Details on the next chapter in the life of a prominent West Clare derelict building are expected to become known “in the not too distant future”.
The long-vacant Convent of Mercy in Kilrush has returned to the agenda of a meeting of West Clare’s local representatives, having been raised by Doonbeg Councillor Rita McInerney this week.
Funded through a public subscription list, construction began on the Convent of Mercy on the Back Road in Kilrush in 1862 and was completed two years later in 1864.
The convent remained operational until the 1990s when it ceased being a secondary school and since this time, it has been out of use.
Various attempts have been made over the years to revitalise the structure, with proposals for a hotel and a maritime training college among the plans floated at different stages.
In November of 2021, planning permission was granted by Clare County Council to A&M Tubridy for a development on the site involving the demolition of a portion of the existing outbuilding, the creation of 30 apartments within the structure and the construction of 20 semi-detached dwellings on the site.
Kilrush Independent Councillor Ian Lynch says the scale of the building, which amounts to 3,705 square metres of floor space, has made renovating the building extremely cost prohibitive.
At this week’s meeting of West Clare councillors, Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Municipal District Rita McInerney has requested an update on the “status, progress and future potential” of the Convent.
Clare County Council has reiterated that the convent is identified as an “opportunity site” in the County Development Plan and that ones of its objectives under the Kilrush Masterplan is to “work with the owners of vacant, underutilised and derelict sites or buildings to identify new uses and promote the re-use or redevelopment of these sites or buildings”.
On the convent itself, the County Development Plan says the building and site offer “a wealth of opportunity given its location in the town centre” and then it lends itself to “a myriad of potential uses such as administration, hospitality, community uses such as education and/or third third level uses”.
Furthermore, the plan states the Council will “proactively pursue the redevelopment of the site in a manner which is use sympathetic to the Protected Structure and to adjoining land uses”.
Doonbeg Fianna Fáil Councillor and General Election candidate McInerney believes the local authority is committed to maximising the potential of the building and expects a more concrete update very soon.