‘Vital’ renovations of Cork public museum set to cost more than €626k

The restoration of Cork’s public museum will surpass €626,000, according to Cork City Council.

The museum, which officially opened to the public in 1945, in the old ‘Shrubberies’ building in Fitzgerald’s Park, will celebrate its 80th birthday this year, with extensive renovations planned to commence this spring/summer.

The works, totalling €626,873.50, will see the roof and external render of the mid-19th century building, which is classified as a protected structure, removed and refurbished by HG Construction Ltd, in conjunction with JCA Architects and the City Architects Department.

The works come as the external render of the public museum has exhibited signs of cracking, and has contributed to water ingress, which has caused deterioration of the internal walls of the building’s second floor.

The works are funded directly by Cork City Council, with additional funding provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage through the Historic Structure Fund (HSF).

Improve

A spokesperson for Cork City Council told The Echo that the HSF will contribute €114,000 to the project, with the council contributing €512,873.50.

“These works will secure the external finish of the building, preventing further ingress and [will] allow the museum to re-utilise these spaces to improve our exhibition, education, and research offerings,” the spokesperson said.

“The works will [also] allow museum management to provide better public services and increase public interactions with Cork’s material heritage.

“When a building is designated [as] a protected structure, it is then protected under Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000 — this means that owners and occupiers must ensure that the structure or any element of a protected structure is not endangered through harm, decay, or damage.”

Since its opening, the museum has amassed a collection of around 60,000 objects that cover approximately 7,000 years of human habitation in Cork, from pre-history to modern day.

Extension

In recent decades, a new state-of-the-art extension was added to the building, which once housed the Fitzgerald’s Park Municipal Museum between 1910 and 1924, allowing the facility to expand its operational capacity to increase research, training, and visitor facilities.

The burning of City Hall during the War of Independence in 1920 meant that the old building in Fitzgerald’s Park became the headquarters for municipal affairs in the city until the reopening of City Hall in 1936.

Vital

Former lord mayor of Cork, Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy, said that while the cost of the renovation “does sound high”, the works are vital for the preservation of our local heritage and history.

“It’s a positive thing — sometimes I’m torn between [my] historian hat and councillor hat, but from being up in the museum over the years, the roof was leaking — it wasn’t pouring down the walls, but it was close to that,” said Mr McCarthy.

“There has been no major discussion to move the museum [so] it’s one of those questions, we either have a public museum or we don’t, and I would be for one.

“The price does sound high, but the council’s expense budget every year is high.

“You might get questions in terms of closing the museum and putting the money towards homelessness, but the budget for homelessness is between €35m-€40m, so if this secures the building for the future, that’s great.

“I think it’s important to have a public museum in every city — you can’t just put 60,000 objects in storage and shut up shop.

“It’s a welcome investment — heritage and history really matters in Cork. As Cork people, we’re proud of our history, and the museum is part of the ecosystem of Fitzgerald’s Park.”