Cork City social housing: ‘I am so grateful to Cork City Council for our new home’

Martin Geary in his new home. He lived in the Noonan’s Rd flats for 18 years. Picture: Donal O'Keeffe

“I am so grateful for my new home, it’s gorgeous, there’s no damp, there’s no rats, there’s no balconies falling down,” says Betty.

Betty is not her real name, but she claims she got in enough trouble for being “mouthy” with the city council before the decision was made, three years ago, to move tenants out of the dilapidated 60-year-old Noonan’s Rd and St Finbarr’s Rd flats. 

Asked what that means, she says things were tense for a while, “but everything is grand now”.

“Look, I don’t want my name [published], because I don’t want to be stirring things up again, and anyway the God’s honest truth is I am actually so grateful to the council for my new place.

“It’s fabulous. If there’s one thing I miss, it’s talking to my neighbours across the balconies, that used to be lovely in the mornings, and I don’t have that anymore, but look, it’s a small price I suppose. 

"My grandkids can play in the garden here and they couldn’t do that in Noonan’s Rd with the rats everywhere,” Betty says.

“And look, everyone I was friendly with is still living local anyway.” 

Housing advocate William O’Brien says the move from the Noonan’s Rd and St Finbarr’s Rd flats has been “transformative” for council tenants.

“I’m not exaggerating to say it has changed people’s lives, it has given them a bit of dignity, a bit of purpose in themselves, and you can see the lift in their spirits, and in their self-esteem.

“It’s brilliant to see what a positive effect it has when people are in a decent home; they really feel good about themselves, and it’s fantastic to see,” he says.

Martin Geary is one of those people. He lived in the Noonan’s Rd flats for 18 years. He says he never had problems with damp or mould, but he says the noise levels were bad, with no sound insulation.

“The heating bills were enormous as well, you couldn’t heat it. And there was a rat infestation in the area, brought on by some people dumping rubbish.” 

He was one of the first to be moved out of Noonan’s Rd, and he “can’t get over” his new home around the corner on Barrack St.

“It’s a brand-new apartment and, oh God, I’m over the moon with it,” he says. “It’s very peaceful, it’s very tranquil, and best of all, I would say it’s very private. It’s economical, it’s on air-to-water heating.

“I do a lot of artwork, I love the sound of the birds around me, and I have the most stunning views from my veranda, with the fabulous city views.” 

Ali Hamou and his wife Rad were tenants in the St Finbarr’s Rd flats for eight years, and they were moved three years ago to a semi-detached house in Blackrock.

“Every day, when I walk into my new house, I say a prayer, I say: ‘Thank you God, and thank you Cork City Council, for being so good to my family',” Ali says.

Ali Hamou on the green by his new home. He and his wife Rad were tenants in the St Finbarr’s Rd flats for eight years where they lived with dampness, water coming down the walls, black mould and an infestation of rats and mice. Picture: Donal O'Keeffe

“In St Finbarr’s Rd, dampness was the last of my worries. The walls were cracked on either side of me, the whole block was coming down, and for eight years we lived with water coming down the walls, and the black mould, but you can live with that.

“There was one huge problem: rats and mice. You were walking around with rats, and you cannot open your window to get some fresh air, and that made the dampness even worse.” 

He is a book-keeper, and his wife is a senior academic. They both became ill from living in the Finbarr’s Rd flat, but when their son arrived three years ago, they knew they needed to get out.

“I couldn’t bear to think of our beautiful baby getting sick, so when this place came up, we grabbed it with both hands,” he says. William O’Brien helped, he says, and his family was the first to be moved out.

They now have a second child, an 18-month-old little girl. “For us, this is the best story, to live in this beautiful new home, and we are so, so grateful to the council for looking after our family,” he says.

* This special report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme