PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo will today be among key persons identified to execute the ceremonial ‘turning of the sod’ to mark the commencement of  the construction of the new Tipperary Hall at Buxton, East Coast Demerara – a watershed moment in the life of the people of that village.
It is anticipated that this ceremony will be witnessed by literally thousands, the vast majority of whom will be Buxtonians, for whom the Hall, through the years, has held great significance.
The construction of the edifice, at a cost of $52.1M, comes as a gift to the people of Buxton, from President Bharrat Jagdeo, through the instrumentality of Presidential Adviser, Odingo Lumumba, who is also a Buxtonian. Among the key movers of the initiative are coordinator, Mr. Charles Booker and New York-based Buxtonian Mboya Wood who, prior to President Jagdeo’s outpouring, has been organizing fund- raising initiatives and otherwise lobbying for help to set the project in motion.
After several months of robust planning and lobbying, spearheaded by Mboya and others, a single meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo and a high-powered team yielded positive results, as is today being witnessed.
Tipperary Hall, built in 1908, functioned as a meeting place for the Buxton and Friendship Burial and Benevolence Society, the holding of banquets, meetings, teaching of trade and commerce and other socio-cultural activities. Essentially, it formed a place of solace where  wakes could be held for the dead in Buxton, and where they  could be taken as part of a decent ceremonial ‘send off’, leading up to burial.  On the ground floor, coffins were built, presenting the opportunity for many a young male Buxtonian to learn yet another trade.
The hallowed building, over time, and after the Burial Society became defunct, slipped into a state of disrepair and was eventually demolished a few years ago.
The Tipperary rebuilding project had its genesis in a dream had by Coordinator of the Project, Mr. Charles Booker, former Engineering Consultant, in which his mother, Jessy Spencer, a Buxtonian village elder, appeared. According to Booker, the old woman appeared to be concerned, and enquired of him whatever had become of Tipperary Hall.
Immediately, he knew what she was referring to.  Aunt Jess, as his mother was fondly called, born on August 6, 1898, celebrated her centenary birth anniversary in 1998. Among the guests at the joyous event were many dignitaries and government officials, including the late Mrs. Janet Jagan, former President off Guyana. When Mrs. Jagan asked Aunt Jess what would she like Government to do to commemorate the memorable occasion, she immediately replied that her greatest desire would be the restoration of Tipperary Hall to its former glory, and to restore potable water to the village.
Aunt Jess died the following year, at the age of 101, but there was no follow up.  Mrs. Jagan died in 2009 before anything could materialize.
To launch the project, there was an inter-denominational service on August 30, 2009, on the vacant land which housed the former Tipperary Hall. This coincided with the anniversary of African Emancipation in Guyana. Three hundred and fifty persons attended the launch and a 12 member executive was nominated and installed.
On the initiative of Mr. Mboya Wood and Mr. Odinga Lumumba, President Jagdeo was approached, and today, the project is off to a fantastic start.