By Mark Cusack
A LIMERICK gaming store that began without electricity or a phone line has raised thousands of euros for local charities over nearly three decades.
The Gathering on Gerald Griffith Street opened in 1997 when owner Gary Jackson purchased stock from a closing city centre shop with a €9,000 loan. Since then, the hobby store has become a community hub for board gamers whilst supporting causes including Milford Hospice, cancer research and UHL’s Children’s Ark.
“He does so much charity work you wouldn’t believe it,” said Gary’s sister Eva Jackson, who works in the shop. “He doesn’t do it for money, he does it because he loves gaming.”
The store runs regular raffles and food drives, where customers donate €5 worth of provisions to enter gaming tournaments. This year’s summer barbecue raised €3,000 for two specialist chair beds at the Children’s Ark, allowing parents of sick children to sleep overnight at the hospital.
Store manager Ben Byrne, a customer since 2007, describes The Gathering as a haven for “nerds and outcasts” that operates like a GAA club. “It’s not about selling the latest release,” he said. “It’s the human element, the conversation.”
The shop’s 2025 Christmas food drive supports Limerick Feed the Homeless. Non-perishable donations can be dropped to Lower Gerald Griffith Street before December 14, with contributors receiving five raffle tickets for prizes.
Gary’s philosophy, according to Byrne, is simple: “No matter who walks through that door, their race, their creed, their gender, you treat them the same.”
**********************
Eva Jackson describes her brother with a laugh: “We kill each other on a regular basis but he deserves to be recognised, he does so much charity work you wouldn’t believe it. I say you’re never going to make money in this shop, but he doesn’t do it for that, he does it because he loves gaming.”
The Gathering hobby shop on Gerald Griffith Street in Limerick city has been running for nearly 30 years. The owner, Gary Jackson, first opened the store after purchasing the stock of Cruises Street shop ‘People Play Games’ when they announced their closure in 1997. Within the week, due to a €9000 loan and a lot of manual labour from his friends, The Gathering was open, albeit without a phone or electricity. Since then, the shop has become a thriving community space for board gamers of all ages.
Gary has always been involved with charity work. Coming into Christmas time, the shop would hold a collection or support a fundraising night in Milford Hospice or UHL. It wasn’t until the Gatherings community raised enough money to have one of their regulars treated for a chronic illness that Gary realised they had something special. “His mother had to raise 90 grand as he couldn’t be treated here. We fundraised towards that, and the surgery was a complete success. He was in here just last week, setting up a Warhammer game.”
They began running raffles and food drives. Food drives where you bring five euros worth of food and get entered into a tournament where everyone competes for prizes provided by the shop. “We had multiple table lengths piled high with food.”
Since the shop’s opening, the raffles have raised thousands for cancer research and Milford Hospice. The Gathering donates Pokémon cards, Dungeons and Dragons books, Magic: The Gathering trading cards and much more in toy drives for local charities.
Their most successful event is the summer barbecue, which first took place at the Munster ‘BattleTech’ championships 3 years ago.
The championship saw players travelling from all over the world to attend, including Catalyst Games developer Randall Bills. The barbecue was hosted the day after the championship, giving those who travelled over for the event a reason to stick around. The European championships of BattleTech are planned to be held in Limerick, a move which shows how venerated The Gathering is in international circles.
This year they decided to work with the Children’s Ark at UHL, a relationship which has been built up over years of donating board games. Gary asked the Ark what was needed most; it was chair beds, a place for the parents of sick children who stay overnight to sleep.
“With the likes of cancer research, it’s a noble cause, but it’s a bottomless pit, with the Ark it’s local, and you can see where it’s going, the lads coming in know where it’s going, the local community can see the impact.”
The 2025 summer barbecue raised €3000, enough for two chair beds. “The chair-beds were pricey. They had to be made specially, upholstered with hospital-grade material.”
Eva Jackson works in the shop and describes her brother as being incredibly kind, “He puts money away every week so that Limerick Feed the Homeless can buy things they need, like plastic trays to put the meals in.”
“It’s the oldest toy shop in Limerick. He loves helping kids with special needs, but we don’t highlight that; we don’t say he’s autistic, so put him over there with them. When you’re in the shop, everybody is the same, you’re not more intelligent or less intelligent than anybody else, that’s what we do, he’s done it for years.”
Store manager Ben Byrne describes the Gathering as a haven for “the nerds and outcasts.” He has been coming to the shop since 2007 and remembers Gary placing him on a stack of comic books so that he could see over the table to play games.
In 2023, while working as an electrician, Ben was diagnosed with a series of serious medical conditions. “My doctor said I had to quit being a Sparks or be in incredible pain my whole life, that I can’t get stressed or angry, which is pretty much the whole job being a Sparks.”
Gary, looking to lessen his workload so that he could spend more time with family, hired Ben as his store manager.
“It’s the game equivalent of a GAA club, it’s not about selling the latest release, you can buy that anywhere online. It’s the human element, the conversation. It’s been here so long, you’ll see kids on the Saturdays who were 9 or 10 when they started, and now they are in their 30s.”
“Gary’s philosophy is no matter who walks through that door, their race, their creed, their gender, you treat them the same.”
“Originally, we went for the games, but we stayed for the people. It’s like an old pub on a winter’s night, diverse people with different stories coming in for company.”
The Gatherings 2025 Christmas food drive is in aid of Limerick Feed The Homeless. “Each year we try to help those great people in this local charity to bring food to those less fortunate than us this Christmas”. Non-perishable food such as tinned soups, stew, canned fish, etc, can be dropped into The Gathering on Lower Gerald Griffith Street before December 14th. Donations of food will be rewarded with 5 free raffle tickets, entering you into the draw for prizes provided by the shop. “Each year we are humbled by the enthusiasm shown in these great causes by the people of Limerick and can’t wait to help spread the true spirit of Christmas.”