Top developer to oversee school project

ONE of Ireland’s biggest property developers was given a blank sheet yesterday to draw up plans for a Cork secondary school which closed this year.

Dr John Buckley, Bishop of Cork and Ross, said he has asked Michael O’Flynn, managing director of O’Flynn Construction, to advise him on how St Finbarr’s College in Farranferris could be used in the future.

Mr O’Flynn, a past pupil of the school, is carrying out the work free of charge and in a personal capacity.

“Farranferris is my old alma mater, so I am happy to work with the bishop and his team to explore best options for this valuable resource of the diocese and the area,” he said last night.

It is understood the advisory role will prevent his company from having any commercial involvement in any potential development of the prime 20-acre site on the city’s northside.

St Finbarr’s College, which is set among several playing fields, is listed in the city’s 2004 development plan as a protected structure.

It was opened in 1887 by the diocese for the education of priests.

It expanded over the years to become a secondary school for pupils from the diocese as boarders and day pupils.

The college became renowned nationally as a nursery for Cork hurling. However, the boarding facility became non-viable in 1999 and, as a result of falling enrolment, it closed as a secondary school in June.

Prior to its closure, the diocese examined a possible amalgamation to continue the school’s role in education but this was eventually ruled out.

A report commissioned by the Minister for Education and Science, and presented to the government in 2001, recommended Farranferris as the preferred location for a proposed third-level campus on the city’s northside.

Diocesan spokesman, Father Tom Deenihan, said Bishop Buckley was still open to this option.

“It is included in Mr O’Flynn’s brief, which is to recommend options for the future of the college and grounds that will best serve the diocese and the people of its parishes,” he said.

“Mr O’Flynn has been asked to research all options and advise the bishop on the best course of action.“He has been asked to conduct a wide-ranging report.

“A third level college remains an option. Mr O’Flynn will be looking at all options but the bishop is acutely aware of the social potential for the site.”

He said that a sale of the site could also be recommended.

“He may recommend a sale. I don’t know. He has a blank slate.”

Northside Community Enterprises, which was based at the former Sunbeam site, has a short-term lease and is running a number of courses.