On November 21st 2025 Barnardos Moyross celebrated 30 years working with children and families across Limerick. More than 50 people attended the celebration with contributions from families who have received support, funders Tusla, and community partners.
History of Barnardos’ work in Limerick
Barnardos has been providing intensive family support services and targeted groupwork programmes in Limerick for many years, and Barnardos has responded to the needs of families living across the city and county by developing a range of services in partnership with Tusla (and formerly Mid-Western Health Board/HSE)
- 1995 – Barnardos first service in Limerick, the Barnardos Moyross Family Support Project, was set up in response to families experiencing difficulties within the catchment area. It was developed in partnership with the then Mid-Western Health Board. The service expanded in following years to cover Kileely and Ballynanty, Moyross and Thomondgate.
- 1998 – Three years later Barnardos Southill Family Support Project was established to support families in Southill, which expanded to include Our Lady of Lourdes and Ballincurra Weston by 2003.
- 2002 – Barnardos Islandgate Family Support Project in King’s Island was established as part of the second phase of the Springboard initiative, with a catchment area of King’s Island, St. Mary’s Park and surrounding estates.
- 2011 – Significant change took place in 2011, the demographics of Limerick city changed due to regeneration. As a result many families had been moved out of the traditional catchment areas of Barnardos Family Support Projects. This lead to a reconfiguration of Barnardos services across Limerick city and county – to better respond to the needs of children and their families.
- 2013 – Barnardos Homemaker Family Support Service, an early intervention, home based family support service was established.
Barnardos Work in Limerick Today
Today, Barnardos services, primarily funded by Tusla with additional support from philanthropic donations, provides intensive family support across Limerick city and county, working directly with vulnerable children and families who have been affected by traumatic life events such as poverty, separation & bereavement, parental mental health difficulties and addiction.
Barnardos is a trauma informed organisation helping children and their families to build resilience, to believe in their capacities and to live with hope and positive expectations of and for themselves and their lives. Barnardos’ approach identifies the individual needs of each child within their family, which informs a plan to bring positive change in their life. Services for children and families are delivered in a variety of locations such as family homes, local schools and in Barnardos centres.
Laura Keane, Project Leader, Barnardos Limerick North said: “The first Barnardos service in Limerick opened its doors in Moyross in 1995, as a partnership between the Mid–Western Health Board, Barnardos and the local community. The vision was to provide a family support service, in the heart of the community, to improve outcomes for children and their parents, to improve parenting skills and parent/child relationships, to improve children’s welfare and wellbeing through tailored family work interventions, while also providing services to the wider community with a preventative and early intervention focus, through targeted groupwork and provision of practical supports.
“The local team worked with the Healthboard, then the HSE and now Tusla to adapt to support the changing needs of families across Limerick. We have moved towards a more intensive family support model, adopting a trauma informed approach in 2019, and we have retained groupwork such as the Barnardos breakfast and afterschool clubs. We, along with local partners and funders Tusla, are incredibly proud of the achievements of the service and our incredible staff throughout the past 30 years. It’s been a privilege to work with the many families who have come through Barnardos doors over the years and we look forward to supporting families across Limerick well into the future”.
A parent said: “Working with Barnardos helped me to become a calmer, easier parent. With their help I was able to prioritise my children’s wellbeing and my own as well, it was an amazing journey and I am very grateful to Barnardos, we are in a good place today because of the support we received”.
Kate Duggan CEO of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency said: I am delighted to be here today to celebrate 30 years of Barnardos working in Limerick, with Moyross being the first project. Barnardos remains a valuable support to children and families in Limerick. Their physical location in communities and their knowledge of them especially through the generations is a vital support to keeping children safe and ensure that they reach their full potential. Tusla is proud of the €1.1 million it provides in funding to Barnardos in Limerick, including this service in Moyross, to deliver family support and early intervention services, in partnership with Tusla in the Region. Today, was a great opportunity to hear first-hand from the children, young people, and families about the positive impact this funding and this service has had on their lives.
ENDS
Notes to editor
Limerick North Family Support with a base in Moyross, and Limerick South Family Support with a base in Southill:
The service offers direct support, information and advice to children and young people (0-18yrs) and their parents/carers across Limerick City and County with the goal of supporting children’s learning, development, and emotional well-being by working in partnership with their families and the wider community. The service provides the following types of supports: parenting programmes, practical support to help parents and carers develop better home management routines, family and parent/child work to strengthen communication and repair relationships, individual work with children and young people to help them express their feelings and learn positive coping skills and to support their emotional regulation. Targeted groupwork programmes are also offered to children and parents on a range of themes such as regulation, social skills, loss, parenting skills etc, along with large scale targeted Breakfast and Afterschool Clubs for some Limerick city schools.
Homemaker Family Support & Early Intervention Service with a base in city centre at Bishop St.:
Barnardos’ Homemaker Family Support Service is a home-based service in Limerick City and County that aims to improve children’s experience of home life through practical parenting support. The Homemaker Service offers a tailored approach to families with children under 8yrs, who have emerging needs. It takes a strengths-based approach in order to achieve sustainable change, helping parents in a practical way with their parenting capacity and routines. Targeted groupwork programmes are also offered to children and parents as needs emerge
TLC and Childhood Domestic Abuse Project covering Limerick and Clare:
The TLC KIDZ groupwork programme is an early intervention approach for children and young people who have experienced domestic violence and abuse. The programme helps children heal from the impact of domestic abuse, and helps mothers in understanding their child’s experiences and support their recovery.
The programme aims to:
- Empower children to share their experiences, to have their voices heard, to be believed and to feel validated.
- Support children and young people and their mothers in recovering from their experiences by focusing on strengthening the mother child bond.
- Raise awareness among local agencies within the wider community of the impact of gender-based violence and abuse on children and families
For further information, please contact:
Barnardos – because childhood lasts a lifetime
Barnardos Press Office: 086 0445966
Website: www.barnardos.ie
Facebook: barnardosireland
X: @Barnardos_IRL
Instagram: @barnardos_irl
