Community garden at new Carrick-on-Suir apartments development is officially opened

Celebrating the official opening of the community garden were from left: Fionnuala Hanlon, Housing Officer at Tuath Housing; Hannah Butler, Customer Service Advisor at Tuath Housing; Margaret Hanrahan, Tuath Housing Tenant Engagement Manager; Cathaoirleach of Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District Cllr. Kieran Bourke, Tuath residents Cora Maher and Gosha Pietras, Peter Mulcahy of JSF Construction, local historian Walter Dunphy and Carol Delany of Carrick-on-Suir’s Sean Healy Memorial Library.

A community garden for the residents of the new Tuath Housing Association apartments in Carrick-on-Suir town centre was officially opened by Cathaoirleach of Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District Cllr Kieran Bourke last Wednesday.

The beautiful garden in a private courtyard style area at the back of the Baker’s Lot apartments on Kickham Street is a haven for its residents to meet and socialise and enjoy nature.

The official opening ceremony also included an exhibition of old photos of Carrick-on-Suir and a talk by Walter Dunphy about Kickham Street and the local history of the area.

Old photos of Carrick on Suir were sourced through the Tipperary Studies Digital Archive and support was provided through Carrick-on-Suir's Sean Healy Memorial Library, Carrick on Suir.

Baker's Lot apartments project is a collaboration between Tuath, Tipperary County Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage.

Residents moved into the 13 one, two and three-bed apartments built by local firm JSF Constructions last November. The apartments are home to older people and people with specific disabilities who were on Tipperary County Council’s housing waiting list. 

During a pre-move in coffee morning Tuath’s housing and tenant engagement teams spoke to residents about how they would like to get involved in tenant engagement projects once settled into their new homes.

Many residents spoke about their keen interest in gardening, which inspired Tuath staff to start work on a resident led communal garden project.

Funding for the garden was secured through the support of developer JSF Construction and the Tuath Housing Community Fund 2022.

The design and consultation process for the garden began with residents, staff and a horticulturist from Clonmel Garden Centre back in March.

Residents chose the theme for the garden as biodiversity with planting that will encourage birds, bees and butterflies to create a natural eco system in the space.

It was important as part of the design consultation process that the garden was accessible for residents with planting focused around raised beds and easy to access planters.

On a sunny day in April staff from Tuath’s Galway office, Tuath’s Green team staff, Kickham Street residents and an advisor from the garden centre set to work on putting the garden design into place.
Garden delights

Fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs formed a large part of the design.

The garden has many seating areas for residents to come and enjoy this shared space with neighbours, but it is also a sunny quiet area to come and relax and listen to the chimes.

There are two raised beds in the garden that contain tomato plants, carrots and strawberries.

There is also a herb area with parsley, sage, chives, coriander and a host of other herbs for residents to share. Apple and pear trees were planted, which will provide food to bees when in flower but also fruit when they mature.

A bird feeder and bird water fountain are other features installed to encourage birds into the garden.

A wildflower area was also seeded during the planting day to provide food for bees and butterflies.
Cora Maher and Gosha Pietras are two of the residents who enjoy gardening and relaxing in the community garden.

Cora, who donated a framed photograph of Ormond Castle to the exhibition in the apartments’ communal area, said they call it “the garden that keeps on giving” because of all the vegetables, fruit and flowers it produces and the joy it gives them.

She said all the residents love the garden and it’s a great meeting place for them.

“It’s brilliant when you go out there, it’s like you are in the country. There is no noise. It’s so peaceful and there is such biodiversity there,” she noted referring to the butterflies, bees and birds that have been drawn to the garden.

Gosha, a native of Poland, is enjoying learning about gardening in the Irish climate through her work tending to the community garden.

She points out that the garden helps to foster a positive spirit among residents in the apartments and is a lovely place to bring any visitors to their homes.

Margaret Hanrahan, Tenant Engagement Coordinator said all the tenants and staff who took part in the project should be really proud of what has been achieved.

“I hope that people enjoy this wonderful new space,” she added.