Tuath Housing makes significant impact as executive partner of the International Social Housing Festival

Tuath is proud to have been an executive partner of the 2025 International Social Housing Festival which took place in the Convention Centre Dublin and a number of nearby sites in Dublin last week.

Exhibition stand

Tuath Housing was delighted to welcome the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, to our stand at the International Social Housing Festival as we continue to work in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to deliver social and Cost Rental homes nationwide.

Tuath events

Ellis Court Site Visit – Wednesday 4 June

On Wednesday, Tuath Housing was pleased to welcome visitors from the International Social Housing Festival (ISHF) to our refurbished apartment block at Ellis Court, Dublin 7. Originally one of Ireland’s oldest social housing developments built in the 1800s, Tuath restored this historic building in 2022.

Delegates from the International Social Housing Festival (ISHF) toured the development and met with Richard Pike, Chair of Tuath’s Voluntary Board of Directors and Orla Cleary, Tuath’s Chief Governance, Legal and People Officer. Further speakers included Head of Construction at Tuath, Marie McNamara, who walked delegates through the refurbishment process; Dr Ruth McManus, Associate Professor of Geography at DCU, who contextualised Ellis Court within Ireland’s housing history; and John Campbell, Architect with COADY Architects, who shared the design approach and challenges. Further highlights from the event included visits to the rooftop of the development alongside a photo exhibition which showed pictures of Ellis Court’s residents.

De Verdon Place Site Visit ‘Challenges and opportunities in mixed tenure housing’ – Wednesday 4 June

On Wednesday afternoon, Tuath also invited ISHF delegates for a site visit and panel discussion at De Verdon Place in Dublin 17. This 238-home Cost Rental and social home development on the Malahide Road marks Dublin City’s first ever Cost Rental homes and one of Ireland’s largest public housing schemes to date.

The panel discussion, which focused on the tenant experience at De Verdon Place, community initiatives to date and the development’s delivery process, featured Bronagh D’Arcy, Tuath’s Chief Operating Officer, Martin Loughran, Tuath’s Chief Commercial and Development Officer, Gareth Rowan, Senior Executive Officer from Dublin City Council and Vincent Faye, Director of Finance at GEM Construction Ltd. Delegates were also invited to visit one of De Verdon Place’s many rooftop gardens during the event.

Cost Rental Research Workshop – Wednesday 4 June

Tuath was delighted to come together again with project partners Clúid, Respond, Dr Michael Byrne from University College Dublin and Dr. Cian O’Callaghan from Trinity College Dublin to showcase the first major piece of research into Cost Rental housing in Ireland at the International Social Housing Festival today.

The report, ‘The Impact of Cost Rental Housing: Security, Affordability and Place,’ was funded by The Housing Agency Ireland. The event saw presentations on the research alongside a panel discussion, which included words from Tuath resident Mark.

ISHF Storyslam – Wednesday 4 June

Tuath was proud to support the International Social Housing Festival Storyslam on night of Wednesday 4 June in partnership with the Irish Council for Social Housing and the Iveagh Trust, bringing powerful stories to Arthur’s Bar in the Guiness Storehouse, in line with the Festival’s theme of ‘storytelling.’

Idea-sharing and networking event – Thursday 5 June

On Thursday evening, Tuath Housing hosted an idea-sharing and networking event as part of the International Social Housing Festival in partnership with Housing Europe.

We were honoured to have Sorcha Edwards, General Secretary of Housing Europe, say a few words on the night. Tuath Chief Executive Sean O’Connor also spoke, while Eoin Lynam, customer service team lead at Tuath Housing recited poetry on the topic of housing during the event.

‘Montpelier site visit’ – Thursday 5 June

Tuath Housing participated in a site visit with delegates from the International Social Housing Festival (ISHF) to Montpelier; a new mixed tenure housing development, delivering over 1,000 Cost Rental, social and affordable homes in Dublin 7. Delegates toured Montpelier, viewing the first tranche of completed homes which are for sale under the Affordable for sale initiative.

Tuath is working in partnership with Bartra and Dublin City Council to deliver 264 new Cost Rental homes within the development. At the visit, Marie McNamara, Head of Construction, discussed Tuath’s Cost Rental programme and explained how these homes will integrate into the new mixed tenure development.

‘A circular approach to retrofitting’ – Friday 6 June

On Friday, Tuath’s Sustainability Manager Jennifer Whitty presented the Circular Reno project – an ambitious EU-wide initiative which innovates how we retrofit social housing.

Jennifer spoke about the use of natural, bio-based materials like hemp, straw, and miscanthus to deliver warmer, more energy-efficient homes while supporting circular supply chains and community well-being. Paul Grennan, Retrofit Manager at Tuath, also played a key role in showcasing how Circular Reno is being applied in real homes across Ireland, with a strong focus on tenant needs and lived experience. The seminar was delivered in partnership with KORE Retrofit, whose technical expertise is helping to bring innovative, low carbon retrofit solutions to life across the project.

Further Tuath events

‘Exploring the Cost Rental Journey in Ireland from Introduction to Tenant Experience’ – Friday 6 June

Tuath Chief Operating Officer, Bronagh D’Arcy spoke at the in the ‘Exploring the Cost Rental Journey in Ireland from Introduction to Tenant Experience’ session in the Convention Centre Dublin.

Housing Alliance Climate Action Working Group – Friday 6 June

On day three of the ISHF – International Social Housing Festival, Tuath partnered with representatives from Clúid and Co-operative Housing Ireland to represent the the Housing Alliance Climate Action Working Group in the session ‘Turning Ambition into Action: Climate Leadership in Irish Social Housing.’

Kate Joyce, Head of Sustainability and Strategic Projects at Tuath Housing, joined with Susan Vickers, Head of Environmental Sustainability at Clúid and David McCourt Director of Asset Management at Co-operative Housing, to discuss providing climate leadership for this informative discussion.

Social Topic Group – storytelling and co-production in social housing – Wednesday 4 June and Thursday 5 June

On Wednesday 4 June, Tuath hosted the first part of this event which brought together three European groups (Eurhonet – the European Housing Network, European Federation for Living (EFL) and Cooperativa Sola) in our office at James’s Place East, which featured a Tuath resident.

On Thursday 5 June, Former Chair of Tuath’s Voluntary Board of Directors Paddy Gray chaired a session on behalf of the European Federation for Living in the Convention Centre Dublin, exploring co-production through the voices of residents.

Tuath Housing Climate Action Resident Fund Display – Wednesday 4 June to Friday 6 June

Throughout the conference, the work of Tuath’s Climate Action Resident Fund was on display at the Tuath stand in the National Convention Centre.

Rightsizing Scheme in Partnership with Tuath Housing – Thursday 5 June

Springville House, a rightsizing scheme in Cork City was showcased in this discussion organised by Cork City Council.

‘Factory Homes: Can Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Help Address the Affordable Housing Crisis?’ – Thursday 5 June

Barbara Fahy, Tuath Regional Development Manager, joined a thought-provoking panel discussion hosted by Rachel Macrorie on Modern Methods of Construction on the Convention Centre Dublin Innovation Stage. Barbara shared our experience delivering over 1,000 homes through MMC in 2023 alone, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of offsite construction in the Irish context.

‘Making Tenant Engagement a reality’ ITEN research paper – Wednesday 4 June

Margaret Hanrahan, Tuath Tenant Engagement Manager and Claire McDonnell, Tuath Tenant Engagement Coordinator, showcased the work of the Irish Tenant Engagement Network and discussed summary findings on their upcoming research paper on Tenant Engagement. This paper will launch on 25 June.