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Minister Humphreys announces €4.5m Libraries Capital Programme Funding for Kilkenny City Library and Monaghan PEACE Campus Library

  • €2.245m for the new Mayfair library to be developed on this site

 

  • €1.8m in additional funding for the Monaghan PEACE Campus

 

  • Approximately €455,000 investment across several counties, including in mobile library vehicles

 

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Friday, July 23rd) announced funding of €4.5 million under the Libraries Capital Programme.

 

The significant investment includes an additional €2.245m for the new Mayfair Library in Kilkenny and €1.8m in additional funding for the Monaghan PEACE Campus.

 

The Mayfair Building in Kilkenny is an iconic landmark located at the entrance to the Abbey Quarter.  

 

Once complete, it will be a state of the art facility for the city and its visitors.

 

Some €455,000 is to be invested in a number of other projects in counties such as Monaghan, Meath, Westmeath, Cork, Roscommon and Sligo.

 

This smaller investment includes mobile library vehicles, designed to assist local authorities to continue the valuable outreach service to their communities.

 

Announcing the funding at the site of the new Mayfair Library, Minister Humphreys said:

 

“One of the key actions of our public library strategy ‘Our Public Libraries - Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities’, is to develop library buildings that are fit for purpose and reflect the quality of services on offer. I am delighted to be in a position to announce this investment in the public library service. My Department’s Libraries Capital Programme is investing some €4m in these builds but without considerable investment and commitment from both Kilkenny and Monaghan County Councils these exciting projects would not have been able to commence”.

 

The Monaghan PEACE Campus will provide community space, a youth facility, a new town library and a cultural heritage area. This project will be the catalyst to allow all communities to come together to engage in a safe setting.

 

Minister Humphreys said:

 

“I am also delighted to be announcing today additional funding of €1.8m for the PEACE Campus project in my home county of Monaghan. This will bring my Department’s investment in this project to €2.8m. This is the type of project that is envisioned by Our Rural Future’- one that will ensure that thriving rural Ireland remains integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing and development.”

 

Announcing the funding for library vehicles Minister Humphreys thanked the local authorities and the library staff for their ongoing commitment and support to the public library service during the past 16 months.

 

“The local authorities have supported the library service during what has been an incredibly challenging year and the delivery of library items to the housebound and vulnerable has been a wonderful service which I know is highly valued by the customers who received books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs along with a welcome friendly chat with the driver.”

 

Details of the funding per county is set out in Appendix 1.

 

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Contact:

The Department of Rural and Community Development Press Office

076-1006993 / 086-7912704

Press.office@drcd.gov.ie

 

 

Appendix 1

 

Details of Funding

Local Authority

Project

Amount

Kilkenny County Council

Kilkenny City Library

€2,245,000

Monaghan County Council

Monaghan PEACE Campus Library

€1,800,000

Monaghan County Council

Small delivery van

€20,000

Cork County Council

Bandon Library fit-out and My Open Library installation

€126,081

Cork County Council

Mallow My Open Library

€37,275

Cork County Council

Fermoy My Open Library

€21,000

Cork City Council

Delivery van

€21,000

Meath County Council

Electric delivery van

€36,832

Offaly County Council

Banagher & Tullamore My Open Library upgrades

€60,558

Roscommon County Council

Ballaghaderreen My Open Library

€95,250

Sligo County Council

Mobile Library fit-out

€18,700

Westmeath County Council

Athlone My Open Library

€22,500

Westmeath County Council

Castlepollard My Open Library

€9,492

 

Notes to Editor

Contact details for all public libraries are available on https://www.librariesireland.ie/ or local authority websites.

 

Libraries Capital Programme Update

The Libraries Capital Programme will invest some €29 million in 17 projects, and the My Open Library service between 2016 and 2022. The Programme has seven completed library projects with five projects at construction stage.

 

My Open Library

The public library strategyOur Public Libraries 2022 – Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities’ was launched in 2018. The My Open Library initiative is the flagship initiative under the strategy which includes a commitment to make the service available in a total of 200 branches by 2028. The My Open Library initiative provides automated self-service access to all the library facilities for members from 8am-10pm, 365 days a year that is additional to normal staffed hours. The service will be operational in 22 libraries when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

 

Mayfair Building, Kilkenny

The Mayfair Building is an iconic landmark located at the entrance to the Abbey Quarter. It holds huge importance for the people of Kilkenny in terms of its social heritage. The building was originally constructed as a ballroom and first opened its doors on St Stephen’s night in 1943. It was one of the main ballrooms in Kilkenny during the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s up to when it closed in 1973. The building was acquired by Smithwicks in 1973 and continued to be used by the Brewery until its closure in 2013.

The Mayfair Building will be converted into a modern public Library for Kilkenny.  Once completed, the service provided will include ‘My Open Library’, which will offer extended opening hours, providing additional library access to members from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week, 365 days per year. 

The development of the Mayfair Library will contribute to high quality public realm and sets a positive example of the provision of a building of quality and permanence attractive to a demographically and culturally diverse community.

The current City library was bequeathed to the people of Kilkenny by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and was established in 1910. Ever mindful of the importance of this building architecturally and that it holds a special place in the hearts of Kilkenny people, the Carnegie library will be retained in library use with the relocation of the local studies section providing greater public access and visibility to the wealth of resources that this section has to offer.

 

Monaghan Peace Campus, Monaghan Town

The Monaghan Peace Campus, based in Monaghan Town has been offered €9.5m under the PEACE IV Programme, to create a new shared community space comprising of a four-storey community building situated beside the Garda Station on Plantation Road.

Monaghan County Council will be the lead partner for this project with the facility including: a youth space; cultural heritage centre; library and peace archive; shared community space; welcome zone; and external events space.

Match-funding for the project has been provided by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.

 

PEACE IV

  • The PEACE IV programme is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a North/South Implementation Body sponsored by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Ireland.
  • The PEACE IV Programme was designed to enhance cross-border co-operation, promote reconciliation and create a more peaceful and prosperous society.
  • The PEACE IV Programme operates within a clearly defined area including Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland including Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo.
  • The PEACE IV Programme is 85% funded through the European Regional Development Fund and has a total value of €270 million.  Match-funding of 15% is financed by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive
  • For more information on the SEUPB please visit www.seupb.eu

 

Libraries Reopening Following COVID-19 Restrictions

  • Libraries are open to the public for browsing, loans, contact and collect and a take away printing and photocopying service. PC access and reading spaces are not currently available.
  • Some of the smaller branches may not open for browsing until the social distancing requirements are reduced as they are small in size e.g. a room in a community centre and have only one member of staff assigned to them. 
  • Libraries continue to provide their online services which includes eBooks, eAudiobooks, newspapers, magazines and eLearning courses.

 

How to join your library online

Library membership is completely free of charge for everyone in every public library in the country.  If you are not yet a library member, you can join now by following the instructions below:  

  • Complete the online form at the following address:

www.librariesireland.ie/join

  • You will be assigned a temporary library number and you can set up a library PIN. With those, you'll be able to access all of the online services listed in this document immediately, all completelyfree of charge.  

If you are having trouble joining online, you can contact your library by phone

or email. You can also email info@librariesireland.ie for assistance.

If you are already a library member, you can access all of the online services shown in this document by following the instructions provided for each one. These can be accessed at this address: https://www.librariesireland.ie/elibrary