After visiting St. Luke’s Church on Heritage Open Day, I was having a discussion with KH who posed the question does there come a time when the best thing to do with a building is to knock it and use the land for something of use? I had commented that St.Luke’s Church had, to the best of my knowledge, been used only a couple of times since its refurbishment for concerts or the like. It may have been used more frequently but every time I passed, which was often, it appeared to remain closed and this showed in the fabric of the building – paint peeling, plaster bubbling, some windows damaged. We both agreed that it is a lovely building but it is not the original church on the site; it is generally not used; it is not even open for tourist related activities. It just stands there requiring public liability insurance and some maintenance. Cars, machinery, clothes and even people have a useful life span – why not buildings. We have very many old churches in Cork – many under -utilised or even no longer in use for worship. Do they all need to be kept? I very much like and prefer old buildings but also believe that buildings should have a use and should contribute rather than be a burden. I wonder if the City Council had an obligation, similar to holiday entitlements, to ‘Use it, or Lose it’, would a use be found for the building………………………or the site? The Tigh Filí website indicates that there have been a number of events at St. Lukes and that they intend to locate there – so maybe the use has been found. | Tigh Filí and St Luke’s Church Use it.......or, Lose it. This building stored coal ferried up the river from Ringabella and Fountainstown. It was the headquarters of the District LDF (Local Defence Force) in the Emergency years (1940 – 1945). Erected by kind permission of Seán Coveney, Oldcastle. |
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