SVP Sunshine House celebrated its 75th year in operation with an ‘open day’ at this seaside holiday retreat just 25 minutes from Dublin. It was established at a time when many inner city children suffered rickets from light deprivation. In responding to the need for holidays and sunshine, the house was developed and named after the sun rays which provided a powerful antidote.
In present time, from May to August, 120 children each week spend a wonderful time at the holiday home. They are involved in numerous activities ranging from arts and crafts, to crab hunting, building sandcastles, taking part in talent shows and of course benefiting from being outdoors and active in the fresh seaside air.
Gerry Walsh, who has been a steward at Sunshine House for 60 years, recalls how the occasional homesick child in the 1950s would leave of their own choice and follow the train tracks back into Dublin which would result in the house volunteers having to respond to the situation and meet the family involved!
At the open day many mothers & fathers recalled their fond memories of when as children they themselves spent summers at Sunshine House. “I was here in 1977 and it was great,” she one mother.
Another mother, Barbara, recalled with amusement how boys and girls went on alternate weeks: “We’d pass each other on the train. As the girls went out, the train of boys would be coming back in.”
What is it like to be a volunteer at Sunshine House?
“You see the children flourishing during the week and they go home delighted,” said Dave, a steward.
At the ready, the staff of Sunshine House keep dozens of raincoats hanging on hooks, ready to be worn by the city’s children. Rain, hail or sunshine, the house of childhood triumphs.