Green Limerick: A pollution-free (animal) sanctuary
AT THE base of the Ballyhoura Mountains, close to the Cork border, stands a sanctuary rooted in biodiversity and nature, dedicated to protecting and re-homing animals who have not been so fortunate in their lives.
It was St Patrick’s Day nearly 20 years ago when volunteers from Limerick Animal Welfare (LAW) were looking to find a location to call home when they accidentally stumbled upon the perfect location, nestled in the countryside of Ballyhoura, outside the town of Kilfinane.
The group of volunteers had been out in Bruree searching for a location for the sanctuary and upon reaching Kilfinane, were diverted away from the town due to the parade and took a side road when they saw the site with a for sale sign.
“It was perfect, just perfect, the site was so secluded,” Marion Fitzgibbon says as she goes about her normal workday.
Marion, from Dooradoyle, is the Director of LAW and has been with the organisation for many years.
“Honestly, I hate this idea of monoculture, growing one type of tree in forests. Traditional forests are biodiverse.
“We’ve our shops in the city but our sanctuary is in the most beautiful location. We’ve always been very conscious of making sure the sanctuary isn’t out of place with the woodland.”
LAW’s animal sanctuary opened in 2007. The buildings that make up the shelter feature a neutral colour scheme with green roofs to blend in with the countryside as much as possible.
A recent addition to the sanctuary was the installation of geothermal underfloor heating, helping to reduce the cost of the organisation's ESB bills by a large amount.
“It’s very difficult to run the organisation these days. I think it’s the hardest time we’ve ever had to navigate through,” Marion sighs.
“We just got landed with a bill of around €8,000 that covered around two months, we’ve never in the last nearly 20-odd years seen a bill that high.”
The average bill before the cost of living crisis was €2,000 according to Marion.
“We’ve always had a large bill, washers and dryers are constant in the building and even the geothermal heating has to be moved around the complex via electric pumps. It helps but it all adds up.
“We’re struggling more than we ever were in 40 years… as are most of the people who support us.”
Marion says trying to keep as green as possible whilst under the current cost of living crisis is difficult but promoting biodiversity and sustainability is “necessary” in modern times.
Never intruding on the landscape of the Ballyhoura is in the planning permission of LAW’s sanctuary according to Marion.
“To be fair Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) were on the ball with that even back in 2005.”
LAW also look after the maintenance of their local area, caring for the trees and the hedgerows around the sanctuary whilst also planting flowers and increasing the number of hedgerows to make the area even more biodiverse.
“I live in the city and get all the pollution from the motorway but if I go for a walk up into the forestry, the air is so clear and full of life. It’s wonderful, there’s no pollution up there at all in the whole area,” Marion mentioned.
Marion and LAW believe highlighting and doing the best you can for the environment is crucial and Marion would urge anyone who lives in the city to visit the sanctuary area in Kilfinane to see the difference between the air quality.
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