Cork public library set for Counting House complex after €35m purchase

Counting House complex 'emerged as the most affordable, lowest risk, and best performing option'

The Counting House complex at the former Beamish & Crawford site on South Main St, Cork, which is set to house the city library. Picture: Larry Cummins

The former Counting House complex in Cork city centre is to become home to a new public library after being purchased for €35m by Cork City Council.

The news was announced at Monday night’s council meeting, where councillors welcomed the decision, though some expressed disappointment that a new-build project would not be progressed.

The Counting House complex will replace the existing library on Grand Parade which a council spokesperson described as “undersized, inflexible, and in poor condition, with issues such as accessibility constraints, and poor energy performance”.

The new facility will include 300 study spaces; a new entrance and concourse; a shop and café space; lecture, performance, and exhibition spaces; an expanded Rory Gallagher music library; and Cork Local Studies section. The plaza will host concerts and public performances.

The complex is more than three times the size of the current city library, and will be able to cater for an estimated 1m visitors a year expected to visit by 2050.

The location was selected after a preliminary business case, undertaken by consultants EY, examined four potential options. This included refurbishing the existing premises, a newbuild on the Grand Parade site, and a newbuild on the riverfront carpark site next to the existing Grand Parade library, not in council ownership.

The Counting House complex, which includes the restored part of the former Beamish & Crawford brewery and a four-storey office complex, “emerged as the most affordable, lowest risk, and best performing option across all key criteria, including cost, value for money, deliverability, sustainability, and cultural impact”, the council spokesperson said.

The library is expected to open to the public much sooner than any of the other options considered, though a Part 8 planning process, involving public consultation, will still be required to adapt the complex.

The complex, bought from JPDC Ltd, was acquired for €35m plus Vat, with the support of Government funding.

Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy said: “Transforming such a landmark into a vibrant public library beautifully honours its past while giving it a meaningful future.” 

Council chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan said the plan “reflects international best practice, where cities such as Helsinki, Aarhus, London, and Montreal have transformed historic, industrial, or commercial buildings into vibrant, modern libraries that become major civic attractions.

She added that the decision “unlocks future redevelopment potential at the existing library site”.

Labour’s Ciara O’Connor said at the council meeting that she hoped the current library building would not be forgotten about, as “I would hate to see it go into further dereliction”.

Ms O’Sullivan assured her that the council had “no intention” of letting that happen.

Social Democrats councillor Niamh O’Connor told the Irish Examiner: “The Counting House is a beautiful building and I will be delighted to see it in public use.

“I have said now many times that I would love to see a new and purpose built public library that could be a jewel in the crown of our city, and that remains my view, but that is not the decision that had been made by the chief executive.” 

Now that the decision has been made, progressing the plans quickly is important, she said, welcoming the public consultation process.

Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy said the plans were exciting: “It is the end of an era for the Grand Parade site, which first opened in 1930. The South Main St proposal will be the fourth public library site.

“As the Grand Parade site is left behind, it is also important that a plan is created for the wider dereliction on the Grand Parade adjacent the library.”