Hotel bar in Limerick to be redeveloped for community cafe

PLANS are in train for a city centre community cafe to support anyone who may be struggling with their mental health.

Permission is to be sought by Limerick Mental Health Association (LMHA) to transform the Quay Bar at the Pier hotel.

Opening in collaboration with the HSE, it will be known as The Solace Cafe, and will offer one-to-one support with trained mental health staff and volunteers, a social space and other learning opportunities.

Located just off Sarsfield Bridge in the city centre, the Pier Hotel and bar are currently closed to the public.

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Ian Hackett, general manager of LMHA, said prior to being offered use of the bar area, they had looked at 38 other buildings in the city centre.

“It’s an ideal location in the middle of the three bridges,” he said.

He anticipates it opening Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, then evenings up to midnight between Thursdays and Sundays.

“From an HSE study, these are the critical hours that we need to support people,” Mr Hackett explained.

Already Solace Cafe branches have opened in Dublin and Cork.

All of the outlets are being run on a two-year pilot.

After this is complete, Mr Hackett said, it’s hoped that the Solace Cafe will be able to open on a 24-hours-a-day basis.

The LMHA exists to raise awareness, reduce stigma and promote positive mental health through a variety of programmes and initiatives.

Founded in 2002, it is based in Sexton Street.

However, if approval is given for the Solace Cafe, the group will likely up sticks and move to the Pier Hotel.

Mr Hackett said: “It will be a massive boost for the city. We will have a crisis resolution team on hand which will be a psychiatrist, psychologist and occupational therapist working as part of the cafe. They will be the clinical side. Then we will have the preventative and recovery side which will be the cafe itself.”

He acknowledged the long search for a suitable building to use in Limerick led to the delay in the plans to open locally.

It was anticipated Limerick would have been the first of the Solace Cafes to open around the country.

LMHA is closed for the month of August to give its volunteers some much-needed time off.

However, they will return on Monday, September 2.

Then, the countdown will be on to Limerick Mental Health Week, which takes place in October.

A limited range of activities will still take place through August.

For more information, visit www.limerickmentalhealth.ie/