Cork's Father O’Leary Memorial Hall to be acquired by State body

A northside landmark closed for the past six years is set to be acquired by a State body in the coming weeks, the HSE has said.

For more than 80 years, the redbrick Father O’Leary Memorial Hall on the top of Shandon St served as home to the Father O’Leary Memorial Boys Club, a haven of sporting and recreational activity.

The club shut its doors for the last time in 2020, citing falling membership and a lack of volunteers, while the building’s owners, the HSE, said the building was no longer fit for purpose.

Founded 92 years ago by the men’s branch of the Legion of Mary, the club was named after Fr Patrick O’Leary, a curate in the North Cathedral.

For its first nine years, the club had its home in the Trimbath Lane National School. Fr O’Leary died in 1939 and never got to see the club move, in 1943, to its new home in the former dispensary on the top of Shandon St.

The boys in the club were involved in a range of activities such as table tennis, snooker, billiards, basketball, and soccer.

Religious ethos

The club’s religious ethos saw many of its members join the Legion of Mary, carrying out charitable works such as visiting homes with papers and magazines.

Six years after the club shut its doors for the final time, a local TD has welcomed confirmation from the HSE that a State body is set to acquire the building in the coming weeks.

In a reply to a parliamentary question from Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Kieran Cronin, estates manager with the HSE, said a State body had, last October, expressed interest in acquiring the building.

“The matter has progressed significantly in the intervening period and it is expected that the interested State body will be in a position to confirm its intention to acquire this property within the next few weeks,” Mr Cronin said.

Idle

Mr Gould told The Echo that in an area lacking in community spaces, it was “a shame” the building had been left idle for so long.

“I have consistently raised with the HSE the need for this to be brought back into use, and the number of community groups in the area crying out for a home,” Mr Gould said.

“I am glad that this is progressing now.”

Local butcher James Nolan, who is part of the Shandon Area Renewal Association, said it was good news there had been progress on the Fr O’Leary Hall and he was hopeful that the building’s eventual new use would be “sensitive to the needs of Shandon”.