The Early Years

PACE (Prisoners Aid through Community Effort) was founded in 1969 by a group of people who were concerned about the accommodation needs of men leaving prison. The founding members of PACE include Monsignor Seamus Conway, who was then the Catholic Chaplain of Mountjoy Prison, Mr. Martin Tansey (R.I.P.), who was then a Probation Officer and he went on to become Principal Probation Officer until his retirement in 2002., Seamus Kerrigan, a businessman, Sheila Mallagh, a housewife, Frank McArdle, an Industrial Manager, Patrick Maher, a company official, and Michael O’Carroll. The founders of PACE were a disparate group of people. Over the years the prison chaplains of all denominations have been strongly represented in PACE. There doesn’t appear to have been a precipitating event, just a general awareness of need for aftercare and homelessness was a big issue and its relationship to reoffending was beginning to be more widely recognised. The 60’s began to see the emergence of solid pieces of sociological research about offending for the first time and PACE linked with that. The primary issues that the men would have faced at the time were alcohol addiction, homelessness and having a criminal record. 

PACE was the first voluntary organisation in Ireland to start working with ex-prisoners and founded the first accommodation and training projects for ex-prisoners.  The founding members of PACE were so concerned that there were no accommodation options available for men leaving prison that they located a run-down property, Priorswood House, in Clonshaugh and negotiated with Dublin Corporation (now Dublin City Council) to lease the property from the Corporation for a two-year period for the purpose of the provision of accommodation. The rent was charged at £5 per week. The lease was originally for a two-year period as the plan for the area meant that the house was due to be demolished.  This then changed with the persistence of PACE and the success of PACE in running an accommodation project for men. PACE later negotiated a 99-year lease with the corporation and this is still active today. 55 years later Priorswood House is still occupied by PACE.The Department of Justice and the Irish Probation Service have been involved with PACE in a funding capacity from day one.  

Mr & Mrs 
Priorswood House opened in late 1969 and provided accommodation for 8 to 10 men. The house wasn’t in very good condition at the time. The house was staffed by a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. O’Hara, who lived and worked in the project. They stayed with PACE until 1977. The intention was to provide a family like environment for the men. In time it was recognised that additional staff were required.  The first social care worker came to the project in 1974, a recognition that the work of the project needed to be resourced. He also lived in and was given room and board and a salary of £15 per week. The next couple to be employed as House parents were the Careys and they worked in Priorswood from 1977-80. They were followed by Willie Lawrence and his wife. Initially they were both employed by PACE but after a number of years Mrs. Lawrence resigned and they moved out of the project into their own home with Willie Lawrence remaining on as Project Manager until 1997. The move by Mrs. Lawrence brought about a change in the staffing model in Priorswood House and resulted in the increasing professionalization of staff and an increase in staff numbers. Professionalised the way the house was run, gradually. There was no training for staff when PACE started. Staff were selected in basis of their warmth, personal skills, empathy skills as a couple, street wise, people oriented. None of the three house parent couples had any experience of running anything like Priorswood and they would have had their children residing with them on the project. Priorswood House was first renovated in 1978 and the funding for this was organised by Martin tansy. In late 2001 Priorswood underwent an extensive renovation and redevelopment and expansion of the project that was funded by the Dept of Environment and the Probation Service. 

Voluntary Committee’s 
PACE as an organisation was run by a variety of voluntary committees for the first 31 years. There was the overall management committee known as the PACE Executive Committee. There was the fundraising committee, the house placement committee, the prison visiting committee initially. Eventually these committees became the House Committee, the Training Project Committee and the Executive Committee. In 2001 these became subsumed into the Executive Committee and there are task focused committees that operate under the auspices of the Executive Committee. In time there were concerns about safety issues and the problem of increasing levels of addiction amongst the men and the Executive Committee recognised the need for a more professional approach to the work and the need for training for staff.           

Training for Employment Project 
In 1972, it was recognised that it while accommodation was an important need for the men that it was also important to look at their training and employment needs. This resulted in PACE negotiating with ANCO (then FAS) about funding for a training project that would give the men opportunities to develop skills that they could use in employment. This resulted in ANCO agreeing to fund a pilot project for a six-month period. PACE linked in with a wide variety of people in order to get the training project up and running and it started in the grounds of Priorswood House. The Dept of Justice also provided funding and PACE was the first Training Workshop to be established in the community for ex-prisoners. 
In time PACE realised that while the men were receiving training that from an integration perspective it would be better to be off the Priorswood site so that the men had a normal pattern of working and living. This resulted in the Training Project moving to the Santry Hall Industrial estate in 1982 where it underwent a refurbishment and is still located there.  This site was purchased for PACE by the Dept of Justice. 
The project has also been extended and in 2008 PACE opened the Horticulture Project and this represents a significant development for the project. It is located in the gardens of Priorswood House and represents a return to the ‘roots’ of the original training project. It provides a therapeutic environment for trainees. The Training for Employment project initially started with woodwork and the making of coffee tables and lamps etc. and catered for 10 men. 
Now we provide a wide range of training and education courses  Our teachers have been a core element of the Training for Employment Project for over the years with hours being allocated to PACE from the prison education service. These hours have been invaluable in the development of the project and in the day-to-day running of the project.     

Evolution over the years 
PACE has continuously evolved to meet the changing needs of its service users and the community. The organisation has adopted a strengths-based approach, focusing on building protective factors that help prevent further offending. This approach includes:
Enhanced Support Services: Expanding the range of support services to include mental health, addiction recovery and family support.
Community Engagement: Strengthening partnerships with community organisations, government agencies and other stakeholders to provide a holistic support system.
Volunteer Involvement: Increasing the involvement of volunteers in programs like CoSA, which has trained over 60 volunteers since its inception in 2015 .

Governance and Partnerships 
PACE is governed by a robust structure that ensures accountability and transparency. 
The organisation collaborates with various partners, including the Department of Justice, the Probation Service, Pobal, the Prison Service and the wider community to provide comprehensive support to its service users.       

Current Status 
Today, PACE continues to play a crucial role in supporting individuals with criminal convictions, helping them to rebuild their lives and contribute positively to society. The organization remains committed to its mission of reducing reoffending and enhancing community wellbeing through its diverse range of services and programs.