Michael Moynihan: Cork deserves better than a 19th-century building for its 21st-century city library

Cork’s proposed city library move raises serious questions about civic ambition, architectural fit, and long-term cultural vision

The Counting House at the former Beamish & Crawford brewery site on South Main Street, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

On Saturday, April 19, this paper published a wide-ranging interview with Cork City Council chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan.

Catherine Shanahan was the interviewer, asking at one point if Cork’s main city library might move to the former Beamish & Crawford Counting House. Many readers will be familiar with both the library building, on the Grand Parade, and the Counting House nearby on South Main Street.