Council moves to restore George Boole’s derelict Cork home
Cork City Council yesterday advertised its intention to acquire 5 Grenville Place, near the Mercy University Hospital.
The council has been in talks with the building’s owners for some time, and it is expected the process will be concluded quickly.
The restoration, which was sanctioned by city councillors last December, is one of the key projects in University College Cork’s year-long series of events to mark the bicentenary of Boole’s birth.
City council architects are already working on plans for the building in the hope that a Part 8 planning process will be ready in two months.
The council, which has engaged structural engineers to advise on the project, will carry out internal works to the building, before handing it over to UCC.
The long-term plan is for the university to redevelop the property as a landmark building, with a focus on maths and science.
The first phase of the restoration is estimated to cost in the region of €600,000.
Boole, a self-taught mathematical genius, was UCC’s first professor of mathematics in 1849.
His pioneering work with algebra and logic led to the creation of Boolean Logic — a key building block for modern coding and computing.
During his time at UCC Boole, who lived with his family in Ballintemple, had lodgings at 5 Grenville Place, and wrote some of his most famous work there.
However, the property was declared derelict in 2009 and suffered a partial collapse in October 2010.
The council undertook stabilisation works to prevent further damage.
A technical survey and feasibility study were subsequently commissioned and when UCC designated 2015 as the Year of George Boole, the redevelopment became a reality.
UCC’s George Boole200 celebrations this year include a Boolean art exhibition and three international conferences.
