Local Faces: Marie Mulligan

THIS week, we have the great pleasure of introducing one of those people who donates her time and energy to ensuring her community is a good place to inhabit, Fettercairn local legend, Marie Mulligan, writes Ken Doyle.

Marie has lived in Fettercairn for forty or so years and in that time, she’s been a leading light in more community programmes and events than I’ve had hot dinners, and that’s a few I can tell you.

Originally a Crumlin girl, Marie attended St Agnes’ School and Rosary College and spent her childhood in the happy environs of St Agnes’ parish.

Having finished with school, Marie went to work, mostly in retail and indeed, she spent some years working in what some would call, Dublins great architectural triumph, Crumlin Shopping Centre.

“Yes I worked in there in a shop called Discount Stores and we sold all sorts of things. I enjoyed working there but things were about to change for me.”

“When I was a young woman, I met my husband Derek and when we got married, we lived in Crumlin, Drimnagh and Walkinstown before we got the house in Fettercairn and we moved up to Tallaght in 1986.”

“Initially I didn’t start off wanting to be a volunteer as such. I just wanted to get to know people in the area, so when a chance came to help out with the summer project down here, I jumped at it. I was bringing my own kids to it so it seemed like a no-brainer. Everything else followed from there I suppose.”

“One year, I was handed the books for the Summer Project and told I was in charge. I remember thinking ‘well what the hell am I supposed to do with these?’ I hadn’t a clue about the administration side of things, my work was all person to person. I didn’t have a clue!” She laughs.

Fortunately for Marie and Fettercairn, she has family who could help her along with the admin and she kept the Project running right up until COVID came along and ruined everything.

“My biggest issue was always to make sure that the young people had something to do in our area, so I got together with two great people who really cared about us, namely Fr Colin and Sr Nora and together we started working on that.”

“We started off with a Monday youth club for girls and that became so popular that we had to start another one on Wednesdays as well. Then that one became equally popular so we started one for the older kids on a Thursday night. We then started to mix them all and they were a great success. They eventually took the form of a drop in centre and we worked with the parents and schools to make sure we were providing what the kids needed. We ran them properly and made sure all of the Garda Vetting and Child Protection training was up to date. We had some great times during the years we were going. It was fantastic.”

But that was only the start of it for Marie. The next thing you know, she a representative at the Rapid Build project in Tallaght when representatives from Jobstown, Killinarden, Brookfield and her own beloved Fettercairn got together to highlight infrastructural issues in their area. Through Rapid, Marie played a huge part in improving conditions for residents of Fettercairn and beyond.

Marie is almost embarrassed to tell me about when the funding was pulled on her and she had to take a back seat some years ago. A grass roots campaign started up to protest the turn of events and many Fettercairn residents will remember people marching while chanting

“Where Would we be Without Marie,” such was her popularity in the area.

Suffice to say, Marie has been on various boards and committees over the years and to this day, even though she’s slowing down a bit, she is still on the board of management of St Anne’s School and has been for the last sixteen years. She also had a big hand in setting up the renowned Fettercairn Horse Project, although she laughs when she tells me that she’s a bit frightened of horses and can only watch that one from a distance.

There’s not much about Community Work that you can tell Marie about. She and her colleagues made sure to visit Youth Centres, Drug Rehabilitation Centres and many other establishments and initiatives that could be relevant to her own area. She’s seen it all, and with her family now following in her footsteps, she has a wealth of knowledge to pass on.

When I said earlier that Marie was slowing down, I mean that she’s slowing down by normal people’s standards. She still has plenty on the docket, that’s for sure.

Marie is now based in the Farm in Fettercairn and she now still runs three after-school clubs. “On a Monday we have the ‘Young Ones,’ on Wednesday we have the ‘Jokers Club’ and on Thursday we have the ‘Bee Gees’ club, which was named by the kids to show it was mixed and included boys and girls. Again, we work with the schools to see which children could use a bit of extra support and I still love it.”

Marie is keen to thank everyone who has helped out over the years and really doesn’t want to take any kind of credit for the great things she’s achieved over the years. Hopefully you all know who you are.

She saves a special thanks for the Community Garda who have been a huge help with innumerable projects. Also Dublin Bus who, according to Marie have given so much to make things happen in Fettercairn. Then there’s the well known ‘Bubblegum Club’ who have given local kids amazing experiences that the community couldn’t have otherwise afforded.

“It’s a funny thing, but I see grown up people now who I knew from when they were children and it’s a wonderful experience to see them all doing so well. Anything I do, I do it for the love. I really do love where I live and I plan to still be doing it up until the day I pop my clogs!”

Marie has a new project she’s now extremely passionate about. She’s now hosting monthly coffee mornings for our older residents.

“Well I think as we get older, we can get a bit isolated. Certainly people lose touch with friends and that kind of thing. This new group is an outlet for older people who need it and the feedback we’ve had so far, suggests it’s working and people are really enjoying it. Hopefully that will only get bigger and better as the months pass ”

At home, Marie and her beloved husband Derek, raised three children Derek, Lisa and Gareth. She now also has four grandchildren to deal with, Ciara, Adam, Caitlin and Mason, and I hope they realise how lucky they are to have a granny like Marie.

“I just want the best for everyone,” she says. “I always think if I’m going for a job, I want the best person for the job to get it, even at my own cost. I just want people to be happy.”