Monday, September 06, 2010

Troubled Limerick estate should not be demolished, says Moyross monk

The head of the small band of American Franciscan monks that moved into the troubled Moyross estate in Limerick three years ago has said the is opposed to the estate’s demolition and rejected the common media portrayal of residents as ‘scumbags’.

And Fr Paulus Tautz said that, on the contrary, what was needed is a social regeneration rather than a physical overhaul, which he said, would “not take money, but know-how.”

“The houses are paid for; when we have social regeneration people will learn how to use them,” the German-born cleric argued in an interview in the Limerick Leader newspaper.

He said he has written to Limerick City Council setting out how he believes the Delmege Park area could be turned into an eco-park. As for the residents, Fr Tautz said, “the people of Moyross are not scumbags – we learn a lot from them.”

He said he was deeply impressed at the efforts of local people who organised a fun day to celebrate the recent opening of a community garden, which was one of the initiatives his group of five priests and monks have taken since they moved in.

As well as the garden, which they created on the site of some demolished houses, Fr Tautz and his colleagues have launched an after-school programme and youth programmes.

Fr Tautz said that one of the ways he was impressed by the people of Moyross has been their generosity.

Since arriving, he and his colleagues have survived largely on what he terms divine providence and donations from local people.

He said they “provoke generosity,” which has even extended to two Volkswagen Polo cars donated by a garage in Portumna.

“When people bring food they are part of the community,” he remarked adding that his house was “flooded with bananas” after one of his colleagues mentioned on The Late Late Show that he liked them.

SIC: CIN/IE