O’ Regan Park is situated on the picturesque environs of the Mill Race river in the heart of Newmarket on Fergus, consisting of a naturalistic Playground, Nature Trail and Storytelling Area the area provides a beautiful amenity for all ages to enjoy. Located 5km from Shannon Airport and minutes from Ennis the Park is a the perfect stop off for families, with beautiful riverside picnic spots as well as individual play areas for children of varying ages. Created with beautiful Robina wood the playground pieces include a Pirate Ship for the Juniors and a larger more adventurous piece for the older children, both have climbing areas, slides, ropes and poles. Other features include Mini-Diggers, See-Saws, Hammocks, Tyre Swings and a fun for all Zip-Line!

All of the play equipment has a featured animal carved putting further emphasis on nature in the Park. The biodiversity of the area combined with the natural materials used in the play equipment makes this a great amenity that is very family centred. We also provide regular biodiversity talks and walks with our local Heritage Officer as well as talks on the history and indigenous nature of the Mill Race Stream.

Situated alongside the Mill Race River and using all natural materials, the area blends into the environment seamlessly. This is a true community area that belongs to all the people of the Village who helped fundraise for it. Indeed all 4 schools in the area came together to build the beautiful Storytelling Circle in the Park. This all wood area places an emphasis on our literary heritage and is regularly used as an outdoor classroom (when weather allows) and by visiting authors.

The newest addition to the Park is the Sensory Garden. This is an all inclusive area in the Park aimed as a sanctuary for people with disabilities, autism, visual impairment and dementia while also being an area where you can just enjoy a little bit of nature in a safe environment. We hope that this feature of the Park will be a huge benefit to the emotional and physical health of everyone in the community. The Sensory Garden has been gifted to the village by the Obair Going Strong Active Retirement Group as an area for all ages to enjoy.

Both children and adults have enjoyed storytelling from both local and visiting writers in the purpose built outdoor classroom. At the centre of the Storytelling Area is a beautiful commissioned carved wooden seat surrounded by the all wood seats for the listeners. People of all ages can enjoy a lovely quiet nature walk with plenty of benches and dog walking paths. All of this is offered free to locals and visitors to Newmarket on Fergus.

In 2014 O Regan Park was named one of the Top Ten Playgrounds in the country by The Irish Times and Mummy Pages. It was awarded with the accolade of being named one of the Top 10 Playgrounds in Ireland in 2014 by The Irish Times. It was also more recently named as one of the country’s Top Ten Playgrounds in 2015 by Family Friendly HQ.

In 2016 and 2017 the now annual O’ Regan Park Family Fun Day has taken place at the end of August. This has been a lovely day that celebrates the end of summer and the kids going back to school. This year featured a Wild Animal display, Stephen fro Galway Community Circus, Pizza oven and barbecue, Bonnie Baby competition, Fancy Dress and a Pirate Adventure Treasure Hunt!

Best Playground Family Friendly HQ

Best Playground The Irish Times