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OpenHouseLimerick 2015 has sparked huge public interest Glin Castle OpenHouseLimerick 2015 has sparked huge public interest Glin Castle

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OpenHouseLimerick 2015 has sparked huge public interest

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The organisers say that OpenHouseLimerick 2015 has sparked huge public interest, with this year’s event has drawing ‘massive’ interest from the public with all pre-book venues at capacity.

The doors of some of Limerick’s most intriguing and historic buildings will open to the public free this weekend.

Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick Circuit Courthouse, the Quaker Meeting House in Ballinacurra, St. John’s Church in Knockainey and Glin Castle – the ancestral home of the FitzGerald clan -are amongst more than 20 buildings opening to the public, some for the first time, during the fourth annual initiative from today (Friday 9th October) to Sunday 11th October.

Open House was established in London in 1992 as an initiative to show first-rate architecture to the public, stirring an interest for urban built heritage. Limerick is a member organisation of the Open House Worldwide Family, which also includes London, New York, Helsinki, Melbourne and Rome, as well as the Irish cities of Belfast, Dublin and Cork.  


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Ardnacrusha Power Station, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick Sailors’ Home, Georgian-era Fort Shannon villa in Glin, McKerns Printing Works on Glentworth Street and the recently redeveloped Markets Field will also be opening to the public as part of this year’s initiative, which is hosted by the OpenHouseLimerick Committee. 

As well as featuring tours of more than 20 buildings of all types and periods, OpenHouseLimerick will also include a bus tour, walking tours and children’s workshops. The Value of Architecture is the theme of OpenHouseLimerick 2015.

Ms. Kelly paid tribute the building owners, architects, guides, stewards, participating organisations, and public and private funders who are supporting this year’s OpenHouseLimerick this year.

OpenHouseLimerick 2015 will be launched on today at 6.00pm at the Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) with a discussion about how Limerick values its modern buildings, what their future should be and what status should they be ascribed.

The discussion panel will be chaired by Limerick Architect Richard Rice and will feature  Grainne Shaffrey, architect, urban designer, principal of Shaffrey Associates Architects and Vice President of the RIAI; Dr. Stephen Kinsella,  Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Limerick; Merritt Bucholz, founding Professor and Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Limerick and Director at Bucholz McEvoy Architects and Pat Ruane, graduate from the School of Architecture UCD and Cork City Council Architectural Conservation Officer.

 Buildings opening their doors to the public on Saturday 10th October include Sarsfield Barracks, Lord Edward St. (10am, 90min walking tour with Michael Deegan); McKerns Printing Works, Glentworth St. (10am–12:30pm, last entry 12pm); Chamber of Commerce, 96 O’Connell St. (10am–5pm, 50min tours at 11, 12 & 1 by Michael Conroy, architect. Last entry 4.30pm); IMPACT Regional HQ, Roxboro Rd. (11am tour, 30min tour); The Red Tech, O’Connell Av. (12–3.00pm, tours every hour with Stephen Fallon, architect); Limerick Circuit Courthouse, Merchants Quay (12:45 & 1:30pm tours); North Facing, Thomondgate (2–5pm, last entry 4.30pm); St. Mary’s Cathedral (BOOKED OUT); The Hunt Museum, Rutland St. (12 & 2pm tours); 21 Lower Harstonge Street (2–5pm, last entry 4.30pm); Limerick Sailors’ Home, O’Curry St. (2–5pm, last entry 4.30pm); and 5 Greenview Close, Monaleen (3–5pm, last entry 4.30pm).

For the first time, OpenHouseLimerick will profile some of the key Limerick’s regeneration projects. Architect Seamus Hanrahan’s guided bus tour includes Cliona Park, Colivet Court, Opera Centre, Thomond Weir and more on Saturday, 10th October.

Also on Saturday at 2.00pm, the history of the King’s Island through three of the oldest graveyards spanning different religions and centuries will be the subject of 90-minute walking tour with historians Dr. Matthew Potter & Sharon Slater of Limerick Museum and Archives.

Limerick’s rich modernist built heritage, including Ranks, Sadlier’s Fish Shop, GPO, BT Telephone Exchange and Theatre Royal, will be the subject of a walking tour with architect Peter Carroll of A2 Architects, it will start from Central Buildings, O’Connell St., at 2.00pm.

UL’s School of Architecture (SAUL) presents Arch Film Screenings – a selection of films highlighting both Irish and international architects at FabLab, Rutland St., from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

Architect Morgan Flynn of Aglet Architecture will host ‘Under Your Feet’, a 1-hour walking tour exploring the forgotten architectural heritage and everyday life of the city including bootscrapers and coal hole covers. The tour commences from Fab Lab at 11.00am.

FabLab also hosts Tensegrity Workshops for children aged 10 to 15 years from 12 midday to 2.00pm (pre-book only).  Workshop participants will be able to build their own tensegrities, comprising strong and light structures made of struts and cables arranged such that the structure retains a 3D shape without the struts touching.

Meanwhile, Architect Sean Collins will host Ar-Kid-Tecture for children aged 5 or more at The Hunt Museum, Rutland St., from 2.00pm to 4.00pm (pre-book only by emailing [email protected]. The innovative kids’ workshop will seek to encourage children to explore and participate in the built environment by using their creativity, imagination and wacky material.

Buildings opening their doors to the public on Sunday October 11th include Markets Field (11:30am–2:30pm, last entry 2pm); Quaker Meeting House, Southville Gardens, Ballinacurra (12.30–4.30pm, regular tours with Brian Grubb, architect); Fort Shannon, Glin (BOOKED OUT), Glin Castle (BOOKED OUT); Ardnacrusha Power Station, Castlebanks (BOOKED OUT); Ross, Killaloe (12–3pm, regular Tours with Barbara Carr, architect); Knockainey Church RC (2–5pm, last entry 4.30pm); St. John’s Church, Knockainey (2–5pm, regular Tours by Historical & Conservation Society).

OpenHouseLimerick 2015 funders include Irish Design 2015, Limerick Marketing, Limerick Arts Office, Alan Hart Construction Services Ltd., HEALY Partners Architects, O’Kelly Brothers, RIAI, Rogerson Reddan, SAUL, Smith Demolition and The Leahy Reidy Consortium. Sponsors include Dennehy Reidy Associates and Power Associates.

Supporters of this year’s initiative include Limerick 2020, Collins Building & Civil Engineering Limerick Ltd., Gerry Lombard, Furniture & Product Design, Martins Construction, Nautic Building Co Ltd., PUNCH Consulting Engineers, Roadselm Construction Ltd. Meanwhile, OpenHouseLimerick Friends include Christ Church, Fab Lab Limerick, The Hunt Museum, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick’s Life, Limerick School of Art & Design, Volunteer Centre Limerick, MidWest Limes McMahons, SIG Roofing and PJ Murphy Woodworking.

Volunteer to be a part of the event here

Visit the Open House Limerick website here

Check out the Open House Limerick Facebook page here and Twitter here

Read more about Open House Limerick here

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.