A Historic Day: Breaking Ground on Our New Climate, Science and Language Centre & Opening Our New Sports Facilities

Thursday, 24th September 2026 was a momentous day for Citywise Education, our young people, and the wider West Tallaght community. Supporters, local families, partners, and friends gathered at The Durkan Centre in Jobstown for a very special double celebration: officially turning the sod on our new Climate, Science and Language (CSL) Centre and celebrating the opening of our brand-new sports facilities with a community Sports Day.

Inspiring Words & A Journey Captured on Screen

The morning kicked off with speeches from Citywise students, who spoke with pride about what Citywise means to them, and what the new Centre represents for future generations in Jobstown. 

Guests were also treated to a special screening of Part One of our documentary, produced by our brilliant colleague Lita. The documentary captures the story so far, from the original idea and the development of our new outdoor sports facilities to the ambition behind the new Centre. You can watch Lita’s documentary here. 

Jaylin Turns the Sod!

The defining moment of the day came when Citywise student Jaylin officially turned the first sod on the construction site! Jaylin earned the honour after winning a student competition where young members wrote about what Citywise means to them. 

Jaylin read out his very moving competition entry to the crowd, sharing what Citywise has meant in his own journey, before taking to the site to turn the sod on the construction of the CSL Centre.

Opening the MUGA (Muti-Use Games Area)

Alongside the sod-turning, we celebrated the completion of Phase 1 of our campus development – our new MUGA,  delivered by ClearyDoyle.

The pitch was officially opened in style when students from a Tallaght CNS came in to cut the ribbon. Following the official opening, our young members immediately took to the new pitch for a vibrant community Sports Day. 

Later in the day, the pitch hosted a fiercely competitive Staff vs. Leaders match. It was a very tight, hard-fought game from start to finish, but in the end, our youth Leaders secured a well-deserved victory over the staff team. 

While the project represents years of planning and architectural ambition, the event itself was fundamentally a celebration of our young people and our community. 

Looking Ahead: A Future Built for Our Young People

This project has been years in the making, and when complete it will allow us to grow from working with around 500 young people each week to 800.

The new Centre will include dedicated science laboratories, new learning spaces, a lecture hall and much more, creating opportunities that simply haven’t been possible within our existing building.

It is also an ambitious building in its own right. Using a major timber structure and modern methods of construction, the Centre will act as a live example of how community infrastructure can be delivered in a more sustainable way. 

But this day was really about people.

The young people who use Citywise. The staff and volunteers who make the work happen every week. The funders, partners, design team, builders and supporters who have backed an ambitious idea and helped us get to this point.

Help Us Build the Future

There is still plenty of work ahead, including raising the funding needed to fully fit out and bring the Centre to life. You can directly support the construction and fit-out of our new CSL Centre by donating to our iDonate campaign. Every contribution, big or small, helps equip our science laboratories, new learning spaces, a lecture hall and much more, creating opportunities for our young people. 

Click here to be part of this very exciting next chapter for Jobstown and Tallaght.