Developers to reopen Cork's Left Bank pub

Permission granted for student apartments at Cork's former Good Shepherd Convent

The block at 60/61 Shandon Street is to be redeveloped.  Picture Chani Anderson

Planners have cleared the way for a major student accommodation complex at the former Good Shepherd Convent in Sunday’s Well, once the site of a Magdalene Laundry and mother-and-baby home.

Permission was granted to brothers Séamus and Pádraig Kelleher who were also cleared for the redevelopment of a building on lower Shandon Street where they intend to re-open the infamous Left Bank pub. 

It's the only basement bar left in Cork city and was previously an early morning house.

As well as re-opening the basement bar, the brothers have permission to convert the remainder of 60/61 Shandon St into apartments.

Artist impression of 950-bed student accommodation development at the long-derelict Good Shepherd Convent in Cork City

The Sunday's Well student accommodation, earmarked for the site of the former Good Shepherd Convent, is owned by Moneda Developments Ltd, who applied for permission in 2017 to build more than 200 apartments, but did not go ahead, despite being cleared by planners. 

The derelict ruins of Good Shepherd Convent, Sundays Well, Cork. Picture: Denis Scannell

What's now proposed by the Kelleher brothers will deliver 274 apartments and a total of 957 bed spaces. The development will involve the partial demolition, conservation, redevelopment and extension of the existing former convent buildings for student accommodation use, as well as the provision of retail and a cafe – in the Gate Lodge - for the wider community. The student accommodation will be spread across eight blocks, ranging from three to five storeys.

The has been some resistance in the community, with more than 30 objections received by Cork City Council. The historical significance of the site as a former mother-and-baby home and Magdalene Laundry and the fact that Little Nellie of Holy God – dubbed Cork’s unofficial patron saint – is buried there prompted some of those objections.

Padraig Kelleher said they are very cognisant of the site’s special significance and that they would retain access to Little Nellie’s grave as well as incorporating the historical facade of the main building into their development.

Artist impression of 950-bed student accommodation development at the long-derelict Good Shepherd Convent in Cork City

“It’s not going to be pastiche; there’s some beautiful workmanship and we will incorporate the historical facade into a modern building and give it a new lease of life. It will be at the heart of the campus,” Mr Kelleher said.

He added that the grounds extend to about nine acres. “You can literally have a new campus up there, looking down over the entire city, close to the Tyndall research centre at the bottom of Sunday’s Well, and with good access to UCC and the Mardyke.” 

Mr Kelleher said they “intended to put a lot into the landscaping piece” to protect kestrals and barn owls and other wildlife as the area is in a Landscape Preservation Zone and that the architectural design would be guided by the expertise of Butler Cammoranesi Architects.

The site has been the subject of ongoing anti-social behaviour, with damage caused by fires, but security is now in place. The entire convent site was added to the city's derelict site register in February 2019.

“It’s a place of such huge potential, if someone is willing to grab it by the horns,” Mr Kelleher said, adding that they intend to develop the site themselves and not sell it on.

“We want to see this delivered,” he said. He added that a student population would have a good effect on the local economy, just as it did in other parts of the city.

The Kelleher brothers were also cleared to redevelop 60/61 Shandon Street on Farrens Quay - the shortest quay in the city -  from commercial use to residential use. The building was once a solicitor’s office but has been empty for some time. Mr Kelleher said even though the initial plan was for nine apartments, they have scaled it back to five.

60/61 Shandon Street, located at the gateway to Cork’s historic quarter, has been cleared for redevelopment.  Picture Chani Anderson

“They’ll be well over the standard size and will have nice features such as high ceilings and a terrific vista over the river.” He said they had received sterling advice from the city’s conservation architects and that it would guide their work on the building.

“We want to do something decent with the building, it’s very unique. We want to follow best practice, I don’t know yet when we will be starting, but the first thing we intend to do is clean it up on the outside,” Mr Kelleher said.

The brothers' desire to reopen the basement bar underneath the apartments is borne of nostalgia.

60/61 Shandon Street.

“Our father used to drink there and it’s probably the only basement bar left in the city. It’s closed for a long, long time, but credit to the owner, he hung on to the licence. We won’t make anything out of it, but it’s the last of its kind in Cork and we’ll probably rent it out to a decent operator,” said Mr Kelleher, adding that it would continue to be known as the Left Bank.