Historic Limerick building may be repairable following fire initial assessment suggests

THE SAILORS' Home on O’Curry Street in Limerick city is repairable, initial assessments suggest after the historic building was set ablaze, destroying its interior.

The Shannon Foynes Port confirmed this Wednesday that the building may be repairable. The building went up in flames in the early hours of Saturday, July 1.

A spokesperson for the port company said that engineers’ assessments are ongoing and the building has suffered extensive damage. The early indications are that while the roof is totally destroyed, the outer walls are intact and the building remains structurally sound.

“It’s still early stages but we are confident that the building can be repaired. We are currently liaising with our conservation engineers and insurers and will have to wait for the full assessment to be completed before we can consider next steps with the building but the positive news at this stage is that it looks like it can be restored to where we had it,” the spokesperson said.

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The port authority took over the building, which had been disused for many decades, in 2012 and brought it back to life as it implemented a significant programme of conservation works to restore it and make the structure safe.

These extensive works stabilised the building and enabled its regular use, free of charge, by international and local arts and culture groups to stage annual exhibitions and events, starting in the year-long celebration in 2014 of Limerick as National City of Culture. The Sailors’ Home in 2023 was due to host exhibitions for over one-third of the year and as recent as 2021 the building hosted cultural events for over half of the year.

It was due to again host the annual Eva International exhibition, which is now being moved to a location elsewhere in the city due to the fire damage.