Gerry Callaghan – New Horizon Athlone

Want to Join the Circus?

Come have fun and learn new and different skills! Galway Community Circus, Gateway Youth Project, Foroige and New Horizon offer the Sunday Circus skills workshop.…

Gerry Callaghan 2022-01-23

SaorEd Launched

SaorEd is launched! Our online learning platform is launched and ready to go! The launch presentation is on Youtube here. It’s about an hour long…

Gerry Callaghan 2022-01-23

SaorEd Online Education Platform

Doras, Dignity Partnership, and New Horizon invite you to attend the online launch of SaorEd, a new platform that provides free access to education and training…

Gerry Callaghan 2022-01-14

Job Seekers Support

We are currently looking for referrals for our new online EPIC Programme trainings running in October and November. EPIC is open to asylum seekers and…

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-24

Forest Experience Back again!

The Great Forest Experience project is back in action again. If your children are interested please register with reception.

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-06

Free Job Coaching

EPIC is a pre-employment programme for migrants based in Dublin. They are currently looking for potential participants nationwide who are asylum seekers and refugees for…

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-03

Walking with Poles and Men on the Move

Two great new fitness opportunities from Westmeath Sports Partnership and Athlone Regional Sports centre. Walking with Poles Outdoor Programme Walking with poles is a great…

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-03

Student Support Scheme

Student Support Scheme for people in the International Protection System (asylum seekers) 2021 The Government has announced the Students Support Scheme for International Protection Applicants. …

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-03

FAQ’s

We are a front line refugee support group mainly working on the Lissywollen Direct Provision site in Athlone. Our focus is on providing information and help to the 300 (on average) residents living there.

We also work on the Temple Direct Provision site in Horseleap, Moate.

Everyone in the DP sites in Athlone and Temple is what is described as a ‘Convention’ refugee. People who have arrived in Ireland under a United Nations resettlement program are known as ‘Programme’ refugees.

Convention refugees are people who have made their own way to Ireland and have applied for recognition of refugee status when they arrive.

Various official and unofficial routes and methods are used to travel to Ireland. These change continually, depending on weather conditions and enforcement levels at crossings.

On arrival people are normally housed for a few weeks in Baleskin, near Dublin airport. They are then dispersed to various direct provision centres around the country.

People can get protection if they meet the conditions set out in The United Nations Convention on Protection of Refugees.

See Definition of a Refugee