Is 2014 the moment when a tide of enthusiasm, funding, and vision will lead to a transformation of Limerick city, asks Judith Hill
It is no exaggeration to say that since 1989 Limerick city has been transformed. But it has not been transformed enough. The too-numerous surface car parks, the conspicuously derelict buildings, and the cleared sites of the late 1980s have mostly been replaced with good solid buildings. The river is lined with generously scaled apartment blocks, offices and hotels, climaxing towards the docks in the towers of River Point and the Clarion Hotel. The mid-18th-century Custom House has been converted into the Hunt Museum. The tented milk market soars over neighbouring buildings. Ancient and modern fabric in King John’s Castle has been restored in a recent €6 million project. The University of Limerick occupies one of the most well-planned and imaginatively conceived campuses in Europe.
In his assessment of Fitzgerald Kavanagh and Partners’ award-winning Student Centre at UCD Seán ó Laoire charts the evolution of Ireland’s largest campus since its foundation
Carissa Farrell reports on sculptor and multi-media artist Andrew Kearney’s new installation ‘Tell Me Something’ for Limerick City of Culture, which continues Kearney’s focus on the policing of the private individual
Without decisive action, our glass heritage will once again be lost, argues Eleanor Flegg, as Róisín de Buitléar’s exhibition’Caution! Fragile’ receives an enthusiastic reception Stateside