Historic Cork building may be used for new city centre public library
The Counting House was restored by developers Bam in 2021, as office and cultural space, but the building has been vacant since. Picture: Denis Minihane
A restored landmark building in the heart of medieval Cork is being considered as the site for a new city library.
Cork City Council is examining the feasibility of locating a new city centre public library in the striking Counting House on South Main St, to replace the ageing city library which opened on Grand Parade in 1930.
The council has been tight-lipped on its plans, but the understands it is preparing a masterplan for the wider Grand Parade, South Main St area, where millions is being spend on public realm upgrades.
It is understood a proposal to house a public library in the Counting House will be included in the plan, which will then be used to secure funding for the project.
The Counting House was restored by developers Bam in 2021, as office and cultural space, but the building has been vacant since.
Whether the council requires the entire building for a public library, or is considering buying or leasing whatever floorspace it might need, remains unclear.
It declined to answer a series of specific questions but issued a statement instead.
“The City Library Service is an important component of the cultural, literary, and recreational infrastructure of Cork City and its community now and into the future,” it said.
Bam declined to comment last night.
Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill said the development of a new city library had been a long-held ambition of the local authority, with plans first mooted over 20 years ago, during which time the Grand Parade branch has had to undergo several significant structural repairs.
“I want to see progress on this project. The Counting House offers that potential,” he said.
"Sighting a new city library in this area, next to the site earmarked for an events centre, would create a distinctive cultural precinct in the heart of the city."
Serious talks about developing a new city library emerged after the city's 2005 designation as a European Capital of Culture, but the project never advanced.
A number of options have been examined over the years, but complex land ownership issues on the city block around the existing library, coupled with funding constraints, are among the reasons it has not happened yet.
Hopes were raised significantly in 2021 when Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced a massive €400m urban regeneration investment package in Cork.
While most of the money is funding work in the docklands, such as transport and mobility projects, public realm schemes like Marina Park, and infrastructure to help deliver thousands of new apartments, a significant amount was allocated for regeneration of the Grand Parade area, where the revamp of Bishop Lucey Park is under way, alongside major public realm upgrades along Tuckey St, South Main St and Crosses Green.
The Counting House and its famous mock-Tudor frontage was built in the early 1900s on the site of the former Beamish and Crawford Brewery. Its conservation and restoration was a key element in Bam’s multi-million Brewery Quarter redevelopment of the site.
