Meeting ‘lights spark’ in campaign to get new Cork city library

A public meeting held in South Parish Community Centre in Cork city on Saturday has kickstarted a campaign for a new city library building.

Staff at the library, on the Grand Parade, have long contended that it is no longer fit for purpose.

In 2021, Cork City Council announced that €46.05m from Ireland 2040’s Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) for the Grand Parade Quarter would help revive the southern end of the Grand Parade.

This included the refurbishment of Bishop Lucey Park, which is to reopen this month, and “progress plans to develop a new, 7,700sq m city library”.

Spark

Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice, one of the organisers of Saturday’s meeting, said: “A spark has been lit, and we are determined to see a new library be built. 

Four years ago, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that €50m would be spent transforming Grand Parade with a new library, a new central plaza, and a boardwalk to facilitate cultural and recreational activities.

“Like so many other key capital projects in Cork, the Government has so far failed to deliver it, and the promised new library is still nowhere to be seen,” said Mr Rice.

He said there is huge demand for a new library: “The new library should be a space for all: Children, teenagers, students, workers, visitors, and retired people. It should ensure full participation by providing people with access to information, study spaces, and opportunities to engage with others.

Spaces

“A new library could include new exhibition and performance spaces, as well as meeting rooms for book clubs and local groups.”

Mr Rice thanked the speakers at the meeting, including Gerry Kelly, of the Cork School of Music Campaign; Jude Sherry and Frank O’Connor, from Dereliction Ireland; Louise Cotter, the architect behind the Dún Laoghaire Library; and MC, former Independent senator Colette Kelleher.

He also thanked everyone who contributed during the roundtable session.