Fr McGrath Centre Kilkenny to remain open for the community

The Fr McGrath Family Resource Centre on St Joseph's road, Kilkenny and the Butts Community Neighbourhood Hall has promised contact services and a human being to talk to you every day from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday. 

"Our main telephone number 056 7751988 ext 1 is now a priority community help/query number. If you do not hear a fellow human answering your call, then leave a message and one of our many volunteers or team members will respond," director of the centre, Mr Stephen Murphy said.

"Our IT Manager, Liz Hogan and welfare information officer, Samual Morgan, and their teams will assist people with any social welfare or DEASP benefit applications from Monday morning 10am to 12.30pm. Liz Hogan (086-1510485) and our teams will also work to help you or your family with IT and social media access or other supports where ever it is possible and safe," he added.

"I know that older people living alone are fortunate to be generally very well watched and cared for in our community. I am appealing to our neighbours to let us know the name of any person or vulnerable family in your street if you are concerned that they need more support than they are getting from you now. 

"Our family resource centre and our befriending social service partners, Alone, have access to many volunteers willing to provide further help or resources as  needed to vulnerable residents. Please see our www.frmcgrathcentre.ie site or our Fr. McGrath Family Resource Centre facebook page for updates and links to important mental health and family well being sites. 

"We all awoke to a different Ireland, post St. Patrick’s Day.  For the time being the ‘new normal’ for our families and lone residents will present some social challenges to us all. While we are all understandably a little frightened of the future, it is important we know that as a strong and united community we won’t be facing it alone.

We are all, now, each others light on the hill and an Ireland of people and communities united, won’t be defeated by any national challenge.

I look forward to the day when we can shake each other’s hand again to thank each other for the small kindnesses we did for our neighbours, when it really mattered most, in the mean time, remember, and tell your neighbour," Mr Murphy said.