Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Cork Fire Brigade via Rollingnews.ie
Suspected Arson
'If you allow it to remain empty for 15 years, it will decay': Cork ponders next move for St Kevin's
The HSE plans to put it on the market, while a local councillor said it could be used for student accommodation.
5.54pm, 6 Jul 2017
12.7k
22
THE HSE IS being urged to turn the derelict St Kevin’s in Cork city and put it back to use, after a fire gutted the iconic building on Tuesday night.
It is believed that arson is the suspected cause of the fire, and Cork Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald told TheJournal.ie that Tuesday “was a bad night for the city”.
In a statement, the HSE defended the security in place St Kevin’s and said that the site has been offered to other government departments with a view to making it available for sale on the open market.
Security issues
A number of concerns had been raised about the security at St Kevin’s, but a HSE spokesperson said today that rigorous security measures were “reviewed and updated continuously”.
They told TheJournal.ie: “The HSE have a contract in place with an external security company who provide twice daily security patrols.
To prevent unwanted access into the buildings on the campus, the HSE arranged the installation of 235 fixed panel shutters, to accessible windows and doors on lower floors of the campus buildings
“A CCTV system is installed on the perimeter of the site and is monitored on a 24/7 basis.”
They added that maintenance teams carried out weekly inspections of the site and carried out repairs as and when needed.
While no estimate is yet available for the cost of the damage, the HSE has taken further measures to protect the site.
The spokesperson said: “A continuous security presence has been placed on the site and will remain in place for the immediate future. An exclusion zone will be created around St. Kevin’s building with the use of Heras fencing.”
Advertisement
What next?
Today, local councillors told TheJournal.ie that accommodation for families or students could be two of several options to explore as the site has been closed and left derelict for 15 years.
The building, a large red-brick dating from the late 19th century situated just north of the Lee in the west of the city centre, has been closed and out of use since 2002.
It’s thought that up to two-thirds of the building has been destroyed in the fire. Photos of the incident seem to show the roof has completely collapsed.
Cork Fire Brigade
Cork Fire Brigade
Fianna Fáil’s Sean Martin said: “Back when it closed, I thought there was a great opportunity to develop that site.
People are up in arms now, but that building has been lying vacant for well over a decade.
He said that the fire has drawn attention to the issue of derelict buildings in Cork, and that it had put a spotlight on what would happen next.
Martin said: “People are wondering how this could happen, but if you allow it to remain empty for years, it will decay. There’s no point finger-pointing now, though.”
He said that suggestions that the fire had been started deliberately come of “no surprise” and that it shows the laissez-faire approach taken with St Kevin’s as it lay empty and unused.
The HSE spokesperson said that the site had been deemed “surplus to requirements”. As a result the site was offered to other government departments under State channels. They added:
Pending confirmation from other government departments, the HSE has recently engaged with an estate agent to discuss the potential of bringing the campus to the open market.
A garda spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that investigations are ongoing into the fire, and that there have been no arrests as of yet.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
doubt that very much sean, just because mrs obama is going to dublinand wicklow, i dont think the number of american tourests will suddenly rocket, they come here anyway to visit the ‘old sod’ or as a stop over on the way to or from london . i worked inthe hotel andcatering industry for the best part of 30 yrs and if you asked most tourests what they thought of ireland you’ll get the same answer, lovely place, great friendly people but far too expensive.
Americans are used to having wait staff work for tips. They only give the waiters 2 dollars an hour as wages. In fact the exploitation of the low paid in the US is so widespread that they have a higher proportion of people in poverty than any other developed country. I’d rather we remained an ‘expensive’ country than see my fellow citizens exploited like in the US.
suppose it will be the tax payer (yet again) who will be paying for the obamas ‘ 2 night stop over’ and how much is it going to cost? this country is on the bones of its arse yet the government can suddenly find money to pay for security ,accomadation etc for this, its not like SHE’S the president is it. what did they do find a couple of hundred thousand euro down the back of the dail sofa?. sick and tired of taxpayers money being used to cover the holiday cost of the political classes.
Leading Kinahan figure Sean McGovern charged with murder and directing organised crime group
1 hr ago
11.6k
Tariffs
US appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump tariffs following legal challenge
Updated
1 hr ago
8.4k
39
United Arab Emirates
Kinahan gang figure Sean McGovern lands in Dublin ahead of court appearance
3 hrs ago
50.6k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 197 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 137 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 177 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 139 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 101 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 102 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 47 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 43 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 161 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 73 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 96 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 102 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 45 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 60 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 29 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 112 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 115 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 63 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 107 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 90 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say