Nás na Ríogh Housing Association · NNRHA

The Nás na Ríogh Housing Association received its final instalment of Sherry FitzGerald O’Reilly’s €10,000 donation towards The Mc Auley Place project last week.

The sheltered housing facility and Community Centre project was chosen by Sherry FitzGerald O’ Reilly as a major beneficiary in its ‘Care For The Community’ programme three years ago.

This year’s donation will be used towards the chapel roof fund. The replacement of the roof of the nuns’ chapel on the site means that the building will be used as a venue for artistic events such as art exhibitions, music recitals, old time dancing and multi cultural events. “Sherry FitzGerald’s contribution is most welcome and very timely,” said Margharita Solon, Chairperson of Nas Na Riogh Housing Association. “The Community Centre is already being availed of by a wide variety of groups so our next step is to see to the chapel restored to its former glory and in use in the community.”

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Article source: Leinster Leader

Expressions of interest have been invited for tenders. Tender documents will be released in mid-October.

Post-tender approval for housing units will be sought from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government when a contractor has been selected.

Sheltered Housing

• 53 Apartments for Older Persons
• 13 Apartments and a coffee shop in the old Convent of Mercy Building.
• 40 Apartments in the convent garden.
• Each apartment contains sitting room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.
• Planning permission was granted in 2006 after a marathon journey through red tape.

The journey continued and reached pre-tender approval being finally granted last month. Tenders are now being advertised. When tenders have been approved an application can be made to cross the final hurdle-post tender approval which will sanction finance and enable work to start on the apartments. This is possible, with Government support, this Autumn.
Negotiations are ongoing with Government Ministers and local TDs for final approval.

Nás na Ríogh Housing Association is sincerely grateful for the incredible support of the business, residential, and statutory members of the community.

Community Centre

Thanks to a lot of hard work, both voluntary and professional, the Community Centre is scheduled to open on a limited basis from 18th July. Initially the centre will be open for general enquiries from 10am – 12noon, and will be available to rent by groups at other times by prior arrangement. Normal operating hours will commence in September.

The beautiful old building, attached to the old Convent of Mercy on the Sallins Road, has been carefully restored and renovated.

Facilities available will include:

• A conference room,
• Meeting Rooms,
• Large room for recreational and social events,
• A sound proof music practice room,
• Wheelchair accessible lift,
• Wheelchair accessible toilets,
• Kitchen for light catering available to participating groups.

Any groups wishing to rent rooms for meetings or activities please contact Fr. John Brickley, Sallins Road, Naas at 045 897260.
The position of Community Centre Manager will be filled by 16 July.

Chapel

Thanks to the incredible support of Naas Lions Club and generous individual donations together with a grant from Kildare County Council, restoration works to the roof will commence in a matter of weeks. Further works will be undertaken once the housing development has started. Philip Lawton, organist, has examined the organ and is delighted to report that it can be restored to its former glory.

A new book by Naas Harbour Writers featuring collected works in aid of Nás na Ríogh Housing Association has just been released.

Who Brought The Biscuits? is a culmination of four years of meeting, discussion, exploration, fun and, of course, writing. The book is made up of short stories, poetry, extracts and memoirs, all written by the members of the group over the past four years and each piece was selected to entice laughter, tears, excitement, fear or anticipation from the reader.

Who Brought The Biscuits? is an illustration of the Naas Harbour Writers’ varied styles, techniques and approaches to writing, as individuals and as a group.

More information from the Naas Harbour Writers website.

WORK is to finally start on the development of a new community centre for Naas, the Leinster Leader has learned. The old Parish Centre is being developed into “an all inclusive community centre” by Nás na Ríogh Housing Association Ltd. (NNRHA). Work is expected to begin before the end of the month.

Margharita Solon told the Leader on Monday that the impending start to construction work was “great news for everyone”.
The design team working for NNRHA on the development of the apartments for independent living is finalising the pre-construction details for the housing element of the NNRHA project.

Two local young men have undertaken to run a five-a-side soccer tournament as a fundraiser for the community centre development. Emlyn Hegarty-Kelly and Declan Donnelly outlined their proposal for the fundraiser to committee members of NNRHA a few weeks ago and the committee is said to be delighted with the possibility of giving a sense of ownership of the new facilities to younger members of the community.

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Article source: Leinster Leader

Ms Máire Hoctor, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for Older People, will visit the Nás na Ríogh Housing Association in Naas on Tuesday next, 7th August, 2007. …
Welcoming the development, Minister Hoctor said: “Nás na Ríogh is an innovative housing project for older people. Its safe and central location will allow residents to participate to the fullest extent in the life of the town” She concluded by wishing Nás na Ríogh continued success in the future.

http://www.dohc.ie/press/releases/2007/20070803.html?lang=en

Nás na Ríogh Housing Association was featured in programme eight of RTÉ’s three60 TV series.

What do you imagine for yourself as you grow older?

Margharita Solon has a vision. When she guides us through the disused Sisters of Mercy convent in Naas she imagines the Nás na Riogh project brought fully to fruition.

She sees a rubble-strewn yard converted into 37 self-contained apartments for the elderly. She sees the convent’s decaying interior renovated into a modern living space and can almost feel daylight spill into the dank hallway from a glass atrium pencilled into the roof. The property selected is right in the middle of town, filtering sounds of life and bustle. Shops and restaurants invite modest excursions around the corner while Margarita Solon foresees two nearby schools as a vibrant crossover between old and young. A cross-generational bridge between our past and future.

Nás na Riogh wants to challenge the isolation of old age. On this week’s episode of Three 60, Catherine, John, Kathleen, Phyllis and Maura all tell us why they fear growing old. Statistics predict that people in Ireland will be living much longer. The number of older people is projected to increase substantially by 2036 with the number of over-65s increasing from 11 per cent of the population to about 20 per cent. The number of people aged 80 years or more is projected to treble from a 2001 level of 98,000 to about 320,000 in 2036 (CSO, 2004) But what sorts of supports are in place for people who do want to live in Residential Care?

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Source: RTÉ website

Watch a video excerpt of the programme

Senator Cummins referred to the need to provide more resources for sheltered housing projects. One such project is the Nás na Riogh Housing Association, which is converting an old convent into units for older people and facilities for intergenerational community activities. The building, which is located in the heart of Naas, will provide opportunities for younger and older people to mix on a daily basis. Some older people encounter a lack of stimulation when they enter homes and go downhill very quickly as a result. Although it will not be complete for some time to come, the Nás na Riogh Housing Association project will be a model which can be replicated throughout the country.

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Article source: Oireachtas Parliamentary Debates