FROM a warm greeting, a friendly chat or giving a veteran a place to rest their head at night, the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (ONE) take every step to serve those who have served their country.
That’s the message the organisation hopes to spread as plans get underway to transform a former officer’s house in Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick City into accommodation for homeless veterans.
The plans announced last year will see the building transformed into a five bedroom live-in facility, as well as providing a drop-in support centre for Limerick veterans.
The build comes with a €1million price tag, 10 per cent of which is to be put up by ONE through fundraising, and is hoped to be fully operational by early 2026.
Gerry Enright is the public relations officer for the Limerick ONE branch, and a former company sergeant of the Sarsfield Barracks medical unit.
He served 41 years at the reserve medical unit from 1968 until his retirement in 2009.
“It was tough at the start being married, and having small kids, and because of the training involved, it meant I had to give up my summer and not go on holidays with my family,” Gerry told the Limerick Post, as he and 40 members from the Sarsfield Barracks get ready to tackle the Great Limerick Run this weekend to raise funds for the new build.
Despite his personal sacrifices, Gerry fondly remembers his time at the barracks. Today, 16 years after his retirement from the service, he works with ONE on a voluntary basis.
Founded in 1951, the charitable organisation offers housing support to homeless veterans, as well as mental health advice through its nationwide veteran support centres.
When asked if there is a high demand for the centre in Limerick, Gerry pinpointed at least five men who would benefit from the support.
The centre hopes to provide a non-judgemental space for veterans where they can get a helping hand.
And that generosity has already been felt, with local veterans already benefiting from housing and independent living through the organisation’s help.
Pride often gets in the way, Gerry says, which leaves many veterans in long-term homelessness before they come forward for help.
“If a man worked full-time in the army, he knows nothing else, only army life. He’s home either late at night or on the weekends, so when he retires, he sometimes has nothing to do”, Gerry says.
“He’s possibly under his wife’s feet, and that leads to marriage troubles. On the other hand, some men get their redundancy and they think, ‘this is great, I have loads of money’. But oftentimes, that money is spent between the pub and the bookies office.”
Another individual, previously based in Limerick, Gerry explains, reached out to ONE while struggling with addiction and was helped to relocate elsewhere in Ireland.
“He is settled down now in another part of the country and he’s happy. He told me that, only for the ONE, he might have been looking at the river,” Gerry said.
The centre will also offer retired veterans a chance to socialise with their former colleagues and remain connected with army life.
This sense of connection proves all the more important for veterans as they look back on their career, especially if they have travelled or fought in wars.
Lieutenant Colonel John Martin is the head of the Defence Forces’ Personnel Support Service, which provides a one stop shop for military members to get advice on issues from financial to mental health, as well as how to readjust back into civilian life.
Gerry says that, up until the last decade, there was relatively little full-time support for veterans, especially those who had impactful experiences during their service.
“A lot of them had very scary times in Lebanon and the Congo, we still have a few of Congo vets around, but it was rough at the start because they had nothing going out there, they weren’t prepared at the time for an overseas mission.”
Now in an effort to support active Defence Forces members and retired veterans, up to 40 members from Sarsfield Barracks will get the boots on the ground in the Great Limerick Run this Sunday (May 4), as part of the Riverfest celebrations.
All money raised by the troop will go towards funding the accommodation centre for homeless veterans in Limerick city to ensure that, as their slogan states, no Irish veteran gets left behind.
