Preserving the castle: Limerick Regeneron staff complete restoration projects

STAFF at biopharmaceutical company Regeneron have completed a major project at Roche Castle in Limerick. 

Workers at the firm’s European headquarters in Raheen have as part of National Heritage Week Ireland been helping to preserve the historic gothic revival style home, which was built around 1830.

Located in the centre of the Regeneron campus, the building was once home to one of Limerick’s representatives in the Houses of Parliament in London pre-independence.

The land around the complex was acquired by the firm in 2018.

To ensure the longevity of Roche Castle as an important historic entity, Regeneron invested in extensive preservation and restoration work as part of its biodiversity and conservation initiative.

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In addition to the restoration of the castle, an extensive woodland project has seen a range of actions taken on the surrounding 1.22-hectare area including removal of scrub and non-native vegetation on the woodland floor and reseeding of the floor with native woodland flora; a butterfly sunny glade area; installation of solitary bee hotels, bird boxes and bat boxes; and the creation of wood stacks to provide habitats for invertebrates at various locations within the woodlands.

Daniel Van Plew, executive vice-president and general manager of industrial operations and product supply said: “Regeneron tries its best to be a good neighbour and when you think about your friends and family members that work with us, we truly are part of this neighbourhood. As part of the Limerick community – like any good neighbour we try our best to have a positive impact.”