The gardeners of St Philip’s Allotments were delighted to be invited to participate in the 2026 Rathmines Open Gardens – a fundraising event organised by the Rathmines Initiative – on Sunday 7 June. The chosen charity for this year’s event was LauraLynn – Ireland’s Children’s Hospice.
In the weeks prior to the 7th there was much work done in the allotments – weeding, tidying up beds, signage, sorting out the pallets and the compost bays, as well as planting and watering of course! There was a lot of heavy rain with warm sunshine during the first week of June with the net result that the allotments looked lush and bountiful on the day of the Open Gardens. We had a constant stream of visitors from the time the gates opened at 2pm through to 5pm. A lot of visitors commented on how interesting and beautiful the allotments have become over the past few years. The hard work is paying off!
Thanks to Garden Gang and all the allotment gardeners for all the work preparing the allotments. Thanks too to the Garden Gang for organising refreshments and baking lots of splendid tray bakes. The music added the final touch to a wonderful, mostly dry, afternoon! We raised €742 in cash and more besides on Revolut for a wonderful cause. Thanks to Michael Kelly from the Rathmines Initiative for organising this fantastic community event. Helen O’Kelly