Modern eyesore for heritage town
It was then decided to build the headquarters of the council’s library service behind the old monastery.
Last week the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dick Roche, visited Lismore to officially open this headquarters. He stated that the HQ was “a sensitive and well-executed extension in the case of the new library.”
An apt choice of words, as the site is known as Gallows Hill.
It was a pity nobody handed him a copy of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Emperor’s New Clothes, because to describe the building as anything but the ugliest and least presentable building, one could not image.
For those who have not seen it, the beautiful 135-year-old stonework of the old monastery has been back-filled with a concrete structure which is topped out with a copper roof.
How anybody could design a more inappropriate structure for a heritage town - holder of the award of Ireland’s Tidiest Town - is hard to believe. Our 699 competitors must be most amused at this addition to our town
Apparently €2.17m has been spent on this complex, and I have met nobody who would agree with its design - in fact, most are nauseated by it. Possibly, the only reason for having copper as a roof material is that in years to come, when it turns green, it will match the lovely beech trees only yards away.
To cap this monstrosity, a few weeks before the opening, a little structure like a chicken house was added between the wall and the monastery. It now sprouts a quaint silver chimney.
Maybe Waterford county council or their architects are bidding to have the next papal consistory in Lismore.
Shame on them.
Edward Lynch
South Mall
Lismore
Co Waterford
