Driving force in the local area's social network

From the time he was a kid the only thing Dubliner Noel Coogan wanted to be was a long-distance driver. He loved cars, buses, trucks, in fact anything with wheels. He couldn't wait to leave school and be old enough to get behind the wheel. Coogan was a very bright student with a passion for reading which has never left him. His teachers were sure he was university material, but his will to leave school was strong and despite parental efforts to keep him there he packed it in within a few weeks of the Leaving Cert. "I stayed in school until just before the Leaving and then left without doing it," he says. "Like many of my generation I couldn't wait to be free of school.

I had scraped by in the Inter Cert getting honours in English and history, which I enjoyed, and passes in the subjects which did not greatly interest me. On leaving school I started work in the Evening Herald as a scooter man. I also worked for Easons delivering the English newspapers around the country and then I did a stint driving articulated trucks. I finished up as a night driver in the Irish Press." Coogan was subsequently made redundant from the Irish Press, where he had also been an assistant shop steward. Although he had been active in the union, he had never really been interested in getting involved with organisations per se. "With my redundancy from the Press I wasn't in too much of a hurry to go back to work," he says.

"But after a while I started to get bored and around this time I was asked to assist in setting up a residents association for my locality - Ormond Square." At the association's inaugural meeting Coogan was elected secretary, which he says had more to do with "my natural verbosity than any ability on my part". From there things began to snowball and Coogan suddenly found himself drawn into executive roles in several other local development organisations. "It was a quick but natural progression from my local residents' association to getting involved with groups concerned with wider issues in the area," Coogan says. "I found that I liked being involved in community things and that a lot of what I had to do came naturally as I was used to talking to people and to meetings and to writing letters from my days in the union. There is a huge amount to be done at community level and it's very difficult to find people to do it. I think it's unfortunate that young people in particular are not getting involved in community groups," Coogan says.

Between his varied commitments Coogan's voluntary activities rapidly turned into a full-time job. He subsequently got a place on a community employment scheme in his area and from this he applied for the position of co-ordinator with the North West Inner City Network.

HE is now 18 months in his new job which involves developing relationships between the voluntary, statutory and community groups within his area. Coogan's network is one of four serving Dublin city and his catchment area runs from Capel Street to the Phoenix Park on one side and from the Quays to the North Circular Road on the other and involves approximately 13,000 people. "We're involved with everything that has an impact on people's lives in the area," he says. "This ranges from housing for the elderly to dealing with the drugs problem or keeping children in school. We work with agencies such as the Eastern Health Board, the Garda and local residents groups to try to make life better for the people living here. Basically I spend most of my time chasing my tail, sifting through piles of paperwork, going from one meeting to another and trying to keep all of the groups up to speed on what each other is doing. I find the work both challenging and very enjoyable." Since beginning work with the North West Inner City Network, Coogan has completed a diploma course in community development and leadership at NUI Maynooth.

The course, sponsored by the Dublin Inner City Partnership, is aimed at community workers and designed to increase their understanding of community issues and improve their personal levels of confidence and skills. The 17 participants were drawn from all over the inner city. "The most notable outcome of the course was the increase in people's self-esteem and their willingness to get involved in discussions going beyond their perceived capabilities," Coogan says. "I enjoyed the course a lot and those of us who stuck with it formed a close bond. "In my own case the course helped me to have a much clearer perspective of the dynamics involved in community development and an increased awareness of State structures and their functions. Also having the diploma means that people can no longer dismiss me as being uneducated/uninformed when talking about issues affecting the community. I feel the course proved that, no matter what your background or circumstances, it is possible to better oneself," Coogan says.