Ireland's First Shopping Centre to Offer Free Period Care

Riley × Blackrock Village Centre

 

Overview

In July 2026, Blackrock Village Centre partnered with Riley to become the first shopping centre in Ireland to provide free, sustainable period products in every customer and staff bathroom across the centre. It's not a trial or a one-off gesture — the products are now a permanent fixture, available on an ongoing basis to the more than three million people who visit the centre each year, as well as the staff of its 30+ retailers.

The initiative was developed with Riley, Ireland's award-winning, female-founded, sustainable period care brand, and backed by Aviva — which owns Blackrock Village Centre through its Irish Commercial Property Fund — alongside support from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The launch was marked with a joint event at the centre and covered extensively across Irish media.

Why This Matters

Access to period care is still left to chance in most public spaces in Ireland — and the numbers show just how widespread the problem is.

82% of people in Ireland who menstruate have struggled to find period products when out in public. (Aviva research)

Period poverty doesn't only affect people in financial hardship. It can catch anyone on a bad day: a hectic morning, a bag left at home, a cycle that arrives early. Riley's position — and the one Blackrock Village Centre has now put into practice — is that period products should be as readily available as toilet paper and soap, not something people have to plan around or go without.

By making free products available throughout the centre, Blackrock Village Centre is removing a practical barrier, reducing stigma, and setting a new standard for what an inclusive public space looks like.

In Their Words

“At Blackrock Village Centre, we believe period products are an essential item, not a luxury, and they should be as easy to access as toilet paper. No one should have to cut their day short, feel embarrassed, or worry about being caught without the products they need.”

— Niamh Grist, Centre Manager, Blackrock Village Centre

“Access to period products is a basic necessity, and making them freely available helps break down stigma and real, practical barriers. At riley., we're committed to supporting women's wellbeing and sustainability, and partnerships like this let us put that commitment into practice at community level.”

— Áine Kilkenny, Co-Founder, Riley

The Impact

The partnership creates value across three dimensions: for the people visiting the centre, for the people working in it, and for how period care is talked about in public spaces.

For Visitors

No one has to cut a shopping trip short, feel embarrassed, or go without. With products in every customer bathroom, the more than three million people who visit Blackrock Village Centre each year have one less thing to plan around or worry about.

For Staff

The same free, ongoing access extends to staff bathrooms across the centre's 30+ retailers — meaning employees aren't left relying on what they remembered to bring from home, or asking a colleague for a spare, during a shift.

Breaking Down Stigma

By stocking period products alongside toilet paper and soap as standard, rather than treating them as an optional extra, Blackrock Village Centre sends a clear signal: periods are a normal part of life, not something to plan around in silence. It's a small operational change that does real work in normalising a conversation that's still too often avoided.

Bring Free Period Care to Your Space

Blackrock Village Centre is proof that making period care accessible is a simple change with a huge impact. Riley works with workplaces, hotels, universities, hospitals and venues of every kind to make this the standard, not the exception.

Get in touch to bring free, sustainable period care to your organisation → wholesale@weareriley.com