Clare Street Park to benefit from a major upgrade to its amenities

Clare Street Park in the city centre is set to benefit from a major upgrade.

Clare Street Park, located adjacent to the Limerick School of Art and Design, is to benefit from a major upgrade to its amenities

By I Love Limerick correspondent Ava O’Donoghue

Clare Street Park in the city centre is set to benefit from a major upgrade after Labour Party councillor Conor Sheehan welcomed the confirmation of the planned changes to the park.

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Clare Street Park, also known as O’Briens park is located adjacent to the Limerick School of Art and Design. The freestanding concrete gateway to the park was constructed in 1940 as a classical triumphal arch with the effect of ashlar masonry.

The park’s amenities include a small children’s playground, a park shelter, and a cast-iron drinking fountain. The cast-iron drinking fountain, also known as the Tait drinking fountain was erected by the owner of the Tait Clothing Factory on Lord Edward Street, Sir Peter Tait as a source of drinking water for his employees.

While the subsequent history of the drinking foundation is unknown, at some point the fountain was removed and retained as a historical artefact and placed in Clare Street Park.

The much-needed upgrade to such a vital and beautiful park will be undertaken with improvement works at People’s Park and will partially be funded by Limerick City and County Council’s General Municipal Fund Allocation.

In June 2020, Cllr Sheehan acquired €50,000 in ring-fenced funding with the support of all of his Limerick City North Council colleagues to go toward the refurbishment of O’Briens Park.

While the work was impacted due to COVID-19, the project will now be able to resurface as design consultants are finally being appointed in the next two weeks to finish before the end of 2022.

The work will have a major impact on children in Limerick’s inner communities who may not be able to have access to gardens to play in.

The work will involve replacing the existing play equipment and enhancing what was already there. There will also be an inclusion of a basketball court.

Cllr Sheehan has requested the council to include accessible play equipment for children with disabilities similar to Mungret Park which is committed to providing a diverse play area.

These upgrades will make the playground fit for purpose and enhance the amenity for the public.

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