Michael Moynihan: Why putting Cork City's library in the Counting House is a missed opportunity

Was the former Beamish & Crawford Counting House a possible location, asked Catherine?

“I think it would be fantastic as a library,” said the chief executive.

Earlier this week, Cork City Council confirmed the Counting House will indeed be the new library. As Amy Campbell reported here: “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...

“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'.” 

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

Thoughts?

Well, one objection to the Counting House — as outlined here 12 months ago — was that a brewery extension built to house financial offices over 100 years ago was no one’s idea of a 21st-century library building.

Not quite no one’s, it now seems.

Repurposing an unsuitable building which has not been meaningfully used in years raises one obvious question: how much will that cost?

Being as polite as possible, it will be interesting to see the refurbishment bills run up by an organisation which is not renowned for its financial continence. I direct readers to a recent story confirming the cost of restoring the Fireman’s Rest structure has soared to €403,000, with a Government audit report finding the project was not a good use of the council’s limited resources. 

Not a good omen, particularly when the announcement last Monday night was light on such detail.

Also, while there is merit in following international best practice, there’s also national best practice to consider.

If you roll through Dún Laoghaire, you’ll see a library that was built from scratch and opened to the public 12 years ago: Dlr Lexicon is the official name for the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown library and cultural centre, a striking building which is hugely popular with residents.

The official population of Dún Laoghaire is slightly over 31,000 people. Yet it has a brand new library. Cork does not.

If you feel this writer is somewhat obsessed with having a new building, I can point you to a few people who share that view.

Cork councillor Niamh O’Connor of the Social Democrats welcomed the announcement on Monday evening, for instance, but she also told the Irish Examiner: “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.” 

Her party colleague sounded a similar note in these pages last year. TD Pádraig Rice said: “The new library should be a space for all — children, teenagers, students, workers, visitors, and retired people. It should ensure full participation by providing people with access to information, study spaces and opportunities to engage with others... 

"I’m sceptical that all this can be achieved within the constraints of the Counting House. A building from another century, for another century. To my mind, a new-build is the best way forward."

Five years ago, the Taoiseach went even further when announcing an allocation of €405m from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) for Cork: “The investment will transform the Grand Parade with over €50m for a new public library, a new central plaza and boardwalk to facilitate cultural and recreational activities — making it one of the most attractive features in the centre of our city.” 

At the time, another organisation was also very much on board with that idea. 

Cork City Council’s response to the Taoiseach’s announcement was a statement welcoming the news: 

“... The funding will also help progress plans to develop a new 7,700 square metres city library that will facilitate up to one million visits in this quarter.” 

That’s quite a few people expressing a strong interest in a new library.

As for the Counting House, if you consult that building’s website ( countinghouse.ie) you will see what it was intended for back in 2020: “The building offers a mix of bar, restaurant, office and cultural spaces. Each has its own distinct function, while retaining the integrity of a single cohesive space . . .” 

Not too many lending desks yet, but...

“The upper floors will offer 70,000 square feet of brilliantly designed office space, creating highly productive and engaging work environments . . .” 

Hang on: “In fact the building’s centrepiece will be a craft brewery, located on the ground floor, which will pay homage to this its glorious brewing past.” 

I’m not sure if the craft brewery will be where you can return overdue books, but I look forward to finding out.

There’s been a positive reaction online to the announcement that the library is to move to another location, in fairness. That should be acknowledged, and not in a knowing or sneering way — neither in a ‘sure anything is better than the old library’ way, nor in an ‘I know better and you’re all wrong and I’ll be proved right eventually, oh yes I will,’ way.

But the omens are not propitious. The space behind the Counting House has been idle for a decade, waiting for an event centre. The space across from the Counting House was a park and is now a plaza. Both projects have swallowed up millions of euro, and now the price is €35m for the privilege of paying more to repurpose another building.

If you compare Cork with a small town on the east coast — our own east coast, that is — our library plan pales compared to Dún Laoghaire’s. There, the local authority had the boldness to put a new statement building in the centre of the town and was rewarded handsomely for it.

Visitor numbers to the new Dún Laoghaire library doubled when it was opened, which was clearly good news for the community, and for the town as a whole.

It might be overstating matters to compare it to the Guggenheim effect in Bilbao, when the eponymous museum proposed for the Basque city proved controversial at the design stage but utterly transformative when built, becoming synonymous with the city and the region and drawing millions of visitors.

That should be our vision. To provide first-class services and to lead the way. To show some real ambition for Cork.

I wish the new library the best, but this is a missed opportunity.

• X: /mikemoynihanex 
• Instagram: /mikemoynihanex 
• TikTok: /mikemoynihanex