Tom Ryan erected a blockade on his land as part of his ongoing dispute with Limerick City and County Council | PICTURE: Adrian Butler
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11 Sept 2025
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11 Sept 2025
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Pallasgreen Templebraden Community Council members with Community Finance Ireland’s client relationship manager Nora Keogh on site at the group’s new community playground I PICTURE: Brian Arthur
PALLASGREEN Templebraden Community Council are providing “essential facilities” for their local community, thanks to a social finance loan from Community Finance Ireland (CFI).
Using social finance loans from CFI to bridge a gap in grant funding, the group have installed a new community playground, sensory garden and walkway and renovated their community hall.
The "revitalised" community hall hosts weekly exercise classes, youth club activities, and is home to the Blasta Café which has become a hub for locals to meet and enjoy some of Anne O’Dowd’s delicious home bakes.
The council’s assistant secretary Stephen O’Neill said: “Without this community centre we couldn’t function - there would be no youth club. We were very fortunate that Community Finance Ireland were able to help us. To be able to renovate this community centre was just invaluable to us.”
Jo Bailey, Pallasgreen Templebraden Community Council’s treasurer said: “When the council was reformed there were two main things that they wanted: one was a playground and two was to do up the hall. So we made for the playground first.
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“I came across Community Finance Ireland at an event. After a short chat they agreed to come out to us to speak to us, to understand what the project was and then basically helped us to learn how to borrow to cover the grant. It was smooth, they made it work well, made it so you could actually understand what the process was.”
Nora Keogh, client relationship manager at CFI said: “We are dedicated to working with grassroots community groups like Pallasgreen Templebraden Community Council country-wide to provide finance solutions quickly, so that they can be empowered to enhance their facilities and offer their local community what they need.”
Since its foundation in 1999, CFI has delivered over €110m in social finance supports to volunteer and community-led organisations across the island of Ireland, including €1.7m in support of projects across county Limerick, a spokesperson said.
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