College planning major transformation of former laundry of Limerick convent

THE TECHNOLOGICAL University of the Shannon (TUS) is planning to open a new design hub on the site of an old laundry in the city.

The former laundry of the Good Shepherd Convent in Clare Street, near Limerick School of Art and Design looks set to be transformed.

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TUS is seeking permission from the council for an educational and research centre.

The building is to become known as The Forge Design Factory, and would serve as a creative and collaborative space for designers, innovators and creative entrepreneurs.

Agents for the college, whose main local campus is at Moylish on the northside, wrote: “This hub will provide facilities for ideation, prototyping and community engagement, becoming a central resource for the local and regional creative industries.”
The Forge Design Factory will be Ireland’s first interdisciplinary design and learning hub, and will join 40 similar facilities across the world.

Agents for TUS have added the historic fabric of the existing laundry building will be retained where possible.

The proposed design of the building will be open plan to accommodate a mix of machinery used to develop new ideas, new products and hold creative workshops.

Industry-linked events would also be held on site to give an opportunity for those working on site to try out new ideas.

There will be access for summer schools, a private health services suite, and an open plan space with gym equipment in the major development.

Computer labs are also planned, alongside a repair workshop. Weekend and evening classes will be able to be held on site.

The design statement has outlined how the laundry building has been empty for a number of years and has “a complex site history”.

“The proposal will bring back to life a building with a mixed past, ensuring a positive and efficient re-use of existing building stock,” the design statement adds.

“The former laundry can now address Pennywell Road and provide a new threshold to the Clare Street campus with new external finishes and signage, revitalising an important Limerick elevation on a busy route,” the design statement reads.

The Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry opened in 1826 and came under the ownership of the Good Shepherd Sisters in 1848.

The Limerick Good Shepherd Laundry remained in operation until 1982 when it closed.

The site then became home to the Limerick School of Art and Design in 1994.

Council planners are scheduled to make a decision on the planning application on or before October 19, 2025.