One of Kilkenny's legends - Sheila Donnelly, Newpark Close FRC

Sheila Donnelly has managed the Newpark Close Family Resource Centre since 2003 and is a force to be reckoned with - just ask anyone who tries to say no to her!

Sheila had done so much for her beloved community in Newpark Close. What started off as an old prefab with a hole in the roof, today stands one of Kilkenny’s finest family resource centres. Thanks to Sheila and her team with their countless years of volunteering and lobbying for better facilities.

Newpark Close Family Resource Centre is a community centre which was built in 1976 to provide services and support for families living in the community. Primarily it was established to address the needs of the children in the area, and to eliminate the sense of isolation and social exclusion that some residents who were moved into the estate began to experience.

Sheila has lived in Newpark Close for 47 years. She moved in as a newlywed with her husband Seamus back in 1976. They had four children and eight grandchildren. Sadly, Seamus passed away 12 years ago from a sudden heart attack. She credits her good neighbours and community for bringing her through her grief.

With sheer determination, Sheila learned how to drive at the age of 47, so she could travel up and down to Maynooth College to get a degree in Youth and Community. From then on, Sheila has pushed many doors open for the people of Newpark Close with the development of the preschool, creche facilities, a family resource centre, education, after school programme, a Men's Shed and the Newpark soccer pitch.

Both Sheila and her granddaughter Ebony Masuku have won the Kilkenny People Volunteer of the Year and deservingly so.

However, there comes a time when every hero must hang up their cap and this September sees an end of an era when Sheila retires after 20 years. Here is a glimpse into her dedication for the community she loves…

Sheila, can you give us some history of Newpark Close and why lobbied for better conditions?

Newpark Close was originally the playing field for the old Newpark housing estate, until 120 houses were built on it. My understanding is that they were built for army families. A lot of the army families moved in at the beginning, but with their steady wage, they were also the first people who could afford to buy out.

At that stage, it was the early 80’s and Ireland had gone into a huge recession. I’II never forget the queue for the social welfare, it was the whole way up Ballybought Street. They had to sign on every morning, which was soul destroying for some men.

The residents all said Newpark Close was a very badly planned development. The 120 houses were all very close, with no front walls and your front door was next to another.

In the early days, we used to joke about how everybody knew if their neighbours had an argument, because you could hear everything!

It also brought a group of us together to start looking at what needed to be done to improve the living conditions of Newpark Close.

That’s when your years of lobbying began.

Back in the early 70s, a group of residents had looked for a preschool. Bishop Birch gave them a prefabricated building belonging to some soccer club. It became the first community preschool in Kilkenny.

Back then Community Development wasn't a thing, but the residents of Newpark Close were already doing it. They were trying to get good quality homes and somewhere for their children to play. The kids only had the road to play on, which was literally outside their front door.

One of the biggest issues was the storage heating that was installed in each home, it was really costly, and everybody was struggling to pay for it. We fought hard to get that changed and lobbied and got in fireplaces and chimneys.

The houses were also flat roofed, so our next objective was to get a solid home. We fought to get a wall or fence built around our houses i.e., a solid structure with a little bit of a front garden. So, the houses that were built initially are not the houses you see standing there today.

I have a feeling you were only getting started!

Yes. I was working 40 hours a week voluntarily for the community, as well as rearing a family and holding down jobs. Seamus kept asking me when I would get myself a proper paid job!

Our next mission was to look for a solid structure for the prefabricated preschool.  We met with Mick Cummins, he was a great man from Waterford, who worked with social welfare. Mick had heard about us, so he came to meet us.

The night he visited; he saw a couple of the boys playing a game of pool. Mick turned to me and pointed to the hole in the roof as a bucket was catching water in the middle of the pool table. The boys would simply lift the bucket up from the pool table every time they took a shot. Mick couldn't get over this. He said that they are just playing, like that's the way life is.

So, he promised us our solid structure, but first he needed us to form a committee to meet with the Kilkenny County Council and other agencies. It didn’t happen overnight, but we did get our solid structure and I have to say Kilkenny County Council were very good to us.

As if you weren't busy enough, you went back to college.

Yes, I went to Maynooth College at the age of 47 to get a degree in Youth and Community. The degree opened up a whole world for me. Even though I was doing a lot of community work, I still felt at times that I wasn’t taken seriously by the agencies, maybe because they felt we weren’t educated enough.  

I was halfway through the degree when I was approached about the manager job at the resource centre. I said no because I felt it would be too hard to work and live in the same area.

I knew I wanted to run a Family Resource Centre because the family support work and community development is what I love, I lived and breathed it.

As it turned out, I did throw my hat in and I was very lucky to be offered the position, which I am still in 20 years later.

I wanted for my community what others were getting. I went back to the community to find out what they needed. They wanted a creche to go with our preschool and in 2007 I put in an application for an extension for a purposely built childcare service. Thankfully it was granted to us. That was the start of what you see here today at Newpark Close Family Resource Centre.

Does anyone say no to Sheila Donnelly?

They decided it was better not to, as they know I’ll come back some other way!

You are retiring in September, a year later than planned. How are you feeling about it?

It’s been nice working here; I supported a couple of generations of families here and all the kids know me. However, I have brought it to where I can and it’s time for me to sit back and retire.

Retirement kind of scares me because I have been very active all my life. On the other hand, I was much sharper years ago, so I’m ready for it.

I have a new partner and we have a caravan. We plan to tour everywhere that we can in this caravan for whatever couple of years we are left with our health.

I will also get to spend time with my grandchildren. This is important to me as my own children would say at times it was tough on them with their mother being in the position that I was in.

What makes the community of Newpark Close so special?

I think it’s the community spirit. When anything goes wrong in a community such as Newpark Close, they all gather around. 

People have great pride that they come from Newpark Close. The young people even call themselves ‘closers’.

There’s been some issues too down through the years but at the same time, it’s a lovely community for me and a lot of my friends that remain here.

https://www.newparkclosefrc.com/