Events centre work to finally start

Construction on Cork’s long-awaited events centre is set to finally start on the site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery this year after the Government approved an additional €7m in funding this week.

The extra €7m in funding has been approved to meet the cost of construction delays caused by the pandemic so funding is now in place for the entire project, including the regeneration of the entire Grand Parade Quarter. The 6,000 seat event centre is set to completed by 2024, with construction set to begin in the last quarter of 2022.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the news after the Government was updated on Tuesday on plans for the project, as well as significant regeneration of the entire Grand Parade Quarter. “The progress made by Cork City Council and all involved on this flagship project is very welcome.

“This project is potentially of major benefit to the city and entire region, complemented by the additional development of the Grand Parade Quarter through €46m funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund,” he said.

Seamus Heaney, Head of Visit Cork welcomed the news, suggesting it will put Cork “in a different league. All along, we would only bid for international events for under a thousand people. It also helps the hotel stock and I think it will bring life into the city,” he added.

Despite the delays on a project that saw the sod turned five years ago, Mr Heaney thinks it will go ahead this time.

“I think a lot of work has gone on in the background that people haven't seen, and then for there to be a bomb thrown in the middle of it with the pandemic, as if things weren't bad enough. The fact that the operators are still involved and are putting their own money into it as well, I think that it is definitely going to happen,” he said.

Micheál Martin added that the “Grand Parade and entire medieval quarter is set for a significant renaissance and regeneration, creating a compelling and vibrant cultural heart of the city, and a catalyst for further economic growth”.

“Once completed, the Cork events centre and Grand Parade Quarter will be a public space that the entire city and country can be proud of,” he said.