North Mon building to become cultural centre

A HISTORIC building — a symbol of one of the country’s top hurling schools, which produced an All-Ireland-winning taoiseach — is to be transformed into a cultural centre.

Cork City Council agreed last night to buy the original North Monastery School on Cork’s northside from the Christian Brothers for €1.25 million. It has become surplus to educational requirements.

The imposing red-brick Dominic Burke Memorial Building, which dates from 1811, will be completely refurbished.

“One initial project which is under consideration is the provision of a photographic museum,” city manager Joe Gavin said.

“The refurbishment of the building... will add an important cultural facility to the... infrastructure of the northside of the city.”

The deal includes the large green open space which fronts the building, as well as the entrance from North Monastery Road. The green area will be retained as a public park. It is hoped the first phase of the building will be ready by 2010. The entire building will be refurbished in time for the school’s bicentenary celebrations.

The proposal received widespread support from councillors last night.

However, Fine Gael’s Jim Corr said he felt it was “imprudent” for the city to spend €1.25m on the building at a time when it was being forced to cut 3% from its payroll budget.

But Mr Gavin said the building will be bought using part of the profits made from the sale of Navigation House, Albert Quay.

He said he approached the religious order with a view to buying the building in the context of developing the city’s cultural infrastructure.

He said the city has a proud track record of developing such facilities, including the internationally recognised Blackrock Castle Observatory, and the Lifetime Lab, which attracted 20,000 visitors last year.

Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Damien Wallace said it is vital the city steps in to save the iconic building and said the project would add an impressive tourist attraction to the city’s northside.

North Mon past pupils include former taoiseach Jack Lynch and former lord mayor Tomás MacCurtain, who was murdered shortly after an official visit to the school in 1920.

Nearly 2,000 North Mon boys marched in procession at his funeral.

His successor, former lord mayor Terence McSwiney, who died in Brixton prison after 74 days on hunger strike in October 1920, is also a past pupil.

The school was also invited to represent Ireland at the World Fair in St Louis in 1904.