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Minister hints at housing potential for St Finan’s

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By Sean Moriarty

Plans for a €4.2m Waterford housing project could set the benchmark for the future of St Finan’s Hospital.

WATERFORD: St Joseph’s House Manor Hill Waterford is being converted into 71 apartments. There is similar potential at St Finan's Hospital in Killarney. Photo: MDP Partners

This is according to TD Peter Burke, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who visited St Finan's on Tuesday during a whistle-stop tour of Kerry.

Mr Burke was accompanied by his Fine Gael colleague, local TD Brendan Griffin, who spoke about how the Waterford project could be replicated in Killarney.

Late last year Waterford City and County Council announced that it was to build 71 residential units in St Joseph’s House, Manor Hill – a former convent building in the city.

Over €4.2 million has been approved to re-purpose the existing buildings which are protected structures, to provide 50 apartment dwellings within the former convent building and 21 dwellings within the outbuilding clusters on the Waterford site.

St Finan's has been vacant since 2012. The site and its surrounding gardens is currently owned by the Health Services Executive (HSE) who offered the property for sale on the private market last year but so far no offers have been received. The HSE is building a new Community Hospital on a portion of the 30-acre site. Around five acres could be used for a new pedestrian underpass linking Ballydribbeen and neighbouring estates to the town side of the bypass. Mr Griffin said housing was one potential use while Mr Burke cited the County Waterford example as one way the iconic building could be put to better use.

“This is a proactive step in terms of examining all possible uses for the building and the site,” Mr Griffin told the Killarney Advertiser.

“The most pressing issue we have in this country at the moment is that the lack of housing for people and that is very much at the heart of what we're doing today.”

St Joseph’s Houses in Waterford city centre can draw many similarities to the Killarney site.

The former home of the Little Sisters of the Poor since 1874, has been empty and falling into disrepair since November 2010.

It was bought by Walsh and Sheehan Investments Ltd and through Waterford City and County Council, and it qualified for funding under 'Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland' scheme.

“We saw in Waterford, particularly, a massive big building like this that we brought in to use for residential. So, I think this visit is to get the narrative going, get people talking about what we can do to unlock the potential of this building,” Mr Burke added.

“That can be multi-use. It doesn't specifically have to be solely for housing. Obviously, we're in a housing crisis so the primary objective of the Department is to unlock as many residential units as we can.”

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Bumper GAA weekend in town

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Killarney is set for a bumper GAA weekend as Kerry faces Cavan in a do-or-die All-Ireland Senior Football Championship preliminary quarter-final.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st, at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, with a 3:30pm throw-in and traffic and parking restrictions will be in place on the bypass and on all approach roads.
Kerry will be looking to recover quickly from their recent defeat to Meath in their final round-robin match.
The match will be streamed live on GAA+. Radio Kerry will provide live commentary with Timmy Moynihan and Ambrose O’Donovan. Jerome Henry will officiate the match.
This game is one of four All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals. The other Munster county still in the championship, Cork, will play Dublin at Croke Park at 6:15pm on Saturday, with that game also broadcast on GAA+.

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Killarney café to host free event in aid of local charity

A local cafe in Killarney is hosting an event to celebrate cherished sporting memories in Killarney. The event is taking place in Clann Housing, Coill na Darrach on June 28 […]

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A local cafe in Killarney is hosting an event to celebrate cherished sporting memories in Killarney.

The event is taking place in Clann Housing, Coill na Darrach on June 28 and it is part of the wider Alzheimer Society of Irelands sporting memories initiative.

There will be stories, photographs, and memorabilia shared on the day.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is organising a sporting memories initiative which aims to harness the power of sport to spark memories and create connections with people living with dementia.

John Don O’Donoghue, who is a joint organiser of the event, is emphasising the importance of events like these for those who suffer with dementia.

He said: “They offer people, especially older adults and those living with dementia, a meaningful way to reconnect – not just with their memories, but with each other. We’ve seen first-hand how powerful it can be when someone’s face lights up remembering a match, a goal, or a moment they thought was long forgotten.”

All members of the community are welcome to attend and take part. The event is free and guests are encouraged to bring their own photos, memorabilia and stories to share.

For more information, please contact: Triona Heffernan or John Don O’ Donoghue Email: soccermemoriescafe@gmail.com

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