2006 Award Recipient
FATHER PETER MCVERRY, SJ
Champion of Young Homeless People, Dublin

Born in Belfast in 1944, Fr. McVerry attended the Christian Brothers School in Newry and Clongowes Wood College. He entered the Jesuit order in 1962 and received a BSc from UCD in 1968. He studied philosophy and theology in Jesuit School of Theology in Milltown Park.

After his ordination as a priest in 1975, Fr. McVerry lived and worked in Summerhill in Dublin ‘s North Inner City. Here he came face to face with the problems of homelessness and poverty, and in 1979 he opened a hostel for young homeless boys aged between twelve and sixteen. In 1983 he founded the Arrupe Society (recently renamed The Peter McVerry Trust) to provide care and accommodation for homeless young people.   He now provides two hostels for homeless children, one hostel for young homeless adults, a residential drug detox centre, two drug free aftercare houses, eleven apartments for independent living, a drop-in centre and a training and development day centre.   Further plans include a stabilisation centre for homeless people whose drug use excludes them from existing services.

The problem of homelessness in Ireland, and especially Dublin, continues despite the Celtic Tiger.   Many homeless children and young adults are failed by the inadequate services that exist and fall through the gaps.   The Peter McVerry Trust has tried to fill some of those gaps, to cater for some of those who do not meet the criteria required by some other hostels and to provide a continuum of care to meet the different needs of homeless people.

Recently, Fr McVerry was confirmed with an honorary degree by Dublin City University. The President of the University said that Fr Peter McVerry provides an exceptional service to young people who find themselves homeless and vulnerable to drugs. “His ministry focuses on taking care of those whom society would often rather forget. He is a vocal conscience that challenges Government, public agencies and an increasingly affluent Irish population to question our views on homelessness and social exclusion and to see shelter, security and somewhere to sleep as fundamental rights, not as privileges dispensed by charity.practical way on the ground, Fr McVerry will continue to campaign for the rights and dignity of young homeless people in a prosperous and successful economy.