St Brigid's Grove is two lessons in community self-help
An initiative by Kilcullen Lions Club more than a quarter of a century ago demonstrated a practical way to provide social housing for older people, writes Brian Byrne. Now they have used that same 4-house development of St Brigid's Grove to show how homes can be retrofitted to a modern energy efficient level.
The original Kilcullen Sheltered Housing project was mooted in 1999 by the Lions, who saw a need to house older people on the council housing list who didn’t require full family homes. The group acquired the needed land from the Eastern Health Board — it was located behind the then Dispensary and backed onto the St Brigid’s Avenue council housing estate. A limited company was formed to manage the building of the four homes, with help from Kildare County Council and a £212,000 grant from the Department of the Environment & Local Government under the Voluntary Housing Scheme. The directors included local builder Colm Murray along with fellow Lions Sheila Peacocke, Frances Clare and Dave Prendergast, and local councillor Paddy Aspell.
The project moved smoothly, and when St Brigid’s Grove was officially opened in 2001 by then Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, the first group of tenants were already in place — Daisy Lennon, Jack Delaney, Kitty Hartigan, and Kathleen and Tim Gleeson. “There have been a number of other tenants since, as some passed away and others moved on,” says Jim Kiely, who became involved with the project a couple of years after it opened and has been the main point of contact with the residents for almost two decades. “As Lions we remain very closely involved. We maintain the houses, and we select new tenants when vacancies come up.” Candidates must be 65 or over, be on the Housing List, and have a connection to Kilcullen.
Fast forward to 2018 when Kilcullen took the first steps towards a Sustainable Energy Community under the scheme operated by Kildare County Council and the SEAI. The SEC committee were looking for projects to showcase how buildings in the town could be made more energy-efficient. “I suggested that the Brigid’s Grove houses could be suitable," Jim Kiely says, noting that the homes had been built at a time when insulation had not the same priority as it does today.
With the agreement of the Lions Club, the SEC group worked with Kildare County Council's community climate action programme, supported by the Department of the Environment. The project was completed just before last Christmas with grant aid from the council and fundraising by the Lions. Insulation was pumped into the wall cavities and the attics insulated to modern standards. Air vents and electric extractors were installed. "We also upgraded the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. It was all done nicely in time for the recent cold spell, where our residents were really able to appreciate the difference."
The total cost came to around €13,000. Apart from improving the quality of life of current tenants, it represents very good value. "There are really good grants available, and people who are in receipt of Fuel Allowance can probably have their homes upgraded through the grant system totally funded by the council and the Department of the Environment."
The St Brigid's Grove housing idea was very successful, and there's definitely a need for more like it even all these years later. The subject regularly comes up for discussion among Lions members, according to Jim Kiely, though the cost of land and building today means that anything concrete is very much an aspiration. Jim also believes that bringing the homes to modern energy efficient standards should encourage other residents in the town to do similar with their own homes.
There's some thought about a public meeting in the spring to let people know what is possible. "All of this is not theory any more. This is what we can do," Jim Kiely comments. And it is what Kilcullen Lions did.
NOTE: A version of this article was first published in the Kildare Nationalist.
Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy
