Whether you travel the road from Armagh to Dundalk, or from Newry to Crossmaglen, you cannot help but see the Silverbridge Community Resource Centre near the intersection of these two roads at a place known locally as Ford's Cross. This great building nestling in the rolling hills of South Armagh, is a testimony to the endeavours of the local community. They not only had the foresight to concieve such a facility, but also the courage, stamina and community spirit to bring it to fruition, over a period of three years. The vast majority of the work was done on avoluntary basis with bricklayers, plasterers, joiners, electricians, plumbers, painters and general handymen all giving freely of their time and expertise to culminate in the conclusion of this great project. The construction phase was completeed in the spring of 2002, with the official openeing on 15th June, 2002.
The nucleus of the building itself is the main sports hall which measures up to international standards for all major indoor games such as football, basketball, volleyball, badminton etc. It is also available for hiring for Weddings, Christenings, Children's Parties
etc. Around this great hall, there are a number of rooms of various sizes to cater for the needs of all of the community. On the first floor, the bowls room is complete with its own kitchen to not only accommodate the local bowls club but also for holding smaller functions & meetings. The fully equipped fitness suite is located on the ground floor behind the main ahll, and with its associated steam room it provides an ideal excercise area for the local community including our current Armagh Senior team, who have full access to the Gym & steam room. The local St Brigid's Youth club have made good use of the games room on the second floor with pool & tennis tables keeping the youth of the area occupied in healthy past times. On the opposite side of the building the local women's group have developed a computer suite to stimulate and train the local population in the use of IT. The naoi scoil 
have made use of part of the viewing gallery to provide education to the pre school children of the area. All of this , combined with anciallary meeting rooms, a fully fitted kitchen and stage areas makes this one of the finest facilities in the country and will stand as a remarkable tribute to this generation of selfless workers.
Since its opening the the number of users has contiunually increased in proportion to the range of activities as they became available. As mentioned above the local youth club, the bowls club and the women's group moved in straight away. Over the winter months, the main hall has been constantly booked out during the evening hours for indoor activity. The ancillary rooms are also in great demand with activities such as aerobics, circuit training, Irish Dancing, yoga, salsa dancing, Ceilí's, first aid courses and meetings of local groups all utilising every part of the building.
On 1st February 2003, the fitness suite became the last piece of the jigsaw to its doors to the public. There are now three trained sports instructors (all local) to ensure the suite is kept running to meet the needs of the users.
Already the venue has hosted three Ulster Scór Finals, Women's Initiative Seminar, and the local GAA County Convention. The size of the main hallcombined with the availabilty of so many changing & rehearsal rooms, amkes it an ideal venue for such events.
Brian Kennedy, the Fureys and Davey Arthur have all played the venue in the past and acts of this magnitude are expected to be a regular occurrence going forward.
The resource Centre now has its own committee to ensure that this great facilty is fully utilised. Many may see Silverbridge as a remote spot in rural South Armagh, but thanks to the foresight & efforts of the local community it is rapidly becoming the focus of attention for all sporting, cultural, educational and physical fitness needs of the entire area and beyond.
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