'Victorian' garda station in Macroom to be replaced after four decades of campaigning

Tender is out to build modern divisional headquarters to replace the 'not fit for purpose' station built for the RIC in the 1850s

The current Macroom Garda Station, which was built in the 1850s, is set to be replaced by a purpose-built divisional headquarters. File picture

For years it has been dubbed as one of the worst garda stations in the country, but now there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the men and women in blue who have endured "shocking" Victorian-era conditions in Macroom, Co Cork.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Office of Public Works (OPW) minister Kieran O’Donnell have announced that a tender has now gone out to build a new garda station in the mid-Cork town which will become a ‘divisional headquarters’ for all of the County Cork region.

It will incorporate a two-, three- and four-storey building around a secure courtyard on a greenfield site, providing gardaí with modern accommodation and facilities — a far cry from the current station.

As reported by the Irish Examiner over several years, the archaic Macroom station — built around the 1850s in the Victorian era for the then RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) — has been repeatedly described by the Garda Representative Association (GRA) as totally unfit for purpose.

The GRA complained about conditions there as far back as 1980 when there were 16 gardaí working out of the old building, but the numbers based in Macroom Garda Station mushroomed to 53 in 2010 with additional units based there, including the traffic corps.

The GRA consistently highlighted 'cramped' issues with the station since then. These included at one stage 18 female gardaí sharing a single toilet without hot water, no fire escape on the second floor, and the 10ft x 10ft kitchen that also doubled as an interview room.

The GRA has been highlighting issues at Macroom Garda Station since the 1980s. In 2010, the 'Irish Examiner' published these photos of the single toilet with no hot water that 18 women working in station had to share (left) and the cramped Traffic Office. File picture

The proposal to replace the garda station was originally announced in government plans as part of a public-private partnership (PPP) for a number of garda station replacements or upgrades in 2016. Most have been completed, but not Macroom.

The situation got so bad in the intervening years that gardaí planned a 'walkout' but stood back after being given several promises by successive governments that they would get decent facilities.

The latest news was welcomed by local Fine Gael councillor Ted Lucey who has campaigned for years for a proper garda station. Mr Lucey said: 

This has been a long-running project to say the least and it’s greatly overdue. The conditions gardaí are working in at the current station are shocking.

Work on the new station, on a greenfield site in the town, is expected to commence this winter, although no completion date has yet been issued by the authorities.

Both ministers said the new 4,338sq m station will include a public office, staff offices, conference facilities, staff support facilities, and custody areas.

They added that it will be “designed to a high architectural and urban design quality” and provide universal access the entire building.