SPECIAL REPORT: Larchville and Lisduggan - The Flagbearers for Community in Waterford City
Cllr John Hearne showing the work that has been done at Francis Court.
The communities of Larchville and Lisduggan on the outskirts of Waterford City are rapidly emerging as the national model for community development.
The area has experienced remarkable transformation in recent years, driven almost entirely by the work of its own residents.
The growth of the area has been fuelled by a range of projects and initiatives led by local groups and associations who all have been working collectively to elevate the profile of the neighbourhood.
Their sustained efforts in reducing crime, tackling dilapidation, and creating a greater visual identity within the area, has attracted national acclaim, with Larchville and Lisduggan now looked upon as an example of what homegrown community initiatives can achieve.
In 2023, the Larchville and Lisduggan Residents' Association took home the top prize at the national Pride of Place awards, highlighting their exceptional community development efforts.
In the same year, the area won Best Kept Residential Area at the local Community and Voluntary Awards.
Previously published national statistics surrounding deprivation classified Larchville and Lisduggan as one of the most disadvantaged areas in Waterford City.
There has emerged, however, a clear disconnect between the narrative told by these statistics and the ever growing sense of renewal and local pride emerging through the efforts of community members in recent years.
Chairperson of the Larchville/Lisduggan Residents' Association, John Burns explained that the area's success story has been turning heads across the country: “Some national newspapers still say we’re one of the most deprived areas in Ireland, but we’re proving them wrong.”
A largely working class area with an older than average population compared to the rest of the county, Larchville and Lisduggan are relatively recent developments, with Lisduggan being built in 1968, followed by Larchville in 1973.
They were first developed as local authority owned housing.
“There was nothing here when we first moved,” recalled Lisduggan local Betty Gough, one of the area’s very first residents.
Betty played a vital role in shaping the area’s identity, transforming the rows of newly built houses into a close-knit community of people.
“It has changed massively since we all came out here first,” she said.
"Gradually a committee was born, the Lisduggan Development Association, and from there we started building up the hurling, football, soccer, scouts and guides. It took time and a lot of work but we had great times. It was hard, but it was good and eventually we got there.”
The community grew gradually over the years through the work of multiple generations and ever evolving committees.
“We have everything I think we could possibly want now, and in the last couple of years the new committees have done great work,” Betty said.
“No one person can build something, it takes a whole community. We got there slowly but surely over time. Those you couldn’t help, you could pass them onto somebody who might be able to help, and that’s what it was all about."
She added: “Please God this generation will do the same for the next generation.”
Betty’s wish is culminating, as a new crop of organisations and residents have taken up the mantle to continue enhancing the area.
The Larchville and Lisduggan Residents Association, the Francis Court Age Action Group, and the Knights Templar Graveyard committee are some of the current groups who have been cultivating the neighbourhood in recent years.
Parish priest Fr. Pat Fitzgerald and Community Garda David Browne have also been deeply involved in the development of the community.
All combined, the area has created a tight network of individuals who are all invested in the same ethos of community development.
Residents' Association chairperson John Burns said: “If a place looks good, people feel good, and it’s really good for their mental health, and that’s what we’re working on. We try get everyone involved in our community and put the area on the map.”
Waterford City and County Councillor John Hearne is another prominent community figure contributing to the area’s ongoing growth and development.
“Community is everything for us because if you can’t do it for your own community, what’s the point," he said, “we figure we have created a model system for every community in Ireland."
The evolution and development of Larchville and Lisduggan is ongoing, and on a weekly basis various jobs, big and small, are embarked upon by residents.
Last week, a number of local groups came together to host a community tree planting and cleaning day.
“We had between 50 and 60 kids out this morning planting with their parents and it was a fantastic community event.
"If a place looks good, people feel good, and it’s really good for everyone’s mental health, and that’s what we’re working for.
"We try get everyone involved in our community,” John Burns said.
20 trees and 30 fruit bushes were planted in the area, adding an extra touch of colour to the roadsides that weave through the neighbourhood.
John Hearne said such work is setting up future generations and appealing to the youth in the area, echoing the hopes first voiced by Betty Gough that the current generations of Larchville and Lisduggan residents will set steady groundwork for the future.
“The importance of planting is just trying to surround the whole parish with flowers this year, so that next year it will be twice as nice for everybody. We believe the whole trick is to always lift people up,” John said.
Additionally, a number of flagship projects have been developed in recent times, which have been largely or in some cases entirely conceived, funded and delivered by the community itself.
'There is fantastic work going on here'
Three large projects, which are all being maintained by dedicated committees, have injected the communities of Larchville and Lisduggan with a new lease of life in recent years.
Residential projects, historical sites and recreational gardens have been renewed and delivered by locals.
At a total cost of £300,000, funded by donations, grants and loans, 15 single-bedroom bungalows for the elderly were opened at Francis Court in Larchville in 1983.
Following the official opening in October of that year, Francis Court was handed over to the Council who still own the bungalows today.
The block was the inaugural development of national housing agency Respond, founded by Waterford’s Father Patrick Cogan.
It was also the first dedicated housing project for elderly residents in the city and was initially developed as a response to a rise in elderly people living in slum conditions in Waterford.
Over the years, however, Francis Court itself would fall into some disrepair, and its older population found themselves living in seclusion.
In recent times this has changed thanks to the work of the Francis Court Aged Action Group.
A disability friendly garden has been added to the block. Houses get painted, gutters cleaned and windows washed for the elderly residents every year, and colourful artwork drapes exterior perimeter walls of the once fatigued block, all organised by the community itself.
In the centre of Francis Court is a building, which was intended as a community hub upon first being constructed. This plan never fully materialized, however, and the building was left unused for many years.
Thanks to the work of locals, the building now contains a free gym for the community, along with showers and a meeting room.
“It doesn’t cost the residents a cent,” Cllr Hearne said, “You could come in here any day and you’d see everybody out together having coffee and chatting.”
In recognition of the work completed on the block, the Francis Court Aged Action Group won the Health and Wellbeing award at the 2024 Waterford PPN Community and Voluntary Awards.
Another recent development, which has greatly enhanced the character of the area, is the Knights Templar Graveyard.
The graveyard is an unrivaled historical development, which was on the brink of complete vanishment due to years of abandonment.
A dedicated committee have completely revitalized the long-neglected part of the city, delivering almost one thousand years of history back to the community.
“The graveyard was all rubble before,” John Hearne said, “you couldn’t even get in because the graveyard used to be completely covered in with rubbish, branches and bushes. Now it’s become an absolute gem.
“We put in new paths, cleaned it all down, got all the headstones right, done up the whole place and anybody can go visit it. It’s absolutely beautiful now.”
Paths were made from salvaged road scrapings, while new flowers are regularly planted by locals, creating a community space, which has been attracting new visitors to the area.
Residents’ Association Chairperson John Burns said: “There's fantastic work going on there. The Knight’s Templar committee work away down there all the time and they do incredible work.”
The redevelopment project was first embarked upon in 2011 by Paddy Houlihan and his granddaughter Katie, who sadly passed away as a result of a car accident last year.
Today, the garden stands as a living tribute to Katie’s memory, with her spirit of community volunteerism carried forward by the dedicated efforts of the entire neighbourhood.
The concept for the community garden in Central Avenue, Lisduggan, was spearheaded by Larchville/Lisduggan Residents Association in a bid to develop a space in the heart of the community that residents and visitors alike can enjoy.
In 2023, the garden was officially launched by current Mayor of Waterford City and County and local to Larchville, Jason Murphy.
Bulbs were planted in the garden by those from the area in memory of lost loved ones and and a remembrance tree was planted as part of the 50th Jubilee of St. Paul’s Parish.
The area was previously a blackspot for antisocial behaviour, an issue which has been entirely removed since the development of the garden.
“There were people burning rubbish here, lighting bonfires, and we took it all away, cleaned it all up. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have come up here by myself but now the place has been completely transformed,” Cllr Hearne said.
Cllr Hearne added that the garden has instilled "a pride of place" amongst all age groups in the community, which has in turn eliminated vandalism.
A key factor for the removal of antisocial behavior from the Larchville and Lisduggan area has been the community's collective link with An Garda Siochana.
Garda David Browne, attached to the Community Policing Office in Waterford Garda Station, has responsibility over the Larchville/Lisduggan area.
Since his arrival to the area a number of years ago, he has embedded himself within the community, working closely with residents and groups.
“You’re in the middle of a working class area here where a large proportion of the homes would be owned by the Council, and yet, crime is relatively low,” he said.
“Fifteen years ago a member of An Garda Siochana couldn't walk through here on their own, and today it’s at the point where you have national groups looking at this small community, admiring how it's working in terms of crime reduction."
“If things happen in the community, they feed back to me very quickly, through the Larchville/Lisduggan Residents' Association and other groups. Information moves between us very easily, which is the name of the game, because if you know what’s going on you can deal with it very fast. It makes my life very easy and I think it’s a fantastic community."
Garda Browne explained that the area’s success story comes from the combined efforts of everyone in the locality.
“The community here have made the decision to raise the profile of the area by going out and doing the work themselves. They’re not reliant on the Council to get things done.
“The streams of funding being raised through the various groups here is extraordinary, but all that money is pumped straight back into the community. To see it on the ground is incredible, and it works.
"You have the community buying into where they live, and to how they want their area to perceived by everybody else. It’s a great place to be involved in because they get out and they get things done. Everybody is on side, and it’s fantastic to see what can be done when everybody is pulling in the right direction.
“They’re probably the flagbearer for community all over the country and hopefully people are paying attention, and seeing that if you empower the community, give them the power, and you have the right people in place, change can happen.”
