Defence Forces charity launches €3.5m housing expansion to support homeless veterans

The charity will officially begin its Veteran Home Expansion Plan later this month. File picture

The Defence Forces veterans’ charity Óglaigh Náisiúnta na hÉireann (One) has launched a fundraising campaign to support its largest-ever investment in emergency accommodation, a €3.5m project to help homeless veterans with new facilities in Cork, Limerick, and Newbridge.

Its Fuchsia Appeal aims to raise €500,000 for the Veteran Home Expansion Plan (VHEP), which will add 18 new single en-suite bedrooms across the three cities.

The expansion will bring the total number of bedrooms for homeless veterans to 69 nationwide, with a further 11 planned by 2028 as part of a third phase.

The project nearly doubles the charity’s accommodation capacity in just seven years.

Since opening its first home in 1994, One has helped more than 1,100 homeless veterans access emergency accommodation, with over 90% moving on to permanent housing.

In addition to capital costs, the charity’s operational costs currently total €1.7m, with around €775,000 provided by the State. The Fuchsia Appeal is crucial to closing the remaining funding gap.

The Fuchsia Appeal is critical to closing that funding gap.

One currently operates accommodation centres in Athlone, Cobh, Dublin, and Letterkenny, as well as 31 branches, 14 Veteran Support Centres, and six Veteran Support Officers nationwide, who provide mental health and counselling services to Ireland’s estimated 140,000 veterans.

The charity will officially begin its Veteran Home Expansion Plan later this month with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Brú Uí Choileáin in Cork City.

Each new location — including Brú an tSairséalaigh in Limerick and Brú Dermot Earley in Newbridge — will provide safe accommodation with wraparound mental health and support services for Defence Forces veterans.

One chief executive Cormac Kirwan said that while homelessness and mental health are now familiar terms, their true meaning can sometimes be lost.

“The blunt reality is that it is about being without shelter, or compassion, or care, or hope. The new facilities will directly enable One to provide homeless veterans with a safe, secure and supportive space, warm meals, camaraderie, care and hope, for as long as it is needed,” he said.

Mr Kirwan said that 90% of veterans supported by the charity break the cycle of homelessness and secure permanent housing.

“This is a key motivation behind the work we do, a work that is summarised in four words: Support, Comradeship, Advocacy and Remembrance,” Mr Kirwan said.

The annual Fuchsia Appeal, launched in 2009, remains a key fundraiser for ONE’s essential services.

The fuchsia flower, known in Irish as Deora Dé (God’s Tears), was chosen as the campaign emblem because of its presence across Ireland and its symbolism as a reminder of home for service personnel.

The Fuchsia Badge, sold as part of the appeal, funds vital support services and reinforces ONE’s mission that “No Irish Veteran is Left Behind.” Donations to the 2025 Fuchsia Appeal can be made at Fundraiser by Paul Clarke: The Fuchsia Appeal 2025 for Homeless Irish Veterans.