dublin Garden
- TU Dublin research: Ballymun community garden benefits both people and planet
- Green spaces are crucial for city living; but not everyone has easy access
- The international year of the volunteer 2026
- Understanding pride of place: from belonging to action.
