Plans revealed for €11.5m Limerick arts centre

Plans for an €11.5m performing arts village at the University of Limerick were revealed today.

The ambitious plan will provide new theatres and other informal performance spaces for festivals, concerts and initiatives.

The imaginatively-designed building will also be home to new and existing artists and groups such as Daghdha Dance Company, the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Jean Butler, the former Riverdance star who is completing a Masters in Contemporary Dance Performance at the existing Irish World Music Centre at UL.

The Irish World Music Centre, established by the University of Limerick in 1994, celebrates its 10th anniversary today.

Due for completion in 2007, with anticipated funding from the University of Limerick Foundation, the €11.5 million building will be called the Irish World Performing Arts Village and will be home to an international community of musicians, dancers and scholars, according to the Evening Echo newspaper.