It’s hard to believe that the Youth Club was formed in 1965 in the old Parochial Hall and that in 2015 it will be celebrating 50 years. Back then life in the village was so different in so many ways. There were no luxuries or expectations of the latest tech devices, just a group children, with a whole lot of energy who wanted to play games. It commenced with two nights for boys and two nights for girls. In 1973 things began to evolve to a 5 night program with 3 mixed nights and a boys night and girls night. A new idea emerged in the form of Community Games and with such talent available at all levels in the club, the club embarked on this programme and won many numerous titles in the following ten years.

There has always been a great sense of Parish and community spirt in Mayobridge and in 1976 the Club and it’s voluntary youth leaders decided to take the young adults on a trip to the Isle of Man and indeed what enjoyment this brought to so many, that this annual event continued for a number of years. 

A great event occurred in the Parochial Hall in 1977 with the formation of St Patricks Accordian Band, and the successes and All Ireland titles it had brought to this community is there for everyone to see. It continues to enjoy great success throughout Ireland and indeed further afield.

With increase demands for space and enhanced facilities the Youth Club committee in conjunction with football and parish representatives decided it was time to get things on to a new level. And following a very strong parish and community fundraising effort the new youth club opened adjacent to the football field on the old road in 1978. With such luxuries as hot water, central heating and a state of the art facility our community was indeed very proud of what it had achieved. Much hard work and determination had provided the whole community with a facility that was the envy of so many other districts. 

As the village and surrounding hinterland had grown, a group of young parents (past members of the local youth and football club) decided as there was no provision for pre-school children a play group was required for the area and in 1984 this became a reality. This has been a very important part of the centre ever since and provides a very essential service to the community.

Having had the experience of taking young adults on trips, it was decided in conjunction with SELB to commence on trips at an international level and between the period 1986 to 1995 there were 6 exchange trips with clubs in Germany and France and to this day many lifetime friendships exist.

With an ever growing population and with rising expectations the Community Association moved from the old parochial hall and joined forces with the youth club in 1995. The combined organisation became the driving force for the extension and refurbishment of the Youth & Community Centre in 1999 at a cost of £350,000.

This is the building that we now have in 2014 and continues to be a hive of activity. The programme of activity is somewhat different from that first envisaged back in 1965. The range of activities on a weekly basis included: Youth Club, Band, Jolly Tots play group, Mother & 
Toddlers group , Irish Dancing, Judo, Handball, GAA Club, Scor, Special Needs group, Newry & Mourne Council and other groups on an ad hoc basis.

So you can see …. A very diverse group of users and activities. 

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