TEN years after the Franciscan friars donated the facility to the people of Killarney, and two years after Killarney Municipal District Council completed a business plan for the property, the Áras Phádraig site on Lewis Road is back on the local authority’s agenda.
An application for funding to prepare a masterplan for the site, under the urban Regeneration Development Fund, has been successful and Kerry County Council has appointed engineer David Doyle to oversee the project.
The local authority now says it hopes a masterplan for the property will be completed at some stage this year and one of the proposals being considered is the possibility of developing a multi-storey car park in the site adjoining the existing building, in conjunction with the other proposals put forward.
The Franciscan Order donated the 2,623sq m Áras Phádraig complex – including an old-style theatre – to the town in 2009 but a legal hitch and complications with the Charities Regulator resulted in the building being off-limits.
Fears had been expressed that unless the situation was resolved, the buildings on site would become totally derelict and, as it stands, demolition looks the most likely outcome.
A business plan, completed in 2017 by Exodea Consulting, recommended the development of a new integrated multi-purpose facility on the existing Lewis Road site.
The core components of the proposed multi-use facility would include:
- A contemporary arts and 300-seat theatre space with rehearsal, exhibition and gallery facilities
- Meeting rooms to be made available for a range of community uses
- An educational space to accommodate the provision of training and skills courses
- Office space to suit the particular needs of Killarney town
A key recommendation in the business plan was that any new facility should be financially self-sustaining and remain in the ownership of Kerry County Council.
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