A DERELICT site in Clonakilty which was the subject of a letter from heritage body An Taisce to the council could get a new lease of life under ambitious plans to redevelop it.

Last September heritage watchdog wrote to Cork County Council asking it to take action on a number of derelict properties – including the former Convent of Mercy in Skibbereen, Deasy’s Brewery in Clonakilty and the Old Linen Hall, also in Clonakilty.

Now an application has been lodged with the council’s planning section to transform the Old Linen Hall into a mixed-use housing and commercial development.

Wrasslers Ltd, through their agent Majella O’Callaghan, has applied for permission to partly demolish and redevelop the iconic town centre site on the corner of Connolly and Casement Street.

The protected building, which has a landmark red water pump on the street in front of it, is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

The planning proposal involves partial demolition of the existing structure, followed by repairs, refurbishment and the construction of a two- and part three-storey extension. 

The new complex would extend well into the courtyard of the 352sqm site. If approved it would offer a mix of residential and commercial uses, including a pharmacy, two medical and wellness suites, a coffee kiosk, four clinic and consultation rooms, and office spaces for communal, enterprise or individual use. 

A single apartment is also planned, along with two roof terraces on the second floor.

Submissions on the application can be lodged until Friday May 1st.

In its design statement, architects Henry J Lyons stated: ‘Preserving the Linen Hall formed the core of the scheme, creating a sensitive relationship between the existing building and the new. 

‘The main elements of the project consist of a new entrance from Connolly Street which contrasted the existing surrounding buildings with a more modern façade and streetscape, the Casement Street entrance is kept to a more traditional visual mirroring the current architectural heritage.’

The hall was built in 1817 to accommodate Clonakilty’s then busy linen trade and market, later changing its use to a butter market and mineral water factory. 

In 1912, a Timoleague-born architect submitted plans to turn it into Clonakilty’s new town hall.

It was changed into a bakery soon after, run by Morgan Sheehy and then Thomas Houlihan.

In 1944 a second storey was added as well as the flat roof building along Connolly Street.

In their architectural heritage impact assessment submitted with the current plans, heritage conservation firm Southgate Associates pointed out that some parts of the proposed development site boundary seemed to be formed by 19th and 20th century buildings, of local cultural heritage significance. 

‘It is recommended that any significant upstanding early modern fabric be subject to a suitable built heritage record survey,’ the firm wrote in its assessment. 

A campaign was launched in 2019 to change the use of the Old Linen Hall and turn it into a theatre with seating for 150 to 200 people, which would have included a community café, bike repair shop and artist studios. 

At the time, former councillors Paul Hayes and Christopher O’Sullivan launched a campaign, asking Cork County Council to buy the building and turn it into an arts and performance space.