Round-the-clock access proposed for new library in Limerick

THE NEW library at the heart of Limerick’s Opera Square development looks set to have around-the-clock access.

In a boost for dead-of-night bookworms and early-morning readers, the new state-of-the-art facility will be accessible at all hours through a card system.

The news was revealed in a project update from David Conway, the chief executive of Limerick Twenty Thirty, the firm responsible for the €200m scheme.

Construction is well under way on the massive development on land at the junction of Patrick Street, Rutland Street and Bank Place in the city centre.

It’s being transformed into offices, homes, a hotel or apart-hotel, cafe, restaurants and a public square.

A towering 14-storey office complex will bookend the development, with Limerick Twenty Thirty bosses hopeful of having work complete by 2026.

Speaking on the library, Mr Conway said: “It will be a very vibrant, open and educational space. I’m delighted with the library services in council calling it a living room for Limerick. What do you do in your living room? You learn, you read, you chat, you look up information.”

He said it will be accessible around-the-clock through a sign-up system.

As part of the Opera Square application, planning is in place for an apart-hotel.

But Mr Conway says talks are ongoing to perhaps convert this into a fully-fledged hotel.

“We want to maximise the number of keys. If you try and get a hotel room in Limerick between a Tuesday and Thursday night, it’s next to impossible. So the demand is there. Also, you would have the synergies of foreign direct investment (FDI) companies. Where do we house people visiting from overseas? We are giving that option,” he said.

Advertising for potential tenants in Opera Square is expected to take place in the next two months, as some of the buildings on site complete.

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Mr Conway said there has been “soft engagement” with companies interested.

“I think what is really important to these companies is, they want to expand. They now know there is space and that space will be of the right quality,” he said.

Some of the buildings in Opera Square might have space for a number of different companies, Limerick Twenty Thirty’s chief added.

“We will have the ability to have 11 different companies to go in. So it increases your ability to get a tenant in there,” he said.

Mr Conway dismissed suggestions there has been a reduction to demand due to the rise of working-from-home, which became widespread during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I think if you look at both America and Europe, the trend is reverting. Companies want staff back in the office for a number of reasons. Their values and cultures are developed better, there is better productivity when people work together. Some industries need collaboration, like software engineers and architects. You don’t get that with working from home,” he said.
And since these offices will be state-of-the-art, with top class environmental specifications, it will make it easier to persuade workers to swap their living room for the city centre, Mr Conway said.

The public square at the heart of the development, featuring fountains, seated and standing areas, is going to be future-proofed to become a suitable site for a fan-zone when the Ryder Cup golf tournament comes to Limerick in just three years time.

Formerly known as the Opera Centre site, the land at Patrick Street had lain largely idle for over 20 years after plans for a shopping centre failed to see the light of day.