News that Limerick City’s International Rugby Experience is closing its doors at the end of the year is a bitter blow to its staff and all those involved in setting it up.
News that Limerick City’s International Rugby Experience is closing its doors at the end of the year is a bitter blow to its staff and all those involved in setting it up. The JP McManus Charitable Foundation conceived the project and provided the funding for the creation of the experience. For decades, the McManus Foundation has been a keen supporter of both community and culture in Limerick. This includes its support for City of Culture 2014, Ormston House, Limerick’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2020 and many other cultural projects. The organisation continues to be an important source of philanthropic funding for Limerick across a whole range of societal endeavours.
The International Rugby Experience is housed in an award-winning building, which sits on the edge of a conservation area in the heart of Georgian Limerick and was purpose designed by Níall McLaughlin Architects. With the closure of the rugby experience, what is the building’s future? Given its digital-friendly design interior, one option is to repurpose it after the model of FACT Liverpool, a centre for film, art and creative technology. The building could be reconstituted as a new educational and cultural centre with a range of immersive creative technologies presenting art, design, film, music and gaming and capable of drawing large audiences through programmes that explore a diverse range of ideas.
it could provide a much-needed permanent home for the Limerick Museum, which houses 65,000 artifacts
Alternatively, it could provide a much-needed permanent home for the Limerick Museum, which houses 65,000 artifacts. The museum has been in five locations over its hundred-year history. The pull of history is strong, and there are numerous stories to be presented to the citizens of Limerick and the city’s diaspora through the museum’s holdings.
From a cultural-infrastructure perspective, Limerick City has not accessed significant funding from central government for many years. This is an opportunity for the generous McManus foundation, Limerick City Council and the government to create a significant cultural institution on the principal street of Ireland’s third city.
Mike Fitzpatrick
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