Pádraig Rice: Cork City's library plans are too important to get wrong

Deciding how to upgrade Cork’s ageing city library will have a significant impact on our city for decades to come, writes Pádraig Rice

The current Cork City Library building at Grand Parade ‘isn’t fit for purpose’, and a promised new 7,700sq m facility is nowhere to be seen. File picture: Denis Minihane

The quality of a city library says a lot about a city. It is a good indication of the standard of public services and gives you a sense of a city’s priorities.

While Cork City Library has fantastic staff and services, the current building isn’t fit for purpose. The roof leaks and some areas have had to be closed to the public. The size of the library also constrains events and activities. We can and must do better.

Four years ago, Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD announced that €50m would be spent transforming Grand Parade with “a new public library, a new central plaza and boardwalk to facilitate cultural and recreational activities”. The vision was big – a new 7,700m2 city library that could have a million visits per year.

But, like so many other key capital projects in Cork, the Government has failed to deliver it. The promised new library is nowhere to be seen.

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Over the last year, my Social Democrats colleague, Cllr Niamh O’Connor, and I have been seeking answers. We’ve sought meetings with officials, submitted questions and tabled a council motion. But the information released has been limited at best. This isn’t good enough.

In March, the Examiner reported that four options were still being considered: a new library on Grand Parade; a relocation to Kennedy Quay; using the Beamish & Crawford Counting House; or doing nothing.

In April, the CEO of Cork City Council told this paper that the Counting House would be “fantastic as a library”. Does this mean the new build option is dead? According to the council, no decision has been made.

It seems to me that we are at a crossroads. The decision to be taken is substantial and will have a significant impact on our city for decades to come. This decision shouldn’t happen behind closed doors in City Hall. The people of our city care about the library and their voices must be heard.

At a minimum, the options should be presented, and public consultation should be held. This must include detailed floor plans and the possibilities for each site.

Not only does Cork City need a new library, but we also need an enhanced space for community and culture. 

This project has the potential to create a space for community groups, the arts, film, craft, music, archives and a museum. The Rory Gallagher Music Library could also be transformed and expanded.

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.

This 21st-century library should be more than a collection of books; it should be a library of things. A place where you can borrow a guitar, a sewing machine or a chessboard. Such libraries are common elsewhere in the world. 

We know that it would be more sustainable and cost-effective if we bought less and borrowed more – the redevelopment/relocation of the city library is a golden opportunity to facilitate that shift.

The library should be a place to learn about Cork and its rich history; a place to search your family history, look at old newspaper clippings or just to discover more about the past.

Pádraig Rice: 'The new city library should be a place to meet and gather. A space to share ideas and stories. A melting pot for a modern, inclusive city.'

Most importantly, the new city library should be a place to meet and gather. A space to share ideas and stories. A melting pot for a modern, inclusive city. A library that shows Cork’s commitment to lifelong learning, to ideas and growth. A place of cultural, social and educational nourishment.

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.

Some might ask if there’s a need for a much bigger library. To that, I would say: "If you build it, they will come." 

The new library in Dún Laoghaire, now the largest in the country, has seen its user numbers more than double since its refurbishment. It is now the most visited public library in Ireland with an average of 1,300 visitors every day. A new library in Cork could exceed that.

Furthermore, the demand for library services in Cork is already high. In 2023, Cork City had the highest number of library visits per capita. In that year alone, over 882,031 items were issued to borrowers. More is possible.

Libraries are cathedrals of learning and should be a focal point in any city. They are democratic spaces that are open to all.  In an increasingly commercial world, libraries are also one of the few places that remain free to use. They are a space we all own.

Cork has a lot to consider. At the very least, we deserve a discussion and a debate. This is too important to get wrong.

•  Pádraig Rice is a Social Democrats TD for Cork South Central