ABC Case Study - Lislea Lively Ladies
Lislea Lively Ladies
Making friends, learning, and having fun.
Lislea Lively Ladies know exactly who they are. Their mission is simple: a supportive group for rural women to make friends, learn and have fun. It's a lived commitment to the women who show up every week.
What the ABC Programme gave them was the structure to make that commitment last.
Where they started
Lislea Lively Ladies came into the programme as an active, engaged group with a warm culture and a clear sense of who and what they were for. Their vision was one of women who feel valued, energised, and connected, with caring friendships and a strong sense of togetherness. Their values reflect that: strength together, respect, trust and confidentiality, a sense of fun and good craic, and empathy.
What they wanted from the programme was practical: capacity building for the members to grow their committee, IT skills, scam awareness, and better ways of building friendships, particularly for women who might find a large group setting daunting. They came in knowing their direction. They wanted support to get there with more confidence and more structure.
The journey
Over the course of Year 1, Lislea Lively Ladies worked through the core strands of the ABC Programme. They developed their Mission, Vision and Values and received their A3 print, a formal piece of work that captured in their own words what the group stands for and what it's trying to build.
They completed action planning across three strands: making friends, learning, and having fun. The IT skills priority was addressed through ICT training delivered by AbilityNet, building practical confidence with technology in ways that felt relevant and useful rather than generic.
They attended shared learning events across the cohort, including the Good Practice Visit to Newcastle Community Cinema, where the Women of Clonduff shared their story, and the follow-up gathering in Warrenpoint, which brought the County Down participant cluster together for an afternoon of peer connection, storytelling with Sinead McAleavey, and a session with Kay Nellis from Ballymartin Community Group.
One of the most significant moments of the year came when Lislea Lively Ladies held their first ever AGM. For a group built on friendship and informality, formalising their governance in that way was a step. They took it, and they formed a sub-committee as part of the process, distributing responsibility more widely across the membership, rather than relying on one person.
| "Women feel valued, are energised and have caring friendships and a strong sense of togetherness." |
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That vision statement, written by the group themselves at the start of the programme, describes something they were already building. By the end of Year 1, they had more of the tools and the structures to keep building it.
What changed
The changes for Lislea Lively Ladies aren't dramatic in the way a group coming from rock bottom might describe. They came in functioning. They left the intensive year more structured, more governed, and with a clearer shared sense of purpose.
The formation of the sub-committee and holding their first AGM were big markers, signalling how serious they are about ensuring the continuity of the group and its long-term health, not just its next activity.
| "A supportive group for rural women to make friends, learn and have fun." |
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That mission hasn't changed. What's changed is the foundation beneath it.
What's next
Lislea Lively Ladies move into the alumni strand of the ABC Programme, staying connected with their peer groups as the Year 2 cohort begins. They take with them a stronger governance structure, a completed action plan, and a group of women who have spent a year showing up for each other.
The craic will continue.
Lislea Lively Ladies are based in Lislea, County Armagh. The ABC Programme is open to rural women's groups across Northern Ireland. Year 2 is now underway. |
The ABC Programme is funded through Dormant Assets NI by The National Lottery Community Fund Northern Ireland and delivered by the Northern Ireland Rural Women's Network (NIRWN).
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