Feast Of Eden

t was all smiles down at Carraig Eden this morning, and rightly so…

After an incredible 11th hour – or was it the 12th hour? – intervention by Wicklow County Council, this long-serving halfway house for those getting their life back on track was saved earlier this year.

Built in the 1860s, and originally two private homes, it was in 1936 that Christian Endeavour turned Carraig Eden into a Christian retreat. And that’s pretty much what the Greystones landmark overlooking The Cove has been ever since.

That good work was almost derailed in Easter of 2016 when the owners of the building, The Assemblies Of God, decided all those crosses could be turned into dollar signs, giving the current Tiglin residents one year to come up with €1.7m. When that deadline was missed, and a developer stepped in with a higher offer, all seemed to be lost.

It was then that the likes of Simon Harris, Stephen Donnelly, Jackie Carroll and her small, dedicated army down in Wicklow County Council and Housing minister Eoghan Murphy managed to somehow snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in June of this year.

After all, this isn’t about the man upstairs. It’s about the men sleeping outside.

Many of those involved in this sweet little fairytale – including the 24 men currently living there today – were present at Carraig Eden this morning, as the papers were signed and people were thanked. Most moving of all, two of the residents spoke of how their lives had bee turned around by their time in Carraig Eden.

Over €3m has been secured for Carraig Eden, with two thirds going to the purchase of the property and the balance going on extensive refurbishment work that is due to commence in 2018. There are future plans to incorporate social housing onto the surrounding land too.

We’ll keep you updated on those plans. For now though, big congrats to all those involved in this little Christmas miracle, including, of course, Phil Thompson and Aubrey McCarthy, who have a habit of believing that good will always win out…

You can check out Carraig Eden’s history, and it’s near-fall and miraculous-rise, here.