Looking at the vast array of adult education courses now available, it is hard to imagine that 20 years ago there was virtually no such thing as community-based adult education. There were courses for adults, but the majority were held at night. This discriminated against those who worked shifts and nights and ignored the thousands of women with young families who were unable to go out in the evenings.

This is the backdrop against which KLEAR (Kilbarrack Local Education for Adult Renewal) came into being through the efforts of a group of women who originally came together to set up a summer project for children. They found an enthusiastic champion in Joe Kelly (an adult education organiser with the VEC) and with his support, some financial help from the VEC and the women's drive and vision, KLEAR was born in the autumn of 1980.

KLEAR's first course was on personal development and it was run in a tiny building with no heat and no natural light. Eight women attended and their children played alongside them during the class. Right from the beginning, it was decided that the cost of courses would be as low as possible and that childcare facilities would have to be provided. Both of these principles are still adhered to 21 years on.

KLEAR started out exclusively as a women's group and one of its founders, Norrie Gibney, who is still very active with the organisation, makes no apology for this.

"It was a case of sisters doing it for themselves in the sense that we wanted to make our own decisions based on our real needs," she says.

"We didn't want something imposed by someone who didn't know what it was like not to have the confidence to get out of the house or the money to pay up front for classes in September because you'd spent everything on your kids for school."

Initially, KLEAR reached out to women in the Kilbarrack area. But its reputation quickly grew and soon its students were coming from all over Dublin's northside - and beyond.

Over the past 21 years, roughly 10,000 people have participated in KLEAR courses and there are currently 800 people enrolled on a mixture of courses from computers and languages to the Leaving Certificate, personal enrichment and reading and writing skills.

"When KLEAR began, it was very political in the broadest sense of that term," says Kelly. "The women had to fight for what they wanted and they took their fight to the doors of everyone they thought should listen. They were a community taking on power for themselves and in so doing they fundamentally changed the lives of many women in the area."

In the early days, Gibney admits that the group came in for flak for supposedly breaking up families. "Our personal development and assertiveness courses were blamed for giving women notions," she says. "They certainly gave women a voice, or perhaps the confidence to use their voice and we make no apology for that. But this sort of growth is not always easy. We had some painful times as a group, but the benefits were enormous at both a personal and an educational level."

KLEAR was one of the first community education initiatives and it is one of only a handful to have survived for over two decades. Kelly says that part of the reason it has endured is down to how it is organised and how it has changed to meet evolving needs.

"There was always a determination to avoid a hierarchy and to run it along committee lines," he says. "A lot of time was spent focusing on the process and getting the processes right. I suppose the structure would best be described as 'loose'. But it's held together pretty well for 21 years! KLEAR also invested a lot of time in training those involved with the organisation and in encouraging students to move on to become tutors and course facilitators. I think that has also been important in ensuring its survival."

The management committee at KLEAR is made up of volunteers and it rarely falls below 15 people. Indeed, it currently stands well above this. This gives continuity and ensures that there is always a core of people who can pick up the organisational reins and keep things running smoothly.

Participants in the Community Employment scheme work at the centre and staff its crΦche and canteen and keep the place spick and span.

Gibney is quick to acknowledge the "tremendous commitment and contribution made by so many people to KLEAR over the past 21 years. We are also very grateful to the VEC which has supported us since the beginning and to Joe who has seen it through with us from the beginning. We have all learnt so much from being involved with KLEAR in ways far beyond what we set out to achieve."